The Legends of the Jews, vol 1 - Louis Ginzberg (epub ebook reader txt) 📗

“Thirty years,” the reply would be. “Thou art thirty years of age, and yet thou wouldst worship this idol which I made but to-day?” The man would depart and go his way, and another would approach Abraham, and ask, “How much is this idol?” and “Five manehs” would be the reply, and again Abraham would put the question, “How old art thou?”—“Fifty years.”—“And dost thou who art fifty years of age bow down before this idol which was made but to-day?” Thereupon the man would depart and go his way.

Abraham then took two idols, put a rope about their necks, and, with their faces turned downward, he dragged them along the ground, crying aloud all the time: “Who will buy an idol wherein there is no profit, either unto itself or unto him that buys it in order to worship it? It has a mouth, but it speaketh not; eyes, but it seeth not; feet, but it walketh not; ears, but it heareth not.”

The people who heard Abraham were amazed exceedingly at his words. As he went through the streets, he met an old woman who approached him with the purpose of buying an idol, good and big, to be worshipped and loved. “Old woman, old woman,” said Abraham, “I know no profit therein, either in the big ones or in the little ones, either unto themselves or unto others. And,” he continued to speak to her, “what has become of the big image thou didst buy from my brother Haran, to worship it?” “Thieves,” she replied, “came in the night and stole it, while I was still at the bath.” “If it be thus,” Abraham went on questioning her, “how canst thou pay homage to an idol that cannot save itself from thieves, let alone save others, like thyself, thou silly old woman, out of misfortune? How is it possible for thee to say that the image thou worshippest is a god? If it be a god, why did it not save itself out of the hands of those thieves? Nay, in the idol there is no profit, either unto itself or unto him that adores it.”[26]

The old woman rejoined, “If what thou sayest be true, whom shall I serve?” “Serve the God of all gods,” returned Abraham, “the Lord of lords, who hath created heaven and earth, the sea and all therein—the God of Nimrod and the God of Terah, the God of the east, the west, the south, and the north. Who is Nimrod, the dog, who calleth himself a god, that worship be offered unto him?”

Abraham succeeded in opening the eyes of the old woman, and she became a zealous missionary for the true God. When she discovered the thieves who had carried off her idol, and they restored it to her, she broke it in pieces with a stone, and as she wended her way through the streets, she cried aloud, “Who would save his soul from destruction, and be prosperous in all his doings, let him serve the God of Abraham.” Thus she converted many men and women to the true belief.

Rumors of the words and deeds of the old woman reached the king, and he sent for her. When she appeared before him, he rebuked her harshly, asking her how she dared serve any god but himself. The old woman replied: “Thou art a liar, thou deniest the essence of faith, the One Only God, beside whom there is no other god. Thou livest upon His bounty, but thou payest worship to another, and thou dost repudiate Him, and His teachings, and Abraham His servant.”

The old woman had to pay for her zeal for the faith with her life. Nevertheless great fear and terror took possession of Nimrod, because the people became more and more attached to the teachings of Abraham, and he knew not how to deal with the man who was undermining the old faith. At the advice of his princes, he arranged a seven days’ festival, at which all the people were bidden to appear in their robes of state, their gold and silver apparel. By such display of wealth and power he expected to intimidate Abraham and bring him back to the faith of the king.

Through his father Terah, Nimrod invited Abraham to come before him, that he might have the opportunity of seeing his greatness and wealth, and the glory of his dominion, and the multitude of his princes and attendants. But Abraham refused to appear before the king. On the other hand, he granted his father’s request that in his absence he sit by his idols and the king’s, and take care of them.

Alone with the idols, and while he repeated the words, “The Eternal He is God, the Eternal He is God!” he struck the king’s idols from their thrones, and began to belabor them with an axe.

With the biggest he started, and with the smallest he ended. He hacked off the feet of one, and the other he beheaded. This one had his eyes struck out, the other had his hands crushed.[27]

After all were mutilated, he went away, having first put the axe into the hand of the largest idol.

The feast ended, the king returned, and when he saw all his idols shivered in pieces, he inquired who had perpetrated the mischief.

Abraham was named as the one who had been guilty of the outrage, and the king summoned him and questioned him as to his motive for the deed. Abraham replied: “I did not do it; it was the largest of the idols who shattered all the rest. Seest thou not that he still has the axe in his hand? And if thou wilt not believe my words, ask him and he will tell thee.”

IN THE FIERY FURNACE

Now the king was exceedingly wroth at Abraham, and ordered him to be cast into prison, where he commanded the warden not to give him bread or water.[28] But God hearkened unto the prayer of Abraham, and sent Gabriel to him in his dungeon. For a year the angel dwelt with him, and provided him with all sorts of food, and a spring of fresh water welled up before him, and he drank of it. At the end of a year, the magnates of the realm presented themselves before the king, and advised him to cast Abraham into the fire, that the people might believe in Nimrod forever.

Thereupon the king issued a decree that all the subjects of the king in all his provinces, men and women, young and old, should bring wood within forty days, and he caused it to be thrown into a great furnace and set afire.[29] The flames shot up to the skies, and the people were sore afraid of the fire. Now the warden of the prison was ordered to bring Abraham forth and cast him in the flames. The warden reminded the king that Abraham had not had food or drink a whole year, and therefore must be dead, but Nimrod nevertheless desired him to step in front of the prison and call his name. If he made reply, he was to be hauled out to the pyre. If he had perished, his remains were to receive burial, and his memory was to be wiped out henceforth.

Greatly amazed the warden was when his cry, “Abraham, art thou alive?” was answered with “I am living.” He questioned further, “Who has been bringing thee food and drink all these many days?”

and Abraham replied: “Food and drink have been bestowed upon me by Him who is over all things, the God of all gods and the Lord of all lords, who alone doeth wonders, He who is the God of Nimrod and the God of Terah and the God of the whole world. He dispenseth food and drink unto all beings. He sees, but He cannot be seen, He is in the heavens above, and He is present in all places, for He Himself superviseth all things and provideth for all.”

The miraculous rescue of Abraham from death by starvation and thirst convinced the prison-keeper of the truth of God and His prophet Abraham, and he acknowledged his belief in both publicly.

The king’s threat of death unless he recanted could not turn him away from his new and true faith. When the hangman raised his sword and set it at his throat to kill him, he exclaimed, “The Eternal He is God, the God of the whole world as well as of the blasphemer Nimrod.” But the sword could not cut his flesh. The harder it was pressed against his throat, the more it broke into pieces.[30]

Nimrod, however, was not to be turned aside from his purpose, to make Abraham suffer death by fire. One of the princes was dispatched to fetch him forth. But scarcely did the messenger set about the task of throwing him into the fire, when the flame leapt forth from the furnace and consumed him. Many more attempts were made to cast Abraham into the furnace, but always with the same success-whoever seized him to pitch him in was himself burnt, and a large number lost their lives. Satan appeared in human shape, and advised the king to place Abraham in a catapult and sling him into the fire. Thus no one would be required to come near the flame. Satan himself constructed the catapult.

Having proved it fit three times by means of stones put in the machine, they bound Abraham, hand and foot, and were about to consign him to the flames. At that moment Satan, still disguised in human shape, approached Abraham, and said, “If thou desirest to deliver thyself from the fire of Nimrod, bow down before him and believe in him.” But Abraham rejected the tempter with the words, “May the Eternal rebuke thee, thou vile, contemptible, accursed blasphemer!” and Satan departed from him.

Then the mother of Abraham came to him and implored him to pay homage to Nimrod and escape the impending misfortune. But he said to her: “O mother, water can extinguish Nimrod’s fire, but the fire of God will not die out for evermore. Water cannot quench it.”[31] When his mother heard these words, she spake, “May the God whom thou servest rescue thee from the fire of Nimrod!”

Abraham was finally placed in the catapult, and he raised his eyes heavenward, and spoke, “O Lord my God, Thou seest what this sinner purposes to do unto me!”[32] His confidence in God was unshakable. When the angels received the Divine permission to save him, and Gabriel approached him, and asked, “Abraham, shall I save thee from the fire?” he replied, “God in whom I trust, the God of heaven and earth, will rescue me,” and God, seeing the submissive spirit of Abraham, commanded the fire, “Cool off and bring tranquillity to my servant Abraham.”[33]

No water was needed to extinguish the fire. The logs burst into buds, and all the different kinds of wood put forth fruit, each tree bearing its own kind. The furnace was transformed into a royal pleasance, and the angels sat therein with Abraham. When the king saw the miracle, he said: “Great witchcraft! Thou makest it known that fire hath no power over thee, and at the same time thou showest thyself unto the people sitting in a pleasure garden.” But the princes of Nimrod interposed all with one voice, “Nay, our lord, this is not witchcraft, it is the power of the great God, the God of Abraham, beside whom there is no other god, and we acknowledge that He is God, and Abraham is His servant.”

All the princes and all the people believed in God at this hour, in the Eternal, the God of Abraham, and they all cried out, “The Lord He is God in heaven above and upon the