The Household of God
Volume 1
The early history of mankind
- Chapter 106 -
KENAN AND MAHALALEEL
The discussion between Jared and Enoch had been overheard by Kenan and Mahalaleel walking behind them and so Mahalaleel began to question Kenan, saying:
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"With my ears and eyes I have heard and seen great and miraculous things; but where did the great and miraculous among us come from?
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"Listen, father Kenan, why do I have this strange feeling? It is certainly not this unvaried, little used path through the forest. If it were at least an Adams-grotto or the white, smoking mountain in the morning region, or the seven water-fountains on the way from midday towards evening or any other extraordinary natural phenomenon. But there is not a trace here of all that.
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"It is also not because of our reversed order, for it is immaterial whether I walk with you or you with me, whether Enoch at the rear or in front, with Jared or Adam or whether - no, this does not all appear to me immaterial- Asmahael walks behind or in front and with whom.
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"For here there appears to be a certain patriarchal order of precedence. I do understand why Adam and the mother Eve walk behind all of us, but what it means that Asmahael with Abedam are the very last, even behind Adam, look, father Kenan, this I cannot quite work out.
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"Jared and Enoch in front of us have discussed strange things concerning Asmahael. So much I have understood, but what they have actually said I did not hear clearly and what I did hear I could not comprehend. But one thing is certain, namely, that I have heard great things through the few perceivable words from the mouth of those walking in front of us and that what I beheld within me was very strange.
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'Therefore I ask you for a bit of help to clarify this matter which appears extremely strange to me; but only if you are willing to do this, dear father Kenan. Amen."
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And Kenan replied to his son Mahalaleel, saying: "Listen, my dear son, hearing the beginning of your speech I expected unheard-of things to emerge.
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"However, I see that you are still the same old Mahalaleel who always opens his mouth as if he wanted to spit out suns like peas, but in the end there do not even appear any peas, only spittle. What about the reversed order if it is immaterial to you? Why all the words? If Asmahael were in front what would He then be? Then it would maybe seem to you sublime since He was not at the rear?
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"Now He is accompanied by Abedam; is that more than that you are walking beside me? Did you not say yourself that it was all the same to you whether you walked beside me or I beside you? Behold, how you want something and in the end do not know what it is you want!
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"What does Adam's grotto mean to you and the white mountain and the seven water-fountains in the evening that you use them to idly adorn your speech?
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"You said that you felt so strange after you have, say, seen the two in front of you talk with each other, not even hearing and thus not understanding them. What is it that appeared to you so unusually strange during their only watched discussion?
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"Behold, my dear son, if you want something think it over what you really want and only after you have clarified your need ask for what you wish to know.
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"If you now notice something peculiar about Asmahael, I ask you: Had you lent your ears to someone else at the time Asmahael was speaking so wondrously out of God that you are now apparently ignorant of the main point and mention all kinds of meaningless things to explain your wonderment?
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"O son, you are far off the mark. Therefore, ponder on the main issue and then come and open your heart to me. Amen."
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Mahalaleel realized that Kenan's speech lacked substance and that this seeming reproach was nothing else but a clever fatherly evasion and so he answered quite respectfully:
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"Listen, dear father! I have the impression that with our speeches we have not outdone one another in any way. But the important question is which one of us is farther off the mark.
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"Behold, I did not lose a single word from the mouth of Asmahael, but did not want to mention it as I considered it a waste of time because with me, as the father of Jared and Enoch, you would no doubt have assumed it.
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"You said that I had only seen my children talk; but you only wanted to hide something from me which you, the same as I, had heard with both ears word for word., How could I say to you that such speeches made me experience within me wondrous things if that were not so, for then I would be standing before you and God as an infamous liar?
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"But your words told me something you had not intended to tell me, namely, that your tongue is bound towards me and you are at this stage not allowed to tell me what I want to know. Therefore, it was not necessary for you to give me such a lengthy negation, which is emptier than my question. If you had briefly shown me the divine bond of your tongue you would have saved yourself the effort of so many words. Look, I was always a most obedient son to you, why did you misjudge me now?
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"Dear father, keep to yourself what you have to until the time of release; but do not regard me as a liar or an extremely blind seeker after divine things. For you have begotten only my body, but my spirit is like yours out of God. Therefore I think that also a father should not violate the divine part of his children. It is enough that the spirit is chastised through the burden of the body and has to put up with its weaknesses, and when the father chastises the body of his children the spirit has already received its share from the hand of the chastiser. More is not needed. But when the divine spirit of the child turns to the divine spirit of the begetter, the two divine brothers should no longer chastise each other, but lovingly recognize each other as brothers in God. And hand in hand and heart to heart they should lead each other with kind support to the gate through which the eternal life of grace, mercy and love keeps forever flowing.
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"O dear father, do not think that I have now intended to teach you something still unknown to you. Oh no, I only had to justify myself before you so that the two of us can again walk righteously before each other and God. Thus I did it for your sake rather than mine.
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"I know your heart. It is pure like the sun before me, but I now saw your mouth and tongue covered with dust and, as a true son, could not possibly refrain from rendering you a loving service and cleanse your mouth and tongue from a pernicious dust.
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"For I thought by myself: 'Father, your tongue is adorned by a sublime bond from the great, eternal hand of God's love. Why should there be dust? Away with that which gives death!'
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"Now you will surely not be annoyed with your son, father, and look upon his speech as a partial lie, but you will recognize that Mahalaleel does not foolishly wish to loosen a bond with which God has adorned your tongue.
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"Therefore you will not be angry with me, but be henceforth my dear father in God. Amen."
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Kenan was moved to tears by this speech and finally said to his son: "Mahalaleel, my beloved son, I have wronged you by scattering your first speech and even wanting to externally frustrate it while in my heart I was convinced of its true depth.
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"You possess a proper light which is greater than mine. What I was to hide from you, you will find sooner than I shall be able to comprehend entirely. Therefore be my dear son and most beloved brother forever, amen. Hear, as a brother in God forever! Amen."