The evil and corruption continues in the line of Cain as his descendant Lamech becomes the first polygamist. This wicked man also commits murder, but unlike Cain, shows absolutely no remorse, but instead writes a song to boast of his sin (4:23-24). We also see the development of civilization taking place. Music, husbandry and various forms of craftsmanship develop. We should not think of early man as a knuckle dragging cave dweller. The first generations of mankind were intelligent and immediately began developing culture and civilization.
Coterminous with Cain’s descendants were the descendants of Seth. These men were more godly and called upon the Lord. We are given the lineage of Adam to Noah through Seth in chapter five. The emphasis here seems to be the fact that man bears God’s image through the fruitfulness of having children. God has a son (Adam) and Adam and his offspring also have sons. We also see that no matter how long a man may live, he still dies.
The wickedness of man came to a head when the sons of God began to marry the daughters of men. This is a difficult passage with two basic interpretations possible. Most commentators have taken the sons of God to mean angels of one sort or another and the daughters of men to be human women. Others believe the sons of God simply refer to the line of Seth and the daughters of men the line of Cain. In either case the wickedness of mankind became deep and broad. God looked at the mess and declared it incorrigible. One hundred and twenty years later God destroyed the world and everything in it. The only thing spared was Noah, his family and the animals with him.
Thought Questions:
- Why Did Cain Kill Abel (1John 3:12)?
- What would be the punishment on anyone who killed Cain ?
- What did Lamech boastfully claim would come upon anyone who avenged him ?
- Who were the sons of God and who are the daughters of men?
- How many of each kind of animal did Noah put on the ark?
- Was the ark big enough to house this many animals?
I have a question. At the end of chapter 4, we have the statement, "then men began to call upon the name of the Lord." What exactly does that mean? Certainly men before this time had spoken with the Lord personally. Is this meant to draw a contrast between the descendants of Cain and those of Seth only? Or, does it signify some change in the way God communicated with man?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I understand all that is meant by this statement. One possibility is that only then did men began to gather for corporate worship.
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