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Friday, October 7, 2016

CURSED CHILDREN

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.” (Genesis 4: 17-24)   

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).

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Fairfield, Al 35064

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