The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-01-17
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.
Lesson iii, First Quarter, Interna-
tionaI Series, Jan. FL.

3. "And in process Of time lat the end
Of days. it came to pass that Cain
brought of the fruit Of the ground an
Offering unto the Lord" Ii is probable
that somewhere near the east Of the
garden Of Eden, before the presence Of
the Lord, manifest in the flaming sword
between the cherubim. was the place
where they came to worship Jehovah
EEK. XIV, %; Ps. Xxx, 1; xcix, y. 1t
may be that up to this time Adam had
been in the habit of offering sacrifice on
behalf of his children, as did Job in
later days Dob i, 81. This offering of
Cain may have been the best he had,
but it lacked the essential element of
blood, signifying a life laid down. Com
pare chapter iii, p, with Lev. xxi, IL;
Heb. tx %.
4. And Abel, he also brought of the
frstlings of his flock and of the fat
thereof. And the Lord had respect unto
Abel and to his Offering" Here is ODE
dience, for it is written that by faith he
did this QHeb. XII, a, and inasmuch as
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
by the Word Of God Rom. X, 10 there
must have been some command Of God
which Abel obeyed i'm bringing this sac
rifce 1t is probable that the Lord ac-
cepted Abel's Offering by sending fire
to consume it, for thus He did with
Gideon, Manoah and Elijah, and at the
dedication of the tabernacle and the
temple (Judg. vi, 81; xiii. -. 20: 1 Kings
xviii, "a. IS, 80; Lev. tx, "a; III Chron.
vii. u.
5. But unto Cain and to his Offering
He had not respect. And Cain was very
wroth and his cOuntenance fell His
Offering lay unconsumed; no fire fell
upon il. 1t was doubtless much more
attractive than Abel's bloody sacrifice
and was perhaps the finest the earth
produced, but il was of man and not
of God. There was no confession of sin
and no need of atonement recognized
just like those today who insist that if
they do the best they can God will ac-
cept them.
s. "And the Lord said unto Cain, Why
art thou wrOth? And why is thy coun-
tenance fallen?" Although Cain is will
fully wrong, yet the Lord condescends TO
reason with him, and if possible win
him to the right way He is not willing
that any should perish, and He seeks in
every possible way to lead sinners to
accept the ransom He has provided I'll
Pet. iii, .; Job XXxiii, "A, %, 50; Isa- /,
IS; w, 1, y.
Z. IF thou doest well, shalt thou not
be accepted? And if thou doest not
we'll sin lieth at the door, and unto thee
shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule
over him." Being the oldest son, the
brthright was his and might continue
his If he would only be obedient. The
word here translated sin" is the word
in Leviticus and Numbers SO often trans
lated "Sin Offering" If Cain would only
confess his sin and offer Gods appointed
sin Offering all would be well. God has
but one appointed way, and where that
is rejected there is no forgiveness (Acts
iv, y; L Cor. iii, I'D. All religions in the
world will come under that of Cain or
Abel Cain represents mans way and
will include all the ways of men. Abel
stands for Gods way. and it is but one
and very simple. Jesus said, Il am the
way" John xiv, 81.
s. And Cain talked with Abel, his
brother, and it came to pass when they
were in the field that Cain rose up
against Abel, his brother, and slew him.
Here are the two seeds, the seed OF the
woman and the seed of the serpent, for
although both could call Eve mother and
Adam father the one stands for the
righteous and the other for the wicked
All are not children of God, for many
religious people who profess TO worship
God are all the while children of the
devil John viii, 44. Cain was of the
wicked one and slew his brother because
his own works were evil and his
brothers righteous.
Q. and the Lord said unto Cain,
Where is Abel, thy brother? And he
said: 1 know not. Am 1 my brothers
keeper" How sin hardens and deadens
to all that IS good and truei Cain is
proving himself a good child of the devil.
for he is now both murdered and liar
John viii. 4q Is it possible that any of
us are guilty in respect of our brethren
in India or China or Japan or Africa
And as the question presses upon US
concerning their salvation, do we feel IN
IA. i s.-1- Am L NV Keen
er?' or try TO quiet conscience with the
thought that perhaps the Lord will let
Gains Offering suffice for them.
10. "And He said What hast thou
done? The voice of thy brothers blood
crieth unto me from the ground" All
sin cries to God for vengeance. Even If
a house is built by fraud, the stone
shall cry out of the wall and the beam
out Of the timber shall answer it (tiab.
ii, ID. How much more the blood or
those who are slain for Christs sake
CRev. vi. g. 1O! Another view Of II,
more in line OF the last verse, is found in
Eek. xxxiii, s, where the blood of the
unwarned is 10 be required at the hands
Of those who know but do not tell. In
Heb. xii, "a, we are pointed to the blood
which speaketh better things than that
of Abel. Abel's blood cries for ven
geance and Christ's for mercy, or if ii
refers to the blood of Abels sacrifice
that was a type of Christ
IL And now art thou cursed from the
earth, which hath opened her mouth TO
receive thy brothers blood from thy
hand" This is the first direct curse on
man. The first curse was pronounced
upon the serpent and the next on the
ground chapter iii, a. ID 1t is sug-
gestive that the last word in the old
testament is the word curse" We fly
to Him who pleaded in vain with Cain
and rejoice that Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse Of the law, being made
a curse for us, and we look for the time
when even on this earth there shall
be no more curse Gal. iii, IL; Rev.
xxi, -.
u. when thou tillest the ground. it
shall not henceforth yield unto thee her
strength. A fugitive and a vagabond
shalt thou be i'm the earth" Adam was
told that the earth would bring forth
thorns and thistles, and that in the
sweat of his face he should eat his
bread Chapter iii, IS, 19), but this is
much worse, for il looks as If the earth
would henceforth give this man little II
any return. Some one has said that
Adams sin brought on the ground fruit
fulness in evil while Gains sin brought
barTenness in good, perhaps helping TO
drive them to the mechanical arts and
the building Of cities. AS TO fugitive
and vagabond." both words signify
fleeing, removing, wandering up and
down, and the word for vagabond is
mood" which is very suggestive of Nod,
where Cain afterward dwelt (verse I'D.
13. "And Cain said unto the Lord,
my punishment is greater than / can
bear" Or perhaps. as in the margin,
Mine iniquity is greater than that II