Genesis 4:16-24 no fear of God

Genesis 4:16-24, There Is No Fear Of God

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We continue our exploration of the Book of Genesis to learn more about the consequences of Cain’s sin. In the last study, we discussed his murder and refusal to acknowledge or repent for his actions. Today, however, we will focus on the implications of Cain’s decision to abandon the Lord’s presence- no fear of God.

Genesis 4:16-24

16 Then Cain left the presence of the Lord, and [i]settled in the land of [j]Nod, east of Eden.

17 Cain [k]had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and Cain built a city, and named the city Enoch, after the name of his son. 18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 Lamech took two wives for himself: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock.21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and flute. 22 As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah,
Listen to my voice,
You wives of Lamech,
Pay attention to my words,
For I have killed a man for wounding me;
And a boy for striking me!
24 If Cain is avenged seven times,
Then Lamech seventy-seven times!”

Leaving The Presence of The Lord (verse 16)

This is another very sad verse recorded for us. Cain left the presence of the Lord. He was no longer under the blessing of God. Adam and Eve were no longer in the garden of Eden but not away from the presence of the Lord. Adam and Eve were a distant away from the presence of the Lord but not completely cut off from His presence. Before the murder occurred, both Cain and Abel still had the blessing of communing with God just like their parents. They could come and make their offerings before the Cherubim and still had the benefit of exchanging with God.

Cain was now going to be going into a new environment where he would be left to his own devices, without God. One thing that captures my attention in this verse is Cain lack of interest in repentance. the Bible didn’t say that God sent Cain away from his presence. The scripture tells us that Cain LEFT the presence of the Lord. He chose to leave; obviously he had to leave because of crime and because of the justice of God but he never even repented of his sin. We know that God is merciful and when we confess our sins, the Bible says that HE is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Cain never confessed his sins and was not cleansed; instead he chose to depart from the presence of the Lord thus cutting himself away from any opportunity to repent.

He was now was under the same predicament the serpent was under- away from the favor of the Lord. This verse should grieve us all because not only was  Cain only  cut off from the presence of the Lord but his descendants as well. The worst part is that he was happy to do it and went and made himself at home in Nod. ( Nod gives the idea of restlessness and means to wander).

Prosperity Without God ( Verse 17)

Obviously this verse begs the question- where did Cain find his wife? And the response ought to be also based on the text of scripture. It is most likely one of his own sisters. Genesis 5:4 informs us  that Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters. So it is clear that he probably married one of his siblings. At this time, the law prohibiting intimate relationships between siblings hadn’t been given to Moses yet ( Leviticus 18:9,11 and Leviticus 20:17, Deuteronomy 27:22) so the Lord permitted it.

There is something else we need to focus on in this verse. The scripture tells us that Cain had a son , built a city and named it after his son. I hope you see the connection the text is making here. The city was to Cain what Enoch was to him;  in the vernacular, the city was his baby, his possession. You can see the effects of moving away from the presence of God. Everything from the moment he left the presence of God to now is all man- centered, and the city is the epitome of this man centeredness. In the eyes of many, Cain was prosperous, he had a wife, children, a city for himself , what else could one ask for? He literally gained the whole world but lost his soul.

The Beginning Of Full Blown Defiance ( Verses 18-22)

The Scripture tells us about Cain’s descendants up to Lamech, and we discover some extremely intriguing information about him. He is the very  first man with two wives, a bigamist. Going back to Genesis 2:23-24, we read the following,

23 Then the man said,

“At last this is bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
[t]She shall be called [u]‘woman,’
Because [v]she was taken out of [w]man.”

24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

It is obvious that Lamech couldn’t care less about this holy union between one man and one woman. He had two wives, disobeying God’s order as it relates to marriage. The rest of the verses gives us a clear picture of what mattered the most to the descendants of Cain. There is an emphasis on their profession, their skills and their achievements. Nothing is mentioned about any possible walk with the Lord. You can see that everything about Cain and his descendants is mainly centered around man.

Lamech’s Arrogance ( Verses 23-24)

You can see in these verses the epitome of arrogance, pride and self -absorption. Lamech is pretty much bragging to his wives about what he has done. Basically for simply wounding him and striking him two men paid with their lives. It is believed that he purposely used this form of speech as poetry to even give more attention to his killings. By this time , you can see how violent humans have become. Cain tried to hide his murder from God while Lamech openly shamelessly bragged about his double homicide. And to make matters worse , he elevates himself above God by making one of the most arrogant claims of all time – if Cain is avenged 7 times then Lamech seventy seven times. God is the one that declared that by putting a mark on Cain , if anyone were to kill Him , vengeance would be taken 7 times. Lamech thinks more highly of himself than God and purposely uses the number 77 to rhyme with the 7 and elevates himself above God.
And one important detail about these verses is that he is addressing his wives. He is completely insensitive to them as the weaker vessels of the relationship. It is also very possible that these two women were also so corrupted that they delighted in a violent man. No one knows about it is very clear that there is no fear of God in Lamech’s heart. And he proved it with his double homicide.