Cain's Unrighteous Descendants

16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived , and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 18And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. 19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. 22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. 23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. 24 If Cain shall be avenged seven fold, truly Lamech seventy and seven fold. 25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she barea son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew . 26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. - Genesis 4:16-26

For the first time, since Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their descendants were separated into two types of people: the righteous and the unrighteous. Cain was separated from the presence of God and his lineage grew progressively wicked, throughout four generations. During their time on earth, Cain and his decendents built a city, raised livestock, played musical instruments and invented items made of iron and brass without once calling upon the Lord.

Lamech, the last recorded of Cain's descendants, bragged about murdering two men. Rather than expressing remorse for those murders he arrogantly assumed that he would be avenged seven times the vindication promised Cain by the Lord. In his ignorance, Lamech failed to understand that he did not  have any relationship with God and that the Lord had made no such promise to avenge him for his wicked deeds.

It was with the birth of Seth that the righteous lineage began.

Thinking about your own genealogy, have you heard tales of certain ancestors that were more given over to lawlessness than your other predecessors? How has their wickedness affected your own family, if at all?

There are such a things as generational curses and familiar spirits that can hinder a believer from living as a "new creation" in Christ Jesus. If you are dealing with besetting sins that you've been unable to be delivered from, you may want to consider talking with the older members of your family to determine if you are being visited with the sins of your predecessors. If you still aren't sure, confess and repent of sins that your ancestors may have committed that affect you at the present time.

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