A TALE OF TWO FAMILIES

April 27, 2003 pm
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.

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.
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.

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 Descendent 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 abnormally was concerned fro 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.
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!

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 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?