Беседа XLV

“And Abraham went from there to the land of 432 midday, and dwelt between Cadiz and Shur: and dwelt in Gerareh” (Gen. 20:1). 1. I rejoice to see that you gather to hear (the word) and accept our teaching with great pleasure. And that is why I myself try with great diligence every day to offer you my meager and poor meal. Your increased zeal covers up the meagerness of the meal and gives the appearance of greatness to the small. Similar things can be seen in sensual foods. Thus, whoever receives guests who are already satiated, even if he offers them a lot of dishes, the satiation of the guests reduces the price of the treat, so that great things often seem not worth any price, because the guests approach the dishes without pleasure. On the contrary, whoever receives the hungry, who have a strong desire for treats, at least offers a meager meal, it seems great, since those being treated eat what is offered with great pleasure. In the same way, we, confident in your spiritual hunger, do not hesitate to constantly offer your love our meal, albeit simple and meager. So the wise one said: “Better is the establishment of a potion with love... than the presentation of calves with enmity” (Proverbs 15:17), expressing that love looks differently at what is offered, that to its eyes even meager things seem luxurious, and small things seem great. So, what state could be more blessed than ours, when we are talking among such a multitude of listeners who have such ardent and active love for us? Nothing is more necessary for a speaker than the location of the listeners. When he sees fiery zeal in his listeners, he himself strengthens and, as it were, acquires great strength, knowing that the more abundantly he offers a spiritual meal, the more profit he will receive for himself. In this respect, the spiritual is the opposite of the sensual. There, the abundance of the meal causes a loss and reduces the wealth of the owner, but here it is quite the opposite - the more people who participate in the meal, the more our wealth increases, because we speak not our own, but what the grace of the Lord gives us, according to His love for mankind and for the sake of your edification. So, if you begin to listen with such pleasure and diligence, then let us continue to explain the recently read passages of Scripture, and we will extract the fruits from there for our benefit. The great commandment of Christ: “Examine the Scriptures” (John 5:39) shows that the Scriptures contain and hide in their depths many treasures; Therefore, research is necessary so that, having learned the power hidden in the depths of the Scriptures, we can gain all the benefit from it for ourselves. For this reason, the grace of the Spirit deigned to depict in Scripture the virtues of all the righteous, so that we would have constant instruction and, following the imitation and example of the righteous, would organize our own lives. So, let us listen to what Divine Scripture wants to tell us about the forefather (Abraham) even today. “And Abraham went from there,” he says, “to the land of midday, and dwelt between Cadiz and between Shur: and dwelt in Gerareh. And go,” says the Scripture, “from there.” Where did he come from? From the place where he lived in a tent and where he was honored to receive the Lord with the Angels. “And go from there... and dwell in Gerareh.” Look how simple and unsophisticated the lifestyle of the righteous was, with what convenience they made their migrations, arranged their lives like wanderers and strangers, and here and there setting up their tents, as if they were spending their whole lives in a foreign country. That's not how we do it. Living in a foreign country, as if in our own fatherland, we erect magnificent houses, with porticos and galleries, acquire estates, build luxurious baths and much more without number. Look how the righteous man has all his property in his household and in his flocks, and how he does not have a permanent home anywhere, but now he sets up his tent in Bethel, now under the oak of Mamre, now he moves to Egypt, and now he is moving to Gerar, and he endures all this with complacency and for everything he gives sincere thanks to his Lord. After such great promises and good news given to him from God, seeing himself surrounded by such (dire) circumstances, being subjected to many and varied temptations, he remained steadfast, like adamant, constantly showed a pious spirit in himself and, despite all the obstacles, did not weaken in the least in his activity. Look now, beloved, what temptation befalls him in Gerar; and marvel at the steadfastness of the righteous in virtue. This temptation, unbearable for anyone, so that no one else could have even heard of it, he endured without grief, without demanding from the Lord an account of what had happened, as many people do, being, moreover, themselves burdened with countless sins. When they are subjected to some kind of sorrow, they immediately indulge in anxiety and inquisitiveness and ask: why did this and that happen? Why did God allow this? But the righteous man was not like that: for this reason he received even more help from above. This is precisely the property of a truly well-meaning servant - not to experience what comes from the Lord, but to accept everything from Him in silence and with gratitude. 2. Notice also how in the very temptations the virtue of the righteous man shone more and more, because God revealed it in all cases. Just as before, having come to Egypt as a stranger, a man unknown and unknown to anyone, the righteous man suddenly returned from there with great honor, so now, having settled in Gerar, he first does what depended on him, and then receives such great help from God that the king and all the local residents with all their zeal provide services to the righteous man. “And Abraham said,” says the Scripture, “to his wife Sarah, that she was his sister: for fear he said, that he was a wife, lest his men should kill him for her sake” (Gen. 20:2). Look what heavy feelings oppressed the soul of the righteous man and what fear struck him. The former, although very strong, fear of losing his wife now gave way to the fear of death. And in order to avoid death, he had to see with his own eyes how his concubine fell into the hands of the king. And how unbearable this is, those who have wives know. That is why the wise one said: “The wrath of her husband is filled with jealousy: she will not spare on the day of judgment, she will not change at any cost of enmity” (Prov. 6:34-35). But this is a difficult and unbearable circumstance for anyone else; look how generously the righteous man endured it, out of fear of death. The same usually happens in bodily suffering. When two diseases attack our body at the same time, the increase of one suppresses the other; we completely indulge in the feeling of the strongest pain, and often do not even feel another at all, because the feeling of the strongest pain carries us away and does not allow us to feel the weaker illness. In exactly the same way, this righteous man, seeing the fear of death threatening him, considered everything else more bearable. However, when you hear this, beloved, do not blame the righteous man for cowardice, because he was afraid of death. But rather marvel at what great love for mankind the Lord showed us in the fact that Christ made death, which at that time was terrible for the most righteous and holy, despicable for us, that the very death that the virtuous men, who had such boldness before God, feared, is now laughed at by young men and virgins. Death is no longer what it was before, but a dream, removal and relocation from a worse world to a better one. The death of the Lord gave us immortality; descending into hell, He crushed its forces and destroyed its power; and Christ has now made this hell, previously terrible and insurmountable, so despicable that some people (not fearing it) strive and hurry to move from here. So Paul exclaims, saying: “If you decide to be with Christ, it is much better” (Phil. 1:23). But all this is only now, after the coming of Christ, after the gates of brass have been broken and the Sun of righteousness has risen throughout the universe. And in those (ancient) times (death) had an even terrible appearance and shook the soul of the righteous men of that time, so that they endured everything else, even if apparently unbearable. Thus, this righteous man, fearing the treachery of the inhabitants of Gerar, married Sarah not to his wife, but to his sister, and thus lived there. And just as God allowed him to move to Egypt for the purpose that the ignorant and insensitive inhabitants there would recognize the virtue of the righteous man, so here the Lord shows His long-suffering, so that the patience of the righteous man would shine through in everything, and God’s favor towards him would become obvious to everyone. “And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah” (Gen. 20:2). Imagine the emotional storm that the righteous man must have endured, seeing his wife kidnapped and having no way to protect her. But he endured everything silently, being sure that the Lord would not leave him, but would give him an ambulance. One must also marvel at Sarah’s great love in how she wanted to save the righteous man from the danger of death. After all, she could, by revealing the secret, avoid the dishonor that undoubtedly threatened her. But she decided to endure everything generously in order to save the righteous man. And what was said was fulfilled: “You two will become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). They cared so much about each other’s salvation, as if they were one flesh, and showed such unity of mind, as if they had one body and one soul. Let husbands hear this, and wives hear this too: wives, in order to have the same love for their husbands and not consider anything more important than their salvation; and husbands - to have the same great disposition towards them, and to act in everything as if they had one soul and constituted one body. 3. This is a true marriage when such harmony reigns between the spouses, when there is such a close union between them, when they are united by such love. Just as the body can never be in disagreement with itself, nor the soul with itself, so a husband and wife should not be at odds, but live in unity. From here countless benefits can come for them. All blessings flock where there is such unanimity - there is peace, there is love, there is spiritual joy; there is no quarrel, no abuse, no enmity, no grumpiness; all this disappears because the root of all good things, i.e., like-mindedness, destroys it all. “Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. And God came to Abimelech one night in a dream, and said to him, “Behold, you are dying for this wife’s sake, and you have realized that this is the one who lives with her husband” (Gen. 20:2-3). Look how loving God is to mankind. Knowing that the righteous man, out of fear of death, generously endured the abduction of Sarah and that the king took her as the sister of the righteous man, God reveals His providence, simultaneously glorifying the righteous man even more, and delivering Sarah from dishonor, and restraining the king from crime. “And God came to Abimelech one night in a dream.” God, says Scripture, wanting to protect the king from crime, during sleep communicated knowledge to his soul and revealed to him the secret, and at the same time brought great fear to him with the threat of death. “Behold, you are dying,” he says, “for the sake of this wife, you have already realized that this is the one who cohabits with her husband. But Abimelech will not touch her” (Gen. 20:3–4). And all this was done so that the promise of God given to the forefather would come true. Since not long before it was promised to him that a son, Isaac, would be born from him, and this time was already approaching, so that the promise of God would not be subject to any desecration, God instills such fear in Abimelech that he, amazed, did not dare to touch Sarah. For this reason, the Divine Scripture added that “Abimelech will not touch her.” But the king still justifies himself in his boldness and says: “Lord, will you destroy the righteous tongue and the ignorant 433” (Gen. 20:4)? Did I, he says, do this knowing that she was my wife? Did I want to offend the wanderer? Did he take her as his wife? I wanted to take her as his sister, thinking by doing so I would honor both her and him. So, “will you destroy an ignorant tongue and a righteous one”? Really, he says, will you destroy me, who did this with the consciousness of correctness? Then, explaining his words, he says again: “Didn’t I myself say: I have sisters? And this I said: I am my brother” (Gen. 20:5). Look at the unanimity and agreement they had: he himself, says (Abimelech), told me this, and she confirmed his words. “I did this with a pure heart and righteous hands” (he says), without intending to do anything lawless; but he did it as something permissible, possible, and without anything reprehensible in it. What about the humane Lord? “God spoke to him in a dream” (Gen. 20:6). Look what condescension the Lord shows, showing His goodness in everything. “And Az,” he says, “knew that with a pure heart you did this.” I know, he says that they themselves arranged this plan, and that you did this, being deceived by their words; and therefore, so that their deception does not lead you into sin, “I will spare you, so that you do not sin against Me.” Great is the condescension in these words, great is the Lord’s love for mankind! “This sin would turn against Me,” he says. As with people, when someone offends a slave who enjoys great honor from his master, the master takes this offense to himself and says: you offended me by doing this to my slave - what they do to him concerns me - in the same sense, the good Lord says: “Have mercy on you, so that you do not sin against Me.” They, he says, are My servants, and I have such care for them that everything that happens to them, good or bad, I attribute to Myself; “For this reason, I did not allow you to touch her.” Since I care a lot about them, knowing that you ignorantly inflicted this insult on them, “I will spare you, so that you do not sin against Me.” Don't look at this husband simply as one of the ordinary people; know that they are among those about whom I care most and who have a special closeness to me. “Now give your wife to her husband, for there is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live” (Gen. 20:7). See how God reveals the virtue of the righteous; calls him a prophet and, as it were, disposes the king himself to ask him for mercy. “He will pray,” he says, “for you, and you will live.” He, fearing death from you, arranged such a plan and almost himself contributed to the dishonor of Sarah; but know that his prayers will keep you alive. But so that the king, inflamed with passion and seduced by the beauty of Sarah, does not neglect the command, God instills fear in him and threatens to subject him to severe punishment. “If you don’t give it up,” he says, “you and all yours will die.” Not only you yourself, he says, will suffer punishment for disobedience, but because of you, death will befall your entire house. This is why God announced all this to him at night, so that, having accepted the suggestion in silence, he would fulfill the command with great fear. “And Abimelech arose early,” says the Scripture, “and called all his servants, and spoke all these words in their ears” (Gen. 20:8). 4. Look how the king himself becomes a herald of the virtue of the righteous and announces it to everyone. Having called, says Scripture, all his servants, he told them everything that God had revealed to him, so that everyone would know God’s favor towards him and the care that he had received from the Lord for his virtuous life. “All men were greatly afraid.” Do you see how the righteous man made his migrations not in vain and not without benefit? If he had remained in the same place, then how could all the inhabitants of Gerar know what kind of favor this righteous man enjoys from God? “All men were greatly afraid.” Great fear seized them; everything that happened amazed them. Then “he called,” says Scripture, “Abimelech Abraham” (Gen. 20:9). Imagine with what honor a righteous man is now brought before the king, one who not long before was considered by them not worthy of any attention, as a wanderer and wanderer. Immediately, as soon as everyone had gathered, the forefather was invited, who knew nothing about this and was only informed from the king himself that God had done for the king for his sake. “And I said to him that you have done this to us 434 that 435 you have sinned, as if you brought a great sin upon me and upon my kingdom? No one can do the work, you did it for us 436. What was your purpose in doing this?” (Gen.20:9-10). Why, says the king, did you want to lead me into such a sin? Why and with what intention did you do this? See how the king, in his own words, portrays the threat he heard from God. Just as God told him: “If you don’t give it up, you and all yours will die,” so, conveying the same thing, Abimelech says: “What sin have you committed, for you have brought great sin upon me and upon my kingdom.” Should I be the only one to be punished? My entire kingdom could completely perish from the deception you invented. With what intent did you do this? But now, beloved, pay attention to the wisdom of the righteous man, with which he introduces teaching to them about the knowledge of God into the matter of his justification before them. “For I rekokh,” he says, “there will be no godliness in this place, and my wives will kill me for my sake” (Gen. 20:11); those. I was afraid that you, while still in error 437, did not care at all about justice; and therefore I did this, sparing you, so that, having learned that she was my wife, out of passion for her, you would not attempt to kill me. Look how with these few words he denounced them and taught them that a person who always has God in his mind should not do anything lawless, but fear His unceasing eye, and, under the fear of execution from Him, always take care of justice. Then, wanting to justify himself, the forefather says: do not think that I lied in this case either; “For truly I am a sister through my father, and not through my mother: so he made me a wife” (Gen. 20:12). I, he says, and she have the same father; That's why I called her sister. So don't judge me; although the fear of death put me in such a necessity, since I was afraid that because of it you would not kill me, and would not appropriate it for yourself, however, in this case I did not tell a lie. Look how the righteous man tries to prove that he did not lie here either. If, he says, you want to know everything exactly from me, then listen to the very meeting that we had among ourselves. “And it came to pass when God brought me out from my father’s house” (Gen. 20:13). Pay attention here to the great wisdom of the righteous man, with which he, in the order of narrating about himself, shows them that from the very beginning he was one of the chosen of God, that God himself called him from home and brought him to their country, so that the king would know that he was one of the people who had great boldness before God. “When,” he says, “God brought me out of my father’s house, He said to her: You will do this righteousness to every place where we come, the people there treat me as if we are brothers.” Since he said above: “Rekokh bo: there is no piety in this place,” and it seemed to him that with these words he had already struck them too much, then, wanting to soften the force of this reproach, he now says: do not think that we decided to do this only with you. No, even then, “when God brought me out from my father’s house, He said to her: You will do this righteousness to every place where we come.” I gave her, he says, such a warning regarding everyone living on this earth; and despite all this, this intention does not contain a lie, but the fear of death forced us to resort to it. Having said this, the righteous man tamed their anger, revealed his own virtue, and taught them sufficient instruction in reverence for God. After this, the king, respecting such great meekness of the righteous man, rewards the forefather with the generosity characteristic of a king. “And Abimelech,” says the Scripture, “took a thousand didrachms, and sheep, and bulls, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham: and he gave him Sarah his wife” (Gen. 20:14). Do you see, beloved, the providential wisdom of God? He who feared death and used every means to avoid it, not only avoided death, but also received great approval and became famous beyond his expectations. 5. These are the works of God! God not only delivers from sorrows those who try to generously endure the temptations sent to them, but even in the very sorrows He provides such consolation that we completely forget them and receive a great many benefits. Look further at what services the king provides to the righteous. He not only honored the righteous man with rich gifts, but also gives him permission to live on his land, “behold,” he says, “my land is before you: wherever you please, you will dwell” (Gen. 20:15). When the king was convinced that he had been given life for the sake of the righteous man and through his prayers, he began to serve the stranger, the wanderer and the hitherto completely unknown person as his benefactor and patron. “And Sarah (says Scripture) said: Behold, I have given a thousand didrachms to your brother” (Gen. 20:16). Look how he, having received admonition from the righteous man and believed his words, calls him her brother. What, he says, I gave to your brother, “they will be in honor of your face, ... and be truthful in everything” 438. What does it mean: “in honor of your face,... and in all things be truthful?” Because I, out of ignorance, attempted to bring you, the wife of a righteous man, into my house, only for the fact that I became the culprit of your dishonor, I gave a thousand didrachms, wanting to reward you for what I did to you. But “be truthful in everything.” What does it mean: “be truthful in everything?” Let them, he says, learn from you that no crime was committed on my part, that you left my house untouchable. Assure, he says, your husband that I am not guilty of sin; let him know from you that I did nothing to you. Why is he saying this? So that the righteous man, having learned from her and confirmed this, would offer prayers to the Lord for him. Indeed, immediately following his words: “be truthful in everything,” i.e. Tell your husband everything that happened, the Scripture adds: “And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and his wife and his maidservant, and began to give birth: for the Lord has shut up from out of bounds every false thing in the house of Abimelech, Sarah for the sake of Abraham’s wife” (Gen. 20:17-18). Look how the Lord, through all such cases, glorifying the righteous more and more, through the prayers of the forefather, grants salvation to the king and everyone in his house. “Pray,” says the Scripture, “Abraham to God, and God heal Abimelech, and his wife and his maidservant, and begin to give birth: for the Lord has shut up from abroad everyone who is lying in the house of Abimelech.” Although the king refrained from sin, the good Lord sent this punishment on him so that later, bowing to the prayers of the righteous man, he could grant the king deliverance and thus further glorify and magnify the righteous man. This is how the Lord always creates and arranges, and directs every event in such a way that those who faithfully serve Him shine like lights, and their virtue becomes known everywhere. Finally, look, beloved, how, after being delivered from sorrows, the righteous receives the crown of all blessings - the fulfillment of the promise, the fulfillment of what God had long foretold to him. “And the Lord,” says the Scripture, “visit Sarah as he said: and the Lord do to Sarah as the verb. And when Sarah conceived, she bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time that the Lord commanded him” (Gen. 21:1-2). What do the expressions mean: “like speech, like verbs?” This means: as the Lord promised when, in the form of a wanderer with the Angels, he was received by the forefather under the oak of Mamre and when he said: “At this time I will return to you..., and Sarah will have a son” (Gen. 18:14); and so it came true. What nature could not do, they saw accomplished, not according to the ordinary order of human affairs, but by Divine grace. “And Abraham called the name of his son 439, whose name he bore him, Sarah, Isaac” (Gen. 21:3). It is not without reason that Divine Scripture added: “Whose Sarah bore him.” It did not simply say: “Call your son’s name,” but added: “By the name Sarah will you bear him,” i.e. a wife who has never given birth before, is barren, elderly. “And the circumcision,” says Scripture, “on the eighth day, as God commanded him” (Gen. 21:4). Thus it was commanded (from God) that newborns should be circumcised on the eighth day. Further, in order for us to further understand the ineffable power of God, by which “what is impossible with man is possible with God,” Divine Scripture again shows us the very time (of this event) and, having spoken about the birth (of Isaac), notes to us: “Abraham was not a hundred years old when Isaac became his son. Sarah said, “The Lord make me laugh; if anyone hears, he will rejoice with me” (Gen. 21:5-6). What do these words mean: “Lord make me laugh”? This means: the birth of a son is a matter of joy for me. However, what would be surprising, if only for me? And everyone who hears about this will rejoice with me, not because I gave birth, but because I gave birth in such an (extraordinary) way. The wonder of the event will amaze everyone and will give everyone all the more consolation when they learn that I, in my condition, no better than the dead, suddenly became a mother, gave birth to a child from a mature womb and can still feed him with my nipples and exude milk, I, who no longer had any hope of childbearing. “And he said: Who will tell Abraham that the child Sarah feeds with milk” (Gen. 21:7)? For this reason, the sources of milk were communicated to her, in order to confirm the reality of the birth, so that someone would not consider the child to be false; the flows of milk clearly showed to everyone that an event beyond all human expectation had taken place. “Who will proclaim that Sarah feeds the child with milk,” that I gave birth to a son in my old age? That I, an elderly woman, was able to give birth and, at such an age, can still breastfeed a child? “And when he grew up,” says the Scripture, “he was milked, and Abraham created a great institution, and in the same day Isaac his son was milked” (Gen. 21:8). 6. Do you see the ineffable wisdom of God, how God, having tested the patience of the righteous in every way, then brought His promise to fulfillment, when both the forefather himself and everyone who looked at him, judging by human nature, seemed to no longer have any hope? So we too, beloved, will show the same patience, following the example of the righteous, and we will never despair, but let us be nourished by good hopes, knowing that neither the difficulty of the matter nor anything else human can hinder you too much, when the grace of God deigns to show us its own generosity. Everything obeys and submits to the command of God, and then the difficult becomes easy, and the impossible becomes possible. If only we had firm faith in Him and, looking at the greatness of His power, became above everything human. He who promised indescribable blessings in the future to people who spend their lives here in virtue, does He not even more bestow temporary blessings; especially if we, striving for the former, will be less willing to desire the latter? It is then that we will primarily enjoy these blessings in abundance when we decide to despise them. So, knowing this, let us desire constant, unchanging and endless blessings, so that we can spend our present life carefree, and achieve those blessings that may we all be worthy of, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Zlat.: εὶς γῆν, which, contrary to Heb. t. is not read in Lucian. sp. Zlat.: δίκαιον καὶ ἀγνοοῦν, according to some. sp., and a few lines later: ἀγνοοῦν καὶ δίκαιον, according to Alex., Lucian. and many other sp.; in euros i.e. the words corresponding to ἀγνοοῦν are not read. Zlat.: ἡμῖν according to Alex. sp. and ev. T.; in Lucian. μοῖ – “to me.” Zlat. τί according to sp. Dorothea and 59 (at "Holmes") and Heb. i.e. instead of μή τι - “food that” (Slav. B.) in Alex., Lucian. and other sp. Zlat.: ἡμῖν according to sp. Dorotheus and 75 (in “Holmes”) instead of μοῖ – “to me” (Slav. B.) in Alex., Lucian. sp. and ev. t. i.e. regarding the knowledge of God. Zlat.: ῞Απερ δέδωκα, φησὶ, τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου, ἔσται είς τιμὴν τοῦ προσώπου σου, καὶ πάντα ἀλήθευσον, moreover, in comparison with each other. Greek sp., omitted: σοῖ “to you” before the words: “in honor” and – καὶ πάσαις ταῖς μετά σου – “and to everyone who is with you.” Directly following this are Lucian. and other Greek sp. according to Heb. t. words: γενομένου αὐτῷ - “to the one born to him” (Slav. 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