The Book of Genesis: Perspectives Chapters 3:1-5:32 “The Fall”

The Book of Genesis:Perspectives

Chapters 3:1-5:32

“The Fall”

Announcements

GenesisWeek Date Topic

1 09 Dec 09 Introduction and the Creation: 1:1-2:25 (Ben)

2 16 Dec 09 The Fall: 3:1-5:32

3 23 Dec 09 Elder Selection Discussion (Herb)

4 30 Dec 09 The Flood: 6:1-9:29

5 06 Jan 10 Tower of Babel: 10:1-11:9

6 13 Jan 10 Life of Abraham – Part 1: 11:10-16:16

7 20 Jan 10 Life of Abraham – Part 2: 17:1-25:18

8 27 Jan 10 Life of Isaac: 25:19-26:35

9 03 Feb 10 Life of Jacob: 27:1-36:43

10 10 Feb 10 Life of Esau: 36:1-43:34 (Ben)

11 17 Feb 10 Life of Joseph – Corruption: 37:1-38:30

12 24 Feb 10 Life of Joseph – Exaltation: 39:1-41:57

13 03 Mar 10 Life of Joseph – Salvation: 42:1-50:25

Today’s Objectives• Provide and overview of last week’s lesson• Learn how the goodness God had created turns

to ruin• How God uses a tragic event into hope for us• Learn about the temptation of Adam and Even• Review the story of Cain and Abel and the

lessons of faith• Learn what happens to Cain • Learn about the line of Christ created through

Adam and Eve

Last week

• Provided and overview of Genesis including authorship and timeline

• Review the timeline of creation• Learned that God made man in his own image• Created after the likeness of God in true

righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:24)• Made with knowledge (Col 3:10)• Therefore, Adam was created wise in his mind,

holy in his heart, and righteous in action

Authorship • Bible scholars attribute Genesis to Moses

– Inspired by God, Moses was the human instrument through which God spoke

– Also attributed to writing the first five books of the bible

• Date of writing– Uncertain– Probably between 1500-1400 BC– Spans more time than any other book of the Bible– Approximately 2370 years, more time than the other 65

books combined– Oldest and most detailed record of ancient history in

existence

Terminology• Bereshith

– Hebrew name for the book meaning “in the beginning”

• Septuagint– Oldest Greek translation of the OT, around 270 BC

• Torah– Hebrew word for “the law”, refers to the first five books

• Pentateuch– Greek name for the first five books of the OT

• Dead Sea Scrolls– Ancient manuscripts found in 1947 contain parts of all

books of the OT except Esther, confirming translations

Paradise and the Law (Genesis 3:1-24)

• A key purpose of the OT is to record the history of redemption– Common theme throughout the OT starts in the Garden

of Eden– Man struggles to do things his way instead of God’s way– Varying amount of sin committed by individuals– Some try to be righteous, but all have a need that remains

unfulfilled until Christ arrives

• God places Adam in paradise with one law– Do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil – Punishment would be death (Gen 3:1-3)

The Temptation (Genesis 3:1-24)

• Was it placed there to tempt Adam and Eve?– It is necessary for temptations to come (Matt 18:7)

• Was it placed to there to tempt them to sin?– God does not tempt us to sin (James1:13)– God is not the creator of evil

• Where does this temptation come from?– Personal weakness in the face of stimulation or pressure– Temptation results from our own desires (1 John 2:16)– What results are trials and testing that God permits in

order to perfect our faith and purify our heart

The Problem in the Garden

• Problem was not with the tree in the garden– Problem was snake, metaphorically Satan– Satan was there to tempt Eve with desire and pride– Eve had two choices: God or her own desire

• She chose to satisfy her earthly desire for food, possessions, and wisdom– Her eyes were opened– She would become like God, knowing good from evil– She failed to consider the consequences

• As a result, they both come to know sin and evil and what it was like to be separated from God

Beginning and Ending

• Up until the incident in the garden, nothing had an end– Now sin had entered the world– Death came– Satan had caused in and sin led to death– Everything had became mortal

• How did Adam and Eve deal with the guilt– At first they hide– God then provides for them, but a burdensome life– Lev 17:11 offers some insight has to how this atonement

process would soon work

Dealing with Sin

• Old Testament?– Animal sacrifice as an atonement

• How about the New Testament?– Consequence of breaking a law is still death

• But what is our sacrifice?– Christ – No longer with animal blood atoning for sins as in the

days of the OT– Christ became the ultimate sacrifice– He died on the cross to take away our burden of guilt

Perspectives

• If we are only legalistically accepting God’s grace, we will still feel the need to perform in order to be accepted– “I’ve got to perform to be accepted”– We become our own sacrificial lamb in order to deal with

our own sin in life

• Living a life of grace declares that you are accepted so are you FREE to perform– “I am accepted so I can perform my best”– Paul – “I am what I am by Grace. I’ve been accept by

God and therefore I want to live the grace-filled life.”

Cain and Abel (4:1-4:26)

• Adam and Eve have two sons– Cain, meaning “spear”, but similar to the Hebrew word

for “possession”– Abel, meaning a “breath” or “vapor”, signifying a brief

existence

• Cain (4:1)– First born– Became a farmer or tiller of the ground– Described as self-willed, proud, and vindictive man– Wanting the religious elements in his life, yet defiant in

his attitude towards God


• Abel (4:2)– Second son– Meaning “breath” or “vapor” signifying his short life– Was a herdsman or shepherd

• Offering to God (4:3-5)– Cain brings the first fruits of the ground– Abel brings the first born lamb and gives God the best

parts– God was pleased with Abel but not Cain, why?– Manner in which it was presented (compare 4:3 and 4:4)

Cain and Able Come to God

• Both Cain and Abel believed in the existence of God (Gen 4:3-5)– Both came to offer sacrifices

• Represents two types of people– Those who come to God their own way– Those who believe God and come to God His way

• Cain brings his offering– Part of his harvest– Didn’t describe it as the “best” only “part”


• Abel’s offering (4:4)– First-born lamb– Gave God the best parts

• Why did Abel bring this offering?– Realized his sinful nature– Believed that only God could save him– Faithful to God

• Result?– God is very pleased


• What is the connection between the blood of the sacrificed lamb and sin?– Blood of the lamb did not make Abel right in God’s eyes– Sin must be paid for by human death– Abel was forgiven his sin by God because of Abel’s trust

in God– Read Hebrews 11:4 and 11:6, Matthew 21:28-32

• Why wasn’t Cain’s offering accepted? – God was not pleased with the manner in which Cain

made his offering (4:5-7)– Unbelief which God detected


• Who’s idea was it to kill Abel and where did it come from?– Cain, and from his envy that resulted after the sacrifice

(4:8)

• How does James 1:14-15 apply in this case?– Cain’s desires carried him away from true faith and

belief in God– Pursuit of one’s own evil desire leads to sin

• Why did God ask Cain if he killed Abel when he already knew? (4:9)– Gave Cain an opportunity to repent – He is merciful


• God will avenge all sin (4:10-15)– Even though Cain chose to disobey God, God was still

Cain’s Creator– God is the creator and therefore the “owner” of all people

even though they are stolen away through sin– God had the right to punish those would hurt Cain, even if

Cain chose to walk away from God

• Cain had to go far away from God (4:16)– No record of Cain’s repentance– Land of Nod (or Wondering)– Thought by many to have been Arabia-Petraea - which

was cursed to sterility on his account.

Petraea


• Cain’s descendants follow his example– Build tows, raise cattle, made tools and musical

instruments (4:17-21)– None of these “things” were necessarily bad– Unless they were used to replace God– No mention of God in Cain’s new land

• Adam and Eve have another son – Seth (4:25)– In genealogy Noah is from Seth’s line– Noah has three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth– Abraham, is from Shem’s line– Of course, we know who is from Abraham’s line

From Adam to Noah (Gen 5:1-32)

• From Adam to Noah– Called the Genealogy of the Patriarchs– First genealogy in the Bible– Genealogy is important to show the godly lines and

ungodly lines– God inspired Moses to make sure that this was included

so that Jesus could be traced all the way back in the godly line as prophecy would show

– See Luke 3:23-38

From Adam To Noah (5:1-32)

• Begins with the creation of Adam (5:1)

• Seth, Adam’s son, lives to be 912 (5:8)

• Enosh, Seth’s son, lives to be 905 (5:11)

• Kenan, Enosh’s son, lives to be 910 (5:14)

• Mahalalel, Kenan’s son, lives to be 895 (5:17)

• Jared, Mahalalel’s son, lives to be 162 (5:18)

• Enoch, Jared’s son, lived to be 365 (5:23)

• Methuselah, Enoch’s son, lived to be 969 (5:28)

• Lamech, Methuselah's son, lived to be 767 (5:31)

• Introduces Noah, son of Lamech (5:32)

• Summary of Chronology– Lamech was born 874 years after the creation of Adam– Noah was born 1056 years after the creation of Adam– This means that Adam died about 126 years prior to

Noah’s birth– Seth was born in the year 130 from creation and lived

912 years– Seth died only fourteen years after the birth of Noah– Enos was still living when Noah was born– The flood came 1656 years after creation – Shem was 98 years old the year of the flood

From Adam to Noah (Gen 5:1-32)

Review

• Provided and overview of last week’s lesson• Learned how the goodness God had created

turns to ruin• Learned about the temptation of Adam and

Eve• Reviewed the story of Cain and Abel and the

lessons of faith• Learned what happened to Cain • Learned about the line of Christ created

through Adam and Eve

Documents

The Book of Genesis: Perspectives Chapters 3:1-5:32 “The Fall”