A Review
You know the first home of Adam and Eve was a garden called Eden, planned by God and must have been most beautiful, all fresh and perfect. But you may not know about the four rivers which flowed from Eden; one, the Euphrates, has always been known as a large river in Asia; the others are not known as certainly now, but two of the countries to which they flowed are very well known, Assyria and Ethiopia. All the names were well known when the book of Genesis was written, and show Eden was a real place in Asia.
It is not told how long Adam and Eve lived in Eden, but one day Satan, a wicked spirit, spoke to Eve through a serpent, making her doubt God’s goodness to them. God had said they could eat the fruit of every tree of the garden, except one. Satan made Eve believe the fruit of that tree would make them wise as God: so she disobeyed God, Who had made them, and took of the fruit and gave also to Adam.
God talked to Adam and Eve and told them they would have work and sorrow all their lives. He sent them out of Eden so they could not eat of another tree, the tree of life, and live forever in sin and sorrow.
But God gave the promise of One to come to destroy Satan’s power (Gen. 3:1515And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)). From later scriptures we know that that One is the Son of God, Who offers a new life with Himself to all who believe Him, which we know will be far better than Eden.
The first children in the world were born to Adam and Eve after God sent them from Eden, first Cain then Abel. These boys must often have been told God’s words to their parents, and of His power, and that He was holy, and that an animal could be sacrificed to honor Him, if they sinned.
One day Cain brought fruit from his garden, as a sacrifice, and Abel brought an animal from his flock. God showed them that Abel’s offering was a right one, and that Cain’s was not. God told Cain that he could bring a sin offering, but Cain would not do so, and in his anger killed his brother. (Read Hebrews 11:44By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (Hebrews 11:4), and 1 John 3:1212Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. (1 John 3:12)).
God again spoke with Cain, but he was not sorry for his sin. God told him the good fruit would no more grow for him, and he should be a wanderer. Cain went away and built “a city,” a place to live and work; his descendants were men of skill, but did not honor God.
After Abel’s death, another son, Seth, was born to Adam and Eve, and in his life they honored God.
You may read stories of the first people in the world being ignorant, living in caves, in terror of the animals, but this is not true. God’s words about this first family tell that Adam had rule over the animals and named them. (Gen. 2:1919And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. (Genesis 2:19)). They talked with God. There have been people since wild and ignorant, because they would not honor the Lord. (Rom. 1:2121Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (Romans 1:21)).
ML 11/15/1942