Read with Me
Genesis 4:17-24 (HCSB)
Cain was intimate with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain became the builder of a city, and he named the city Enoch after his son. Irad was born to Enoch, Irad fathered Mehujael, Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. Lamech took two wives for himself, one named Adah and the other named Zillah. Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of the nomadic herdsmen. His brother was named Jubal; he was the father of all who play the lyre and the flute. Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. Tubal-cain’s sister was Naamah.
Lamech said to his wives:
Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
wives of Lamech, pay attention to my words.
For I killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for striking me.
If Cain is to be avenged seven times over,
then for Lamech it will be seventy-seven times!
Listen with Me
His brief overview of the six generations between Adam and Lamech through Cain is far different than that of the line down to Noah through Seth in chapter 5. Cain’s genealogy is merely a list of names with no timeline included. This was no oversight. In the history of the world, the line of Cain is ultimately irrelevant because it was completely eliminated in the flood of Noah’s day.
At the time that Cain’s son Enoch was born, Cain had completely turned away from a fruitless pursuit of agriculture and was building a walled city in which he could live with his extended family. The wall, which was the primary difference between a city and a town, was designed to provide protection for Cain for those who might try to avenge Abel’s murder despite God’s mark being on him (Genesis 4:15). In the end, this demonstrates that because Cain had distanced himself from God, he didn’t trust Him to protect him.
Some wonder where Cain got a wife, leading some to postulate that there were more people groups than just descendants of Adam and Eve. But as pointed out in the last post, it had been 130 years since Adam and Eve were created, and in that time, even though only two boys are named, they had many children, both sons and daughters (Genesis 5:4). Since there was only one family of humans in the world, all the children of Adam and Eve married their sisters, or perhaps nieces.
Some might object to this on the grounds of God’s prohibition against marrying close relatives. But at this time that prohibition was far in the future. Adam and Eve had been created genetically perfect, so for many centuries there was no risk of mutations that could cause defects. This was even true after the flood when the children of Noah’s three sons had only siblings or first cousins to choose from for mates. Only in the days of Moses did this risk increase to the point that God finally forbade marrying close relatives (Deuteronomy 18).
The history depicted in Cain’s line shows a deepening rift between them and God to the point that, by the time of Lamech, he was so far from God that he thought nothing of breaking God’s pattern for marriage: one man, one woman, one flesh for life. Instead, he chose to marry two women. And he also thought nothing of taking harsh revenge on someone, killing them for a comparatively minor offense. And then he justified his actions by referring back to God’s promise to avenge Cain by punishing anyone who harmed him seven times over. Only Lamech was not content with allowing God to avenge damage done to him. He took revenge himself.
Notice that by the time of Lamech, a mere six generations from Adam, technology had begun to arise, including metallurgy and music. This is no surprise since, far from being the primitive brutes depicted by evolutionists, the first human beings were created in God’s own image and likeness, with vast intelligence and capable of all kinds of skills in technology and art.
Pray with Me
Father, this is a sober reminder that if we allow ourselves to be separated from You by our sins, our children will be more likely to increase that separation rather than close the gap. Even though they may do amazing things with their lives, even if they are superintelligent, they are very likely to continue the downward drift we have set by our example into ever deeper sin. Lord, help me to always keep in mind that my faith, or lack of it, has a great impact on more than my own life.