From the Fall to the Flood

Adam and Eve outside the Garden

• In their new state of consciousness of good and evil, Adam and Eve began their life outside the Garden of Eden. Existence was quite different from before. Previously, in the peace of the garden, the first man and woman had been charged with dressing and keeping a true paradise. Now Adam was hewing out a living by the sweat of his brow, battling unendingly against weeds and briars.
• Eve discovered the truth of God's Word. He had said, "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children'' (Genesis 3:16). The first child that Eve brought into the world was a son named Cain. She said, 1 have gotten a man from the LORD'" (Genesis 4:1). Then Eve gave birth to another son, Abel. The wording here seems to suggest that the two boys may have been twins. In the other places in the Bible it also says that the man knew his wife and she conceived. Here it says, "and again she bare his brother".

The Difference Between the two brothers

• As often happens with brothers in the same family, these two were quite different. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiler of the ground. According to Genesis 4:3-7, there were also spiritual differences between these two men.

Worship Taught

Adam and Eve had obviously taught their sons about God's existence and about the need to worship Him and to offer sacrifices to Him. As time passed by, Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. Abel also brought an offering of the firstborn of his flock.

Sacrifice Accepted and Rejected

• The Lord accepted Abel's offering but not that of Cain. This disturbed Cain, and he became angry. 
• The Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. Genesis 4:6-7
• In His mercy and willingness to forgive Cain's error, the Lord appealed to him. He told Cain that his offering could be accepted as well as that of Abel if he, too, would do the right thing. The only thing that would prevent Cain from doing right would be sin.

 Blood Sacrifice, a Requirement

• What was wrong with Cain's offering? Cain's offering did not include a blood sacrifice. He had brough an offering of fruit of the ground. From the very first, God's plan called for a blood sacrifice. 
• In the garden, God had slain animals in order to provide skins to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve. (See Genesis 3:21.) In other words. for sins to be covered, blood had to be shed. 
• Jesus Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8)
• The reason God chose a blood sacrifice is that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). 
• Without the shedding of blood, sins cannot be remitted (Hebrews 9:22). 
• Adam must have given taught his sons or Abel would not have known what to bring. We do know that Cain brought an improper sacrifice.
• Early in Scripture we see that sincerity alone does not put a person in right standing with God. The one thing God will honor is obedient faith, it is not enough to do what we think is right or the best we know how. We must do what God commands.
• Abel obeyed God out of faith. Hebrews 11:4 says, "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Caln, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh!"

The Punishment of Disobedience

• Sadly, Cain did not accept God's offer to try again but instead murdered his brother, Abel.
• The Lord, who sees and knows all things, asked, "Where is Abel thy brother?""
• Cain lied, "I know not; am I my brother's keeper?'"
• Then God pronounced the penalty for Cain's sin: "What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth!"
• Scientists have discovered that DNA, which is in blood, gives off a vibration. This could be what is referred to as " the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground".
• Cain replied, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that everyone that findeth me shall slay me" (Genesis 4:13-14).
• The Lord answered, therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold" (Genesis 4:15). Then the Lord set a mark on Cain to prevent anyone who found him from killing him.
• God still was showing mercy to Cain by setting a mark to prevent anyone from killing him. 
• As a result of his sins of murder and refusal to obey God, Cain left the Lord's presence and went to live in the lonely land of Nod on the east of Eden.

Men Who Walked with God

• Seth
• Adam and Eve had more children, but it was not until she gave birth to a son whom they named Seth that Eve said, "For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew'' (Genesis 4:25). 
• It was in the days of Seth, who was evidently a godly man with a desire to serve God as Abel had, that people began to call upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26).
• Enoch
• One of the most interesting men to live in the Book of Genesis was Enoch. He loved God and was obedient to Him. The Bible says, "'And Enoch walked with God; and he was not; for God took him' (Genesis 5:24). 
• Hebrews 11:5 offers further information on this unusual event: "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God!"
• Noah
• In the days of Enoch's great-grandson, Noah, God saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. They were so wicked and lawless that God was grieved for making them. 
• He said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them'" (Genesis 6:7).
• There was one man, however, who found grace in the eyes of the Lord: Noah. While others thought continually about evil things and practiced all kinds of wickedness, Noah believed in God and obeyed Him.
• Hebrews 11:7 puts it this way: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."

What did Abel, Seth, Enoch, and Noah have in common? Obedient faith. They believed God and obeyed Him. From the beginning, faith has been God's requirement. As Hebrews 11:6 points out, "Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

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