Two Ways

TWO WAYS

An Exposition of Genesis 4:17-26

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: May 8, 2022

Series: The Book of Genesis

Note: Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

There are two ways, and only two ways. One of these two ways consists of knowing God, walking with God, and enjoying fellowship with God now and forevermore. This is the way of blessing and life.

The other way consists of rejecting the knowledge of God, worshiping counterfeit gods like humanity or nature or physical pleasure or evil spirits or money, and perishing in the darkness now and forevermore. This is the way of folly and death.

In Genesis 2, when “the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”” (Genesis 2:16-17), He showed us that there are two ways: the way of obedience that preserves life, and the way of disobedience that forfeits life and brings death.

In Genesis 4:3-5, which we considered last week, we saw a sharp contrast between Cain and Abel. Abel walked the way of faith, which means letting God be God, trusting God, and doing things God’s way. By contrast, Cain walked the way of unbelief, which means refusing to let God be God, not trusting God, and doing things your own way. There are two ways: on the one hand, there is the way of humble faith and true worship; and on the other hand, there is the way of hard-heartedness and vain religiosity.

This very moment every one of you is smack dab in the middle of one of these two ways – you are either smack dab in the middle of God’s way, or you are smack dab in the middle of the way that is not God’s way. Abel followed the way of the Lord, the way of life. Cain followed the way of the world, the way leading to death. Blessed are those who know that they are smack dab in the middle of God’s way.

Genesis 4:17-26 shows us these two ways – the way of the world and the way of the Lord – unfolding through two distinct parts of Adam’s family tree. In verses 17—24 we will consider the way of the world. Then in verses 25-26 we will consider the way of the Lord. After considering both ways, I will make application to encourage you to be earnest to follow the way of the Lord.

PART 1: CONSIDER THE WAY OF THE WORLD (v. 17-24)

First, let’s consider the way of the world in verses 17-24. When I say ‘the way of the world’, what I mean is ‘the way of the rebellious world’ or ‘the way of the unbelieving world’ or ‘the way of the ungodly world’.

What we have in verses 17-24 is a snapshot of the ancient ungodly world, whose founding father was Cain. When we unpacked Genesis 4:1-16 last week, we learned that Cain had turned away from the Lord (v. 3-7), and consequently sin wreaked havoc on the totality of Cain’s life (v. 7-16). After God issued judgments upon Cain for his sin, we are told that “Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” (Genesis 4:16)

As it happened, Cain went forth and launched a civilization – a civilization “east of Eden”, a civilization far away “from the presence of the LORD”, a civilization that forgot the foundational lessons that God had taught to mankind in Eden. The only kind of world that a godless man can build is a godless world, and that is the world shown to us in verses 17-24.

How can you tell the story of an entire civilization spanning several centuries, in just eight verses? In one sense, of course, you can’t. But the Bible tells us what we need to know about this civilization by focusing on a few important details that happened either in connection with Cain (the first generation) or in connection with Lamech and his sons (the sixth and seventh generations).

Cain’s Family and City

Verse 17 begins: “Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch.” Inquisitive minds are sometimes compelled to ask, ‘Where did Cain get his wife?’ The obvious answer is that Cain necessarily found his wife from among his close family members (who were the only other people who existed at this early stage in history): either one of his sisters (most probable) or one of his nieces who had been born to other of Cain’s siblings who had paired off in marriage. Either way,

Cain took a wife and had a son named Enoch. In due course, Cain started to build a city, for verse 17 continues: “When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.”

Cain wasn’t only building a family; he was building a city. It may have been a very small city, but regardless he got to building something bigger than his own house. In the context of Cain’s life, it is not difficult to imagine why Cain might have wanted to build a city. Instead of being a perpetual “fugitive and wanderer on the earth” (Genesis 4:12), he might have wanted to build a settlement. Instead of living in fear that someone would find him and kill him (v. 14), he might have wanted to build a city as a place of security and defense. Instead of facing his own guilt and accursedness and punishment (v. 11-13), he might have wanted to create an alternative legacy through his son, thus naming the city he built after his son’s name. But however impressive or sensible Cain’s city-building effort might seem, we must keep a level head and remember the truth that Genesis 4 is teaching us. Who built the city of Enoch? An idolater. A murderer. A liar. An angry, sad-faced, self-pitying, hateful, and anxious rebel built the city of Enoch. In other words, spiritual darkness is built into the DNA of the city. The city’s foundations were laid on sinking sand. The city’s future will follow the course of its founder, and be assured that things will not end well. Things that don’t start well, don’t end well. In verse 17 we have a family, a city, a legacy, a dawning civilization, that is destined for destruction.

The Leaven of Unrighteousness and Wickedness

So, the first thing we know about the ancient civilization founded by Cain is that if we can liken that ancient civilization to a batch of dough, then this batch of dough was leavened with unrighteousness and wickedness from the very beginning. When this leaven works its way through the whole batch of dough over the course of centuries, you should expect corruptions of the highest order.

The Corruption of Marriage

The second thing we know about the ancient civilization founded by Cain is that it eventually corrupted marriage. As we do a flyover of verse 18 (which simply provides the names of the sons of the second, third, fourth, and fifth generations), we then come to verse 19: “And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.” Lamech’s act of polygamy violates God’s design for marriage that we learned about in Genesis 2: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) For a husband to be faithful to his bride, his husbandly affections and energies and labors must be devoted exclusively to his one wife with whom he is one flesh. When a man takes a second wife, he is guilty of adultery against the first wife. And once he has two marriages, then his interests are divided and he is committing adultery against both of his wives. Sooner or later, degenerate societies will distort and corrupt the blessed institution of marriage – which only makes the degeneracy and dysfunction worse.

Activity and Innovation

The third thing we need to know about the ancient civilization founded by Cain is that it was full of activity and innovation. Verses 20-22 tell us about Lamech’s three sons. The first son, Jabal, “was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.” The second son, Jubal, “was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.” The third son, Tubal-cain, “was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron.” Lamech’s three sons were innovators and pacesetters within their respective fields. Jabal launched a movement of nomadic herdsmen. Jubal launched a movement of musicians. Tubal-cain was outstanding in the craft of metallurgy, making all kinds of bronze and iron products. If we were to describe their activities in more general terms, we could say that over time this ancient civilization was characterized by innovative vocational opportunities, music-making and entertainment, and the production of tools and technology. And yet – don’t miss this! – you are supposed to take to heart that this activity and innovation is situated within a civilization that is defined by moral rebellion. A morally rebellious world will entice you with its gadgets, advancements, and concert halls – and your job is to repulsed by the rebellion, not attracted to the cultural façade.

Arrogance, Violence, Blasphemy

The fourth thing we need to know about the ancient civilization founded by Cain is that it became exceedingly arrogant, violent, and blasphemous. In verses 23-24 we get a snapshot of what society had become:

“Lamech said to his wives;

you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:    

I have killed a man for wounding me,

a young man for striking me.

If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold,

then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.” (v. 23-24)

Lamech is using poetry – a literary art form – to celebrate what is abominable in the sight of God. Lamech’s poetic outburst stands in stark contrast to humanity’s first poem in Genesis 2:23. After the Lord gave away the first bride to the first man, the man celebrated the goodness of what the Lord had done in creating a woman out of the man:

“This at last is bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called Woman,

because she was taken out of Man.” (Genesis 2:23)

The first man, in the presence of his bride and in the presence of the Lord who had made them and brought them together, used poetry to celebrate the excellence of the woman and the goodness of the man-woman relationship. Adam used poetry to render fitting praise for that which is praiseworthy. By contrast, Lamech, in the presence of his wives, used poetry to boast of violence and vengeance. There is a vast moral chasm between Genesis 2:23 and Genesis 4:23.

Further, Lamech is celebrating his own act of killing a man. A young man had struck Lamech and wounded him. Lamech’s response was not measured justice but merciless killing – about which he is swelling with pride. Genesis 4:23 is a window into the ancient world that goes right along with God’s assessment in Genesis 6 – “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.” (Genesis 6:11) Violence filled the earth in the days leading up to the flood, and violence is what we see in Genesis 4:23 – striking, wounding, retaliating, killing.

Worst of all, Lamech is blaspheming God. Lamech boasts, “If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.” Do you understand what Lamech is saying? After God punished Cain for murdering Abel, Cain expressed fear that whoever found him would kill him (Genesis 4:14). God responded to Cain’s fear with a promise that He would defend Cain’s life: “If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” (Genesis 4:15) God promised sevenfold vengeance on anyone who would kill Cain. When a humble man hears about God’s promise of sevenfold vengeance, he quiets his heart and bows low before the Almighty. The humble man is small in his own eyes, and sees God’s Word as massive and weighty. But when a proud man hears about God’s promise of vengeance, he struts around like someone who can outperform God. The proud man is big in his own eyes, while God’s Word seems unimpressive and weak. The proud man reasons like this: so what if God promised sevenfold vengeance on anyone who would kill Cain? For I tell you that I promise seventy-sevenfold vengeance on anyone who would touch me! Lamech thinks that he is of greater value than Cain, and Lamech thinks that he is a more powerful defender than God. To think and speak in this manner is blasphemy of a very high order.

That, in a nutshell, is the ancient civilization founded by Cain. Unrighteousness and wickedness were baked into this civilization from the very beginning. Marriage was eventually corrupted. And though there were impressive levels of activity and innovation, arrogance and blasphemy were widespread. This ancient civilization was, from beginning to end, a violent culture of death.

PART 2: THE WAY OF THE LORD (v. 25-26)

Even so, the way of the world – the way of Cain and Lamech – is not the only way one might go. There is another way: the way of the Lord. Verses 25-26 give us a ray of hope in a darkened world:

“And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.” (v. 25-26)

As we learned last week, Abel had followed the way of the Lord. Abel was a man of faith – a man who trusted the Lord and worshiped the Lord. Faithful worshipers, who have God’s approving smile upon them, are loathsome to ungodly persons. And so it is that Cain killed Abel. Thus the serpent has taken the first two sons out of commission: Cain is corrupt, and Abel is dead.

But God is gracious, faithful, and persistent – and in due time He granted another son to replace the faithful one, Abel, who had been killed. And so it is that Seth, another son of Adam, was born. In the Hebrew language, the name ‘Seth’ sounds like the word ‘appointed’ – thus Seth is “another offspring” that “God… appointed for [Eve]”. Later, Seth had a son named Enosh. And the passage concludes with this crucial detail: “At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.”

“[Calling] upon the name of the LORD” is a central and defining characteristic of those who are following the Lord. The apostle Paul addressed the Corinthian congregation with these words: “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:2). Godliness requires of us moral excellence, but moral excellence is the fruit of godliness, not the heart of it. The heart of godliness is having a heart for God, and those who truly have a heart for God call upon His name. Calling upon the Lord’s holy name is a central and defining characteristic of God’s holy people.

We “call upon the name of the LORD” because we recognize His supreme worth and sovereign rule. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things; all authority belongs to Him; all things are from Him and through Him and to Him. Therefore we will not call upon lesser realities; we will call upon the great King whose kingdom rules over all. We “call upon the name of the LORD” as an act of worship, as when Abraham “built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD” (Genesis 12:8). We call upon the name of the LORD” because we praise His name and are grateful for His bountiful mercies to us.

“[Calling] upon the name of the LORD” is also an act of dependence. We “call upon the name of the LORD” because we trust Him. We trust His name, His character, His covenant love, His words, His directions, His judgments, His righteousness, His fatherly care. We believe that casting our cares upon Him is the most sensible thing to do. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10) When we “call upon the name of the LORD,” we are running into a strong tower that keeps us safe amid our foes. “I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.” (Psalm 18:3)

Psalm 123 begins:

“To you I lift up my eyes,

O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

Behold, as the eyes of servants

look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maidservant

[look] to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the LORD our God,

till he has mercy upon us.” (Psalm 123:1-2)

As “our eyes look to the LORD our God,” so our mouths call upon His name, because our confident expectation is that He will come through for us. In the midst of our troubles, we remember that there is One who has promised to deliver us. The Lord says to His people: “[Call] upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Psalm 50:15)

“[Calling] upon the name of the LORD” is actually how a sinners gets saved in the first place: “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Romans 10:12-13)

Then, after you taste the Lord’s goodness, “[calling] upon the name of the LORD” becomes characteristic of the believer’s entire life. What does a believer after the riches of God’s grace have been bestowed on him? What does a believer do as God’s bountiful blessings keep piling up? The answer is found in Psalm 116:

“I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.” (Psalm 116:1-2)

“What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me?

 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 116:12-13)

“O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 116:16-17)

From your first expression of humble faith, and then through innumerable moments of worship and prayer and song, and all the way to your hour of death and beyond, “[calling] upon the name of the LORD” is to define and punctuate the totality of your life. Does it?

PART 3: APPLICATION: BE EARNEST TO FOLLOW THE WAY OF THE LORD

Finally, I want to take a few moments to apply what we have learned by urging you to be earnest to follow the way of the Lord. The way of the Lord and the way of the world are worlds apart. And yet, we are in the world, and wide and easy is the world’s way, and we know people who are following that way, and sometimes we are sorely tempted to compromise and chase after “the way of sinners” (Psalm 1:1). Therefore, I want to press home an important lesson from Genesis 4:17-26.

The lesson that is impressed upon me as I think about Genesis 4:17-26, and as I think about Abel’s example in Genesis 4:4, and as I think about the upcoming example of Enoch in Genesis 5:21-24 and the example of Noah in Genesis 6:9, is how utterly single-minded we must be if we would faithfully follow the Lord. And when I say ‘single-minded’, I mean single-minded in our devotion to the Lord. The reason this lesson is impressed upon me is because Genesis 4-6 shows us that this is the one thing that matters in the sight of God.

Aside from the fact that “Abel was a keeper of sheep” (Genesis 4:2), we know almost nothing in terms of practical biographical details about Abel, Seth, Enosh, Enoch, and Noah for the first 500 years of his life. What do we know about Abel? He worshiped the Lord in a manner that was pleasing to the Lord. What do we know about Seth and Enosh? They “[called] upon the name of the LORD.” What do we know about Enoch? He “walked with God” (Genesis 5:22, 24). What we do know about Noah? He “was a righteous man” and he “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). Their lives are a testimony telling us what is truly important in God’s sight. What is truly important? Calling upon the Lord’s name, worshiping the Lord, and walking with Him. That is what matters.

But the civilization that Cain founded illustrates the fact that the sinful heart is easily persuaded to become preoccupied with other things. Cain fathered a city (v. 17); Jabal fathered a movement of nomadic herders (v. 20); Jubal fathered a musical guild (v. 21); and Tubal-cain made a name for himself in metalworks (v. 22). And what this shows us is that there is a lot of interesting activity among the ungodly – and at this point I’m not even talking about the overtly wicked activity that Cain and Lamech were guilty of. But just in terms of architectural and economic and musical and technological activity, there is a lot of interesting activity among the ungodly. Ungodly civilizations, though spiritually adrift and morally compromised, are often characterized by a lot of movement and cultural development and technological advancement.  And some of you believers are tempted to cozy up to it, or envy it, or imitate it. But how much pagan cultural production can you cozy up to, envy, or imitate, before you lose your saltiness?

My point is not that all cultural and economic and musical and technological activity is wicked. My point, rather, is that you’re a fool if you think you can carelessly consume the world’s stuff. You must give thought to your steps! Therefore I am pleading with you to see the world the way that God sees it. Because if you don’t keep watch over your soul, you are likely to get seduced by the cultural and economic and technological prowess of the world in which you live.

Twenty-first century China has become an economic, technological, and military powerhouse, and yet as a nation it is steeped in moral rebellion against God. It is known that 1930s Germany was one of the most educated countries in the world, and throughout that decade it remade itself culturally and economically and militarily, and yet it deployed its resources and tools, its scientific and technological know-how, to wicked and violent ends. The inhabitants of the United States of America have known unparalleled freedom, opportunity, and wealth, and yet we have become an upside-down culture of death that is shot through with moral rot.

And as we have an open Bible in front of us, we need to take stock of where the civilization founded by Cain is headed? Where is it headed? It is headed to complete and total destruction when the Lord destroyed the ancient world through the flood in Genesis 7. But sinful people are not disposed to see the world the way that God sees it. People see the cities and buildings and towers and fine eateries, people see the infrastructure and organization and production and wealth, people see the innovations and comforts and pleasures and diversions – and they think, ‘This isn’t half bad. It’s good, in fact. And it’s probably going to get better.’ People don’t see the terminal spiritual cancer at the heart of society. But God sees the wickedness, corruption, and violence, and He is ready to wipe out the evildoers. He is not impressed by their fleshly achievements. He is not impressed by their show of intelligence and strength. The question is: are you impressed by it?

Over and over again, Jesus calls us to abandon the value system of this present world. Against the temptation to “gain the whole world” (Mark 8:36), Jesus calls us to lose our lives for His sake and the gospel’s sake (Mark 8:35). Against the temptation to get into compromising entanglements with unbelievers, God says: “[Go] out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you.” (2 Corinthians 6:17)

Scripture says:

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life–is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

The believer’s mindset is single-minded devotion to “the will of God”.

Some of you young people are tempted to let your devotion to Christ be tempered by the art of being cool. And I’m here to say that God has no regard for you being cool, fashionable, trendy, hip, or culturally adept as defined by the pagan gatekeepers of cultural adeptness. God is looking for a certain kind of person, and it is not the kind of person that is smack dab in the middle of Cain’s self-congratulating civilization. “His delight is not the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” (Psalm 147:10-11)

God isn’t looking for resourceful people whose resources will add value to His company. Instead, God is looking for humble people who trust Him as their one thing – people who understand that God is the supreme treasure and that He provides more joy and security than all of the world’s resources put together.

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

They collapse and fall,

but we rise and stand upright.” (Psalm 20:7-8)

Some of you should be advised to immediately take about six or seven steps away from the world’s value system, and to discover (or rediscover) what Abel knew so well: that God is a greater treasure than anything the world offers you.

And I’ll tell you what: whether you need to discover the way of the Lord for the first time, or whether you need to rediscover it after a dry season or simply go deeper in it as the delight of your heart, I want to emphasize that God rejoices when a sinful human being will turn to Him in simple faith. That fool Lamech boasted of seventy-sevenfold vengeance, but our Lord Jesus spoke about seventy-sevenfold forgiveness. Of course, He said that in His instruction about how we shouldn’t keep a record of wrongs but should keep on forgiving one another from the heart. But where does that come from? Where does our grace to each other come from? It comes from the Lord. Cain and Lamech were the sort of men who killed others in order to advance their own self-serving agenda. By sharp contrast, King Jesus was single-minded in His devotion to the Father’s will, and therefore He laid down His life as a sacrifice for sin in order to bring self-serving sinners out of their sin and into His wonderful kingdom that will endure forever. As self-serving sinners discover the incomparable grace of Jesus displayed at the cross, they fall out of love with the way of the world, and they call on the name of the Lord Jesus. And as they experience the joy of doing life with Jesus and with Jesus’ other followers, the world loses its luster.

The songwriter has taught us well:

‘In the morning, when I rise… give me Jesus.’

‘And when I am alone… give me Jesus.’

And to that I would add: in my coming and going, in my working and resting, in the afternoon and evening, and when I’m with other people, and in everything at all times… ‘give me Jesus.’

‘And when I come to die’ – yes, that too – ‘And when I come to die… give me Jesus.’ 

‘You can have all this world.’ You, if you want to be like Cain and live “away from the presence of the LORD,” if you want to be like Lamech and go even deeper into darkness, if you want to get cozy with Jubal and Tubal-cain, then go ahead – ‘You can have all this world.’ But as for me, ‘give me Jesus.’[1]

ENDNOTES

[1] The words in single quotation marks are from the well-known song “Give Me Jesus”, stemming from an African American spiritual.