Книга третья

About Abraham and the promise regarding Isaac, and how through them the mystery of faith was foreshadowed 1. The Divine Paul writes that Christ became “the saint and messenger of our confession” (Heb. 3:1); He also clearly stated that, having brought us an incomparably better and more excellent commandment than the ancient one given through Moses, I mean the Gospel, “he became the guarantor of a better covenant” (Heb. 7:22). And this word is true if “the law produces wrath” (Rom. 4:15) and serves as an indicator of sin, but the grace given by the goodness of our Savior justifies us. For He Himself says in one place that “he came not to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 12:47; John 3:17). So, we have already said enough about the fact that, although He did not descend in the flesh from the tribe of Levi, He was named high priest “forever according to the order” of the Melchizedek priesthood (Heb. 6:20; Heb. 7:17, etc.). And now we will say, borrowing evidence from the Holy Scriptures themselves and making a subtle and careful study on each subject, that the sacrament of justification in faith was proclaimed before circumcision in the law, and that the Israelites were prescribed a type that they could never be saved except through Christ alone, who justifies the ungodly and remits guilt. In addition to this, we will also say that those born from the promise given to blessed Abraham in Isaac are the heirs of God and will be numbered among the most legitimate children of God. 2. The Most Holy Paul in his Epistle to the Romans writes: “What, say, did Abraham our father acquire in the flesh? If Abraham was justified by works, he has praise, but not before God. For what does Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Reward to the one who does it is imputed not according to mercy, but according to duty. But to him who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. So David calls blessed the person to whom God imputes righteousness regardless of works: Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin. Does this blessedness apply to circumcision or to uncircumcision? We say that Abraham's faith was counted as righteousness. When did you get imputed? after circumcision or before circumcision? Not after circumcision, but before circumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of righteousness through the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he became the father of all who believe in uncircumcision, so that righteousness would be imputed to them, and the father of those who are circumcised, not only those who received circumcision, but also those who walk in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham, which he had while uncircumcised” (Rom. 4:1-12). And what makes the study of the sacrament even more subtle; and this is precisely what he says: “For the promise was not given to Abraham, or to his seed, by law, to be the heir of the world, but by the righteousness of faith. If those who are established in the law are heirs, then faith is vain, the promise is ineffectual; for the law produces wrath, because where there is no law, there is no crime. Therefore by faith, so that it may be by grace, so that the promise may be sure to all, not only according to the law, but also according to the faith of the descendants of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written: I made you the father of many nations before God, in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as if they are" (Rom. 4:13-17). Do you hear how everywhere and undisguisedly he asserts and says that Abraham, who did not yet have circumcision, but on the contrary, was still uncircumcised, was given grace that justified him through faith, and that those who want to follow in the footsteps of the faith of the forefather Abraham, who was uncircumcised, are appointed heirs of the blessings bestowed by God; and not those who are accustomed to think highly of the canopy of Moses and boast of the carnal father Abraham, who is called “the father of many nations” (Rom. 4:17-18). Although Israel is one nation, it can extend to an immeasurable multitude, since it became the father of believers, who, having been gathered from every, so to speak, city and country, became “joint heirs” in Christ (Eph. 3:6) and were called to spiritual brotherhood. For the Jews came from Abraham. But “not all those who are of Israel are Israelites; and not all the children of Abraham who are of his seed” (Rom. 9:6-7). On the contrary, faith brings into kinship with him those who believe in uncircumcision. For the promise was given and justifying grace was given to Abraham, who did not yet have circumcision, but on the contrary was uncircumcised, according to the testimony of the Holy Scriptures. 3. And that the gift of justification in faith does not apply to Abraham alone, although the promise was given to him too, but extends, as it were, to all who believed, the wise Paul again confirms to us, who adds to what I recently said: “It was not written in relation to him alone what was imputed to him, but also in relation to us; it will also be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus Christ our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our sins and rose again for our justification” (Rom. 4:23-25). So, the grace that justifies us as a result of faith is a gift from heaven and mercy from above, and among the children of Abraham can be counted not only those descended from him in the flesh, but also those who have acquired conformity with him and, thinking of themselves as brothers, believe in our Lord Jesus Christ. They will also be heirs of the blessings given by God, since Israel in the flesh was rejected due to unbelief. And this circumstance is very clearly depicted for us in the sacrament relating to Isaac. But let’s talk about this as much as possible, offering the very writings of Moses for consideration. And they contain the following: “After these incidents, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision... and it said: Do not be afraid, Abram; I am your shield; your reward... is very great. Abram said: Sovereign Lord! what will you give me? I remain childless; This Eliezer from Damascus is the steward of my house. And Abram said, Behold, thou hast not given me seed, and behold, the man of my household is my heir. And the word of the Lord came to him, and said, He shall not be your heir, but he who shall come out of your body shall be your heir. And he brought him out and said...: Look at the sky and count the stars, if you can count them. And he said to him: You will have so many descendants. Abram believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:1-6). For the blessed Sarah (and her name is interpreted: “ruling”), a wife distinguished by her beauty and being very comely: this is what the Holy Scripture testifies to her. She was followed by cohabitation with him, who was in a second and illegal marriage with him, that is, Hagar (her name is interpreted: “advent”). But Sarah, who had not yet conceived legitimate children, mourned her childlessness. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. In this state of affairs in history, God spoke to Abraham, saying, “I am your shield; your reward is very great. Abram said: Sovereign Lord! what will you give me? I remain childless; this Eliezer from Damascus is the steward of my house.” Note the accuracy of speech. What are you saying, Dasi, Master? Do you understand how he says that he does not need any earthly acquisitions at all, but even if he became the owner of even more, he would not consider it pleasant, he says, if he did not have a legal heir, born from a marriage with a free woman, a son in truth. Look how he strives for clear knowledge of what is useful, drawn to this by nature, and not by written laws. For although the divine Abraham had a son, I mean Ismail, he still called himself childless. So nature knew, and it is very clear, that in general, in fairness, one who was born from an adulterous and illegal marriage cannot be called a son; for it “shall not take root deep,” as it is written (Wis. 4:3). And what if someone ever had a son from a maidservant, then this matter is in any case useless and empty, and cannot be as pleasant as if he were from a free woman, he also pointed out this, saying: “The steward of my house is this Eliezer from Damascus.” That is, being born from the blood of a household member will remain my last consolation. For Damascus means “consolation.” But he will also be credited with intercession and help from God. For it means "Eliezer." This is as if he clearly said: instead of lawful blood and love of lawful things, the consolation of blood and intercession from God, as if by necessity, will be a member of my household; he will also be my heir. So “what will You give me?” If I do not have a legitimate successor, then in any case, your Abraham, Master, will certainly be under the yoke of shame. For childless means deprived of true children and born of a free woman. But God did not leave the righteous man in sorrow for long. He immediately promised him a seed in Isaac, about which he also said that it would be equivalent to the multitude of an immeasurable number of stars. He also claimed that he would be called the father of countless nations, although he was shocked by the fear of childlessness. “Abram believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.” So, he who honors the Lord of all through faith has righteousness as a reward. For through this God testified that he could do everything for him. An unbeliever and careless person will be self-praising and an offender, and therefore, of course, will be subject to judgment and accountability. So Abram believed God and was justified by Him. He asked for a sign to confirm and prove the truth of the fulfillment of what was promised. And God prudently confirms this with an oath, not allowing the believer to hesitate and doubt. For it is written like this: “And he said to him: I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess. He said: Sovereign Lord! how can I know that I will own it? The Lord said to him: Take Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove and a young dove. He took them all, cut them in half and put one part opposite the other; only he didn’t cut the birds. And birds of prey swooped down on the corpses; but Abram drove them away. When the sun set, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. And the Lord said to Abram: Know that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will enslave them, and they will oppress them for four hundred years, but I will bring judgment on the people to whom they will be enslaved; after this they will come out... with great property, and you will go to your fathers in peace and will be buried in a good old age; in the fourth generation they will return here: for the measure of the iniquities of the Amorites has not yet been filled. When the sun set and darkness fell, behold, smoke, as if from a furnace, and a flame of fire passed between the cut animals" (Gen. 15: 7-17). But the inquisitive will consider what the general meaning of what happened is; he will carefully examine the image of the oath and ask about what "cut" meant, the flight of birds and the fact that the birds flew to these cuttings; in the same way, what does it mean that Abraham sat down “near them” and that the flame passed “between the cut ones.” All this is explainable. 4. The Chaldeans had a custom of swearing, which consisted in the fact that a person walked between animals cut into two parts and by this very action seemed to proclaim the following: let not the same thing happen to me as to these. Therefore, since Abraham was of Chaldean descent and had recently just left his fatherland, the Lord of all things prudently commanded him, when taking an oath, to act in his usual way, perfectly uniting the sacrament of Christ with what was sacrificed. When, in the order of action, the dissected parts were finally laid out on the ground, and when God, as it were, already intended to pass between them, then “birds,” it is said, many flocked to them. That is, sitting nearby, he watched over them so that no harm would come to them and that what was brought for the oath would not serve as food for unclean birds. “When the sun set....,” it is said, “great horror and darkness fell upon him.” What could be the reason for this, I will also say as much as I can. The Chaldeans had a custom, passed on from one to another without any change, of carefully observing the flight of birds. And the God of all things prudently allowed people to be instructed regarding the future on the basis of those customs of action that existed among them. So, when the birds flocked to the cut parts of the animals, the divine Abraham was struck with fear, perhaps perplexed as to what this sign was leading to and on whom this sign was to be fulfilled. For it seemed to him a bad omen and caused him anxiety that the most unclean of birds should fly to the sacrifices, since unclean birds are almost always carnivorous. When he began to fear for his own head, lest misfortune befall him, God frees him from worrying about this. What you fear will not come to you, He says; but “know that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs” (Gen. 15:13; Acts 7:6). And there will be a lot of people who want to do evil to them, whose image was the birds that flew to the offered victims. However, having brought a little grief, they will be punished. “You will go to your fathers in peace and will be buried in a good old age.” Then it is said that when the sun was already in the very west, “smoke as if from a furnace and the flames of fire passed between the dissected animals.” Under the guise of fire we again mean the Deity, according to the custom of the Chaldeans, making an oath. Therefore, the divine Paul takes this in the meaning of an oath, saying: “God, making a promise to Abraham, as he could not swear by anyone higher, swore by himself, saying: truly blessing I will bless you and multiplying you. And so Abraham, being patient, received what was promised. People swear by the highest, and an oath as confirmation ends every dispute between them. Therefore, God, wanting more to show the heirs of the promise the immutability of His will, used an oath as a medium, so that in two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have firm consolation, who have resorted to take hold of the hope set before us” (Heb. 6:13-18). 5. So, very prudently, God confirmed the promise with an oath, although He already cannot lie, so that, as the divine Paul writes (Heb. 6:18), we would have strong consolation and no longer doubt that this promise will certainly be fulfilled. Therefore (I will return to what was said a little earlier), when Hagar had Ishmael in her womb, Sarah could hardly bear it, not tolerating the fact that the woman of the household boasted before her of her fertility and thus reproached her (Gen. 16:4). Then she expelled her from the house and ordered her to go wherever she wanted, of course, acting so with the permission of her legal partner, that is, Abraham (Gen. 16:5,6). But, as the Holy Scripture says, “And the Angel of the Lord found her at a source of water in the desert, at a spring on the road to Sur. And he said to her...: Hagar, Sarina's servant! where did you come from and where are you going? She said: I am fleeing from the presence of Sarah my mistress. The angel of the Lord said to her: return to your mistress and submit to her” (Gen. 16:7-9). And Hagar returned and began to bear the yoke of slavery. God also gave Abraham the law of circumcision, saying: “You shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which you must keep between Me and you and your descendants after you...: that all your males be circumcised; circumcise your foreskin: and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. Every male child born in the house and bought for money from a foreigner who is not of your seed, shall be circumcised within your generations within eight days from birth. He who is born in your house and bought with your money shall certainly be circumcised, and My covenant shall be an everlasting covenant upon your body. But the uncircumcised male who does not circumcise his foreskin... that soul will be cut off from among his people, for he has broken My covenant” (Gen. 17:9-14). So, since it was necessary to obey the Divine laws, the divine Abraham was circumcised along with his entire household. He and the others circumcised Ismail. But finally a son was born from the free woman, that is, Isaac. And then what? The illegitimate son Ismail, who enjoyed almost equal honor with Isaac, became obnoxious while playing in the house. For, it is said, “Sarah saw that the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she bore to Abraham, mocked” (Gen. 21:9). Then the weeping woman comes up, as is likely, and says (to Abraham): “Cast out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman will not inherit with my son Isaac. And this seemed very unpleasant to Abraham for the sake of his son.... But God said to Abraham: do not be upset for the sake of the boy and your servant; whatever Sarah says to you, obey her voice, for in Isaac your seed will be called; and from the son of the slave woman I will make... a nation, because he is your seed. Abraham got up early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, placing it on her shoulders, and to the lad, and sent her away. She went and got lost in the wilderness of Beersheba; and there was no water in the skin, and she left the boy under one bush and went and sat down at a distance, one shot from a bow. For she said: I don’t want to see the boy die. And she sat down... opposite..., and raised a cry, and wept; and God heard the voice of the boy...; and the Angel of God from heaven called to Hagar and said to her: What is the matter with you, Hagar? don't be afraid; God heard the voice of the boy from where he is; Arise, lift up the lad and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well with water..., and she went and filled a bottle with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy; and he grew up” (Gen. 21:10–20). Divine Abraham, yielding to the laws of love for children, took care of Ismail. When Divine revelation called him to be tied to Isaac alone, since the promise had come true on him, he released Hagar and ordered her to leave the master’s house along with the child, through which the law predicted the image of the sacrament of Christ. 6. We will talk about this, if necessary, raising the word to what was said at the beginning. Everyone can see very clearly that what was accomplished through Christ is older than what was in the law, and that justification through faith was revealed earlier than circumcision according to the flesh. For circumcision was given to Abraham as a sign of faith, “which he had while uncircumcised,” according to the words of the wise Paul (Rom. 4:11). So, it was hard for blessed Abraham to bear the fact that he was not the father of a free son. And even having a son from an Egyptian woman, I mean Hagar, he spent his time very sadly, putting illegitimate and unfree seed along with childlessness. Having received the promise of a legitimate son, that is, of Isaac, and heard clearly that in him he would be the father of countless nations, he was justified by faith. And that he would receive possession of the land shown to him from God, for “to you...,” He said, “I will give this land” (Gen. 17:8), about this he also, for complete confidence, asked God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will possess it? by her? (Gen. 15, 8.) In response to this, God commanded to take the “three-year-old heifer” cut into pieces, and with it the “goat”, also “a ram, a turtle dove and a young dove.” And Abraham “cut the four-legged animals in half and put one part opposite the other,” that is, in a row; “I just didn’t cut the birds.” He even drove away from them those birds who wanted to harm them. When the sun was already leaning towards the very west, then God, in the form of fire, passed “between the cut-up animals” (Gen. 15:17). What spiritual meaning should be applied to this, we will say about this now, if possible. 7. As if the first son of the God of all was Israel according to the flesh. For “My son,” He says, “is the firstborn of Israel” (Ex. 4:22), but only as if redeemed from a slave and from Egypt. However, God did not deign to count him among the children (for nature loves the free and the lawful); He sought a people pleasing to Him, that is, “born” through faith in Christ according to the promise, in which people the fathers of many nations appeared like the divine Abraham. For they inherited His glory, not in Israel according to the flesh, but in those of the Gentiles who are saved through faith. And Paul will testify to this, writing: “The promise was not given to Abraham, or to his seed, to be the heir of the world, but by the righteousness of faith” (Rom. 4:13). Paul, who was taught in the law, will make it clear to us. This is exactly what he writes in the Epistle to the Galatians, reproaching them for the fact that, having received perfection in Christ, they seemed to be returning: “Tell me, you who want to be under the law: do you not obey the law? For it is written: Abraham had two sons, one by a bondwoman, and the other by a freewoman. But he who is of a slave is born according to the flesh; and the one who is free, the one according to the promise. There is an allegory in this. These are two covenants: one from Mount Sinai, begetting into slavery, which is Hagar, for Hagar means Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, because he and his children are in slavery; and Jerusalem above is free: she is the mother of us all. For it is written: Rejoice, O barren, unbearable; shout and shout, you who did not suffer from childbirth; because the one who is abandoned has many more children than the one who has a husband. We, brothers, are the children of the promise according to Isaac. But just as then he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now. What does Scripture say? Cast out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave will not be an heir along with the son of the free woman. So, brothers, we are not the children of slaves, but of a free woman. Stand therefore in the freedom which Christ has given us, and do not be subjected again to the yoke of slavery” (Gal. 4:21–31; Gal. 5:1). So you understand how clearly he calls Hagar and Sarah images of the two covenants. And he likens the servant to the mother of the Jews, that is, to earthly Jerusalem, since it is subject to the laws of slavery and is not distinguished by a free spirit. About the first and free one, I mean Sarah, whose name is therefore interpreted as “the ruler,” he says that she bears the image of the high and heavenly Jerusalem, and clearly states that she became the mother of those justified by faith and called by the promise of God to be the children of Abraham. For “we,” he says, “are children of promise according to Isaac,” since we have been freed in Christ, through whom and in whom, receiving the Divine and highest Spirit, we become in the position of children of God, “we cry: Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6), and we are made heirs of the blessings promised to the saints, in confirmation of which God almost swears by Himself. The Son, or His sacrament, is taken as the object of the Father’s oath. For it is customary to swear to the Father by His own power—by the Son. And this means to swear by Himself, because the Son is not different from Him, I say in relation to the essence and identity of the Divine. Therefore, the divine Moses, when he shows us God swearing, represents Him very clearly saying the following: “I lift up My hand to heaven and... say: I live forever!” (Deut. 32, 40). For the Son serves as the right hand of God and the Father, through whom He rules everything, and, as it were, holds everything in His hands and acts divinely, calling the non-existent into being and endowing with blessings that which has already been brought into being. So, in the use of an oath, confirming the heirs in the fidelity of the promise, the sacrament of our Savior is, as it were, contained. And Christ was represented as if in a “heifer,” and also in a goat and a ram, as well as in two birds, that is, in a turtle dove and a dove. And what is the meaning of this, I will explain this, if possible. 8. Sometimes Christ, due to his great strength and irresistible power, obviously divine, is likened to a “ram”; sometimes, due to humanity and being under the law, it is called a “heifer”. For the female sex always stands behind and below the male sex, as the superior and predominant one, because the Son is above every creature and in incomparable advantages surpasses the nature and glory of the created, having the highest root, that is, the Father of all and God; when he was born like us, he became subject to the law. That is why He said: “I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). We must attribute this to a state of exhaustion if we want the right to think. For this reason, Christ is a “heifer,” and Moses personifies the law, or the law itself defined through him. He is also likened to a “goat”. For what reason? For the reason that he offered himself for our sins according to the Scriptures (Heb. 9:12; Heb. 10:12; 1 Pet. 1:19, etc.). According to the law, a goat is a sacrifice for sin (Lev. 16:9). He is also equated with a ram for the reason that he is the leader of the verbal flocks. “You have one Teacher - Christ” (Matthew 23:8, 10), and “we, Your people and the sheep of Your pasture” are His assistants, as it is written (Ps. 79:13). But after Christ became like the brothers, that is, us, in everything, allowing Himself to become exhausted, He is depicted as a “ram” and is thought of as a leader. For the rams are always at the front of the flock. He is also a “heifer”, because he is under the law, and also a “goat”, as a sacrifice for sin; and besides, "ram" as a leader. Desiring to follow in His footsteps and zealously striving for this, we will be “in a good fold and ... in fat pasture,” according to the word of the prophet (Ezek. 34:14), and we will rest in sacred courts. For He who will dwell us in the highest abodes is He who Himself is a ram, and an archpastor, and under the law, as one of us, and above the law, as God, - Who Himself is all justification, although “he was counted among the evildoers” (Is. 53:12), and suffered slaughter for us. He was typified again in both the turtle dove and the dove. For He is the only mental and loudest “dove,” a truly good-hearted bird that flew from heaven and above, as if he had delighted the whole of heaven with the Gospel preaching. The bride herself, that is, the Church of the pagans, cries out to Him: “Show me your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet and your face is pleasant” (Song 2:14). He Himself is also a simple, gentle and without deceit dove: for “there was no deceit in His mouth,” as it is written (Is. 53:9). He is also a three-year-old heifer, just as he is also represented in other animals. For the Lord is all-perfect. The perfect age of animals perfectly indicates, as it were, perfection in the Divinity of the Only Begotten. Further, animals are divided into parts because they are dissected. A pair of birds remains uncut. What is the reason for this? Since the Only Begotten, the Word of God, “became flesh” (John 1:14), He, as it were, underwent dissection, and speech about him comes from a double contemplation. For we sometimes imagine His Divine and ineffable birth from the Father, and sometimes we talk about the mystery of the incarnation, almost revealing the depth of the economy and almost exploring this depth, so that it can be known by those who do not know it. But although the speech about Him has become, as it were, twofold, yet He Himself is one and the same in any case, not divided into two, after being united with the flesh. He is not divided into two sons: Christ is one and indivisible. A clear image of this is that the birds were not divided: for “the birds...,” it is said, “they were not divided” (Gen. 15:10). And as being from the earth according to humanity, He was signified in a calf, as well as in a goat and a ram, but on the other hand, it is also imagined as being from heaven and from above (since He is God) in the form of birds. And that although He suffered for our free slaughter, however, “His flesh did not see, as it is written, corruption” (Acts 2:31; cf. Ps. 15:10), and that, according to the word of the Psalmist, “The enemy will not prevail against him, and the son of iniquity will not oppress him” (Ps. 88:23), this can show, and very clearly, as if in a type again the divine Abraham, driving away birds of prey from dissected parts of animals. When it was foretold to Abraham that there would be oppression and miraculous deliverance in Egypt for his descendants, that is, Israel, it was said, “the sun went down and darkness came, behold, smoke as if from a furnace and the flames of fire passed between the cut.” For before the fulfillment of the promise, the law given through Moses shone forth, containing for his listeners long narratives about the slavery of the Israelites and about redemption. In the last times of the century, and as if towards evening, “The Word became flesh.” For this, I think, and nothing else means that the Divine and ineffable nature, as if in the form of fire, passed between the animals cut into pieces. But “there was,” it is said, “smoke” of fire, “and a furnace” of fire, “and a flame of fire”: because the honest sacrament of incarnation truly became for people who do not want to believe and are inclined to unbridledness, a furnace and a flame, and the most unbearable of all and the highest punishment. So about the Israelites, who, foolishly insulting the sacrament of Christ, were exposed as weak-minded and arrogant, David says to the Father of all and to God: “set them like a fiery furnace during Your presence: Lord, I have been troubled by Your anger, and the fire will destroy them” (Ps. 20:10). By the time of the “face of the Father” we rightly mean the time of incarnation, if both the Face and the image of God and the Father are the Son. So a cruel flame and furnace awaits those who want to reject the mystery of the incarnation of the Only Begotten: for those who know “His appearing,” as it is written (2 Tim. 4:8), He will be a lamp shining in the darkness, dispelling the density of the darkness of the devil and not allowing the assembly of His worshipers to stumble over the temptations encountered. This is what God and the Father called the Son to us through the mouth of Isaiah, saying: “I will not be silent for the sake of Zion, and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest, until her righteousness arises like light and her salvation like a burning lamp” (Is. 62:1). For the Son has become salvation and righteousness for us from God the Father, if it is true that in Him we are justified and, having overcome the death that of old ruled over us, we return to incorruption and are transformed into the state in which our nature was in the beginning. 9. And that it was necessary that, when Immanuel had already appeared and when His sacrament was revealed in the world, the prototypes of the Mosaic ministry should submit to the gospel instructions and, as it were, yield to the best and most perfect commandments, this was also again written in hay as if in a rough image. I will tell you what this image consists of. When Sarah did not give birth, and Hagar conceived in the womb of Ishmael, the latter was proud before the free one and exalted herself before her. But Sarah could not bear her arrogance and embittered the Egyptian woman (Gen. 16:6). She ran away from home and wandered through the desert. An angel from heaven asked her where she was going and where she had come from. To this she said: “I am fleeing from the presence of Sarah my mistress” (Gen. 16:8). But what does the Divine Angel have to do with this? “Return,” he says, “to your mistress and submit to her” (Gen. 16:9). This foreshadowed the birth of Israel under the law. Being, as it were, a servant (for there was no free spirit in it), it almost gave birth to the people of Egypt before the new and evangelical instruction. That is why it thought a lot about itself and persecuted Christians, and was denounced in many ways for raising its head high against the gospel decrees. For the Jewish synagogue forbade the holy Apostles, clearly saying: “Have we not firmly forbidden you to teach about this name? and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching” (Acts 5:28). You see how the Egyptian woman rises up against Sarah and what insolence the maid shows in front of the free woman. But she was defeated in time and somehow escaped, preferring unbridledness. She received a command through the mouth of an Angel not to renounce freedom, that is, from the instruction calling for the dignity of freedom, but on the contrary, even to submit under her hands. For service according to the law, proceeding through images and pre-images, is in some way enslaved to the gospel instructions, showing in itself the obscure beauty of the truth. So, through the Angels, the law of Moses was determined in ancient times, and through the voice of the Angel it receives the command, as it were, to bow the neck before the commandments of Christ, to submit freely and to yield involuntarily. This, I think, means in a spiritual sense the submission of Hagar under the hands of Sarah. But it is necessary to remember that the divine Paul also placed them both in prototypes of two covenants - one, as giving birth to slavery, applied to the present Jerusalem; and the other, as giving birth to the dignity of freedom, I mean Sarah (Gal. 4:23-26). And that when Christ had already appeared, then the time of circumcision in the spirit dawned, this was clearly taught by blessed Abraham. For God legitimized the performance of circumcision, foretelling, I think, mental things through carnal examples. “Circumcised,” He said, “you have all your male sex” (Gen. 17:10). And for neglecting this, he puts destruction and destruction as punishment; because he says that “the uncircumcised male who does not circumcise his foreskin... that soul will be cut off from his people, for he has broken My covenant” (Gen. 17:14). You see that circumcision in the flesh was a certain type. circumcision in spirit and truth. For it takes place on the eighth day, on which Christ rose from the dead. And the time had already come to become partakers of the Holy Spirit and to receive circumcision in Him, not to cause pain in the flesh, but to cleanse the spirit, not to get rid of bodily defilements, but to resolve our spiritual ailments. For only when Christ was resurrected, having destroyed the power of death, did He give the holy disciples, as it were, some kind of firstfruits of the Spirit; “he breathed, it is said, on them, saying: receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). The wise John also agrees with this, saying: “for the Holy Spirit was not yet on them, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39). And He was glorified after rising from the dead, on the eighth day. Therefore the Spirit was transferred to us, and in Him we were circumcised. not made with hands and mental. For this method of circumcision is pleasing to God. So the divine Paul says in one place: “For he is not a Jew outwardly, nor is the circumcision that is outwardly in the flesh; 28–29 ). 10. And that with the abolition of service according to the law, with the strengthening of the new service in Christ, and with the emergence of believing peoples who are counted among the children of the free, not having a servile spirit (since they cry out: “Abba, Father”), the time has come for the Jewish concord and the synagogue to be eliminated, and for the people who came from it to be, as it were, deprived of the inheritance in the promise, this is also indicated by the Holy Scripture Scripture. It also also indicates that the Jewish synagogue will convert in time and will be accepted, and will receive mercy from above and from the Father, since it will know the Savior of all and the Redeemer. For both boys, that is, Isaac and Ismail, played with each other, practicing jumping. Persecution (Gal. 4:29), as I think, was one of the types of game, and Ishmael was the persecutor, and Isaac fled from him. But the free soul, I mean Sarah, was indignant at this. And she said to the divine Abraham: “Cast out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman will not inherit with my son Isaac” (Gen. 21:10). Abraham heard these words with concern; but he also heard a command from God - to obey the words of Sarah. Having provided Hagar with bread and water for the road, he ordered her to leave the manor’s house with her son. And she went, lamenting and crying, but she got lost in the desert. When her son was in danger and cried, it is said, “God opened the eyes of Hagar, and she saw a well of water..., and she went and filled a bottle with water and gave him something to drink (Gen. 21:19). Look how useful even the play of children is for the knowledge of the sacrament. Isaac was persecuted by Ismail. But that he who came from a maidservant, that is, Ismail, will in time persecute those who came from a free woman, or a believing and Christian people, this was explained by blessed Paul, speaking about Ismail and Isaac: “But just as then he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now” (Gal. 4:29). since Ismail fought against those who came from the free, the Jewish synagogue was finally sent out, having meager and small parting words - bread and water (that is, the word of knowledge and piety corresponding in some way to the measure of its understanding), with the help of which it would naturally not have completely reached death. For God said in a certain place, as if leaving some remnant and a small seed of legal piety in Israel: “I will be for them a certain sanctuary in the lands where they have gone” (Ezek. 11:16). Little sanctification, He says, will be among the Israelites after the dispersion among the nations, due to the fact that the Jews are not very strong and active even in fulfilling the law of Moses and barely observe the smallest things, such as circumcision and not working on the Sabbath. So, as soon as water and bread are given a farewell to the one giving birth to slavery, that is, the Jewish synagogue. And it was hard for Abraham to bear the removal of Hagar; however, he let her go, following the command of God. For the apostate Israel undoubtedly grieved the holy Apostles and Evangelists. However, they were separated from him, and not by their own will, but by the will of God and out of love for Christ. So the divine Paul writes, “I have great sorrow and unceasing torment in my heart: I myself would like to be excommunicated from Christ for my brothers who are related to me according to the flesh, that is, the Israelites” (Rom. 9:2-4). Having been expelled, the mother of the Jews wandered for a long time and was in danger of completely perishing. But if in time they turn to God with a great cry, then in any case they will certainly receive mercy. For He will open their mental eyes, and they themselves will see the source of living water, that is, Christ; and if they drink of it, they will live in Him; Having also washed, they will be clean, according to the word of the prophet (Is. 1:16). And that Christ is the source of life, this is also clear to the Psalmist, who says to Heavenly Father and God: “How precious is Your mercy, O God! The sons of men are at peace in the shadow of Your wings: they are satisfied from the fatness of Your house, and from the stream of Your sweets You give them to drink, for with You is the source of life” (Ps. 35:8-10). This source is none other than Christ, through whom and with whom be glory and power to God and the Father, with His Holy and consubstantial and life-giving Spirit throughout all and endless ages of ages. Amen. 1. “And it came to pass after these things that God tempted Abraham and said to him: Abraham! He said: here I am. God said: Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac; and go to the land of Moriah and there offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains about which I will tell you” (Gen. 22: 1-2). This is God's command. Then the righteous man, without delay, saddled his donkey, as it is written (Gen. 22:3), and ordered that only two servants follow him, and also taking his beloved son, went to the sacrifice. When he reached this sacred place almost on the third day, he said to his servants: “You stay here with the donkey, and my son and I will go there and worship, and return to you” (Gen. 22:5). Then, having laid on his son the wood needed for the burnt offering, and convinced him to go this way, he followed him. When the child asked his father, saying: “Here is the fire and the wood, where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” then he replied: “God will provide for Himself a lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (Gen. 22:7-8). Having erected the Divine altar, he piled firewood on it, and when he placed the bound youth on it and took a knife in his hands, the voice of an Angel prevented him, saying that he should not slaughter the child, since God had already recognized the good intention inherent in him. Then the righteous man, seeing the ram held by the horns in the bushes of the garden of Savek, made a sacrifice, offering him instead of his son. And thus he went down from the mountain to his servants, leading his son to them healthy (Gen. 22:9-19). Now, cutting off the breadth of history and, as it were, condensing into one small speech the word about what is useful in it to prove the pre-representation of the sacrament of our Savior in this, we will not be burdened to speak out about this as much as possible. And if not everything contained in history corresponds to the spiritual meaning, then let no one blame us. For in superfluous parts of history a spiritual meaning is often hidden, just as in the meadows the most fragrant of flowers are covered with apparently insignificant leaves, which, if someone trims them, he will find naked what is pleasant and useful. So let our word enter into the allegorical meaning of this story. 2. That blessed Abraham was tempted and received a command to sacrifice his beloved son, and that although he, probably, as a parent, could hardly bear the thought of this and, as if by a strong demand of nature, was disposed to love his son, he nevertheless preferred the good consequences of such an act, this is indicated to us, and very clearly, by the saying of the Savior: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in He did not perish, but had eternal life” (John 3:16; cf. 1 John 4:9). For if we judge humanly and say something to clearly prove this thought, then God the Father, who sent the Son to die for us in some way, experienced pain, although he knew that He would not tolerate anything harmful, since He Himself was impassive, like God. However, thinking about the benefits that would come from His death, I mean the salvation and life of all, He did not care about the love inherent in Him as a Father. Therefore Paul marveled at Him, saying: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). For in what justice does the miracle of God and the Father’s love for us consist, if not in the fact that He apparently suffered what He did not want, giving up His Son for us? Paul encourages us to think this way when he says: “He did not spare,” which does not mean any accident, but only those who perform some great deed, as, for example, in the case about which it is said: “Expand the covers of your dwellings... and strengthen your stakes; for you will spread to the right and to the left” (Is. 54:2-3). And again: “Save those taken to death, and will you really refuse those doomed to be killed?” (Prov. 24:11; cf.: Ps. 81:4). This is what came to our mind when we said the words: “Take your son, your only son, whom you love” (Gen. 22:2). And the two servants who accompanied the elder and walked with him for three days can be images of those called to slavery through the law of two nations, I mean Israel and Judah. And they thought that they should follow only the commands of God and the Father, as they did to Abraham, without yet thinking about the Son, “all things came into being through Him” (John 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1, 2), and not knowing about the Heir of the Father, whose most beautiful image is presented to us by the little Isaac lying on the bosom of his father, who did not yet have the power befitting a lord. For the Son was and is always Lord and God, all-perfect. But since He was not visible to everyone, especially to the wicked Jews, who looked only at the flesh, He was considered to be a small and ordinary person. The thoughts of everyone about Him corresponded to the knowledge about Him. And the small is sought in the small, and the great in the great. So the prophets say that He is “Terrible God... to all those around Him” (Ps. 88:8), that is, over all who are near Him because of His great insight. Paul is also sick about some, “until Christ is depicted in you” in them (Gal. 4:19), that is, until the great and extraordinary images of His Divinity are at least somewhat imprinted on their souls. And the fact that the servants followed Abraham, moreover, until the third day, and that they were not allowed to ascend to the high and sacred land, but on the contrary were commanded to sit with a donkey, indicates the following of those two peoples to God through the law, which continued until the third time, that is, until the last, in which Christ appeared to us. For the whole age is measured by three times: past, present and future. Thus in the third lies the end. And Divine Scripture says that Christ came in the last times of the age. So, Israel, who followed God through the law, moreover, until the time of the coming of our Savior, did not want to follow Christ by faith, who walked to death, acceptable for all, but on the contrary, was not allowed to it because of many sins. For Israel was partially blinded, which is signified by the donkey who was then with the servants: the donkey is an image of extreme foolishness; and blindness is the fruit of unreason. Further, the fact that the father and son separated and withdrew from the servants, and said that he would return, because I, he says, “and the son will go there and worship, and return to you” (Gen. 22:5), means the temporary removal of God from the children of Israel and the return to them that is to take place at the end of the ages, accomplished through faith in Christ. For when “the full number of the Gentiles come in; and so all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:25–26). And the fact that blessed Abraham did not clearly say that he was ascending the mountain with the goal of sacrificing his son, but used the following as an excuse: “let’s go there,” can serve as a clear sign that the people of Judah were not entrusted with the sacrament of Christ. And for us the word about this will seem true when we see Jesus talking with the Jews, as if in parables, and mysteriously, and saying to his disciples: “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God, but to others in parables” (Luke 8:10; cf.: Matt. 13:11; Mark 4:11). The father, with his own hands, places the burden of firewood needed for the burnt offering on the boy, that is, Isaac, and goes to the place of sacrifice. For Christ, carrying his cross on his shoulders, “suffered without the gates” (Heb. 13:12), not forced to suffer by human force, but according to his own will and on the advice of God the Father, according to what was said from Him to Pontius Pilate: “you would not have had any power over Me, if it had not been given to you from above” (John 19:11). But being laid on firewood, Isaac avoids death and suffering. For the sacrifice, a ram given by God ascends to the altar. And the Word that shone from the being of God and the Father was in truth in its own church, that is, received from the Virgin and nailed to the tree. Being impassive and immortal like God, He saves Himself from death and suffering. But he ascends into the aroma of fragrance to God and the Father through His body, which He Himself, He says, received from the Father, according to what was said, as if on His own behalf, in the psalms: “You did not desire sacrifices and offerings; You have opened my ears; You did not require burnt offerings or sin sacrifices. Then I said: here I come; in the scroll of the book it is written about me: I desire to do Your will” (Ps. 39:7-9, sn. Heb. 5-7). And that what is contained in the history we have proposed can very well be attributed to Christ, He Himself will testify to this, saying: “in the chapter books it is written about Me.” The entire wise writing of Moses is a book divided into five parts. The chapter, as it were, the beginning of the whole book, is a book called the book of Genesis, in which this is written about Christ. And that again the chapter in the Divine Scriptures marks the beginning, anyone who understands the following words spoken by Paul can be well convinced of this: “The head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is the husband, and the head of Christ is God” (1 Cor. 11:3; cf. Eph. 5:23). The beginning of the husband is Christ, as the One who brought him from non-existence into being. And the beginning of the wife is the husband, because of what is said and truly done: “she will be called woman, for she was taken from man” (Gen. 2:23). Christ calls God Himself the beginning, since the Son comes from Him by nature, and the Beginningless One has the Parent as the beginning, and at the same time coexists with Him eternally. 3. So, excellently, in my opinion, the sacrament of Christ can be applied to the words of history. But, I think, the divine Abraham deserves our complete surprise and highest praise. And besides, we must clearly see in this the depth of Divine wisdom. Divine Abraham was tempted, although God knew what was going to happen: for nothing can hide from the mind of the Omniscient. Therefore, God says: “Who is this who darkens Providence with words without meaning?” (Job 38:2) And also through the mouth of Isaiah: “I am God, and there is no other God, and there is none like Me. I have declared from the beginning what will happen in the end, and from ancient times what has not yet happened” (Is. 46:9-10). So, rightly speaking, we will consider it completely insane and incongruous to think that the God of all did not know the future and therefore tested Abraham. But it was necessary that the head of the righteous should not only shine with the knowledge of God, but also abound with the greatest glory and be attested through testing by its knowledge of everything and experience in all the best. It was necessary that the Holy Scriptures should proclaim how great his obedience and how high the meaning of the Divine commands, above which there is nothing. He reached such a degree of zeal and readiness that he did not care about the very love for his son and was not afraid of the guilt of infanticide. But what is even more surprising, he expected in him the father of many nations. He also knew that God could not lie about this. Then he prepared to sacrifice the child, not being ignorant of what was promised, but committing into the power of the Lord the fulfillment of what was promised with an oath, as He Himself knows. And this task was not fruitless for him, although he went to fulfill it through bitter experience. For from what happened, he was taught the surpassing all reason and remarkable miracle of the resurrection from the dead, and besides, the honest and great mystery of the Incarnation of the Only Begotten. So the divine Paul says: “By faith Abraham, when he was tempted, offered up Isaac, and, having a promise, offered up his only begotten, of whom it was said: In Isaac shall your seed be called. For he thought that God was able to raise people from the dead, which is why he received it as a sign” (Heb. 11:17-19). Since God and the Father had the intention of time to reveal him as the root and beginning of the existence of countless nations, since Emmanuel died for the world: therefore, the righteous man, through temptation itself, was taught the extraordinary and inexpressible love of God and the Father for us, “He who did not spare His Son, as we have already said, but gave Him up for us all” (Rom. 8:32), justified by faith and numbered among the children of the forefather Abraham. For if we judge humanly, I would say that blessed Abraham was burdened and unbearable by God’s command to sacrifice Isaac; because what do you think Abraham was like at that time when he received the command to do this? He was a husband who had reached a very old age, who had received an only and, moreover, late-born son, who was deprived of the hope of even being the father of other children, and who also had a partner who had grown old (for Sarah herself was old). And such a husband receives the command to immediately slay such a longed-for son, his only begotten and much-desired son. But with what hand did the elder intend to point the sword at the neck of the youth and dare to commit such a regrettable slaughter in relation to his own son? Wouldn’t it be consistent to think that a series of bitter and unpleasant thoughts wearily embraced the soul of the righteous? And sometimes nature attracted us to love, and sometimes Divine revelation suppressed this love and, as if by necessity, called for involuntary obedience. So, the righteous man is truly worthy of great wonder, and his love for God is worthy of all praise. For he made a verbal sacrifice both by rejecting the laws of nature, and by trampling on the impulse of inevitable love, and finally by the fact that he did not put anything earthly above the love of God. Therefore he was glorified and called a friend of God. And what he expected came true for him beyond his expectations: he became the father of many and even countless nations in Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to God and the Father with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen. 1. To those justified in Christ and those who have achieved unity with Him through the communion of the Holy Spirit in the favor of the Father, the wise Paul writes in his Epistle: “he has betrothed you to one husband, to present you to Christ as a pure virgin” (2 Cor. 11:2). The blessed disciples became, as it were, witnesses and stewards of the marriage, bringing those who stood far away closer and almost clinging them to Christ, and binding them together with the unity of the Spirit. And Christ will present the Church to Himself, while God and the Father lifts it up and almost brings it to His Son and betroths it to Him. However, no one will doubt that the saints are the mediators in this. So, for example, the divine David, foretelling this sacrament to us, addresses her in one place with the words: “Hear, daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and the house of your father,” because “the King desired your beauty; for He is your Lord, and you shall worship Him” (Ps. 44:11-12). Paul also confessed, as I said recently, that he presented those who believed to Christ as a kind of bride. But everyone can see such a venerable and truly remarkable sacrament, no less than in us, in the following. It is written, “Abraham was already old and well advanced in years. The Lord blessed Abraham with everything. And Abraham said to his servant, the eldest in his house, who ruled over all that he had: put your hand under my thigh and swear to me by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take for my son... a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but you will go to my land, to my homeland... and you will take... a wife for my son Isaac” (Gen. 24: 1-4). So, when Abraham commanded this, the servant immediately swore, placing his hand on the master’s thigh, which means that the oath extended almost to the entire generation that came from him. And having placed a lot of the goods that belonged to Abraham on ten camels, he quickly departs for Mesopotamia and comes to the city of Nahor, and stops the camels for the night outside the city at a water well, in the evening, when the women come out here for water. Arriving here in this way, he began to pray to God to open the way for him and show him a beautiful and hospitable girl and not inert in love. For he said: “And the girl to whom I say: tilt your pitcher, I will drink, and who says...: Drink, I will give your camels something to drink... - this is the one whom You appointed for Your servant Isaac” (Gen. 24:14). In a short time, a beautiful-looking and most decent girl came, namely Rebekah. When he asked her for a drink, she readily gave it to him. She also promised to give water to his camels themselves, and she fulfilled her promise. From this the servant concluded that she, and not another, was the bride for Isaac. Therefore, taking the wrists and earrings, he presented them to the girl. She ordered him to go to her house and immediately follow her. When this was done, he found hospitality there and spoke in detail about his master's wealth. He also added that having one and, moreover, beloved son Isaac, he handed over everything to him, and the young man owns everything. When the marriage organizer wanted to return home with the young woman, Rebekah was asked if she wanted to go with the one who was calling her, and if she would willingly leave with him. And she nodded her head affirmatively. Isaac, who arrived in this way at Abraham's house, willingly accepted and was greatly consoled, since his mother had already died. The historical story is long and great. But by trimming it as much as possible, we have said enough. Now let us begin a skillful study of the power of speculation and again show the prototype of the sacrament, although as if in unclear shadows, but containing the truth. 2. Abraham did not deign to take a wife from among the daughters of the Canaanites for his beloved son Isaac, but commanded his closest servant to go to the country of idolaters and there take care of taking the most suitable wife for him. For God and the Father did not want to bring the Jewish synagogue into union with Christ, Who is signified in Isaac. Isaac is late-born and beloved. And Christ appeared in the last times and is the beloved, is “delight and gladness,” because this is how the name of Isaac is interpreted. And that the Canaanites can represent an image of the Israelites, this can be clear, and very easily, from the interpretation of their very name. Canaanite means “ready for humility.” Who is more appropriate to go, or, better, to move on to humility, if not the Jews? They humbled themselves, being deprived of the glory of Christ and falling into extreme foolishness. That is why the bride for Isaac was taken not from the land of Canaan, but from Mesopotamia. For, as I said, the Church was spiritually betrothed to the Savior Christ, not from Jews, but from pagans. According to the will of the Father, the most faithful servants and neighbors mediated in this, we mean the disciples, who became both dispensers and builders of the mysteries of Christ God (1 Cor. 4:1), having in their hands almost everything that is in His house. They, leaving Judea, just like the servant of Abraham in the Canaanite land, descended into the country of idolaters, in some way placing on their shoulders the benefits received from God and the Father, having a mind full of the highest wisdom and filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Note that even the name of Abraham’s servant is not mentioned, so that in everything he would be an image of the service of a faithful and proven disciple. Further, he stopped to rest at a water well in the evening, called on God to help him in prayer and wanted to test the maiden on the water. And the Divine disciples went, as I said recently, to the countries of the pagans towards evening, that is, in the last times of the age, and tested the spiritual virgin on the waters. For the Church is very capable and prepared to draw the life-giving word “from the source of salvation,” according to what is written (Is. 12:3). She also has in abundance that which relates to the ability of the mind and heart, so that she can be able to deliver to others what can serve life. For Rebekah gave water to both the servant and his camels. And now the servant can serve as an image of the children of Israel. It is precisely people who already have the law as their guide, and who, as it were, are still only in the shadows - the sacrament of Christ, are not completely initiated into arcane teaching. The pagans, no different from irrational animals, can rightly be likened to camels. These latter are among the unclean animals according to the law. And such, of course, are those who do not yet know Him who is by nature and truly God. So, the Church has every opportunity to impart sacred and Divine currents to both those who come from the Jews to receive the love of Christ, and those who are called to the same from the pagans. When the disciples saw such a maiden, they immediately adorned her with her wrists and added decorations to her ears, that is, they made her glorious and brilliant with the ornaments of obedience. For a decorated organ of hearing can signify obedience. They made it as if visible to everyone and by the work of their hands, because this, I think, means laying the wrists on the hands. Then Abraham's servant told those living in Haran about the wealth of his master and that he had only one and, moreover, beloved heir. And the Divine disciples secretly taught the pagans, preaching about the riches of God and the Father, about hope, life, sanctification; and they also clearly proclaimed that there is only one Son by nature and in truth - Christ, who is appointed heir of all. The girl was asked if she would be willing to go with the servant; and she immediately answered in the affirmative. And the Church of the pagans is very ready, even almost burning with love for Christ. The divine David will also testify to this in relation to the pagan society, saying: “Strengthen their heart; open your ear” (Ps. 9:38). When Isaac finally entered into an alliance with Rebekah, he said that “Isaac was comforted in his sorrow for... his mother” (Gen. 24:67). From this it is easy to understand that Christ was also saddened by the occasion of a certain kind of death through the unbelief of the Jewish synagogue, from which He Himself was born in the flesh; when he became the Bridegroom of the Church from the pagans, then in some way he already ceased from sorrow for that. For it is said in one place by the mouth of the prophet to the Church: “And as the groom rejoices over the bride, so will your God rejoice over you” (Isa. 62:5), through whom and with whom be glory to God and the Father with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen. About Esau and Jacob, that they served as images of two nations - Israel and that which came into existence through faith in Christ 1. “This is the genealogy of Isaac the son of Abraham. Abraham gave birth to Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he took as his wife Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Mesopotamia, the sister of Laban the Aramean. And Isaac prayed to the Lord for... his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord heard him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. Her sons began to beat in her womb, and she said: if this happens, then why do I need this? And she went to ask the Lord. The Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb, and two different nations will come out of your womb; one people will become stronger than the other, and the greater will serve the lesser. And the time came for her to give birth: and behold, twins were in her womb. The first one came out red, all shaggy like leather; and they called his name Esau. Then his brother came out, holding Esau’s heel with his hand; and his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.... The children grew up, and Esau became a man skilled in hunting, a man of the fields; but Jacob was a meek man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau because his game was to his taste, and Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob cooked food; and Esau came from the field tired. And Esau said to Jacob, Give me something red to eat, this red thing, for I am tired. From this the name was given to him: Edom. But Jacob said...: sell me your birthright now. Esau said: Behold, I am dying, what is this birthright to me? Jacob said...: swear to me now. He swore to him, and sold... his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil food; and he ate and drank, and arose and walked; and Esau despised the birthright” (Gen. 25:19–34). God, who cannot lie, promised that the divine Abraham would be the father of many nations, and on all sides affirmed that the multitude of his descendants would be innumerable; because “like sand,” He said, it will be countless and “like the stars of heaven” (Gen. 22:17). But the end of the fulfillment of such great and visible glory concerns not only Israel, but also many pagans. For they are called through faith, and are more such in Isaac, that is, by promise, as the wise Paul will testify, who writes: “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, foretold to Abraham: in you all nations will be blessed. Therefore, believers are blessed with faithful Abraham, but all who are established in the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: Cursed is everyone who does not continually do all that is written in the book of the law. But that by law no one is justified before God is clear, because the righteous will live by faith. But the law is not of faith; but whoever does it will live by it” (Gal. 3:8-12). So, it is certain that the promise was fulfilled; but only in any case, not on those who have children by law, but on those justified by faith. According to the economy of God, the commandment came through Moses, without neglecting the promise, but in order to raise children and lead little by little to a calling through faith. And exposing the weakness of people who had already risen before, it finally reveals as most useful and necessary the grace and justification received through faith in Christ. The divine Paul again said this: “Brothers! I speak from human reasoning: even a will approved by a person cannot be canceled or added to by anyone. But promises were given to Abraham and to his seed. It is not said: and to descendants, as if about many, but as about one: and to your seed, which is Christ. What I say is that the covenant about Christ, previously established by God, is not abolished by the law, which appeared four hundred and thirty years later, so that the promise loses its validity. For if the inheritance is by law, it is no longer by promise; but God gave it to Abraham according to the promise” (Gal. 3:15–18). He immediately adds to this the reason for introducing the law, saying: “What is the law for? It was given after the transgressions, until the time of the coming of the seed to which the promise relates, and was given through Angels, by the hand of a mediator. But there is no mediator with one, but there is only one God. So the law is contrary to the promises of God? No way! For if a law had been given that could give life, then true righteousness would have come from the law; but the Scripture has concluded all under sin, so that the promise might be given to those who believe through faith in Jesus Christ. And before the coming of faith, we were imprisoned under the guard of the law, until the time when it was necessary to open ourselves to faith. So the law was a guide for us to Christ, so that we might be justified by faith; after the coming of faith, we are no longer under the guidance of a teacher. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:19–26). So, no one can doubt that the law was, as it were, an exposer of the weakness of those who bear children, and even moreover, an indicator of their falls and sins; it is said, “for where there is no law, there is no crime” (Rom. 4:15). And again: “I knew sin no other way than through the law” (Rom. 7:7). “When the commandment came, sin came to life, and I died; and thus the commandment given for life served me to death” (Rom. 7:9-10). And again: “For even before the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law” (Rom. 5:13). “The Law produces wrath” (Rom. 4:15). In this way, the law led children to Christ, convicting criminals and teaching those living on earth through experience that it is impossible for a person who is weak by inclination to sin to avoid accusations from the law, but that, on the contrary, he in any case needs salvation through Christ, who justifies by faith and mercy. 2. It is clear that the very meaning of the economy of our salvation necessarily required that the commandment given through Moses precede the grace that soon appeared in Christ, and in the middle between them the seed foretold by the promises of God, that is, believers in Christ, was introduced. For in this way the divine Abraham became the father of countless nations. Notice more carefully the type of economy, excellently depicted, as if in a type, in the duo of brothers descended from Isaac, in Esau, I say, and Jacob. The divine Abraham was told this by God: “For in Isaac your seed will be called” (Gen. 21:12). Interpreting this saying, Paul, taught in the law, says: “But the promises were given to Abraham and to his seed. It is not said: and to your descendants, as if it were many, but as if it were one: and to your seed, which is Christ” (Gal. 3:16). So, in Christ the promise is fulfilled, and Isaac is placed, as it were, in his image and image. This name is interpreted as “joy and gladness.” And the divine David called Christ joy, speaking as if on behalf of those who thirst for salvation, which occurs through Him: “You surround me with the joys of deliverance” (Ps. 31:7). For in Christ we have escaped the attacks of those who seek murder; in Him we, believers, trampled scorpions and serpents and stepped “on the asp and the basilisk” (Ps. 90:13). And that Christ in the Divine Scriptures is called joy, the prophetic word will convince us of this, which says this: “The Lord God will manifest righteousness and glory before all nations” (Is. 61:11). For Emmanuel became “righteousness and joy” not only for the Israelites, but also for the tribes and peoples living throughout the universe. In Him we are justified and removed from ourselves the ignominy of the ancient curse. We are clothed, as it were, with gladness and joy, having been delivered from death and sin and having received all kinds of blessings from above and from God. Therefore, we are taught to glorify, saying: “I will rejoice in the Lord with joy, my soul will rejoice in my God; for He has clothed me with the robe of salvation, He has clothed me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10). And what kind of garment of joy this is, the most sacred Paul will make clear this, saying: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). And again: “Put on our Lord Jesus Christ, and do not turn the cares of the flesh into lusts” (Rom. 13:14). So, with great benefit, Isaac is accepted in our discussion in the meaning of joy, as a prototype of Christ. Rebekah was his wife. Her name is interpreted as “greatest patience.” And we, if we think rightly, will accept her face as a prototype of the Church, whose glory is in patience. So for her children, I mean those who live in faith and spirit, patience is the path to salvation. For the Holy Scripture calls to them either in the following expressions: “Save your souls through your patience” (Luke 21:19), and sometimes in the following words: “You need patience, so that, having fulfilled the will of God, you may receive what is promised” (Heb. 10:36). So, look how Rebekah was already late and barely conceived in her womb (because she was barren), but she gave birth, by the good pleasure of God and His love for Isaac, to the first-born Esau and immediately after him Jacob, through whom two nations are again very well depicted to us: Israel and the Gentiles. And the firstborn is Israel (Ex. 4:22), since he was the first called through the law; the second and the one following him are the believers in Christ. But everyone can see the difference between the two peoples, as if from the point of view of mind and morals, and from the very names of both, and from the appearance or structure of bodies. For Esau means “oak,” that is, cruel and unyielding. It was also said in one place from God to Israel: “I knew that you are stubborn, and that the veins of iron are in your neck, and your forehead is copper” (Is. 48:4). Jacob means “stammerer,” that is, a person skilled or able to win, because a person will stumble the one he defeats. In any case, it is not the people under the law who win, but those who are in Christ through faith, who have escaped the accusation of sin, and have dulled the power of death. And Esau was “shaggy,” as it is written (Gen. 25:25), “red, all over like skin, shaggy” (ibid.), Jacob was smooth and hairless. Blackness or redness is an image of rage and anger, if it is true that those in a state of anger always have redness on their skin. And that shaggyness and thick hair is a sign of bestiality, who can doubt that? And everyone can see that Israel is distinguished by this kind of morals, which is governed by a spirit or reason corresponding to that and is very prone to insolence and cruelty. That is why the Israelites killed the holy prophets, and in recent times they treated Immanuel himself wickedly. Smoothness serves as a clear indication of the appearance befitting a person. The new people and those living in faith are also very meek and very inclined to modesty. For the beauty of the lips will serve as a clear proof of beauty, both spiritual and external, just as, on the contrary, we undoubtedly considered shaggyness and redness in Esau to be a sign of savagery. However, both had the same mother, that is, Rebekah. And our Lord Jesus Christ imagined the Church as a pure virgin, serving, as it were, for the spiritual rebirth of two peoples. For as for the purpose of coming, He created them “one new man, making peace, and in one body to reconcile both” in the spirit, according to what is written (Eph. 2:15-16). But Israel was unbridled and unlike the new people, being the firstborn in time. This, I think, means that in the womb itself the babies played, as if signifying future enmity. And that the new people will be better and in greater glory than the firstborn Israel, the omniscient immediately pointed out this, saying: “one nation will become stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger” (Gen. 25, 23; fn.: Rom. 9, 12). And through the mouths of the saints the sacrament concerning both was foretold; It was also foreshadowed to us in a variety of ways that Israel would go behind the pagans, which God showed at the very birth: Esau came out of the womb first, and Jacob followed him, who, by grabbing his heel, showed that he would hinder and defeat his brother. 3. Let this be said by us in the present case regarding the type of bodies and the very birth of both brothers. Now, following the path of other considerations, let’s say what is possible about them; because the very way of life can serve as an indication of the location of both. The young men were of the same age, but not of the same mood and not similar in intentions. Esau loved to spend his life in the fields and hunting; and the other was a civil man, that is, easily accessible and sociable, unsophisticated, and lived in the house. He was incontinent in carnal lusts, preferred the most excellent of his advantages to the most insignificant and exchanged the necessary for the insignificant and cheap; and this one was an insatiable lover of the best and sought that through which he could be glorious in all respects. He bought the birthright, while Esau rejected it and carelessly preferred the saturation of the belly to his own merits. That is why its name was called Edom, that is, “earthly.” For a clear denunciation of a truly earthly and low spirit is the fact that he did not pay attention to the glory that belonged to him, and attributed the dignity of the birthright to nothing at all, but, on the contrary, preferred this, as the best and most excellent, to temporary pleasure and gave great honor to momentary pleasure, although it was associated with damage. Therefore, the divine Paul rightly called the one who decided to live so shamefully a fornicator and a desecrator, presenting Esau as a kind of prototype of those who degraded themselves to such indecency, and he subjects the grave accusation of unbridled lusts, obviously carnal and earthly, saying: “lest there be among you any fornicator or wicked person who, like Esau, would give up his birthright for one meal.” (Heb. 12:16). So, if we accurately compare with the morals of these young men, on the one hand, the darkness of Jewish life, and on the other, the purity and free nobility of a society of pagans, then we will speak fairly. For Israel was wild, with a mind attached to the earth, was proud and war-loving, and very prone to slaughter, just as Esau was wild and killed animals while hunting. So the prophetic word cries out against them that they “set traps and ensnare people” (Jer. 5:26). And Christ Himself says about them that “for without guilt they hid a hole for me - their net, without guilt they dug it for my soul. May unexpected destruction come upon him, and may his net, which he hid for me, catch him” (Ps. 34:7-8). For they sent some of the Pharisees along with the so-called Herodians (these were tax collectors), tempting Him and saying: “Is it lawful for us to give taxes to Caesar, or not?” (Luke 20:22; cf.: Matt. 22:17.) Thus, Israel was truly a fisher. And the new and believing people, just like the divine Jacob, are a civil people and tied to the hearth, meek and calm, simple and not wicked, “dwelling in tents,” as it is written (Gen. 25:27). For truly it can be said that the meekest society of those justified by faith, as it were, enrolled in what a glorious and well-ordered city - the Church, and in a house firmly established and unshakable in the face of all temptations, they founded their residence in Christ and their life. And the minds of believers are simple and free from all double-mindedness. It is very hateful for them to appear feigned in thought and way of life. And about them, as I think, the divine David speaks in one place: The Lord “brings the lonely into the house” (Ps. 67:7). And the one who is like-minded is the simple one in Christ, who also dwells in the house, while one of the holy prophets cried out to Israel: “I am weary from your long journey” (Is. 57:10). So, those who are in Christ live, as it were, in a home, a residence and a life of holiness and sanctification. They adorn themselves with such a life, as it were, with some kind of crown placed on their heads, and they consider this way of life to be prosperity. That is why they say in one case like this: “I rejoiced when they said to me: ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’” (Ps. 121:1), and in another: “I asked one thing of the Lord, that only I seek” (Ps. 26:4). What is the request and what kind of mercy is expected? - “so that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to contemplate the beauty of the Lord and to visit... His church” (ibid.). Do you hear how it is considered to be the meaning of glorious and chosen mercy to live in the house of God and spend time in the courts of the Divine? This dwelling, of course, is not physical, but rather consists, as it were, in the strengthening of the mind and a virtuous life. But he loved, it is said, “Isaac loved Esau, because his game was to his taste” (Gen. 25, 28). And the firstborn Israel was worthy of love from above, because the activity of living according to the law and labors in this brought God, as it were, some kind of food. For in Israel there were people who loved God and kept the law. Therefore, the prophet Isaiah lamented about Jerusalem as a prodigal city; He said that truth “dwelled” in it at times (Is. 1:21), that is, it ceased and was broken, because there were many in it who were famous for living according to the law. So the firstborn Israel was in glory with God, but he did not fully observe the honor that belonged to him by birthright. It was as if he ceded his birthright to the new people and those who came after him, that is, from among the pagans, having very strongly deviated towards the carnal and worldly. Therefore, what happened is what is read in the Gospel parables: “the king prepared a wedding feast for his son” (Matthew 22:2). Then those invited to the supper appeared, proclaiming to those invited to it the words of God: “Behold, I have prepared my dinner, my bullocks, and what is fattened, slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast. But they despised”, it is said (Matt. 22, 4–5). But everyone had some excuse for refusal. One says: “I got married and therefore I can’t come”; the other: “I bought some land and I need to go see it” (Luke 14:20,18). From this you see how they imitated Esau, preferring the use of temporal and carnal things to the glory from God and almost inviting others to receive their birthright. For immediately, instead of them, those who believed from the Gentiles were called and captured the glory that should belong to Israel, as well as the blessing because of their readiness for obedience, because of the ease and speed in doing what was pleasing to God. For us, the divine David can be a witness to this, speaking about them like this: “Lord! You hear the desires of the humble; strengthen their heart; open your ear” (Ps. 9:38); because the believing people are always more ready for obedience, although the Israelites received instruction in the law in advance. But if the society of the pagans was weak due to the lack of Divine teaching, it was nevertheless more receptive to faith and more readily turned its ear to the commandments of Christ, as He Himself testifies, saying through the mouth of the Psalmist: “A people whom I did not know serve me; by one rumor about me they obey me” (Ps. 17:44-45). About Israel, as having already fallen into alienation and not yet wanting to walk upright, but as if having mutilated the shins of reason, he says: “Foreigners caress before me; foreigners turn pale and tremble in their fortifications” (Ps. 17:45-46). Instruction through the law and the predictions of the holy prophets are called right and do not lead astray paths that lead to Christ. When they reached the end of the law and the prophets, that is, Christ, they became lame through foolishness, and not through sound reason, having boldly dealt with Him, and daring to put to death the Leader of life. That the new, believing people captured the blessing that was supposed to belong to Israel, having a more ready disposition to obey the Divine commands, we can understand this from the following. It is written like this: “When Isaac grew old and the sight of his eyes became dull, he called his eldest son Esau and said to him: my son! He said to him: here I am. He said: Behold, I am old; I don’t know the day of my death; Now take your tools, your quiver and your bow, go into the field and catch me some game, and prepare for me the food that I love, and bring it to me to eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die” (Gen. 27:1-4). This is what Esau's father told him. He, immediately putting in the work to get ready for the journey, left the house and courageously completed the deed. What happened in the meantime? Rebekah urges Jacob to warn Esau and seize the blessing. At first he was afraid to do this; but, prompted by his mother, he brings two kids, beautiful and tender, from the field and adapts them for food. Having put goat skins on his shoulders and covering the naked parts of his body with them, he perfectly imitated Esau’s shaggy appearance in order to deceive his father if he began to touch him with his hands. Then, taking the prepared food in his hands, he runs to his father and says to him: “My father! He said: here I am; who are you, my son? Jacob said to his father: I am Esau, your firstborn; I did as you told me; get up, sit down and eat my game, so that your soul may bless me” (Gen. 27:18-19). When the elder tasted what he had brought, he said to his son: “Come... kiss me, my son. He came up and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his clothes and blessed him and said: Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of the field... which the Lord blessed; May God give you from the dew of heaven and from the fatness of the earth, and plenty of bread and wine; Let the nations serve you, and let the nations worship you; be lord over your brothers, and let your mother’s sons worship you; those who curse you are cursed; those who bless you are blessed!” (Gen. 27, 26–29). Thus Jacob anticipated the blessing from his father. Then Esau comes back from the field with the spoils he had caught. Having brought it to his father, he was no longer needed and learned what had happened; because I immediately heard the words: “Your brother came with cunning and took your blessing” (Gen. 27:35). When he said, not without tears: “Do you really have one blessing, my father? bless me too, my father!” , then Isaac again said: “Behold, from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and from the dew of heaven from above; and you will live by your sword and serve your brother; The time will come when you will resist and cast off his yoke from your neck” (Gen. 27:38–40). Having thus combined in a brief summary what was told at length in the story, we presented it in this form to the attention of the readers. And I consider it necessary to apply a spiritual interpretation to what has happened sensually. 4. We affirm that before others, I mean those called in faith and in Christ, the Lord of all and the Father commanded Israel to try to bring, as it were, some glorious gift and, as it were, the fruits of honest behavior, and spoils from good labors, a life pleasing to Him and a life that was prescribed by the ancients in a life under the law, almost covered with images and, as if in a forest, hiding behind the cover of the literal presentation, however, not elusive for those who wish to seek it through spiritual and accurate speculation. This, I think, means that Isaac desired a catch from Esau. But Israel received, as I said, a command and promised to fulfill it; because he spoke at Horeb, when he was assembled in the assembly, and when God descended on Mount Sinai in the form of fire: “with one accord, saying: everything that the Lord has spoken, we will do” (Ex. 19, 8; sn.: Ex. 24, 3, 7). But in reality he was exposed as very careless, although quick to promise. That is why he gave way to another, and he was thus warned by the reproacher Jacob, that is, the new, believing people. For this people brought to God what He desired, and while the first-born people shied away and hesitated, they brought forth fruit in faith, which the Divine nature receives instead of food. So the Savior foreshadowed the conversion of the Samaritans to the holy Apostles, saying: “I have food that you do not know” (John 4:32). Explaining what has been said, he says: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work” (John 4:34). And that for the Israelites the readiness for the promise was useless, while the deed was not brought to fulfillment by them, and that, on the contrary, for the pagans there was absolutely no harm in the fact that they came to faith late, having recognized the Redeemer and honoring Him with obedience to all that is good, Christ taught us this through a parable. This is exactly what he said: “A man had two sons; and he, approaching the first, said: son! Go today and work in my vineyard. But he answered: I don’t want to; and then, repenting, he left. And going up to the other, he said the same thing. This one said in response: I’m going, sir, but I didn’t go. Which of the two fulfilled the will of his father? (Matt. 21, 28–31.) Obviously, he came to the vineyard, although for a short time he was overcome by cowardice, which prompted him to slow down with a promise. See in this the image, on the one hand, of Esau, who went hunting with full readiness and promised to do it, and on the other, of Jacob, who forestalled him, although at first he refused to do the same, but was blessed by his father. So the new people are delighted with the blessing, almost having the counterfeit clothing of the Jewish life, just as Jacob, undoubtedly, wisely imitated the shaggy hairiness of Esau with the help of goat skins. But he immediately heard his father exclaiming: “The voice, the voice of Jacob; and the hands, the hands of Esau” (Gen. 27:22). How, however, do we apply to the believing peoples so that they have the appearance and likeness of Jewish life, as well as a different voice compared to the Jews? Let us say first of all that in the Divine Scriptures the hand is always a sign of deeds and actions or active ability. As for the identity of activity and the fruitfulness of actions, the law is fulfilled by those who mentally and spiritually perform sacred acts in Christ and offer themselves as a fragrant aroma to God and the Father. So Christ Himself, who clearly established the laws of the Gospel for us, says: “Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law until everything is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18). So, do you understand how those who are in Christ fulfill the law, having received circumcision in the spirit instead of physical circumcision? They also enter into the rest of Christ, and in Christ they are the Sabbathkeeper and represent one who is inwardly a “Jew” (Rom. 2:28, 29). This, I think, means that Jacob had the hands of Esau, and a different voice than what he had. For we do not take advantage of the unbridled tongue of the Jews and do not have the habit of slandering the Master who redeemed us, denying Him; but on the contrary, together with God and the Father we glorify the Son and call Him Lord, Savior and Redeemer. 5. It also deserves, I think, the effort that we, having examined the power of the blessing given to both, should say about it what came to our minds; because it can be of benefit to the readers. Blessed Isaac said to Jacob: “Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field... which the Lord has blessed; May God give you from the dew of heaven and from the fatness of the earth, and plenty of bread and wine; Let the nations serve you, and let the nations worship you; be lord over your brothers, and let your mother’s sons worship you; those who curse you are cursed; those who bless you are blessed!” (Gen. 27, 27–29). In these words, historical speech is in some way mixed, and through two persons the truth, evidenced through deeds, comes to unity. For what was said in any case is fulfilled not only in Jacob, but also in Christ, and in those justified by faith, who were also made children according to the promise in Isaac. Thus, the meaning of the prophecy can be applied both to the new people and to Christ Himself, Who is the beginning and the leader. He is also considered to be the second Adam, and a kind of second root of humanity arose. For what is in “Christ is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15), and we are renewed in Him to sanctification, incorruption and life. And the word blessing, I think, means a spiritual fragrance in Christ, like a field and a flowering meadow, emitting a beautiful and pleasant fragrance from spring flowers. That’s what He called Himself to us in Song of Songs Christ, saying: “Like a lily among the thorns, so is my beloved among the maidens” (Song. 2, 2). He was a lily (crin) and a rose that grew from the earth, according to humanity, but which did not know sin, or better yet, emitted the most divine fragrance from its deeds for those living throughout the universe. Therefore, the Holy Scripture also likens Christ. field, blessed by God, and very rightly, since there is the fragrance of the knowledge of God and the Father. For this is what the divine Paul said again: “Thanks be to God, who always makes us triumph in Christ, and spreads by us the fragrance of the knowledge of Himself in every place” (2 Cor. 2:14). Our Lord Jesus Christ was revealed through the holy Apostles as the fragrance of the knowledge (the stench of the mind) of God and the Father. For if anyone knew the Son, he, of course, also knew the Father (John 14:9, 7; cf. Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22), because of the identity of Their nature and for the reason that They have everything equal and unchangeable. The following words are applicable to Christ, but the following words are also justly appropriate for the new people: “May God give you from the dew of heaven and from the fatness of the earth, and plenty of bread and wine” (Gen. 27:28); because the dew of heaven and the fat of the earth mean that the Word that came from God the Father was given to us by communion, that is, through the Spirit, and that through Him we became partakers of the Divine nature. We also began to have an abundance of bread and wine, that is, strength and joy, if the word is true that says: “bread that strengthens the heart of a man, and wine that gladdens the heart of a man” (Ps. 103:15). Thus, bread serves as a sign of mental and spiritual strength, and wine - joy. Both are given to those who are in Christ through Him. For otherwise, how did we become firm in piety and in some way immovable, capable of right thinking and unshakably established? We have received the power to “tread on serpents and scorpions and all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19). This, I think, means a lot of bread. But we also received a lot of wine: because we rejoice in hope and are made glad, as it is written (Rom. 12:12; Rom. 15:13). For we look forward to the highest mansions, life in incorruption, long life, co-reign with Christ Himself. Let this also be said about us, since the word rightly leads to this. Then the power of blessing can be transferred again to Emmanuel Himself. For “let the nations serve you,” it is said, “and let the tribes worship you; be lord over your brothers" (Gen. 27:29); because Emmanuel was called the firstborn when he became like us and precisely became the firstborn “of many brethren” (Rom. 8:29). But for this reason He did not lose anything by virtue of which He is both God and Lord of all. We worship Him as Master, and He rules as God over those called by grace to be His brothers. For it is said, “Who in heaven can compare with the Lord? Who among the sons of God will be like the Lord?” (Ps. 89:7) So, Immanuel reigns as God over those brought into the state of His brethren, and to Him “every knee bowed, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11). And “those who curse you are cursed; those who bless you are blessed!” (Gen. 27, 29). The speech is clear; because those who slander Him are cursed and hated by God, and on the contrary, they are filled with blessings given from above and those who bless from God, that is, those who proclaim His Divine glory. 6. So, this is the blessing of Jacob, whose power is transferred to Immanuel Himself and to those justified in the faith. But let us also pay attention to another blessing, that is, given to the firstborn, namely Israel, whose image is Esau. “Thy dwelling shall be from the fatness of the earth, and from the dew of heaven from above; and you will live by your sword and serve your brother; The time will come when you will resist and cast off his yoke from your neck” (Gen. 27:39-40). For Israel was given a blessing - the law given through Moses (John 1:17). He was the word of Christ, given through the mediation of Angels (Gal. 3:19). What Christ Himself spoke to the ancients, the wise Paul will assure us of this, who writes: “God, who spoke of old to the fathers in the prophets at many times and in various ways, has in these last days spoken to us in the Son” (Heb. 1:1-2). And that the law is His own words, this was demonstrated by the Savior Himself, saying: “Truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass, not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law until everything is fulfilled. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Matthew 5:18; Matthew 24:35, sn.: Luke 21:33; Mark 13:31). So, if it is true that the law was the word of Christ and given through the mediation of Angels, then it was a kind of blessing to Israel, but we will understand Christ as the dew of heaven and the fat of the earth. For as a multitude of Angels seem to delight themselves, drunk with dews descending from above and spiritual; so the rich earth uses mental rains to bear spiritual fruit. But we who are in Christ through faith have been enriched with bread and wine. Israel is not involved in this, because this is included among the objects of the blessing given to it. And in another sense, dishonest Jews are not involved in the mysterious blessing; since this is not given to the ministry according to the law, but it is better to say it is observed for the nations who are in Christ and in the faith. And we are at peace through Christ, but Israel is at war. We also sensually inherited the land of promise, which serves as an image of the above and mental land, which the Savior Himself mentioned, saying: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). And we are in the position of children through a free spirit and approach Christ, as one like us and our brother, being in beautiful and free submission. Israel is under the yoke and burdened with the laws of Moses. For Esau heard the words: “and you will serve your brother” (Gen. 27:40), that is, you will submit, and not voluntarily, to one who is similar in nature to you. Moses was a man and similar to us, having nothing special in the reasoning of mankind. So the Lord of all called Israel “the people of Moses.” They made themselves a calf in the desert. Then God said to Moses: “Hurry to go down...; for your people, which you brought out of the land of Egypt, have become corrupt" (Ex. 32:7). The divine Paul attributes the very law in his writing to Moses; for he said this: “Whoever rejects the law of Moses, in the presence of two or three witnesses, without mercy, is punished with death” (Heb. 10:28). And that Israel had to throw off the yoke placed on him by the wise Moses, when Christ calls him to grace through faith, this is indicated in the words: “The time will come when you will resist and throw his yoke from your neck” (Gen. 27:40). through faith in Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to God and the Father with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. You might be interested in: