Title: Genesis 4:16-26
Contents Wednesday, October 19 / Written by: Kim Soon-sik
<Text> Genesis 4:16-26
<Meditation>
1. Cain killed his brother Abel and lived in the land of wandering, wandering, and the land of Nod east of Eden. Sadly, Cain left the presence of the Lord and went into a deserted land without a way.
The word ‘leave out’ can be found in the original Hebrew meaning “advantageous” or “unhappy”. As the name of Nod reveals, the road to sin is bound to be a road of wandering. We should note that those who depart from God cannot find rest anywhere else.
When we say that 'Cain went out from the presence of the Lord', we mean that he was willing to give up the privileges of faith in order to intentionally give up his faith with God and not receive the lessons of faith. There is no record anywhere in the Bible that Cain has left the presence of Jehovah and that he has returned to the presence of the Lord to be comforted.
Cain slept with his wife and had Enoch and built a city (verse 17).
The question of where did Cain get his wife is often repeated, although Genesis does not give an answer to this. Obviously, it can be inferred that Adam and Eve had many children besides them. A long time passed before Cain got married. Since all life was born by the first God-created couple, Adam and Eve, we must conclude that at some time the siblings must have married each other.
Cain built a castle to live in.
There are two things to note here:
First, Cain rebelled against God's judgment. God said that he must be a 'fly and wanderer' (Genesis 4:12). If he had repented and humbled himself, this curse would have turned into a blessing.
Second, after Cain forsaken God, he made a settlement on this earth to be his eternal resting place, so that he would not think of his misfortunes from the horrors that constantly followed him and tormented him, and with the sound of hammer and ax he would listen to the conscience of his sinful conscience. A castle was built to avoid it. So many people try to dispel the remorse of conscience by immersing themselves in the hectic world.
2. In the text, there are several articles about Lamech, who was born of Cain's lineage as the 7th generation of Adam.
Although Lamech took two wives (Genesis 4:19).
In Genesis 2:24, God commanded monogamy (一夫一妻制), but after Lamech, polygamy was adopted because of the eyes of the flesh and the lusts of the flesh.
Despite the sin of polygamy, they had many children, who became famous in their day, not because of their piety, but because of their ingenuity. Not only were they people who had jobs, but they were also useful people to the world, and they were good at inventions. Or at least they had some skill to improve or benefit.
One of Rabek's sons, Jabal, was a famous herder.
Yuval was a famous musician, especially a trumpet player, and one of the first to devise rules for noble art or music. Yabal made people rich, Yuval made people happy.
Dubalgain was a famous blacksmith who greatly developed the art of handling copper and iron for the benefit of war and agriculture. He was like the god of fire and the forge (Vulcan) to the people.
Judging from Lamech's words, he professes to be a ferocious and cruel person who wields all who stand in his way and kills them all.
The word ‘wound’ (he, pezza) refers to a minor wound. In this way, Lamech killed a person even though he only suffered a minor wound, revealing Lamech’s pride and cruelty, and you can see the violence of Cain’s descendants at the time.
Even those who do not have the knowledge and grace of God can be endowed with many excellent and useful talents and become famous in their time through them, but human wisdom and knowledge can be a blessing only in God's order.
3. Adam had another son, Seth, and Seth had Enosh (Genesis 4:25-26).
God allowed them to see their faith revive in their homes. At that time, people began to call on the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26).
The word 'calling on the name of the Lord' is related to public worship (12:8 1 Chronicles 16:8), and this text shows that the faith of Jehovah has been publicly worshiped from the time of Enosh, a descendant of Seth.
“Worship is the surrender of our whole being to God. It is the breaking of our consciences with His holiness, and the surrender of our will to His purposes.” (William Temple) Worship is the grace of God. is a response to Therefore, the basis of worship is thanksgiving. It is to give thanks to God, not forgetting to give grace to sinners as well. The basic meaning of Abel's first sacrifice and the worship offered by Seth's family to God was thanks. Therefore, the words 'God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth' (cf. John 4:24) also teaches that worshipers must worship with sincere gratitude.
<Prayer>
Heavenly Father, we confess that the human heart is weak, so if we commit a small sorrow or sin, we will leave God and forget God. But thank the Lord for calling these wounded, weak-minded sinners and giving them the courage to come before them again. Help me to live a life that gives thanks to God today for the joy of being a child and glorifies Him.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
(Written by: Kim Soon-sik)