“And Cain went out from the face of the Lord, and dwelt as a fugitive on the earth, at the east side of Eden. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived, and brought forth Henoch: and he built a city, and called the name thereof by the name of his son Henoch. And Henoch begot Irad, and Irad begot Maviael, and Maviael begot Mathusael, and Mathusael begot Lamech: who took two wives: the name of the one was Ada, and the name of the other Sella. And Ada brought forth Jabel: who was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of herdsmen. And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of them that play upon the harp and the organs. Sella also brought forth Tubalcain, who was a hammerer and artificer in every work of brass and iron. And the sister of Tubalcain was Noema. And Lamech said to his wifes Ada and Sella: ‘Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken to my speech: for I have slain a man to the wounding of myself, and a stripling to my own bruising. Sevenfold vengeance shall be taken for Cain: but for Lamech seventy times sevenfold.’”
Exiled from Eden and from his family, Cain shows man’s estate when he is far from God and others. Rather than dwelling in the paradise of godly things, Cain goes away from those that loved him to be a fugitive, already being away from God and His merciful love. He then had relations with his wife, and proceeded to build a city for his son Henoch. Abel had no such earthly accomplishment, for his city was that of God, and he passed through the world without staking himself upon it. There is here an interesting note, that while the human achievements of man improve, there is a decline into moral depravity, with Lamech eclipsing the ways of Cain. This is not to say that what people do is bad, that technology and such things are evil, but that when you rejoice in these things, your soul is filled with them rather than with the pure love of God. What exists on earth is to make you and others fall more madly in love. The names of Cain’s descendants is of great note, as the names in Scripture are, because they give a glimpse into life without the love of God: “Henoch” means “trained/disciplined,” for “All things are hard” (Ecclesiastes 1:8), but the support of love makes a burden light, whereas without this support, it is meaningless toil. “Irad” means “fugitive,” for a life of sin is a life of fleeing from God, living as a fugitive rather than as one loved. “Maviael” means “wiped out by God,” for the person who spurns God will find all that they set their heart on wiped out, coming to an eternal life without love themselves. “Mathusael” means “man of God,” for in the Old Testament, God declared: “I am the Lord thy God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon their children unto the third and fourth generation, to them that hate me” (Deuteronomy 5:9). It shows that, when one has endured much as a result of being exiled from God and listens to their nature, which so longs to be loved by God, it is eager to turn back and run to Him. However, Jesus exhorts: “Neither will I condemn thee. Go and now sin no more” (John 8:11), and it is of graver consequence to encounter the love of the Lord and then turn from Him. It is a lesser evil to spurn a lover than to commit adultery against them. Thus, Genesis proceeds to Lamech, whose name means “For humiliation,” for the shamefulness of sin is humiliating, something so far beneath human dignity to commit. Lamech takes two wives, which is noted for its notoriety. Marriage is finding one that completes the other, that by the joining thereof something complete may come about, which is consummated in intimacy and has the fruit of children, which are living representations of the oneness of the parents. The exclusiveness of marriage also shows the love of God, for He does not give one less and another more, but loves each person as a spouse, giving them His entire attention, love, time, concern, that they may know how perfectly loved they are. He does not turn His eyes from you to look at someone else, He exists for you, and you don’t need to concern yourself with how others do things, but focus on the infinite love of God for you. The children of Lamech show more progress in human development, bringing forth comfortable travel, more encompassing work, music, and craft work. Where it could be reasonably said that these things were ends in themselves for the descendants of Cain, it is the way of Christianity to take the good, true, and beautiful of the world and become more splendid themselves: “They asked of the Egyptians vessels of silver and gold, and very much raiment. And the Lord gave favour to the people in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them: and they stripped the Egyptians” (Exodus 12:34-35). What is an end for those whose reward is in this present life helps the mind of the Christian go to God, for in travel there are pilgrimages and the sights of nature, in greater work there is building up the kingdom, music gives beauty to divine praise, and craft work brings beautiful art that brings the mind and heart to God. In Hebrew tradition, Lamech killed Cain by accident before striking a youth who caused the accident in such a way that it slew him. Thus Lamech, consumed by guilt, not knowing that he could turn to God for mercy, runs to his wives to pour out the guilt of his heart. If Cain would be avenged sevenfold, then one who killed Lamech for his deeds would be avenged with an endless revenge, thus the numbers of completion multiplied. Ah, but how little mercy he can receive from women! They may have been terrified, and certainly did not understand the depths of his heart as God did. Thus, it is said: “Open not thy heart to every man” (Ecclesiasticus 8:19), but to let God Himself consume your heart, keeping it for Him as His private garden: “My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed” (Song 4:12).