January 2: Genesis 4:1 – 5:34; 1 Chronicles 1:1–4; Genesis 6:1–22

Sin Enters the World – Genesis 4

• Cain and then Abel are born to Adam and Eve.
• Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the ground (farmer). Both bring a sacrifice of praise to the Lord, but Abel brings his best while Cain does not. 
• Cain is angered when God does not respect his offering, and while talking with Abel in the fields, Cain kills his brother.
• God curses Cain, banishing him from the land. (Cain is the third thing to be cursed by God; the first was the serpent and the second was the ground.)

The Family of Cain

• Cain dwells in the land of Nod with his wife (one of his sisters).
• Six generations of Cain's offspring are described, ending with Lamech, who, in taking two wives (Adah and Zillah), tries to subvert the original pattern of God of one man and one woman.

A New Son for Adam and Eve

• Seth is born to Adam and Eve.
• Enosh is born to Seth, and "Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord." (Gen. 4:26)

The Family of Adam – Genesis 5

• Many generations of Adam's offspring through Seth are given, ending with Noah.
• Of note is Enoch, son of Jared, who is described this way: "And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." Instead of dying, Enoch was taken into God's presence. Only Enoch and Elijah (see 2 Kings 2:11) leave earth in this way.

The Family of Adam, from Seth to Noah – 1 Chronicles 1:1–4

•  Adam, Seth, Enosh, Cainan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The Wickedness and Judgment of Man – Genesis 6

• People begin to multiply on the earth.
• The sons of God take wives from the daughters of men. There are a few different interpretations of this passage. The view of Jewish scholars is that the "sons of God" were fallen angels who married human women, and their offspring were "Nephilim," or giants. This breach of God's order would certainly be monumental enough to provoke His judgment in the form of the flood.
• God is sorry for making mankind, and determines to destroy all people with the exception of Noah, "who found grace in the eyes of the Lord." (Gen. 6:8)
• God instructs Noah to build and ark for himself, his wife, his three sons (Ham, Shem, and Japheth), and his sons' wives.
• Onto the ark they bring seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of every unclean animal (a male and a female); and seven each of every bird of the air.

January 1: Genesis 1:1 – 3:24

The Six Days of Creation – Genesis 1

• Day One: God creates light (day) and darkness (night).
• Day Two: God creates the firmament (heavens or sky, the area that holds both the celestial lights and the birds) and waters (oceans).
• Day Three: God creates land, plants, and trees.
• Day Four: God creates the greater light (sun), the lesser light (moon), and the stars.
• Day Five: God creates birds and sea creatures.
• Day Six: God creates animals and man.

God Rests and Sanctifies the Seventh Day (Sabbath) – Genesis 2

Life in the Garden

• God forms Adam from the dust of the ground and breathes into his nostrils the breath of life.
• The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil are in the garden.
• God places Adam in the garden and tells him that he may eat of every tree in the garden but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
• Adam names all the birds and animals, but none are a "helper comparable to him."
• God causes Adam to sleep, then takes Adam's rib and made woman (Eve).
• Adam and Eve are naked but not ashamed.

The Temptation and Fall of Man – Genesis 3

• The serpent (Satan) appears to Eve and tempts her to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, telling her she will not die (as God said) if she did. Eve eats of the tree and also gives its fruit to Adam. Adam and Eve realize they are naked and cover themselves with fig leaves.
• When the presence of the Lord walks through the garden in the cool of the day, Adam and Eve hide themselves. When God questions them, they admit that they have eaten of the tree.
• God curses the serpent, and then makes tunics of skin for Adam and Eve (the first animal sacrifice is necessary due to their disobedience).
• God drives Adam and Eve from the garden so they cannot eat of the tree of life, and places a cherubim with a flaming sword to guard it.