Genesis 4:17 introduces Cain’s unnamed wife who would have been one of his sisters. Five generations later the next named women are Adah and Zillah wives of Lamech (Genesis 4:19)
I wonder out of all of the women in five generations, why these two women are named. What was so special about them? Or were their names mentioned because this is the first recorded time when one man married more than one wife?
What the next few verses tell me is that even though the ideal family scenario is one man and one woman plus children, God did not withhold the blessing of children from Adah and Zillah. They each had at least two children as their names and a little about them is recorded in Genesis 4:20-22.
What can I learn from these women and their children? There have been times in my life when I’ve made choices that were not God’s first plan for my life. Yet, just like for Adah and Zillah, God hasn’t forsaken me. He has shown me mercy and grace over and over again. However, that does not release me from my personal responsibility for my choices.
When I recognize that I am not walking the path that God has laid out for me, I need to “confess” (which basically means that I agree with God that what I’ve done is wrong) to God the specifics of my transgression of God’s laws. Then I make a conscious choice to do an about face – turn back to following God’s laws with God’s help. He is faithful to forgive me (1 John 1:9)
In Bible times, even this early in history, it seems that women did not have a whole lot of choice when it came to marriage. It seems that the male was held responsible for when the family unit was not following God’s laws. Maybe in this situation, they were not given a choice in the matter. However, today I am held responsible for my choices and responses to situations. I am thankful for God’s forgiveness as well as the instruction to go and sin no more.
Listen to Rebecca St. James as she sings “Go And Sin No More.”
Published on MyBibleRoom.com 1/5/24, 6:00 am