Origins 08: Violence | Industry | Music
Origins 08: Violence | Industry | Music
Human Progress
Genesis four is an incredibly interesting chapter. In it is the infamous account of Cain murdering his brother Abel. We read of Go’d’s active role and incredible mercy toward evil. Second, we then read of Cain’s descendants, some cities they built, the beginnings of mining and industry, the origins of polygamy and the first musicians. These, on their own are really interesting to consider. Remember, all this was the pre-flood world. These smaller details are evidence of a couple of larger themes that Moses is building in Genesis 4 and 5. . It is these two tracks that I would like to trace in this article.
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December 4, 2020
GENESIS 4:1-24
There is so little we know about the world before the flood. The Bible’s storyline has a quick pace that moves us to the flood. However, there are a number of clues in chapters 4 and 5 that allow us to make a few general observations and conclusions.
Cain’s Murder
The story of Cain and Abel points out that Cain’s offering was not from a willing heart and that he did not offer the prescribed animal sacrifice. HIs brother Abel with a good heart, offered what was required. Consequently, Cain was rejected, became jealous and murdered his brother. He then is so callously indifferent to his own violent actions, that the Lord confronts him and bashes him to be a wondering homeless man.
God’s Mercy
While this is quite commonly discussed by Bible readers, what is often overlooked is God’s active steps in which he prods Cain and responds to Cain. This happens three times.
First Act of Mercy
When Cain is plotting to murder his brother, The Lord meets him and asks him to do a simple act. Return and make the correct sacrifice and he would be accepted.
Second Acts of Mercy
After Cain murdered his brother the Lord meets him and asks him where his brother is. The Lord is a great question asker. Of course Cain knew the answer to the question. But, God asked the question to make Cain dialogue with him.
Third Act of Mercy
This is interesting. Cain murdered his brother. The Lord already intervened twice with Cain. Now Cain is being punished and he complains. What was Cain’s complain? The Lord’s punishment was too severe. The Lord responds to his complaint with an act of mercy. What was the act of Mercy? The guarantee of protection that any person who attempts to take matters in their own hands to either harm or kill Cain will be experience seven times more severe retribution from God himself.
Have you ever reflected on the mercy of God on Cain? Have you ever thought about how much more tender God is with those who have done wrong than we are? Certainly, there is a place for justice in society. But, where does mercy enter in. Cain was not punished with death. He was punished, but even in his punishment there was God’s mercy.
Violence
We need to see that chapter four takes a deep dive into a murder. This must have been devastating for Adam and Eve. Think about it, one of their own sons killed, in cold blood, another son. This is not the end of it. God offered Cain some protection from other people so that they would not carry out vigilante acts of revenge. This seems to keep the normal tit for tat acts from escalating into increasingly violent acts and eventually warfare.
However, instead of being grateful for the protection offered by God, Cain’s family line seems to flaunt the safeguard and arrogantly increase in their violence. The introduction of iron and bronze tools (Genesis 4:22), implies that there were weapons and perhaps machines created in Cain’s line for warfare. If you think this is a little overstated, then consider this. One of they key comments that indicates God’s impatience before the flood was the level of violence of humanity (Genesis 6:11,13). The world before the flood was a violent place.
Humans – Not Cavemen
We, in our generation, tend to look with smugness on previous generations. We presume that anyone living more than 500 years ago, must have been less educated, less technology driven, less mobile, less groomed, less, less, less… We may assume that the people of the pre-flood world were perhaps akin to the pictures we saw in our textbooks of neanderthal, half human beings. We need to reimagine these pre-flood ancestors as very highly developed and living in a world of great advances.
Originals | Firsts
These great advances seemed to originate from a rather interesting man named Lamech. He is aware of his lineage and proudly boasts of it. He and the others in Cain’s line are contrasted to the line of Seth, this eluding to the tension and animosity that would exist between the family line of the righteous and the family line of the wicked. Lamech is bold in his evil. He marries two wives, he then wrote a poem to two of his boys born to his wives. In this poem is a defiant taunt of vicious retribution on any person who dares to harm him and his family line.
First Polygamy
Lamech had two wives. Their names, Adah and Zillah, are recorded. This is unique. It was a first. The introduction of polygamy is noted and this should alert us to the puzzling and taboo nature of the act.
First Nomadic Shepherds/Cattlemen
Here we read of a break from the cultivation of land and small livestock farms to nomadic, tent dwelling, people’s whose entire business was rearing cattle, sheep and goats. This business is passed along through a family line, one of the sons of Adah, called Jabal (Genesis 4:20).
Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the first of those who raise livestock and live in tents
First Music:
We read in Genesis 4:21 about the very first musician and that the first instruments were the harp and the flute. His name, Jubal, the other son of Adah.
His brother’s name was Jubal, the first of all who play the harp and flute.
It must have been completely spellbinding to hear the flute and harp for the first time. Something besides the human voice was making musical sounds. While Jubal was the first musician, it must have inspired others and the birth of a music industry.
First Bronze / Iron Forging
This is might be considered the first industrial revolution. Think about this, to forge these raw materials, meant that they first had to be mined from the earth. Second, the forging was for “tools.” But many have thought that these “tools” might have been, on one hand, rudimentary farming equipment, knives, pots, pans, etc. On a larger scale, they might have also been creating weapons for war. This is very plausible, given the extreme sense of violent aggression that Lamech vows to commit against anyone who causes him, or his family, any trouble.
Conclusion
So, from this chapter we have two trains of thought running. One is God’s incredible mercy towards Cain, Abel’s brother. The second is the way that the mercy of God was exploited by Cain’s descendants. This exploitation of God’s mercy was the beginning of an ever increasing trend towards violence that would eventually be addressed by God judging the world with the flood. Chapter 5 of Genesis will introduce to a different family line, the Sons of God, the righteous lineage of Seth.
Blessings
Rich
