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Man does not live by bread alone |
The cause of Israel's rejection as God's people was her refusal to be led and governed by God. Israel wanted to live, accused Luther, not by faith in the promise but by what was actually present (LW 8:200). On the other hand, God wanted her to be faithful and rely on His promises."One must be careful to hold fast to the fact that God makes promises and defers the things promised, and that He tries us with a scarcity of available things in order to instruct us in faith in the promises and in order that this faith may be strengthened and may learn to believe God not only in prosperous times, when things are available, but also in adversity, when things are lacking (LW 8:201). If bread is lacking, a strange god is not to be called upon but, instead, the heart should be strengthened by faith in the Word (LW 8:204). In all things, God wants His threats to be feared and His promises to be believed and waited for (LW 8:202). For example, "Noah fears the punishment of the flood, which he does not see, and hopes for a liberation, which is not in sight. We believe in Christ the Lord, whom we do not see, and we believe that He will come on the Last Day and raise us from the dead and glorify us, as Phil. 3:20-21 says, but that He will inflict punishments upon the ungodly, who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel. Thus the godly fear the threats and trust the promises. But the ungodly do not fear, do not believe, do not hope, and do not care about God (LW 8:202). | |
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Adam's why and Abraham's faith |
In his asking why, Adam was not satisfied with God's command concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and, instead, sought to learn the reason WHY God ordered him to keep away. No longer was Adam concerned about carrying out God's commandment as one of His creatures but passed judgment on God Himself. Therefore it became ruinous for Adam to think about the why and it caused him great harm (LW 4:144).In contrast, Abraham obeyed God's command without hesitation when God commanded him to be circumcised or when God commanded him to offer up Isaac. "He does not debate with himself why God has given this command but goes immediately to the designated place" (LW 3:282). Abraham considered who it was who was speaking and simply "cuts the throat of this baneful why and tears it out of his heart by the roots" (LW 3:173). He understood that it is God's will that his curiosity be restrained and that he remain within the definite bounds placed upon him by God in His Word. "He takes reason captive and find satisfaction in the one fact that he who gives the command is just, good, and wise; therefore He cannot command anything but what is just, good, and wise, no matter what the opinion of reason is, and no matter if reason does not understand (LW 3:173). After Abraham had received the command, he sees nothing else than God's command. He mortifies the head of the serpent, which is his unregenerate reason, and acts on what God has commanded him to do (LW 4:109). As evidenced in the faith of Abraham, outward obedience follows upon inward obedience. Abraham heard and believed the Word, then he became a righteous doer of works by following Christ (LW 2:269-270). | |
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