Cain and Abel

INTRODUCTION:  Abel and Cain give the original contrast between good and evil.  Abel obeyed God and was accepted of Him.  Cain came up with a better idea and displeased God.  But instead of getting things right, Cain took matters into his own hands and murdered his own brother.  This world is still divided into those who submit to God’s plan and those who are determined to do things their own way.  This lesson teaches obedience and the importance of doing things God’s way.

1. THE SONS OF ADAM & EVE (Genesis 4:1-2)
1. Their Birth (Genesis 4:1-2a)
1. Cain (means possession)
1. When Eve bare Cain and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD, she probably thought that this was the promised seed of Genesis 3:15 who would bruise the serpents head.
2. Little did she know that this son would serve the serpent and that her woes and the woes of the world were only beginning.
2. Abel (means breath or vapor)
2. Their Vocations (Genesis 4:2b)
1. Abel a keeper of sheep
2. Cain a tiller of the ground
2. THE OFFERINGS OF CAIN AND ABEL (Genesis 4:3-5a)
1. The Offerings Brought (Genesis 4:3-4)
1. Cain of the fruit of the ground (Genesis 4:3)
2. Abel (Genesis 4:4)
1. Of the firstlings of his flock (the firstborn sheep)
2. Of the fat of his flock (the best sheep)
2. The Offerings Received by God (Genesis 4:4-5)
1. Abels offering respected (Genesis 4:4b)
2. Cains offering not respected (Genesis 4:5a)
3. THE REACTION OF CAIN (Genesis 4:5b-8)
1. Cains Anger (Genesis 4:5b)
2. Gods Warning (Genesis 4:6-7)
1. Look at the cause of your wrath (Genesis 4:6)
2. Admit that your sin caused the problem (Genesis 4:7a)
3. Recognize the power and danger of sin (Genesis 4:7b)
3. Cains Murder of Abel (Genesis 4:8)
1. Cain talked with Abel
2. Cain slew Abel
4. THE JUDGMENT OF CAIN (Genesis 4:9-15)
1. The Lord Seeks Cain (Genesis 4:9-10)
1. Cains denial of responsibility (Genesis 4:9)
2. Abels blood crying from the ground (Genesis 4:10)
3. This is the first Biblical reference to blood defiling the land. (see Numbers 35:33; Psalm 106:38).
2. The Lord Curses Cain (Genesis 4:11-12)
1. Cursed from the earth (Genesis 4:11)
1. Cains curse was to lose his livelihood.
2. He was a tiller of the ground (Genesis 4:2) but now the ground would not yield him any fruit.
2. Unable to bring fruit from the ground (Genesis 4:12a)
3. A fugitive and a vagabond in the earth (Genesis 4:12b)
1. A fugitive is one who is fleeing from justice.
2. A vagabond is one who moves from place to place having no fixed abode.
3. The Lord Protects Cain (Genesis 4:13-15)
1. Cains complaint (Genesis 4:13-14)
2. Cains mark (Genesis 4:15)
1. The mark of Cain has given rise to much speculation.  Many have tried to figure out what the mark was.  The best approach is to take God at his word and not try to discover things He has not revealed.
2. God put a mark on Cain that was easily visible and clearly distinguished him from other men.
5. THE LINE OF CAIN (Genesis 4:16-24)
1. Cains Departure (Genesis 4:16-17)
1. From the presence of the Lord (Genesis 4:16)
1. Cain went out from the presence of the LORD.
2. When Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden of Eden, they did not go very far from the Cherubim which guarded the tree of life.
3. They were still close to the presence of God (Genesis 3:8).  God still spoke to them in an audible voice (Genesis 4:6,9) and they did not think it unusual.
4. But Cain now leaves Gods presence.
2. To the land of Nod (Genesis 4:16)
3. With his wife who bare Enoch (Genesis 4:17)
4. Building the city of Enoch (Genesis 4:17)
2. Cains Genealogy (Genesis 4:18)
3. The Fruits of Civilization (Genesis 4:19-24)
1. Bigamy (Genesis 4:19)
2. Commerce (Genesis 4:20)
3. Music (Genesis 4:21)
4. Manufacture (Genesis 4:22)
5. Lawyers (Genesis 4:23-24)
6. THE REPLACEMENT OF CAIN (Genesis 4:25-26)
1. The Appointed Seed Seth (Genesis 4:25)
1. Cains murder of Abel was Satans first attempt to destroy the godly line that would one day lead to the promised seed.  But it failed.
2. God sent another son, Seth, who would be the appointed seed to carry the line to the Messiah.
2. The Beginning of Prayer (Genesis 4:26)
1. Up until the time of the birth of Enos, God just spoke to men when He wanted to tell them something.
2. Now, they must learn to pray and call upon the name of the LORD.

CONCLUSION:  Sin may start small but it causes big problems in the end.  We can only be saved God’s way and we can only please God by doing things His way.  Are you submitted to God’s plan for you?  When you are caught doing something wrong, do you rebel even more as Cain did or do you confess your sin and submit to God?