Cain and Abel, Seth to Noah, Corruption of Man

Here is what we have been up to for Biblical History:
Readings:
  • Chronological Bible: Genesis 4 (Cain murders Abel), 5 (The Family of Adam) & 6:1-8 (The wickedness of men, Noah pleases God, the ark prepared)
  • Adam to Messiah: Cain and Abel, Seth to Noah, Corruption of Man
  • The Victor Journey Through The Bible: Cain and Abel (p. 14)
  • Genesis: Finding Our Roots: p. 37-42
  • Who's Who in the Bible: Cain, Abel, Seth, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah
  • Adam and His Kin: Ch. 5 "Cain," Ch. 6 "Writing in the Stars" & Ch. 7 "The Preachers"
  • The Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History: Discussion questions
Audio:
  • What in the World? Track 3 "Early Man"(12:06)
  • True Tales: Ancient Civilizations and the Bible Track 3 "Early Man" (17:14) and Track 4 "Where Did Cain Get His Wife?" (9:08)
In Genesis 4, we have the first case of sibling rivalry ~ Cain slew his brother Abel because he was jealous that God accepted Abel's offering and not his. There are several theories as as to why his was not accepted: his heart condition (he didn't bring the best of his crops or that he did not bring the correct offering). Knowing what we know about sacrifices and offerings in the Torah, we think it might be the latter. There were grains offerings and animal offerings, but not vegetables offerings.
Cain was punished. His punishment was to great for him to bear, so YHVH put a mark on him to protect his life. He went to the land of Nod and there he built the first city and took a wife. So, where did Cain get his wife? Short answer: Cain married his sister. {They could do that back then because the genetic pool was pure}
Pre-flood Society and Culture
  • The first city is built (Genesis 4:17 ~ Cain built a city in the land of Nod and named it after his son Enoch)
  • We have the first case of polygamy (Genesis 4:19 ~ Lamech took for himself two wives)
  • Nomadic herdsmen (Genesis 4:20 ~ Jabal was the father of all who dwell in tents and have livestock)
  • Musical instruments (Genesis 4:21 ~ Jubal was the father of all who play the harp and flute)
  • Craftsmen in bronze and iron (Genesis 4:22 ~ Tubal-Cain was the father of every craftsman in bronze and iron)
  • Genesis 4:26 then men began to call on the name of YHVH.
We threw a little science and technology in with our study of History and learned that bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. And that iron is an element that in its pure state is soft. It needs to be combined with carbon to make steel to give it strength. I assigned each boy to research the trades of Jabel, Jubal and Tubal Cain. It was easy to decide which for each boy ~ Jordan has a hands on/industrial bent, Nathan wants to be a dairy farmer and Dylan has a musical gift.
The boys also completed a notebooking page on pre-flood society.
We learned that there is a hidden message is the names of the descendants from Adam to Noah:
  1. Adam ~ Man
  2. Seth ~ Appointed
  3. Enosh ~ Mortal
  4. Kenan ~ Sorrow
  5. Mahalalel ~ The blessed God
  6. Jared ~ Shall come down
  7. Enoch ~ Teaching
  8. Methuselah ~ His death shall bring
  9. Lamech ~ The Despairing
  10. Noah ~ Comfort, Rest
If you put them all together you can see the hidden message: Man [is] appointed mortal sorrow [but] the blessed God shall come down teaching [that] His death shall bring the despairing comfort, rest.
The gospel message is that we are all sinners and God's son died to bring us salvation. ~ Ruth Beechick
Pretty neat that the gospel message is found in the lineage of the descendants of Adam. If you don't know this, a sinner is anyone who transgresses God's law (the Torah or law of Moses). (1 John 3:4) The law did three things: gave us teachings and instructions on how to live a life pleasing to the Father and pronounced blessings and curses. The ultimate curse of the law is death. Yeshua (Jesus) paid our debt in full when he died on the cross. {It is free to all, but, you have to ask for this gift and then you must endure to the end by living a life pleasing to your Savior ~ ie. just because we are under grace and not under the law (meaning we are not judged by the law [found guilty] because we have redemption in Yeshua~Jesus) doesn't mean that we can continue to live a sinful life (transgress the law of God) Romans 6:15, and we don't make void the law just because we are under faith. Romans 3:31}
Chapter 5 is all about the generations of Adam and 6 is about the wickedness of man, Noah finds favor in God's eye and the ark is prepared. The days of Noah (full of wickedness) characterize the days just before Yeshua's return. Are we living as in the days of Noah? I am curious to study the meanings of the names of the rest of the descendants of Noah!
Up next : Noah's Ark and the Global Flood

4 comments

  1. What a cool message from their names! I love His promises to us. How we need them!

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  2. How cool! We just read that today, too!! (We learned that there is a hidden message is the names of the descendants from Adam to Noah.)

    I have it marked in my Bible but I read it to the boys today.

    I love finding treasures like that!

    Janet

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  3. You and I are on the same history timeline! ;)

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