GENESIS 4:18-24

THE ANCESTRY OF CAIN 4:18-22

To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.

Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah.

The line from Adam through Cain to Lamech was seven generations. The number seven is used symbolically to indicate completeness and fulfillment. As we shall see, the ever-increasing corruption and downright perversion of the human race reached its climax in the person of Lamech.

It was the degenerate line of Cain that first transgressed God’s ordained principle of monogamy

(Genesis 2:23-24)  Adam said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

In rebellion against God’s design for marriage Lamech secured two wives for himself.

To practice polygamy is to live for the lust of the eye and the lust of the flesh. It is to live by sight, not by faith.

In addition to lust, the anticipation of a greater number of sons was also a strong motive for a polygamous marriage arrangement.

There was no organized government in those days, with society functioning on a family basis. The larger the individual family, the greater the possibility of more wealth and power.

A number of sons were born to Lamech and his wives, three of whom were especially notable in the development of the pre-Flood civilization:

1. Jabal (“wanderer”) invented the tent, thus enabling him to carry his home with him and develop a nomadic life style.

2. Jubal (“sound”) was of a different bent than his brother Jabal. He had an ear for music and invented both string and wind instruments.

3. Tubal-cain (“instructor”, “sharpener” or “hammerer”) was an inventor of bronze and iron tools and weapons.

The technological advances made in such a short timeframe attest to the God-given abilities given to man by his creator.

It is significant to note that the technological advances which the evolutionary archaeologists and anthropologists say evolved over thousands of years were actually accomplished in a very short time.

More and more modern archaeological discoveries today are validating the Biblical testimony of this pre-flood civilization.

A MURDEROUS END TO CAIN’S LINEAGE

4:23-24 Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.”

The self-centered Cainite civilization would not have God reign over them. As a result every man did what was right in his own eyes with no regard for God. Society had not only become more sexually permissive, it had also become ever more violent.

Lamech, in particular, representing the seventh generation of mankind tragically reflects the developing spirit of his age.

Lamech’s poem or song was the first recorded in history and boasted of his ability in combat and his determination to kill anyone seeking to oppose him.

The most noteworthy aspect of Lamech’s poem is its blasphemous outburst against God. Lamech says in effect, “If God promises a sevenfold vengeance on anyone killing Cain, I myself guarantee a seventy-sevenfold retribution on anyone who even strikes me.”

Unlike Cain, who sought divine protection, Lamech was self-sufficient and ruthlessly vindictive. God curbed this spirit by later making murder a capital offense (Genesis 9:6) Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.

When people live without regard for God, they soon lose a proper respect for human life. Even today with all the education and technology, men and women take life as if it was nothing. Our prisons are full, and our abortion clinics are full of those who have no respect for human life.

Forsaking God’s way men began to go the way of Cain. With creature comforts and advantages developing rapidly, it was not long before the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5).

Apart from the sovereign intervention of God, there was nothing to restrain man except, in some cases, the superior strength and skill of others. Thus, it demonstrated long ago that men cannot simply be left to their own devices; laws and governments are absolutely necessary.

After the Flood, God formally instituted systems of human government among men to restrain and curb evil but they too have become corrupt, showing clearly that the heart of man is deceitfully wicked above all things and beyond cure (Jeremiah 17:9).