Bible Stories for Adults

The Fall into Sin, Cain and Abel

Genesis 3 - 4

Next Week - The Flood (Genesis 5-10)
Bible Words to Remember:
For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Jeremiah 31:34

What is the meatiest verse in the Bible? = Lays foundation, dispels false teachings
Genesis 1:1 = In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
Why did God create the heavens and the earth and everything we know, including us?
Revelation 4:11 = He wanted to - an object for His love, same reason we have kids
What did God think about His creation when He was finished?
Genesis 1:31 = It was very good, perfect, just as He wanted

What is the literary form of Genesis 1?
Genesis 1:3-5 = Poetic prose, a prelude to the rest of His Story
Is Genesis 1 intended to explain the details of creation?
Ecclesiastes 3:11 = No, man cannot fathom or begin to understand what God did
What is the purpose of Genesis 1?
Deuteronomy 3:24 = To show God's majesty and supreme power & love

What was the last thing that God created?
Genesis 1:27-28 = Man, the crown of His creation
What does it mean to be created in God's image?
Ephesians 4:24 = be like God in true righteousness & holiness
Does being created in God's image only refer to being righteous and holy?
Colossians 3:10 = No, also given intelligence

How does the author of Genesis refer to the original perfection and innocence of man?
Genesis 2:25 = There was no shame because there was no sin
arom - Hebrew for naked = naked innocence
How does the author of Genesis use a play on words to introduce the fall of man story?
Genesis 3:1a = The serpent is called crafty - innocence vs. scheming
arum - Hebrew for crafty = Closest play in English is nude / shrewd

How did sin enter God's perfect world? = Satan was an archangel, like Michael or Gabriel
Ezekiel 28:12b-13a, 14-16 = Satan got caught up in himself and became wicked
What did Satan do after being kicked out of God's holy kingdom?
1 Peter 5:8 = Prowls the earth looking for recruits
How did Jesus describe how Satan recruits people into his family and leads the world astray?
John 8:43-44 = He deceives with lies

What destiny awaits Satan and his recruits?
Ezekiel 28:17-19 = He will be thrown to earth and destroyed for all to see
How does John describe this in his book on the last days? = cast to earth, destroyed by fire
Revelation 12:7-9; 20:7-10 = ancient serpent called Satan, who leads the world astray

How did the crafty serpent begin his effort to turn man away from God?
Genesis 3:1 = Asked innocent-sounding question leading to doubt & deception
How did the woman play into his game?
Genesis 3:2-3 = She answered, but twisted the truth in response
How did the woman's response twist the truth? = Adding to God's rules confuses God to us
Genesis 2:16-17 = Only prevented from eating, didn't command against touching
How did the father of lies twist things further in the woman's mind? consequence
Genesis 3:4-5 = Questioned God's motive behind the command & truth of its ^

How did Eve respond to this deception? = Agreed with Satan's rationale, took and ate
Genesis 3:6a = good for food, pleasing to the eye, desirable for gaining wisdom
How does this fit with John's description of sin in today's world? = directly correlates
1 John 2:16 = cravings, lust of eyes, boasting of what he has and does
How upset was Adam when he learned what this woman had done?
Genesis 3:6b = He also ate, without objection

Were their eyes opened, knowing good and evil, as Satan had promised? = Diff knowledge
Genesis 3:7 = They immediately felt the sense of guilt and saw their inadequacies
They were still alive (Adam lived 930 yrs). Was the consequence of death over-exaggerated?
Romans 5:12 = No, by Adam's disobedience, sin & death entered the world for all
How proud were Adam and Eve of this new knowledge?
Genesis 3:8 = Knowing the wrong they had done, they hid in shame
Knowing what had happened, how did God give them the opportunity to confess their sin?
Genesis 3:9-11 = Asked simple questions leading them to recognize their guilt

Faced with the fact that God knew what happened, did Adam confess?
Genesis 3:12 = Blamed the evil woman & blamed God for making the woman
Did Eve respond any better?
Genesis 3:13 = No, she passed the blame to the serpent

Beginning in reverse order, what judgment did God have for the crafty serpent?
Genesis 3:14 = From honored position to most despised, under everything
Besides being unable to walk, what else was carried in the curse of crawling on its belly?
Leviticus 11:41-43 = Considered the lowest, most detestable, most unclean

What judgment did God have for the woman?
Genesis 3:16 = Great pains in childbirth, dominated by strength & drive of man
How was this domination by man first visible?
Genesis 3:20 = Adam named her, the ability to name denotes ownership

What judgment did God have for the man, the one to whom He had given the command?
Genesis 3:17-19 = Work would now be difficult, will die as a result of sin

Besides allowing mankind to live long enough to be fruitful, how did God show His grace?
Genesis 3:15 = First Messianic Prophesy (Promise of a Savior)
I will put enmity between you and the woman = Natural hatred where had been allies
and between your offspring = Satan's legions
and hers = Jesus Christ
He = Jesus Christ - Note the singular form
will crush your head = Christ will destroy Satan (Satan is head of his legions)
and you will strike his heel = Satan will attack Christians (Heel is Christ's body)
Was this promise of grace only given to mankind?
Romans 8:19-21 = No, it was for all of creation

How did God show His grace towards the shame that Adam and Eve felt? = reminder of sin
Genesis 3:21 = He clothed them; covering guilt required sacrifice (sin leads to death)
What other act of God's grace is recorded in this story?
Genesis 3:22-24 = Kicked them out of garden to prevent from eating of tree of life
How is this grace? It sounds like punishment being kicked out of paradise.
Matthew 25:46 = They would have lived forever in guilt and shame - hell on earth
Is this tree of life still around?
Revelation 2:7 = It is waiting us in heaven, we will eat and enter paradise then

Which of Adam & Eve's many children do we learn about in the next story?
Genesis 4:1-2 = The first - Cain (sounds like Hebrew for gained), Abel (H for breath)
What do we learn about their relationships with God?
Genesis 4:3-5 = Abel offered first fruits, Cain gave when he had extra
Was God displeased with Cain's offering since it wasn't an animal sacrifice?
Hebrews 11:4 = No, but because it wasn't given out of faith
Did God explain this to Cain?
Genesis 4:6-7 = Yes - not accepted because sin is in the way

How did Cain deal with his jealousy?
Genesis 4:8 = Killed Abel
Knowing what had happened, how did God give Cain the opportunity to confess his sin?
Genesis 4:9-10 = Asked where his brother was, Presented sin when Cain acted dumb
What judgment did God have for Cain?
Genesis 4:11-12 = Kicked off his property, would have trouble raising crops
How did God show His grace to Cain?
Genesis 4:13-16 = Protected his life with a mark

How does this story of murder relate to our lives? We would never even think of murder, right?
1 John 3:12, 15 = Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer
How did Cain's character continue in his descendants?
Genesis 4:17-19 (compare 2:24) = 4 generations later, Lamech was a polygamist
Genesis 4:23-24 = Lamech was also a murderer and wrongly expected God's grace