Today’s passage: Genesis 4:17-26
Helpful thoughts:
- In today’s passage, we see the beginning of civilizations (Cities), culture, and industry through Cain’s line.
- We also see the beginning of sinful polygamy.
- Lamech evidences a self-centered arrogance in proclaiming a seventy-seven times avenging for anyone who would seek to harm him in response to killing a man.
- He justified his killing (The other guy started it)
- He determined his own verdict (He didn’t deserve punishment)
- He claimed his own protection (If Cain got a seven-fold promise, I get…)
- Jesus reversed this arrogance in Matthew 18:21-22.
- Though Adam and Eve had parented other children (Otherwise, Cain wouldn’t have ever married…) Seth is seen as the answer to the loss of Abel.
- Noah would eventually come from the line of Seth.
- The “seed of the woman” (Christ) therefore, would come from the line of Seth.
Questions to consider:
- What appears to be the contrast between the line of Cain and the line of Seth? What is characteristic of Cain’s children (See Lamech)? What is characteristic of Seth’s children (See the end of verse 26)?
- In order for Lamech (5th generation from Cain) to understand marriage, murder and vengeance (Or justice) as he did, what had to be true of his understanding of what happened between Cain and Abel? His view of God?
- What good things were happening among the descendants of Cain? How does the blessing of creativity and productivity, mixed with sin, give us a picture of what the world is still like today? Why is man able to be creative and productive (Genesis 1:27)? How has the curse of sin taken this gift from God and turned it into a reason for arrogance and rebellion against God?