Cain’s Descendants

In looking individually at the descendants of Cain that are listed in Genesis 4:17-24, we find several, including Cain himself, who, by today's standards, might have been seen on the cover of Time Magazine because of their pioneering ingenuity.

Cain, for example, no longer farming the land which had become doubly-cursed for his sake, found a way to become wealthy, it appears, for he built a city that he named after his son Enoch. So we have the first "city" of biblical mention.

Enoch, by the way, means "dedicated," but to what he was dedicated we do not know; perhaps he was dedicated to his father's line of work as a city-builder. However, being an immediate descendant of Cain, it was most likely not to God.

We know little about Irad except that his name means "fugitive." That probably tells us the direction his life took as well.

Mehujael means "smitten or struck by God." That doesn't sound promising.

The next descendant, however, give us something to ponder as his name seems to indicate some inclination towards God. Methushael means "man of God." Unfortunately, the bible doesn't elaborate on this, so we can only assume he might have been considered a "black sheep" in the ungodly line of Cain, if indeed he went contrary to Cain's decision to leave God's presence. Certainly, one man being "of God" amongst many who were not, would be considered "odd man out."

However, Methushael's descendant, Lamech (meaning "wild man"), did not turn towards God. In fact, Lamech's is the first biblical account of the sin of polygamy; and yes, it was a sin as it was in direct contradiction to God's ordination of what marriage is to be about: between one man and one woman. Lamech goes on to murder a man; the second physical murder recorded in the Bible. But I have found contrasting biblical commentaries speaking of Lamech's crime. One commentator says he did it in self defense. Indeed, both the NIV and the New Living Translations seem to indicate that "wounding" was done to Lamech by a young man. However, the King James version seems to be saying that the crime of killing a young man was to the "wounding" of Lamech himself. Matthew Henry comments that Lamech's pride and arrogance, from a degenerate and unrepentant heart, lead him to make that self-pronouncement that any who took revenge on him should be punished "seventy-seven times" for he views his own crime as being not nearly as bad as Cain's, and thus should require more vengeance should someone attempt to come against him for his crime. Whichever was the case, Lamech was not a godly man, thus continuing in Cain's footsteps by not honoring God in his life choices.

Then there is Jabal which means "moving", born to Lamech's wife Adah ("ornament"); and Jubal which means "playing," born to Lamech's second wife Zillah ("shadow" – a telling statement of the effects of polygamy on the women involved).

Jabal "was the first of the herdsmen who live in tents." (4:20) This makes us wonder what the prior herdsmen lived in; or were they just living out in the open without the covering of tents?

Jubal was "the first musician – the inventor of the harp and flute." (4:21) Who was the object of the music these instruments produced: man or God?

Tubal-cain "was the first to work with metal, forging instruments of bronze and iron." (4:22) Were these instruments of utility or of war? Or perhaps some of each?

I leave you with something to ponder here. We will see in the next chapter of Genesis that a godly man named Seth is born to Eve, to replace Abel whom she lost, and the works of the godly line of Seth bear little resemblance in terms of fame and fortune to the great achievements of Cain's ungodly descendants. In very stark contrast, the godly line of Seth achieved little that would put them on the cover of Time Magazine…for all they did was worship God in obedience to Him. Their focus was on a relationship with God, leaving little time for worldly pursuits.

Tomorrow we will study Seth's lineage, but I'd like for you to keep one question in mind as we study Seth:

If you were to judge all the accomplishments of your life to date, which lineage would your works resemble most: Cain's or Seth's?