Zillah, Lamech's other wife, brought forth Tubal-cain, who was "an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron" (4:22), meaning that he was the inventor of weaponry. The weapons he produced were for the purpose of killing others. The modern arsenal is the full harvest of the weapons found in Genesis 4. All these weapons are, of course, for man's defense.
The name Zillah means "a shade," a "covering." What kind of covering does this refer to? The covering by weapons. One of Lamech's wives was for adornment, and the other was for a covering, a shadowing. She was used as a shade to cover him.
Thus, we see four items invented by the first human culture, a culture without God: a city for existence, cattle-raising for making a living, music for amusement, and weapons for defense. These four items are also the main aspects of modern human culture. They all came into being because man lost God.
If you analyze the present world situation in the light of history, you will discover that it is simply a further development of the human culture devised in Genesis 4. The present world situation, like the culture invented in Genesis 4, is composed of four elements: cities for man's existence, various means of earning a living, amusements, and defense.
A godless culture began to develop in Genesis 4 and will continue to develop until it climaxes in the Great Babylon. We thank the Lord that we are not in that culture.
We have seen that man has produced a culture without God. The issue of this culture is the fulfilling of lust, the committing of adultery, and the fighting against and slaying of one another. We have found both of these exemplified in the person of Lamech. Thus, we see from the holy Word that the small seed injected into human nature in Genesis 3 has developed to such a degree. To all the evils of Cain were added the fulfilling of lust and the fighting amongst the human race. How many evils have developed from the one small seed sown into human nature!
Zillah not only gave birth to Tubal-cain, but also to a daughter named Naamah (4:22). The name Naamah means "making herself lovely and pleasant." For what purpose did she make herself attractive? For the sake of man's lust. This also is an aspect of modern society. The young ladies are fond of making themselves pleasant and lovely. Hence, every item of contemporary culture, in seed form, was pres-ent in Genesis 4. Now we know the source of human culture. It came into being because man lost God.
If you read Genesis 5, you will discover that it lists the ages of all the people that it names. It tells us, for example, that Adam lived nine hundred thirty years. However, the genealogy in Genesis 4 does not list the years of any person. Why? Because this genealogy is the genealogy of the lost. All the persons in Genesis 5 were saved. Hence, that genealogy is the genealogy of the saved. The saved persons walk in the way of God and, as a result, their days and years are reckoned in His eyes. The lost people, on the contrary, are finished in His sight, and their days and years are not counted before Him. How long did Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-cain live? No one knows. But we are told clearly how long Adam and Methuselah lived—nine hundred thirty years and nine hundred sixty-nine years respectively. Genesis 5 also speaks of Enoch—a different Enoch from that found in Genesis 4—telling us that he lived three hundred sixty-five years. His days and years were reckoned in the eyes of God.