Scripture to Read: Genesis 4:17-26
We don’t know what kind of mark God placed on Cain to protect him (Genesis 4:15), but it was most certainly clear for all to see. After God’s judgment is declared, Cain left to settle in Nod. In Genesis 4:17-22, God lays out Cain’s lineage. God never puts something in His Word that is non-important. Even though the linage may seem unimportant to us, God wants us to know these people and what role they play in His plan. Lamech is mentioned as one of Cain’s descendants. In Genesis 4:19, Lamech took for himself “two wives,” making Lamech the first polygamist in the Bible. Polygamy was and still is absolutely outside the bounds of God’s plan for marriage. God’s intent for marriage has ALWAYS been to be one man for one woman. In Genesis 2, God made “a helper” for Adam, not several helpers. In Genesis 2:24, God revealed the pattern of a man leaving his family to “be joined to his wife,” not wives. Lamech, therefore, was living in sin by having two wives, and he also committed the sin of murder. The lineage of Cain continued to show the effects of sin on the human heart, which also showed a lack of fearful respect for our Lord and love and respect for mankind. Then, in Genesis 4:25-26, we see God miraculously provide for Adam and Eve after losing Cain and Abel. Through Adam and Eve’s lineage, we also see that people began to worship and call on the name of the Lord. May our lineage do the same.
Challenge & Application
1. What did God teach you today about the effects of sin on our descendants?
2. How are you striving to live for our Lord and be an example for those who follow in your steps?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!