Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Adah bore Jabal; he was the ancestor of those who live in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the ancestor of all those who play the lyre and pipe. Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, September 17, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Civilization began with the women. We read here about Adah, whose children became the first herders and the first musicians, and about Zillah, whose children became smiths. Yes, credit is given to the male offspring (poor Naamah apparently had nothing noteworthy to offer the world) but this is one of those beautiful, rare instances when women are named in the Bible and held up as essential in God’s family.
As a musician, I am grateful to Adah, who must have taught her son to sing and play instruments, or at least nurtured and affirmed his artistic tendencies. In a world that was probably harsh and uncompromising, this would have been a great gift, even frivolous.
May we all as parents and as children of God nurture in our own children the broad and varied skills and abilities that make the world a beautiful place in which to live.
Is there a woman I am particularly grateful to for a skill or love that I possess?