The Strand Study Bible

GENESIS

69

GENESIS

them, there is deep trouble. For they have been judged and condemned already by the very fact of their refusal to believe in the nonjudgmental already pronounced–in the noncondemnation under which they actually stand–all of which, but for their estranged, stubborn faces, they could be enjoying free of charge. 5

NOTE – II Peter 3:9 states that God is not willing that any should perish. If God’s not willing that any should perish (and He’s not), then He’s not willing to send people to Hell ( Jn 3:17 ). Question is: If God is not willing to send people to Hell, who sends them there? The answer is – people send themselves ( Acts 1:20,25 ). Karl G. Sabiers in Where Are The Dead? notes:

The doctrine of Hell is not a very popular doctrine. The first argument advanced against Hell, in most cases, is that a God of love couldn’t send anyone to hell, not even a wicked sinner. We hear that “God is too Good–He is too Just, to send men to hell.” This is the difficulty in most people’s minds. But dear reader, let it be understood by all that God sends no one to hell. People condemn themselves to it by rejecting Christ as their personal Saviour and neglecting God’s plan of salvation. 6

Sadly, man has misinterpreted God’s heart for man as well (See NOTE under Deut 5:29 ). 4:8 Statisticians inform us that approximately 200 million people have died ( and slew him ) due to war and human violence over the last 6,000 years of human history. Of that 200 million approximately 100 million have died just within the last century. Other statisticians inform us that there have been c. 15 billion people that have inhabited this planet since c. 4,000 BC. Which means: Less than 2% of the world’s population (or, 200 million out of 15 billion) has died due to the tragedy of war and murder. That leaves 98% of the world’s population to die by natural and/or other causes. Point being: You may not be the victim of a murder and/or war, but you are still going to be a “victim.” Death is inevitable. Are you ready to face the inevitable? Randy Alcorn in Heaven notes: As human beings, we have a terminal disease called mortality. The current death rate is 100 percent. Unless Christ returns soon, we’re all going to die. We don’t like to think about death; yet, worldwide, 3 people die every second, 180 every minute, and nearly 11,000 every hour. If the Bible is right about what happens to us after death, it means more than 250,000 people every day go either to Heaven or Hell. 7 4:9a Cain here claimed both ignorance (which was a lie) and innocence (which was sarcasm) concerning the death of his brother. God rejected both excuses (vs 10). 4:9b The reason Cain lied ( And he said, I know not ) is because, intuitively, Cain knew what he had done was wrong. Otherwise he would have answered God this way, “And what’s wrong with murder?” 4:9c Cain’s indifference ( Am I my brother’s keeper ) towards the welfare of another human being led to his eventual ruin. THE ADAGE IS TRUE: Those who pass the buck (refuse responsibility) eventually go broke (vs 11-12) 4:12a Anywhere Cain would now settle his labors ( When thou tillest the ground ) would be futile. The ground into which his brother’s blood had flowed would refuse to produce crops for him. This is why Cain’s descendants became cattlemen, musicians, and metal workers instead of farmers (vs 20-22). 4:12b God had cursed the serpent (Gen 3:14), the ground (Gen 3:17), and now Cain. His punishment would be to become a vagabond (homeless wanderer), banished from his vocation of farming and condemned to eeking out a living in whatever manner he could. 4:14 Restless, uneasy, and haunted by the memory of his crime, Cain became paranoid (Prov 28:1). 4:15 Cain was not branded, but appointed a special “sign” ( mark ) that no one finding him would slay him. What that mark was, no one really knows. However, that mark would lead to the beginning of writing as we know it, for it came to be used to record ideas. Eventually, these marks (pictures) were transferred to pottery and hard clay tablets. Thus, the oldest known writings are pictures (marks) on clay tablets. 4:21 This is the first time music ( harp and organ , i.e., lyre and flute) is referred to in the Bible. Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , which governs melody and harmony, rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo , meter , and articulation ), dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture . Prehistorically speaking , the flute ( organ ) is considered the oldest musical instrument ever discovered… which would correspond with Genesis 4:21. Historically speaking , while there have been many prehistoric instruments found throughout the world which are over 5,000 years old, the oldest secular written music (outside of the Song of Moses, which was written c. 1487 BC – Exo 15) can only be dated back to c. 1400 BC. The Hurrian songs, excavated from the Hurrian city of Ugarit, an ancient port city on the eastern Mediterranean Sea in northern Syria near modern Burj al-Qasab, are a collection of songs inscribed on clay tablets and are considered the oldest surviving notated work of music we have. Spiritually speaking , the role of spiritual music, like that of The Song of Moses (Exo 15) or The Song of Israel (Num 21:17) or The Song of God (Deut 31:19-22,30 & 32:44) or The Song of Deborah and Barak (Judg 5:1-12) or the songs of David (The Psalms), can Spiritual music, according to Ephesians 5:19, can be broken down into three categories: (1) psalms ; songs which take parts of the Bible and put them to music ( The Song of Moses ); (2) hymns ; songs which focus on God and His attributes ( How Great Thou Art ); and (3) spiritual songs ; songs which emphasize the Christian experience ( Amazing Grace ). The content of spiritual music shouldn’t just be about emotion. The content of the songs that we sing should have a message that can be understood. Psalm 47:7 says: For God is the king of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding be broken down into three areas: 1. The content of spiritual music