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Appendix.
From the Catholic adaptation of the
‘Biblical Stories by Dr J. P. Hebel. Rotweil. 1825’.
a) Old Testament.
48. Elijah on Mount Horch.
Elijah was in a cave on Mount Horeb in Arabia, thinking in his prayer
how the ten tribes had forsaken the covenant of the God of their fathers
and destroyed his altars and killed his prophets, and that he alone was
still left and was not sure of life. Resentment imagines everything bad
to be even worse than it is. Had not God saved a hundred prophets
through Abdias! In these melancholy thoughts the word of the Lord came
to Elijah in the night, and he received the assurance that God would
pass by and comfort him.
And behold, a great strong wind, which tore mountains apart and broke
rocks, went before the Lord. The Lord was not in the wind. -
After the wind came an earthquake. The Lord was not in the earthquake. -
After the earthquake came a fire. The Lord was not in the fire. -
After the fire came a still, gentle sound. When Elijah heard it, he
covered his face with his cloak and stood at the mouth of the cave.
And behold, a voice came to him and said, ‘What are you doing here,
Elijah?’ He replied: ‘I have laboured for the Lord; for the children of
Israel have forsaken your covenant, destroyed your altars, killed your
prophets, and I alone am left, and now they seek to kill me also.’ The
Lord said, ‘Return to Damascus, anoint Hazael king over Syria, Jehu king
over Israel and Eliseus prophet in your place. I have reserved for
myself seven thousand men in Israel who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’
Although God does not speak to us humans as he did to Elijah, everyone
still hears his voice in many different ways and also in the marvellous
phenomena and changes of nature, in the thunderstorm, the storm wind,
the rain and sunshine, as everyone needs and can understand. He shakes
the secure and wicked minds in the stormy tempest; he refreshes the
pious and sorrowful in the gentle whispering and sunshine and in the
beautiful, starry night and comforts their hearts.
b) New Testament.
7. Jesus is tempted.
At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, Jesus went away from his baptism
into the desert, into a lonely, uncultivated region, so that he might be
tempted by the devil. When he had fasted for forty days and forty nights,
he was hungry. And the tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son
of God, say that these stones will become bread!’ - But Jesus said to
him, ‘It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the
temple and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself
down!’ To this he added a little saying and gave him a false
interpretation: ‘It is written: He has commanded his angels for your
sake to bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a
stone.’ - To this Jesus replied: ‘Again it is written: You shall not
tempt your Lord God!’ i.e. a person should not put himself in
unnecessary danger by trusting in God.
Finally, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all
the kingdoms of the world and their splendour, saying to him, ‘I will
give you all these things if you fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus
said to him: ‘Go away, Satan! For it is written: You shall worship God
your Lord and serve him alone!’ - Then the devil left him, and the
angels came and ministered to him.
Where Satan must depart, there the angels come. So Jesus was tempted to
sin and triumphed in the temptation and was justified as the Son of God.
Note this: Whoever misinterprets the sayings of Holy Scripture with
knowledge, so as to whitewash sin, is doing Satan's work and practising
evil arts. Whoever wants to be fine like Jesus strengthens himself
against sin through the good sayings and pleases God and the holy angels.
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