Genesis 4:17-5:32
Gospel According To Genesis • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Last time, Cain was cursed to be a wanderer on the earth…
And he lived east of Eden “in the land of wandering”
And if anyone kills Cain…
God will take vengeance on that person sevenfold
17 Cain had marital relations with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech took two wives for himself; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the first of those who live in tents and keep livestock. 21 The name of his brother was Jubal; he was the first of all who play the harp and the flute. 22 Now Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who heated metal and shaped all kinds of tools made of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah! Listen to me! You wives of Lamech, hear my words! I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for hurting me. 24 If Cain is to be avenged seven times as much, then Lamech seventy-seven times!” 25 And Adam had marital relations with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given me another child in place of Abel because Cain killed him.” 26 And a son was also born to Seth, whom he named Enosh. At that time people began to worship the Lord.
This isn’t a bunch of random facts
This passage shows us a lot of important things
Cain gets married & has a baby
Who does Cain marry?
He names his son Enoch…
And then it tells us that he built a city & named it Enoch
This is the first mention of a city in the Scriptures…
And Cain is its builder
A few generations down the line…
And we meet a man names Lamech
Lamech seems to be the typical big, dumb, bullish jerk
One wife isn’t good enough for him — He wants 2
They have several sons who go on to invent skills & trades:
Raising livestock
Making & playing music
Doing metalwork
Cain’s lineage was full of ambitious founders & creators
One day Lamech tells his wives…
That he just killed a younger man for hurting him
And then he declares:
If anyone who kills Cain is avenged sevenfold…
Then anyone who just hurts me will be avenged 77-fold
God’s promise of vengeance upon those who kill Cain…
Was meant to hinder any violence or shedding of blood
But Lamech twisted it as an approval to shed more blood
God’s promise was to protect Cain & anyone who might want to kill him
Lamech’s declaration was a warning to anyone who dares to cross him:
“You even look at me sideways & I’m justified in killing you”
When Jesus comes, he teaches us to be the very opposite:
21 Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times!
Lamech sought 77-fold vengeance against anyone who wronged him
Jesus taught 77-fold forgiveness toward anyone who wrongs us
Then, very abruptly, the author leaves Cain’s lineage…
And goes back to Adam & Eve
They have another baby to replace Abel
They name him Seth
And his lineage goes on to be worshippers of God
Genesis 5 goes on to give a detailed genealogy of Seth’s lineage
And there are some super interesting comparisons…
That I had never noticed before
There are 2 names in Cain’s lineage that are also found in Seth’s
1. Enoch
2. Lamech
18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 19 Jared lived 800 years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. 20 The entire lifetime of Jared was 962 years, and then he died. 21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 The entire lifetime of Enoch was 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared because God took him away. 25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived 782 years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters. 27 The entire lifetime of Methuselah was 969 years, and then he died. 28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 29 He named him Noah, saying, “This one will bring us comfort from our labor and from the painful toil of our hands because of the ground that the Lord has cursed.”
Cain’s Enoch is the first to have a city built & named after him
Seth’s Enoch is the first person to never die…
Due to his faithfulness to God
Cain’s Lamech was a wicked, prideful, vengeful man…
Who spoke the first poem in Scripture…
Of the vengeance he will take on those who cross him
Seth’s Lamech was the first human to speak a prophecy…
Of hope concerning his son Noah
Back in Genesis 3, God prophesied of 2 seeds/offsprings/lineages:
The seed of woman & the seed of the serpent
I believe the author is showing us the 2 lineages here:
The lineage of Cain…
Is the seed of the serpent
The lineage of Seth (who is the replacement for Abel)…
Is the seed of woman
Cain’s lineage are a very ambitious bunch
They are:
Building & founding cities
Inventing & creating new types of skills & trades
But they are prideful, wicked, & self-serving
The only thing we know about Seth’s lineage…
Is that they are faithful to God
Ambition is not a bad thing
But prideful, self-serving ambition is
We may not know much about Seth’s lineage…
As it pertains to the things they invented, founded, or built
But we do know that they were faithful to God
Cain’s lineage might have a few cities named after them…
But Seth’s lineage contains a man that never died
Lamech’s 3 sons may have been skilled inventors & tradesmen…
But Noah’s 3 sons would survive the end of the world
We live in a culture that desires & rewards ambition at all costs
But God’s desire for humanity is not for them to be greatly ambitious
His desire is for us to be faithful & worshipful to Him
Cain’s lineage led to some great cities & inventions
But it also led to moral decline in the world
Seth’s lineage might not have been known for much
But they were known for their faithfulness
And because of that faithful lineage:
We are still alive today
The world still exists today
It’s not wrong to be ambitious…
But we should never let our ambitions come before our faith
Jesus had a lot to say on these matters:
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?
