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Chapter IX. Part III. B · Commentary on Genesis, Sin, and the Flood

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Fiction thirty one off Commentary on Genesis, Volume two, Luther on Sin and
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the Flood by Martin Luther, translated by John Nicholaslinker, Conrad Bruno, Godis,
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and others. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read by
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Jillian Henjy Chatter nine, Part three concerning allegories b Allegories in detail eighty two.
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Writing to the Corinthians, Paul says First Corinthians, Chapter ten, verse
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two, that the Israelites quote, were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud
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and in the sea end quote. If you regard only the outward circumstance and
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the words, even Pharaoh was baptized, but he perished with his men,
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while Israel passed through safe and unharmed. Noah and his sons were saved in
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this baptism of the flood, while all the rest of the world, being
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outside of the ark, perished. Thereby, such a way of speaking is
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appropriate and forciable. Baptism and death are interchangeable in scripture, all says Roman's
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chapter six, verse three quote, all we who were baptized into Christ,
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Jesus were baptized into his death end quote. And Jesus says, quote,
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I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straightened till
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it be accomplished? End quote Luke chapter twelve, verse fifty. And to
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his disciples he said, quote, ye shall be baptized with the baptism that
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I am baptized with. End quote Matthew Chapter twenty, verse twenty three,
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eighty three. In this sense, the red Sea was a baptism. Indeed,
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it represented to Pharaoh death and God's anger. Yet though Israel was baptized
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with the same baptism, they passed through it unharmed. So the flood is
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truly death and the wrath of God, and yet the faithful are saved.
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In the midst of the flood, Death engulphs and swallows all mankind for the
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wrath of God's might, both the good and the bad, the pious and
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the wicked, without distinction. The flood was sent upon Noah the same as
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upon the rest of the world. The red sea that engulfed Pharaoh was the
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same as that through which Israel passed unharmed. But in both cases the believers
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are saved, while the wicked perish. That is the point of difference.
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The ark was Noah's salvation, and it was but an expression of the promise
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and word of God. In these he had life, but the wicked who
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believed not the word were left to perish eighty four. This is the difference
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which the Holy Spirit desired to bring out, so that the righteous, warned
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by this example might believe and hope for salvation through the mercy of God in
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the very midst of death. They consider baptism as bound together with the promise
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of life, as Noah did the ark. Therefore, though the wise man
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and the fool must suffer the same death, for Peter and Paul dye not
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otherwise than Nero and other wicked persons die. Yet the righteous believe that in
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death they will be saved unto eternal life. And this hope is not vain,
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for they have Christ, who receives their souls and will on the last
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day raise up also the bodies of his believers unto eternal life. This class
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of allegory is of great service and tends to comfort the heart when you consider
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the contrast in the ultimate outcome. The testimony of the material eye would seem
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to confirm the statement of Solomon. Ecclesiastes chapter two, verse sixteen, that
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the wise man dieth as the full, that the righteous man dieth as though
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he were not the beloved of God. But the eyes of the soul must
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view this point of difference, that Israel enters into the Red Sea and is
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saved, while Pharaoh, pressing upon the heels of Virgil, is overwhelmed by
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the waves and parishes. It is the same death, then, which takes
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away the righteous and the wicked, And almost always the end of the former
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is ignominious, while that of the latter is attended by elements of splendor and
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power. But in the eyes of God, while the death of sinners is
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deplorable, that of his sense is precious, for it is consecrated by Christ,
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through whom it becomes the beginning of eternal life. Eighty six. As
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the flood and the Red Sea were instruments to save Noah and Israel from death,
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so to us death is but the instrument to give us life if we
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remain in faith. When the children of Israel were in utmost pearl, suddenly
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the sea partied and rose on the right side and on the left, like
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an iron wall, so that Israel passed through without danger. Why was it
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in order that so death might be made to serve life. Divine power overcomes
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the assaults of Satan. Thus it was in paradise Satan purposed to slay all
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mankind by his venom. But what happens by reason of the truly happy guilt
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of our first parents, as the church sings, it comes to pass that
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the Son of God became incarnate to free us from evil eighty seven. This
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allegory then beautifully teaches, strengthens and consoles us, enabling us to fear neither
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death nor sin, but to despise all perils, giving thanks to God that
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he has so called and dealt with us, that even death, the universal
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destroyer, is compelled to be a servant of life. Just as the flood,
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an occasion of destruction to the rest of the world, was one of
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salvation for Noah and the Red Sea, when Pharaoh met his doom, served
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to save the children of his jell eighty eight. What has been here expressed
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finds application to the subject of temptation in general, so that we learn to
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despise dangers and be hopeful even where no hope seems to remain. When death
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or any other danger is imminent, we should rise to meet it, saying,
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behold, here is my red Sea. Here is my flood, my
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baptism, and my death. Here my life, as the philosopher said of
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the seafarers, is removed from death barely by a hand's breadth. But fear
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not. This danger is as a handful of water opposed to the flood of
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grace, which is mine through the Word. Therefore, death will not destroy
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me, but will lift me and bear me to life. Death is so
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utterly incapable of destroying the Christian that it constitutes the very escape from death.
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For bodily death ushers in the emancipation of the spirit and the resurrection of the
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flesh. Thus, Noah in the flood, was not borne by the earth,
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nor by trees, nor by mountains, but by the very flood which
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destroyed the total remainder of the human race. Eighty nine. Well may the
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prophets often extol those wonderful works of God, the passage through the Red Sea,
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the exodus from Egypt, and the like. For the sea, which
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by its nature can only devour and destroy, is forced to part and rise
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and protect the Israelites lest they be over and by its tides that which in
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its very nature is wrath, becomes grace. To the believer, that which
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in reality is death becomes life. Therefore, whatever calamity comes, and this
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life has it in infinite measure to threaten our property and our lives, it
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will all become salvation and joy. If we only are in the Ark,
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that is, if by faith we lay hold of the promise made in Christ,
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then even death by which we are removed must be turned into life,
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and the hell which swallows us into a way to heaven. Ninety Therefore,
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Peter says first Peter Chapter three, verse twenty one, that we are saved
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by the water in baptism, which was prefigured by the flood. The water
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which streams about us, or the plunge into it is death. And yet
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from this death or plunge, life results by virtue of the Ark of safety,
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the word of promise to which we claim. The inspired scriptures set forth
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this allegory, which is not only free from weakness, but of service in
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every way, and worthy of our careful attention, since it offers wonderful consolation
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even in the utmost perils. Ninety one. The fathers have added another allegory,
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taken from the form and dimensions of the ark. The human body,
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measured from the top of the head to the soul of the foot, is
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six times as long as it is wide. Now the arc, which was
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fifty cubits wide, measured six times as much in length, namely three hundred
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cubits. Hence, they say the arc typifies Christ, the man in whom
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all promises center. Therefore, those who believe in Him are saved even in
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the midst of the flood, that is, in death itself. Ninety two.
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This conception is both appropriate and beautiful. Above all, it agrees with
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faith. Though there may be a mistake in the application, the groundwork is
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strong and secure. There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit found arious ways
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to illustrate the promises to be fulfilled in Christ and the wonderful counsel of salvation
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for mankind through faith in Christ. Hence, allegories of this nature, low
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lacking in aptness, are not necessarily wicked and a source of offense. Ninety
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three. If one were to say the sun represents Christ while the moon represents
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the Church, which receives its light by the grace of Christ, he might
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possibly be mistaken in his choice of illustration. Yet his error is based not
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upon an erroneous but upon a sure foundation. But when the pope declares the
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sun represents the papal authority while the moon represents the emperors, then not only
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the application is inapt and foolish, but the very foundation is evil. Such
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allegories are not conceived and invented by the Holy Spirit, but by the devil,
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the spirit of lies ninety four. Allegories must have some application to the
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promises and the doctrine of faith if they are to comfort and strength the soul.
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Peter's allegory teaches us this. Because Peter saw that Noah was set free
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in the midst of death, and that the ark was an instrument of life,
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the arc was rightly applied to typify Christ. Only divine power can save
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in the midst of death and lead unto life. The scriptures declare that to
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God belong the issues from death Sam sixty eight, verse twenty one, and
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He makes death the occasion yea even an aid to life. This has given
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rise to expressions used in scripture where afflictions and perils are likened to a cup
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that intoxicates. This is an apt and vivid figure of speech. So the
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passion of Christ is called a draft from a brook sam one hundred and ten,
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verse seven, meaning that it is a medicinal draft or mixture, which,
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though bitter, is healing in its bitterness, and gives life by causing
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death. Such soothing words serve to Consolas that we may learned to despise death
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and other pearls and meet them with greater readiness. Ninety six. Setan also
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has his cup, but it is sweet and inebriates unto nausea. He who
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attracted by its sweetness, drinks it, loses his life and dies the eternal
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death. Such was the cup the Babylonians trained, as the prophet has it
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Jeremiah chapter twenty five, verses fifteen to twenty seven. Let us therefore accept
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the cup of Salvation with thanksgiving, and, as Paul declares, of believers,
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rejoice in tribulation. Romans chapter five, verse three, ninety seven.
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Have we explained this figure of the ark and the meaning of the flood according
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to the canonical scriptures. We will say something also about the other features of
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this story, about the raven, which did not return, and the doves,
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the first of which returned because she found no resting place. For her
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foot, while the second brought back with her a twig from an olive tree,
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and the third did not return because the earth was no more covered by
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water ninety eight. In her Treatise on the Narrative Proper, We stated that
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these things occurred to be a consolation for Noah and his sons, to assure
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them that God's wrath had passed and that he was now pacified. The dove
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did not bring the olive branch of her own volition. She miraculously obeyed divine
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power. So the serpent in Paradise spoke not of its own volition, but
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through the inspiration of the devil, who had taken possession of it. As
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on that occasion, the serpent, by the devil's prompting, spoke, with
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the result that man was led into sin. So on this occasion it was
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not its own volition or instinct which moved the dove to bring the olive branch,
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but the prompting of God, in order that Noah might gain comfort from
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the pleasant sight. For the olive does not supply the dove with food.
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She prefers the several species of wheat or peas ninety nine. The incident of
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the dove, then, is a miraculous occurrence with a definite meaning. The
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prophets, in their messages concerning the Kingdom of Christ, frequently make mention of
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doves. Sam sixty eight, verse thirteen, and Isaiah sixty very eight.
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Solomon, also, in his song, seems to mention the dove with particular
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pleasure. Therefore, we should not despise the picture this allegory holds before us,
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but treat its truths skillfully and aptly. One hundred. The allegory of
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the raven, invented by the doctors is well known. Because ravens delight in
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eating dead bodies, they have been taken as a likeness of carnal men who
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delight in carnal pleasures and indulge in them. The Epicureans were an example.
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A very fair explanation, but inadequate, because it is merely of that moral
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and philosophical sort which Erasmus was in the habit of giving. After the example
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of origin one hundred and one, we must look for a theological explanation.
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In the first place, those moralists fail to observe that Scripture commends the raven
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for not leaving the ark of his own will. He went out at the
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bidding of Noah to ascertain if the waters had ceased and if God's wrath was
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ended. The raven, however, did not return, neither did he become
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a messenger of happy Omen. He remained without the ark, And though he
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came and went, yet he did not suffer himself to be taken by Noah
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one hundred and two. In all these points, the analogy fittingly typifies the
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ministry of the law black the color of the bird is a token of sadness,
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and the sound of his voice is unpleasant. This is true of the
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teachers of the law, who teach justification by works. They are the ministers
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of death and sin. Paul calling the ministry of the law a ministry of
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death. Second Corinthians, chapter three, verse six. The law is unto
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death. Romans, Chapter seven, verse ten. The law worketh wrath.
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Romans, Chapter four, verse fifteen. The law entered that trespass might abound
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Romes, Chapter five, verse twenty one hundred and three. And yet Roses
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was sent forth by God with the law, just as the raven was sent
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out by Noah. It is God's will that mankind be taught morality and holiness
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of life, and that wrath and sure punishments be announced to all who transgress
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the law. Nevertheless, such teachers are not but ravens wandering aimlessly about the
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ark, nor do they have the certain assurance that God is pacified one hundred
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and four. For the Law is a teaching of such character that it cannot
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assure, strengthen, and console an uneasy conscience, but rather terrifies it.
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Since it only teaches what God requires of us, what He wishes to be
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performed by us, our consciences bear witness against us that we not only have
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failed to carry out the will of God as set forth in the Law,
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but that we have done the very contrary one hundred with all justice. Therefore,
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we may say of the teachers of the law, in the words of
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Sam five verse nine, quote there is no certainty in their mouth end quote.
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Our translation has it, quote there is no faithfulness in their mouth end
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quote. Their teaching at its best can only say, if you do this,
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if you do that, you will be saved. Christ speaks ironically when
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he answers the scribe who had grandly set forth a doctrine of the law,
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by saying, quote this do and thou shalt live end quote Luke, Chapter
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ten, verse twenty eight. He shows the scribe that the doctrine is wholly
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and good. But since we are corrupt, it follows that we are guilty,
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since we do not and cannot fulfill the law. One hundred and six
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Ance, we declare rightly that we are not justified by the works of the
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law. By the works of the law, we mean not the ceremonial commandments,
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but those highest commandments of all to love God and our neighbor. The
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reason we are not justified is that we cannot keep the commandments. We have
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reason, however, to challenge the impudence of our opponents, who set up
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the cry that we forbid good works and condemn the law of God, because
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we deny that justification is by works. This would be true if we did
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not admit that the raven was sent forth from the Ark by Noah. But
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we do say that the raven was sent out from the Ark, and this
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we deny that it was not a raven, or that it was a dove.
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All the clamor the abuse, the blasphemy of our opponents have no other
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purpose than to force us to declare that the raven was a dove. One
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hundred and seven. But now examine their books and carefully consider their doctrine.
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Is it anything but a doctrine of works? This is good, this is
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honorable. They say, this you must do. The other is dishonorable and
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wicked. Hence you must not do it. On the strength of such teaching,
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they believe themselves to be true theologian and doctors. But let them show
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as the person who either has done or will do all those things, especially
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if you present not only the second table of the law, as they do,
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but also the first one one hundred and eight. He who takes his
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stand upon this doctrine of the law, then, who is truly nothing but
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a hearer? He does not learn anything except its demands. Since such persons
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have no desire to learn anything. Further, it should suffice for them if
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they are given the poem of Cato, or given Esop, whom I consider
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a better teacher of morals. These two writers are profitable reading for young men.
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Older persons should study Cicero, who, to my astonishment, is considered
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by some as inferior to Aristotle in the sphere of ethics. This would be
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a rational course of study, so far as imparting moral precepts is concerned.
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The good intentions and the assiduity of the Heathen must be commended, yet they
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are inferior to Mosi's. He sits forth not only morality, but also teaches
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the true worship of God. Nevertheless, he who places his trust solely in
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Moses has nothing but the raven, wandering aimlessly about. Outside of the ark
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of the dove and the olive branch, he has nothing one hundred and nine.
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The raven then represents not only the law given by God, but all
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laws and all philosophy, which are the product of human reason and wisdom.
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They tell us no more than what ought to be done, and do not
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provide the strength to do it. The judgment of Christ is true. Quote
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when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded, Jew say we
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are unprofitable servants, and quote Luke chapter seventeen, verse ten, one hundred
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and ten. True. The raven is sent out. God desires the law
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to be taught. He reveals it from heaven. Yea, he writes it
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upon the hearts of all men, as Paul proves Romans chapter two, verse
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fifteen. From this inherent knowledge originated all writings of the Center philosophers of Esop,
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Aristotle, Plato, Xenophon, Cicero, and Cato. And these are
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not unfit to set before untrained and vicious persons that their vile tendencies may be
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curbed to some extent one hundred and eleven. If, however, you seek
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for peace of conscience and for certain hope of eternal life, such philosophers are
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like the raven, which wanders around the ark, finding no peace outside,
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but not looking for it within. All says of the Jews quote Israel following
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after a law of righteousness did not arrive at that law, and quote Roman's
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chapter nine, verse thirty one. The reason for this is in the fact
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that the law is like the raven. It is either the ministry of death
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and sin, or it produces hypocrites one hundred and twelve. Now let those
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who wish follow out this allegory by studying the nature of the raven. It
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is an impure bird of somber and funereal color, with a strong beak and
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a harsh, shrill voice. It scents dead bodies from a great distance,
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and therefore men fear its voice as a certain augury of an impending death.
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It feeds upon carrion, and enjoys localities made foul by public executions one hundred
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and thirteen. Though I would not apply each and every one of these characteristics
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to the law, Yet who does not see how well they fit the servants
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of the pope, the mass priests, and the monks, who are not
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only richly fed upon the slaughter of consciences by their false doctrines, but also
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used the dead bodies to obtain their livelihood, since they made a paying business
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out of their vigils, their anniversaries, their purifying water used in burials,
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and even of purgatory itself. And surely this devotion to the dead was more
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profitable to them than their care of the living. Truly, then they are
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ravens, fading on corpses and sitting upon them with wild cries. Not only
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may the popish priests be fitly likened to the ravens, but indeed the whole
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ministry of the papacy, where it at its best, does nothing but to
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gash and murder consciences. It does not show the way to true righteousness,
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but merely makes hypocrites, as does the Law one hundred and fourteen. Among
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other crimes of false prophets Ezekiel in Numerates, Chapter thirteen, verse nineteen.
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The fact that for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, they slay
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souls that should not die, and save the souls alive that should not live.
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This is true of these ravens. The teachers of the law. They
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call those righteous who live according to the letter of the law. And yet
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these are the very souls which do not live. On the other hand,
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they condemn those who violate their traditions, just as the Pharisees condemned the disciples
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when they plucked ears of corn, when they did not wash their hands,
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and when they failed to fast. This is an outcry fierce and dismal,
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reminding us of ravens which sit upon Corpses one hundred and fifteen. When cursing
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a wicked person, the Greeks said to the ravens. Similarly, the Germans
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use the expression, may the ravens devour you. If we make this curse
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an element of the allegory, its serious character becomes evident. For what is
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more deplorably disastrous than to have teachers, the outcome of whose best teaching is
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death, and to ensnare the conscience with difficulties that cannot be disentangled. Though
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some say this allegory of the raven is inaptly applied to the priesthood, it
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is true, nevertheless, and agrees with the fundamental truth. And it is
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not only most apt, but very profitable for instruction one hundred and sixteen.
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On the other hand, the incident of the dove is a most delightful picture
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of the Gospel, especially if you carefully consider the characteristics of the dove.
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Ten of these are usually enumerated. One it is without guile. Two it
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does not harm with its mouth. Three it does not harm with its claws.
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Four it gathers pure grains. Five it nourishes the young of others.
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Six Its song is a sigh. Seven it abides by the waters. Eight
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it flies in flocks. Nine it nests in safe places. Ten its flight
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is swift. These ten characteristics have been set forth in six verses as follows.
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Quote. Free from guile is the dove. The bite of her beak
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does not injure wounds. Her claws do not strike. Pure is the grain
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that she eats. Frequent and swift is her flight to shining courses of water.
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List to her voice and low size, you will hear, but no
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song other nestlings. She rears in swarms. She flies through the ether.
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Safe is the place and high where she prepares her abode it quote one hundred
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and seventeen. The New Testament tells us the Holy Spirit appeared in the form
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of a dove Matthew chapter three, verse sixteen. Hence we are justified in
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using the dove as an allegory of the ministry of Grace one hundred and eighteen.
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Was He's implies that the dove did not fly aimlessly about the Ark,
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as did the raven, but having been sent out and finding no place to
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rest, it returned to the Ark and was seized by Noah one hundred and
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nineteen. The dove is a picture of the Holy prophets sent to teach the
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people. But the flood, that is the time of the Law, had
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not yet passed away. Thus David, Elias Isaiah, though they did not
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live to see the time of the New Testament, were yet sent as messengers
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with the tidings that the flood would eventually be brought to an end, though
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that time was at a distance. Having delivered their message, they returned to
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the Ark that is, they were justified and saved without the law, by
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faith in the blessed seed in which they believed and for which they longed.
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One hundred and twenty after this, another dove was sent forth, which found
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the earth dried, and not only the mountains but also the trees standing free
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from water. But she alighted upon an olive tree, plucked a branch,
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and brought it back to Noah one hundred and twenty one. The allegorical meaning
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of this incident is interpreted by the scriptures. The olive tree is very often
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used as a symbol of grace, of mercy, or of forgiveness of sins.
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The dove brings the branch in her beak, thus typifying the outward ministry
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or the spoken word. For the Holy Spirit does not teach by New revelations
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aside from the ministry of the Word, as the enthusiasts and Anabaptists, those
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truly fanatical teachers dream, it was the will of God that a branch from
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a living olive tree should be carried to Noah in the mouth of the bird,
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to teach that in the New Testament, the time of the flood or
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anger being passed, God desires to set his mercy before the world by the
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spoken word one hundred twenty two. The messengers of this word are doves,
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that is, sincere, men without guile, and filled with the Holy Spirit.
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Isaiah chapter sixty, verse eight likens ministers of the Gospel or of grace
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to doves which fly to their windows. And though Christ commands them to imitate
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the harmlessness of doves Matthew chapter ten, verse sixteen, meaning that they should
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be sincere and free from venom. Yet He had manishes them to be wise
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like serpents, that is, they should be wary of false and cunning people,
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and cautious, like the serpent, which is said to shield its head
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with special skill in a fight. One hundred and twenty three. The green
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freshness of the olive branch also is a type of the word of the Gospel,
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which endureth forever and is never without fruit. Some one verse three likens
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those who study the word to a tree, the leaves of which do not
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wither. We heard nothing like this above concerning the raven which flew to and
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fro near the ark. The second dove which was sent forth is a type
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of the New Testament, where grace and the forgiveness of sins are promised openly
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through the sacrifice of Christ. This is why the Holy Spirit chose to appear
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in the form of a dove in the New Testament one hundred and twenty four.
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The third dove did not return after the fulfillment of the promise given the
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whole world through the mouth of the dove. No new teaching is to be
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looked for, but we simply await the revelation of those things which we believe.
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Herein is certain testimony for us that the Gospel will endure until the end
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of the world one hundred and twenty five. The text furthermore specifies the time
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No awaited after he had first sent forth a dove, namely seven days.
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These seven days typify the time of the Law, which of necessity proceeded the
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period of the New Testament one hundred and twenty six. We read likewise that
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the second dove returned at dusk, carrying the olive branch to the Gospel.
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The last age of the world has been assigned. Nor should we look for
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another kind of doctrine. For it is to an evening meal that Christ compared
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to the Gospel. Matthew Chapter twenty two, verse two. Luke, Chapter
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fourteen, verse sixteen, one hundred and twenty seven. True. The doctrine
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of the Gospel has been in the world since the fall of our first parents,
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and the Lord confirmed this promise to the patriarchs by various signs. The
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first ages knew nothing of the rainbow, nor of circumcision, nor of other
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signs afterward ordained by God. But all agies have known of the blessed Seat.
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Since it has been revealed. There remains nothing else than the revelation of
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that which we believe. With the third dove, we shall fly away to
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that other life, never to return to the life here, so wretched and
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so full of grief. One hundred and twenty eight. These are my thoughts
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concerning this allegory. I have set them forth briefly, for we must not
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tarry with them as we do with historical narratives articles of faith one hundred and
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twenty nine. Origin. Jerome, Augustine, and Bernard seek diligently for allegories,
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but this practice has one drawback. The more attention they direct to allegories,
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the more do they draw it away from the facts of sacred history and
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from faith to the exclusion of these more important things. Allegories should be employed
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for the purpose of inducing and increasing, of explaining and strengthening that faith of
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which all the stories treat. It is not to be wondered at that persons
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who do not seek faith in the stories of the Bible look for the region
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of allegorical shades as a pleasant playground in which to stroll about. One hundred
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and thirty. Just as in the Popish Church, false and unscriptural words are
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rendered in sweet music, so learned men have too often spoiled the good meaning
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of a Bible story, which contains a useful lesson of faith, by their
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childish allegories. One hundred and thirty one. I have often spoken of the
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kind of theology that prevailed when I began to study its advocates said that the
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letter Killeth, Second Corinthians, Chapter three, verse six. Therefore, I
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disliked Lyra most of all interpreters, because he followed the literal meaning so carefully.
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But now I prefer him for this very reason to all interpreters of scripture
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one hundred and thirty two. I advise you, as strongly as I can,
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to fully appreciate the great value of the Bible history. But whenever you
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wish to employ allegory, take pains to follow the analogy of faith, that
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is, make the allegory agree with Christ, with the Church, with faith,
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with the ministry of the Gospel. If constructed in this manner, allegories
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will not go astray from faith, even though they may not be genuine in
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every point. This foundation shall remain firm while the stubble parachutes. But let
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us return to our story and of section thirty one.