man and his comfort. (4) Marriage is a
sacred obligation growing out of the very character of man and woman
who were made for each other and each can, therefore, meet the deepest
needs of the other. (5) Sin does not originate in God but in man's
yielding to his baser instead of his nobler and diviner motives. (6)
Sin as a cause brings its own punishment, the worst of which is the
separation of the individual from harmonious relations with God, which
is spiritual death.

For Study and Discussion. (1) The condition of the material universe
when God began to prepare it for man's abode. (2) The six creative
days or periods and what was created in each. (3) The special emphasis
upon the presence and activity of God in the creation of man and
woman. (4) The divine interest in and preparation for the happiness of
man. (5) The home prepared for them. (6) The lessons about marriage,
its purpose, basis, etc. (7) The law and place of testing in the
formation of character. (8) The ills of life that are the results of
some one's sin. (9) The nature and results of the curse upon the man,
upon the woman, upon the tempter. (10) God's care for man after the
Fall and the provisions for his recovery. (11) The revelation of God
made by these three chapters. (12) The image of God in man.

Chapter II.

From the Fall to the Flood.

Gen. Chs. 4-8.

Cain and Abel. These two, who are apparently the oldest children of
the first pair, were no doubt born soon after the expulsion from the
garden. One tilled the soil and the other was a shepherd. They each
appear to have been attentive to worship. Their offerings, however,
were very different and no doubt revealed a difference of spirit. The
superiority of Abel's offering was in the faith in which it was made
(Heb. 11:4), meaning perhaps that he relied upon the promise of God
and that he apprehended the truth that without shedding of blood there
is no remission. (Heb. 12:24).

Because God granted to Abel a token of acceptance of his offering and
failed to grant a like token to Cain, the latter became jealous and
finally slew his brother. Thus early did Adam and Eve begin to reap
the effects of sin. The record, in kindness to them, makes no mention
of the great sorrow that must have come to them as they saw their
second son murdered by their first-born. These two sons represent two
types running through all the Bible and indeed through all history-the
unchecked power of evil and the tri