I'd never really thought of this before...Adam & Eve lost both of their sons in one day. After their eldest son, Cain, killed his only brother, Abel (thus taking one son), God sent him away...to restlessly wander all his days. Adam and Eve quickly felt the sting of that first sin. I find it interesting that God curses Cain to be driven from the ground that he had worked, to wander the earth the remainder of his days. Yet, in Genesis 4:17, we see Cain building a city. It's as if he's defying the curse of God, thumbing his nose at God like a snotty-nosed brat saying, "I'll show you..."
Cain's descendants were quite the entrepreneurs. Within 8 generations (Adam - Lamech), we have amazing craftsmanship/business/invention. Serious proof that flies in the face of the theory of evolution. To think that so quickly after the first man arrives on the face of the planet, we already have musical instruments and iron tools. Gen 4:19-22 show us a listing of their accomplishments:
- Jabal: the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock
- Jubal: the father of all who play the harp and flute
- Tubal-Cain: who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron
I know God could have allowed these things to happen in a nomadic culture...but I find myself wondering if, because Cain settled and built a city if these inventions were quicker to arrive on the scene. Of particular interest to me, though, is the complete absence of any mention of God or their worship of Him. It appears that Cain and his family completely turned their backs on the Lord and focus instead on the accomplishments of their hands.
Random observations from Adam's Family Tree
I love genealogy...God's word is chock-full of them. In his online commentary, Chuck Smith points out that the genealogy in Genesis 5 shows that Noah's father and Adam were alive at the same time. I just had to check it out for myself. So, I took pen and paper and sketched out Adam's family tree to Noah. Sure enough, Noah's dad very likely sat at Adam's feet and listened to first-hand accounts about life in the garden of Eden and the fall of man - directly from the mouth of the man who'd been there...the man who took the fruit from his wife and ate. Since writing had likely not been developed at this time, it was very important to have first-hand accounts being passed from one generation to the next. Adam had the privilege of telling these same stories to his sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, great-great-grandsons, and his great-great-great-great-great-great-grandsons. What would we know of our own families if we'd been granted the same privilege to sit at the feet of our ancestors and listen to their stories? We have the gift of the written word...may we use it for the benefit of those who come after us.
Enoch & Noah
Enoch was Noah's great-grandfather. It is said of Enoch (in Gen. 5:24), "He enjoyed a close relationship with God throughout his life. Then suddenly, he disappeared because God took him." In Gen. 6:9, similar words are written about Noah: "...Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God's will and enjoyed a close relationship with Him." I pray these same words will be true of me, that my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren would be able to say "she consistently followed God's will and enjoyed a close relationship with Him." I want nothing more.
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