Genesis 4C (2011) Sin changed the wrld And it changed the nature f men We saw last time hw the sin ne brther against anther Frm the earliest stage f humanity, sin was s evident and pwerful that it led t murder Humanity didn t wrk itself tward ding evil, first with small sins and then later with greater sins Instead, it began with murder, in demnstratin f hw sin has changed the nature f men But thse smaller sins were als present Sins f pride, basting, lying, jealusy, anger, impatience, rudeness All f these characteristics f sin and thers were evident in the stry f Cain and Abel And f curse, we see all these sins present tday in every persn wh descends frm Adam On a sunny Sunday afternn, tw yung church members were ging dr t dr t invite peple t visit their services. When they kncked n ne dr, it was immediately clear the wman wh answered was nt happy t see them. She tld them in n uncertain terms that she did nt want t hear their message, and befre they culd say anything mre, she slammed the dr in their faces. T her surprise, hwever, the dr did nt clse; in fact, it bunced back pen. She tried again, really putting her back int it, and slammed it again with the same result - the dr bunced back pen. Cnvinced these rude yung peple were sticking their ft in her dr, she reared back t give it a slam that wuld teach them a lessn. Just then, ne f them said quietly: "Ma'am, befre yu d that again, yu really need t mve yur cat." Cain has nw received his banishment, t wander as an example f a man under the curse f sin And he leaves Gd s presence and the family cnnectins 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 4C! 2 Gen. 4:16 Then Cain went ut frm the presence f the LORD, and settled in the land f Nd, east f Eden. Gen. 4:17 Cain had relatins with his wife and she cnceived, and gave birth t Ench; and he built a city, and called the name f the city Ench, after the name f his sn. Gen. 4:18 Nw t Ench was brn Irad, and Irad became the father f Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father f Methushael, and Methushael became the father f Lamech. As we mentined last time, Cain ges east f Eden East is always a picture f where the unrighteus g (Babyln) West is always a picture f righteusness and the Kingdm Cain lands in Nd, which culd mean wanderer in Hebrew (similar t nud) Thugh Cain was destined t wander, it desn t prevent him frm beginning cmmunities, and then mving n again His extended family likely grew large ver the decades and sme might remain in these twns as he mved n In v. 17 we hear that Cain has a wife, and we discussed hw that happened Cain s wife was als a sister r sme ther female relative (a niece perhaps) And we lked at hw this can be acceptable in Cain s day while n lnger being acceptable tday It was a necessity in Cain s day and an acceptable means f ppulating the earth since DNA was near perfect Tday, the circumstances have changed and Gd n lnger permits such marriages accrding t the Msaic Laws S Cain s first sn is Ench, wh s name means dedicated tward smething sacred, as t Gd perhaps Isn t that irnic Here s a man wh is himself an unbeliever calling his sn a name that means sacred Here is a classic display f a superficial attempt t cnnect t Gd (thrugh wrks) 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 4C! 3 It s irnic because why wuld smene wh rejected Gd s authrity care t identify with Gd at all? But this is exactly what the unbelieving wrld des Religin is the result f exactly this kind f thinking Religin is man s attempt t reach Gd Grace is Gd s way f reaching men Unless Gd reveals Himself t a persn, the nly ptin left fr unbelievers is t create smething t fill the Gd-sized hle in their heart Superficially, falsely and thrugh wrks But it desn t reach Gd at all It is merely fr shw Jude describes unbelievers wh think themselves wish in spiritual matters as men wh have gne the way f Cain Ging the way f Cain means ppsing Gd s Law, seeking ne s wn righteusness, ppsing Gd s peple and substituting man-made religin fr true relatinship We need t guard against allwing even the hint f self-made religin t replace truly fllwing the Spirit, and beying Gd s wrd After Cain, seven generatins are named Mehujael smitten f Gd Methusael man f Gd Ntice the names are all claims t a relatinship with Gd Yet we knw Cain s line is nt the line Gd reveals Himself t Ending with Lamech, the seventh frm Adam in Cain s line Seven suggests a culminatin f smething, a bringing t cmpletin f smething in Cain s line In this case the seventh means the cmpletin f the crrupting effects f sin 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 4C! 4 Gen. 4:19 Lamech tk t himself tw wives: the name f the ne was Adah, and the name f the ther, Zillah. Gen. 4:20 Adah gave birth t Jabal; he was the father f thse wh dwell in tents and have livestck. Gen. 4:21 His brther s name was Jubal; he was the father f all thse wh play the lyre and pipe. Gen. 4:22 As fr Zillah, she als gave birth t Tubal-cain, the frger f all implements f brnze and irn; and the sister f Tubal-cain was Naamah. Lamech is the seven in the line His name means warrir And he takes tw wives First recrd f bigamy Ntice that it falls t the seventh ne in Cain s line intrduces this practice The ne wh is perfecting crruptin Gd recrds this event, but He desn t endrses it We nly have t take nte that it riginated in the ungdly line f men t knw that it was an evil practice frm the beginning His wives carry interesting names and Adah adrned (utward) (fr child bearing) She gave birth t Jabal, wh began the traditin f the nmadic lifestyle f shepherding in an ever-mving style His brther was Jubal, the first man t explre the cncept f music and musical instruments Zillah t grw r be dark (fr sexual pleasure) Her first sn is Tubal-cain Frm Lamech came men wh develped fundamental technlgies Herdsman Musicians (string and wind instruments) 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 4C! 5 Tls Wrldly accmplishments and wrldly praise Everything yu culd want Pwer, influence, intelligence, culture Slely dependent n self and separated frm Gd These inventins are nt wrng in themselves, f curse They are prf that Gd dispenses a measure f His grace and mercy n even the unbelieving wrld, as seen in these men s intellect and creativity But it is significant that these pursuits are assciated with the line f Cain Tday the science, art and entertainment f ur culture are als used as wedges t drive men frm Gd They are amral by themselves, but they are distractins the enemy can use t satisfy men s need t express their independence frm Gd Our life is the way it is because unbelievers seek t make their wn wrld cnfrm t their will, nt t Gd s Fr the believer, the advancements f ur wrld can be pprtunity t serve and glrify Gd Or they can be distractins as well Gen. 4:23 Lamech said t his wives, Adah and Zillah, Listen t my vice, Yu wives f Lamech, Give heed t my speech, Fr I have killed a man fr wunding me; And a by fr striking me; Gen. 4:24 If Cain is avenged sevenfld, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfld. This is the ldest recrded petry in the Bible Hebrew petry desn t use rhyme, but rather parallelism and repetitin Ntice in v.23, Lamech tells his wives t listen t his vice 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 4C! 6 And then again he says give heed t my speech That repetitin and parallelism is petry t the Hebrew ear Then Lamech gives his news t his wives He basts he has killed tw men We dn t have the details n this event, and in the big picture it isn t imprtant t the accunt The pint f the pem is t bast in defiance against Gd Or mre accurately, he claims equality with Gd Everyne knew Cain s histry Lamech s pem cnfirms Cain s ntriety And until nw, we might assume n ne else had murdered except Cain And Lamech seems determined t imprve n Cain s reputatin The sin f pride is n display here And nw Lamech basts that he has murdered Remembering that Hebrew petry speaks in parallel lines, we shuld understand that the man and the by are ne and the same The pem simply lists the persn twice The pint f the dual reference is t emphasize that this is a yunger man, smene f greater agility than Lamech But in a retaliatin fr the attack, Lamech tk vengeance We dn t knw wh this yung man was, but he was prbably frm Cain s family Finally, Lamech basts that if attacking Cain brught revenge frm Gd, then attacking Lamech brught his wn revenge And Lamech s revenge was greater than Gd s revenge 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 4C! 7 The crruptin f Cain s line shines thrugh nw Lamech is a man whse fleshly, sinful nature is n full display His flesh cannt be satisfied and it seeks anything it wants The wrld had been given marriage by Gd It was ne man, ne wman This wasn t enugh fr Lamech s flesh He decided that if everyne else culd take ne wife, he culd take tw When the wrld crssed him, he fught back He wasn t ging t give an inch nr shw al vulnerability And when ne yung man went t far, Lamech killed him Cain had killed in a fit f jealusy ver Gd s apprval Lamech killed t prve he didn t need Gd s apprval And he basts abut it nw t his wives t cnvince them and himself Remember that when Cain s sin was discvered, he murned the utcme fr what it meant fr his safety As a result Gd prmises t prtect Cain and avenge him shuld anyne harm him Lamech n the ther hand demnstrates his cmpleted, perfected sin nature when he says he will avenge himself He desn t need Gd fr prtectin Lamech is the quintessential sinful man in rebellin against Gd And his life is the pster child fr the pwer f sin t crrupt 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 4C! 8 Nw in cntrast t the seventh man in the line f Cain, let s lk at the ther side f the family tree Gen. 4:25 Adam had relatins with his wife again; and she gave birth t a sn, and named him Seth, fr, she said, Gd has appinted me anther ffspring in place f Abel, fr Cain killed him. Gen. 4:26 T Seth, t him als a sn was brn; and he called his name Ensh. Then men began t call upn the name f the LORD. When Adam was 130, a new sn is brn It seems frm the text that this may have been the first sn given t Eve in sme time Similar t the stry f Sarah and Abraham, Gd seems t have made them wait fr a replacement t Abel If this is true, then it wuld have meant that the family f Cain was reprducing and filling the earth, but the believing line was n where Until Seth came alng The name Seth means the appinted ne And Eve recgnizes he was a replacement fr Abel, the man f Gd intended t bring a seed int the wrld He is the sn Gd appinted t cntinue t the line t the Messiah In fact, the entire bk f Genesis is directed tward shwing hw Gd wrks t keep His prmise cncerning the seed Seth gives birth himself t a sn, Ensh Ensh means frail r fragile man Yu can see this repeated in Psalm 103:15 Psa. 103:15 As fr man, his days are like grass; As a flwer f the field, s he flurishes. The wrd fr man is ensh And with Ensh, men again began t call upn the name f the Lrd 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 4C! 9 This phrase in Hebrew desn t mean that Adam and Seth were nt believers themselves It s a reference t public wrship Ensh is the man t initiate public wrship and faithful witness f Gd Ntice the difference in the lines While the line f Cain glries in self, the line f Seth is glrying in Gd And they dn t depend upn themselves r their wn strength They trust and depend n Gd, as d we As a final nte cncerning chapters 1-4 f Genesis Bible critics intent n tearing dwn the truth f Scripture will cmmnly claim that the first fur chapters f the Genesis weren t written by Mses, much less were they inspired by Gd They say they were written by different authrs At different times And then later men pieced tgether these parts t create a myth In respnse, take nte f these facts: The name Abel appears seven times The name Cain appears furteen times All names listed in Cain s family, cunting parents and sisters, ttal furteen The wrd name appears seven times Frm Genesis 2-4, the wrd land is fund seven times; the wrd field is fund seven times; the wrd grund is fund seven times; and the cmbined usage f Jehvah and Gd, appears thirty-five times In chapters 1-5, the cmbined usage f Jehvah and Gd is seventy times Clearly, the bk is divinely inspired and authred 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.