Year of the Bible: Part One of TwelveSampl

Lemek Murders Another.

Stop here and read today's scriptures.

Question: Are you able to hear the tone of Revenge in Lamech's statement? Do you, at times, demand justice when God desires to give mercy?

Prayer Focus: Ask God to reveal any areas where you want to take revenge and ask Him to help you release the demand in your heart to have an eye for an eye. Ask Him to give you a heart of mercy to forgive the wrongs done to you.

Go Deeper: According to the NET Bible, "Lamech seems to reason this way: If Cain, a murderer, is to be avenged seven times (see v. 15), then how much more one who has been unjustly wronged! Lamech misses the point of God's merciful treatment of Cain, and God was not establishing a principle of justice when he warned he would avenge Cain's murder. He was trying to limit the shedding of blood, something Lamech wants to multiply instead.

The use of "seventy-seven," a multiple of seven, is hyperbolic, emphasizing the extreme severity of the vengeance envisioned by Lamech." We see that Lamech was bent toward revenge, missed the heart of God entirely!"