Thoughts/Discussion questions interspersed throughout! (Starting at day 3, they will be at the bottom.)
One sentence summary: Adam and Even have two children named Cain and Abel, Cain kills Abel out of jealousy and is banished by God, a man named Enoch "walks with God" and is taken to heaven without death, all creation becomes corrupt except a man named Noah, and God tells Noah to build an ark for his family as He will destroy the earth by flood.
Cain and Abel. The first brothers we see in the Bible, the children of Adam and Eve. One brings an offering to God out of faith; the other, not by faith, doesn't give God his best. Knowing he has displeased God, Cain burns with jealousy and hatred for Abel. The first recorded sin is not lying or cheating, but all-out murder, that begins with hatred. Once we let a little sin in, we are capable of anything, its influence within our nature is so corrupting. God had commanded Adam and Eve to rule over the earth, and now He commands Cain to rule over sin. He is the God of restoration, never leaving us in our "Plan B."
God comes to Cain looking for Abel, as He came to Adam looking for him (although He knew the answer to both questions.) Cain replies by answering, "Am I my brother's keeper?" It is implied that we are.
Abel's blood cried out to God from the ground. The blood, the life source, speaks. What else that we don't consider conscious or sentient speaks to God? There are many other instances throughout the Bible.
The Bible describes a man named Enoch, who walked with God and never died, because God took him. What kind of relationship he must have had with God!
God limits man's years on Earth to 120 years, because He doesn't want to "strive with man forever."
It only takes a few generations for man to completely corrupt himself and the earth. "All flesh had corrupted itself on the earth." (ALL flesh? Animals?) God was sorry He had made both man and animals. "Every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Wow. Some believe this had to do with the "sons of God" mixing with the "daughters of men" to create some sort of not-100%-human beings, although we are not entirely sure what the Scripture means here. (We do know that the end-result was giant-like men "of renown.")
God grieves over corrupted humanity and animals.
But He finds a man named Noah who seeks Him and is righteous. He tells Noah His plan to destroy the earth in a Great Flood and commands Noah to build an ark so that he and all his family can be saved. The Scripture says of Noah that he did ALL that God commanded him to do. What a testimony!
Noah and his family enter the ark along with at least two of every kind of animal. It rains for 40 days and 40 nights. It is interesting that 40 days was also the amount of time from the resurrection of Jesus to His ascension. God still plans to save those who trust and obey Him from the evil that is in the world today through Jesus.