(Gen 4:20-22 KJV) And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
The passage above is significant because the people are all descendents of Cain, who though originally a tiller of the soil, killed his brother in jealous rage and was cursed from the earth, so he went on to build the first Biblical city and his descendents devised alternative ways to make a living…. by using tools.
Most living creatures have no need to use tools because evolution (via God) has equipped them with everything they need to live - the bird is designed to fly, land on twigs, build nests, lay eggs and eat seed. While the bee is designed to fly, drink nectar and pollinate flowers. This is the truth about the birds and the bees - their relationship to human sexual activity is practically non-existent.
In everyday nature there are only a few items that can be used for tools or ‘intelligent’ extensions to offset the apparent inadequate design of the human being… the first is stones for extending our mass, for breaking things or for grinding things down, the second is ‘sticks’ for extending our length, for reaching higher or for reaching into places our fingers cannot naturally go….
Other intelligent creatures have used these simple tools to access their food to crack the hard outer shell of seeds and winkle food from inaccessible places…. this is a bit like cheating on the game of life and evolution, but somehow they manage to get away with it, without causing too much damage.
Since Cain and the development of Cities, humanity… often through necessity, has fathered invention and learnt to cheat on the game of life “big time” and whenever anyone cheats “big time”… everything appears to lose true value and meaning… and so… many give up on life, because when cheats prosper… the game becomes spoiled and pointless.
(Exo 20:25 KJV) And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
David slew Goliath with a stone… it appears that sometimes it is necessary to use a thorn as a tool to extract a thorn that is infecting the body. When we look at creation we see that all living things are effectively tools in God’s tool shed… It often seems that many creatures are ‘dumb’ tools, like spanners and wrenches… a few can take measures… still others can shape and mould their environment. Is man just an organic robot that has tried to outsmart his maker?
When we look at the ‘evil-ution’ of our tools we see that most tools are destructive to the earth and creative only for City dwellers…. Moving from sticks and stones, through clay pots to carry more than our hands could hold, we built ploughs and picks to mine the ground for metal; Fiery furnaces to mould metal; Axes and blades to cut down trees; Tools for leverage became machines that needed power and so coal, steam, oil, petrol, electricity and nuclear power are exploited…. and so it continues, till it is ‘game over’ again…
(Mat 24:38 KJV) For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
TOOLS (PART 1)
Continued