This is a sermon series called Origin Story: Genesis 4:17-26, “What We Could Never Build.” September 6, 2026. You can watch more here.
I don’t know if you’ve seen this, but sometimes in the church we can present Jesus to people like, “If you come to Jesus everything in life will get better, and if you walk away from Jesus everything in life will get hard.” Have you seen this? But, then we meet people who have a great marriage, great kids, great success, and yet they don’t have any interest in Jesus, so that we’re like, “Wait, what?”
Because somewhere along the way, we can start to believe that if we follow Jesus, our lives should work better. And if someone doesn’t follow Jesus, eventually everything should fall apart. But then that’s not always what happens, which raises an uncomfortable question, “If we can have a good life without Jesus…why do we need Jesus?” In our passage, we’re going to see people building cities, developing agriculture, creating music and advancing technology, and they’re probably not that interested in the Lord. Let’s look at Genesis 4:17:
Genesis 4:17, “17 Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son.”
If you’re new this morning we’ve been teaching through Genesis verse by verse. Genesis 1-2 begins with humanity experiencing life with God; ideal home, ideal marriage, ideal work, and it’s all in the presence of the Lord. Then, Genesis 3 fractures all of it! And that fracture bleeds, pun intended, into the next generation. Do you see the contrast?
Ideal / Fractured:
Genesis 1-2: Ideal home / Genesis 3: Fractured home
Genesis 1-2: Ideal marriage / Genesis 3: Fractured marriage
Genesis 1-2: Ideal work / Genesis 3: Fractured work
Do you see it? In Genesis 4 the fracture continues and we see 2 attempts by humanity to do life on their own. Verses 1-16 we see Cain using religious behavior to do life on his own, which ultimately ends in death.
Genesis 4:17, “17 Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son.”
In verse 1-16 the Lord has told Cain you are going to be a wanderer and in verse 17 Cain builds a city! That’s not wandering! Side note, it’s also possible some of us are wondering, “Where did Cain find a wife?” The most natural answer is that Genesis doesn’t record the name of every person. Genesis 5 mentions Adam and Eve had other children. Therefore, God’s Word is focusing on specific people for a specific purpose. Look at verses 18-20:
Genesis 4:18-20, “18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech took to himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.”
Genealogy is always a funny part of God’s Word, because it’s easy to feel like, “Why are we reading these names?” It’s because people matter to God. There might not be some amazing story around these names, and that’s okay, because sometimes we live ordinary lives, but our names still matter to God. Amen?
But in verse 19, we see a qualifier for Lamech because Lamech takes “two wives.” This is the first recorded example of polygamy in Scripture. Genesis 2 designs marriage between one man and one woman, so that the man shall leave his father and mother and the two become one flesh.” But, just because we don’t see the immediate consequences doesn’t mean sin / evil isn’t lurking below the surface. Sometimes sin / evil is like a grenade where the pin has been pulled, and at some point, the grenade is going to create damage. Look at verse 21:
Genesis 4:21, “21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.”
Back in verse 20 we saw people “dwelling in tents with livestock” advancement in agriculture. And in verse 21 we see artistry being put on display with the “lyre and the pipe.” Do you see that? You need to know this is innovation and advancement in humanity. This is economic growth. This is technology.
This is human beings thriving in a world, and yet apart from the Lord, so that, it would be so easy for people to think, “Okay…then why do I need God?” Our deepest need for God isn’t for success and accomplishments. Our deepest need for God is because He’s God! The question isn’t can we build a life without God, because Genesis 4 is teaching we you can! The question is, “Do we have God?”
When we have God, we don’t have to make everything else hold us together. Our marriage can be a good marriage without my spouse having to constantly reassure me that I’m okay. Our children can disappoint us without destroying us. Our career can stall without us losing ourselves. Our church family can struggle without concluding that our life has been wasted.
When we have God, we can hold our success with an open hand, meaning it’s great to have success but we don’t have to have success. Or, when we have God, we can risk getting hurt in our relationships. And, when we have God, we can walk through suffering, because we know He is there with us.
Living a life with Him doesn’t guarantee that my marriage will be easier, my business will be better, or my day will turn out exactly as I hoped. But it does guarantee that I have Him! And, most of all, we’re getting to know God. There is something very different between saying, “God, help my marriage work. Help my career work. Help my kids work. Help my finances work.” And, “Lord, I want to know You. Thank you for my marriage, my career, my children, my finances, but most of all, help those areas of my life help me to know You.” Look at verse 22:
Genesis 4:22, “22 As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.”
Again, in verse 22 we see humanity advancing with implements of bronze and iron, so that humanity is taking minerals from the ground to produce tools and increase production. Think about the progression. We see a city being established. Agriculture taking shape. Music being produced. Technology advancing. Humanity basically flourishing!
And we still see this today! We can look at people like Elon Musk creating amazing products. Robotaxi just launched in my neighborhood. I am so excited! We can see scientists make advancements in medicine. We can see a level of production that is making it more accessible for humanity to access food and water that previous generations couldn’t have imagined, and much of this is coming through people who probably don’t know the Lord.
This is important for us to see, because it’s in the advancement that we get to see God’s character. I mean, these are people who are ignoring Him. He told Cain to be a wanderer! This is the opposite! But in Genesis 4 we see His grace. He could pour out His wrath. These are people that are ignoring Him, and yet He pours out His provision. He is still sustaining all of creation. He is still preserving life, so that men and women are still building a quality of life apart from Him. That’s why we want to know Him and be with Him and walk with Him and talk to Him, because there is nobody like Him. It’s not what He wants, but it speaks to His character and grace being put on display, even in the midst of rebellion. Look at verses 22-23:
Genesis 4:23-24, “23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice, you wives of Lamech, give heed to my speech, for I have killed a man for wounding me; and a boy for striking me; 24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
Eesh! Just when we thought civilizations could live on their own apart from the Lord! Verses 23-24 seem to take a dark turn, right? Verses 22-23 are a song, so Lamech is singing about killing people! Can you imagine Lamech gathering his two wives together to hear a song he wrote and then his wives just giving side-eyes to each other like, “We’re gonna die!”
Like when Cain killed his brother he tried to hide it. Lamech is like, “I am going to make a dis-track!” I am being silly but I want us to see humanity can build genuinely good things without walking with the Lord, but humanity can’t build its way out of our brokenness. When you see the progression of our passage we see some remarkable things; city being established, agriculture growing, technology advancing, and it can almost look like, “Hey, life on our own is great!” We’re figuring things out! And then comes Lamech!
I mean, sin / evil isn’t just things we think, say or do that aren’t honoring to the Lord. Sin / evil is ultimately anything we put at the center of our lives besides God because He is the only One who is deserving or able to be at the center of our lives. Just like we talked about last Sunday, sometimes sin / evil is like a grenade where the pin has been pulled, and at some point, sometimes years later, sometimes generations later, the grenade is going to create damage.
So that, in the present, we can build an incredibly impressive life and still carry things inside us that our accomplishments can’t fix. We can have $10 million and still be terrified of losing it. We can build a successful company and still need everyone to know we’re successful. Or, we can create beautiful music and use it, like Lamech, to glorify ourselves. We can have everything going right externally and still not know what to do when someone hurts us. That’s Lamech.
This is why Jesus shows up and uses the words of Lamech, “seventy sevenfold.” Did you notice that? The Apostle Peter asks Jesus, “How many times should I forgive someone? Seven times?” Basically, Lamech and Peter and going through the same experience, someone hurt them. Lamech says, “I will make them pay!” Jesus says, “Forgive seventy times seven!” Meaning there should be no limit! (Matthew 18:21-22)
In addition, it’s a boy striking Lamech, which shows slight offense, limitless vengeance, compared to Jesus offering limitless forgiveness. At first glance, it can be overwhelming to think about forgiving someone an unlimited amount of time. Sometimes people might even think, “I should stay in this abusive situation because Jesus forgives.”
But in Matthew 18 Jesus immediately tells a parable of a servant who owes an unpayable debt and the king forgives the debt. Jesus isn’t saying, “We should be better than Lamech.” We’re not. That’s impossible. The power of the gospel is when we realize how much we’ve been forgiven. Lamech operates on debt collection. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection cancels debt. Jesus doesn’t even pretend the debt doesn’t exist. Jesus is clear, all of humanity has sinned, and then He lays down His life at the cross to absorb that debt upon Himself.
Jesus knows apart from Him we are stuck in this cycle of retaliation. We can advance in technology all we want, we’re still stuck! Therefore, Jesus says, “Come to Me!” It’s because humanity can’t invent our way out of it. We can’t achieve our way out of it. We can’t build our way out of it, so Jesus says, “Come to Me.” He enters our violent world. He takes our death and conquers it in the resurrection so that we can come to Him. Look at verse 25:
Genesis 4:25, “25 Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.”
If verse 25 feels abrupt it’s supposed to feel abrupt. We’ve just watched Cain’s family build an impressive city; agriculture, music, technology, and it’s all apart from the Lord. Then, enter verse 25, the reminder of hope! Verse 17 started off with the names of Cain’s offspring, but verse 25 says, “Let me tell you about a different name.”
His name is Seth and then the words, “God has appointed me another offspring.” Sit in that for a second. The use of the word “offspring” is a throwback to Genesis 3:15, “One will come who will crush the head of the serpent” so that like a movie, we would gasp, Abel is dead and Cain is rejected, what happened to the promise of Genesis 3:15? Bam!
We know the answer isn’t going to come in Seth, but verse 25 is lifting the eyes of the reader to look forward to the One who will come and restore humanity. One will come and confront sin/ evil of this world. Do you see it? Verse 25 is a reminder, sure, advancements in technology can happen, but God hasn’t forgotten His promises. Humanity may wander, may become violent, may build a civilization completely apart from Him, but God hasn’t forgotten His promise.
In the same way, let’s not get distracted by the advancements and successes of the world around the Domain in Austin, TX. Let’s not get too discouraged about the violence we see around north central Austin. It’s sad. We should lament, but we shouldn’t lose heart, because the human heart is still unsettled and the Lord is still accomplishing His purposes. Look at verse 26:
Genesis 4:26, “26 To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.”
Do you see the contrast in our passage? Cities are being established. Technology is advancing. The arts are being elevated. Everything on the surface looks like power, advancement, and success, but ultimately there are two ways to move through life. One is with ourselves at the center of the world, and one is with Jesus at the center. Verse 17 started off with the names of Cain’s children but Genesis 4 ends with the name of the Lord!
It doesn’t mean we can’t build great careers, great families and a great church. We just want to do it with Jesus. Because when we’re with Jesus, our careers don’t have to sustain us. Our relationships don’t have to hold us together. Our children don’t have to define us. Our church doesn’t have to become impressive. Because when we’re with Jesus, we already have what we could never build. We have Him, His name, His family, and His home forever! If you’ve never met Him. You definitely should!
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in North Austin near the Domain, serving Austin and the 78757 area. We are a church family learning to know Jesus, love people, and live with Him at the center. We would love to meet you in person on Sunday. Find service times and plan your visit at northvillagechurch.com.
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