Genesis 4:23-24
“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.
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold”
This is vice in verse. We’re still in the first chapter after the entrance of sin, and it is already clear that humanity’s fall is far from over, but rather continues with the cumulative acceleration of a nosedive. In a mere seven generations, the song of creation has degenerated into lustful lyrics that highlight pride, polygamy, boasting, violence, murder, revenge and rebellion against God, all dressed up in creative poetic verse with a sprinkle of religious reference thrown in to boot. Sounds quite a bit like today’s pop music doesn’t it?
Lamech knew the story of his great, great, great granddaddy Cain. Here he selectively quotes to his wives from God’s word of judgment on his ancestor, and dares to claim the same protection Cain received, times seventy, no doubt failing to realize that he is in fact passing judgement on himself times seventy. While seven times seventy is the number of times Christ told Peter to forgive his brother, it is also the last period of mercy that God allotted to His chosen people before they were cast off as a nation and given over to destruction (Matthew 18:22, Daniel 9:24-27, Luke 21:20). Even God’s superabundant mercy finds a limiting factor in humanity’s stubborn, blind, and self-justifying rebellion.
Although Lamech quotes a snippet of God’s Word, the voice he really wants people to hear is his own as he boasts of his prowess and exalts himself. Lamech failed to see his place in the big picture. He wants to be the big picture. Instead of reflecting glory to God, he tries to take glory for himself and degrades and distorts the image of God. Don’t make the same mistake.
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