Read Genesis 4:3-8. What is the process that led Cain to kill his brother? See also 1 John 3:12.

Cain’s reaction is twofold: “Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell” (Genesis 4:5, NKJV). Cain’s anger was directed, it appears, at God and at Abel. Cain was angry with God because he thought that he was the victim of an injustice and angry with Abel because he was jealous of his brother. Jealous of what? Just the offering? Certainly, more was going on behind the scenes than what is revealed in these few texts. Whatever the issues, Cain was depressed because his offering had not been accepted.

Cain slays Abel

God’s two questions in Genesis 4:6 are related to Cain’s two conditions. Note that God does not accuse Cain. As with Adam, God asks questions, not because He doesn’t know the answers, but because He wants Cain to look at himself and then understand the reason for his own condition. As always, the Lord seeks to redeem His fallen people, even when they openly fail Him. Then, after asking these questions, God counsels Cain.

First, God urges Cain to “do well,” to behave the right way. It is a call for repentance and to change his attitude. God promises Cain that he will be “accepted” and forgiven. In a sense He is saying that Cain can have acceptance with God, but it must be done on God’s terms, not Cain’s.

On the other hand, “if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” (Genesis 4:7, NKJV). God’s counsel has revealed the root of sin, and it is found in Cain himself. Here, again, God is counseling Cain, seeking to guide him in the way he should go.

God’s second word of counsel concerns the attitude to take toward this sin, which lies at the door and whose “desire is for you.” God recommends self-control: “You should rule over it.” The same principle resonates in James, when he explains that “each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed” (James 1:14, NKJV). The gospel offers us the promise of not only the forgiveness of sin but victory over it as well. (See 1 Corinthians 10:13.) In the end, Cain had no one to blame for his sin but himself. Isn’t it generally that way with all of us as well?

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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Key Thought: After the fall, we see the birth of Cain, the firstborn son, which Eve saw as a fulfillment of the Messiah of hope. But the next events of the crime of Cain, shortened life, and increasing evil fulfilled the curse in Genesis 3.
April 16, 2022

1. Have a volunteer read Genesis 4:1-5 ; Hebrews 11:4.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What do we learn from these passages about the birth of the two sons?
3. Personal Application: What things are truly vapor that we treat as if they mattered much more than they do? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Why did Adam and Eve misunderstand what God had promised them? Are we susceptible to misunderstand God’s word and promises in our lives? Why isn’t God more specific in His word so that we don’t misunderstand or misapply it?” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Genesis Genesis 4:3-8 ; I John 3:12.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What is the process that led Cain to kill his brother?
3. Personal Application: What does this story tell us about free will and how God does not force the will and make people do things against their will? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Didn’t God harden the heart of Pharoah? Didn’t He lead Judas toi betray Christ? Doesn’t God make people do things to fulfill His purposes?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Genesis 4:9-16.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. Why does God ask Cain the question, “Where is your brother?” How did Cain’s sin cause him to be a fugitive and vagabond on the earth?
3. Personal Application: What is the only way that we, as sinners, can keep from being “hidden” from His face? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “Why did Cain say, I shall be hidden from your face? Wasn’t salvation and forgiveness available to Cain as well as all who have gone astray and did wrong things? Was Cain lost because he was judged by a different standard in the Old Testament than we are in the New?” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Genesis 4:17-24..

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What was Cain’s legacy and how did his crime open the way for the wickedness of mankind?
3. Personal Application: How can we learn to put sin from our lives through God’s power? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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