GENESIS 4:17-26: ART AND THE BIBLE

This passage begins the pattern of genealogies found in the rest of Genesis whereby the ungodly line is described first (vv. 17-24) and then the godly line (vv. 25-26).

Verse 17: In complete defiance of God's command, Cain proceeds to settle down instead of wandering. Not only that, but he builds the first city and names it after his son as a prideful way of securing his legacy. This is a hint that the fruits of civilization will be at odds with God's will for some time to come, until ultimately God redeems the idea of the city in the New Jerusalem. (The very interesting book The Meaning of the City by Jacques Ellul pursues this ides.)

Verse 19: As another example of defiance, the practice of polygamy begins here, in contrast to God's command that “a man shall cleave to his wife.”

Verses 20-22: In these short descriptions we meet the respective fathers of large-scale agriculture, the arts, and sciences. We could thus view these verses as another example of God's grace in using Cain's sin to shape human civilization. That is probably not the intent of these verses, which it is doubtful we are to see in such a positive light, especially since these three men not only come from the the line of Cain, but their father Lamech is even worse than Cain was.

In looking at these three foundations of “civilization,” we are all well aware of the dangers posed by the desire for unlimited wealth or by technology run amok. But there is little said in the Bible or in church regarding the dangers posed by the arts. However, just remember that Jubal was also the father of gangsta rap, soap operas and slasher films. Even the “harmless” higher arts contain their own inherent dangers.

We often think that the arts just reflect what is going on in the world at the time. But Francis Schaeffer (Art and the Bible) is not the only one who feels that the general acceptance of a new philosophical trend by civilization is preceded by a trend in art which paves the way for it.

Thus, the history of the visual arts shows that what Jubal started was a trend in which God (Byzantine through early Renaissance), was replaced in importance by man made in the image of God (late Renaissance); then man's place was subordinated to the rest of creation (Romantic era), which was subsequently replaced by light (Impressionism), chaos (Dada), the sub-conscious (Surrealism), science (Op Art), and the artist himself (Abstract Expressionism). The end of this downward spiral came with artists who either felt that their works constituted a new reality which replaced God's creation (late Cubism), or those who mocked the whole idea of art itself as meaningless (Pop Art). This whole process sounds very pessimistic and is reminiscent of the Israelites and their despair during the Babylonian Exile.

 This is described in Psalm 137, which begins in this way:

“By the rivers of Babylon – there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion.

On the willows there we hung up our harps.

For there our captors asked us for songs,

and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,

“Sing us on of the songs of Zion!”

How could we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land? But that is exactly what each one of us is called to do. We live in Exile in today's society but are called to sing God's song using whatever gifts we have to those around us who may have an entirely different culture and mindset than we do.

This is why Paul said, “To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews...To those outside the law I became as one outside the law...so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.” I Corinthians 9:20-22

And fortunately, God can redeem man's sometimes misguided attempts at creation so that all the various art movements in history that have been, and will continue to be, can be used for God's glory. 

For those interested in looking at some current examples of various art styles employed by Christian artists, go to the CIVA (Christians in the Visual Arts) website.