Commentary on Genesis Part 34

11. Similar to this judgment upon the world was Christ's declaration as to the last days. He says: "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" Lk 18, 8. It is a fearful thing to live in such an evil and G.o.dless world. By the goodness of G.o.d, since we have the light of his Word, we are still in the golden age. The sacraments are rightfully administered in our Churches, pious teachers proclaim the Word purely, and, though magistrates be weak, wickedness is not desperately rampant. But Christ's prophecy shows that there will be evil times when the Lord's day approaches. Wholesome teaching nowhere will be found, the Church being dominated by the wicked, as today the plans of our adversaries are a menace. The pope and the wicked princes zealously strive totally to destroy the ministry of the Word, oppressing or corrupting the true ministries, that everyone may believe whatever pleases him.

12. So much the more diligently should we pray for our posterity, and take earnest heed that a more wholesome doctrine be transmitted to them. If there had been more G.o.dly teachers in the days of Noah, there might have been more righteous people. The fact that Noah alone was proclaimed a righteous man makes it evident that the G.o.dly teachers had been either destroyed or corrupted, leaving Noah the sole preacher of righteousness, as Peter calls him, 2 Pet 2, 5. Since government had been turned into tyranny and the home vitiated by adultery and wh.o.r.edom, how could punishment be delayed any longer?

13. Such danger awaits us also if the last days are to be like the days of Noah. Truly, the popes and bishops strenuously endeavor to suppress the Gospel and to ruin the Churches which have been rightfully established. Thus does the world a.s.siduously press onward to a period similar to the age of Noah, when, with the light of the Word extinguished, all shall go astray in the darkness of wickedness.

For without the preaching of the Word, faith cannot endure nor prayer, nor the purity of the sacraments.

14. Such, according to Moses, was the condition of the ancient world in Noah's day, when the world was young and at its best. The greatest geniuses flourished everywhere and people were well educated by experience because they lived so long. What will be our fate in the frenzy, so to speak, that shall befall the world in its dotage? We should remember to care for our posterity and continually pray for it.

15. As the first world was most corrupt, it was thus subject to terrible punishment. Adults perished who provoked G.o.d to anger by their wicked deeds, also those of an innocent age, who had knowledge and were unable to distinguish between their right hand and their left. Many, doubtless, were deceived by their own guilelessness; but G.o.d's wrath does not discriminate, it falls upon and destroys alike adults and infants, the crafty and the guileless.

16. This awful punishment appears to have moved even the Apostle Peter. Like one besides himself, he uses words which we today are not able to understand. He says: Christ, having been made alive in the Spirit, also "went and preached unto the spirits in prison, that aforetime were disobedient, when the long suffering of G.o.d waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water," etc. (1 Pet 3, 19-20).

17. A strange declaration, and an almost fanatical saying, by which the Apostle describes this event! By these words, Peter a.s.sures us that there was a certain unbelieving world to whom the dead Christ preached after their death. If this is true, who would doubt that Christ took Moses and the prophets with him to those who were fettered in prison, in order to change the unbelieving world into a new and believing one? This seems to be intimated by Peter's words, though I should not like to make this a.s.sertion authoritatively.

18. But doubtless those whom he calls an unbelieving world were not the wicked despisers of his Word nor the tyrants. If they were overwhelmed in their sins, these were certainly condemned. The unbelieving world of which he speaks seems rather to be the children and those whose lack of judgment precluded belief. These were at that time, seized and carried away headlong to their destruction, by the offenses of the world, as if in the power of a rapid stream, only eight souls being saved.

19. In this way does Peter magnify the awful intensity of G.o.d's wrath.

At the same time he praises his long-suffering in that he did not deprive those of the Word of salvation who at the time did not or could not believe because they hoped in the patience of G.o.d and would not be convinced that he would visit such fearful and universal punishment upon the world.

20. How this came to pa.s.s is beyond our understanding. We know and believe that G.o.d is wonderful in all his works and has all power.

Therefore he who in life preached to the living, could also in death preach to the dead. All things hear, feel and touch him, though our human minds can not understand the process. Nor is it to our discredit when we are ignorant of some of the mysteries of Holy Writ. The apostles had each his own revelation, and contention concerning them would be presumptuous and foolish.

21. Such was the revelation of Christ given to the spirits that evidently perished in the flood, and we may perhaps, not inappropriately connect it with that article of our creed which speaks of the descent of Christ into h.e.l.l. Such was also Paul's revelation concerning paradise, the third heaven (2 Cor 12, 2-4), and certain other matters of which we may be ignorant without shame. It is false pride to profess to understand these things. St. Augustine and other teachers give their fancy loose rein when they discuss these pa.s.sages.

May it not be that the apostles had revelations which St. Augustine and others did not have? But let us return to Moses.

22. A truly fearful description of the world is vouchsafed in this declaration of G.o.d that he saw Noah alone to be righteous before him, in spite of the small children and those others who had innocently been misled. Let us particularly note the term, "Before me." It signifies that Noah was blameless not only as regards the second table of the Law, but also as regards the first. He believed in G.o.d, and hallowed, preached and called upon his name; he gave thanks to G.o.d; he condemned G.o.dless teachings. For, to be righteous before G.o.d means to believe G.o.d and to fear him, and not, as they taught in popedom, to read ma.s.ses, to free souls from purgatory, to become a monk, and like things.

23. This term "Before me" has reference also to the condemnation of the ancient world. Having neglected the wors.h.i.+p demanded by the first table, they criminally transgressed also the second. Not only did they mock Noah as a fool, but they went so far as to condemn his teaching as heresy. Meanwhile they ate, drank, and celebrated festivals in security. Before the world, accordingly, Noah was not righteous; measured by her code he was a sinner.

24. Hence G.o.d, or the grandfather, Methuselah, consoles Noah with the Word of counsel to disregard the blind and wicked verdict of the world, neither to care for her views and utterances, but to close eyes and ears while heeding alone the Word and verdict of G.o.d, believing himself to be righteous before G.o.d, or approved and acceptable to him.

25. And Noah's faith was truly great; he could rely upon G.o.d's utterance. I, forsooth, should not have believed. I realize what weight the whole world's hostile and condemnatory judgment must carry.

We are condemned in the judgment of the Pope, the Sacramentarians, and the Anabaptists, but this is mere play and pleasure, compared to what the righteous Noah had to bear, who found not a single person in the whole world to approve of his religion or life, except his own sons and his pious grandfather. We have, the endors.e.m.e.nt of many Churches, by G.o.d's grace, and our princes fear no danger in defense of their doctrine and religion. Noah had no such protectors, and he saw his enemies living in peaceful leisure and enjoyment. If I had been he, I surely should have said: Lord, if I am righteous, if I am well pleasing to thee and if those people are wicked and displeasing to thee, why, then, dost thou enrich them? Why dost thou heap upon them all manner of favors, while I, with my family, am greatly hara.s.sed and almost without a.s.sistance? In short, I should have despaired in such great afflictions unless the Lord had given me that spirit which Noah had.

26. Therefore, Noah is a brilliant and admirable example of faith, who opposed the judgments of the world with an heroic steadfastness of mind in the a.s.surance that he was righteous while all the rest of the world was wicked.

27. Often when I think of those most holy men, John Huss and Jerome of Prague, I view with astonishment the courage of their souls, as they, only two in number, set themselves against the judgment of the whole world, of pope, emperor, bishops, princes, universities and all the schools throughout the empire.

28. It is helpful often to reflect upon such examples. Since the prince of the world battles against us, endeavoring to kindle despair in us with his fiery darts, it behooves us to be well armed, lest we succ.u.mb to the enemy. Let us say with Noah: I know that I am righteous before G.o.d, even though the whole world condemn me as heretical and wicked, yea, even desert me. Thus did the apostles desert Christ, leaving him alone; but he said (Jn 16, 32): "I am not alone." Thus did the false brethren desert Paul. Hence, this is no uncommon danger, and it is not for us to despair; but with courage to uphold the true doctrine, in spite of the world's condemnation and curse.

Vs. 2-3. _Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female. Of the birds also of the heavens, seven and seven, male and female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth._

29. It is evident that G.o.d takes pleasure in speaking to Noah. Hence, he does not confine himself to a single command, but repeats the same things in the same words. To human reason such repet.i.tion appears to be absurd talkativeness, but to a soul struggling against despair the will of G.o.d cannot be repeated too often, nor can too exhaustive instruction be given relative to the will of G.o.d. G.o.d recognizes the state of a soul that is tempted, and hence makes the same statements again and again, so that Noah may learn from frequent conversations and conferences that he is not only not forsaken though the whole world forsake him, but that he has a friend and protector in G.o.d who so loves him that he never seems to weary of conversing with him. This is the cause of the statements being repeated. However, as has been explained, G.o.d spoke with Noah not from heaven but through men.

30. In respect to the language, this pa.s.sage shows that _ha-behemah_ signifies not only cattle, the larger animals, but also the smaller ones which were commonly used for sacrifice, as sheep, goats and the like. The custom of offering sacrifices was not first inst.i.tuted by Moses, but was in the world from the beginning, being handed down, as it were, by the patriarchs to their posterity; as shown by the example of Abel, who brought of his first fruits an offering to G.o.d.

31. As to the remainder of the pa.s.sage, we explained at the end of the sixth chapter how to harmonize the discrepancies apparent in the fact that here seven beasts of each kind are ordered to be taken into the ark while only two of each kind are mentioned there. To repeat is not necessary. Since Noah was saved by a miracle, he thought that a seventh animal should be added to the three pairs of clean beasts as a thank-offering to G.o.d, after the flood, for his deliverance.

V. 4. _For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the ground._

32. Here you see G.o.d's care to give Noah complete a.s.surance. He sets a limit of seven days, after which will follow a rain of forty days and forty nights. G.o.d speaks with peculiar significance when he says that it shall rain. It was not a common rain, but fountains of the deep as well as the windows of heaven were opened; that is, not only did a great ma.s.s of rain fall from heaven, but also an immense amount of water streamed forth from the earth itself. And an immense amount of water was necessary to cover the highest mountain tops to a depth of fifteen cubits. It was no ordinary rain, but the rain of G.o.d's wrath, by which he set out to destroy all life upon the face of the earth.

Because the earth was depraved, G.o.d despoiled it, and because the G.o.dless people raged against the first and second tables of the commandments, therefore G.o.d also raged against them, using heaven and earth as his weapons.

33. This story is certain proof that G.o.d, though long-suffering and patient, will not allow the wicked to go unpunished. As Peter says (2 Pet 2, 5), if he "spared not the ancient world," how much less will he spare the popes or the emperors who rage against his Word? How much less will he spare us who blaspheme his name when our life is unworthy of our calling and profession, when we freely and daily sin against our consciences? Let us, then, learn to fear the Lord, humbly to accept his Word and obey it; otherwise punishment will overtake also us, as Peter threatens.

Vs. 5-10. _And Noah did according unto all that Jehovah commanded him.

And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. And Noah went in, and his sons and his wife, and his sons'

wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creepeth upon the ground, there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female, as G.o.d commanded Noah. And it came to pa.s.s after the seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth._

34. This is clear from what precedes. Noah's faith is praiseworthy in that he obeyed the Lord's command and unwaveringly entered the ark with his sons and their wives. G.o.d truly could have saved him in innumerable other ways; he did not employ this seemingly absurd method because he knew no other. To him who kept Jonah for three days in the midst of the sea and in the belly of the whale, what do you think is impossible? But Noah's faith and obedience are to be commended because he took no offense at this plan of salvation divinely shown to him, but embraced it in simple faith.

II. COMPLETE DESTRUCTION BY FLOOD.

* Why Moses so often repeats and expresses in few words what other writers describe at length 35-39.

* Noah's grief because of the approaching calamity 38.

* The way of coa.r.s.e and satiated spirits 39.

1. When did the flood commence.

a. Some think it began in the spring 40.

b. Others think it began in the autumn 41.

c. Which is the more probable 42.

* What to think of the Jews reckoning the year has two beginnings 44.

2. How the flood continued.

a. Must distinguish the fountains of the earth, the windows of heaven and the rain 45.

* Of the earth and the water.

(1) Why the water does not overflow the earth since the earth floats in the water 46.

(2) Why the water above the earth does not fall and overflow the earth 47-48.

(3) How the prophets wondered at this as a miracle, but we in our day give it little thought 49.

b. How were the fountains broken up, how can such a work be ascribed to G.o.d 50-51.

* Overflowing of the German fountains at Halle 51.

c. How were the windows of heaven opened 52.

(1) What is meant by the windows of heaven 53.