"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..." (Gen 4:17) "Cain had marital relations with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after his son Enoch." (Gen 4:17, NET) I have often heard people talk of living a fulfilled life and dying fulfilled. What exactly constitutes a fulfilled life? Is it achieving all your dreams? Because I don't think that is even possible since each dream accomplished gives rise to a newer and bigger one. Is it living a life of service to God and humanity and being a blessing to others? Because I have seen people who did all that and were greatly unhappy with their life. I have seen people who built churches for God, donated millions in churches, sponsored crusades, helped the poor, gave scholarships to children of widows, and yet were totally unsettled with their life and ill-gotten wealth. What exactly does being fulfilled entail, and how can one attain fulfillment in life? If you recall January 5th, 2018 when we introduced the year's theme; it is 2018 - the year of fulfillment! I don't think it is a coincidence. Fulfillment comes from being who God wants you to be, doing what God wants you to do, being in fellowship with God, dwelling in God's presence. Yesterday, we were discussing the three things that happened to Cain when he left God's presence, and I promised that we will continue with the last one today. The last is the third one which I consider the most important of them all... Cain died unfulfilled! Let's look at the scriptures. .
The King James Bible said and "Cain built a city", but the actual Hebrew text uses a verb in the present tense literally means and Cain builds a city, present tense; not past tense. Which means he never completed the city. That is why most dynamic translation like the NIV, NET, CEV says "Cain was building a city". When Cain left God's presence, he set his mind to build; but he couldn't accomplish that because God was not with him. God's presence is what attracts success. Look at what the Bible said concerning Joseph. "The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did..." (Gen 39:2, NLT). The secret to Joseph' success was God's presence. If we lose God's presence. we lose eeverything. Fulfillment comes from living in accordance with God's purpose. Chances are that even if Cain had finished the city, he would still be unfulfilled!