A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion/From Adam to Moses,

by Joseph Deharbe

HISTORY OF REVEALED RELIGION BEFORE CHRIST.

From Adam to Moses.

1. ^[1]In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth. He said, 'Let them he made,' and they were made. In six days God made the whole world — the sun, moon, and stars; the plants, trees, and animals; and, last of all. He made man to His own image and likeness. The first man was called Adam, and the first woman Eve. They were just and holy, and the favorites of God. They lived happy in a delicious garden called Paradise, and they and their descendants were never to die.

2. ^[2]God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the tree that stood in the midst of the garden, lest they should die. But the serpent said to them: 'If you eat thereof, you shall be as Gods.' Adam and Eve believed the serpent, and broke the command of God. For this sin of disobedience punishment immediately came upon them and all their descendants. They were driven from the garden of Paradise, were doomed to death and many hardships, and were to be banished from God for ever. Nevertheless, God had compassion on them, and promised them a Saviour, who should reconcile them again to Him, and make them partakers of eternal happiness in Heaven, provided they did penance (Gen. iii. 15).

3. ^[3]Cain and Abel, sons of our first parents, offered sacrifice to Almighty God. God was pleased with that of the virtuous Abel, but not with that of the wicked Cain. Cain, being exceedingly angry at the preference given to his brother, killed him; and in punishment for this crime he was cursed by God, and became a vagabond upon earth.

4. ^[4]The descendants of Cain were wicked, like their father, and gradually seduced even the good; insomuch that, in process of time, all men turned away from God and sank deeper and deeper into sin and vice. God then resolved to destroy the degenerate race of Adam by a universal deluge. The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights, and the waters rose fifteen cubits, or twenty-seven feet and a half, above the highest mountains. All living creatures on the face of the earth perished in the flood, except the pious Noe, with his family, and the animals that were with him in the ark, which he had built by the command of God. In thanksgiving for this escape, Noe erected an altar and offered a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, who, in return, blessed him and his sons, and promised him that 'there should no more be waters of a flood, to destroy all flesh' ( Gen. ix. 15).

5. ^[5]The descendants of Noe became so numerous that they soon began to spread abroad into all lands. However, before separating, they determined to build a tower, the top of which should reach to Heaven. But God confounded their language, so that they were unable to understand one another and were obliged to desist from building it; and the tower was called the Tower of Babel, or Confusion. Noe's descendants also gave themselves up to their wicked inclinations, and degenerated so far that, instead of adoring the true God, they worshipped the sun and moon, men and animals, and even idols of gold and silver, and of stone and wood. This shameful idolatry brought with it all kinds of sins and vices, which again prevailed in a frightful manner among mankind.

6. ^[6]God, however, provided that the true faith and the hope in a future Redeemer should not entirely vanish from the earth. For this purpose He chose Abraham (B.C. 1920), made a particular covenant with him, and promised him that the 'Messiah ' should be born of his posterity, saying: 'In thee shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed' (Gen. xii, 3). Therefore God also distinguished Abraham and his descendants — who were called Hebrews, and afterwards Israelites, or Jews — from all other nations, and, during the course of time, often revealed Himself to them in a wonderful manner.

7. ^[7]In order to try the faith of Abraham, God commmanded him to offer his only son Isaac in sacrifice "upon Mount Mori a. Abraham set out without hesitation. He himself placed the wood for the burnt offering upon his son, and ascended the mountain with him. When they had reached the summit, Isaac willingly laid himself on the wood to be offered up in sacrifice; but God saved the pious Isaac through an angel, blessed Abraham for his obedience, and renewed his former promises to him.

Isaac was here a figure of the future Saviour of the world, who, in obedience to His Father, took the wood of the cross upon His shoulders, and carried it to Mount Calvary, to sacrifice Himself upon it for our redemption.

8. ^[8]The patriarch Jacob was the son of Isaac, and lived with his family in the land of Chanaan, the country into which God had called Abraham. He had twelve sons, who became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. One of them, Joseph, was chosen by God to be, through what happened to him in his life, a figure of Jesus Christ. Having been sold by his brothers, he was carried into Egypt, where he was falsely accused and cast into prison. After recovering his liberty, the king made him chief ruler over all Egypt; and as, by his wisdom and prudence, he saved the country during seven years from a dreadful famine, he was called 'Saviour of the world' (Gen. xli. 45), Jacob also, at his invitation, went down, with all his family, into Egypt and settled there. Before his death he pronounced this remarkable prophecy regarding the Redeemer: 'The sceptre (supreme power) shall not he taken away from (the tribe of) Juda (his son) till He come that is to he sent; and He shall he the expectation of nations' (Gen. xlix. 10). And, in fact, when Christ, who was sent by God, was born, Herod, an Idumean, sat on the throne of the kings of Juda, and the kingdom was evidently approaching its end.

1. 1. How did God create Heaven and Earth? In how many days did He create all things? When did He create man? How did He distinguish man from the other creatures? What were the names of the first man and woman? Were they also liable to sin, as we are? Where did they live? Were they and their children ever to die?
2. 2. What commandment did God give to Adam and Eve? What did the serpent tell them? What did Adam and Eve do? Were they punished for it? Were they alone punished? What punishment came upon them? Did God then abandon them? What did he promise them?
3. Who were Cain and Abel? How did they worship God? Was God pleased with their sacrifices'? What did Cain do, and what became of him!
4. Were the descendants of Cain good or wicked? What evil did they do? What did God then resolve to do? How long did it rain? To what height did the flood rise? Did all living creatures perish? What did Noe do when he came out of the ark? What new kindness did God show to Noe and his sons?
5. Did the descendants of Noe multiply much? What did they attempt to do? How was their undertaking frustrated? What was the tower called? Did the descendants of Noe remain faithful to God? What was the consequence of their idolatry?
6. Were the true religion and the hope in the Redeemer entirely to vanish? How did God prevent it? How were the descendants of Abraham called? What favor did God bestow on them?
7. How did God try the faith of Abraham? How did he fulfil the command of God? What did Isaac do? Did God suffer him to be killed? How did God reward Abraham! What mysterious signification does the sacrifice of Isaac contain?
8. Who was Jacob, and where did he live? How many sons had he, and what did they become afterwards? What was Joseph chosen by God to be? What happened to him? Did Jacob remain in Chanaan? What did he prophesy before his death, and about whom? How was it fulfilled?