This is the book of man's birth, at the time when God created man and made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them, and called their name man, at the time they were created. And Adam was an hundred and thirty years old, and begat a son in his own image, and called his name Seth. And after that he lived eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: and all his days were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. Seth was an hundred and five years old, and begat Enos. And after that he lived eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters: and all his days were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died. Enos was ninety years old, and begat Kenan. And afterward he lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters: and all his days were nine hundred and five years, and he died. Kenan was seventy years old, and begat Mahalaleel. And after that he lived eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters: and all his days were nine hundred and ten years, and he died. Mahalaleel was five and threescore years old, and begat Jared. And afterward he lived eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: and all his days were eight hundred and five years, and ninety years; and he died. Jared was an hundred and two and threescore years old, and begat Enoch, and afterward lived eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: and all his days were nine hundred and two and threescore years, and died. Enoch was five and threescore years old, and begat Methuselah. And he led a godly life three hundred years after that, and begat sons and daughters; and all his days were three hundred and five years, and he died.
sixty years. And while he walked in godliness, God took him away, and he was seen no more. Methuselah was an hundred and seven and fourscore years old, and begat Lamech, and lived after him seven hundred and two and fourscore years, and begat sons and daughters; and all his days were nine hundred and nine and threescore years, and he died. Lamech was an hundred and two and fourscore years old, and begat a son, and called his name Noah, saying, He shall comfort us in our works, and in the affliction of our hands upon the earth, which the LORD hath cursed. After this he lived five hundred and ninety years, and begat sons and daughters: and all his days were seven hundred and seventy years, and he died. Noah was five hundred years old, and begat Shem, Ham and Japheth.
(1) This is a bad chapter to look at, because it does not tell more than the birth of the fathers, and how God's commandment was done when He blessed and created mankind to bear fruit. And count ten members one after another, that is, ten patriarchs, namely: Adam, Seth, Enos, Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methusalah, Lamech and Noah. But that he says before: "This is the book", that is, the description, "of the birth of man" 2c., everything is spoken before, but he brings it again, so that he adds something, and further describes, how it has gone on. Therefore it is not necessary to stand here for a long time.
We have said in the first chapter [ยง56] what is meant by being created in God's image, namely, that God is conformed to it, and what good is attributed to God's nature,
That man also might be made like it, and be made like it. But that image has now perished and perverted, and in its place the image of the devil has been set up. But through Christ it is brought again and renewed; by whose blood we are saved from sin, death, and the devil, and through the Holy Spirit, purchased by Him, are made righteous, true, and good in heart, and set apart unto everlasting life.
(3) Enough has been said of what he says here again, that God created man male and female, and blessed him, so that the power is not ours to make or prevent a man from being a man, or a woman from being a woman, and so also to prevent a man from being fruitful. But these words are not spoken in vain; they are soon spoken, but they are words of faith, and of a high understanding; neither doth any man understand, save he that is in the faith, what is man and what is woman.
(4) But this is what I call recognizing a man or a woman in faith, when a person believes without a doubt that both man and woman are God's work. But there are few of them who come together in this way, or who are with each other. Flesh and blood and evil desire are certainly felt, as well as unhappiness in the conjugal state; but that it is God's work is not seen. Therefore, as one sees every day, one soon tires of it and cries out about it. This is nothing but blindness, that they go up only to atone for their pride and lust; but God has appointed it so that the creatures might be increased. But enough of that. Now let us pass over the patriarchs.
Adam, writes Moses, lived to be a hundred and thirty years old, and begat a son in his own image, and named him Seth 2c. If someone asks what he did during that time, and the chapter is seen as if the fathers were nothing but flesh and blood, that Moses can write nothing about them but how they had marriage and begat children. But of course there is no book in Scripture that praises chastity so highly as this one. Is it not praised highly enough that Adam walked a hundred and thirty years in chastity? In addition, the other patriarchs all, who so
have gone until sixty, seventy, a hundred years from now? Where can you find such people now who could do it?
(6) Nature has subsequently become more and more corrupt, so that now no one can remain chaste for so long, nor live. Many people have dreamed and said that Adam has atoned for the hundred and thirty years in a hole in the land, and the like; but these are fables, and are contrary to faith. For he received forgiveness of his sin, along with Eve, through the promise of the seed. Faith has erased sin, for God does not atone for sin with works.
Now it is to be thought further that Cain on that side has also begotten children. Adam, on the other hand, governs his children in a Christian way, has been their father, bishop, priest and preacher, but has acted against the spiritual law, in which the priest writes and states that one cannot serve God and be legitimate. He not only preached this to his sons, but also continued to do so, and for a long time he was the supreme father, and will have been a fine, beautiful world. For if we count the ten members, we find a thousand six hundred and six and fifty years, until the flood. Now Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years; so after his death the flood was not much more than seven hundred years: so near did he come that he lived with his sons until Lamech, Noah's father. Thus the dear fathers lived among themselves, old, aged people, ruling the world in great spirit, wisdom and understanding. It was right in the spring, that it was green; but soon after it decreased.
(8) Thus we have here the first virtue and noble fruit of faith, which is called chastity. The fathers did not use flesh and blood more than to beget children; they served God with the advantage that they did not teach from books. For it is a great sign of infirmity, and of the evil mind and memory of nature, that we must have books. Then one went to the fathers, asked about all things, and they [answered] from the spirit. Is finely governed by living voice
without all scripture. Now we have to make do with books. Also, because they lived so long, they were able to learn and experience so many things about the stars in the sky, about herbs and animals, and about all kinds of things on earth, that they became highly knowledgeable about all creatures, of which we may gain very little. It has slipped our minds too soon; before we can get our strength back, we must die.
Item 9: On the other hand, they will also have seen countless evil things from the people of the world, especially on that side; because now, when we live through thirty years, we see so many evil deeds that are sin and shame. Although the world could not have been so evil then as it is now, and they had the advantage that among so many patriarchs God's word went forth.
10) Summa: It is not because of books or reason; it is because God sends people on earth. Thus we see in all history and all Scripture that when God wanted to help a people, He did not do it with books, but no other way than by raising up one or two men, who govern better than all Scripture and laws. So this must have been a paragon of good government, since not one man, but so many fine men and old fathers, full of spirit, have been and ruled. It is truly a strange, precious treasure. One still finds intelligent and learned people; but those who also have God's spirit are few. But it must be that the faith would be preserved, and the people would not fall from God's words. Let this be said of the patriarchs in general.
(11) But among others, we must especially consider the one in the seventh member, namely Enoch. Of him he writes something special, that he lived longer than the others, in the fifth and sixtieth year, and begat a son, although he was the most holy, so that the text says especially: He led a divine life, and lived in it afterwards three hundred years. "And while he led a godly life, God took him away, and he was seen no more." Of him alone it is written that he did not die, but was taken away, so that no one knows where he remained. And is a
great, high praise and strange text, that it gives glory to Enoch, that he pleased God specially. Therefore, he must have been a high man in the Christian faith and practiced high preaching. Otherwise, if he had not been especially high, God would not have had him painted so evenly and done such a miracle with him.
(12) First, I said that all the holy fathers had the same faith and the same Christ that we have now. That this has now been taken away is no doubt a comfort to those who believed in Christ. For God is so diligent in His word that He strengthens those who have it daily, both with words and works. Thus he did this to strengthen the faith of the fathers, that there might be another life after this life. As if he wanted to indicate and say: "Behold, with this I want to show that I have something else, because I keep the people, so that they do not die, even if I take them out of the world. Therefore the sum is, that with this history he hath signified the resurrection of the dead, and hath separated this mortal life from that which is immortal, and hath given us consolation, that we which are of flesh and blood may come to live for ever.
(13) Now the question arises: Where did this Enoch go? or where is he now? We only read of two in the Scriptures that God took away, this Enoch and Eliam [2 Kings 2:11]; also it is said of St. John the Evangelist. I leave that in its dignities, because the Scripture says nothing about it. Now one must undoubtedly believe that Enoch was not stolen away secretly, otherwise it would not have been a comfort to them, but that he was taken away visibly and apparently before their eyes, and that God proved this beforehand with signs.
(14) Where then is the place where he remained? It is said that he is in paradise, and this is also to be believed. But what paradise is, I do not know; it is enough that one believes that God has a place where he still perhaps also keeps angels. And stand on the fact that Enoch and Elijah themselves do not yet know where they are. For, as I have often said, we must open our eyes very wide if we want to see into that life. It does not go
so to, as here. He is such a God that he can keep someone out of the world, and in the air, or where he wants, that he himself does not see it, let alone another. So it is enough to know that God has taken him away, and remains with God; but where he is, we do not want to and should not know.
(15) Whether he will come again, as has been said until now, I leave aside; I do not believe it, and I have this reason: If God wanted to do such an apparent work, that this patriarch should come and preach the end of Christ, he would have undoubtedly said it beforehand in a place in Scripture. For he never does such things without word and promise, as it is written in Amos [Cap. 3, 7]: God will not do a thing unless he has revealed it beforehand through his servants the prophets. Since this is not the case, we consider it to be a fable, as many others have been invented so far.
16 Behold, the dear fathers shall all stand with us at the last day, and we shall see them standing with us, and we with them. Then we shall know where they have been. Now it is a long time since he was taken away; but on the last day he will stand there just as if he had gone away that same hour. In the sight of God everything is in one hui; there is no time, as with us, when one thing goes after another. That is enough about this patriarch.
(17) The ninth father Lamech," says Moses, "was an hundred and two and fourscore years old, and begat a son, and called his name Noah, and said, He shall comfort us in our works, and in the affliction of our hands upon the earth, which the LORD hath cursed. What this Lamech had in mind with these words, whether something was perhaps proclaimed or revealed to him, I cannot say for sure. Methinks it is the opinion that he thought this should be the seed of the woman who should help the world; as above [Cap. 4, 1.] Eve said of Cain. Therefore he actually says, how he wanted to be saved from the plague and the curse, [which] was brought upon the
Earth gone. There has also been something about it, but not everything. For the man Noah afterward helped the world greatly.
018 And now, behold, Noah lived five hundred years, and after that an hundred years, until the flood: how much labor and trouble he must have had out of the earth! Here on this side were God's children, and the right seed: yet it has become so evil that even God's children have fallen away much. On this side it has also happened that among them evil people have become, and so much that it is terrible to hear that from this side not more than eight people have been preserved from the flood.
(19) There has been a great, horrible decrease of so many holy fathers, who undoubtedly lived and ruled well; what shall now become in the soup of hell? Methuselah lived until 1) that same year when the flood came, and died soon before. If he had lived, he would also have come into [the] box. He had to see that the world had become so evil, and no one turned back to his old, good life. So this Lamech also cried out about it, as if he wanted to say: "Is it now all evil and cursed?
20 This is how it happened, as we will hear in the next chapter, that the children of God and the children of the world were thrown together and became tyrants in the land, mighty and famous people. The fathers saw this well. Now when a country is so wicked, and the excesses get out of hand, it is a sure sign that it must break and become different. Just as it is now that everyone says that everything is at its highest; therefore either the last day must be present, or else a great plague and change. Because the wickedness is too great, it cannot come higher. So Lamech also means here, the son, Noah, must change it and make it better, or [it] must even perish. What Noah did, we will see in the following chapter.
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