Genesis 4-7

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 records how the fallen history of humanity, beginning with Adam, develops together with sin and secular culture. It includes the first murder in human history, in which the older brother Cain kills his younger brother Abel (verses 1–15). This event reveals how jealousy, envy, and anger in fallen humanity are expressed as the crime of murder.

 

Following this, secular culture continues to develop, and Cain builds the first city in human history (verses 16–24). Yet even in a sinful world, God’s holy lineage is preserved and continues (verses 25–26).

 

Q1) What kind of person was Cain, Adam’s first son (verses 1, 3, 5, 8–12), and what kind of person was Abel, the second son (verses 2, 4)?

Q2) After sinning and being driven away, what did Cain do in the land of Nod, east of Eden (verse 17)?

Q3) While Abel was dead and Cain was still alive, who was the son born to Adam, and who were his descendants (verses 25–26)?

 

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 presents history from the creation of humanity to the time before Noah’s flood in the form of a genealogy, introducing ten patriarchs. It traces:

• The lineage from Adam to Seth (verses 1–5),

• From Seth to Lamech (verses 6–27),

• And from Lamech to Noah (verses 28–32).

 

Through this structure, the chapter suggests that the era leading up to Noah marks a significant turning point in God’s redemptive timeline for humanity.

In particular, the godly life of Enoch (verses 21–24) shows that even amid a human history stained by corruption and sin, faithful descendants of true faith are preserved.

 

Q1) What kind of life did Enoch live (verses 21–24)?

Q2) What was Enoch’s final outcome (verse 24)?

 

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 foretells the worst event in human history, in which humanity—having lost the image of God and fallen into extreme corruption—faces total destruction by God. A central theme is God’s judgment on a world polluted by sin, alongside His love in saving the righteous even in the midst of judgment.

 

God grieves over the corrupt direction of the fallen world (verses 5–7). His sorrow and regret lead to a terrifying judgment, yet also to a plan to prepare a new world. To carry out His divine purpose, God calls the righteous man Noah and commands him to build a massive ark (verses 8–22).

 

Q1) To what extent had sin and corruption spread in Noah’s time (verses 1–5, 11–12)?

Q2) What did God command Noah to do (verses 14–16, 21)?

Q3) What promise did God make to Noah even in the midst of judgment (verse 18)?

 

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 records the fulfillment of the flood judgment foretold in Chapter 6, 120 years later. Before the flood begins, Noah prepares exactly as God commanded, and God rescues those He has chosen while preserving the living creatures needed to continue the next generation (verses 1–16).

 

Then comes a great flood unlike anything since creation (verses 17–24). The waters, used as God’s instrument of judgment, cover the entire world, and the ark—prepared over many years—remains the only place of salvation in a submerged world.

 

Q1) What does the Bible say was the reason Noah was saved (verse 1)?

Q2) What happened to the people and animals that did not enter the ark (verses 21–23)?

Q3) How long did the floodwaters prevail over the earth (verse 24)?