The words themselves point back to the words of God in Genesis These verses speak of the curse that God put on the ground and the endless toil that would ensue in order to get the ground to produce food. These verses also set up a solution to the problem: the arrival of the offspring of the woman who would defeat the Serpent and lift the curse from the ground.
This was the great expectation from the very beginning: who would be that person? Cain, of course, killed Abel and received an added curse: In Genesis —12 we see God's decree to Cain:. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.
The search for the deliverer who would bring rest to a weary world continued. We can presume that this expectation continued with each of the descendants of Eve all the way to Noah. His expectation was that his son Noah would bring rest to a tired humanity and would lift the curse from the ground. Noah came very close to being that person considering that those that listened to his preaching and obeyed were saved from the flood. But in the end he, like all the rest of humanity, fell into sin, thereby disqualifying himself from being the fulfillment of the prophecy of Genesis And he Lamech called his name Noah, saying, "This one will comfort us c oncerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.
The prophesy of Lamech was fulfilled when God lifted the curse after the flood, when Noah made a burnt offering on an altar: Genesis reads;. With the lifting of the curse the ground was made easier to cultivate and more productive. Genesis reads;. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams?
Learn more. Noah's father Lamech and the Lord's curse Ask Question. Asked 7 years, 10 months ago. Active 3 years, 7 months ago. Viewed 29k times.
Did Lamech somehow know Noah would bring some type of relief? Improve this question. ThaddeusB 4, 3 3 gold badges 19 19 silver badges 45 45 bronze badges. Lamech is especially remembered for the address to his two wives given in Gen. The general opinion of modern scholars is that this utterance is a glorification by Lamech of the weapons forged by his son Tubal-cain, while Wellhausen holds "Die Composition des Hexateuchs," p.
The Talmudists and the ancient Jewish commentators, interpreting the words Gen. One day Tubal-cain saw in the distance something that he took for an animal; it was Cain, however, who had been killed by an arrow from Lamech's bow.
When they found that it was Cain, Lamech in sorrow clapped his hands together, by which action he killed Tubal-cain. His wives deserted him Rashi, ad loc. We know this grandson, Lamech, knows at least part of the story as to why Cain was sent away and the protective proviso God pronounced over him.
What we see, though, is Lamech now securing his own protection and declaring his own vengeance—taking a life in response to a wound. We see what it looks like when humanity is dependent on themselves instead of on their Creator. We see a family known for music, metallurgy, and nomadic farming.
We also know it was notable that the family had two wives. The writer of Genesis gives us no background as to why Lamech took two wives. In that light, multiple wives made some sense for several reasons.
If Lamech was drawn to women, why not have both, as far as his perspective? Second, women often died in childbirth and there was much need for a woman in a family to provide daily labor in caring for children, cooking, cleaning, and assisting in the family business. More than one wife would seem practical in this regard. More children meant more labor to support the family work and to provide for Lamech in his old age. Fourth, more wives meant more allegiance with two families which would come in handy during times of attack or war.
The families might bond together for protection. Elkanah had two wives and Peninnah lorded it over Hannah that she was able to conceive while Hannah was not. Rivalries, intrigue, jealousy, favoritism, and manipulation generally mark these polygamous families in Scripture. These wives brought with them their religious practices. We know, for instance, that Jezebel had a profound religious influence on King Ahab that was destructive for Israel.
Likewise, in the New Testament, overseers and deacons are prohibited from having more than one wife. God does acknowledge the existence of polygamous marriages in Deuteronomy and Exodus by specifying guidelines for behavior within these marriages.
In Deuteronomy , he makes it clear that the children of a loved wife cannot be treated with favoritism in terms of firstborn status over the child of an unloved wife. So, God acknowledges that humanity will make this choice and specifies some protections within it. Faithfulness versus adultery is often used as metaphors for dedication to God versus idolatry. In marriage, the Bible states that husband and wife become one flesh Ephesians , so the clear and logical conclusion is that ideally, marriage is between one man and one woman.
Throughout the Bible, God sets clear choices before humanity. He demonstrates the reward and life associated with following Him as opposed to the misery and eventual death associated with choosing to follow our own ways. In the garden, one man and one woman in an exclusive relationship walked with God and enjoyed all He had to offer through a life-giving relationship. Now, their son Cain has chosen murder and a life apart from God and a new generation has arisen who choose to go their own ways and provide their own murderous vengeance.
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