s gift of one wife to Adam, so with this as an example, Lamech’s son Tubal-Cain became, as the Bible tells us in Genesis 4: 21, an artificer in metals. Basically, Tubal-Cain invented the sword. This is how the Biblical scholar A. K. Helmbold describes the situation: “Cain could be avenged sevenfold, but with the sword Lamech could exact seventy sevenfold, going beyond that limited vengeance to exact equivalents. In either case Lamech, drunk with self-confidence and self-sufficiency, was not willing to wait for God’s justice to operate. He did not trust God, but rather his weapons became his gods. In Lamech, Cain’s trend toward obstinate estrangement from God reached its climax.”
Disobedience at a tree in Eden led to disobedience by a son, Cain, who murdered his brother. Then from generation to generation, disobedience prevailed, culminating in the revenge-filled life of Lamech.
If ever there was a story of a family who lived under the cloud of the consequences of sin – it was Lamech, his two wives and four children.
I don’t think it should be lost on you and me that one of the worst consequences of all this disobedient and willful behavior – “I’ll do it MY WAY!” -- was the spirit of revenge taking hold and polluting the human heart. If Lamech thought his arrogant, revengeful nature would bring “joy” to his family he was sorely disappointed. As Mignon McLaughlin correctly wrote: “Revenge leads to an empty fullness, like eating dirt.”
The greatly admired Martin Luther King, Jr. stated that: “The old law about ‘an eye for an eye’ leaves everybody blind.” This is exactly what happened to Cain’s “branch” of the Adam family tree. So busy taking revenge, Cain and his descendents became totally “blind” to God’s leading in their lives.
As we shall see in the next three days, things didn’t have to be such a mess! God, from the very beginning, gave us the power of choice – the ability to choose light or darkness. In stark contrast to Cain and his relatives, we’ll see that the family members of Seth, some with the same name as Cain’s descendants, chose light instead of darkness, and what a difference it made, not only in their own lives but also in the lives of their daughters and sons.
“Revenge is often like biting a dog because the dog bit you.”
“Circle me Lord
Keep protection near
And danger afar
Circle me Lord
Keep hope within
Keep doubt without
Circle me Lord
Keep light near
And darkness afar
Circle me Lord
Keep peace within
Keep evil out.”
Dorothy Valcarcel, Author
When A Woman Meets Jesus
For more from Dorothy, please visit transformationgarden.com.