Rarely are those who have given themselves up to wickedness addressed directly by the voice of the Lord. Laman and Lemuel herein share an experience with Cain, to whom God spoke directly in warning of the endless damnation that would be his if he continued his present course.
Cain reacted with anger to this experience, and we read that he “listened not any more to the voice of the Lord, neither to Abel, his brother, who walked in holiness before the Lord” (Moses 5:26). In this instance, however, Laman and Lemuel staged another of their short-lived periods of repentance. During that period the family was again blessed with food.