Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-01-20
j. X. MILLER & SONS.
Near B. & O. Freight Depot
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON IN, FIRST QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. 81.

Text of the Lesson, Gen. iy, 3-13-Mer.-
DRY Verses So - Golden Text, Heb.
XII, 4-Con. Elentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
Stcarns.
3. And in process of time lat tie ehd Of
days. it came to pass that Cain brought q
the fruit of the ground an offering unto the
Lord 1t 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 Je.
hovah {Ex. XIV. %; Ps. XXX, l; xciX, y. It
may be that up to this time Adam had
been in the habit Of offering sacrifice on
behalf of his ch. ldren, us did Job in later
days Dob j, s. This offering of Cain mag
have been the best ne had, but it lacked the
essential element OF blood, signifying life
laid down. Compare chapter iii, 81, with
Lev. xvii, Il; Heb. Jx, ~.
4. And abel, H. also brought of the
firstlings of his flock and OF the fat there
of. And the Lord lad respect unto Abel
and to his Offering" Here is obedience, for
it is written that by faith he did this Heb
vi, A., and iEasuu1ch as faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the Word of God
Rom. X IL there must have been some
command of God which Abel obeyed in
bringing this sacrifice. 1t is probable that
the Lord accepted Abel's Offering by send
ing fire to consume it, for thus He did with
Gideon, MaEoah and Elijah, and at the
dedication of the tabernacle and the TEN.
pie (Judg. vi, q; xii, 10, 20; Kings xviii,
"a, IS. 80; Lev. iS, 81; II Chron. vii, ~
5. But unto Cain and to his Offering He
had not respect. Ard Cain WAS very wroth,
and his counten&nce fell" His offering lay
unconsumed; 10 fire fell upon it. 1t was
doubtless much more attractive than Abel's
bloody sacrifice and was perhaps the finest
the earth produced, but it was OF man and
not Of God. There wa no confession of sin
and no need of atoncmcnt recognzed-just
like those today who insist that if they do
the best they can God viii accept them.
e. 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 III Pet iii, 0; Job
xxXiii, 81 90 30 Isa. i, IS; ", /, y
Z. IF thou docst well, shalt thou not he
accepted? And ii thou doest not well sin
lieth at the door, and unto thee shall be his
desire, and thou shalt rule over him" Be
ing the oldest son, the birthright was his
and might continue his il he would only be
Obedient. The word here translated sin"
is the word in Leviticus and Numbers Sc
often translated sin Offering" If Cain
would only confess his sin and offer God S
appointed sin Offering, all would be we'll
God has but one appointed way, and where
that is rejected there is no forgiveness
acts iv, u; Cor. iii, ~. All religions in
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, g..
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
Doth could call Eve mother and Adam
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, 40.
Cain was of the wicked one and slew his
brother because his own works were evil
and his brothers righteous
9. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where
is Abel thy brother? And he said: | know
not. Am ! my brothers keeper" How
sin Lardens and deadens to all that is good
and true! Cain is proving himself IL good
child Of the devil, for he is now both muir
Gerer and liar John viii. 40 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 Sheir salvation, do we feel in
clined to ask, Am my brothers keeper"
or try to quiet conscience with the thought
that perhaps the Lord will let Gains offer
ing suffice for them.
TO- And He said, What hast thou doEe?
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 tiIab. ii, 10. How much
more the blood ofthose who are slain for
Christ's sake {Rev vi, 0, l0j! Another
view of it, more in line Of the last verse, is
found in Eek. xXxiii, S, where the blood Of
the unmarried 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. Abels blood cries for vengeance
and Christ's for mercy, or If it refers to
the blood OF Abel's sacrifice that was a
type OF Christ.
II. And now art thou cursed from the
earth, which hath opened her mouth to re-
ceive thy brothers blood from thy hand. T"
This is the first direct curse on man. The
first curse was pronounced upon the ser
pent and the next ON the ground chapter
Iii, IA, Ia. 1t Is suggestive that the last
word in the Old Testament is the word
curse" We fly 70 Him who pleaded in
vain with Cain and rejoice that Christ hath
redeemed US from the curse of the law,
being made curse for us, and we look for
the time when even on this earth there
shall be no more curse Gal iii, 10; Rev.
xxi, 81
IL. When thou tillest the ground, it
shall not heneeforth yield unto thee her
thou be in 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, 10,
but this is much worse for it looks as il
the earth would heneefarth give this man
little if any return. Some one has said that
Adams sir brought on the ground fruit
fitness in evil, while Gains sin brought
barrenness il good, perhaps helping TO
drive them to the mechanical arts and the
building o. cities As TO fugitive and
vagabond, - both words signify fleeing, re
moving, wandering up and down, and the
word for vagabond is mood. which is very
suggestive OF Nod. where Cain afteFwarti
dwell verse TO-
Is. And Cain said unto the Lord, Ny
punishment: is greater than | can bear"
Orperhaps, as in the margin, Mine iniquity
is greater than that il may be forgiven
There is forgiveness for all who accept the
Son Of God as their sin offering. but apart
from Him there is no forgiveness. See
Meth. Ill. 81; John =. Is.