Commentary - Genesis 4:16-24

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, we see the first fruits of Cain's rebellion. Having been exiled from God's presence, he does not repent. Instead, he sets out to build a world for himself, a civilization apart from God. This is the beginning of what Augustine would later call the City of Man. It is a city founded by a murderer, built on pride, and characterized by a lust for self-glorification. We see the development of culture, animal husbandry, music, metalworking, which are all good gifts from God. But in the hands of the ungodly line of Cain, these gifts are bent and twisted. The passage culminates in the arrogant boast of Lamech, the seventh from Adam in Cain's line, who embodies the violent and godless spirit of his ancestor. This entire section stands in stark contrast to the line of Seth, which we will see in the next chapter, and sets the stage for the great conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent that runs throughout all of Scripture.

Outline

Commentary

16 Then Cain went out from the presence of Yahweh and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

This is more than a geographical relocation. To go "out from the presence of Yahweh" is a formal and spiritual reality. It is excommunication. Cain is now a man under God's curse, and he is formally removed from the place of worship and fellowship. He settles in the land of "Nod," which means "wandering." Here is a man who is a fugitive and a wanderer, just as God said he would be, and he settles in a land that bears the name of his curse. The ungodly are always restless, always wandering, even when they try to build permanent cities.

17 Then Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son.

The first question that always comes up here is, "Where did Cain get his wife?" The answer is straightforward. He married his sister, or perhaps a niece. Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters, and at this early stage of human history, the gene pool was pure and such marriages were necessary and not yet prohibited by God's law. The prohibition would come later with Moses, once the genetic defects caused by the Fall had accumulated.

Now, notice what Cain does. He, the wanderer, builds a city. This is the first city mentioned in the Bible, and it is founded by a murderer. This is man's attempt to create his own security, his own name, his own salvation apart from God. It is the first Babylon, a fortress of humanistic pride. He names the city after his son, Enoch. He is trying to establish an earthly legacy, a name that will live on. This is the spirit of the City of Man: build, secure, and make a name for ourselves.

18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

The Spirit of God quickly traces the lineage of this ungodly line. These names are recorded for us as a contrast to the godly line of Seth that will follow. This is the genealogy of the seed of the serpent.

19 And Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah.

Lamech is the seventh from Adam through Cain, a significant number. He is the full flowering of the rebellion that Cain started. And what is his first recorded act? He takes two wives. This is the first instance of polygamy in the Bible, and it is a direct assault on God's created order. God made one man for one woman in the beginning (Gen. 2:24). Lamech's act is one of arrogant defiance. He will not be bound by God's design for the family. All societal breakdown begins with a rebellion against God's design for marriage and family, and Lamech is the pioneer of this rebellion.

20 And Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock. 21 And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

Here we see the development of culture. Jabal pioneers animal husbandry on a large scale. Jubal pioneers music. Tubal-cain pioneers metallurgy. These are all good things. They are expressions of the cultural mandate given to Adam in the garden (Gen. 1:28). Technology, art, and industry are gifts from God. But the issue is never the culture itself, but the cultus, the worship at the heart of the culture. In the hands of Lamech's family, these good gifts become tools for pride and self-sufficiency. The lyre and pipe can be used to praise God or for pagan revelry. Bronze and iron can be forged into plowshares or into swords for unjust violence. Culture developed apart from God is culture that will inevitably be used against God.

23 And Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, You wives of Lamech, Give ear to my word, For I have killed a man for striking me; And a boy for wounding me;

This is the first poem recorded in Scripture, and it is a song of the sword. Lamech gathers his wives, the symbols of his rebellion against God's order, and boasts to them. He is a violent man, full of swagger and pride. He has killed a man, a "boy," for something as trivial as a scratch or a bruise. This is not self-defense; this is disproportionate, vengeful violence. He is proud of his sin, and he wants his family to admire his ruthless power.

24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

Here is the heart of the matter. Lamech takes God's promise of protection for Cain, a promise of grace mixed with judgment, and he twists it into a manifesto of personal vengeance. God promised to avenge Cain sevenfold. Lamech, in his boundless arrogance, declares that he will avenge himself seventy-sevenfold. He has made himself his own god. He is his own law, his own protector, his own avenger. This is the ultimate expression of the spirit of Cain. It is a spirit of murderous pride that sets itself up against the living God. And it is no accident that when Jesus wants to teach His disciples the spirit of the kingdom of God, He takes this very number and turns it on its head. Peter asks if he should forgive seven times, and Jesus replies, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times" (Matt. 18:22). The spirit of Lamech is a spirit of boundless vengeance. The Spirit of Christ is a spirit of boundless forgiveness.

Application

This passage shows us the trajectory of sin when it is left unchecked. It begins with a departure from God's presence and quickly builds a civilization of pride, rebellion, and violence. The City of Man is always trying to make a name for itself, to secure its own future, and to live by its own rules. We must recognize that this same spirit is at work in our world today. Our culture, with all its technological and artistic advancements, is still fundamentally the culture of Cain if it is not submitted to Christ.

We are called to be citizens of another city, the City of God. We are to take every good gift of culture, music, technology, art, work, and consecrate it to the glory of God. We are to reject the proud and vengeful spirit of Lamech and embrace the humble and forgiving Spirit of Christ. The choice set before us is the same choice that has been before mankind since the beginning: will we build for our own glory in the land of Wandering, or will we seek the city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God?