Genesis 4:16-5:32 - Impossibilities

It is tempting to skip over the long lists of names that we have in the Bible, for example, in chapters 4 and 5 of Genesis; tempting to think that they really have very little to say to us about the condition of the human race. In fact, that is a great mistake.

Paul taught Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all of Scripture is profitable for us, and that we should make use of everything that has been written in the Word of God. That means long lists of names too.

In Genesis 4, we saw the first murder being committed. It was clear in that first human family that Paradise had been lost, and that the Fall of man plunged the human race into misery, despair and death. Instead of getting better, things continued to get worse, until at last the sin of man is so great that God pledges to destroy the earth with a flood.

Why could man not stem the tide of his own wickedness and rebellion against God? Why was it that instead of coming back to the God of creation, the God of Eden and the God of the covenant, mankind only drifted further into sin? I believe that Genesis 4 and 5 at least explain part of that mystery to us.

It is interesting to see some of the things that were in the experience of man at this point of time. And it is important to grasp this - that even although these things were in man's experience, they could not give the peace and the pardon man needed.

Planning

Cain, we are told, in Genesis 4:17, built the first city. This was the great monument to all his skill as an architect and planner. The name of Cain would go down in history. He may have been the first murderer, but he was also a man of skill and ability.

Yet all of Cain's skill and ability and planning and building is not able to halt the corruption that is in the world. He did shed blood, after all, and violence is going to grow and grow and spread throughout the whole world as a consequence of these first sins. Man needs more than a city to meet his needs.

How many people are there that say that if we improve social conditions, build better cities, plan better towns and villages, then we will be happy! But we need more, much more, in order to satisfy our souls and fill our lives with meaning, peace and direction.

Playing

There were others who became skilled in music. Jubal, a descendant of Cain, was the originator of music, the father of all who play the harp and the flute (4:21). What power music has! Who cannot fail to be moved by a beautiful piece of music played well! We all have our favourite scores, our favourite instruments, our favourite musicians. Sometimes we can take refuge in our favourite piece of music as a distraction and as a pastime to help us, to calm us, to soothe us, much as Saul was soothed by the playing of David.

But at the end of the day, the music scene cannot provide the answers. Not even the skillful playing of Jubal and his school of music could quieten the hearts of mankind at the dawn of human history. Our favourite and most relaxing pastimes cannot quieten our souls.

Learning

Then there was learning - research and education. Tubal-Cain not only knew how to make things out of bronze and iron, he could instruct others in these skills also (4:22). His hands were gifted to utilise the resources of the earth, and to harness them for the good of others. And he was able to pass his knowledge on and to equip others in these tasks.

Education plays such an important role in the lives of each one of us. There are hundreds of students engaged in research programmes and courses of learning, each one following a different discipline of knowledge and a different course of education.

But the greatest knowledge in the world cannot give life and hope to mankind in sin. Only the knowledge of God in the face of Christ can do that. Eternal life is to know God and his son, Jesus Christ (John 17:3). Education is good, learning is good, research is good. What is not good is to think that that will provide all our answers.

Long Life

Then there was Methuselah, who lived to the ripe young age of 969 years! Just 31 years short of his first millenium! What a world he lived in! What experiences he had in that time!. Just imagine - someone celebrating their 969th birthday in 1998 would have had to be born in 1029, and would have lived through nine whole centuries of change.

Yet even long life and long experience could not stem the tide. We are living in a world obssessed with eternal youth, selling chemical products, singing religious slogans, and following health gurus to promote our physical wellbeing. Yet lives are miserable because of sin, and not all the fancy products in the world can deal with that.

Religion

Finally, let's note that this was not an irreligious age. There was Enoch, walking with God (5:24), and living, and dying, in faith (Hebrews 11:5), pleasing God and honouring God. It was a tremendous privilege, in the midst of such darkness and ignorance, to have had light - the light of religion and of godly living.

Yet that light itself is of no consequence unless it shines personally into our hearts. The tale of Genesis is of a race that has fallen into a pit and cannot dig itself out again. Once in the grip of sin and under its power, not all the building, learning, music, experience and religion in the world can set us free.

And it is into this despair that the Gospel comes, bringing life, hope and peace to a fallen race and to a bankrupt society. May we know the power of the Gospel, and look away from everything else to Jesus Christ in order to know his blessing and his life in our souls.