Lesson 2
Dispensation of Conscience

Adam and Eve outside the garden of Eden

Along with the knowledge of good and evil Adam and Eve received a conscience. Existence for them was quite different from before. Before, the first man and woman were to dress and keep paradise. Now Adam had to toil by the sweat of his brow in an unending battle against weeds and briars. Eve also discovered what God meant when He said "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children"(Genesis 3:16).

Adam and Eve outside the garden of Eden

Two brothers but very different (Genesis 4:2)
Eve's firstborn son was Cain, a tiller of the ground.
Eve's second son was Abel, a keeper of sheep.

Sacrifice. One accepted and one rejected.

Adam and Eve had obviously taught their sons about God and the need to worship him and offer sacrifices to him.

In Genesis 4:3-5 we read of two such offerings.

• Abel's offering was accepted because it was a blood offering.
  From the very first, God's plan called for a blood sacrifice. In the garden of Eden God had slain animals to cover Adam and Eve when they sinned.
  
  
• Cain's offering was rejected.
  Not only because it was not a blood offering, but because it came from the cursed ground. Also Cain's offering was not accepted by God because Cain was rebellious and was doing things his own way instead of the way God wanted.
  
  
• God warns Cain (Genesis 4:6-7)
  God tells Cain that if he did the right thing he would be accepted and if he did the wrong thing that sin lieth at the door.
  
  
• Cain kills Abel (Genesis 4:8)Cain refused to try again and do the right thing to please God. Instead he grew angry at God for not accepting what he offered him. Cain was also jealous of God's acceptance of Abel's offering and slew his brother.
  
  
• God talks to Cain again (Genesis 4:9)
  The Lord, who sees and knows all things, asked,"Where is Abel thy brother?"
  This second attempt to get Cain to repent and do the right thing failed as Cain lied and said,"I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?"
  
  
• The punishment of disobedience (Genesis 4:10-16).
  
  God said to Cain,"What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now thou art cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand".

Men who walked with God.

(Genesis 4:25-26) Adam and Eve had more children, but it was not until she gave birth to a son that was named Seth that Eve said,"God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew". It was in the days of Seth, who evidently was a godly man with as much desire to serve God as Abel, that men began to call upon the name of the Lord.

• Enoch
  (Genesis 5:24) One of the most interesting men in the book of Genesis is Enoch. He loved God and was obedient to him. Also see Hebrews 11:5.
  
  
• Noah
  (Genesis 6:5-8) In the days of Noah, God saw that man had become wicked and evil. Man had become so wicked and lawless that God was grieved for making them.
  (Genesis 6:7) - "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth"
  (Genesis 6:8) - "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord"

The righteous family is preserved

There was only one plan of escape for Noah and his family. If he had not followed God's instructions exactly he and all his family would have perished in the flood along with the rest of the world. God has never spared those who are disobedient to his word.

Noah was a preacher of righteousness.

• II Peter 2:5 Noah not only prepared for his family but warned others of the impending judgment and their need to repent and obey God.,
  
  
• I Peter 3:20 God was waiting for humanity to repent but they would not.
  
  
• Hebrews 11:7 "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house."

The place of safety.

The ark was to be the escape vehicle for Noah, his wife, his sons, their wives, and a certain number of the animals so that God's creation could have a fresh new start.

• Genesis 7:2
  Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. This means that there were fourteen of each clean beast (Seven males and their females) and four of each unclean beast (Two males and their females).
  
  
• Genesis 7:6-9
  Noah was 600 years old when he, his family, and the animals went into the ark.
  
  
• Genesis 7:15-16
  After they all went into the ark as God had commanded, God shut them in. Not only does this mean that Noah and his family were shut in but all the evil people who refused to repent were shut out. When God shuts a door no man can open it.
  
  

Noah receives a promise.

• Genesis 8:13-18
  After a year and seventeen days God told Noah, his family, and the animals to leave the ark.
  
  
• Genesis 8:20
  The first thing Noah did after leaving the ark was build an altar upon which he offered burnt offerings unto the Lord.
  
  
• Genesis 8:21-22
  The Lord said,"I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any mor every thing living, as I have done."
  
  
• Genesis 9:9-13
  God said to Noah and his sons,"This is the token of the covenent which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth"

As it was in the days of Noah

Compare Genesis 6:5-11 with Matthew 24:37-44, Philippians 3:17-19, Luke 17:26-30, Luke 21:34-35, II Timothy 3:1-4, II Peter 3:3-7.

The flood in Noah's day was of such significance that Jesus used its lessons to teach about His second coming.

• Eating and drinking. (Philippians 3:17-19)
  There is nothing wrong with eating and drinking. These are a normal part of life, even though some people go to the extreme and make a god of their belly. The carnal person is only concerned with feeding his natural body. There is little indication that the people before the flood had any interest in talking to God (Praying) as did Adam, or sacrifice to God as did Abel, or walk with God as did Enoch.
  
  
• Marrying and giving in marriage. (II Peter 3:3-7)
  Marriage is not sinful, nor is it wrong for a man to give his daughter in marriage.  In Genesis 6:1-2 it appears that the godly line of Seth began to intermarry with the carnal line of Cain. Their behavior had degenerated to the point that they had become scoffers and doubters. They had forgotten God's judgment on Adam, Eve, and Cain because Lamech boasted of slaying a man with no regard for judgment.(Genesis 4:19-23)
  
  
• Buying, selling, planting, and building. (Luke 17:26-30)
  There is nothing inherently wrong with buying, selling, planting, and building. Humans were developing skills and talents in many areas. Lamech's three sons excelled in making tents, raising cattle, music and industry. They now had music for entertainment. Their simple nomadic lives were becoming sophisticated, materialistic, and corrupt.(Genesis 6:5-13) God said, "I will destroy them with the earth.
  
  
• They knew not (Matthew 24:38-39)
  Life was going on as usual, everyone was engaged in their normal activities, the day before the judgment looked like any other day to them. There was no advance warning on exactly when judgment would come. So shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
  
  
• The same extreme wickedness (II Timothy 3:1-7)
  clearly describes our generation and declares these characteristics to be signs of the last days. Just as the flood came upon the unsuspecting people in the days of Noah and destroyed all those who did not make themselves right with God, so is the judgment of God coming on the generation of the last days. There will be no warning of the exact time of his coming. (Matthew 24:36-37)
  
  
• Noah prepared.
  Noah was probably a strange looking character, working for many years on a strange looking vessel and talking about an impending flood. Most likely he was the subject of many jokes and laughter. But when the flood came, Noah, who had obeyed God, was inside the ark floating away while the scoffers and unbelievers were suffering the penalty of their sins.