CAIN’S FAMILY
When Cain was driven out from the presence of the Lord because he had killed his brother, God promised to protect him from vengeance. In the years to come some people wanted to kill him because he had rejected God, but the Lord was merciful to him and spared his life.

God put some kind of mark or sign upon Cain so that people would recognize him and keep away from him. Nevertheless Cain continued in unbelief and he spread hatred of the Creator. Gradually his rebellion spread across the inhabited earth wherever there were people.

Adam had many other children but they are not named in the Bible. Cain and Abel were special because they were the first. Later Seth was born and he had many children. They were adventurous and scattered to other places where they could find good land for fields.

Cain wandered for many years. In his travels he met some of the other descendants of Adam, cousins and their children who had settled far beyond the mountains. Finally Cain found a woman who agreed to become his wife.

Their first son was Enoch, but not the one who walked with God (Genesis 4:17-18). In Hebrew this man’s name was Chanowk. The name means "initiated." Cain wanted to establish his own way of life, so he dedicated this son to his ideas and trained him to reject God. Maybe some of their later descendants attempted to do good works to help others, but they had little motivation for this. They did not expect reward or blessing from God because they no longer believed in Him.

Chanowk built a city and called it after his own name. He was the leader of a clan and wanted to be remembered by everyone. His son Irad took after his grandfather Cain, often disappearing to wander from place to place, searching for satisfaction and adventure. His name means "fugitive" and became synonymous with that idea. Irad’s son Mehujael (meaning "smitten of God") was recognized as one who was truly rejected. But the next generation, led by his son Methusael (meaning "friends"), was accepted by his neighbors. That just spread the rebellion against God into more distant regions of the earth.

Lamech, the leader of the next generation of Cain’s descendants, was popular with the women. He had two wives, Adam and Zillah. They had very artistic, creative children. One son loved raising cattle and became a successful rancher. Jabal lived in tents because he moved around a lot to take care of his cattle that multiplied and spread across the hills.

Jubal developed musical instruments such as the organ and the harp. He loved music. His brother Tubal-cain developed things made of brass and iron. He must have been the first mechanic who fabricated tools and weapons. Some of these things were good, but they did not draw the people closer to God. Lamech’s boys had a sister called Naamah.

One day Lamech got involved in a fight, perhaps to protect his daughter Naamah. She must have been an outstanding woman, since her name is given in Genesis, chapter 4.

Lamech came home one evening and told his wives, "I killed a young man today who tried to hurt me. If God promised to avenge Cain sevenfold, surely He will punish the one who tried to kill me! I didn’t plan to kill this man, but he was going to hurt me."

So Cain’s family continued to live a secular life with little thought of God. They knew God existed, but they refused to worship and obey Him. Evil deeds and hatred spread everywhere they went.

Evidently this attitude affected even the children of Seth, the third son of Adam. After Seth’s first son Enos was born, some people began calling on the name of the Lord. They realized they needed God’s help and forgiveness. Some of them loved God and tried to please Him. But after nine generations, about 1000 years later, wickedness had consumed the minds of almost all the people who were living, even the children of Seth.

Then God saw that one descendant of Seth, named Noah, still honored Him. Noah was not a perfect man in the way we think of perfection, but he loved his Creator and tried to please Him. So Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord.

God loved all the people He had made and He was grieved that they had turned against Him. He did not want to destroy them all, so He decided to save Noah’s family and begin over with them.
Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, respected their dad. They refused to follow the ways of the evil world around them. Their faith may have been small, but they obeyed their father and loved God.

This was the age of conscience. God had not yet revealed Himself fully, but He required men to follow what their conscience told them. They knew right from wrong because Adam himself had told them how he had disobeyed God in the garden of Eden. Adam lived for 930 years and tried to tell everyone about God’s love and holiness.

Those who lived in the years after Adam died heard the way of salvation through Seth and his children. Jared, the father of Enoch who walked with God, probably knew Adam and Seth personally and had talked with them. He passed on the truth about the way of salvation to many people, since he lived a total of 962 years before he died.

Why did people live so long in those days? Consider the fact that Adam and Eve had perfect bodies when they were created. In the garden of Eden they had eaten frequently of the Tree of Life which strengthened them physically and spiritually. But after they disobeyed God by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they were put out of the garden so they would not continue to eat from the Tree of Life. Their bodies began to deteriorate.

Without the vitamin-rich fruit from the Tree of Life, they could not fully overcome disease or maintain their health. Each generation had less physical immunity to pass on to their children. We are told in Genesis chapter 11 that after the flood Shem lived only 630 years, and by the time of Abraham’s father Terah, people were living less than 300 years.

God had promised to give eternal spiritual life to each person through their faith in the Substitute (His son Jesus) who would someday die for them. In the meantime, they were to offer an innocent little lamb to take their punishment for sinning. It was hard to understand this, but all they needed was faith in God’s promise.

When God told Noah that He was going to destroy the entire population of the world by a flood of water, his family believed, too. God told him to build an huge boat so he and his family would not be destroyed with the unbelievers. God was even going to save two or more of all the animals and birds on the earth.

It took Noah 120 years to build the big boat that would keep them safe. His wife and their sons and their wives helped him even though their neighbors ridiculed them. It had never rained on the earth at that time, and people could not understand how water could flood all their homes, the cities, and all the valleys and mountains. They laughed at Noah.

But Noah and his wife and their children remained firm. It took all their time and energy to bring in the wood, make the boards, and find the special clay to paste over all the seams in the boat so it wouldn’t leak. Apparently Noah’s sons didn’t try to have children. They dedicated themselves to this great task that God had given them. They believed God and obeyed Him.

Noah preached for 120 years as he built the Ark. His name means "rest" and he had rest and peace in his heart because he believed God, but he worked hard. Yet no one repented of their sin and turned to God. Cain’s descendants had succeeded in turning nearly everyone away from God. It was lonely and difficult to continue following God when everyone else loved wickedness and had no faith in their Creator. But Noah and his family were faithful, and God took care of them.
– Rosemary Watson