Copyright 2020. This study is licensed to the purchasing church and only to be used by the teacher or teaching team for one group or class. Sharing copies of this study is unethical, illegal, and hinders the efforts of the publisher to provide high quality, affordable resources to you. The World According to the Bible Lesson Special Topics Unit The Age-Old Question Answered 3 STUDY TEXTS: FAMILY THEME: Genesis 4:1-17; 5:1-4; Who Was Cain’s Wife? Genesis 3:20; Genesis 1:31; Leviticus 18:6-9 ESSENTIALS FWTE 3-7 (handout) DAILY BIBLE READING FWTE 3-8 (handout) M Deuteronomy 29:29 T Psalm 119:89-90 W Proverbs 30:4-6 T 1 Peter 1:23-25 F Hebrews 11:3 THE TARGET KNOW: Scripture explains that Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters who could marry at that time. THINK: There are logical answers to questions people use to challenge the authority of Scripture. DO: Be ready to explain that Cain could marry a close relative in that day without any moral or biological dilemmas. C NNECT Capture attention with one of these options. The Great Mysteries of Life Stonehenge. How to solve a Rubik’s cube. How does Jello go from a liquid to a jiggly solid? Who was Cain’s wife? Granted, some of these mysteries may be a little more important than others, especially the Jello question. You can explore other mysteries with your students at https://bestlifeonline.com/unsolved-mysteries/. Transition to Learn: Many people through the years have asked about where Cain found a woman to marry since there were just a few to choose from. We will look at this in today’s lesson. 83 Swipe Left Can you imagine a dating app for Cain? If Tinder were around at that time, there would be a lot less swiping! There were just a few choices, relatively speaking (pun intended). Cain may not have had much choice, but you do when looking for a spouse. Use “What Are You Looking for in a Spouse?” from FWTE 3-7 to start some conver- sation on what students think is important in a mate. Transition to Learn: We will be looking at the questions about Cain’s wife today FWTE 3-7 in our lesson. LE RN The Enemy uses many tactics in an at- TEACHING TIP tempt to discredit the Christian faith. The Bible has been questioned and challenged It is helpful to summarize where we have been from time to time before for centuries, but has proven reliable when launching into a new subject. This carefully examined. One of the recurring would be a good time to summarize challenges against Scripture is the ques- what we learned about the previous tion of Cain’s family. Whom did Cain marry? two complicated questions before Did Cain marry his sister? Was it morally tackling this week’s question. acceptable? Were there physiological con- sequences? Was Cain’s Wife From the Land of Nod, or Was She a Close Relative? (Genesis 4:1-17; 5:1-4) In the opening verses of Genesis 4, we are made aware of the first child birthed into the world: Cain. Cain was the very first human born under the curse of sin (verse 1). Scripture says that after the birth of Cain, Eve gave birth to his younger brother, Abel. Moses, the author of Genesis, wasted no time telling a pivotal story about the lives of the first two siblings on earth. Cain was a farmer, while his brother was a shepherd (verse 2). Adam and Eve raised their sons to be aware of the importance of sacrificial offerings to the Lord. As Cain prepared his sacrifice to the Lord, the Bible describes his offerings as some of the fruits of the soil or ground, while it describes Abel’s offerings as some of the best, or “fat” portions, from the firstborn of his flock. However, the Lord looked favorably upon Abel’s offering and not Cain’s (verses 3-5). It appears that Abel wanted to please the Lord by giving his best while Cain just went through the motions of what was expected (Hebrews 11:4). Let this story be an encour- agement to give our best to the Lord out of a heart of worship rather than giving grudgingly of our time, talents, and treasure. 84 Cain’s sacrifice was rejected because of his attitude EXPL RE and behavior (Genesis 4:7). Scripture does not indicate that a blood sacrifice was the only appropriate offering at this time. Even later, under the Law, grain offerings were acceptable in specified situations. Burning with anger, Cain murdered his brother and was cursed by God as a consequence (verses 6-12). Scripture simply states that Cain went out from God’s presence, east of Eden, to the land of Nod (which means wandering), then his wife gave birth to a son named Enoch (verses 16-17). The Bible does not tell us exactly who Cain’s wife was, and we must make assumptions based on what we do know. So what are the possibilities for whom Cain could have married? Had there been enough time for the population to grow by the time Cain arrived in Nod, or was his wife a close relative? Cain feared retri- bution from others of his family (Genesis 4:14), so it appears that Adam and Eve already had other children, or soon would. We must assume that Cain did indeed marry his sister or a close relative, such as a niece. At the beginning of humanity’s existence, this was the only way for the offspring of Adam and Eve to populate and fill the earth. Genesis 3:20 reveals that Eve’s name literally meant mother of all living. According to Genesis 5:4 Adam and Eve had another son named Seth, and Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters after Seth was born. To start a whole population off from only one couple means that in the early gen- erations there would have to be marriage of close relatives, and at least one in- stance of brother-sister marriage. If Cain himself did not marry his sister, but rather a niece, that means that at least one of Cain’s brothers must have married a sister. Two important things to remember: First, Adam and EXPL RE Eve’s family was all that existed at the beginning of hu- manity’s story. Why is that important to acknowledge? The Scriptures tell us that Eve is the mother of all the living (Genesis 3:20). If God had made other families and other people groups separate from Adam and Eve, she would not be the mother of all living. The Bible also teaches us that sin was passed down to all human beings from Adam, their ancestor, and that salvation was provided by Christ, Adam’s descendant. This is why Jesus is referred to as the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45; Romans 5:12-21). Therefore, it was cru- cial that Jesus be a descendant of Adam. Second, God commanded humanity to be fruitful and multiply, making it necessary to marry one’s own relative. Many of the patriarchs of the faith married close relatives to obey God’s com- mand of being fruitful and to avoid intermarrying non-believers. Abraham mar- ried his half-sister, Sarai. Isaac married his second cousin, Rebekah. Jacob married two first cousins, Leah and Rachel. Prohibitions of this practice would only come later under the Law of Moses. 85 APP Y How does this impact me? Be ready to explain how Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters who could marry at that time. • How important is marriage to you? • Do you think your view will change as you grow older? God loves marriage! He instituted it knowing that it would be the foun- dational aspect of society. It provides for children. It allows legitimate ex- pression of our sexual needs. And simply put, Cain found a wife who was indeed a close relative because this whole human thing was just starting. Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters, and Cain’s wife came from those other siblings. There are plenty of people to choose from today for a spouse (with Christians choosing other Christians). Use FWTE 3-8 for a “Word Search from Genesis.” FWTE 3-8 Does Cain’s Marrying a Sister or Niece Present a Biological Dilemma? Genesis 1:31 The closing statement of the first chapter in the Bible claims that God looked upon all that He had made and declared it “very good.” Though it may feel like an odd train of thought, this declaration of “very good” from the Creator would include human genetics as well. A major concern about marrying relatives would include the possibility of mutated genes and offspring with deformities. Everyone is actually related in varying degrees because every human being descends from Adam and Eve. The biological dilemma that we must consider is the marriage of closely related individuals. Such intermarriage often causes defects and deformi- ties today. But where do these defects come from, and would that have been true with the earliest generations as well? According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (bit.ly/mar- riagegenetics) there are basic facts about genetics that can help provide clarity to this biological concern. The hereditary information that is passed on from genera- tion to generation is encoded on strands of DNA. As that information is copied re- peatedly, it is copied letter by letter.