Read the Selected Scriptures from Gen. 4-6

·       4:3: NKJV “In the process of time” has a more literal translation: “in the end of days.”  Bible students wonder about this.  Was it on the Sabbath, the last day of the week?  Was it at the end of the growing season, harvesttime?  The Bible is not clear.  Most of the time, if people are definite about the time, it is to fit their a-priori theology. 

·       3:10-11 and 4:9-10: God, of course, knows our hearts.  But He also hears our words.  When Adam said he hid because he was naked, God knew he had sinned.  When Cain asked, “am I my brother’s keeper,” God knew he had sinned.  You can say, God knows all things and doesn’t need us to tell Him anything.  But God knows that we must accept our accountability.  We see here that we can never play games with God.  Our gamesmanship will give us up!  God’s responding questions (who told you that you were naked and what have you done) are asked for the same reason: they let Adam and Cain know they were found out.  We are not as smart as we think we are.  The sooner we lay aside our pride, the better for us.  God dealt for years and years with Jacob until Jacob finally said, “enough” (Gen. 45:28).

·       4:18: Mehujael means “smitten (wiped out) by God.  In Isa. 53:4 “naka el” is translated “smitten by God.”  Mehujael was a descendent of Cain.  Isaiah 53 is the Servant, our Lord Jesus Christ.  Think about it!

·      6:14: Ah, yes!  A favorite term in Scripture.  The “pitch” is the word for atonement, the covering for sin.  The pitch made the boat “leakproof,” providing safety for all inside.

o   This term is also related to “henna” (Song of Solomon 1:14) where our Beloved (Christ, the husband, the One who loves the bride) is to us a cluster of henna blooms in the vineyards of En Gedi.  (Top picture from internet; right taken in Israel.)

o   In Ex. 2:3 the mother of Moses, Jochebed, covered the little ark of bulrushes with asphalt and pitch.  The asphalt was used as mortar (Gen. 11:3).  If Noah had used asphalt it would have made the boat much heavier and more difficult to navigate the open waters.  Moses’ “ark” was intended to stay near the river bank.  Noah’s “ark” needed to float freely on tumultuous waters.  Our covering (atonement) allows us to be protected on the troubled waters of life.