In our portion of Scripture today we find out that Cain's great-great-great grandson murdered a man too.
He was a man named Lamech. "Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah." (Genesis 4:19) Already we see mankind making alterations to God's plan for marriage. The Lord gave man the example for marriage when He created Adam and Eve. The Lord didn't give Adam more than one wife because no man needs more than one wife. This is always a recipe for conflict and jealousy within the family. Earlier in Genesis when the Lord said it wasn't good for a man to be alone, He stated his intention to create a "helpmate" for the man. He didn't intend to create for Adam "helpmates". Having more than one wife is going to bring trouble into a man's life, not help. The Bible doesn't tell us how everyone got along in Lamech's plural marriage, but in many other instances of plural marriage in the Bible we find conflict between the wives, conflict between the children of the wives, and conflict between the husband and his wives.
"Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah." (Genesis 4:20-22) Civilization is beginning to form. In Lamech's sons we see the emergence of agriculture and animal husbandry on a large scale, culture and the arts, and industry.
We've already seen that Lamech has a disregard for God's plan for marriage and the family. Now we learn that he has a disregard for human life as well. "Lamech said to his wives, 'Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.'" (Genesis 4:23-24)
Lamech doesn't provide us with any details about this incident. It appears that he and some young man were in an altercation. We don't know what brought about Lamech's "wounding". It could be that he was going about his business and a young man tried to rob him. It could be that the two of them got into a verbal argument and the young man punched him. Whatever the case, Lamech's reaction is out of proportion. He must have become enraged and beaten the young man to death or stabbed him with a knife or thrust him through with a sword. Lamech's killing of the young man is not justified. He doesn't say he killed the young man because he felt his life was threatened. He doesn't say he did it in self-defense. Instead he seems to be boasting about doing more harm to the young man than the young man did to him.
Lamech justifies his behavior by pointing back to great-great-great grandfather Cain. Cain killed Abel in cold blood. Abel had done nothing to provoke Cain's anger; Cain was angry because Cain's heart was wrong with the Lord and because Cain was jealous of Abel whose heart was right with the Lord. Yet the Lord spared Cain's life and protected him from being killed by anyone who might want to avenge Abel's blood. So Lamech is saying, "If the Lord was going to make anyone pay who did harm to Cain, how much more will He make anyone pay who tries to avenge this young man I killed? I didn't kill him in cold blood the way Cain killed Abel. I didn't commit premeditated murder like Cain did. In the heat of the moment, because I was attacked and injured, I killed a man. If the Lord spared Cain's life, He will surely spare mine."
Later in the Bible, when the law is given, we will find instructions for handling personal injury cases. In Exodus 21 we find the law that if a person inflicts serious injury upon another person, judgment will be rendered like this: "life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise". (Exodus 21:23-25) In other words, the punishment should fit the crime. If a young man punched Lamech in the face, he deserved a punch in the face back. He didn't deserve death. Lamech lost control of himself during the altercation. I think he was offended and insulted that anyone would dare to touch him. I think his pride was wounded more than his body, so much so that he not only enjoyed killing the young man but felt justified and proud of doing so.
Civilization is now growing by leaps and bounds, but so is sin and lawlessness. This is the perfect time for the Lord to introduce to us the ancestor of the Messiah in tomorrow's passage. The Lord is going to provide another son to Adam and Eve, the one from whose line the Redeemer of sinful mankind will come.
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