The Household of God
Volume 1
The early history of mankind
- Chapter 155 -
LAMECH ASKS FOR THE STRANGER ABEDAM'S NAME
When the other Abedam had concluded his speech, Lamech, the faithful lover of Emmanuel, stepped up to Abedam and looked Him over from head to foot; for this last speech had awakened him from his love-rapture mingled with sadness and confounded his heart. Having been buried in his grieving love for the vanished Emmanuel he had heard as good as nothing of the earlier words. Therefore, these so suddenly perceived words of light and love from the divine mouth of Abedam had an amazing effect upon his newly awakened heart, and even more so on Lamech's ailing love since He from whose mouth and heart they came was the newly hidden Emmanuel Himself.
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When he had thus studied Abedam and still could not find out anything, he finally took the liberty of asking Him, saying:
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"Listen, Abedam, you are still a stranger to me, yet from your human mouth you speak purely divine words, just as if my most beloved Emmanuel Abba were standing here and speaking about this cardinal point of all human life, and He could not possibly speak differently from what you have said. Do be so good to tell me whence such incomprehensibly high wisdom of love has come to you.
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"For behold, Emmanuel's disappearance has until now rendered me deaf and blind to everything, and so I see you with my eyes surely for the first time among us and find you most amazing. Therefore, tell me about yourself as my heart is longing for your closer acquaintance."
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And Abedam replied to Lamech: "My beloved Lamech! Now listen, can you tell Me what the time is and where we are now finding ourselves?"
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And Lamech said: "As far as I can now see and also vaguely remember this is the hut of Adam into which he received all of us who are now present here after we had reached our native height. But all this I remember only as if it had been a dream. What the time now is I cannot tell you exactly; but in view of the still rather strong light in the hut it should not be too late in the evening."
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Then Abedam said again to Lamech: "Behold, My beloved Lamech, it is now especially for you very important to know what time of the evening it now is. Therefore, go outside for a while and judge by the sunset whether it is early or late evening."
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Lamech promptly followed this advice, but he had quite a shock when instead of the expected sunset he found the densest darkness covering all the earth, which was only for moments broken in a ghastly way through constant lightning from the already very close storm.
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In great haste he rushed back into the hut, for he had a wholesome dread of night and thunderstorms. And so he timidly approached Abedam and said to Him:
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O you dear, good man, you surely knew how late at night it already was. Why did you send me out to behold this terrible, gruesome night where the sunset has passed long ago and only mighty flashes of lightning and roaring thunder appear to begin a terrible battle with the densest and most unyielding night?
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"Look, I am still trembling all over from great fear. O Emmanuel, if only You were here now! Together with You I would quite willingly dare to behold this terrible night, for this terribly threatening fiery weather, eagerly seeking a destructive battle, would have had to obey You and retreat.
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"It is good that at least Enoch is still with us, otherwise we would perish. You do not seem to worry much about the approaching violent storm. But you can be forgiven since you are a stranger here and have probably never experienced the terror of such weather during the night on this height. But once you have experienced it, which is sure to be the case tonight, you will, believe me, when next such a storm approaches be more scared than I am already now.
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"O my Emmanuel Abba, if You had only this night still remained visibly among us!"
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And Abedam looked very kindly at Lamech, took his hand and asked: "Dear Lamech, behold, since you found the night outside to be so very dark, would you perhaps tell Me where the light in this hut comes from?"
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Only upon this question did Lamech notice the light; and since he could not see a source of light anywhere, he turned immediately back to Abedam and said:
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"Look, dear, good man, it is miraculous! Here is light without light, yes, it is bright daylight in here and yet I cannot discover a light anywhere. How come? What causes it? How is such a thing possible?
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"Have you maybe brought it about or is it caused by the great storm? For I have noticed that in very violent thunderstorms in the densest night the trees, the grass and the stones were often surrounded by a bluish shining matter, but their shine as such was only very weak and compared to this light it would still appear quite dark.
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Therefore you might tell me what you have asked me."
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But Abedam sent him to Seth with the words: "Lamech, go to Seth and he will tell you how this light has come about. Then you will soon find a light in the light when now you did not find this one."
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And Lamech went immediately to Seth and asked him: "Dear father Seth, would you do for me what your brother or son - or whatever he is to you - sent me to you for?"
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And Seth replied: "Why were you earlier asleep in your heart? Had you been awake such a question would be superfluous. But since your great love for Emmanuel Abba made you blind and deaf to everything else you have a valid excuse within you and so may learn that the incomprehensibly mighty creator of this miraculous lighting is the very one who sent you to me and who caused it through nothing but his word: 'Let there be light!' out of the divine power within him. Go to him, as you now know all I know; further explanations you may expect from him. Amen."
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So Lamech returned immediately to Abedam as suggested by Seth.
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Thereupon Abedam said to him: "Beloved Lamech, do search a little in the love of your heart and you will soon have found the creator of this light. For He Whom you love so very much is not so distant from you as you believe. But when you have found Him, keep it to yourself till tomorrow.
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"During this night you shall see great things. Amen."