Lamech the first timestamp of VAWG in the bible

Today is day two of 16 days of Activism for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG). On my stories I'll be sharing the many and varied ways that women suffer oppression and violence globally. The reason I do this is because there are still so many people who do not know about it. VAWG to some can feel quite distant to themselves. They might feel that they have not been touched by this issue and therefore it is not their responsibility to speak up about it. In the same way that we know that safeguarding is everyone's business, so is raising awareness and doing what we can to eliminate VAWG.

I'll be the first to admit that living in this 'sphere' of activism takes it's toll and can be emotionally exhausting to be continually confronted with what happens to our sisters locally and globally. Those who know me will know that two bible passages I hold close to my heart are Micah 6:8 ("What does the Lord require of you?... to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God") and Psalm 61:2 ("When my heart is overwhelmed, take me to the rock that is higher than I"). So close in fact that they're tattooed on my arm. My anxiously inclined mind needing that continual reminder that while I feel the rightful burden of social justice, I don't have to carry it alone. I find this so beautiful.

I decided for this year to examine the question 'does God even care?'. Clearly, I believe He does. But, I think sometimes we can imagine that He doesn't. So in my upcoming series of blogs, I'm going to take a walk through the Bible and look at the times that we encounter VAWG and question what that might mean for Christians and for those who are curious.

23 Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
    wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
    a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged seven times,
    then Lamech seventy-seven times.”

Our first encounter on this journey is early on in the book of Genesis, chapter 4, verses 19-24. A man named Lamech 'takes' two wives and then in a bizarre dialogue, tells them that he has murdered a man. The first issue to sit with is that Lamech broke with the original blueprint for human flourishing and 'took' two wives. He is the first to do this in the Bible and it is paired with violence in the text. Further, in the 'taking' of wives, the language instilled in Genesis 2 that a "man will leave his parents and is united to his wife" is subverted. The wives are already multiple possessions rather than the united pair originally intended in the beginning.

Moving on, we don't have any hard evidence about whom he killed. What is telling is the manner in which he spoke about it and to whom. Lamech has misinterpreted the protection given his great-great-great Grandfather Cain (Gen 4:13-15) and developed an arrogance about his incorrect belief that he can avenge any wrong against himself. We don't know from the text if he has even been wronged so his declaration really does seem to come from no-where. When he boasts arrogantly about his violence to these young men, the sense we are left with is one of intimidation and fear. In a modern context we would recognise this as coercive control.

So does God care? This is such a bizarre incident. We have little to no context of the details which caused Lamech to go on his rant. But the account is there because it is important. As Christians we believe that the Bible is God breathed and useful for all teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16-17). The account of Lamech and his abuse through fear is left here as an early warning. The people God created were already starting to deviate from his original plan. As we see later in the story of Noah, things deteriorated to the extent that God essentially threw his hands up in despair.

Lamech was father to Noah, but Lamech never made it onto the ark... but nor was he invited. Lamech had been dead for 5 years by the time the floods came onto the earth. But that ark was certainly being built while Lamech was alive (conservative estimates anything between 20 and 75 years). A man like Lamech, may have produced an honourable son, but he did suffer the consequence of his behaviours. His legacy is a warning and a demonstration that justice must find a way.

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