Cain's Legacy

"Cain was intimate with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain became the builder of a city, and he named the city Enoch after his son. Irad was born to Enoch, Irad fathered Mehujael, Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. Lamech took two wives for himself, one named Adah and the other named Zillah. Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of the nomadic herdsmen. His brother was named Jubal; he was the father of all who play the lyre and the flute. Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. Tubal-cain's sister was Naamah.  Lamech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, pay attention to my words. For I killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.  If Cain is to be avenged seven times over, then for Lamech it will be seventy-seven times!  Adam was intimate with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, for she said, "God has given me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." A son was born to Seth also, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of Yahweh." [Gen 4:17-26 HCSB]

Observations:

• Who did what? 
• Cain was intimate with his wife. 
• Cain's wife conceived and gave birth to Enoch (means "dedicated"). 
• Cain became the builder of a city. 
• Cain named the city after his son Enoch. (This would be so cool... to find the "City of Enoch"... it's probably the first city ever!). 
• Enoch had a son named Irad ( it is assumed that it is a play on the Hebrew word "Mored" which means rebellious). 
• Irad had a son Mehujael. 
• Mehujael had a son named Methushael. 
• Methushael had a son named Lamech. 
• Lamech had two wives: Adah and Zillah. 
• Adah gave birth to Jabal and Jubal. 
• Jabal became the father of nomads. 
• Jubal became the father of those who play the lyre and the flute. 
• Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain and his sister Naamah. 
• Tubal Cain made all kinds of bronze and iron tools (enter bronze and iron age here). 
• Lamech murdered a young man for striking him. 
• Adam was intimate with Eve. 
• Eve gave birth to a son and named him Seth. 
• Eve saw Seth and Abel's replacement. 
• Seth gave birth to a son and called him Enosh. 
• When Enosh was born, people began to call on the name of Yahweh. 
• What choices could have been made? 
• Cain could have become sooo many other things! I think about the earth being empty (pretty much ) and ready to be filled. Cain could have become a mountain climber. Cain could have become the ultimate explorer. Cain could have become a zookeeper of sorts. Cain could have become the first murderer to seek God's redemption whole-heartedly. He had soo many choices available to him! I find it interesting that he chose to be the builder of a city. I see that revealing a couple of things about him spiritually. First of all, he was a community builder! It is not an easy thing to build a city. You have to know how to work with people well. You have to know how to allocate resources well. You have to know how to build. You have to know how to organize. Fundamentally, Cain became a leader, and a pretty important leader... but he was also a leader without God's presence. 
• Eve could have chosen not to see Seth as Abel's replacement. No person can ever be replaced. I can see how it might be comforting to think so (especially for a grieving mother), but no person can ever be replaced. I remember learning  this story in Sunday school, and the fact that Seth was born to replace Abel made my little heart feel better about the whole situation. But, what if that's not how I'm supposed to feel? What if humanity really missed out on something special because of Abel's murder? What if Abel and Seth had been able to have children and populate the earth with Cain? All of human history would have been different. What if Eve seeing Seth's birth as Abel's replacement has kept us from truly grieving the tragedy of Abel's murder?  

Applications:

• Today, are there amazing leaders who don't experience the presence of God personally? I think there are. As a history teacher, there are a few who come to mind. And, currently there are more than I can count. But what actually comes to mind is the idea of the Anti-Christ from Revelation, and how when he comes, he will be an amazing leader of people, but he won't have God's presence/blessing. It reminds me of that Amy Grant quote (which I have hanging on my classroom wall :)): "There's so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us, so it never makes sense for any of us to criticize the rest of us..." I know that in cases like the Anti-Christ this might not exactly be applicable, but in case's like Cain's, I think it helps me at least understand God's actions in this story a little bit better... how God still saw enough value in Cain to protect his life. Even though Cain was the first murderer, God protected him. 
• Today, do people (like Eve might have) still misunderstand God's whys? I know I do. I know that when circumstances I attribute to God's sovereignty work out a certain way, the first question I always want to be able to answer is: Why? Why did God let it play out that way? And I want to have an answer. And sometimes, I think I've figured out the right answer. But I think the lesson I see here in Eve's actions is this: be careful. 

Thoughts, ideas, observations, applications? 

Thanks for reading!

-Jordan