If we had one leader like Abraham, do you have any doubt that we would overthrow the Turk? For it is a great thing to be so believing and simple in faith that without argument the entire household obeys God when He gives a command and complies, and is not offended by the disgrace but follows the example of the godly head of the household and its pastor.
Accordingly, let us, too, learn to put aside all questions and simply to go in the name of the Lord and do whatever God has commanded, whether it is foolish, offensive, or dangerous. If God's command is connected with it, even a work that is disgraceful and shameful in the sight of reason is most beautiful and holy; for there is no greater and better adornment than the Word of God. Inasmuch as circumcision had this adornment, it was a holy work and was most pleasing to God.
I have stated above that circumcision existed not for an unlimited but for a fixed time. Therefore it has come to an end in the New Testament, but its allegorical meaning has remained, namely, the mortification of the flesh and of sin; for the flesh is beset by sundry trials and scruples, in order that its smugness may be removed and occasion may not be lacking for occupying oneself with the Word and prayer.
But it is a source of offense that those who alone are the people of God and rightly rejoice in the possession of the truth are subjected to the cross, are killed by the pope and his followers, and are vexed in various ways, whereas the enemies of God and slaves of Satan triumph and are in glory.
Joined to these offenses are personal troubles which the saints carry about in their hearts and bodies.
But so far as you are concerned, bear these, pray, do your work, and think: "Behold, Abraham let himself be circumcised without any argument and the eight-day-old infants were subjected to the same agony.
Therefore let us, too, bear our little share." Thus Abraham gives us an example not only of justification but also of a seemingly senseless obedience.
Undoubtedly the heathen laughed at the aged patriarch, who could not undergo circumcision without pain. But Abraham does not feel ashamed; he does what God had commanded, and he is not offended because he has lived without circumcision for so long a time and must now submit to it when he is a hundred years old. Thirteen-year-old Ishmael likewise does not feel ashamed when he is stripped, and he does not object to the pain. In like manner, all the home-born and all the bought slaves bear that disgrace in a childlike and simple frame of mind and do not ask questions. Thus they please God and are saved through faith in the Blessed Seed. Because of this fatal and baneful why those who do not conform to this example by receiving the Word in simple and childlike obedience and obeying it will, in accordance with the example of Adam, be plunged into disobedience and death.
1. And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.
AS has already been stated,1 because of the importance of what took place when Abraham was ninetynine years old, this year is particularly memorable. In fact, it is the most memorable year in his life.
Within it fan circumcision and the two promises, the spiritual and the material; later on the journey to Palestine and the deliverance; also the overthrow of Sodom. And, what is most important, the Lord appeared to Abraham several times and conversed with him in a friendly manner.
The chief content of this chapter is that God wants to confirm the promise He had made concerning Isaac. In the preceding chapter Abraham is promised a son from Sarah, and the Lord calls this son Isaac because Abraham had laughed. But Sarah was not present at that time, and it seems that she did not believe Abraham when he told her about this. Therefore the promise is repeated here, in order that Sarah may hear it, not from the mouth of Abraham, as had been the case, but from the mouth of God Himself, of whom it is stated that He stood turned away; that is, He had turned His back, to indicate that Sarah did not believe until she was reproached.
Isaac is then promised a second time, and this passage about the children of the promise is treated in an admirable manner and at great length by St. Paul, who concludes from it (Rom. 4:1 ff.) that man is justified by faith and not by the Law or by works; and by means of this one argument he does away with all Jewish pride and presumption about their physical birth. For if physical birth is of-any value, why is a difference made between Ishmael and Isaac? But just as Isaac was born as a result of the promise—and - 88 the promise demands faith—so not those who have Abraham as their natural father but those who believe according to the example of faithful Abraham, no matter whether they are of the Gentiles or have been circumcised, are regarded as children of Abraham.
Inasmuch as this is the main passage, it is corroborated—in accordance with the practice of Scripture —by a twofold testimony, just as Joseph later sees two dreams involving cows, and both dreams have the same meaning.2 Those who are without experience in spiritual matters will regard this as a thoughtless repetition and tautology. But there was an important reason for recording the same thing twice. For this removes a very great offense and puts an end to the otherwise never-ending debate about the prerogative of physical birth and about the presumption of human powers.
This repetition of the promise does not serve to untie this knot; it simply cuts it, in order that the Jews, who rely on their physical descent, as well as the Gentiles, who rely on their own powers, may see that the seed of the promise is the true seed of Abraham.
For even though Isaac was born from the flesh of Abraham, he was nevertheless born in a manner which was beyond the powers of the flesh, since both parents, so far as the flesh was concerned, were almost dead and, because of their age, were unfit for procreation. But the promise which they apprehend through faith revives their dead flesh, as it were. Consequently, you must maintain that Isaac was born not so much from the flesh as because of the promise. This is the chief passage of this chapter for the righteousness of faith over against the presumption and the righteousness of works.
In the second place, a very beautiful moral example of hospitality is presented here.
In the third place, note should be taken of the unique evidence concerning the Trinity, namely, that three men appear and that Moses continually speaks as though there were only one. But we shall defer the consideration of this evidence and speak first about the hospitality.
2. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth,
3. and said: My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.
4. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5. while I fetch a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant. So they said: Do as you have said.
That extraordinary praise of hospitality which appears in the Letter to the Hebrews (13:2) had its origin in this passage. "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." There is hospitality wherever the church is. For the church, if I may say so, always has a common treasury, inasmuch as it has the command (Matt. 5:42): "Give to him who begs from you." And we must all serve the church and take care of it, not only by teaching but also by showing kindness and giving assistance, so that at the same time both the spirit and the flesh may find refreshment in the church.
But especially the strangers whose lot is rather hard should be received in a kindly manner, for Christ's utterance on the Last Day against the inhospitable is clear (Matt. 25:35): "I was a foreigner or a stranger and you did not receive Me." Also (Matt. 25:40): "Whatever you did to the least of Mine, you did to Me." What greater praise can there be for this virtue than that those who are hospitable are not receiving a human being but are receiving the Son of God Himself? On the other hand, what is more hideous than inhospitality? By it you shut out from your house, not a human being but the Son of God, who suffered and died for you on the cross. Are you not willing to give Him the cost of one day's support or so much space of your dwelling that He may lie down with you? What punishments do you suppose will follow this inhumanity or cruelty? Therefore let those who want to be true members of the church remember to practice hospitality, to which we are encouraged not only by the example of the saintly patriarch but by very important testimonies of Scripture.
This appearance of the three men is an appearance of the Lord, and while Abraham receives them with hospitality, he is receiving the Lord Himself. They seem to have appeared in a lowly and wretched form: naked, hungry, tired from the journey, and as exiles, so to speak, who had just recently been released from some disagreeable prison. Abraham's words show that he regarded them as such.
Moreover, Abraham learned hospitality in a twofold way. In the first place he learned it from the instruction of the patriarchs and from the practice of the church; for they taught their children hospitality as a virtue of which the church stood in the greatest need. Since the Word is taught in the church, and - 89 since Satan hates the Word and has been a murderer and a liar from the beginning (John 8:44; 1 John 3:8), various perils and very many troubles are bound to arise.
Wherever God speaks, even in Paradise itself, Satan does not cease to rage by deceiving as well as killing, until he drives Adam out of Paradise and makes him a stranger and an exile. Outside Paradise he did the same thing in the church from the beginning. He subjected the godly to the hatred of the world.
Whenever God's goodness did not allow him to rage against their hearts and bodies, he raged against their possessions, drove them out of their homes, and vexed them in exile by whatever means he could. For this reason the saintly patriarchs gave orders to receive wretched heads of households, together with their wives and their children, in a hospitable manner and to treat them generously, as though they were little birds cast out of their nest.
At all times the church has been like some refuge of the exiles and the poor. Just as Christ says (Luke 11:21) that a strong man guards his own palace in peace until a stronger man comes, so it has constantly been the lot of the godly that when the Word lets its light shine, persecutions and exiles were most common.
In our own age, too, there is the great light of the Word, kindled as the result of God's goodness. For this reason Satan rages and through the pope, the bishops, and tyrannical princes fills the entire world with poor people and exiles who roam about in misery, thirst, hunger, and are oppressed in various ways.
Hence there should be some Lot, there should be an Abraham, and there should be some little domain of a godly prince in which there can be room for such people; for where there is no house, there can be no hospitality.
Here Abraham believes that he is seeing true strangers of this kind; for I am calling true strangers those who live in exile because of the Word, not those vagrants of whom there has been a very great supply under the papacy, who either out of wantonness and flippancy or because of hope in their own righteousness went into exile of their own accord without being compelled to do so by persecution. For it is characteristic of the Word of God that wherever it is heard, it provokes Satan to wrath. But this indignation of the powerful spirit does not depart without misfortune for those who believe. They are driven from their homes, despoiled of their means, and snatched away to be punished. In short, they are, as Paul calls them (1 Cor. 4:13), χαφάρματα and περιψήματα.
The church can and must not be indifferent to these difficulties of the brethren. By God's command and by the instruction of the forefathers it is constrained to practice works of mercy, to feed the hungry and the thirsty, to receive exiles hospitably, to comfort prisoners, and to visit the sick.
The devil, too, has his beggars; but whenever these have nothing, they nevertheless have enough and have it in abundance, as we see in the case of the monks and the idle vagrants. But the true beggars are those who are beggars because of the promise of the Word. These the world hates and neither helps nor supports. But Abraham helps them, for he has learned from the instruction of his ancestors that these are necessary duties toward godly brethren. Therefore his house was open to all, and he joyfully received strangers, as we see.
Accordingly, let us bear this example in mind; for we know that, as Peter says (1 Peter 5:9), our brethren in the world are vexed and suffer in various ways. Hence if we want to be Christians, let our homes be open to exiles, and let us assist and refresh them.
In the second place, Abraham also learned hospitality from his own experience. For now about twentyfour years have passed since he lived in exile after his departure from Ur of the Chaldeans, wandered through the land of Canaan, and did not live in one definite place. From Ai he came to Bethel; from there to Hebron, to Palestine, to Beersheba, and other places. Furthermore, he was twice compelled to enter
Egypt, not without great peril. He often endured the rigors of the weather in the open country and under the sky; he was often troubled by hunger, often by thirst. He was often beset by other perils—perils which Moses could not recount individually. But Moses indicates what they were by this one word, which means that Abraham was an exile; for the term "exile" includes countless hardships and perils.
These perils that he underwent enabled him to learn to be gentle, kind, and generous toward exiles.
Therefore when these three men presented themselves in their simple and poor garb, they were regarded by him as exiled brethren who had fled from Chaldea itself, from Egypt, or from neighboring Damascus.
Accordingly, he runs to meet them as men who were greatly in need of refreshment, asks them in a - 90 friendly manner to stay, offers them water with which to wash their feet, fetches food with which the tired men may refresh themselves, and by no means thinks that they are angels or God Himself.
This is a very beautiful picture of a man who is generous and bounteous toward brethren afflicted because of their profession of the Word, for Abraham believed that they were men of this kind. Therefore he does not wait until they knock at the door and ask for hospitality; but he sits at the entrance, and when he sees them from afar, he runs to meet them as though he wanted to prevent someone else from snatching these guests from him. So kindly is he disposed toward them.
Therefore Moses' statement that Abraham sat at the door is not without a purpose. It is a description of a kindly heart ready for the services that the brethren need, and it signifies not only a kindly heart but also a bounteous and beneficent hand toward strangers, whom he made a practice of3 awaiting as he sat there in this manner. Similarly, Paul praises Philemon for refreshing the hearts of the saints who were either driven into exile or delivered from prison.4 But, as I have said, this virtue exists solely in the church.
Consider what you will find like this in the papacy. The papists are like the people of Sodom, about whom the next chapter will speak. They in truth, as Ezek. 16:49 says, "have idleness and fullness of bread but do not extend their hand to the poor." Indeed, they rather oppress the poor, rage against the unfortunate churches, shed blood, carry off possessions, proscribe, and drive into exile. These monstrous sins and this more than inhuman cruelty which they employ against the ministers of the Word, against the heads of households, even against women and children, they try to cover with their hypocritical worship and by building and establishing hospitals on a grand scale, not so much for the benefit of the poor as for their own glory.
Therefore they will hear a stern judgment on the Last Day, when Christ will accuse them of persecuting Him, casting Him out of His abode, driving Him into exile, etc.
By God's grace the wretched exiles now have a place under our most illustrious Prince.5 Here they can flee for refuge, and here they are safe. But I am afraid that someone else will come—someone who does not know Joseph (Ex. 1:8); and I fear that this will happen because of the excessive cruelty, inhospitality, and greed of human beings. The nobles, the burghers, and the peasants do not help the churches with a single obol to be able to be generous toward exiles. Whatever we have, we have from the leavings of what was gathered and given under the pope.
Today nobody gives anything. Under the pope, however, there was no end of lavish giving. But now it would be proper to give all the more generously, because now there are more godly exiles than at any previous times. For men are being admonished by the Word of God; and it is especially the ministers of the churches who are in need, because they are now married and no longer live in impure celibacy.
Therefore not single persons, as formerly, but entire families are now in exile because of their confession of the Word. It is a crime not to help these.
But we must have no doubt that the saintly patriarch often had the same experience that we have today. There is no lack of idle hypocrites who are accustomed to begging; and if you give them a handout, they at once spend it on gambling and carousing; and where they know of churches ready to assist the needy, they flock together as for prey and for a time simulate godliness solely in the hope of richer gain.
Thus Paul (1 Tim. 5:16) complains about the wanton widows who were being supported at public expense and were a burden to the churches. If this happened at that time, it is not remarkable if today many come to us too under the pretense of being exiles in distress, as though they had been deprived of their means because of their confession of the Word. So far as they are concerned, it is not hospitality but rapine and an unfair burden which is imposed on the churches. Therefore caution is needed here, so that we may beware of such vagrants.
Undoubtedly idle men6 frequently took advantage of Abraham by abusing his generosity and flocking to him, for they knew that a table was prepared for them where he lived and that everything was placed at their disposal. Such people are like the drones, which snatch the honey away from the busily Wiling bees.
But they do so without inconveniencing their benefactors; for those who are liberal in such a natural manner do not lose their reward, even though they do waste their kindness.7
Note must be taken of this account because Abraham is described as sitting at the door and running to meet his guests, whose appearance showed that they were not evil men and that they were in need of someone else's generosity. Let us also be generous in the same way, and let us open the door to poor brethren and receive them with a joyful countenance. If we are deceived now and then, well and good. In - 91 spite of this our good will is demonstrated to God, and the kind act which is lost on an evil and ungrateful person is not lost on Christ, in whose name we are generous. Hence just as we should not intentionally and knowingly support the idleness of slothful people, so, when we have been deceived, we should not give up this eagerness to do good to others.
Christ heals ten lepers, and He knew that only one would be grateful (Luke 17:11–19). This will also be our lot, and we should not on this account give up our eagerness to confer benefits on others.
Indeed, we should be generous not only toward the brethren and such as are exiled because of their confession but also toward those who are strangers in the state, provided that they are not manifestly evil, as, for example, if some Turk or Tartar were to come to us, not because of our doctrine, with which a stranger is not familiar, but as a beggar by nature, if I may use this expression. Even though he is not suffering because of the Word but is in distress in other respects, he should not be disregarded by us.
Nevertheless, this precept concerning hospitality pertains chiefly to those whom Christ (Matt. 25:40) calls "the least." For wherever the Word is, there Satan, the enemy, is stirring up physical and spiritual persecutions. In Paradise itself he was unable to rest until he drove Adam with his Eve into exile.
Therefore we must be ready to give comfort to the brethren. Those who are afflicted by spiritual persecution should be comforted and strengthened with the Word; but those who are afflicted by physical persecution should be assisted with bread and water, that is, with love and hospitality, everyone according to his need.
This is what Abraham does here. He sees these three strangers. He does not know who they are; but he does know and see that they are poor and that they are tired from the journey. Therefore he quickly fetches water, washes the feet of the guests, orders a calf to be slaughtered, bread to be prepared, and drink to be fetched. But just as he unknowingly receives the Lord Himself in a hospitable manner, so we, too, when we show some kindness to the least in the kingdom of God, receive Christ Himself in a hospitable manner when He comes to us in the persons of His poor.
Why the place where Abraham is dwelling is called the Plain or Oak Wood of Mature we stated above.8 It has its name from its owner; for Mamre with his two brothers not only let Abraham have this place for a habitation; but he also allied himself with Abraham by a covenant, and it was without a doubt a saintly household which aided Abraham in the battle against the four kings.
Even though some call this place an oak wood and others a plain, it nevertheless seems more likely to me that it was a small grove or open wood, in the middle of which Abraham had a little hut. Hence he bids his guests sit down in the shade under an oak.
Nor is the description of the time without a purpose. It is stated that at that hour the sun was hot; that is, it was near noon. Those who are making a journey and have started out early begin to suffer from hunger and thirst at about that time, especially if they are poor. Therefore Abraham noted this time with special care, and he sat at the door with the intention of receiving hospitably anyone who happened to be on a journey and of refreshing a tired man.
Moses' additional statement that Abraham lifted up his eyes indicates that for some time he had been sitting in meditation. Perhaps he was thinking of the promise given to him, was praying, or was contending with some trial. But when he suddenly lifts up his eyes, behold, three seemingly pious and needy men are there. He runs to meet them, gives them an invitation, and treats them generously.
Therefore let us look upon Abraham not only as a father of faith and of believers because of his most extraordinary faith but also as a father of good works and as a most beautiful example of love, gentleness, kindness, and all virtues.
From Moses' words it appears that it was the custom of the patriarchs to sit at the entrance waiting for and receiving guests at the time of the noon and the evening meal, particularly at that time when Satan raged more cruelly against the godly, just as persecutions are sometimes harsher, sometimes milder.
If you place God and Satan in contrast with each other, the account will be much clearer. Satan hates teachers and hearers of the Word in the same way. In the first place, therefore, one must receive hospitably
"those who are of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10). For, as the apostles taught, this difference must always be observed: The first concern must be for the brethren, that is, for those who profess the same doctrine with us and for this reason suffer persecution. This virtue has a special name and is called
- 92 But it is not the brethren alone who experience misfortune, and Christ exhorts us with the example of the Heavenly Father to show kindness also to our enemies.
Thus in this passage praise is given chiefly to the hospitality we practice toward those strangers who are in exile because of the Word and their profession of the faith. These should not only be refreshed with bread and water in accord with Abraham's example, but they should also be treated with respect. For Moses thus describes Abraham that as soon as he sees the men approaching, he rises and joyfully runs to meet the guests. Then he bows down to the ground, as though he were about to worship God, and calls them ינֹד ָָאֲ.
Surely the reverence with which Abraham treats the seemingly poor and distressed brethren, who appeared either as old men or as youths—for Moses does not write in detail about this—is almost too great. How courteous, kind, and humble he is when he accosts them! Then how pleasantly he speaks! He implores, invites, and even importunes them to stay. It seems to him that he is all but in heaven; for guests like these have happened along, and he has been considered worthy of receiving them.
Abraham says: "If have found favor in your eyes, do not pass by me." What else would he say, I ask, if they were bringing an immense amount of gold? But they are bringing nothing. They seem tired from the journey and have need of being refreshed, and Abraham does this so eagerly that he also asks them to remain as an act of the greatest kindness.
Thus this account is altogether without a parallel. A patriarch so great accosts the unknown guests with such reverence, falls to the ground, and receives them. He addresses them as ינֹד ָָאֲ, namely, with a word that implies majesty. Then consider how he minimizes his possessions. He says: "Let a little water be brought" and "a morsel of bread." The courtesy he shows by not adorning his service with words is also very pleasing. For just as Sirach (Ecclus. 31:14) calls those who make kind deeds a matter of reproach
"evil eyes," so it is by no means proper for you to praise and magnify your deeds. Such conceit makes the deed of kindness unwelcome.
Accordingly, this example of Abraham is altogether without any parallel. Therefore let him who wants to teach others about services to the brethren take an example from this. He will find far greater eloquence in these few words than it would be possible for him to imitate.
Moreover, the historical meaning shows that Abraham performed services of love toward the brethren and those who shared doctrine and faith with him. Christ, too, teaches us to do this when He says (John
13:20): "He who receives you receives Me; but he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."
A great and wonderful statement indeed, provided that you ponder it carefully! Abraham did not have this promise so clearly. Yet how eagerly he invites the strangers, and how generously he treats them!
As I stated above,10 Abraham learned this not only from the practice of his ancestors, who accustomed their people to show hospitality—which the church needs most when the Word shines most brightly—but also from his own experience, because he encountered many troubles during his exile, and the services of pious people were most welcome to him. Thus from experience he learned this rule, that he who receives a brother who is in exile because of the Word receives God Himself in the person of such a brother.
Though Christ Himself has given us this rule, yes, though He has even promised that on the Last Day He will praise the deeds of kindness we have done for the poor (Matt. 25:31–46), we are nevertheless far more remiss and indifferent than the saintly fathers were.
Abraham thought that these three men had been driven from their homes because of their confession of the Word, and he saw that there would be no room for them in Sodom or in the neighboring places.
Therefore he receives them and believes that in their persons he is receiving God, as his words prove, since he calls them ינֹד ָָאֲ. His gesture proves the same thing, for he prostrates himself before them as though he were about to worship them. And he is not mistaken; he is receiving God Himself.
Therefore Abraham deserves to be held up to the churches as an example, in order that they may learn to receive the ministers of the Word as the Lord in heaven, as Paul says about the Galatians (Gal. 4:14) that they regarded him as an angel of God. Even though we do not have the custom of prostrating ourselves, yet we should prostrate ourselves in our hearts before brethren because of Christ, who dwells in them. For since He says (Matt. 25:40): "Whatever you have done to the least of Mine, this you have done to Me," He by that word establishes brotherhood between ourselves and Him.
- 93 But just as no one would hesitate to humble and prostrate himself before Christ if he saw Him, why would we not also prostrate ourselves before the brethren, at least in our hearts? Augustine has the excellent statement: "Mutually honor God in yourselves."11 The Word of Christ does not lie. "You have done it to Me whatever you do to the least of Mine" (Matt. 25:35).
Therefore we justly complain about the unbelief of our hearts, which have become as hard as ice and are not softened by these most pleasing promises. Even though Abraham did not have so clear a word, he believed, as we see, that he was receiving God if he received these three guests. He had no doubt that they were human beings. Yet he had a loftier thought; for he had regard for the Lord, whom he is worshiping in the persons of these guests.
Even if they had been enemies, he would not have let them go but would have refreshed them first in accordance with love; but he would not have fallen down to the earth in accordance with brotherly love.
For he knows that God dwells in the brethren and fellow believers, who are true temples of God, and not in the enemies of the faith or in those who have no knowledge of the true religion.
Nevertheless, I am not displeased with the opinion of those12 who say that Abraham learned from instances that had happened both to him and to his ancestors, and that he experienced rather often that angels, coming in the form of human beings, enjoyed the hospitality of human beings, as we shall hear later about Lot in Sodom (Gen. 19:1 ff.). Because of this experience they treated all guests rather respectfully and hoped for occasions on which they themselves would associate with angels.
But even though this happened rather rarely, nevertheless, since they knew that one should honor God in the persons of the brethren, they considered themselves unworthy, so to speak, of giving lodging to weak, troubled, and poor brethren who were in exile because of the Word. For this reason they did so with such great joy and with such ready and willing hearts.
The world acts differently, for the King of Canaan did not receive Abraham in this manner. Far less did the people of Sodom do so in the case of Lot. Although there was a good king in Egypt, Abraham encountered a very great peril there because of Sarah; and we shall hear below in how friendly a manner the Philistines treated him. Thus the saints are not received in a kindly manner and treated generously anywhere except in the homes of Abraham and Lot, that is, in the church, which acknowledges that it is the servant of the servants of God13 and—since God dwells in His saints—unworthy of so great an honor that it should give lodging to God in the persons of the brethren.
Because there are so many impostors and idle beggars today, I do not know whether this physical reverence has to be shown; for "the whole world is in the power of the evil one" (1 John 5:19), and very many abuse the generosity of the godly.
Thus the foot washing has come down from the ancient fathers. It, too, is part of the reverence owed to guests.
This is the historical meaning of this passage and an outstanding praise of hospitality, in order that we may be sure that God Himself is in our home, is being fed at our house, is lying down and resting as often as some pious brother in exile because of the Gospel comes to us and is received hospitably by us. This is called brotherly love or Christian charity; it is greater than that general kindness which is extended even to strangers and enemies when they are in need of our aid.
Among our adversaries there is neither; for they hate us because of our confession, and for this reason they persecute, proscribe, and even kill us. Moreover, they have the utmost hatred for those who are their enemies in civil life. Therefore hospitality and brotherly love are found only among true Christians and in the church.
For the accounts of the friendships of the Gentiles, like those of Theseus and Hercules, of Pylades and Orestes,14 are nothing in comparison with the brotherhood in the church; its bond is an association with God so close that the Son of God says that whatever is done to the least of His is done to Himself.
Therefore their hearts go out without hypocrisy to the needs of their neighbor, and nothing is either so costly or so difficult that a Christian does not undertake it for the sake of the brethren.
But oh, what wretched and blind people we are! To us these facts are preached without fruit, for very few believe that they are true. But if anyone earnestly believed that he is receiving the Lord Himself when he receives a poor brother, there would be no need for such anxious, zealous, and solicitous exhortations to do works of love. Our coffers, storeroom, and compassion would be open at once for the benefit of the brethren. There would be no ill will, and together with godly Abraham we would run to meet the wretched
- 94 people, invite them into our homes, and seize upon this honor and distinction ahead of others and say: "O Lord Jesus, come to me; enjoy my bread, wine, silver, and gold. How well it has been invested by me when I invest it in You!"
But because we do not do this, it is certain that we do not believe these facts. Hence we tell the story to deaf ears when we relate these examples of the patriarchs. But surely these examples have been recorded to put us to shame, and such stubborn unbelief will receive its punishment.
But what will those people answer on the Last Day—those people who even persecute the church, as the pope does? Nevertheless, the pope falsely declares that he is a servant of servants.15 This title is appropriate for Abraham and for all who believe in Christ. If you want to call the pope by his true name, call him a tyrant and whatever is harsher and crueler than a tyrant. For he persecutes the church of God, drives faithful ministers from their stations, rages against them with sword and fire, and by no means receives them as brethren and friends. Hence he is like the people of Sodom and not like Abraham; and he deserves, not the land of Canaan, as Abraham does, but fire and brimstone from heaven and eternal flames.
Abraham nobly underrates his services. He says: "Let a little water be fetched. Meanwhile rest under this tree." The Hebrew verb is very graphic. It is נּועֲשָָּּׁׁהִ, which means "recline," "lean on this tree as on a staff," the way those who are tired from a journey are wont to do.
Thus we read in Ps. 23:4: "Thy staff and Thy rod, they have comforted me." The psalmist calls the Word a staff; and if we lean on it when we are fatigued by perils and trials, we rest and receive strength.
It is also part of Abraham's underrating of his service that he does not say that he will set a table and get beds ready but bids them recline under the tree and promises them bread. This is an outstanding example and is described in such fitting words that unless you are a stone, you, too, wish that in this work of showing hospitality you could be like Abraham, whom we can call not so much a father of faith as a father of good works. Let this be enough about the account.
In addition to this, something must be said about the mystery of the Trinity; for the ungodly Jews laugh at us because our fathers wanted to prove the Trinity from this passage, inasmuch as three men appear here, yet Abraham speaks with only one.16 And it is indeed true that according to the historical meaning there is no other inference from this passage than that Abraham showed an admirable regard for afflicted brethren and received them generously, for he did not yet know that it was the Lord.
Since this is the historical meaning, they condemn us for making three Persons and one God in essence, and they boast that nothing of this sort is found either in Moses or in the prophets; for they think that he who wants to prove the Trinity from this passage is able to fashion from Scripture, as from wax, any shapes he pleases.17
Hence they regard this maxim as an undeniable proof, and on the basis of it they condemn our faith in its entirety. And, to tell the truth, if the Jews have read Cyprian or Hilary, they see that these men have cited many things with little aptness. But the saintly fathers wrote these things in a pious and godly spirit, and they were well aware that one should not deal with opponents in the same manner one deals with hearers who do not deny the foundations of the faith. For when you teach your own people, you are not beginning a war there but are providing training for war. You see, however, that in training it is not proper for us to use spears made of iron and swords that are sharp. No, then we use wooden sticks and swords fashioned of wood. In battle, however, iron is needed, and it must be firm and well sharpened for striking.
Thus when we argue against the enemies of the church, sound and strong arguments must be advanced; for if this is not done, the enemies not only laugh at us but are more strengthened in their error.
Thus we have proved the Anabaptists and the Sacramentarians wrong, not only by proving our points with many sound reasons but also by taking note of the mistakes they make as the result of improper conclusions and quotations.
Therefore it is one thing to teach and another thing to exhort. Rhetoric, which is useful for exhorting, often plays games and often hands you a piece of wood which you suppose is a sword. But dialectic carries on war and busies itself with matters that are serious. Therefore it does not show the opponent pieces of wood; it shows iron. The fathers did not do this everywhere. Sometimes—for example, among their own people—they made use of improper reasons to prove the doctrine of the Trinity, and sometimes their reasons were not strong enough. Consequently, the Jews adduce this maxim against us: "Since many
- 95 passages are improperly cited by your teachers, this whole doctrine of yours is false." Now we do not deny that the antecedent is true, but in spite of this we give proof that the consequent is false.
So far as this passage is concerned, let us grant that its historical meaning is of no use against the Jews; but sometimes catachreses, too, are in place.18 Thus after Paul has maintained the doctrine of faith dialectically and as though he were using a sword in battle, he then adds the allegory about Sarah and Hagar. Although this allegory is not forceful enough in battle—for it departs from the historical meaning
—it nevertheless sheds light on the subject and adorns it.
The historical account does not teach that Abraham is God, that Sarah is the church, and that Hagar is the synagog. The historical account teaches that Abraham is the head of the household, that Sarah is the mother of the household, and that Hagar is the maid. But now that the foundation has been laid on the basis of other sure and clear passages of Scripture, what is there to prevent the additional use of an allegory, not only for the sake of adorning but also for the sake of teaching, in order that the subject may become clearer?
Thus Ishmael and Isaac, the natural sons of Abraham, denote two peoples: Ishmael, the people of the flesh; Isaac, the people of the Spirit or of the promise.
Therefore Augustine is right when he says that a figure proves nothing and should have no place in a disputation; for a disputation must lay sound foundations.19 When these foundations have been laid, there is nothing to prevent clarifying and adorning the matter by means of an allegory or a figure.
Thus Augustine surely does not prove the Trinity from the fact that there are three powers in a human being. Nevertheless, it is a pleasing thought to look for signs of the Trinity both in the human being and in all the rest of the creatures and to take note of them.20
The Master of the Sentences, too, proceeds in the same way when he quotes the proposition that all things are based on weight, measure, and number, and when he states that a quantity has length, surface, and body; that in philosophy there is a single true something; that in the sun, there are substance, light, and heat.21 Evidences of this sort do not convince the opponents of the Word, but for us they are welcome vestiges of a doctrine which has already been proved with certainty and is well known.
Thus we shall say to the Jews about this passage also: "Let them indeed laugh at us and at our teachers who have made use of this evidence; yet we have never said what they falsely accuse us of having said, namely, that those three men denote the three Persons of God."
Thus the papists, too, studiously distort our statements in order to enhance their own cause. When we declare that a man is not justified by works, they assert that we are forbidding and condemning good works. Such vipers are Cochlaeus, Witzel, and others.22 These are satanic lies of venomous and very evil men who do not listen to our statements and do not want to listen. Yet they force them into having a different meaning—a meaning which they themselves want them to have.
Nowhere in the writings of the fathers will you find that Abraham regarded these three men as the three Persons of the Deity. Hence these are lies of venomous tongues that are like a sharp razor (cf. Ps.
52:2); and they speak nothing but rash words, which estrange and offend godly minds and cause them to fall. To be sure, the Jews hear in a physical sense; but since they are possessed by satanic malice, they do not listen to what we are saying, as Isaiah (6:10) prophesied concerning them.
The fathers did not speak so stupidly about the Trinity as to explain that these three men who were seen by Abraham with his physical eyes were regarded by him as the three Persons of the Deity.
At the baptism of Christ there are three distinct phenomena: Christ the human being, the voice of the Father from heaven, and the dove. But who will maintain for this reason that the humanity is the divinity, that this voice is the Father, or that this dove is the Holy Spirit?
It is correct to say that God is in Christ the human being, that the Holy Spirit is in the dove, and that the Father is in the voice. But we are not So stupid as to say that the outward phenomena or the physical object that is seen with the eyes and can be comprehended is God, for we know that the Trinity is invisible.
Therefore the fathers stated in different words and not in so stupid a manner why God wanted to reveal Himself to Abraham in three persons and not in four or in two, or why God chose to appear in just three persons.
Thus I have shown from the hidden meaning and not from the historical one that God is one and three, inasmuch as Abraham saw three and worshiped one. The saintly fathers expressed themselves in this
- 96 manner, not as the venomous tongues of the Jews blaspheme; for God wanted to appear to Abraham in a trinity of angels. Inasmuch, then, as three appear and one speaks, and inasmuch as Abraham sees three and worships one, the fathers state that it is indicated that in God there is a trinity and not that those three forms or persons are the Trinity. But if there were no other proof of the Trinity than these three forms, I certainly would not believe in it. But we have other solid and sure foundations. Of these we shall speak elsewhere.
Against the venomous tongues let us, then, defend our teachers who say that Abraham saw the Trinity in a hidden sense, inasmuch as God appeared to him not in fewer or in more persons than three; for if he saw the day of Christ, as Christ clearly bears witness in the New Testament (John 8:56), he undoubtedly saw also His divine nature. But if he saw His divine nature, this could not have happened without a knowledge of the Trinity.
Hence the fathers were right in making use of this passage, for it is one thing to prove something and another thing to adorn it. Bhetorical arguments do not always give proof; but they provide strong adornment and contribute persuasiveness to those things which dialectics has proved.
After I know that we are justified by faith alone—for, like a dialectical argument, this has been abundantly proved and set forth in Holy Scripture—it pleases me very much that Augustine, Hilary, Cyril, and Ambrose say the same thing, even though they do not stress the foundations so much and at times express themselves less properly. I do not charge that this is an error on their part. It is enough for me that they say the same thing, even though they say it less properly; and I am strengthened by their testimony, in spite of the fact that it is more rhetorical than23 dialectical.
Where the foundations have been properly laid, rhetorical statements, even though they are less sound, are nevertheless useful and pleasing. Nor are they fruitless. Concerning this testimony of the saintly fathers one must assuredly declare that they were right in stating that because God appeared in these three persons, Abraham had a knowledge of the Trinity from this appearance; for this argument is rhetorical and persuasive, yes, even profitable, after the foundations of the Trinity have been laid on the basis of other passages of Scripture.
So they said: Do as you have said.
6. And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah and said: Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.
7. And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it.
8. Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
This is a description, not of a royal banquet but of one that is truly divine. And if one were a dialectician or a rhetorician, there would be rich material with which to occupy oneself. Nor must these words be glanced at indifferently, since it is certain that these events are not recorded by the Holy Spirit without a purpose; they are recorded for our sakes.
After Abraham realizes that these three guests want to stay, he joyfully hastens into the tent and prepares a banquet. For he is sure that in these three guests he is receiving God Himself. It is faith, therefore, that makes him so eager and ready.
Since we do not have this faith, we are not at all like Abraham, and we are very slow in performing these services of love. But if we were convinced by an unquestioning conscience that when we receive some brother or someone exiled because of the Word or otherwise in distress, we are receiving God
Himself and that on the Last Day we shall have the Son of God Himself to bear witness to the service, we, too, would surely rejoice over the arrival of guests and would not think that we were being burdened.
But that physical appearance is a hindrance to us; and our physical eyes do not see the invisible yet truly present Guest. We must have inner eyes or faith. Since in Abraham this faith is most fervent, he makes haste for great joy and does not walk slowly. He delights in the opportunity given him to deserve well of brethren, and he does not make use of the service of his servants; but he himself starts to run and selects a calf. Furthermore, he orders to make haste and bake cakes.
All these details are recorded by Moses for the purpose of stressing that glorious faith of Abraham, whose undoubting conscience persuaded him that he had the God of heaven and earth as a guest. Not - 97 indeed that he recognized God as he recognized Him later on, but he is sure that God is coming to him in his brethren. This faith makes him so eager, ready, and zealous, so to speak, to do the good work.
The fact that we are slow to do these services and are either displeased or grumble when brethren arrive—these are signs of a faith which, if not altogether dead, is nevertheless asleep and very lazy.
Therefore these examples must be put before the churches and carefully impressed, lest we pay the penalties of ingratitude, as happened under the papacy, where we disregarded these sacred accounts and were occupied with the lies of the monks. But what are Antony, Francis, and Dominic in comparison with this patriarch, whose heart glows with faith like a fiery furnace? For this reason Abraham is so ready to do all services.
Above Abraham had said that he would fetch a little bread; now he brings out three measures of choice flour, not of that which the domestics used for inferior or ordinary bread. This is Moses' rhetoric.
In this way he bestows praise on the love or hospitality of Abraham, or rather on his faith, by using grand and very splendid words. For this is what shines in these services.
I do not know what the content of the measure was. But it is certain that the Jews had small measures, for they were an exceedingly thrifty people.
Abraham computes the measures of flour on the basis of the number of his guests, and thus by his very action he now magnifies his kindness, which he had not extolled with words but had previously minimized. Generous people are in the habit of doing this, but the boastful do the opposite, for their words are bigger than their deed, since they exaggerate their kind of actions with high-sounding words and thereby render unwelcome their services, which by nature are welcome. Moreover, there is no doubt that Solomon has drawn maxims from the account of Abraham and has included them in his Proverbs.
It seems that bread baked in the ashes was a more delicate bread, such as among us either rolls or cakes which we serve at banquets. In the Hebrew it is called גֹותעֻ. The psalmist made use of this word in Ps. 35:16: עֹוגמֵג י ָעֲלַ, "mockers of bread baked under ashes," that is, flatterers who ridicule the godly because this is advantageous to them among the powerful by whom they are invited and sumptuously fed.
Paul calls them brutes of the belly (cf. Rom. 16:18), such as are today the canons who do not teach, pray, or work in the church but merely consume finer bread and drink sweeter wine.
Hence the noun עֹוג denotes a baker, and in the books of Moses (Num. 21:35; Deut. 29:6) it is the name of the King of Bashan, that is, of fatness, because he dwelt in a fertile place and had most delicate bread. Thus Abraham wanted to treat his guests rather sumptuously when he gave orders to make bread from finer flour by the coals. But he himself hastens to the herds and selects a tender and fat calf.
What accounts for that profusion of words in Moses? Elsewhere, even in important matters, he is very sparing of words. In this manner he no doubt wants to commend to us the example of the saintly patriarch, in order that we, too, may glow with zeal for good works and, as Paul says (Rom. 12:10), may vie among ourselves in good works and try to outdo one another in services and welldoing toward poor and exiled brethren, in whom God Himself comes to us and seeks hospitality among us.
For this reason Moses says that Abraham himself runs to the herd and does not assign this task to a servant. He does not fetch a sickly or defective sheep. No, he fetches a very tender and well-fattened calf.
Consequently, it is apparent that he was not an ungenerous or niggardly host; for niggardly people are disturbed by the arrival of guests and commonly set before them what they themselves loathe and is cheapest.
But Abraham does the opposite and arranges a sumptuous banquet, for he is convinced that in these three guests he has shown hospitality to God. To be sure, these facts are recorded only once by Moses, but there is no doubt that Abraham made a daily practice24 of looking for guests in this manner at noon and of receiving them. For how would he, who firmly believes that God Himself is present in a brother who is in exile and has suffered persecution because of the Word, not display the utmost generosity toward guests?
Therefore you should keep in mind this host who is so occupied with pleasing unknown guests. What would he not do for acquaintances and friends? He addresses the unknown men courteously, and he begs them as though they would be doing a great favor if they stayed and enjoyed his hospitality. He promises a morsel of bread, but he brings out the most delicate flour and has cakes baked that are fit for a feast. To the bread he adds a fattened calf, to the calf butter and milk; and he does not sit down at the table, as was
- 98 fitting for the head of a household. No, he stands near by like a waiter; and if somewhere anything should be lacking for the convenience of the guests, he is eager to set it right speedily.
From what source does this host get such zeal, attentiveness, and obliging good will toward unknown guests, whom he does not receive in the hope of gain or profit, as innkeepers25 are in the habit of doing, but feeds free of charge? No doubt it is because he thinks that he is serving God while he is serving his needy neighbor.
Moses wants us to take careful note of this faith of Abraham and also to imitate it, not only toward those whose debtors we are, namely, parents, teachers, and magistrates, but also toward all fellow believers or brethren. But because few have this faith of Abraham and few believe that parents, teachers, and magistrates have been given us by God and have been ordained by Him, the services also are rather indifferent or almost nonexistent.
Thus Abraham's example deserves to be set before us by Moses as a mirror in which true services and virtues of every kind are clearly seen, especially, however, that extraordinary faith which is shown by the fact that in these guests he recognizes, reveres, and worships God. This faith is the chief thing, but the flesh hampers it in us in various ways. Like an intervening wall, it obstructs our eyes and prevents us from recognizing God in our brethren, as Abraham did, and from worshiping Him so dutifully.
The place of the feast is a tree, and Jerome writes that it was a terebinth and that it continued in existence up to the time of Constantine.26 If you prize the foolish pomp of the world, you do not see here an embroidered tapestry; nor do you see gold and silver goblets, as at the courts of kings. But what are these in comparison with the fact that God and angels are present?
We, too, could have such guests every day if our unbelief did not stand in the way. Therefore these events are recorded for our shame and reproach, because we do not do the same thing in faith and do not conclude that as often as we show hospitality to exiled brethren and to those who are in distress because of their confession, the Son of God Himself and His angels—not flesh and blood—are lodging with us.
If we had the faith that Abraham had, every tree and every hut, however small, would become a heaven and would excel all the palaces of all kings. Nor would the pomp, the gold, the silver, and the royal splendor be anything at all in comparison with the adornments of this poor abode in which God and His angels sit down as table companions.
But, as I have often said, because our hearts do not believe, we are so slow and reluctant in regard to these kindnesses and without any mutual regard among ourselves. We run about like swine and are forgetful of Paul's admonition: "Mutually honoring one another" (cf. Rom. 12:10 and Phil. 2:3) and of that of Augustine: "Brethren, honor God in yourselves."27 For if he who has been baptized is a member of Christ, does not he who receives a baptized person receive Christ? But, as I have often said, our unbelieving flesh prevents us from seeing this glory and from deriving pleasure from it. Nevertheless, these examples are set before us for the purpose of counteracting this surliness of our nature and to incite our hearts to be hospitable and to perform other services.
9. They said to him: Where is Sarah your wife? And he said: She is in the tent.
After Moses has finished the description of the feast, than which the sun has never seen anything more sumptuous—for the table companions are God Himself with His angels—he appends the conversation or discourse that took place at the feast. He does so in order that this description may lack nothing and in order that it may become known to the entire world that this feast was not like one partaken of by monks upon whom silence is imposed.28
Nothing is more irksome and more senseless than a feast at which silence reigns; for discourses are the real condiments of foods29 if, as Paul says (Col. 4:6), they are seasoned with salt. For word is whetted by word; and not only is the belly fed with food, but the heart is also fed with doctrine, since godly conversations refresh the hearts, arouse faith, kindle love, and instruct in many ways. Away, therefore, with the silly and silent monks who suppose that worship and saintliness consist in silence!
Sarah seems to have had some doubt concerning the promise that was given above in chapter seventeen, namely, that she herself would be the mother of the Promised Seed. Therefore the Lord calls her in order that He, in person, may strengthen her in faith. For it is the perpetual work of God to instruct, enlighten, and strengthen weak hearts through His Spirit, not to condemn them or to cast them aside because of their weakness.
- 99 Accordingly, God asks where Sarah is, and Abraham gives the short answer: "She is in the tent." An indifferent heart reads this and pays no attention to it; but by means of these few words the Holy Spirit wanted to set before all women an example to imitate, so that, just as Abraham is presented everywhere as a rule, so to speak, of faith and of good works, so Sarah might give instruction about the highest virtues of a saintly and praiseworthy housewife.
For the weakness or inborn levity of this sex is well known. Women are commonly in the habit of gadding and inquiring about everything with disgraceful curiosity. Or they stand idle at the door and look either for something to see or for fresh rumors. For this reason Proverbs (7:11) states about wicked women that they have "feet that do not tarry." This is due to their curiosity to see and hear things which nevertheless do not concern them at all. Therefore levity in morals as well as garrulousness and curiosity are censured in this sex.
In the case of Sarah, however, the opposite virtues are given praise in this passage, and this by means of Abraham's brief statement that she is in the tent. If she had been inquisitive after the fashion of other women, she would have rushed to the door, would have seen the guests, would have listened to their conversations, would have interrupted them, etc.; but she does none of these things. She busies herself with her own tasks, which the household demands, and is unconcerned about the other things.
Thus Paul prescribes (Titus 2:5) that a woman should be οἰχουρός, a domestic, so to speak, one who stays in her own home and looks after her own affairs. The heathen depicted Venus as standing on a tortoise; for just as a tortoise carries its house with it wherever it creeps, so a wife should be concerned with the affairs of her own home and not go too far away from it.30 This is demanded not only by the tasks peculiar to this sex but also by the requirements of the children and of the domestics, who need careful supervision.
Hence it is great praise for Sarah that on this occasion she tends to her own affairs and does not offend by being curious but, like a tortoise, remains in her little shell and does not take the time required to get a brief look at the guests she has and at what kind of guests they are.
This modesty or restraint surpasses all the acts of worship and all the works of all the nuns, and these words, "Sarah is in the tent," should be inscribed on the veils of all matrons; for in this way they would be reminded of their duty to beware of inquisitiveness, gaddling, and garrulousness, and to accustom themselves to managing the household with care. With this brief statement Moses has described all the virtues of a good housewife, one who gladly stays at home and takes care of the management of the household, in order that the things which her husband provides may be properly allotted and administered.
Our opponents, the papists, boast of their great and wonderful works; but they laugh at us when we bestow praise on such activities in the household and in civil life, for they regard these as insignificant and ordinary. But to fast on certain days, to dress in a particular color, to abstain from eating meat, to undertake pilgrimages to distant places, etc.—these things they extol with full cheeks, and for them they promise heaven and supreme blessedness.
But even though the papists are undeserving of our replies to their nonsense and their absurdities, it is useful for us to understand and appraise those domestic and civil works properly. Hospitality is a domestic and civic work; but it must certainly be preferred to all the works of the hermits, yes, even to the fasting of St. John the Baptist, even though he undertook this as a result of God's directive or order.
And this modesty or restraint of Sarah is a work that has to do with the home. What virgin or widow could be compared to her? But this union of male and female bothers the little saints so much that they not only do not believe that this kind of life is saintly but even think that it stands in the way of saintly religious exercises. It was for this reason that the pope imposed celibacy on his people. Furthermore, this kind of life is too31 ordinary and common among all people; therefore it is devoid of all show and is especially looked down upon by those who want to be the saintliest.
Yet their eyes should have been fixed on Him who instituted the state and the household. If the popes did this, they surely would have a loftier opinion about both functions. "God created them male and female," and "He blessed them" (Gen. 1:27). You are not going to suppose, are you, that these are insignificant matters?
But if you consider the final cause, namely, that through marriage a church is brought into existence for God and that a hideous disease of the flesh is healed and the road is blocked to sin, lest it ensnare us, surely these facts also bestow grand praise on marriage.
- 100 Therefore let us maintain that those works in the household and in the state which the papists despise as ordinary and worthless are most excellent and also most pleasing to God. For, to mention hospitality, what work is there, I ask, among all acts of worship of the popes that can be compared to it?
It seems to be something insignificant to give a cup of cold water to a thirsty person. But listen to Christ. What grand praise He bestows on this, and what rewards He promises (Matt. 10:42)!
But we shall reach the same conclusion about the other works in the household. If faithful parents bring up their children properly and accustom them to a godly conduct, and if through strict discipline they keep the domestics at their duty, these are ordinary works, I admit, without any outward show and without any reputation for saintliness; but the verdict should have been reached on the basis of the Word, not on the basis of reason.
It would not have been difficult for Abraham to fast on certain days, something which he no doubt did; but Moses records nothing about his fasting, for he wanted to record his true virtues, not such works as hypocrites can and usually do imitate.
But the papists do not deserve a more extensive answer from us. Therefore let us give thanks to God that we, having been taught by the Word, know what are truly good works, namely, to obey our superiors, to honor our parents, to manage our domestics, and to render the ordinary services which the need of the brethren demands, etc. For we see that these works were so highly esteemed by Moses, by the prophets, by Christ Himself, and by the apostles that they were not ashamed to preach about them often and to prescribe them.
They saw what snares reason ties for itself. Entangled in these snares, it cannot arrive at a knowledge of the true forms of worship; for, because of their outward appearance, the works or the traditions of men are always wont to lead men away from true works and exercises of godliness.
Look at a monk. He shuns obedience to all authorities, even to parents. He does not bring up children, does not work, and is beneficent to no one; but he is filled with hatred and ill will toward his own people and grows fat on the sweat of the poor. Yet he takes pride in his vow of poverty.
But Abraham, the godly head of the household, is truly poor. For he obeys when God calls him into exile. Nowhere does he have a fixed place. Although God blessed him, he nevertheless looks among the unbelieving heathen for attacks, violence, and rapine at any hour. Sarah, his companion, willingly follows her husband into exile, looks after the domestics and the home, is obliging toward the neighbors, and is obedient to her husband.
These are the highest virtues. There is nothing like them in all human traditions. Learn, therefore, to regard them highly and, since they are ordinances of God, to prefer them to human traditions, however grand and showy. For these corrupt faith and the ordinances of God. Like innkeepers, they mix wine with water.
Therefore let us take note of this example. Sarah is praised for diligently performing her duty in her home. For if a mistress of the household desires to please and serve God, she should not, as is the custom in the papacy, run here and there to the churches, fast, count prayers, etc. No, she should take care of the domestics, bring up and teach the children, do her work in the kitchen, and the like. If she does these things in faith in the Son of God and hopes to please God for Christs sake, she is saintly and blessed.
"What therefore God has joined together," says Christ (Matt. 19:6), "let no man put asunder."
Therefore separation or celibacy, such as exists in the papacy, is not of God. On the contrary, the services which that divine union demands are holy and truly good works, no matter how insignificant and ordinary they are considered so far as outward appearance is concerned.
Where there is true obedience toward God in faith, there whatever the calling demands is holy and a worship pleasing to God. But if some prefer either widowhood or virginity and are able to forego marriage without sinning, let them do it, yet in such a way that they do not for this reason condemn domestic economy and the state. For these are kinds of life that have been ordained and instituted by God.
Let the monks and nuns glory in their works. For a husband let it be enough if he rules his house properly; for a wife let it be enough if she takes care of the children by feeding them, washing them, and putting them to sleep, if she is obedient to her husband and diligently takes care of the household affairs.
These works far surpass those of all nuns. Nevertheless, nuns are exceedingly proud of what they do.
For from human traditions this bane results, that hearts become complacent and take their sanctity for granted. But a godly mistress of the household is not proud; for she is vexed and humbled in various ways
- 101 when countless annoyances are put in her way by the domestics, by her husband, by the children, by the neighbors, etc. Thus opportunities are nowhere lacking for the practice both of faith and of prayer. But let this be enough about the example of Sarah, and let us go on to what follows.
10. And He said: I shall surely return to you according to the time of life, and lo, your wife Sarah will have a son.
This is the subject of the discourse or conversation at the feast. It is both very serious and very pleasant. But God by no means broke off after saying so little. Moses, however, mentions only the main points of the conversation. He has not covered it in its entirety. The evangelists follow a similar procedure.
For what Christ says at the Last Supper—"I am going to the Father, and I send you the Comforter" (cf.
John 16:5–7)—this He undoubtedly set forth in an eloquent and long sermon.
In the same way Abraham's guests thanked him for having fed them so generously and, since they intend to repay him they promise to return and that, when they return, Sarah will give birth to a son, to Isaac. Could anything greater, more joyful, or more welcome than this have happened to this couple?
The phrase היָָּּחֵע ת ַכָָּּ, "according to the time of life," has troubled nearly all interpreters. The Hebrews understand it in the sense that it promises Abraham and Sarah a fixed time of life, so that the meaning is: "When I return, both of you will still be living."32 But if this is the meaning, it is nothing but a tautology and useless repetition. When God says (Gen. 1:28): "Be fruitful and multiply," life is taken for granted. Thus when he says: "Sarah will have a son," He at the same time promises Sarah a fixed time of life. Similarly, a dead Abraham will not beget children. But because procreation is promised to him, at the same time, by incontrovertible logic, life is promised to him.
Others think that the expression must be referred to the promised son rather than to the parents, so that the meaning is: "I shall return immediately after the time of life," that is, after as long a time as is required for an infant to live on earth. This is a better and more appropriate meaning if you think it over.
For the meaning is: "I say that a son will be born from Sarah in such a manner that he is her natural son, born as offspring is born from any young woman, lest anyone suspect that he had to be created from the mass of Sarah's flesh without a natural union. She will conceive from her husband, and for the natural and usual period of time she will carry the fetus in her womb. Consequently, he will be a true son."
Adam was created from earth, but he cannot for this reason be called a son of the earth; for it is one thing to be created from earth and another to be born from the earth. Similarly, even though Eve was created from Adam's rib, she nevertheless cannot be called a daughter of the rib. And if God were to make a human being from wood, the wood cannot be called the father of the human being.
Thus if God had created Isaac from the aged Sarah in a miraculous manner, Isaac would not have been a son according to the time of life. Therefore, when God says: "I shall return according to the time of life," it is the same as if He said: "In accordance with the manner in which an infant always receives life in the womb and is born, so Isaac, too, will receive life and be born."
Physicians say that the fetus begins to live and stir in the fifth month after conception and that during the remaining five months it matures for birth. The same thing, says the Lord, will happen to Isaac. And thus He eliminates an unusual and miraculous birth, such as the effete Sarah could have had in mind.
In order that the normal course of nature might be preserved, the Virgin Mary carried Christ in this manner up to the tenth month; and during the entire time He, like other embryos, received nourishment from the drops of blood of His mother, who was sanctified by the Holy Spirit.33
So far as the time is concerned, the statement under consideration can be understood to mean that the expectation of a miracle is excluded and that people will be convinced that Isaac is Sarah's true son, born to Abraham and Sarah in the normal manner of human procreation. For this reason the Letter to the Hebrews says (11:11) that it was through faith that Sarah obtained the power to conceive. This is said in order that you may understand that Abraham made her pregnant in accordance with the usual course of nature. She did not become pregnant by a miracle, as the Virgin Mary did. When the Holy Spirit overshadowed the Virgin Mary, she, too, conceived in her womb, but from her own seed, not from the seed of a man.
In our translation into German we have referred this phrase neither to the life of the child nor to that of the parents; there we have referred it to the angel who was speaking.34 For inasmuch as the angels make use of these human characteristics—take on a body, speak, walk, sit, and eat—they are also in the habit of speaking in the manner of human beings. Therefore "according to the time of life" is the same as if one
- 102 said: "If I am alive." For we are in the habit of speaking about the future in such a manner that we add: "If God grants life" or "If it is God's will."
Moreover, this example helps us to learn to speak reverently about God. Now the reader is free to follow whatever opinion he chooses, but to me the middle one appears most appropriate. But a great obstacle is put in our way by the fact that after the Hebrew language fell into disuse, its tropes and figures cannot be fully understood. Therefore the forbearing reader will pardon us to this extent.
And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.
11. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying: After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?
The table appears to have been so placed that the tent was behind the guests, and it was not closed by means of doors, as is customary among us, but was open. Sarah could easily overhear what was being said, since she was standing at the opening and was waiting to see whether her husband Abraham had any orders to give. Furthermore, the text states that she laughed when God predicted that a son would be born to her. For she could not believe that this would happen. This was not only because of a feeling of shame but also because of what follows, "They were both old, advanced in age"; that is, they had almost come to the end of their days; they were in their declining years.35 They were already near death. Therefore Sarah did not believe; she laughed.
It had also ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Young men do not understand this.
Nevertheless, one should learn that God put seed for propagation into men and women—more into one, less into another; stronger into one, weaker into another. For procreation takes place by no other means than through insemination, since the woman has her own seed, and the male has his own seed. But from experience it is known that women who do not have menses are barren. When it was happening to Sarah after the manner of women, she was able to conceive. But when this had ceased to happen to her, she said:
"Behold, God has dosed my womb," and she handed Hagar over to her husband, lest the promise be hindered. The thought of this now stands in the way of her faith, with the result that she does not believe that she will give birth. But because of these most distinguished and grateful guests this sin of hers is venial. When Zacharias (Luke 1:18–22) does not believe the angel, he is punished with speechlessness for a definite time; but to Sarah nothing of this kind happens since the Lord overlooks her weakness.
But the very fact that it is recorded that Sarah laughed within herself is also proof of her extraordinary continence and chastity. You will find cadaverous old women who are more lascivious than young women. Sarah was not that kind. As long as hope of offspring remained, she had intercourse with her husband and waited for the blessing of the Lord; but after her age had put an end to this hope, she refrained from intercourse with her husband and looked for offspring from Hagar. This chastity is by no means an insignificant virtue when, on the contrary, the admirers of virginity and the celibates burn and are polluted day and night. But Sarah's chastity is without any show and without any glory before the world, for it is covered and concealed by a common cover because she is a married woman. This cover deceives the celibates. As a result they are unable to see such extraordinary chastity and cannot believe that what she says is true: "Shall I continue to have pleasure or delight?" But these are also words of extraordinary chasteness and shamefacedness. The Jews think and speak highly only about circumcision; but these examples were worthy to be set before all mistresses of households, since they were noted down by the Holy Spirit with a definite plan.
Nor should one overlook the fact that concerning her husband Sarah says most modestly and in a respectful manner that he has become old. She calls him lord, not man or husband. With these words she also praises the continence of her busband and lets it be known that she has respect for him.
St. Peter bestows extraordinary praise upon this passage in his list of duties (1 Peter 3:6), where he admonishes pious mistresses of households to be godly and respectable; for Sarah is a glorious example not of one or the other virtue but of all. She is described as carefully looking after her house and not running to and fro inquisitively and picking up new gossip about the neighbors. She diligently takes care of the household and lives chastely with her husband and not only considers him her husband but also honors and respects him as her lord.
- 103 If the mistress of a household does these things, what fault will a reasonable husband be able to find in her? But alas, few concern themselves with this; they are arrogant, proud, quarrelsome, abusive, rebellious, and puffed up by their supposed wisdom. Therefore they want to be regarded as rulers, not as wives.
But how far these women are removed from the example of Sarah! Peter justly praises her, makes a more proper application of this passage, and has a better understanding of it than all the rabbis, who pass over these words superficially, as though they were useless and unprofitable.
But Peter wants these words to be an example and like a mirror, in which all saintly and elect women who themselves also hope in God and please their husbands as Sarah did may look. Peter does not enumerate strange works like those of the nuns, who dress in a peculiar fashion and withdraw from the ordinary hardships and perils of this life. "Honor your husbands," he says (1Peter 3:6), "as Sarah did. She calls her husband lord with the utmost respect." Accordingly, it is the true praise of a housewife that she hopes in God and respects her husband. No words can praise these virtues as they deserve.
But why does Peter add the statement about the hope in the Lord? Moses makes no mention of this here. Surely this hope shone throughout Sarah's entire life in various ways like a most brilliant star, for consider what the calling of Abraham involved. He is commanded to forsake his native country, and he wanders about in the land of Canaan like a beggar without a fixed dwelling place or home. One year he and his people tarry among the Gentiles at one place, another year they tarry somewhere else. Amid these great difficulties the chaste Sarah not only follows her husband but also respects him as a lord. You might find that another woman, displeased with her hardships and perils, would either compel her husband to pick out a fixed home or would leave him. But Sarah holds fast to her hope in God and obeys His word.
Although hardships confront her in the course of so extended a migration, she nevertheless overcomes them through her confident hope in the help of God. Therefore she deserves to be held up to all housewives as an example. For here you observe no frivolity, and you hear no coarse jesting; everything is dignified, everything is proper, and everything is regulated in accordance with the norm of the Word.
These facts should be carefully noted and kept in mind because of the fanatical teachers, who not only teach works and forms of worship that are not required but even give preference to them over the works which God commands. You have never heard any papist either praise or admire accounts like this one. It has been the common saying of all that in this Book of Genesis nothing is recorded except the sexual relations of the Jews.36 But do they not have pigs' eyes that blindly pass over the greatest virtues and are engrossed solely in the passion of lust?
Thus they reveal what sort of hearts they have. They revel in ease and abundance, and for this reason they cannot be otherwise than insane with lust. Yet they do not cease to praise celibacy, which is filthy and polluted in various ways. But virtues of this kind, which the Spirit wanted to praise with His own pen, they disregard or even disparage, just as matrimony was brought into ill repute and disparaged under the papacy in a variety of ways.
Therefore young people should be diligently reminded of these virtues of the home; and if some have the gift of continence and are able to live chastely without marriage, let them by all means have the benefit of continence and do without a wife. But let them be on their guard as against the worst poison lest because of their continence they either prefer themselves to those who are married or condemn them. For marriage was divinely instituted, and the life of married people, if they are in the faith, deserves to be rated higher than those who are famous through miracles.
This is the constant and unanimous judgment of Scripture. For apart from his faith you hear nothing about Abraham except that he is sitting in the tent and assists and receives strangers; then he tends to his own affairs.
Similarly, Sarah cooks, makes butter and cheese, feeds the cattle, etc. I agree that these are tasks of servants and maids. Yet they are presented by the Holy Spirit as an example.
But if the papists despise these works and choose for themselves other extravagant, difficult, and arduous performances of good works, let them take delight in their folly, and let them regard the duties of the household as filth. But let us maintain that if faith is joined to those menial works, they are regarded as more precious than all gold and as more excellent than any celibacy without faith.
Surely the Holy Spirit depicts the saintly mistress Sarah with these colors to make it clear that even though she is married, she surpasses virgins in chastity. Therefore it is a great sin for the papists to inveigh
- 104 against the marriages of the patriarchs, which are most honorable workshops not only of chastity but of all other virtues. These facts should be carefully noted in order to shatter the opinions of the fanatics.
13. The Lord said to Abraham: Why did Sarah laugh, and say: Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?
14. Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son.
The Holy Spirit brings up these matters in order to strengthen the faith of this saintly and chaste matron; for inasmuch as she is hampered by the thoughts of her flesh, she does not yet believe, nor is she able to hope that she will have a son from her aged husband. She is satisfied to be the mother of an adopted son, but she is altogether dead so far as the hope of conceiving and bearing a child is concerned.
Therefore it is necessary for Sarah to hear a word by which she, as though brought back to life, may rise again to the hope of fruitfulness; for the word is truly a voice that raises from death. But it is death for Sarah to think that she is a corpse. This thought is corrected by the word, and the corpse, as though recalled from death, begins to live again. Thus all this takes place for the purpose of arousing faith.
But I have stated repeatedly above that in Sarah there is an outstanding example of extraordinary patience, because she was able to bear such a long exile and most willingly went along with her husband; likewise, that when she was barren, she was able to bear it that her husband lay with a maid. Because she sustains herself in these hardships by hope, she hears an unbelievable word, by which her heart is illumined and inflamed, so to speak, by a new light; and because of the countless troubles she has overcome in hope and patience her weakness is pardoned.
Sarah was now eighty-nine years old, and during so many years she had been hoping for the blessing of the Lord. When she sees that her hope is futile, she submits everything to God. Yet she does not utterly despair. For this reason the Lord puts up with her weakness and is not offended by her laughter, which has its origin in her thinking about something that is impossible. For what further hope could there be for a barren and exhausted woman? Therefore the Lord brings her to faith with a very friendly reproof.
Furthermore, I stated above that not only Sarah but also Abraham himself supposed that these guests of his were foreigners and that he had no thought either of angels or of prophets. Therefore when they promise a child, Sarah thought: ""Who would be telling them this? They are not speaking from the heart; they want to ingratiate themselves, because they suppose that women hear such things with pleasure."
These were Sarah's thoughts when she laughed. But after she has heard Him who sees and has before Him all things, new thoughts arise in her; for she notices that these are not ordinary men, but that they are men full of the Holy Spirit, who sees the secrets of the hearts and reveals them.
Therefore this is a cheerful and very friendly reproof. From it Sarah concluded that these were men of God and prophets, because they are aware of her laughter and her thoughts even though she is not in their presence. After Sarah has been so earnestly reminded of God's power, namely, that nothing is either extraordinary or, as Luke (1:37) puts it, impossible with Him, she can no longer regard lightly the prophecy about the son who is to be born. For here her thoughts are held captive and come to an end when she hears that the event is miraculous and altogether impossible before the world yet not miraculous but very easy, yes, even common, ordinary, and an everyday occurrence for God if similar works of His are considered.
I am very fond of these powerful arguments. With one blow, so to speak, they refute every objection it is possible to present. But I am not fond of those rhetorical arguments which we see the ignorant papists using. For example, when they discuss the Eucharist, they declare that the church has the power to make regulations about such things and to say that the laity should receive the Sacrament in only one kind.37
Such reasons are puny and feeble. As Paul says, they evince "a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words" (1 Tim. 6:4).
But those axioms which overwhelm an opponent with one assault and shut off his breath, so to speak, when he tries to make many statements are powerful and instruct those who are really well informed, as when I say to a papist: "You babbler, why do you mention the dangers and inconveniences in case the cup is given to the laity too? Look at the text regarding the Lords Supper, and listen to Christ, who instituted the Supper." Like a battering ram, this one argument demolishes whatever reasons the papists can advance concerning this matter.
- 105 Therefore it is not enough to be a rhetorician. A rhetorician must be a dialectician in order to pass judgment on recognized truths or axioms (for this is the name given to sound, sure, and true statements) and on what is worthless.38 When this rock of a sure and sound axiom stands, it is proper later on to make those familiar rhetorical additions, such as what is easy, difficult, convenient, inconvenient, honorable, disgraceful, etc.
All the discussions of the papists move within the limits of what is allowable, what is expedient, and what is proper. From these they construct not only dangerous but even blasphemous propositions about the authority of the church, namely, that it is above the Word, etc. But as for you, apply the axiom that Christ is the Head of the church, and whatever the opponents have built up with great effort will immediately collapse.
One should look for axioms even in matters of morals. When the well-known Censorinus—in the sixth chapter of the first book of Gellius—tries to persuade the young men to marry, he does not urge those commonplace and familiar arguments. No, he looks higher than this and says: "If we were able to live without wives, we would spare ourselves great trouble." He admits that the life of married people is full of troubles, hardships, and various and countless dangers; but he cuts all this short with the axiom which declares: "We cannot do without women."39
All other reasons are puny and weak. Only the one which states that we cannot do without marriage is sound; it is the only one that appeals to an open-minded hearer. For how will states exist if there are no marriages? Human beings are needed for the defense of married people and children, and they are not born of wood or of stone; they are born of women.
But we must make use of such sound and sure reasons especially in theological matters. Your heart is assailed by unbelief, and you doubt that you can be saved; for you know that you are a sinner. In this situation a godly brother who will really comfort you will not make use of the popish and worthless arguments that you should seek relief for your conscience in this or that work; but he win place the Word of God before you. He will say: "God is truthful; He promises to be gracious to you for His Sons sake.
Moreover, the Son of God has absolved you from all your sins by His Word, has baptized you, and has promised you eternal life if you believe, that is, if you conclude that His death is your redemption. Hence either God is truthful in His Word, or you are a liar when you have doubts about the forgiveness of your sins after these promises have been given to you through the Son of God." By means of this axiom doubt is dispelled.
Moreover, we must be well fortified against our adversary Satan, for he is a very shrewd debater and a very good rhetorician. He exaggerates your sins, magnifies God's wrath beyond measure, and adduces countless instances of God's wrath, even in the ease of those who had the right faith in the beginning and eventually fell. Unless you confront him with the true axiom that the Son of God died for sinners and that those who believe in Him will live the life which He Himself is living, all other reasons that can either be mentioned or thought of are rhetorical, weak, and puny. But this is the axiom and recognized truth (Rom.
3:4): "God is truthful, but every human being is a liar."
Therefore call upon God, take hold of His Word, and cling to the sacrificial victim Christ, who has rendered satisfaction for your sins and has transferred your death to Himself and overcome it; and do not let it bother you that you are a sinner. Consider God's command. He wants you to cling to His Son and tells you to believe. Direct your eyes to this, and do not inquire into what has been done or will be done about others; but think about yourself, so that you may comply with this command.
These thoughts refresh and strengthen a sick heart. Those popish commands about alms, about buying Masses and calling upon the saints are sophistic reasons and worthless arguments. He who relies on them is deceived.
I once heard the jurist Dr. Henning debate about an important case with a learned, eloquent, and keen opponent.40 When his opponent had cited a great mass of laws and had strengthened his case as best he could, Henning chided him in a moderate and friendly manner and said that he was at libery to adduce whole volumes of laws. "But," he added, "even if you were able to fly across mountains and walk on the bottom of waters, nevertheless, if you want to deal with me about the case in point, you must come down to this matter." And he pointed out what the scope of the matter was, and by this single statement he curbed the eloquent and learned man and, as it were, floored him.
- 106 But—to compare great things with those that are small, and divine things with those that are human— Sarah, too, is likewise so affected by a powerful argument that she can turn nowhere. To be sure, she thinks: "I am a barren old woman, and it is altogether impossible for me at this very advanced age to bear a child." But this thought is not so firmly fixed that it is not driven out by this thunderbolt: "What is miraculous or impossible with God? For41 He who created man of dust from the ground, could He not produce natural offspring from the seed of the male and the female?" Thus these words are spoken to strengthen Sarah's faith, in order that she may hear, realize, and know that these guests of hers are not merely human beings but are men of God and prophets in whom the Spirit of God dwells. This Sarah had not known until now.
In conclusion, the angel repeats the words about the time of life, the words which were explained above.42 This is not a purposeless tautology, as the unlearned think. No, it serves to confirm the promise and the faith of the hearers, and it is just as if you heard two witnesses giving testimony about one thing.
15. But Sarah denied, saying: I did not laugh. For she was afraid. He said: No, but you did laugh.
When Sarah recognizes the prophet of God from the fact that he knew the secrets of the heart, she no longer laughs but is thoroughly frightened; and the saintly mother adds a little sin and says that she did not laugh, even though she had laughed. But this sin itself is pardonable, because she fears God, obeys the prophets, and is subject to her husband. It is fear of Abraham, her master, that causes her to be thoroughly frightened and to deny that she has laughed. Furthermore, she is now sincerely sorry that she had received the words of God's prophet with laughter. She is sorry because of fear, and in this fear she commits another sin. But she is seriously refuted with only a few words: "No, but you did laugh." It is as if the prophet were saying: "First you sin by laughing; now you sin by lying."
Concerning domestic and civil works I have repeatedly stated that young people must be carefully habituated to take note of the works that have been commanded by God and to distinguish them to the utmost from self-appointed or human works.43 For unless this is done—and most carefully at that—the distinction between good and evil is not only eliminated, but we shall cherish things that are most harmful and are truly an abomination before God as the things that are holiest.
Ahaz sacrifices his son to an idol (2 Kings 16:3) and, though he is a most infamous murderer, considers himself like Abraham in saintliness. For inasmuch as he gives no consideration to the Word and command of God, which alone is the true and eternal criterion of works, he accepts death as life and deadly poison as helpful medicine.
Therefore shut out from your heart and eyes the outward appearance, and see what God has commanded; do this, and you will not go wrong, even if in outward appearance it is small, ordinary, and insignificant. Antony withdraws into the desert, and Jerome makes a pilgrimage to sacred places and advocates devotion to chastity.44 These works the world regards as great. But the fact that Sarah stands at the hearth and busily prepares food for the guests—this not only has no outward appearance of a good work but seems to stand in the way of good works. Yet to one who has regard for the Word it will be evident that Sarah did a holier work than all the hermits did.
This life is profitably divided into three orders: (1) life in the home; (2) life in the state; (3) life in the church.45 To whatever order you belong—whether you are a husband, an officer of the state, or a teacher of the church—look about you, and see whether you have done full justice to your calling and there is no need of asking to be pardoned for negligence, dissatisfaction, or impatience. But if you have conducted your affairs in such a manner that there is no need of saying: "Forgive us our trespasses," then by all means go out into the desert, and occupy yourself with those showy and difficult works.
Thus the entire error of the papists lies in the fact that they consider the ordinary duties of this life which are commanded in the Decalog easy for them to perform perfectly. Therefore they ascend from the Decalog to their schemes, as though they were going up to a higher level. They praise the anchorites; but Abraham, who sits at the door and waits for guests—him they do not regard as worth mentioning or being held up as one to imitate.
Thus it is not enough for the papists if one has been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; they think that something more perfect and, if I may say so, closer to heaven should be attempted. For this reason they hide in monasteries, read Masses, etc. But how do these things agree with Scripture? Was not the hermit Antony called back to Alexandria to a tanner in order that he might learn what place he would occupy in heaven?46 If this is fiction, I have nothing against it, provided
- 107 that the papists admit that it originated in their church and was preached and believed there. But however this may be, it is certain that this baptized tanner was just as pleasing to God when he did his work in faith as Antony was when he tormented himself and prayed.
To bring this account to a close, I have considered it necessary to add these things in order that young people may learn to shun self-chosen works and may devote themselves with the utmost zeal to those tasks which their calling brings with it and demands. For these works have been commanded by God, and for this reason they are truly divine works, whether you are a pupil and learn letters, a maid and sweep the house with brooms, or a servant and tend horses or do other things. A monk, of course, leads a more burdensome life and wears more sordid garments; but that he serves God—this he will nevermore be able to say truthfully, as can those who serve the household, the state, or the church.
16. Then the men set out from there, and they looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to set them on their way.
We have heard a most delightful account. Angels were sent to Abraham, and the promise was made to him anew—without any roundabout or indirect talk—that he would have a son from his wife Sarah.
Abraham received them generously, and Sarah, too, was brought to faith, with the result that she believed that she would become a mother. To the description of God's inexpressible friendliness toward Abraham there is now added a greater indication of God's kindness, in order that we may learn how pleasing a service and sacrifice to God it is to hear the Word and to receive it with reverence. For, as we see in this passage, God draws near to such people not as a Judge and Lord but as a Friend and Guest at table. But the sad and horrible account which follows shows God's attitude toward those who despise the Word.
Here Moses calls the angels three men, for it was the opinion of Sarah and Abraham that they were prophets of God driven into exile because of the Word. Moreover, in order to show his reverence for the Word, Abraham not only entertains these guests sumptuously and generously; but after he has entertained them, he accompanies them because of his love of the Word and his fear of God, and escorts them to the road which leads to Sodom.
But these things are also set before us as an example, in order that we may learn to revere the prophets of God or ministers of the Word and to honor them with services of every kind. But how the world does this and what punishments follow this ingratitude we have long since come to know in these wretched times. And the end is not yet.
17. The Lord said: Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18. seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by him?
The passages must be compared. Before this Moses has said that three men arose; but here he says that the Lord, הוְיהָֹ, spoke. He calls them three men in accordance with Abraham's understanding; for Abraham supposed that they were men, but men of God and holy. He did not think that they were angels.
But Moses employs a way of speaking that is common in Scripture and says that God spoke. For the angels who were sent by God did not bring their own word; they brought the Word of God.
I have replied above to the scoffing of the Jews, who ridicule our people because they make use of this evidence to prove the doctrine of the Trinity.47
We are not so foolish or unlearned as to say that these three men are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in Their essence, just as we do not maintain that the humanity of Christ is God in His essence. It is enough for us to have said that these three men signified the Deity which Abraham recognized and believed; for enlightened by the Holy Spirit and full of faith, he saw the day of Christ
(John 8:56). But just as Abraham believed the Trinity, so this is represented to him outwardly in the appearance of the three men. Of course, these three men are not the three Persons of the Deity; they are signs or an appearance of the Deity in the Trinity, although so far Abraham is of the opinion that they are saintly men who are in exile because of their profession of the true religion.
But even though Abraham does not know that they are angels, he nevertheless has the conviction that in these three, among whom one was speaking while the rest were in accord, he was hearing God, who is one in His essence and trine in Persons. This is my opinion about this passage. Let him who is so inclined treat it with greater subtlety, provided that he does not do violence to it; for these matters must be given sober consideration.
- 108 In the first place, I follow the authority of Scripture, which says that God is speaking when either angels or saintly men speak as a result either of the command or of the revelation of God. In the second place, I hold that the testimony of the Letter to the Hebrews should not be disregarded. It states clearly that "some have enterrained angels unawares" (13:2). Nor does the fact that Abraham bestows divine honors on them present any difficulty, for he recognizes God in them and listens to their words just as though
God Himself were speaking. He is following the general rule that one should not consider who is speaking but what he is saying; for if it is the Word of God, how would God Himself not be present?
Thus God is present in Baptism, in the Lords Supper, and in the use of the Keys because His own Word is present there. Therefore even though we do not see or hear Him but see and hear the minister,
God Himself is nevertheless truly present, baptizes, and absolves. And in the Lord's Supper He is present in such an extraordinary way that the Son of God Himself gives us HIS body with the bread and His blood with the wine.
The words which the Lord prefixes as a sort of preface—"Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?"—carry with them a delightful indication of His extraordinary good will. Moreover, there was need of these words in order to strengthen Abraham; otherwise the announcement of the divine wrath would have overwhelmed him. The repetition of the promise concerning the Seed and the blessing of all the nations of the earth pertains to the same thing. For if Abraham had not heard this promise from God first, he would have cast away the hope of offspring as well as of his own salvation in so horrible a display.
Therefore it is an extraordinary proof of God's benevolence when the Lord declares that He cannot conceal anything from Abraham. In accordance with the usage of Scripture, Moses states that it was God who spoke these words even though the angel spoke them. In their sermons the prophets, too, speak in the same manner. They say: "This is what the Lord says." But another reason is added.
19. No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has promised him.
God did not want to bring this awful judgment upon the five cities without first revealing the entire matter to Abraham. This is something worthy of the greatest admiration. When examples of cities destroyed by fire, earthquakes, or other causes are found in the books of the heathen, we observe what wise men conclude about such examples. Nearly all are assigned to natural causes, and reason is not in the habit of rising any higher. But the destruction of the five cities by fire is revealed to Abraham in this passage in order that you may understand that this extraordinary disaster was a punishment inflicted by an angry God because of the sins of the people.
So much importance is attached to this knowledge that the Lord wants this report spread abroad among the descendants and made known forever as an example for others, in order that they may learn to fear God and to shun the kind of sins that were the cause of such a great evil. Similarly, the Lord also wants the examples of His mercy, such as the deliverance at the Red Sea, made known; for there is need of such reminders in this life.
The godly who are burdened with a cross and in various ways are hard pressed and sigh have need of promises in order to be buoyed up by them. On the other hand, those who are callous, obdurate, and smug should be frightened by the examples of wrath, to the end that, as is stated in this passage, they may learn to fear God.
Furthermore, our hearts are inclined by nature to object to reproval. We all receive promises with joy and are not annoyed by them; but the preaching of the Law frightens men and almost drives them to fury.
It is for this reason that the prophets were killed, not because they preached the blessings promised to Abraham but because they condemned evil ways and idolatry, and asked the people to return to sobriety and the fear of God.
Similarly, the world does not hate us for teaching the Gospel and the benefits of Christ in pure form.
All accept this and approve of it, unless they are manifestly ungodly. But the mischief results from our attachment of a comparison with the doctrine of our opponents, from our statement that the pope is the Antichrist, and from our disapproval of the teachings and the wicked deeds of the adherents of the pope.
Thus Christ says (John 7:7): "The world hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil." But this wrath and displeasure of the world should not bother preachers at all. For in this passage you hear
- 109 God's command that such awful judgments of God should be impressed especially on those whose hearts are still weak and inclined to sin.
God says: "Abraham will command these things to his children"; that is, in the church of the saints accounts of this kind must be made known and be preserved, just as in 1 Cor. 10 St. Paul mentions the punishments that were inflicted on the people before they entered the land of Canaan and adds that these things happened to them as types and should be an example for us, as though he meant to say: "In this manner God punished the sins of that people; but the example concerns us, in order that we may learn to shun similar sins." And in Rom. 15:4 Paul states: "The things that were written were written for our instruction."
Grace and the remission of sins must indeed be preached, but to those whose hearts are blameless and whose consciences are troubled. But to those who are smug and have altogether discarded the fear of God
God's blows and wrath must be presented in order that they may be warned by the example of others and cease to sin. For this is what is meant by saying that everything was written for our instruction.
Therefore those who, influenced by I know not what reasons, maintain that the Law should not be preached in the church are pernicious teachers.48 Would you actually not teach the Law where there is a real people of the Law, namely, the greedy, the proud, adulterers, usurers, idolaters, etc.? Would you use the promises of the New Testament to increase the smugness of those who were smug before? Indeed,
God wants the destruction of Sodom by fire and that lake of asphalt to be conspicuous to this day and to be spoken of in sermons and made known among all posterity, in order that at least some may be reformed and may learn to fear God.
St. Paul (2 Tim. 2:15) gives better instruction about rightly dividing the Word; for just as all foods do not agree alike with all bodies, so there is the one kind of doctrine by which the weak, the fainthearted, the bruised, and the penitent must be buoyed up, and another by which the obdurate, the callous, the smug, and the shamefully wicked must be called back to the right way. In Isaiah (61:1) the Son of God says:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; He has sent Me to preach to the humble, in order that I may heal those who have a contrite heart."
But the pope and the bishops do not have a heart of this kind; they persecute the Word and seek to destroy our churches. Should the Gospel be preached to these too—the Gospel which tells them that they have a God who has been appeased by Christ? This will make them more obdurate, and they will sin with greater smugness. Therefore they must be crushed with the hammer of the Law. To such people one must show the lightning and thunder of Sinai.
On the other hand, let those who are struggling with death and are troubled by other perils hear (Ps.
27:14): "Let your heart be comforted. Be of good courage; wait for the Lord"; (Ps. 91:7): "If a thousand fall at your right, evil will not come near to you. I am with him in trouble"; and (Matt. 11:28): "Come unto
Me. I shall refresh you." This is medicine for thankful hearts that are not like those hard crags and adamantine rocks which require a hammer.
Ezekiel (34:3–4) is right when he says that the prophets who frighten the heart of a righteous person with lies commit sin, for these are the smoking flax that should be tended and not altogether extinguished.
And they sin in the other direction too, because they strengthen the hands of the wicked and do not rather accuse and condemn them.
Today you may encounter many who are offended by the necessary preaching of the Law and shun it, for they maintain that their consciences are burdened when they hear that sort of thing. But are they not fine Christians? They do not give up sinning; they are addicted to greed, to wrath, to lust, to reveling, etc.
When they hear these sins censured, they are offended and do not want their consciences burdened. Shall we for this reason let everyone do what he pleases and declare him blessed? Not at all; for you hear that the destruction of Sodom by fire is to be set before all succeeding generations and indeed before the very church of God, in order that men may learn to fear God.
In the doctrine of the antinomians there was this statement: "If somebody were an adulterer, provided only that he believed, he would have a gracious God."49 But what kind of church will it be, I ask, in which so awful a statement is heard? A distinction is necessary, and it should be taught that adulterers or sinners are of two kinds: some who become aware of their adultery or sin to such an extent that they shudder with their whole heart and begin to repent earnestly, and not only feel sorry for what they have done but also sincerely desire and endeavor never again to commit anything like it. These are not smug in their sin; they
- 110 are thoroughly frightened, and they dread God's wrath. If they take hold of the Word of the Gospel and trust in the mercy of God for Christs sake, they are saved and have forgiveness of sins through faith in Even though the others, whether adulterers or sinners, are unable to excuse their sin, they nevertheless feel no sorrow about it. On the contrary, they are glad that they have achieved their desire. They look for opportunities to commit sins and smugly indulge in them. Because these people do not have the Holy
Spirit, they cannot believe; and he who preaches to such people about faith deceives them.
This sickness demands a different medicine, namely, that you say with Paul: "God will judge the adulterous" (Heb. 13:4); "They will not see the kingdom of God" (cf. 1 Cor. 6:9–10); and "Without chastity no one can please God" (Rom. 8:8). Hence they are defiled and under the wrath of God.
Such sledges are needed to crush these rocks. Abraham does not indulge in sins, but long before this he was truly humbled in spirit. Therefore the Lord comforts him, for He takes pleasure in a smoking flax.
Therefore He tends it carefully, in order that it may burst into flames.
But the people of Sodom are like crags and very hard rocks. In their case brimstone, lightning from heaven, and thunder are needed. Those foolish and lying prophets who maintain that the Law should not be taught in the church and that, in general, no one should be rebuked too severely or burdened in his conscience are not aware of this.
If this is true, however, why does the Lord want the example of Sodom preserved in His very church and taught by Abraham? Moreover, in view of the fact that He adds "in order that they may fear the Lord," do not those who want only the promises to be taught exclude the doctrine of the fear of the Lord entirely from the church? Hence the fanatical spirits who confound the entire system of heavenly doctrine in a pernicious manner must be shunned.
But this doctrine of the Law is profitable not only for teaching the fear of the Lord; but, as the Lord adds, it also produces this fruit, that those who are frightened in this way by the judgment and wrath of God practice justice and discernment.
If you divide all Scripture, it contains two topics: promises and threats or benefits and punishments.
And, as Bernard states, hearts that are neither softened by kindnesses nor improved by blows are properly called hard.50 Thus the works of God are also twofold. Works of mercy are those which Paul mentions in Acts 14:17: "He gives rain from heaven, fruitfulness," etc. He does works of wrath when He also sends a plague, war, and famine in order to frighten and humble the obdurate. Thus in Christ salvation is promised to all who are baptized and believe. On the other hand, judgment and eternal death are threatened to those who do not believe in Christ.
In these circumstances how can or should the preaching of the Law be excluded from the church? Do you not at the same time exclude the fear of God and the majority of the works of God? God certainly does not perform these in order that they may remain hidden, but He wants us to see them and in this way to be led to fear Him. If there were no perils of fire and water, no sudden death and similar evils, I myself would surely not say anything about them and would speak only of God's kindness and of His benefits.
But experience teaches otherwise.
Hence to declare that the Law should not be taught in the church is characteristic of men who do not know Christ and are blinded by their pride and wickedness. Previously Moses has set forth many examples of God's graciousness: when God promised Abraham the Blessed Seed, when He honored him with an outstanding victory, and when He came to him as a guest and ate bread at his home. These events are related by Moses, and nothing else is added to them; but in this passage there is added the command to preach: "He will relate them," says God, "to his children"; that is: "I want the destruction of Sodom by fire preached in the church." What is the reason for this? Because the church is never altogether pure; the greater part is always wicked, as the parable of the seed teaches (Matt. 13:3 ff). In fact, the true saints themselves, who are righteous through faith in the Son of God, have the sinful flesh, which must be mortified by constant chastening, as Paul says (1 Cor. 11:31): "If we would judge ourselves, we would not be chastened by the Lord." Therefore keep this passage in mind. It is adequate by itself to refute the antinomians.
20. Then the Lord said: Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21. I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.
The situation is altogether awful. Fifteen years had not yet gone by since the people of Sodom and their neighbors were defeated by the four kings and led away captive but were later freed by Abraham through a marvelous victory and were returned to their homes. Thus God revealed Himself to them in a twofold manner. By the captivity He showed that He hates sin and surely wants to punish it, but by the deliverance He showed that He wants to forgive and help the penitent. But neither the punishment nor the benefit had any effect. The very people who had seen these events with their own eyes forgot and relapsed into the awful abyss of sins, since they had completely discarded their fears of God.
This is surely an astonishing situation and a remarkable picture of human hearts, which in their nature are so corrupted by sin that they can neither be improved by threats nor moved by kindnesses. When they returned to their homes from captivity, they no doubt gave thanks to the God of Abraham who set them free. But this piety was of short duration; gradually they slipped back into smugness and indulged their desires, until eventually, as happens when there is great abundance, everyone did without any shame what he wanted and was .utterly beyond reform. For here, too, applies the statement in the writings of the natural philosophers that when motion approaches its end, it has its greatest force.51
They not only forgot the disaster and the marvelous deliverance and not only had no respect for the Word, the household, and the government; but they became even worse than beasts. This is an awful example, that a land which was freed through such great miracles degenerates so disgracefully and bestially within fourteen years.
Abraham's kind deed was completely lost sight of, and they imagined that they were delivered, not by his valor but by their own good fortune. Moreover, they even spoke irreverently of the doctrine of Abraham and Lot, because it was against their lusts; and with these sins they combined the presumption of wisdom and pride.
This was the beginning of their downfall, as Solomon says (Prov. 16:18): "The beginning of one's downfall is to be proud and fall away from the Lord." Where there is contempt for the Word and ingratitude toward God, there order also and good manners break down. These fruits result only from the seed of the Word of God. After the downfall of the church came the downfall of the government.
When the fear of the Lord had been discarded, conjugal faithfulness vanished. Not satisfied with their own wives, they desired others but made prostitutes of their own, until they finally engaged in practices which are contrary to nature and more than bestial. This is Satan's procedure after he has turned people away from God and has made them ungrateful toward Him.
Among ourselves, alas, the beginnings of such evils are overmuch in evidence. Look at the evangelicals in the cities. Consider the morals of the officers of the state and of the nobles, then of the burghers and the peasants. Should they not all alike give thanks to God day and night that they have been delivered from the iron furnace of the pope and from that most wretched darkness of ignorance? Yet this is not done. Nowhere is there sacrifice of praise and gratitude. On the contrary, all exert themselves for the sole purpose of acctumulating wealth and oppressing others through deception, frauds, and wrongs. They do so in order that they themselves may become rich. Must not the administration of the household eventually collapse because of this conduct? When this happens, universal52 ruin necessarily follows.
But we shall begin the discussion of this account somewhat farther back because of the less learned; for even though the heart dreads such an awful display of wrath, these examples of divine wrath must nevertheless be impressed well, because the world is full of Pharaonic and pharisaical doctrine.
From the beginning of the Book of Genesis we have seen that two generations of human beings are being dealt with:53 the one of the righteous, which was the true church; the other of the unrighteous, which has always been the school of Satan (Rev. 2:9), in which human beings are not only trained for sins against the Second Table—so that they commit murders, adulteries, etc.—but also speak irreverently ently of the Word and persecute and kill the godly. Eventually, however, God always intervened as Judge and brought about an evil end of the wicked.
The same thing happened in this instance. Abraham's house is the true church; for even if other patriarchs were living at that time, nevertheless by the divine Word the church had been attached to Abraham's house, descendants, and line.
- 112 Accordingly, if you draw a comparison between the house of Abraham and the people of Sodom, you will find everything most pleasant and friendly in the house of Abraham—to such an extent that the very angels of God seem to jest jovially with Sarah when she laughs and denies that she has laughed.
Consequently the Word of God is continually heard there, and Abraham's home is nothing else than a kingdom of the forgiveness of sins and of grace, yes, a very heaven in which dwell the angels of God, whom he receives reverently. In them he worships God, whom He knows and believes in as One in Three.
In short, in Abraham's home there is nothing but grace and life.
On the other hand, in the generation of the wicked among the people of Sodom one finds nothing but awful threats. Angels do not come to them; but when they do come, they are not only not received with any reverence but are treated most outrageously, and the ungodly people do not grant them food or a place to stay. On the contrary, they attempt to inflict on them the most shameful disgrace that can happen to a male. Therefore it is clear that they sinned not so much from lust as from malice.
Thus when the men who were besieged in Jabesh Gilead declared that they were ready to come to an agreement (1 Sam. 11:2), Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, refused to make a covenant with them unless he had plucked out an eye from each one. He did not have in mind any gain or pleasure, but he simply wanted to satisfy his malice. Men are for the most part induced to sin for the sake of either some pleasure or advantage. In so hideous a display, however, there was no pleasure or advantage; here there was the utmost malice.
Thus the Jews killed Christ out of pure malice. Similarly, an ungodly soldier does many things solely for the sake of contumely and to increase annoyances and grief, not to enrich himself. For what advantage does he derive from cutting off the legs of cattle, from breaking down the doors of houses, and from setting villages on fire? These sins are acts of malice and in its extreme form at that.
Therefore it is the endeavor of the generation of the wicked to hate the saints. Nor is it satisfied if it maltreats them in various ways, but its utmost delight is to subject them to abuse. This is shocking malice and deserves such a judgment. But it is astonishing that in so short a time this people was corrupted to such an extent that there remained not ten men who feared God and preserved some discipline.
It is recorded (Gen. 6:15) that before the Flood God saw that the malice on earth was great. But here Moses says that God heard the outcry, and this appears to be something more serious. Both figures, however, are intended to depict the smugness of the people; for they lived as though God did not see or hear, yes, even as though He did not exist, as the psalm (14:1) has it: "The fool says in his heart: 'There is no God.' "
But the godly also experience this trial, yet in a different manner, inasmuch as they sometimes suppose that God is sleeping and does not hear or see. Though this has happened since the beginning of the world, it happens much more now in this madness and extreme old age of the world. What awful blasphemies the Turkish kingdom and the papacy are! Yet for nearly 800 years the Lord has been keeping silence; and both the Turk and the pope flourish, strengthen their wealth and power, and in every respect live as though there were no hereafter and no God.
Blessed was the age in which Christ lived, for then He not only heard and saw but was actually present, as John says (1 John 1:1): "which our hands touched." Now, however, we cry from afar and think that we are crying to Him who does not hear but is sound asleep. Meanwhile the devil and the pope make progress and arbitrarily throw everything into confusion, sects arise, etc.
Hence this is stated in human fashion, in accordance with Scripture's usual way of speaking; for what Moses reports about God in this passage was the case in the thoughts and unbelief of the people. For God does not sleep, since a spirit is free from such proclivities. But people who sin in a smug manner think that He is sleeping. Indeed, they dream that they are also being regarded and heard by God. Thus the Turk, puffed up by his good fortune, believes that he is the people of God. He believes that there is no wrath of God and supposes that hell has been destroyed and judgment done away with; for so it seems in effect.
Hence there are passages in the Scriptures like this: "O God, be not silent to me" (Ps. 28:1). For the godly, who are struggling under the flesh and are near desperation because God puts off hearing them, think that God is sleeping, is unable to speak, etc. This is the sentiment of faith or of the spirit in the godly. But we have stated this at greater length above in the sixth chapter.54 At this point it is sufficient to have pointed out that Scripture accommodates its way of speaking to human custom, not because God has undergone this change, but because this the way it takes place in the hearts of the godly. Thus Abraham,
- 113 Lot, and the other patriarchs heard and were aware of this outcry and concluded that God was angry and was making haste to inflict purnishment on the incorrigible people.
Moreover, in this passage one must not disregard the moral teaching for the benefit of officers of the state and those who preside as judges. Above, in the eleventh chapter, when the tower was being built at Babel, the Lord said (Gen. 11:7): "I shall go down and see." Hence the Divine Majesty teaches that verdicts should not be reached in haste; nor should only one side be heard, but there should be a full investigation of a case. For if Scripture says of God, who knows all things and from whom nothing is hidden, that He came down, how much more we human beings stand in need of this endeavor, we who are influenced by emotions, prevailed upon by the remarks of friends, deceived by flattery, etc.!
At this point there are debates about the sins that cry to heaven. Some put their number at four, others at five.55 Even though this was done without good reason, I nevertheless do not condemn the effort of godly men. But if we want to speak properly, the outcry in Scripture does not denote those four or five sins but refers in a general way to all sins with which impenitence and malice are connected. Such is the case in Is. 5:7: "I waited for them to do justice, and behold, a cry"; that is, they sin shamelessly, and there is no one who punishes; nor is there any redress with the officers of the state or judges, and nothing remains but an outcry. Everybody raises a hue and cry over the disgrace.
Hence where there is still some fear of God, there the officers of the state do their duty and proceed against malefactors. The result is that men do not cry out but thank God and the officers of the state that they are safe with their wives, children, and possessions, and are not subjected to the wantonness of anyone you please. On the other hand, where the Word is not, where the officers of the state neglect their duty and no discipline is maintained in the households, where the parents are treated disrespectfully by their children, the master by the domestics, etc., there the outcry must necessarily follow.
Similarly, greed and usury are excessive today. The officers of the state wink at these sins and do not punish them as they should. Then what happens? Do not those cry out who suffer wrong and see that the officers of the state do nothing to protect them? Peter (2 Peter 2:14) calls such people "insatiable for sin," namely, such as do not want to be restrained and, after they have been admonished, proceed to sin with greater madness and thus heap sin upon sin, after the example of Pharaoh, who carried on so much the more like a madman the more Aaron and Moses preached to him.
The holy fathers saw this; and when they beheld such great malice, they were deeply troubled in their heart. For it is easier to die than to behold the exceedingly great and unrestrained malice of the world.
Therefore in these men was fulfilled what the text says: "The outcry against Sodom is great."
Nevertheless, Abraham was not influenced by this outcry and by the gravity of such great sins; but he is averse to it and makes himself the intermediary for these very wicked people when he intercedes for them, as we shall hear. Just as his faith has thus far been praised, so now his love toward his enemies will be praised; for there is no greater love than to intercede with God for bloodthirsty enemies.
22. So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
23. Then Abraham drew near and said: Wilt Thou indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24. Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt Thou then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?
25. Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
26. And the Lord said: If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.
Here there is a new question about the appearance of God and of the angels. It is my opinion that these angels had assumed the form of men and were not the Trinity in essence. Some give the names of these angels as Michael, who was the spokesman and spoke while the rest were silent; as Gabriel, the divine power needed to destroy Sodom; and as Raphael, the medicine of God who came to deliver and heal Lot.
Whatever these ideas may be worth, they are sinless thoughts and are not hurtful. Yet I myself do not believe that they are true. Furthermore, the Jews say that when Raphael and Gabriel went away, Michael disappeared, but that the Lord appeared in a special apparition apart from those three and that Abraham conversed with Him. But I adhere to my opinion, which is simpler and is in harmony with Scripture.56
The third angel remained. Him, like the other two, Abraham regarded as a human being, but as such a one in whom was the Spirit of God. For he saw that this angel had the Word of God, and he concluded
- 114 that this angel was speaking the Word of God, not that of a human being. For this reason Abraham also worshiped him as God. Therefore the statement of the text—"He still stood before the Lord"—is the same as if it stated: "Abraham listened to and looked upon this third angel as upon God, because he knew that this angel had the Word of God."
These words have reference to the high office of the ministry, which, although it was still unclear, so to speak, the holy patriarchs supported with such great zeal. But we, who have the light at its brightest, add even insults, yes, also the sword and hunger. In this way we kill off the ministers of the Gospel. Now let us hear Abraham's prayer, which is indeed an awful one if you consider the outcome.
Abraham formulated his prayer with the utmost prudence. He is satisfied with a small number because he thinks that he will all the more easily get what he wanted. But it is horrible that not ten righteous men are found in these five cities. Here we are saying nothing about the children. They are being preserved in a manner which is unknown to us, as is proved by the passage in Jonah about those who do not know the difference between the right and the left (Jonah 4:11). But the adults were all so corrupt that not ten were righteous. Nor did they pollute themselves solely with those ordinary sins: drunkenness, thieving, adultery, and avarice. The chief sins were contempt of the Word, of the officials of the state, and of parents; then abuse of the saints and exultation in most wicked enterprises.
Therefore consider these three facts—the short time during which they deteriorated to such an extent, the large number of those who were sinning, and the seriousness of the sins—and you will declare that God's judgment, even though most awful, nevertheless was just. For Abraham it is indeed impossible to believe that all are corrupt to the same extent. He thought that at least among the officials of the government and in the council of the kings there could be found some honorable and God-fearing men.
For the individual cities had their own kings. Moreover, each king had his own senate. It is unbelievable that not ten pious men are found among these. Accordingly, Abraham pleads with such great confidence; and although he is disappointed once, he does not stop. So ardent is his love for very wicked people.
The eleventh chapter of Genesis informs us about the church of this time at which Sodom perished.57
Six patriarchs were then living: Shem, Arphaxad, Salah, Eber, and Serug. And because Abraham lived almost fifty years together with Noah and saw nine patriarchs, he had most excellent teachers. But Noah died about forty years before the destruction of Sodom. Since he had seen the previous age—the age before the Flood—he was also known to the people of Sodom, who saw and heard him as he, together with his descendants, preached and cried out concerning the Flood and the wrath of God. Nevertheless, they despised him and his offspring. For this reason I believe that at this time there was a church the like of which did not subsequently exist on earth up to the time of Christ.
But it is terrible that in this golden age—when so many patriarchs were living and teaching, and when Shem himself was upholding the ministry of the Word in the neighborhood at Jerusalem—the people of Sodom degenerated to such an extent and abandoned all fear and knowledge of God. Why, then, are we complaining about our own age, when this has happened to so many and to such distinguished patriarchs?
Therefore let us put up with these dregs of the world and with such extraordinary ingratitude and contempt; for we are not worthy of being compared to the saintly patriarchs. Yet they, too, were compelled to see so awful and hideous an example of the wrath of God, and their persistent prayers had no effect whatever.
But who will doubt that those six patriarchs tried most zealously to call back to the right way the multitude that was rushing to its destruction? Lot lived in Sodom itself; Shem or Melchizedek lived in neighboring Jerusalem; Abraham lived in Mamre; and the others lived in other places, but those places were in the neighborhood. These men undoubtedly sent preachers to the people of Sodom, preachers who exhorted them to repent and reproved them. But everything was in vain. For where the Word is not held in reverence but is despised, there Shem and Abraham teach in vain, and nothing else is to be expected than destruction and a flood.
From this one can gauge the greatness of God's wrath against sin. If these saintly and God-pleasing men were unable to avert the punishment by means of their intercessions, what could we hope for at this advanced age of the world? Remember, therefore, that at this very time, when the church was in a most flourishing state and had the saintliest and the most faithful teachers, the world was at its worst. Satan is in the habit of marring the church in this manner by scandals which the uninformed attribute to the Word. By - 115 the same reasoning, however, the destruction of Sodom should be attributed to Lot, Abraham, and Melchizedek; for these men were the outstanding teachers of that age. But I return to Abraham's prayer.
Abraham's prayer has six parts; for he makes his request six times with such fervor and driving emotion that because of his excessive anxiety—since he desires advice for the wretched cities—he seems to be speaking foolishly. The verb הפְסְס ֶֶּּתִּ is very significant and forceful, if I may express it this way; for it means to snatch away in such a manner that you let nothing remain. Hence if you were to weigh the words, it is a foolish prayer, as though God did not know how to make a distinction between the just and the unjust. "Do You want to snatch away a righteous man together with one who is godless," he asks, "and rage indiscriminately against all after the fashion of brigands?"
It seems to be a stern prayer, but it is a most praiseworthy one if it is judged according to Abraham's heart; for he sees that it is impossible for God not to have regard for the righteous. Therefore Abraham prays as David did (Ps. 26:9): "O God, do not destroy my soul together with the ungodly." For this is characteristic of tyrants: in order to indulge their wrath, they burn houses, villages, and towns without caring whether the just or the unjust perish. "Such cruelty," says Abraham, "I know, does not befit God.
Therefore He will spare the entire people because of fifty pious men." It is Abraham's very great emotion and his consternation, so to speak, which impel him to say foolish things. For the emotion of his heart is greater than the heart can hold, because the saintly man sees that the entire people is to be destroyed.
It is a forceful and impulsive prayer, as if Abraham wanted to compel God to forgive. Surely it is well known that because of one righteous man God spares, and shows kindness to, an entire house, city, and region. Thus Syria flourished while Naaman was living. Egypt is blessed because of Joseph, and Laban is blessed because of Jacob. And would God really forget Himself to such an extent that He would have no regard for fifty righteous men? "O Lord, Lord, do not do it!" These are words indicative of the vastness of Abraham's emotion. At the same time tears streamed from his eyes, and his heart overflowed with unutterable sighs. "Far be this from Thee!" he says, as though he wanted to tell God what He should do, just as he adds: "Will not He who judges the entire earth do what is right?"
To do what is right means to punish evildoers and to spare the innocent. "And this," says he, "behooves Thee especially. Thou judgest the entire earth. But what sort of right is it to bring even innocent people to trial?" This is surely a bold and impulsive request. Abraham reminds God of His duty to spare the righteous and, because of the righteous, even the wicked. Accordingly, the Lord answers and promises that He will have mercy if there are fifty righteous men. For He is pleased with the fervent prayer in which faith and love are so manifest. But when Abraham hears that fifty are not found, he is somewhat frightened. Nevertheless, he continues to pray.
27. Abraham answered: Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.
28. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Wilt Thou destroy the whole city for lack of five? And He said: I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.
Prayer must be bold. Therefore Abraham continues to pray. But in this instance he adds outstanding humility, which is indispensable in every prayer. He says: "I am but dust and ashes. Yet, because I have begun to pray, I shall continue. Writ Thou be merciful if five are lacking?" The Lord says: "I will be merciful."
29. Again he spoke to Him and said: Suppose forty are found there. He answered: For the sake of forty I will not do it.
30. Then he said: Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there. He answered: I will not doit if I find thirty there
31. He said: Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there. He answered: For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.
32. Then he said: Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there. He answered: For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.
33. And the Lord went His way when He had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
From fifty the number drops to ten, and Abraham is sure that he will get his wish. He thinks: "How, since Lot, the godly teacher, is there, is it possible that there should be no fruit of the Word to such an extent that not ten are found?" Therefore it is a deep sigh of Abraham that he promises to pray this last
- 116 time and not to weary the Lord any more. Consider this example whenever you pray, and learn that persistence is needed in praying. It does not offend God; it pleases Him. But Abraham undoubtedly comforted himself with the account of the Flood, when eight souls were preserved. Even though he was unable to ensure the preservation of the others, he was nevertheless sure about his nephew Lot that God would take care of him and that he would be delivered. So he returns home and leaves everything to the just judgment of God. For he realizes that where there is such great malice of human beings, it is necessary for God to reveal His wrath against sin, lest the godly be offended and themselves also begin to turn away.
And this is the reason why God commands that this account be committed to Abraham's descendants.
God wants to be feared, but the smug He detests and hates. In Is. 66:2. He promises that He will dwell with those who have a contrite heart, and in Ps. 51:17 He states that the sacrifice most pleasing to Him is a greatly troubled spirit. Nevertheless, He does not want fear alone to dominate; He also wants the hope of mercy to be retained in that anxiety of heart.
God teaches the same thing in the books of Moses by means of a figure when He forbids (Deut. 24:6) taking the lower and the upper millstone from the needy at the same time. The upper millstone is the fear and judgment of God. This the lower millstone supports; it signifies the hope and feeling of mercy. Thus the ministry should connect the Law and the Gospel, penitence and the remission of sins.58
The pope has preached nothing but terrors. Our false prophets today, on the contrary, want nothing taught except the Gospel and the promises; and this error is almost more harmful. Grace and the remission of sins should be preached, but among those who have sins, that is, who acknowledge that they have sins and sincerely desire to be freed from them. But those who smugly continue in sins are as though they were without sins—to these the Law should be presented. They should be frightened by the destruction of Sodom and in this manner be brought to the fear of God.
And this, as we have also said above,59 is dividing the Word of God rightly. Just as in the case of the sacrifices there was a definite procedure of dividing the victim, so in teaching a definite order should be maintained to the end that God may eventually be known both as gracious to those who believe and as angry with those who are smug, and also that we individually may learn to fear God and to rely on His mercy, which He has revealed in His Son, whom He sent. Thus the First Commandment says (Ex. 20:2,
6): "I am God who shows mercy to thousands of them who love Me but who punishes to the third and fourth generation those who hate Me, that is, do not obey My Word."
The world does not allow itself to be persuaded to believe that this wrath is real. Consider Micah and Jeremiah. When they threatened the wrath of God, they were regarded as false prophets and were ordered to keep silence. But what does the Holy Spirit say? "My words are good for those who walk in My ways."60 Thus since the people of Sodom were sinning with the utmost smugness, they perished. And so great a multitude, so many distinguished persons of great mental capacity, yes, even the little children do not influence God; but He snatches everything away at the same time, in order that His wrath against sin may become well known.
Therefore I believe that Abraham went home full of sorrow and spent that night without sleep and in tears and sighs because of the destruction of so great a multitude. But while godly Abraham is so concerned about the people of Sodom, they live in luxury and do violence to their guests, altogether unconcerned about their own destruction. This is a picture of the world and of the church, as Christ, too, says (John 16:20): "You will lament, but they will rejoice."