Genesis 4

Cain and Abel

(The People’s Bible, Genesis, pages 58-67)

Look

  • Verse 2 The occupations of Cain and Abel were farming and ranching (shepherding) respectively. God does not favor one or the other. Both can be God pleasing.
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    • Verse 15 “The Lord put a mark.” “Some have understood this to be a visible mark of identification on his body. The Hebrew seems to suggest it was a miraculous sign God gave Cain, similar to the signs God gave to Moses (Exodus 4:8,9), to Gideon (Judges 6:17-22), and to Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:5-8)” (Jeske, Genesis, The People’s Bible, page 63).

    Verse 19 Lamech, five generations from Cain, introduced polygamy into the world.

    Verse 26 “To call on the name of the Lord”—To pray, to preach, to worship God.

    Discuss

    1. Which is the more accurate statement: Genesis chapter 4 is the story of the first murder, or Genesis chapter 4 is the story of the first persecution of a Christian?

     

    2. What was the difference between Cain’s sacrifice and Abel’s?

     

     

    3. How did the Lord try to help Cain?

     

     

    4. What kind of culture did Cain’s relatives develop?

     

     

    Apply

    5. Do you experience the kind of persecution Abel experienced?

     

     

     

    Hostility between Eve’s offspring and Satan’s began soon enough. Cain martyred his brother