Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 · Martin Luther
PART V. THE PUNISHMENT INFLICTED ON OUR FIRST PARENTS.
If however any one should think that Moses embraced all these latter evils, in his expression of the divine curse, "Cursed is the ground for thy sake," I certainly will not contend with him. But no one surely can deny that all these evils and punishments increased as the sins of men increased. In the same manner, as in the present day, we experience more frequent calamities befalling the fruits of the earth than in former times. For the world degenerates and grows worse and worse every day. Most plainly therefore may we here trace the evidences that all these increased calamities were inflicted on Adam as an instruction to him in the first age of the world that an increasedly severe discipline was necessary. But by degrees this discipline, down to the times of Noah, gradually became loosened and men began to live more dissolutely and wickedly, until at length the earth was filled with violence, injustice and tyranny. And then it was necessary that either heavier or more frequent punishments should be inflicted; just as severer diseases require severer remedies. When therefore in the time of Noah the whole earth had been deluged by the Flood and every living creature except a few souls, had been utterly destroyed, the age which immediately succeeded that of Noah lived without doubt in the fear of God. But as years rolled on even these men became depraved, being corrupted by Satan. So that an example more terrible in its nature still was necessary to be made; as is shown in the awful destruction of Sodom and its neighboring cities, Gen. 19:24. Hence it is that the Scripture says that it was necessary that the Amorites should "fill up the measure of their iniquities," Gen. 15:16.
So also the whole synagogue of the Jews, when it had fallen away into heathenism and open ungodliness, was utterly destroyed. In like manner also Rome herself, as long as her ancient discipline stood sound and unrelaxed, mightily increased her power on every side; but when the storms of vice pressed hard upon her it became necessary that her punishments also should draw upon her more closely. About the time when the Gospel began to be known among us in Germany the age became somewhat moral and tolerable. But now, when the fear of God can scarcely be found, and when vices of every description increase daily, false prophets rising among us, what else can be expected than that, when we have filled up the measure of our iniquities, either the consummation of all things will overtake us or that Germany will suffer the due punishment of her sins; so universally true is it that when sins increase, the punishments of them increase also. According to that which I have said concerning the calamities which rest upon all the productions of the earth; so my full belief also is that even the bodies of men, in the primæval ages of the world, were far more healthful than they are now. This is proved by that longevity, so incredible to us, which was enjoyed by the men of the primitive ages of the world before the Flood. Accordingly we do not find the Lord pronounced in the present passage any threats on Adam concerning apoplexy, or leprosy, or the scrofula, or any other of the destructive diseases.
When I was a child the small-pox was unknown in Germany. It was first known among us when I was about fifteen years of age. Now however even infants in the cradle are attacked by it. When this disease first made its appearance it filled every one with dread. But now there is so little concern about it that friends often say to each other in a pleasant joke, "The smallpox take you!" So also, even unto this present age, the sweating disease has been a prevalent malady, or as medical men term it, an epidemic. For it is universally seen that as each country of the earth has its peculiar blessings, the countries are visited and afflicted with sure and corresponding calamities. But the disease to which I have referred made its first general appearance in those midland parts of Germany, which were the farthest distant from the sea. And what is abhorrent to relate, some persons have serpent-like worms in their bowels, and worms even in their brain. These last diseases were utterly unknown, I think, to the physicians of old, who nevertheless enumerate nearly four hundred different kinds of disease. Now if all these various diseases had existed in the first age of the world, how could Adam and his descendants, down to the times of Noah, have lived to such extremely old ages? Wherefore Moses, as I have said, here makes mention only of the barrenness of the earth and of the difficulty of man's procuring his bread.
Indeed if any one wishes to assume the orator and to display the copiousness and eloquence of his language, let him in opening the contents of the passages before us, enumerate all the diseases and evils of the human race, which are the consequences of sin. Were he to commence that task, he would find a sea of calamities of every kind so boundless, that filled with awe and dread, he would be inclined to beg of God this one thing, that he might not be permitted to live even one hour in the midst of so many and mighty perils! But why do we dwell so long on these diseases only? All the creatures of God together as one mighty army are against us, and all but armed for our destruction. How many are there, whom the fire and the water destroy? How much peril threatens men from ferocious and venomous beasts and other noxious creatures? Nor do they infest our bodies only, but our food of every kind, intended for our nourishment. Not to mention that we ourselves also rush upon each other in hostile slaughter and murder. Just as if there were not pestilences and destructions enough besides, which threatened us on every hand.
And if you look at the general pursuits and objects of men, what is this life of ours but a daily scene of contention, deception, snare, rapine and murder? And all this in addition to those evils and calamities which hang over our heads from the external things we have mentioned. My belief is that all these things did not exist before the Deluge; or, if they did exist, were not so numerous or so heavy and severe as they now are found to be. But as the sins of men increased, so as we have said their punishments have increased also. The calamities inflicted on Adam therefore were light in comparison to those inflicted on us. For the nearer the world approaches its end, with the heavier punishments and calamities is it visited. To all this evil is added that greater evil still, that the more the world is stricken, the more it hardens its forehead and becomes stupefied as it were and insensible of its punishment altogether, as it is written in the Proverbs, "They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not hurt; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again," Prov. 23:35. This blindness and obduracy exceed all the above calamities of the body.
Is not our state then, I ask, marvelous and miserable? The traces of the wrath of God, which our sin has deserved, are first of all bound up as it were in our bodies; and next the same wrath of God is beheld resting on the earth and on all creatures, and yet all these awful evils are disregarded by us, and our minds are filled with security and indolent unconcern. For what are the thorns, what the thistles, what the water, what the fire, what the caterpillars, what the flies, what the fleas, what the bugs, what the lice; what, I say, are all these together and separately, but so many messengers which continually preach to us of sin and of the wrath of God on its account? For before sin entered into the world those living evils had no existence; or if they were in existence, they harmed not nor annoyed.
Wherefore to our full knowledge and sight we are in, and live in, more than Egyptian darkness. For though all things around us remind us of the wrath of God continually, and are all but so many pricks in our eyes of admonition, we not only do not regard that wrath, but embrace this life and enjoy it as our only delight. In the same proportion therefore as sins are multiplied, and self-security increases, and men grow callous and insensible under their punishments, so those punishments themselves are multiplied, not only in this life but in that which is to come. I am here speaking of the wicked in this world. For if it were possible that men, when in hell, could possibly endure their punishments and torments in sensation only, without the consciousness at the same time that the punishments which they endured were just, such ignorance would render their torments more easy to be endured. Just in the same way as we on earth will not acknowledge our punishments, and thus we harden ourselves as it were against grief. But in hell that insensibility which now prevents us from seeing our real misery will be wholly taken away, and all the doors of our senses will be unlocked, so that we shall not only feel the pains of our punishment in our body, but our mind itself will be filled with a sense of the wrath of God and with the confession that we have deserved the whole of that wrath by our wickedness. These are the feelings that will sharpen, and in an inconceivable degree augment the future torments of the wicked.
V. 18a. _"Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee."_ Here we are again reminded that the earth of itself brought forth no such thing; but only on account of the sin of Adam, as Moses had before expressly said, "For thy sake." Wherefore as often as we see thorns and thistles; as often as we behold tares and other noxious weeds growing in our fields and in our garden, so often are we reminded as by certain signs of sin and the wrath of God. Wherefore it is not only in churches that we hear ourselves accused of sin; every garden, every field and almost the whole creation is filled with such preachers and such monitors of our sin and of the wrath of God, which is brought down upon us on account of that sin. Wherefore all prayer to the Lord is necessary that he would take away from our eyes and from our hearts this marvelous insensibility; that being thus perpetually reminded of our sin, we may at length put off our self-security and walk in the fear of God. For by these various evidences of the curse of God, we are continually met, cast down and overwhelmed. This Moses will now still more extensively set before us. He next says: V. 18b. _And thou shalt eat the herb of the field._
This is a new calamity. For above God had given unto man the sweetest and most delightful gifts; even that he should eat of all the trees of paradise except two only. The Lord had also given him dominion over all fishes and over all that the whole earth produced, whether of fruits or of animals. But now all these blessings are taken from him, on account of the eaten fruit and nothing is left him but the herb of the field. And from this passage I believe it can be fully proved, that Adam did not feed upon butter, or milk, or eggs, or cheese, or flesh, or even on apples or pears, etc., but on pot herbs and the seeds of certain herbs and plants only; such as peas, beans, millet, rice, wheat, flour, etc. Where then were the splendor and luxury of the banquet at which Adam feasted his friends, when he gave a daughter in marriage, or when he himself was present at the marriage of any of his sons; seeing that nothing was granted them of God, on which to feed but "the herb of the field?" Such then was the frugal fare of the primitive age of the world. It consisted of the most common and simple food with water. Now however a horrible luxury has overrun the whole present generation of men. They are not satisfied with collecting together flesh of every kind for the gratification of their appetites; but flesh of every kind is mixed with fish of every kind; spices also of every kind are used in addition. Nay, the dissatisfied perverseness of nature is indulged to such an extent, that those things by nature sweet are rendered by various condiments bitter; and those by nature bitter are by the same means rendered sweet.
What varieties prevail in our drink also! Who would not consider himself made a laughing-stock, if he should see his host set before him water as his drink? Nor are we content with beer, which is brewed at our own homes, nor with wines, made on our paternal estates. We even fetch them from beyond the sea. If our first father Adam could return on earth, think you not that he would laugh at, or rather wonder at, this madness of appetite in his sons? Why, he would avoid as poison those very things which we eat and drink with avidity and delight; and he would prefer to all these our dainties even rapes or turnips in their natural undressed state. In this passage frugality of living is commended to us. For we are here taught that our first parents, being thus righteously deprived of all other kinds of food, had nothing left for food but the herb of the field. These facts therefore ought to lead us not only to frugality, but also to patience; whenever we see others abounding in delicacies and dainties of every kind, while we ourselves have nothing but bread, salt and water. For our thoughts ought to be these: this is the punishment justly inflicted on Adam. When he might have enjoyed, by the will, and command, and gift of God, the delicious fruits of every kind which grew in paradise; he was compelled with all his posterity to live on the common pot herbs, because of his disobedience.
V. 19a. _In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread._ With what variety of expression and repetition does Moses dwell on this labor and trouble, when he is declaring the manner in which the husband must labor and toil in feeding his family, defending his property and governing his house! And all these toils and troubles are far more difficult in our age on account of the perverseness of men, than they were "in the beginning." For we universally witness, even where the expectation of food is certain, with what difficulty a family are kept to their duty. Nor was Adam himself without his experience of this great evil. For even while he was ruling his family with all possible holiness, he witnessed murder committed by his son Cain. I say nothing now about all other sorrows which a long life compels a man to see and bear in his posterity. This anxiety and toil therefore await the husband. He must endure this labor, which is neither pleasant nor successful. Nor ought any one to be found who does not endure this sweat. Hence, much more perilous is the life of the Papists; all of whom abuse their wealth, obtained by the labor of others, to their own gratifications and indolence.
But here a question has been raised, whether all men ought not to be husbandmen, or at least whether they ought not to devote themselves to manual labor? Some did indeed thus foolishly contend at the beginning of the Gospel among us. For they so abused this and other like passages of Scripture, which command the labor of the hands, that the youth throwing aside their literary studies gave themselves up to manual employments; and Carlstadt, the leader of these misguided ones, leaving his proper station in life, purchased a farm, and dug and cultivated his own land. For myself indeed if I could with a good conscience forsake my calling as a minister of the Word, it would be far more easy and pleasant employment for me to be employed in cultivating my garden, digging with my spade and breaking the clods with my shovel, than to endure this hard labor, which I now undergo. For the toil of country laborers bears no proportion whatever to this our ministerial "sweat."
_Felices nimium sua si bona norint, Agricolae._ Happy their lot; did they but know their good, Who cultivate the earth for all.--Virg. Georg. 2, 458. For though they do "sweat" under great labor, yet that labor is seasoned with a peculiar pleasure, while the new and marvelous faces of all creatures directly meet their eyes daily. Whereas in the political world and in the Church infinite troubles and molestations present themselves, in addition to the daily perils which are incurred, if a minister of Christ perform his duty faithfully. For we speak not now concerning those indolent mortals, who know not nor acknowledge these punishments of sin, but who are devoted only to the consideration of the manner in which they can best satisfy their lusts. Let such Epicureans be left to the indulgence of their own evil appetites and inclinations. We are here speaking of those who do perform seriously what they undertake to do, whether in the State or in the Church. Such men labor and sweat more in one day than a husbandman does in a whole month, if the magnitude and the various perils of their works be considered. It is for this very reason also that tributes and revenues, and other dues of the same description, are paid unto kings and princes. And who does not see that this is but a small return or reward after all to our rulers for the immense labor they undergo, where they really do their duty faithfully. And even if there be some who neglect their duty, this legitimate ordinance of God is not on their account to be disregarded.
I have somewhere heard it said of the Roman Emperor, Maximilian Augustus, that he was so overwhelmed with his public duties that he never gave himself sufficient time for eating his meals. He was therefore sometimes compelled to withdraw from his State labors, and seclude himself in the woods to indulge in hunting. Sometimes also he would change his raiment and mingle with private society so that he might enjoy greater freedom in conversation. And though this occupation of hunting was sometimes considered a vice in that Emperor, yet those who really knew the extent of his labors and the reality of his daily life considered that this amusement was adopted by him of necessity and not for pleasure. What labors of the plow then, what labors of the spade, what other toils of a rustic life, will you bring into comparison with that "sweat" which the government of such a mighty empire as that of Rome demanded? Wherefore the palaces of kings and princes do indeed bear their names as such, while the kings and princes themselves are the hardest worked of all servants. Hence monks and the whole confederacy of the Pope are the only beings that really live a royal life, because they leave all labors, all business affairs and all the perils of them to others, while they themselves enjoy all the comforts of life in perfect indolence.
These same observations apply equally to the pastoral charge in the Church which charge is to be considered the heavier since the duties are more important which a pastor has to perform. For are we to suppose that Augustine lived at ease and gave himself up to his pleasures only, surrounded as he was by so great a multitude of adversaries, against whom he had daily to contend to prevent them from wholly subverting as they would have done the doctrine of Christ? For such were the Pelagians, the Donatists, the Manicheans and other like disturbers of the churches. Likewise I in this day by the grace of God so perform my duties as to leave no one, I believe, to envy such a laborious life of ease as I daily pass. It is the height of folly that fanatics urge on all persons the necessity of manual labors, which nevertheless are useful for the health of the body. Whereas on the contrary, those great labors of the State and Church, which we have just described, wear out the body and exhaust as it were all the moisture of the very bones and their inmost marrow. Let us therefore duly and rightly distinguish this "sweat" as it ought to be distinguished. The household "sweat" is great, the civil or political "sweat" greater still, but the Church "sweat" is the greatest of all. Only look at the Apostle Paul and you will at once see the greatness of his sweat. For seeing that the Church is in all ages infested with devils and harassed by heresies, scandals and great sins, by the unrighteous violence of tyrants and by evils of every description; will any man say that there are no labors and no sweats in the Church? Will any one affirm that those who rule in the Church are not well deserving the provision which they receive?
We may say this of the Pope and the Cardinals, and of all that congregation of the wicked who do no work at all, consult only their belly and their ease, spending the greatest wealth. These are they of whom we may rightly say with Paul, "If any one will not work, neither shall he eat," 2 Thess. 3:10. Now the work of the Church is to teach the Word, to administer the Sacraments, to war with fanatics, to remove scandals out of the way, to build up the godly in the faith, etc. Of those who really do this Christ says, "The laborer is worthy of his hire," Luke 10:7. Now the condition of Adam, the first sinner, was if rightly considered worse than ours. For while we all sweat separately, each one in his own order and station, Adam was compelled to endure at one and the same time the sweat of the household rule, the sweat of the political rule and the sweat of the Church rule. He alone performed all these duties to his family and posterity as long as he lived. He provided for his family and ruled it. He trained them in piety and was at the same time their father, their king and their priest. And how full of pain and peril each one of these duties is, universal experience teaches.
V. 19b. _Till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return._ With respect to wicked men they endure an infinite number of calamities with the hope of enjoying a little morsel of pleasure. What perils by land and by sea does the merchant experience with the hope of gain? For what a small hire does the soldier sell his life. The harlot in the brothel is compelled to endure a thousand-fold greater evils than any wife in the honest home. Hence the Germans call them by a striking proverb, "the devil's martyrs;" because they of their own accord cast themselves into the greatest calamities, which they might never have experienced, if they had been willing to live a godly life. And again, what a host of evils do men, given to wine and to gluttony, bring upon themselves by their excesses, from all of which they might have lived free had they eaten and drunk more moderately.
Ideas discussed in this chapter
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.