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19 Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. 22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah. ~ Genesis 4:19-22
Today, we return to our study of Genesis 4 where we have been tracing the lineage of Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve. Cain is mentioned a few times in the New Testament, always in the context of warning us how not to live. Cain is known as a bad example to us because he further welcomed evil into his heart by failing to choose obedience to God. And, this is what caused him to ultimately murder his brother Abel. Since Cain did not have faith in the God of the Bible, he chose to spill the blood of his brother Abel on the ground. The line of Cain largely continued his waywardness and it ended in tragedy. This is what happens to any life that is wandering away from God's presence as Cain did.
In v.19 of today's passage we read, "Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah."
God’s words to Cain, "Sin is crouching at your door and its desire is for you" was later realized in Cain's great, great, great grandson Lamech. Lamech was the first recorded polygamist in the Bible. Even though throughout the Old Testament many men had numerous wives, God's instructions from the beginning have always been one man and one woman. Underscored here are the words of the Lord earlier in Genesis when He said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother be joined to his wife."
In v.20-22 of today's passage we read, "20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah."
The sons mentioned in v.18-22 of today's passage with the Hebrew prefix "el" in their names were all connected by that prefix. This Hebrew prefix means "to produce." All of these descendants of Cain with this prefix were all amazingly productive as our passage today bears out. The line of Cain and their names reflect people in love with the world rather than with God, even though they had a part of God's name in their names. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote about the line of Cain and he informed us that they were "exceedingly wicked, intolerable in war, and vehement in robberies." He went on to say, "They acted unjustly and were quick to murder even though they were quite 'cultured.'" This magnifies the fact that no matter how much one is cleaned up on the outside, if his sin isn't atoned for, he is headed straight for hell.
In Genesis 2:8, we read, "The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed." When Adam and Eve were created, they were created perfectly sinless, and in their sinless condition, they were allowed to live in the perfect Garden of Eden. However, after the Fall, God graciously drove them out of the Garden. Later, Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Due to his unwillingness of heart, the culture God desired to give Cain was not realized in his life. God's culture has increasingly given way to the culture of the devil since. And, as a result, we are very aware of meaningless pain, suffering, sickness and sorrow. This is all due to the fact that man loves his sin more than he does God.
The first four chapters of the book of Genesis yield to us a choice, a choice between the Kingdom of Nod and the Kingdom of God. Everyone alive today is a part of one of these two kingdoms. Everybody is either defined by the Kingdom of Nod, or by the Kingdom of God. Though God had driven Cain from his home, it was Cain’s choice to live outside the presence of God. Essentially, Cain’s punishment as a wanderer and a fugitive was to lose all sense of belonging and identification with a community. Living in "the land of Nod," Cain lived without roots in isolation. For his sin, Cain was made a castaway and later became a godless, hollow person "in the land of Nod." Upon separating himself from God, Cain built a society totally detached from and devoid of God.
The Kingdom of Nod was characterized by Cain when he offered that which was cursed. God had cursed the ground because of Adam’s sin. Cain, who was a "tiller of the ground" brought God an offering "of the fruit of the ground." Though God had cursed the ground, Cain believed that his "fruit of the ground" was good enough for God. In effect, Cain offered to God that which God had cursed.
The man who is out of relationship with God tries all sorts of methods to try to please Him, yet his best efforts do not merit God's favor. Sin has cursed man's moral compass, and thus his moral efforts will never be acceptable before a holy and righteous God. It was Cain who brought a sacrifice to God, but it was not a sacrifice pleasing to God, for it involved no shedding of blood. Cain came with the wrong attitude, for he refused to bring what the Lord had commanded. He would bring what he thought was best, regardless of what God had to say about it. Thus, his sacrifice bore with it a worthless atonement.
Man-made religion is never honoring to God, for it ignores God’s only Sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ. Cain was "spiritual," for he brought an offering; yet he was not godly, for his offering ignored God’s righteous requirements. Lost man may be spiritual, but he can never be godly, for godliness is always the result of an acknowledgement of the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior which is what invites the very presence of God into his life. It is the presence of God that makes any sinner godly. Like Cain and his descendants, burdened people keep themselves busy by building. As a result of his undealt with sin, Cain was restless, so he built the city of Enoch.
The whole Old Testament, every book of it, points us toward the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. In fact, the very next chapter of Genesis, Genesis 5, contains a concealed message. And, the message is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, as we will see.
In Leviticus 17:11 we read, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul."
This verse is the Old Testament’s central statement about the significance of the blood sacrifice. A "sacrifice" is defined as the offering up of something precious for a cause or a reason. Making a sacrifice or "an atonement for sin" is satisfying someone or something for an offense committed. And, only the offense can forgive. And, only those who have been covered by the blood sacrifice have been set free from the consequences of sin. Blood represents life and without it nothing will live. The answer to death is life, so the answer to sin is blood. Blood is the solution to sin because life is the answer to death.
