Genesis 4: 16-26
Cain has killed his brother Abel, and God sends him out to wander the earth. Cain ends up in the land of Nod, which is east of Eden. This verse always seems to stump people. If Adam and Eve were the first people, and they only had two children (sons) and one was already dead, then how on earth could there be a city for Cain to go to? Well, my bible says “land of Nod,” not city, not territory, not community, just land, so this tells me that there is no reason to think it was already populated. BUT the next verse is confusing also, “Cain had relations with his wife.” So where did she come from??? Well, the bible doesn’t say he met his wife in Nod, it just says he went there and he “knew”/”had relations with” his wife. So, either Cain’s wife came from his rib (like Eve came from Adam), or Cain married a sister that had not been previously mentioned (ewww – I like the rib idea better). We really don’t know. At any rate, they had a son called Enoch (not the same Enoch that God takes up into Heaven in verse 5:24). Then Cain “built a city” (so it must not have already been there to begin with) and named it Enoch. On down the line they went – some of his descendants were not so virtuous. One of them was also a murderer and even had two wives.
Eve had another son, Seth, and he had a son called Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord. Does this mean that the line of Cain did not call upon the name of the Lord? That would make sense. After all, Cain was none too pleased with God, so maybe he didn’t teach his son to worship God, which would mean he couldn’t teach his children to worship God either. After Seth is born and his descendants are listed, I don’t see anything else written about the descendants of Cain, but that’s not to say that they aren’t scattered about. *It’s worth noting that Noah came from the line of Seth.
Sin began with the first two humans who were created in God’s image. If they couldn’t get it right, then how can we? I don’t blame God for flooding the earth. Looking around now, I wonder why He puts up with humankind at all. The world has changed tremendously since I was a little girl. However, the bible says that there is nothing new under the sun. The thing that stands out to me the most is not all of God’s laws that are broken with such acceptance, but the hate that seems to have taken over the hearts of the people in the world. It’s sad. The bible says that God is love. Those who do not know God, can they love? I don’t know, but I do know that they sure are missing out. So what do we have that they reject when they reject God? Help, hope, strength, peace, unconditional love…and forgiveness.
Walker Lane 