Real estate in the Bible is extremely expensive. The question we have to ask is then, why does God give any space to Cain’s lineage? Not a single one of his descendants survives the antediluvian period, so why does God see fit to preserve their names in His Book? Isn’t this just a waste of valuable real estate? Genesis 4 is creation-front property after all.
Well, if we look at the names of Cain’s descendants, what is revealed is an amazing picture of generational deterioration. This is a spiritual deterioration, a kind of moral decay that takes place amid great technological advancement. And herein lies its relevancy: any nation or culture that wanders away from God and His ways will inevitably reenact the stages of Cain’s lineage. The stages are as follows:
Cain ⇒ Enoch ⇒ Irad ⇒ Mehujael ⇒ Methushael ⇒ Lamech (and family)
A renown rabbi in Judaism, Chief Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808 - 1888), looks into the Hebrew and translates the names listed in Cain’s lineage. It is key to remember that he is writing in the mid-1800s, nearly 200 years ago. You and I have in view the last 200 years of history, whereas he did not. He could not possibly foresee what was to come. But his translations remain relevant, especially when we look at his writings on Cain’s lineage and compare the sequence to the last 200 years of American history. The following is from his great work, The Hirsch Chumash, Bereshis, pg. 141-145:
Cain = “To acquire”
Enoch = “Dedicated to activity”
Irad = “A wild donkey”
Mehujael = “One who blotted out Godliness”
Methushael = “Seeking masses of people”
Lamech = The meaning of this name is obscure. Hirsch does not attempt to translate it.
Lamech had three sons:
Jabal (whom we know to be the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock)
Jubal (whom we know to be the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe)
Tubal-Cain (whom we know to be the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron)
Note that Lamech and his children come at the very end. During their lifetime, there is a flourishing of industry, music, and technology. However, it is Lamech and his family who witness the coming of the floodwaters.
We have this in mind as we fast forward to modern times. When we consider current events, I think it’s safe to say the United States of America has wandered away from the path originally set forth by our Christian founders. If I may go out on a limb, I conceive that when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, our country unknowingly veered onto a new course, a course very similar to the lineage of Cain. It’s almost as if the country’s lifeblood fused with Cain’s bloodline. It sounds strange, but if I may explain…
President Lincoln, November 21, 1864: “I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war...an era of corruption in high places will follow…”
Lincoln was killed less than a year after this statement was made. At the time of his assassination, the civil war had recently ended and a new era was dawning over America. This era would be led by the likes of Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan: a league of businessmen given over to acquiring unimaginably vast empires of wealth, power, and prestige. Truly, the Second Industrial Revolution gave way to an unprecedented level of acquiring, even for the common man. It can be said that from the 1860s to 1920s, America saw a generation that exemplified Cain’s name: to acquire. And not only that, Genesis 4:17 tells us that Cain was a city-builder; America exemplified this as it saw tremendous urban growth during this time period in particular (Source). The parallels continue in that, “by the 1870s, a good deal of the scientific community had accepted evolution as fact” (Source). Indeed, a wandering away from the Garden was beginning to take place.
From the 1910s to the 1960s, we encounter a generation dedicated to activity (aka. Enoch). Men were committing themselves to active duty in far away places; women were entering the workplace; children were increasingly going off to college. The country saw a tidal wave of New Deal construction as dams, bridges, and highways were being built across the country. On a national scale, America was especially dedicated to activity during this time period.
In the 1960-1970s: enter the counterculture, the hippie movement, a generation of wild donkeys (aka. Irad). Here we start to see a squandering of what previous generations had worked to acquire.
Of note, we always retain a quality of previous generations as we move forward. Generational qualities overlap just as the lives of the people in Cain’s lineage overlap. Acquiring, dedication to activity, a wild donkey––these traits will remain active. It’s just that with the arrival of each generation, a new flavor is introduced to the mix.
From the 1970s to 1990s, we see a nation blotting out Godliness (aka. Mehujael). Broadly speaking, America blotted God out of its courtrooms, out of its classrooms, and out of its textbooks. A shift toward Secularism displaced the values and principles that had once defined America as a Christian nation.
From the 1980s to 2000s, we come upon a generation seeking masses of people (aka. Methushael). Elements of this generation sought fame for fame’s sake. MTV (introduced in 1981) and E! Entertainment Television (introduced in 1987) capitalized on fame and celebrity status. The invention of social media provided a way for the average person to accumulate as many “followers” as possible––a concept very marketable to this generation. Whereas Vanderbilt and Carnegie earmark an earlier era, Kim Kardashian earmarks this era. She is attractive to a generation infatuated with the idea of fame––the seeking of masses of people.
Fast forward to today. We find ourselves at the position of Lamech and his family. Technology, music, production and industry are present in our lives like never before in our nation’s history. Yet in the midst of such advancement, the moral decay of our country has become more than noticeable. Rabbi Hirsch doesn’t attempt to translate “Lamech,” but other sources say it means something like toward the lowly, destroyer, overthrower, stuck. These seem to be reoccurring themes in any newspaper today. The youth of America feel stuck, held down by the 1%. Riots in Baltimore and Ferguson seek to overthrow their local authorities. Terrorists seek to destroy and overthrow America as a whole. Our founding fathers (including Lincoln) wouldn’t recognize their country if they saw it today. Those men did their best to set America down the line of Seth. (Contrast the line of Seth to the line of Cain. In the line of Seth, we find greater order, expectation, and purpose.) But as a nation, we got off track; we derailed. And now, we find ourselves descending down a line that lacks order, that lacks expectation, that lacks purpose––much like Cain’s lineage in the Bible.
According to Genesis 4:23, Lamech had two wives: Adah and Zillah. Adah means ornament, and Zillah means shade (Source). In other words, Lamech coupled himself with something of beauty and something of darkness. Isn’t this also what our society does? Pop culture constantly mixes something of beauty with something of darkness. Case in point: FOX’s new hit show, Lucifer, starring the cool and attractive “Lucifer Morningstar” who quits his job as Satan and moves to L.A. where he helps the LAPD punish criminals. This kind of entertainment––this mixture of beauty and darkness––is a sign of the times. It’s indicative of our marriage to Adah and Zillah.
In conclusion, we must remember: it was Lamech and his family who saw the coming of the floodwaters. In the wilderness, the water came forth from the rock. I wonder, will it be our generation––this generation paralleling Lamech and his family––that sees the coming of the Rock Himself? (See Daniel 2.) I’m not sure how to answer that question, but I think the relevancy of Cain’s lineage is worth considering. After all, it was included in Genesis for our doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.
