Blogging Genesis 4:17-24
And
Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and
called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch.
To
Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael,
and Methushael begot Lamech.
Then
Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. And Adah bore
Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His
brother’s name was Jubal. He
was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. And
as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in
bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
Then
Lamech said to his wives:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my
voice;
Wives of Lamech, listen to
my speech!
For I have killed a man for
wounding me,
Even a young man for hurting
me.
If
Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech
seventy-sevenfold.” (
Far
too often, I hear people (usually women) tell a child, “You’re going to be just
like your daddy,” spoken as a curse. “He
wasn’t no good, and you ain’t gone be no good either.”
No
Christian should ever say something like that.
It is absolutely, Biblically wrong.
The
Bible says that no child can be defined by their father’s worst day.
Cain
was a murderer, and he was an exile (the ancient equivalent of a convicted
felon). One of his descendants, a man
named Lamech, committed the 2nd murder in recorded history and then
wrote a song bragging about it. The song,
in Genesis 4:23-24, has kind of a Johnny
Cash vibe.
(You
don’t know who Johnny Cash is? Johnny Cash
and his wife were the Jay-Z and Beyonce of country music, back in the day. Anyway, moving on.)
Cain
was also an architect, builder, civic leader, husband, father, and
grandfather. He named his son and the
city he founded Enoch which means “dedicated,”
as in dedicated to God. Lamech, the 2nd
murderer, had 3 sons. Those boys pioneered
the fields of nomadic herding, music, and metal-working (Genesis 4:20-22).
The
children of Cain were great men and unrepentant criminals. Some of his progeny decided to repeat his
most famous and terribly bad choices. Other offspring chose to manifest the
untapped positive potential that God saw in Cain. Make sure that every child you influence
understands that they have the same choices.
In the
flesh, Jesus was the descendant of prophets and kings. He was also the descendant of liars,
idolaters, immigrants, murderers, and at least one prostitute (Matthew 1:1-16;
Luke 3:23-38). Jesus’ genealogy
legitimated His claim to Israel’s throne, but His Divinity defined His mission.
No
matter who a child’s father was, no matter what that man did, do not define the
child by what biological daddy did. Teach children to define themselves by what
Heavenly Father sees in them.
---Anderson
T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and
consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in
Fairfield, Alabama; executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth
Networking Organization (SAYNO); and
director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human
Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
You can help support Rev. Graves’ work by visiting his personal blog and
clicking the DONATE button on the right-hand sidebar.
Support by check or money order may be mailed to
Miles Chapel CME Church
P O Box 132
Fairfield, Al 35064
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