The Household of God
Volume 1
The early history of mankind
- Chapter 71 -
SETHLAHEM'S DESIRE FOR TRUE WISDOM
And hear, this speech had dumbfounded almost all of them, for they now understood Enoch's words well and were pondering on how they until now had labored under many misapprehensions. And also their children had their eyes opened They once more recognized themselves and Me more and more through the awakening love within their hearts. And now also the children of the main line from Adam to Jared fully comprehended Enoch's speech in the grotto and the significance of the latter. Adam pandered much on the sunrise and understood it. And Seth rose, gazed towards heaven and thanked Me for this great gift; then all present followed his example and praised and glorified Me beyond measure in their hearts.
2
Then one of the children of the midday, who descended from the line of Seth and Enos, stepped up to Enoch, bowed deeply to him and said: "Enoch, look, here I am standing before you in the name of all. My name is Sethlahem ('A son of Seth highly gifted with wisdom').
3
"First, I have to render through you our thanks due to the holy Giver of such sublime grace. For since you are closest to the Lord and have His living Word you will surely be able to complement what is lacking in our weak gratitude to the Lord for such a great favor. Having received wisdom from the Lord I did what this taught me and was unable to do more, as my wisdom considered what I did sufficient. However, what you have taught us here in your language of life is beyond the wisdom of all men; it is the root of all life and the eternal foundation of all wisdom, -yes, it is God you are here proclaiming. And behold, here my wisdom is insufficient to render to the Lord the thanks due to Him. Will you therefore do in my place what is proper? The other reason why I came to you is to get your permission to be taught by you the path you have followed to attain to the life out of God in such depth.
4
"O Enoch, do not hold this twofold request against me, for my wisdom tells me that you are a true seer of God. The love of the Most High has filled your heart and touched your tongue with the fire, which flows with great might from the finger of God. Oh, do show Sethlahem how and when you have received this! Amen."
5
"Thereupon Enoch rose and said: "Listen, Sethlahem, why all this praising? Were you given wisdom to use it for praising what is not worth to be praised, and yet you do not know how to praise Him to Whom alone all praise is due? Or do you think that life can be learnt as can such wisdom, which you acquired with a cold heart to become a master in wisdom?
6
"O Sethlahem, Sethlahem, watch out that you do not suffocate in your idle thirst for knowledge!
7
"Look at this fig tree here and over there a tree full of half-ripe plums. Do you think that if the plum tree endeavored to learn from the fig tree how instead of plums to bear also figs, this would ever happen?
8
"Of course, your wisdom, if it be of any use, must immediately warn and convince you that this will not work in all eternity.
9
"However, if someone takes shoots with seeds from the fig tree, prunes the plum tree on all sides, splits the small trunks of the twigs, inserts the seed·-shoots and bandages them carefully with earth and resin, the sap of the plum tree will soon be changed in the fig shoots into the life of the fig tree. And so it will not take long for noble figs to appear on the changed plum tree.
10
"To do this your wisdom has taught you already a long time ago. Then how come that it has not also taught you to love the Lord with all your might so that, instead of plums, you would have produced also figs of life?
11
"I tell you, Sethlahem, behold, Adam has pruned you like all your children and brothers, Seth has split you and the Lord has now through me inserted in you the shoots of eternal life. Now seek fresh earth and resin through mutual active love and join the life within you properly through faith, then you will soon find what you now sought to learn from me without success.
12
"Now go and do accordingly, and you shall live! Amen."
13
When Sethlahem had heard this, He said: O Enoch, I recognize the great truth of your words, but it is easy for you to speak like this, for you already possess the truth. The Lord has given it to you freely out of Himself and you did not have to do what you have told me to do. Oh look, it is easy to rest where it is dry and to receive without a pledge; but this is not the case with me. For a long time have I been working and striving incessantly for that which you have received without effort, but to no avail. For me stones block heaven, and it would be easier to dig into the earth to where it ends than to receive even a single dewdrop of the life of love.
14
That this is so, just look to the high patriarchs and let them confirm this for me. Considering their rank, are they not all above you and thus closer to the Lord than you? Why then does the Lord keep His distance from them, but walks arm in arm with you?
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"O Enoch, if all this had not been given you freely by the holy Father and not as something merited, truly, you would at this moment speak like I do, lamenting about the mighty thirst and hunger of your soul!
16
"Or do you think I do not know that no tree is capable of learning something from another? Where that is concerned I could well have done without your speech; but when we have to teach children what they need as walking, speaking, working - in order to show them comprehensibly the mark of the supreme God, tell me, are we more compared with God than are our children compared with us? I believe, we are infinitely less compared with Him. How should and could we be shown the road in any other way than through instruction, as is the case with children?
17
"O Enoch, you believed to manage me easily by pointing me to the love for the brother and for God, but you will not find it as easy as you thought to get rid of me. I will want to see all this in you before I accept it.
18
"By cutting me short you do not show the highest degree of neighborly love; and if the love for your fellow man is part of the love for God, truly, then I do not know what to think of your love for God.
19
"Make sure you do not soon become your very own closest fellowman!
20
"Is it right that through someone's words another be annoyed? Behold, as much as your first speech has edified me, your present words have annoyed me. I do know that you are a God-inspired seer and have the living word. If I did not know it, I would never have come to you; and I do praise this holy gift in you. But when you censured me for it, I must ask you: Who bade you assume this responsibility and censure me?
21
"Behold, it is not right to dismiss the hungry, thirsty and weeping brother in God in this fashion.
22
"Patience is the principal thing and humility is the soul of love! I know, Enoch, that you are a master in both. But why do you defy me and appear to have closed your heart against me? I have never harmed you in any way. Do turn around and be to me a brother in God instead of a cold, dry guide! Amen."
23
When Enoch had listened to Sethlahem's words with the greatest, smiling composure, he rose again and replied with the following words:
24
"Sethlahem, if it were really as you believe according to your speech, truly, you would have seen me long ago weeping at your feet; but it is not so.
25
"In order that you do not have to enter your hut unjustly annoyed because of my misunderstood words, calm your heart and listen to what I will tell you. Sethlahem, gaze into the blue distance and describe to me the grass, the plants, trees and bushes. What are they like, are they like the ones here or different?
26
"The stones, the soil, the springs, - are they like these here or different? What living beings inhabit it (the distant land, the Pub!)? Arc there, perhaps, men, too, and what are they at present doing?
27
"Listen, Sethlahem, your silence proves that you do not know this. And now I ask you: In what way could you best acquire such knowledge?
28
"Suppose, I myself had already been there and had observed everything. It could then happen that the patriarchs, in your presence, asked me about it and I revealed the blue distance to them. Hearing this and now knowing how, whence and whereby, you might say to me: 'Listen, I enjoyed very much what you have just revealed. I would also like to speak about the distance as you do; therefore, I will become your pupil and learn from you how to speak like this!' If I then replied: 'Listen, this cannot be learned with inner conviction by the one who strives after inner conviction. What a difficult road to the purest knowledge this would be, and how fruitless!
29
"'But look, there across these mountains leads the shortest road. Do go there and you may be assured that you will be back here in three days and like me you will be able to speak about it truthfully and with an inner vitality which otherwise you would not learn in years!'
30
"Now you might come to me again and accuse me of a lack of love because of this brief yet truthful advice. Tell me, how does such an accusation of loveless ness relate to a suggestion according to which you could achieve within three days what otherwise thousands of years would hardly have given you?
31
"Behold, here you have beaten the air with your wisdom!
32
"You have been shown the way. If you lack the courage to walk it alone, come and by me whether I will guide you as a brother with all love, or not. I do not think that you will ever have reason for complaint in this point
33
"However, if I were to do to you as requested, look, then I would actually become your enemy for deceiving, in my depravity, my dear, poor brother in God and Adam.
34
"Behold, knowledge will not ever lead you to life; but if you will act according to the truth you will find truth's testimony which will be the testimony of love - and love eternal life in God. Amen, amen, amen."