One might guess that populations were in the millions by this time, because the ages people lived to would mean they had dozens of children, as women could have remained fertile till they were a hundred or two, given the still perfect environment, with the water shild protecting the warm, tropical earth from deadly cosmic rays, combined with a lack of deteriorating diseases yet. One tradition states that Adam and Eve had 77 children. Given that, the wording here is interesting.
We read, at the start of this first, that “Jabal’s brother” was Jubal. Not one of his brothers – his brother. It’s possible, of course, that this was just referring to his most famous brother – we don’t really know why God phrased it this way. It’s also possible he had only one brother and dozens of sisters. It’s also possible that for some reason, Lamech was not blessed with many descendants on purpose. Perhaps Adah, their mother, was treated very roughly by her husband, to where she couldn’t conceive. Perhaps she even died young. Or, perhaps God just closed up her womb after a time, because of the wickedness of the world.
Whatever the reason, we see that God is in control. It is He that decides whether someone will conceive and when. He has much more information aobut things than we do; an infinite amount, in fact. He knows what’s best, while we often stagger along in total confusion about what is best. Even when we wind up better than most, however, our best guess is still far away from God’s perfection. Imperfect man can never approach the perfection of our holy God.
We read that Jubal was the father of whose who played music. We don’t know if these were the first musical instruments. Anthropologists today tell us drums are often the first, and this seems to be born out by small children who like to pound on things. However, there’s a difference between these and what Jubal likely did.
Drums aren’t mentioned in the Bible. The more melodious instruments – the harp being one – are often mentioned, however. Drums can only provide a pounding beat, whereas other instruments can provide a more flowing melody. A beat to music can allow one to be put into a trance, if it’s hard enough; when a group of teens on a mission trip had a radio playing rock music, in fact, it prompted one native to proclaim that the music was “calling the devils.” It’s likely that there were drums before this, but the music was probably not soothing, like that of a harp, for instance.
In that case, it’s interesting to note that it was one of Cain’s line to create this melodious sound; to be the father of beautiful music, and to teach in the art of it. This brings up two points.
First, just because something sounds good doesn’t mean it is. We don’t know what kind of music was played, but again, there is no evidence that Jubal played this music for the Lord. There is no evidence that he didn’t, but we can be certain that not all of the music produced by Jubal and his craftsmen praised God. And, it’s possible none did. Music should praise the One who provided the talent, just as scientific discoveries should glorify God, as noted above.
Second, look at the Godly people who have created beautiful music through the years. King David was very skilled at the harp, for instance. God took something that a wicked, evil line created. And, He turned it into something that would glorify Him.
Many things in this world today can be used for good, or for evil. It hasn’t changed since the dawn of time. It’s no wonder that Solomon wrote that “There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecc. 1:9) Turning back to the illustrations that were used before,w hen discussing Creation, of course there have been new inventions and such. However, the age-old battle between God and the devil, with God trying to turn things to be used for good and the devil the other way, has existed since the dawn of time. There are some things, of course, that are always evil if used in a certain way, of course; people should never consume poisons, for instance. However, like other things, it doesn’t mean that the things themselves are bad. Music can be used to uplift, soothe, encourage, and strengthen one in one’s walk with God. It’s been used to wistness to others about his wonderful works. Just because Jubal was the first main teacher of things like the harp doesn’t mean that all music is therefore bad. David used the same instrument for great things.
