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Cain Went Out, January 21
Genesis 4:8-16
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord.
Genesis 4:16
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God had given Cain an opportunity to confess his sin.... He knew the
enormity of the deed he had done, and of the falsehood he had uttered to conceal
it; but he was rebellious still, and sentence was no longer deferred....
Notwithstanding that Cain had by his crimes merited the sentence of death, a
merciful Creator still spared his life, and granted him opportunity for repentance.
But Cain lived only to harden his heart, to encourage rebellion against the divine
authority, and to become the head of a line of bold, abandoned sinners. This
one apostate, led on by Satan, became a tempter to others; and his example and
influence exerted their demoralizing power, until the earth became so corrupt
and filled with violence as to call for its destruction....
Upon receiving the curse of God, Cain had withdrawn from his father’s
household.... He had gone out from the presence of the Lord, cast away the
promise of the restored Eden, to seek his possessions and enjoyment in the
earth under the curse of sin, thus standing at the head of that great class of
men who worship the God of this world. In that which pertains to mere earthly
and material progress, his descendants became distinguished. But they were
regardless of God, and in opposition to His purposes for man
In sparing the life of Cain the murderer, God gave the world an example of
what would be the result of permitting the sinner to live to continue a course
of unbridled iniquity. Through the influence of Cain’s teaching and example,
multitudes of his descendants were led into sin, until “the wickedness of man
was great in the earth,” and “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually.
As Cain went out from the presence of the Lord to seek his home; as the
prodigal wandered into the “far country,” so do sinners seek happiness in forget-
fulness of God
[28]
32
Patriarchs and Prophets, 77-81
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33
The Great Controversy, 543
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34
Christ’s Object Lessons 200
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