A
TALE OF TWO FAMILIES
May 4, 2008
MF Blume
Genesis 4:8-16 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came
to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel
his brother, and slew him. (9) And the LORD said unto Cain,
Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's
keeper? (10) And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of
thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. (11)
And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to
receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; (12) When thou
tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her
strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
(13) And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I
can bear. (14) Behold, thou hast driven me out this day
from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I
shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to
pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. (15)
And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance
shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain,
lest any finding him should kill him. (16) And Cain went
out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the
east of Eden.
Seven generations from Adam, in Cain’s line brings us to to
Lamech.
Genesis 4:23-24 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah,
Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have
slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
(24) If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and
sevenfold.
Another line begins…
Genesis 4:25-26 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bore a son,
and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another
seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. (26) And to Seth, to
him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began
men to call upon the name of the LORD.
Seven generations from Adam in Seth’s line bring us to Enoch.
- Adam
- Seth
- Enos
- Cainan
- Mahalaleel
- Jared
- Enoch
- Methuselah
- Lamech
- Noah
Genesis 5:21-24 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begot
Methuselah: (22) And Enoch walked with God after he begot
Methuselah three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters:
(23) And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five
years: (24) And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for
God took him.
I want to deal with Cain’s family and Seth’s family and
their descendants, as though those descendants showed a progressive
maturity of the spirit they each manifested.
7 is PERFECT or COMPLETION.
And the seventh generations from Adam in each of Cain and Seth’s
lines show a complete and matured spirit from each of their families.
One is quite bad and the other very good!
Cain’s murder of Abel occurred in the 128th year of the world.
* Adam and Eve most likely parented Cain and Abel
immediately following their expulsion out of the Garden.
* And we read that Adam was 130 when Seth was born.
* Seth was most likely born a year or so after Cain
murdered Abel and left the presence of God.
* So it seems the boys were over 100 years of age
when Cain killed his brother.
* Many other sons and daughters were likely born and
had families by the time Seth was born and Cain killed Abel.
CAIN
Note Cain’s demeanor.
* I shudder to think of someone so insolent against
God Almighty, but I’ve seen the same attitude in people today.
* God asks him where Abel is, and Cain insolently
responds, “Am I my brother’s keeper!”
* …as if to demean God and mock Him for such
a ridiculous question.
God curses Cain and commands the earth to refuse to bring forth her
strength to Cain as he would sow and till the ground.
* Recall that Cain was a tiller of the ground.
* The ground opened its mouth and received
Abel’s blood from Cain’s hand.
* And almost as though he betrayed the ground, it
would refuse to yield her strength to him again.
Not only that, but Cain would be hidden from God’s face.
* While men seek the face of God, Cain would live a
life hidden from God’s face.
And Cain feared that men might seek to avenge Abel’s death upon
him, so he complains to God of his plight.
* Since God already meted forth sufficient judgment,
claiming vengeance to Himself, He marked Cain to indicate that any who
should slay Cain would be punished sevenfold.
* Cain was to be a vagabond in the earth, and God
prolonged his life, free from worry of death by others, by marking him.
* Otherwise he could not be a vagabond.
* And whether to live as a warning to others or not,
the point was that God prolonged his life.
Cain departs from God’s presence.
CAIN'S SON
A son is then born to Cain called Enoch.
And we see indication that Cain is still worried and frets and fears
for his life, inspired by his son’s birth, that he builds a city
and names the city after his son.
* A son’s birth inspired this man to protect
himself.
* Maybe he feared the lad would be left without a
father.
* For a city is a well-walled source of protection.
Some feel ENOCH, which means INITIATED or DEDICATED, showed instance of
Cain’s repentance, putting his son in place of calling upon God
whereas he lost that privilege himself.
But the thought of TRAINED UP is indicated, also. And that would be in
the ways of wickedness of his father.
Cain still feared death.
His line continues and we read of the seventh generation from Adam,
through his line, in a man named Lamech.
Lamech has three sons and one daughter.
* Jabal, Jubal and Tubal-cain.
* Jabal became a rancher and as we read he was
father of such as dwell in tents and had cattle, the idea of personal
property comes into play.
* Jubal was an inventor of musical
instruments. Harp and Organ.
* Tubalcain was an artificer in metals, and made
instruments from brass and iron, for hunting, fighting and for tools
for work in the fields, since the curse on the ground made it necessary
for more tolls than Cain had, who first tilled the ground.
* Tubalcain actually means Descendant of Cain.
* Lamech obviously honoured his wicked ancestor,
Cain.
Lamech had two wives, showing polygamy in Cain’s lineage.
We know Lamech continued in Cain’s ways because we read a
statement he blurts forth to his two wives.
...hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a
young man to my hurt. (24) If Cain shall be avenged
sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
In bold proclamation, showing the very same insolence in his ancestor
Cain, he tells his wives to “HEARKEN UNTO MY SPEECH.”
He claims the murder of two people.
* A man and a young man.
* And he claims he murdered them in self-defence,
since it was accomplished in his wounding.
* Some scholars claim he actually meant that he
WOULD slay a man, young or not, if they should get in his way, despite
even being wounded in the process, for he felt himself so mighty.
* At any rate, the point was he was simply
self-exalted and bore the same spirit as Cain.
* He even stated that if Cain was avenged 7-fold for
the outright murder of his brother, Lamech should be avenged by God 70
times 7-fold for his murder.
* Why did he say all of this?
* THE FEAR OF DEATH WAS IN HIS HEART.
Cain’s spirit carried on into the children down to the seventh
generation.
He assured his two wives they need not fret over the murders he
committed.
* Since he did it in self-defence, he ought to have
far more vengeance from God as his security of living, since Cain was
to be avenged 7 times for outright murder.
This tells us something else about this family.
* He had no remorse for the murders of others.
* He took life for granted in others.
* But ironically he was abnormally concerned for his
own life, as was Cain.
* What self-centredness!
* Disregard for anyone else’s life, and
fearful fretting concern for his own as a result of the careless murder
of the other!
This is what sin does to a person.
* It gives not care for others, and makes one a
nervous wreck over one’s own safety.
And it shows how twisted his thinking about God was.
Its amazing how people can get away from God and lose so much
understanding of His ways, to the extent that his might actually
excused his murders of two men by implying God would protect him for
them.
The family of Lamech was an interesting family.
* They had the inventors of skills and music there.
* But think about it.
* They lived outside the presence of God.
* They made do as best they could with what they had.
* Since their minds were not on God, and they feared
for their lives in constant worry, it appears they sought to alleviate
their fears by distraction and concentrate on pleasures of this world
and pursuit of invention to lessen their worries.
SETH
Meanwhile, another family began after Abel’s death, that would
not have existed had not Abel died.
What a humble spirit this family portrayed.
Seth is born, whose name means APPOINTED or SUBSTITUTED.
* Eve named him, saying God appointed them another
seed instead of Abel.
* Because of Abel’s death, God raised up
another lineage through whom Jesus Christ would come, and be the seed
of the woman.
Seth aware of his fragility of life, knowing mortal life is so fragile
that his existence itself was due to Abel’s death, has a son and
names the son ENOS - MORTAL MAN.
He is inspired to do something when his son was born, as much as Cain
was inspired to build a city of protection when his son was born.
* And although Cain did so in awareness of the
fragility of life as well, it was a carnal fear and drove him into
unbelief refusing to trust that God protected him, and made a well
walled city naming it after his son.
* So self exalting.
But when Seth’s son was born, Seth named him MORTAL MAN, and what
this family was inspired to do was CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD!
Both Cain's Son and Seth's Son caused a NAME to be exalted.
- A city built out of fear of
death and Cain's son's name exalted.
Seth names his son MORTAL MAN out of fragility of life.
- BUT EXALTS GOD'S NAME IN
PRAYER AND PRAISE.
- What a contrast from building
a city and naming it after your own son!
A son is born and not exalted but named in indication of the awareness
of our fragile existences.
* And in order to deal with that awareness, CALLING
ON GOD’S NAME begins wholesale!
* Not his son’s name like Cain did...
but calling upon GOD’S NAME!
And this shows PROGRESS -- not in arts of man and this world like Cain,
but SPIRITUAL PROGRESS.
God spoke to Adam And Eve, and they only spoke in RESPONSE.
Then Adam NAMES his wife EVE - mother of all living, showing FAITH.
Eve names her son CAIN - OBTAINED OF GOD.
She signifies FAITH in having obtained from God in the name.
SETH means substituted.
- They have faith despite all
the judgments of God and cursings.
- Even the dealing with Cain
causes them to hold onto faith and hope.
But for 240 years there is no VOCAL expression to God.
- No one even opens a
conversation up with God.
But now for the first time, mankind has progressed to FINALLY SPEAKING
FORTH WITH THE VOICE to God and praising Him and thanking Him.
In Genesis 6, Seth's people are called the SONS OF GOD -- children of
God.
- But Cain's people are sons
and daughters of men.
- So GOD ADOPTED the people who
spoke God's name and talked to him AS HIS CHILDREN.
Romans 8:15 KJV For ye have not received the spirit of bondage
again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we
cry, Abba, Father.
THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION is associated with calling on God and crying out
to Him.
So there is a progress in the spirit in Seth's line, and there is a
progress of human art and technology in Cain's line.
Cain's line went from FRATRICIDE - killing brother, to leaving the
presence of God with Cain, to personal violence with Lamech and polygamy
Even the ACT of sacrifice was an act of faith and message to God.
- They confessed their sins.
And seven generations from Adam in Seth’s family, ENOCH IS BORN.
And whereas Cain’s fear manifested and magnified itself in this
seventh on his side, as Lamech spoke of death and vengeance, ENOCH HAS
A SON.
* Faithful to the pattern, the birth of his son
inspires him to do something.
: (22) And Enoch walked with God after he begot Methuselah
three hundred years,
He did not build a city after his son, as Cain did.
He did not repeat his ancestor’s fears, as Lamech did….
* He was inspired in thinking about the fragility of
life, that his ancestor Seth shared, and continued on in the spirit of
Seth, the patriarch of his line, who called upon the name of God, AND
BEGAN WALKING WITH GOD after his son Methuselah was born!
* In fact it was such a close walk and such a
beautiful fellowship with His maker, that whereas the rest of the
people were living up to 900 years plus, This man lives only 365,
having fathered Methuselah at 65, leaving on 300 years afterwards.
* This tells us that God could not wait another 600
hundred years of fellowshipping with Enoch for 300 years.
* God took him!
* God could not leave their fellowship at such a
minimal level as Enoch on earth and not able to see His face.
Cain’s spirit rewarded him being HIDDEN from God’s face.
God so yearned for Enoch, since Enoch yearned for Him, that God took
Him to himself!
What a contrast between Cain’s family and Seth’s!
In fact, Cain’s family goes no further then Lamech and his three
sons and one daughter, because the flood came by that time, and wiped
the line out.
They feared death.
* They lived outside of God’s presence.
* They made do with what they had.
* No thoughts upon God.
* Ironically the thing they feared the most came
upon the whole line!
* Extinction!
But in wonderful contrast, Hebrews seems to highlight this opposite
blessing upon Seth’s family in speaking of Enoch.
* Whereas Cain’s line was so fearful of death
and so self-preserving, Seth’s line reached out to the shelter of
God in FAITH…
Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see
death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before
his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
He did NOT TASTE DEATH!
The very thing Cain feared and was magnified in the seventh generation
in his line, DEATH, was something Seth’s line came into as a sort
of maturity and fruition of their desires in reaching forth to God,
rewarding them the greatest blessing of all…. NOT EVEN TASTING
DEATH as Enoch was translated, for God took Him!
Its as though these descendants of each line showed a manifested
maturity and growth of their particular family spirits.
* Fragility of life resulting in Fear of death and
self concern in Cain.
* Fragility of life, resulting in reaching forth to
God and self-less preoccupation with the thoughts of God in Seth.
We all are aware of our fragile existences.
* But what will we do about it?
* Be like Cain, who sought in self ability to
protect himself, living in unbelief of God’s word?
* Or be like Seth, who reaches forth to God and
finally is so taken up with God that God takes him up?
Adam man
Seth appointed
Enosh mortal
Cainan sorrow
Mahaleel the Blessed God
Jared came down
Enoch dedicated
Methuselah his death shall bring
Lamech despair - power
Noah comfort
"Appointed"
that
"mortal" man "shall sorrow"
but
"the blessed God"
"Came Down"
"dedicated"
that
"his death shall bring"
"power" and "comfort."