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Technorati“And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.”
Genesis 4: 22
King James Version
EXPLORATION
“Joy in The Midst of Pain”
“Joy is the echo of God’s life within us.”
Joseph Marmion
Can I find joy in times of difficulty and pain?
“Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved.”
Henri Nouwen
INSPIRATION
“The foundations of civilization are no stranger and no more enduring than the corporate integrity of the homes on which they rest. If the home deteriorates, civilization will crumble and fall.”
Billy Graham
Consequences. When evil entered this world – there were consequences and they affected Adam and Eve’s family.
In Genesis 4, the sad tale begins with Eve conceiving the first two children – Cain and his younger brother Abel. As we learn – two children couldn’t have been more different. Cain was a “tiller of the ground” and Abel was a “keeper of sheep.” In no time, Cain decided to live his life in direct contradiction to God’s will. When God did not acknowledge His offering, the fury of Cain against God was directed at his younger brother who was perceived to be “God’s favorite!” The consequence – the first murder. Evil won. Good died. And Cain, marked by God for his own protection, went off to dwell in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.
But this wasn’t the last of Cain’s story. The Bible records that he and his wife had children – a son Enoch who built a city. Then Enoch had a son, Irad who begat Mehujael. Mehujael begat Methusael who begat Lamech. And here’s where things turned really ugly! Especially for women! Lamech, evidently dissatisfied with the one woman, one man idea God instituted in Eden, decided he would take two wives. Since the Bible often places things in order of their occurrence, I’m going to suggest that since Adah’s name is mentioned first, she was most likely wife #1. Adah, the Bible tells us, had Jabal – “the father of those who dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle” and then she conceived again and had a child named Jubal, who was called father of all such as handle the harp and organ. Some Bible commentators tie the production of instruments to the enjoyment of leisure time. Perhaps they are right, for I know that beautiful music certainly makes my quiet moments more pleasant.
Next comes wife #2 – Zillah. The Bible tells us in our text for today, Genesis 4: 22, that Zillah had two children, Tubalcain who was an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron. Then Zillah had a girl named Naamah.
So I asked myself the questions I told you we would be asking throughout the study of women in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Why is Naamah mentioned? What can we learn from her story?
Let’s not forget, from Eve to Sarah, generation after generation and year after year, there are only three women whose names we know. Two were the wives of the first recorded polygamist. One was his daughter, Naamah.
I’d like to offer this insight into a possibility of why God mentions Naamah. And my enlightenment on this girl comes from the Hebrew meaning of her name.
I’ll never forget when I turned twelve-years-old, my parents sat me down one day and said, “Dorothy, you have a very special name. We could have called you many different names but we chose Dorothy for it means – ‘Gift from God’ - and this is what you are to us.” I have never forgotten what they told me. And in the story of Lamech and his two wives, we find a daughter is born. For a moment, let’s think what life might have been like for Lamech’s family. He was the first man to marry two women. He was a rule-breaker scoffing at God. He ignored God’s instruction. Into this messy, complicated situation, a baby girl was born. Continue »
