C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL FOR OCTOBER 24, 2021 LESSON SEVEN/ DIVISION II : TOPIC – THE EARLIEST KILLING

It is good to distinguish between people’s attitude to taking human lives in the priest from what it is now. The truth is, whether in the past or now, killing has been killing, and man has been killing people for the same selfish reasons: for wealth, human sacrifice, greed, jealousy, anger, power, position, etc.

Now 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 killed him (v. .

i. vv. 1-2: Though, God eventually ejected the sinful man out of the beautiful garden, He didn’t stop him from enjoying the blessing of procreation, which will allow him to fulfil God’s purpose of multiplication and fruitfulness.

ii. God, who is merciful and never keeps His anger for long, gave Cain and Abel to Adam and Eve, and they became a source of joy and relieve to these sin-stricken patriarchs. But the joy did not last long, because the elder, Cain, soon blew life out of his brother for envy, thereby setting the record as the first murderer on earth. What a calamity and an aftermath of the fall!

iii. vv. 8-12, To show that God disapproved of Crain’s crime, He showed up and queried him. However, rather than admitting his wrong, Cain challenged God, leaving God with no option than to pronounce judgment on him for spilling his brother’s blood-type.

iv. 13-14: …anyone who finds mw will kill me. Nobody, no matter how notorious want to die. Imagine Cain was afraid of being killed! Because God never approves of killing in any way, He banned anyone from killing Cain with a mark on him.

v. v.15: Murderers, beware! Repent before it is too late. God’s judgment and vengeance is looming on anyone who takes his/her own life or others’.

vi. No government has ever looked with favour on any killer, or assassin. Remember, the wrath of the law (God’s and government’s) fights against them.

vii. God didn’t pardon Cain for killing his brother; He placed on him a heavy judgment. Although, no one was allowed to kill, yet he bore a heavy burden all about. Punishment for murder is unbearable. Don’t dare it.

B

LAMECH, A BOASTFUL HUMAN KILLER (Gen. 4:19-24)

Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me (4:23)

i. v. 16: Godlessness is very dangerous. It drifts man away from His Creator. Cain became godless and departed from God’s presence with his descendants.

ii. Lamech was the 6th descendant of Cain. Rather than trying to mend the relationship that had turned sour between his patriarchs and God, Lamech became worse than Cain

Man still has problem relating property with God today.

iii

Apart from turning a notorious killer like Cain, he set another terrible record on earth—one who started polygamy. What a bad record!

iv. 23: From the way Lamech reported his crime to his wives, though lives he terminated weren’t mentioned, it is obvious that he wasn’t remorseful

Are we different? God recognises genuine repentance (Isa. 66:2).

v. v. 24: I’d Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-seven fold shows the level of depravity, decadence in man’s heart. Lamech did not see anything evil in his actions. He sarcastically trivialised murder, as if it was nothing important. Human life!

vi

So, criminality and wickedness continued in larger scale, until the days of Noah, when God decided to destroy humanity (6:11-13).

vii. When you sin unintentionally, God can forgive when acknowledged and confessed

But whatever atrocities one commits intentionally, like Lamech, attracts God’s wrath heavily.

1. Cain could not control his jealousy and anger; he became a killer. Rid your heart of bitterness envy, jealousy, and anger before they ruin you.

2. Sin and ungodliness are like cancer; they fester. Take Them away from you completely, lest they finish you.

1. The devil has eternally been a murderer.

Discuss.

2. What role can the Church plays to forestall the menace of blood shed that has polluted our land?

i. Refer to division I.

ii. John 8:44 described the Devil as the father of murderers and practitioners of all ungodliness and lies.

iii. He has evil desires and devilish tendencies, which his own people help him to fulfil (v. 44a).

iv. He was a murderer, as described by Jesus Christ. He tried to finish man eternally. He has been in the act since the beginning and wouldn’t stop, until God finally puts an end to him (v. 44b).

v. He introduced death into humanity by pushing Adam and Eve to disobey God’s loving injunction.

vi. He employs deceit and falsehood as one of the tactics to achieve his murderous purposes (v. 44c).

vii. Believers need to know and understand who the Devil is, and know how to deal with him. Don’t allow this murderer to succeed in killing you.

i. One of the ways in which the ground is being polluted is through bloodshed. The people of Canaan, for example, polluted their land with bloodshed, and the land of Canaan ejected them. When the ground under us is polluted by human blood, the land no longer yields its increase. Rather, it harbours chaos and violence against man. There is the tendency of being ejected from our possessions.

ii. The Church has a great role to play in this regard:

a. God has placed the Church in the world to be His representative.

b. She is saddled with the responsibility to preach, teach and make converts (disciples).

c. The Church should make disciples and shed the light of the gospel to the aching world. The more people know God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the more evil tendencies become abated.

d. It is the role of the Church to pray for cleansing and healing for the people and the entire land.

e. With the power of the gospel, the Church should arrest the spirit of death and demons that suck human blood.

f. She should educate on the evil inherent in shedding human blood, and so play her role as the light and salt of the earth.

g. God is depending on the Church to win the world for Him. May the Holy Spirit help the Church not to fail God in performing these expected roles.

There was once a stranger who unfortunately came into a town late in the night. He actually did not intend to journey at night, but because the vehicles he boarded developed fault on the way, he had no option than to enter a town he knew nothing about. To worse matters, it was in the dead of the night. When he entered the town, he got no one to tell him of the church ritual going on, because the people of the land were aware and had all gone to bed. Unfortunately, the laid hand on him, and being a stranger, killed him for sacrifice to their god. Nevertheless, before he was murdered, upon request, he was allowed to say his last words that turned out to be terrible curses on the land, which have continued to haunt the sons and daughters of the land till date. Human killing is evil

The Devil is the brain behind it. Never you cooperate with him to perpetrate any form of killing, God helping you.

Ww have just concluded the 7th lesson in this series – killing On the Rise. Glory to God who has taken us through this wonderful lesson that revealed one of the critical issues in our society today. We have learnt that on no occasion should we take any life, because no one of us is licensed, either by God, or government, to kill. Don’t allow Devil, who is a notorious killer and murderer to motivate you to kill anyone or take your own life. Those who are hired assassins, and contract killers should repent and accept Jesus

Don’t kill, either intentionally or unintentionally by the word of your mouth, and position, etc. Don’t terminate human lives simply because you think someone is a clog in the wheel of your progress. Let God arise and fight for you. It is well with you in Jesus’ name

Amen.

DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READINGS FOR WEEK TWO

Mon. 18: The Commandment Not To Kill (Exod. 20:13)

Tue. 19: The Thief Comes To Kill (Jn. 10:10)

Wed. 20: For God’s Sake Ww Are Killed (Psa. 44:22)

Thur. 21: They Murder The Prince Of Life (Acts 3:15).

Fri. 22: They Plot To Assassinate Paul (Acts 25:3)

Sat. 23: Fear God Who Kills The Soul (Matt. 10:28)