Part 11 (1/2)

(2) Why it was not in use before 302.

* The meaning of ”the name of Jehovah” or the proclaiming of the name of Jehovah 303.

(3) The right course to take in the doctrine concerning divine wors.h.i.+p 304.

* G.o.d always ministered comfort to his Church under the cross 305.

(4) What is the true wors.h.i.+p according to the first table of the law 306-307.

(5) How true wors.h.i.+p according to the second table follows from the first 308.

(6) People are to be instructed first and chiefly in the wors.h.i.+p of the first table 309.

(7) Whether visible signs were present in these days in their wors.h.i.+p, and to what end they were necessary 310-311.

(8) The wors.h.i.+p of which Moses speaks is to be understood not of the Cainites but of Seth's posterity 312.

* A summary review of the contents of the fourth chapter of Genesis 313.

* Why the fifth chapter was written 314.

* Why the Jews cannot see the unity in the first five chapters of the Bible 315.

C. THE POSTERITY OF THE RIGHTEOUS IN DETAIL.

V. 25. _And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For, said she, G.o.d hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel; for Cain slew him._

289. Hitherto Moses has spoken of the generation of the wicked only, the whole of which he buries as it were with the above brief catalog.

The historian now turns to the description of the G.o.dly and of the true Church. And first of all, we are to observe the manner of expression Moses uses in reference to the name given by Eve to her son: ”And she called his name Seth.” Moses does not speak thus concerning Cain when he was born, nor concerning righteous Abel, nor with reference to Enoch, nor with reference to any of the others. By this particular expression regarding Seth and his name Moses would signify that this was the first son in whom flowed the stream of the promise which had been made to the parents in paradise. So Eve is to be understood when she a.s.signs the reason for giving her son this name. Eve manifests her surpa.s.sing G.o.dliness and faith in giving her son such a name.

290. The fact that Eve recalls the murder by wicked Cain of his brother Abel proves that there had existed a fierce enmity between these two churches, and that she had witnessed and suffered many evils and indignities from the Cainites. Because of this she now called to mind the awful murder which had been committed, whereby Cain wished to destroy the righteous seed that he might reign alone. But thanks be to G.o.d, says she, who hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel.

291. Moses here, as is his usual manner, embraces in the fewest possible words the mightiest things, that he may incite the reader to the most diligent consideration of the works of G.o.d. Of the pain and righteous grief of the parents at the murder of Abel by his brother we have spoken before. I see no reason why we should not believe that after the perpetration of that horrible murder no son was born to Adam until the birth of Seth; for it is most probable that the awful peril of a recurrence of a calamity like that which they had just experienced, induced the G.o.dly parents to abstain from connubial intercourse. I believe, therefore, that by a particular promise made to them by an angel, their minds were again comforted and confirmed, and that they were influenced to believe that a son of the description of Seth would now be born unto them, who should hold fast the promise; and that, although the generation of Cain should utterly perish by their sin, the generation of him about to be born should be preserved until the promised blessed seed should come into the world.

292. It is a proof of some like particular promise having been revealed to the parents by an angel that Eve adds to the name she gave to her son a kind of short sermon, and that Moses when recording this circ.u.mstance makes use of an expression not otherwise adopted by him in connection with the names Adam or Eve gave to their children: ”And she called his name Seth.” Seth is derived from the Hebrew verb _sath_, which signifies he placed, or he established, and was intended to show that this son would be, as it were, the foundation on which the promise concerning Christ would rest, even though many other sons should be born unto the parents. Eve does not give him an exalted name, such as ”Cain,” yet she gives him a name signifying that the posterity of Seth should never be suppressed or destroyed.

293. The Cainites, cast out from the sight of their parents, are left under a curse, without any promise whatever, and have only so much mercy as they receive from the generation of the righteous as beggars, not as heirs. This is the mercy we above called uncovenanted mercy.

But who, of the posterity of the Cainites, obtained that mercy, Moses does not mention, and his design in this omission is to keep separate the two churches: the one the Church of the righteous, which had the promise of a life to come, but in this life was poor and afflicted; the other the church of the wicked, which in this life is rich and flouris.h.i.+ng.

294. Eve, the mother of us all, is highly to be praised, as a most holy woman, full of faith and charity, because in the person of her son Seth she so n.o.bly lauds the true Church, paying no regard whatever to the generation of the Cainites. For she does not say, I have gotten another son in the place of Cain. She prefers the slain Abel to Cain, though Cain was the first-born. Herein praise is due, not only to her faith but to her eminent obedience; for she is not only not offended at the judgment of G.o.d concerning righteous Abel, but she also changes her own judgment concerning G.o.d. When Abel was born she despised him, and magnified Cain as the first-born, and as the possessor, as she thought, of the promise. But now she acts in all things quite the contrary. As if she had said: After G.o.d's acceptance of him and of his offering, I had placed all my hopes on my son Abel, because he was righteous; but his wicked brother slew him. But now G.o.d hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel.

295. She does not indulge her maternal affection for Cain. She does not excuse or lessen the sin of her son. But she herself excommunicates him, already excommunicated of G.o.d; and she banishes him, together with all his posterity, among the polluted ma.s.s of the Gentiles who live without any sure mercy of G.o.d, laying hold only as they can of that uncovenanted mercy which, as we have said, they receive as beggars, not as heirs.

296. It is a great marvel, surely, that the church of the pope, having made up so great a list of saints, has not yet inserted in that catalog Saint Eve, a woman full of faith and love, and with an infinite number of crosses! But perhaps we are to gather from this omission that it would rather follow the church of the Cainites than the holy Church.

297. I am inclined to say nothing here about that absurd and idle fable of the Jews, that Lamech brought his disobedient wives to Adam as judge, and that when Adam commanded them to render to their husband due benevolence the wives in reply asked Adam why he did not do the same to Eve. These fablers say that Adam, who had refrained from the bed of his wife from the murder of Abel to that time, again lived with her as man and wife, in order that he might not by his example induce others to maintain perpetual continence, and thus prevent mankind from being multiplied. All these fables show how impure the thoughts of the Jews were. Of the same description is the like argument of these Jews, who hold that when Seth was born, which was within a hundred years after the death of Abel, the children of Cain had increased unto the seventh generation. Such absurdities do wicked men invent to bring reproach upon the Holy Scriptures. And of precisely the same description is the opinion that Cain was born in paradise, while, as yet, the original righteousness of his parents remained. What is the object of this lying invention but to cause us to do away with Christ altogether? For take away original sin, and what need is there of Christ at all? These things are indeed, as we have intimated, unworthy of being mentioned here. But they are worthy the enemies of Christ and the enemies of grace.

298. In Seth, therefore, we have a new generation, which arises from and comes to pa.s.s in accordance with the great original promise, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. Appropriately the name Seth is bestowed, so that Eve may felicitate herself upon the fact that this seed is established, safe from overthrow. David uses the same verb: ”If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Ps 11, 3. And the Hebrew word forms a perfect rhyme with its German equivalent: ”Seth--steht.”

V. 26a. _And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh._