Why bother?

I have decided that I want to try and read through the entire bible this coming year. I also want to see if I can put the entire bible into electronic format by entering it in VIM. If you don't know what VIM is, you need to google it. Hint: It is used by many who use Linux.

These are some observations and thoughts from reading the first four books of Genesis.

1. I noticed that after Cain kills Abel, he says essentially the same thing that just about every murderer says: "I didn't do it." Although he did not say these exact words, this is what he meant when he said "Am I my brother's keeper?" He knew what God was asking, and if he was smart, he probably also knew that God knew what happened. He did not deny the fact after God stated that he did it either. He only complained about his sentence. "My punishment is more than I can bear." I wonder if Abel felt that way about his punishment?

2. It is interesting that God protects Cain from being killed by others. When Cain says that anyone who meets him will want to kill him, God says that anyone who tries will be punished seven times over for this. Why does God protect Cain? It almost seems that God is not in favor of the death sentence, even though later he gives laws to the Israelite nation telling them that anyone who murders should be stoned to death.

3. The second half of Genesis four goes into great depth about what Cain's descendants did. It talks about some who became players of harps and flutes, as well as some who made all sorts of tools of iron and bronze. I suppose this is mentioned to show the contributions that his descendants made to the betterment of mankind - quality of life types of things.

4. Genesis four also talks about a descendant of Cain whose name was Lamech. Apparently he killed someone too, and he boasted to his wives about it. It seems to indicate that this type of behavior is somewhat of a passed on type behavior. Not only did Lamech kill someone, but he brags about his "invincibility" because of how God protected Cain, his ancestor.

5. Why did the writer of Genesis take all this extra time to tell of these people if their descendants are just going to die in a great flood. It is odd. I believe the purpose might be to show the validity and accuracy of this part of the bible. Typically, if there is an unimportant character in a story, you will not spend a whole lot of time to develop this character or give any detail about them, because they are not central to the story, nor are they used in any important way.

Today is Christmas day, and the kids have really enjoyed their stocking presents. Later we plan on going to visit an older gentleman who has no children and his wife is in the hospital. We will sing some Christmas carols to him and his wife. I hope they enjoy it. My heart goes out to people like this who have no family to speak of and are all alone. I think that God wants us to care for people like this.