Lamech: A Destiny-Shaping Father – Explore how Lamech shaped Noah’s destiny and the lessons every parent can draw from his awareness and foresight.
Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed.” – Genesis 5:28-29
The next father we are spotlighting is the second Lamech in the Bible. This should not be confused with the first Lamech, who was the first recorded polygamist as well as the second murderer in the Bible (Genesis 4). The second Lamech, however, is the grandson of Enoch, or the firstborn of Methuselah.
Unlike his own father, Lamech did something unusual in his days that cemented his status among the notable fathers in the Bible, one that is worthy of a positive reference by bookmakers and our spotlight in this series on biblical characters. He demonstrated a sense of awareness that was not common in his days.
The first way he did was by defining the life and destiny of his son, Noah. While naming a child in accordance with the cultural or socioeconomic realities of the time was not a strange occurrence at that time, Lamech was the first person who decided to put the weight of redressing the economic ills of his era on his baby, Noah, by saying “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed” (Genesis 5:29, NIV).
Now, that sounds like a lot of pressure to put on a newborn, and Lamech might have taken some flak from family, friends and neighbors for putting such a weight on the shoulders of a new baby instead of taking on the responsibility himself. But then there lay his sense of awareness.
Lamech probably recognized his own limitations and the fact that he did not have what it takes to reverse the curse of the ground that God placed hundreds of years before him. A curse that was still raging and undoing all the hard work and labor of both men and women until that time. Knowing his limitations and aligning himself accordingly was in itself is a lesson worth taking onboard for everyone.
Secondly, Lamech also demonstrated his sense of awareness by acknowledging the devastating effects the curse was having on all humanity at that period. The thing is everybody else was obviously feeling the pangs of the hex, but he was not going to just let it slide as part of their lives. He wanted a change and wanted to have a hand in the transformation process. That was why he saddled his newborn son with the responsibility of being the one to reverse the curse and make life better for everyone else; thereby defining the destiny of the young boy, as soon as he was born, in the process.
Another lesson we can learn from Lamech was that, by so defining the destiny and life purpose of his son, Noah, and making it public knowledge as he did at Noah’s christening, he also placed himself under pressure as a parent to ensure that Noah grew to fulfill his calling. That means, having charted the course of Noah’s life with his declaration, he, as the father, was also committing himself to raising Noah to be a man worthy of fulfilling the calling upon his life. An assignment he must have devoted 595 years of his life to accomplish.
The fact that Noah indeed lived up to the billing of his calling tells us that Lamech succeeded as a father. All parents can learn from that.
Men in the Bible: Methuselah – A Man of Opposites Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two…
Men in the Bible: Methuselah: A Man of Opposites — Longevity without legacy in the shadow of Enoch
Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. – Genesis 5:25-27
The man in the Bible we shall be spotlighting today is Methuselah, the son of Enoch.
Methuselah was the typical antithetical man because he was sired by Enoch, who did not live long, considering the average length of years in his days. Enoch lived only 365 years in an era when the average life expectancy was 907.5 years. However, his son, Methuselah, on the other hand, went on to live for 969 years!
Methuselah’s longevity was the first antithesis about him, as he almost tripled his father’s total age. Therefore, if paternal factors were any consideration in the length of years of children, Methuselah defied those odds by going on to live significantly longer than his own father. There was his first antithesis.
Another intriguing thing about Methuselah was that, despite his long life, he seemed to have achieved so little. The major feat the Bible records about him was that “he had sons and daughters.” Surely, there is more to life than having sons and daughters.
Even though the average length of life in his days was more than 900 years, Methuselah had an advantage over all his forbears and his contemporaries in that he had more days, more weeks, more months and more years than everyone else to do whatever he chose to do or become whatever he wanted to become. Therefore, just stopping at having sons and daughters sounds like a poor utilization of his numerical advantage and a pathetic summation of his lifetime.
Someone said, “the beauty of a life is not in its length, but its contribution.” As far as Methuselah goes, that was not the kind of epitaph that would be written on his tomb, as his main contribution to the world was the addition of sons and daughters. While that is not bad in itself, it was a gross underutilization of his longevity and a poor management of the resources of time and whatever else he had at his disposal.
Another, paradoxical note about Methuselah is that, while he had a father who must have been an example of right living and piety to everyone in Enoch, there was no indication that Methuselah himself followed the footsteps of his father. Nothing was said about his lifestyle, actions, choices, decisions and other distinguishing aspects of a man’s life.
The only thing of note written about him was that he lived long and had children. He did not delight the heart of God like his father. There was also no indication that he continued the legacy of intimacy that his father had with God. The chain of intimacy with the divine appeared to end with him and was neither upheld by him nor passed on to his children. That is not a recommended way to be a parent. If we learn anything from Methuselah, it will be how not to live.
Fathers in the Bible: Cain – A Sweet Father And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of…
Fathers in the Bible: Cain – A Sweet Father
And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch. – Genesis 4:17
Interestingly, we are starting the fathers in the Bible series with Cain, a bitter and murderous individual who killed his own brother for no good reason and was thus banished by God.
It is important to refresh our minds about the objectives of this particular diet of Daily Dew, it is primarily devoted to highlighting the persons and entities in the Bible by spotlighting their strengths and weaknesses, their virtues and vices, their good and bad sides, so that we can appreciate their humanness and, perhaps, learn from their examples.
By beaming the searchlight on the good and the bad sides of biblical characters, we infer that no one is absolutely perfect, without their fair share of flaws, and that no one is absolutely wicked, without some good attributes to them. Hence, the case of Mr. Cain, who was the first person to build a city and the first father to immortalize his son.
From the reference passage above, even after being punished by God and being condemned to a life of fugitiveness and vagabondage, Cain still did something worthwhile with his life. He built a city. He did not just build this city, which he was not destined to live in for long before being harassed to vacate it (remember he was now a fugitive and a vagabond), he also named the city after his son, Enoch. Now, isn’t that sweet?
Cain obviously still has many critics today who would call for his head for the heinous act of murdering his innocent brother. However, even with the weight of his sin, the guilt and the verdict of God upon his shoulders, he still gave himself no excuse for indolence but went ahead to build a city!
While getting land to build a city in his days must have been easier than today, building a city in his era, using crude tools in the absence of modern tools and equipment we have today, must have been a harder endeavor. This challenge, notwithstanding, Cain was still able to build a city, and he showed his affectionate and sweet side as a father by naming the city after his son, and not after himself.
No matter what we think of him, that surely represents a challenge to any of us who may want to play the judge over him. Perhaps, we may not have enough ground to denigrate this his achievement unless we have a better result to show, pointing at what we have built compared to what he did, even with the limitations he had to contend with.
Another lesson we can learn from God is His disposition to a balancing act. He is not a God of extremes. Even though some who profess to follow Him go to extremes in His name or make extreme claims on His behalf, extreme is not a label that one can pin on God. He balances the acts.
Understanding God: He is Not Moved by Sentiments
Another lesson we can learn from the personality of God is that sentiments do not move Him. Therefore, He cannot be deceived into making a wrong judgment or call, as humans tend to do.
Understanding God: He is A Creator
He is a Creator. This is not to be interpreted loosely, particularly in the light of our contemporary use of the word. God is the ultimate Creator, as He created all things, even the ends of the earth (Isaiah 40:28).
Understanding God: God of the Beginning
There is no better way to begin this journey of exploring the people and entities in the Bible than to start with God. He is not just the beginning but is the origin of all things.
Women in the Bible: A Paragon of Beauty
What made Sarah’s beauty so compelling that kings and nations took notice? Explore the deeper layers of grace, favour, and mystery surrounding one of Scripture’s most unforgettable women — and discover why her story still provokes wonder today.
Men in the Bible: A Man of Ambition and Adventure
Terah may not have reached Canaan, but his courage to start a life-changing journey laid the foundation for Abraham’s destiny. Discover how ambition and bold steps mark a life of significance.
Men in the Bible: An Impetuous and Impudent Man
A revealing glimpse into a man whose choices exposed deeper issues of character, showing how hastiness and entitlement can quietly shape a destiny, and why his story still speaks to us today.
Men in the Bible: A Man with Little Foresight
Sometimes what looks like a smart choice can hide the seed of a mistake. This reflection from Scripture invites us to think again about how foresight — or the lack of it — shapes a man’s story.
Men in the Bible: The First Man to Tithe
Before laws, temples, or traditions, one man honoured God with his substance. Abraham’s tithe was not commanded, demanded, or enforced. It flowed from reverence.
Fathers in the Bible: A Destiny-Shaping Father
What makes a man a truly aware father? Discover how one man’s prophetic foresight shaped his son’s destiny and changed generations forever.
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