Two Ways of Humanity

Genesis 4:16-26

Our culture celebrates sin. One of the things that is grievous to true Christians (and possibly to other sensitive souls) is the widespread glorifying of wickedness, violence, hatred, rebellion, infidelity, divorce and sexual immorality of all kinds. You don’t have to kook far to find it in our various forms of entertainment: print, television, music, movies, and social media. It’s everywhere. As Paul says in Romans 1:29-32,

being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Even though it seems to many of us that society as a whole is rushing at warp speed toward moral decline and destruction, this is not really new. It was true when Paul wrote Romans. And it has been happening ever since the fall of mankind into sin. In fact, writing poetry or songs to exalt sin did not begin with rock and roll, with country music or with rap. It’s as old as the song of Lamech in Genesis 4.

Remember that Genesis is the book of origins, the book of beginnings. And in this section from Genesis 2:4 to the end of Genesis 4 Moses has been laying the foundation for understanding all of human history, society, relationships and religion. In Genesis 3 we saw sin introduced into the perfect human family that God had created in His image and the devastating consequences of that sin. And now in Genesis 4 we are seeing the destructive nature of expanding sin in the next generation from Adam and Eve as Cain murders his brother Abel after being warned by God against sin. We saw how Cain was concerned about his punishment but not at all repentant over his sin. The rest of Genesis 4 summarizes the way of Cain as seen in his descendants.

Genesis 4 shows us the line of Cain as a world set on secular progress without God. One of the key words in this passage is the word “name”. It occurs seven times in these verses. Moses is making a contrast between the line of Cain who are caught up making a name for themselves (Gen. 4:16-24) and the line of Seth who are devoted to the name of the Lord (Gen. 4:25-26). Listen for these two ways of humanity as I read our text, Genesis 4:16-26:

16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son–Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.

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. 23 Then Lamech said to his wives:

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!
For I have killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man for hurting me.
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 26 And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.

Here we have the two ways of humanity: the way of Cain and the way of Seth., From the divine perspective there are only two families on the planet. Cain and Seth model for us the secular family and the sacred family. Cain is the prototype of those who rebel against God. Seth is the prototype of those who worship God. In Genesis 4:16-26 we see, in Cain’s descendants, the world caught up with progress without God. But at the end of the chapter there is a glimmer of hope in the descendants of Seth, a remnant of people who call upon the name of the Lord. These two strands of people–the worldly and the godly–write human history.

Cain and Seth illustrate two way of humanity today as well. Either you are making a name for yourself or you are devoted to the name of the Lord. Either you are a rebel against God or you are a worshiper of God. Either you are going away from the Lord or you are calling on His name. As Christians, we are called to live in this world and to use the things of the world, and yet not to be conformed to its man-centered ways. It’s easy to get squeezed into this world’s mold, so that subtly God gets squeezed out. Which way are you going?

1. The way of Cain

As we saw last time, after murdering his brother Cain refused God’s offer to repent. Instead, Genesis 4:16 says, “Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden” Cain turned his back on God, walked away from the Lord and went out to Nod, the land of wandering. These verses tell what happened to Cain and the civilization that flowed from him. Here is the beginning of secular society—that is, society lived apart from God and in the absence of a relationship with Him.

What happens to human society when operates without God? The Biblical answer? It temporarily seems to prosper. The prosperity of the wicked has troubled God’s people since the beginning (see Psalm 73). Why do some people ignore God, mistreat others, commit overt acts of sin, and seem to prosper anyway? And why do those who love the Lord seem to take it on the chin? Genesis 4 shows us that God’s common grace extends even to those who rebel against Him. Jesus said (Matt. 5:45), “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” God protected Cain even though he refused to repent and rejected God’s authority. Truth is, those who live without the Lord often accomplish great things in the world. There is progress; but it is only apparent progress, because it is progress without God.

What kind of progress is it? With Cain it first came in,

A. Building a City (Gen. 4:17)

Genesis 4:17 says, “And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son–Enoch.” The first thing you may notice in this verse is that Cain’s wife appears on the scene as a pre-existing reality. We are not told when or where Cain obtained a wife – only that he had one. There is, undoubtedly, a story there, but apparently not one that is crucial to the author’s intent. However with regard to Cain’s wife, Genesis 5:4 states that during Adam’s long life, he had sons and daughters besides those named in these chapters (probably a lot of them). Someone has conservatively estimated that in his 930 years (which I take literally) Adam easily could have lived to see a million of his descendants. So Cain married one of his sisters (or nieces). God had not yet forbidden incest as He would later do in the law of Moses (Lev. 20:17). Cain had to marry someone from his own extended family since there was no one else to choose from.

This also answers the question of “where did all the people come from to populate a city?” Most of them were probably Cain’s descendents. Moses is giving us the principal characters and key events in this storyline, but not every character and every event. Along with that, he is compressing a great deal of time into just a few verses.

Next, Cain goes out and built a city. Remember that God had told Cain that he would be “a fugitive and a vagabond … on the earth” (Gen. 4:12). But Cain was afraid that with the increasing population, someone would kill him (Ge. 4:14). So perhaps Cain builds a city (presumably with walls) as a self-protection measure. And at a deeper level, the desire to build a city is an act of rebellion against God who sentenced him to wander the earth. Now Cain will defy the Lord and settle down with his own people and build his own city.

Cain “called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch.” By naming the city after his son, it’s likely that Cain was trying to make a lasting name for his family line. Psalm 49, speaking of the foolishness of those who live without God, says, “Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever, Their dwelling places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain; He is like the beasts that perish.” (Ps. 49:11-12). Cain seemed to be prospering and progressing by building a city, yet it is all a fleeting progress without God.

Genesis 4:18 lists a few of Cain’s descendants: “To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.” While Cain himself defied God, his descendants weren’t necessarily all angry rebels. The names of two of them contain the root “El,” the Hebrew word for God, which might indicate that they had a form of religion (Gen. 4:18). But the contrast with the line of Seth implies that they did not know the living God. He was not central to them. They focused on the business of raising families, founding cities, pursuing careers, and developing cultures and inventions.

B. Starting a civilization

In Genesis 4:19 we come to the seventh generation (Adam being the first). Seven is the number of completion, so Lamech is the epitome of the line of Cain. In Lamech and his sons we see both great achievements and great wickedness. First, their achievements (Gen. 4:19-22):

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

These people saw a number of beneficial advances. The population was growing. Families developed. Cities, where people banded together in a common endeavor, were now possible. Jabal domesticated livestock (Gen. 4:20). Culture was advancing, as Jubal invented stringed and wind instruments (Gen. 4:21). Tubal-Cain began to make and use various bronze and iron implements.

Cain may be under a curse, and his descendants may be at enmity with “the seed of the woman,” but clearly being under a curse does not mean that Cain and those in his line turned out to be a bunch of freaks and misfits. Far from it, his descendants actually lead the way in a number of different areas of technical, social, and artistic development. It all had the look of prosperity and progress.

Sounds like our world, doesn’t it? There were children, cities, culture, and careers. People get married, have children, build “planned communities,” take the kids sports and to music lessons, and pursue our careers. But when you do all these good things apart from the presence of the Lord, they become only the illusion of progress. The world tries to fill the emptiness of life without God with all these good gifts which God has given for the human race.

The problem has been that these good accomplishments can turn into a nightmare without God. Children can become brazen murderers, like Lamech (Gen. 4:23-24). Cities can become hopeless jungles of poverty and violence. Culture–music, literature, and films–can be used to glorify filth. Government can be used to oppress people. Men devote themselves to their careers for greed and power. Inventions have brought us to the brink of destroying the human race. The problem isn’t in these cultural and technological advances. The problem is when these things are done apart from the presence of God. Progress without God is only illusory.

Not only do we see secular progress in Cain’s line, but we also have illustrated for us:

C. Disregarding God

As I said, Lamech is the epitome or architype of the line of Cain. In him we see the wickedness and corruption that results from a life without God. The first thing we note about Lamech is that he took two wives. This is the introduction of polygamy in the Bible. While God tolerated polygamy, it was never God’s plan for marriage, the Bible clearly records the problems it causes in families. More than that, the Bible clearly shows that marriage is a picture of Christ’s relationship with His church. Because God will not share His love for His people with any other rival, and because there is no other God but Him anyway, the marriage relationship is meant to reflect that reality in precisely this area of exclusivity—one woman for one man.

The names of his wives and daughter may reveal the sensual emphasis of Lamech. Adah means “the adorned,” or “beautiful one”; Zillah means “the shaded,” perhaps from her hair, or “tinkling,” perhaps from the sound of her voice. The name of the daughter, Naamah, means “lovely.” The emphasis was on outward beauty and sensuality, not on the inner person or character.

The next thing we note about Lamech is his boasting about his wickedness. Lamech not only sinned by committing murder like Cain, but he sinned boastfully. Genesis 4:23-24 record the first poem or song in history. It is a “macho” song of a man boasting in his strength. He calls his wives together and tells them how tough he is:

23 Then Lamech said to his wives:

In this song to his wives, Lamech boasts about capriciously murdering another person; a young person, maybe even a teenager at that. Whatever the circumstances of this encounter the reality is that Lamech is standing here, before his wives, boasting to them about the fact that he has murdered another human being. Lamech believes no one dares to bring him to justice. Note the arrogance in his words and the total disdain for human life.

But there’s more: not only is he boasting of himself over other men, but he is boasting against God. He refers to God’s promise to protect his ancestor, Cain, by punishing sevenfold. He is saying that he can take care of himself far better than God took care of Cain–seventy-sevenfold! This shows that he knew of God, but he chooses to exalt himself above God. What blasphemy and arrogance!

When an individual or a society starts boasting about sin, it has hit the bottom. I’m afraid our society is there. We flaunt sin in our music and on TV, and even Christians tune in to it until their noses grow accustomed to the stench. But God hates sin. Sin put Jesus through the agony of the cross. While we must show compassion to sinners (because we, too, are sinners needing mercy), we must never boast in sin. The spiritual and moral failure of this early civilization is seen in their defiance of God and in their pride.

On one hand the line of Cain produces great cultural benefits and growing prosperity. Yet it is marred by self-indulgence, vanity and unrestrained violence. It would be depressing if the chapter ended there. But thankfully it does not. It ends with a glimmer of hope:

2. The way of Seth

Genesis 4:25-26, “And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 26 And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.”

When the ungodly seem to rule the world, what can the righteous do? The line of Seth gives us an example of,

A. Believing God’s promises

It could not have been easy for Adam and Eve to have another child. Their oldest son is a murderer, their second son is dead. Why take a chance on another child? But they believed God wanted them to establish a family that would pass along their faith to the future. The name Seth means “appointed.” They saw him as a gift from God, a new beginning after the murder of Abel.

God had promised a seed of the woman who would bruise the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). Eve believes God’s promise, saying, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” She believed that the promised seed of the woman that would defeat Satan would come through Seth. Her faith was rewarded, although not in her lifetime. The New Testament declares that in the fulness of time the promised Seed was born of a woman (Gal. 4:5) whose genealogy is traced through Seth to Adam (Luke 3:38).

This line of Seth also shows us an example of,

B. Depending on God

Genesis 4:26, “And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh.” The name Enosh is another word for mortal man. It comes from a word that means “frail one” or “incurably sick.” Instead of boasting about his strength, as Lamech did, Seth readily acknowledged his weakness by naming his son, Enosh. God teaches us faith and dependence on Him through our weakness. Until you know your weakness and your mortality, you will trust in yourself, which is a sure route to spiritual failure. Trust in the Lord.

Thirdly, this line of Seth shows us an example of,

C. Worshiping the Lord

Again, Genesis 4:26 says, “Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.” The Hebrew concept of “calling on the name” of the Lord has two parts. It can mean to invoke or call on the Lord in prayer. In that sense, it meant that men began to take their faith seriously and started to seek God through prayer and worship. Psalm 116:17 says, “I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the LORD.” To call on the name of the Lord is to come to Him for salvation. Peter will quote Joel 2:32, “whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved” (Acts 2:21) on the day of Pentecost as he calls people to repent and believe. Paul writes to the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2), “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.” Though we live in a wicked age it is not too late to call on the name of the Lord. By His death and resurrection He saves those who call on Him.

The word “call” can also mean to proclaim publicly. Moses writes in Deuteronoly 26:17, “Today you have proclaimed (or called on) the LORD to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will obey His voice.” In those days men began to publicly identify themselves as followers of the true God. Believers went public with their faith “in those days.” In what days? In the days of Cain and his descendants. They openly confessed their faith while Lamech boasted of his sin, while men followed sensual pursuits, and while society began to spiral downward. In that very day of growing darkness, men banded together openly and publicly to declare the name of the Lord.

That is what the church is. We are the “called out” ones who “call on” the name of the Lord for salvation, and “call forth” the name of the Lord to a lost world.