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1. “Enter through the narrow gate,” Christ called to His friends (Matthew 7:13), by the narrow gate, I think, and by the narrow path (Matthew 7:14), referring to the enduring of sorrows and the patience worthy of all praise, through which those who decided to think about the highest could gain themselves a very rich glory and (achieve to) find joy in exercises aimed at acquiring courage and virtue. For just as superiority in battles testifies to the courage of the one who fights, so, I say, those who are strong and vigorous to strive for virtue pleasing to God demonstrate to those who are glorious, worthy of admiration, and filled with all praise, the ability to very easily endure the labors that come from temptation. Likewise, the Savior’s disciple assures us that such a one will always and certainly be the subject of surprise, saying: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation, because, having been tested, he will receive the crown of life” (James 1:12). Those who have finally reached such a strength and acquired such great glory say: “You have tested us, O God, you have refined us, as silver is refined. You have brought us into a net, you have put fetters on our loins, you have placed a man on our head. We entered fire and water, and You brought us out to freedom” (Ps. 65:10-12). For labor ends in pleasure, and sorrows widen the direct path to it for those who courageously fight against them. He who knows the unseen, that is, God, knows everything before the realization of anything, because “but all things are naked and open before His eyes” (Heb. 4:13). But He awaits the outcome of the deeds and the courage of those who are tempted from time to time, so that they not only appear before Him worthy of reward according to foreknowledge, but so that Angels and people also glorify them as winners and evidenced in virtue by their very deeds. Therefore, blessed Paul says about himself and about other saints, as those who fought and won very successfully, that they were a “disgrace” “to the world, to angels and men” (1 Cor. 4:9). So, Israel is tested in various ways, so that, although she appears as still afflicted with weakness, God, who endured sinners, may be glorified for His great mercy. And most importantly, in each of the events that happened, the sacrament (of Christ) is described to us. Recently, in expounding the word about dyes and about manna, we showed Israel as being quite ill with cowardice and devotion to pleasures. But again, and after a short time, he finds himself angering God. For again it is written like this: “And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the wilderness of Sin on their journey, according to the commandment of the Lord, and encamped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. And the people rebuked Moses, and said, Give us water to drink. And Moses said to them: Why do you reproach me? Why are you tempting the Lord? And the people there thirsted for water, and the people murmured against Moses, saying: Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our flocks with thirst? Moses cried out to the Lord and said, “What shall I do with this people?” a little more and they will stone me. And the Lord said to Moses, Go before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel, and take your rod with which you struck the water in your hand, and go; Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you will strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the reproach of the children of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:1-7.) This is what the Divine revelation told us in the book of Exodus; and in the book of Numbers he offers a most detailed narrative, which I consider necessary to present, so that, by correctly and carefully examining every detail, we have sufficient knowledge of what happened in ancient times in a representative manner and, in addition, comprehend the beauty of spiritual contemplation. So, it is written: “And the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Sin in the first month, and the people stopped at Kadesh, and Miriam died there and was buried there. And there was no water for the congregation, and they gathered together against Moses and Aaron; and the people murmured against Moses and said: Oh, that we had died then, when our brothers died before the Lord! Why have you brought the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, so that we and our cattle may die here? and why did you bring us out of Egypt, to bring us to this worthless place, where it is impossible to sow, where there are no fig trees, no grapes, no pomegranates, not even water to drink? And Moses and Aaron went from the people to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Take the rod and gather the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock in their sight, and it will give water out of itself: and so you will bring water out of the rock for them, and give water to the congregation and their cattle. And Moses took the rod from the presence of the Lord, as He commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the people to the rock, and he said to them: Listen, you rebellious ones, shall we bring water out of this rock for you? And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his rod twice, and much water flowed out, and the congregation and their livestock drank. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe Me, to demonstrate My holiness in the sight of the children of Israel, you will not bring this people into the land that I am giving them. This is the water of Meribah, at which the children of Israel came into conflict with the Lord, and He showed them His holiness” (Numbers 20:1-13). They walked through a waterless land (desert), and when they passed through extremely waterless places and were slowed down due to the labors of the journey, then if something even a little upsetting happened from the usual, they raised an unbearable cry against Moses and Aaron. Although they were contemplatives of the many and most wonderful signs of God, and although they knew by experience the greatness of Divine power, they were still afraid that God would be tired of providing the necessities of life, bringing them food from everywhere and taking care of supplying them with water. But they are overcome by cowardice, having a childish and weak mind; and if they happened to experience grief over something small, natural, they immediately attack the teacher and wickedly accuse him of the fact that he was generally a mediator for them and that they were called to freedom by him. They please those who perished from previous cowardice, namely, that having been overwhelmed by the lust of Egyptian meats, and then satiated with destructive dyes, they were condemned to death. That is why they say: “Oh, if only we had died then, when our brothers died before the Lord!” Why have you brought the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, so that we and our cattle may die here?” (Numbers 20:3–4.) O cowardice! How impatient is the thought, and how much the mind is inclined towards carelessness! Having felt a little thirst, they already prefer the Egyptian horrors to the gifts of God; and the formerly bitter yoke of slavery already becomes sweet for them; Pharaoh, although cruel, no longer turns out to be intolerable; The clay and the cruelty of the supervisors over the work do not become hateful, but, on the contrary, everything becomes pleasant. Their weakness of mind drives them to such a degree of madness. Listen, however, to the accusations they level against the mediation of Moses. “And why,” they say, “did you bring us out of Egypt, to bring us to this worthless place, where it is impossible to sow, where there are no fig trees, no grapes, no pomegranates, not even water to drink?” (Numbers 20:5). Look how he falls into cowardice, how he uncontrollably bows to temporary pleasures and is very busy with worldly pleasures, how he cares about satiating his belly, but, on the contrary, he rejects hope and does not strive for the land promised to his fathers, not understanding that labor always and certainly interferes in obtaining the chosen gifts. For without feat no one can receive the most excellent of rewards. So, Israel did not know how to act courageously and valiantly resist the attacks of the passions, since this was not observed for those under the law, but, on the contrary, was prepared for those who are in Christ. And although it would be fair that the angry God would not deign to give them water, so that those who had reached such foolishness would be prompted to faith by other miracles, he commands Moses to strike the rock with his rod. But God was not unaware of the fact that even Moses himself, who showed some cowardice when the people were indignant, wavered in faith. Therefore, in the book of Exodus he says: “Take with you some of the elders of Israel, and take your rod with which you struck the water in your hand, and go; Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you will strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink” (Ex. 17:5-6). In the book of Numbers: “Take the rod and gather the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock in their sight, and it will give water from itself: and so you will bring water out of the rock for them, and give water to the congregation and their cattle” (Num. 20:8). Note that, affirming in faith, He brings to mind the miracle performed in Egypt, saying: “Take your rod with which you struck the water in your hand and go” (Ex. 17:5). He seems to say this: the rod, which turned the great river into blood, with the ineffable power of God who accomplished this, will very easily bring water out of a stone. Then he affirms it in another way, adding: “I will stand before you there” (Ex. 17:6). You will not be alone, He says, and again you will not be the performer of a miracle; but I will show the stone the mother of many waters, I will prepare a miracle and I will be present when you perform it. You tell the stone, and I will be the power of your words. But although Moses should have been bold from such words, he revealed weakness of spirit, for he said: “Listen, you disobedient ones, should we bring water out of this rock for you?” (Num. 20:10.) Then he strikes the stone with the rod twice, as if nothing of the expected could have happened even if the stone had been broken. He struck twice, although in Egypt he turned water into blood with a single blow with a rod. Nevertheless, God, although not a little angry at this, gave water, so that the suspicion of the foolish would not (otherwise) form an opinion about His weakness. But for this, Moses is also reproached: “You did not believe Me yourselves,” it is said, “in order to demonstrate My holiness in the eyes of the children of Israel, you will not bring this people into the land that I am giving them” (Num. 20:12). Now again, transforming what is narrated by history into the sacrament of Christ, we will say what is necessary, following the Divine Scriptures and trying to direct the power of thoughts to what seems most consistent with the Holy Scriptures. 2. So in the first month when Miriam died, the people thirsted. Then, at the command of God, the God-speaking Moses strikes the stone with his rod, in the presence of the eldest of the people, as well as Aaron. And they themselves spoke to the stone, and the stone produced water in abundance and gave water to “the congregation and their livestock,” as it is written (Num. 20:11). So, now what, say, is marked by the death of Mariam, or what is generally meant by it, and what serves as the necessary explanation for the fact that she died, as said, in the first month? Let us accept Moses as signifying the law, and Aaron the priesthood, and we will accept Mariam as the personification of subordinate service, since God also said through the mouth of a holy man to unbridled Jerusalem: “I have sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before you” (Mic. 6:4). Do you see how she is placed with Moses and Aaron in the leadership of Israel? For through the mediation of the wise Moses and the leadership of Aaron, that is, the dignity of the priesthood, through service in images, Israel then acquired for itself the service of God in the flesh. And that the face of Moses and Aaron must also be added to the face of Miriam, this can easily be understood from the following: when Moses, after Pharaoh, along with his spearmen (bodyguards) died in the Red Sea and was drowned with all his army, sang songs of thanksgiving and composed a song to God, then the jubilant women also came out, and “Miriam ... took her tympanum,” as it is written (Exod. 15, 20), adding his strong and loud voice to their singing. But the prototypes contained a subtle divination of true contemplation. For that the law itself, that is, Moses, and with him Miriam, that is, the ministry in shadows and images, proclaim the great and wonderful power of God ruling over everything, this can be indicated by the image of the chant and the voice of the tympanums. Thus, in fairness, one can assume the personification of the service under the law in Miriam, just as the personification of the law itself is undoubtedly in Moses and the priesthood in Aaron. So, when Mariam died in the first month, that is, at the beginning of the year, when, according to Jewish laws, the very sacrament of Holy Passover is celebrated, the people were thirsty. For in the first month of the year, which is also called the month of new (fruits), the ministry in shadows and images almost ended, was reduced in some way and eliminated. How, or in what way? - Because the only begotten Word of God has shone to us in our image, as if in the month of the new. Therefore, He himself spoke, saying: I am present as spring on the mountains and as in the month of new fruits (Ex. 13:4, 34:18; Deut. 16:1). Thus He called upon the Church of the pagans, saying: “Arise, my beloved, my beautiful, come out! Behold, winter has already passed; the rain has passed, stopped; flowers appeared on the ground; the time for singing has come” (Song 2:10–12). For in Christ we blossomed for the renewal of life, and the time of His coming appeared to us as if in a mental spring, making human nature blossoming and fruitful. It was then, then, after the reduction of service in the shadows and, as it were, after the death of Mariam, the people thirsted and felt a lack of mental waters. But the waters of Christ flowed forth in abundance, I mean the revelations given through Him and the mysterious guidance in spirit and truth. And with this in mind, the divine Paul writes: “I do not want you, brethren, to be ignorant, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and everyone ate the same spiritual food; and they all drank the same spiritual drink: for they drank from the spiritual stone that followed; and the stone was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:1-4). He is likened to a stone because of the indestructibility and steadfastness of his nature, because the Divine and highest nature is established in its own perfections. So, it is necessary to see how the water was supplied. When the elders of the people gathered and Aaron stood by, speeches were addressed to the stone, and Moses struck it, and moreover, twice. For when the elders of the people and the priests came together, then those who had children according to the law, that is, the Israelites, as if in the person of Moses, began to speak against Christ, accusing Him before Pilate, and wickedly cried out: “Take him, take him, crucify him!” (John 19:15). And then they insulted Him with two blows: because, firstly, they killed the Author of life; by adding the second, as it were, to the first blow, they wanted to convince that He remained dead. But Christ came to life, trampling death. When, saying this, the soldiers came, who were appointed by them as guards of the tomb, then they boldly exhorted them to say that His disciples had secretly abducted Him and thus slandered the very revered sacrament of the Resurrection. So, a double blow was dealt to Him. However, the Rock produced water in abundance, although Israel was mad against Him. He watered the entire host and filled the universe with his sacred and Divine streams. For He promised to give Himself this way through the prophet, saying: “Behold, I am sending to him peace like a river, and the wealth of nations” (Is. 66:12). David also sings in one place: “River streams make glad the city of God” (Ps. 45:5). The same applies to the Heavenly Father and God himself: “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). Pay attention also to the fact that Moses strikes the rock with his rod when their unbelief was revealed in advance. For Israel, not believing in Christ, was mad against Him. Moses was reproached, and with him Aaron: “You will not bring..., - he says, the children of Israel - into the land that I am giving him” (Numbers 20:12). And it is not the law revolving in types that brings us into the inheritance of the saints and into the truest land of promise, and not the hay-like infirmity of the priesthood established according to this law, since it is not through blood that we will please God and not to earthly arrogance we will be more glorious before Him; but on the contrary, we will enter the highest city and ascend into the inheritance of the Fathers, having as our leader Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to God and the Father with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen. About the descent of God on Mount Sinai and about the coming of Israel 1. Our Lord Jesus Christ appealed to the crowds of Jews who did not accept redemption through faith, who, on the contrary, were very disdainful of the benefits of the revelations given through Him, and who thought that the law given through Moses, and this alone, would be enough for them to be close to God, saying: “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). And again: “I am the way” (John 14:6); and: “I am the door” (John 10:9). And in saying this, He will not lie at all, since He is the truth (John 14:6). God and the Father is accessible in no other way than through one Son by nature. For he who knows Him, of course, also knows the Father, from whom He was born. Therefore, He said to those who did not want to believe in Him and said that they knew the God of all: “If you knew Me, you would know My Father also” (John 14:7). For Moses, for the ancients, was a teacher, a mediator and a leader, a proclaimer of the laws given by God and the most excellent among the saints, because he heard God, who clearly said: “And you have found favor in My sight” (Ex. 33:12). But the law alone is not strong and is not able to acquire us perfect closeness to God. Through Christ we also acquire this. “For He is our peace,” according to the Scriptures (Eph. 2:14). In Him, and in Him alone, lies the perfection of knowledge and “every good gift” (James 1:17), and He alone brought us to the Father through Himself alone. That’s why he said: “I want... that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us” (John 17:24,21). So, Moses is a mediator, but only in type and shadows. The true mediator is Christ, to whom we are firmly attached, if it is undoubtedly true that He descended to us (to earth) and became man, so that we too might become partakers of His Divine nature, connected with God through the communion and grace of the Holy Spirit. And we learn this again by fixing the gaze of our minds on the Holy Scriptures. Because he said... , - it is said, - go to the people... and sanctify them today and tomorrow; let them wash their clothes, that they may be ready for the third day: for on the third day the Lord will descend in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai; and draw a line for the people on all sides and say: beware of going up the mountain and touching its foot; anyone who touches the mountain will be put to death; let no hand touch him, but let them stone him or shoot him with an arrow; whether it be cattle or man, let it not remain alive; during the lingering sound of the trumpet,... they can ascend the mountain” (Ex. 19, 10–13). For, since the descendants of Israel, who worked in Egypt and fell into the false service of the Egyptians, worshiped human inventions and offered service to those made of stone or other substances, suffering from miserable errors and, as the prophet writes, saying “to the tree: ‘Thou art my father,’ and to the stone: ‘Thou hast begotten me’” (Jer. 2:27): therefore, it is necessary that, as soon as the Creator wanted to raise them from their ancient and nasty false service to the knowledge of the truth, they should not seem to serve a God that does not exist, being deceived by the words of Moses. Therefore, it is expedient that He honors them with the vision of God in prototypes; because we usually believe more firmly in what is visible. So God promises clearly to come down to the mountain, and not for a long time. But it was necessary to know that those called to such an honor as being listeners and spectators of God or His Divine and ineffable glory, certainly had to have the purity most dear to Him and be free from carnal impurity, and in addition, be well dressed, so that they could rightly and properly represent those celebrating the holiday, for it was truly a holiday, and moreover, it was admirable that He honored them with such a glorious visions. Therefore, He commands them to cleanse themselves, avoid intercourse with wives, and extend such abstinence until the third day. He also commanded that the clothes themselves be washed. When all this was carried out, “they were... , - it is said, - on the third day, when morning came, ... thunder and lightning, and a thick cloud over the mountain ... and the sound of a trumpet was very strong; and all the people that were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was all smoking because the Lord had descended on it in fire; and smoke rose from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook greatly; and the sound of the trumpet became stronger and stronger. Moses spoke, and God answered him with a voice” (Exodus 19:16–19). For even the mind can barely contemplate the highest and most sublime nature, which is higher than all created things. But since, for the sake of benefit, the vision of God was expressed in more visible phenomena, the method of house-building was already necessarily accompanied by many fears: there were voices and lightning falling; a dark cloud was also gathering, so that creation would appear serving and slavishly bowing its neck to the God of all. So, Moses brought the terrified Israel out (from the army) and placed him under the mountain. However, he previously explained to them that they would not suffer any harm, but would appear before the meek and good Lord. When the mountain caught fire, smoke immediately appeared rising upward, and a strong trumpet sound, which was weak at first, and then, little by little intensifying, reached very great strength. Then the God of all descended in the form of fire onto Mount Sinai, “and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses: Go down and tell the people, so that they do not rush to the Lord to see Him, and so that many of them do not fall; priests who approach the Lord... must sanctify themselves so that the Lord does not strike them. And Moses said to the Lord: The people cannot ascend Mount Sinai, because You warned us, saying: Draw a line around the mountain and sanctify it. And the Lord said to him: go, come down, then come up, and Aaron with you; but let not the priests and the people rush to ascend to the Lord, lest... he smite them” (Ex. 19:20-24). He commands only one mediator to ascend the mountain, meaning Moses; from the others he does not admit anyone and makes the mountain inaccessible to them. He even threatens with death those who would want to neglect His command. However, through this He does not try to appear cruel, inexorable and unapproachable - to think so would be completely unreasonable: but He wants to show and make it clear that only those especially chosen and awarded the highest advantages, honor and glory can be close to God. It would also be very unreasonable in another respect that they, brought up in the customs of Egypt and knowing that the churches of unclean demons are accessible not to all who wish, but only to the elect, purified to enter their inner chambers according to their own laws, then began to consider it nothing to approach the God of all and, thus, neglect such revered and sacred places in which His Divine and ineffable glory was revealed. Another thing (since, I think, we must find in many ways what serves for the benefit): the people and the leader of the people, who had to be a schoolmaster and those who were under the schoolmaster, the servant of the law and the one for whom the laws were appointed, should not be awarded the same honor from God. On the contrary, for the first to receive excellent glory, it was better and wiser and more useful for those subordinate to him. And that what I say is true, you can understand from other things. For the Lord of all said to the sacred mystery Moses: “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will hear how I will speak to you, and believe you forever” (Ex. 19:9). So, everything was done in order and with forethought. 2. But in the beginning there was, as I said, a certain hay-story of the coming of our Savior, who was to shine upon the earth as if on the third day, in the last time, in which “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” to us, according to the Scriptures (John 1:14; Var. 3:38), in order to proclaim the purification that was to be offered in time from Him and through Him for the believers. For “bear witness,” it is said, “to the people... so that you may be ready for the third day: for on the third day the Lord will descend in the sight of all the people on Mount Sinai” (Ex. 19:10-11). And what should be the image of this readiness, Moses explains this, saying: “For three days,” it is said, “do not touch the wives” (Ex. 19:15). He also clearly stated that it was necessary to wash even the clothes themselves. But when it is said that one must move away from the marital bed and communication with wives, then through this the mortification of carnal pleasures is very clearly signified; and when it is said that one must cleanse the very clothes, then in this we are written as if cleansing by water, and obviously also by the Spirit, delivering from defilements. For this is what Blessed Paul writes: those who wanted to philosophize what was pleasing to Christ and walked by the Spirit “crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24; cf.: Rom. 8:1; Col. 3:2), and put to death “your earthly members: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust” (Col. 3:5). And they make light clothing for themselves from grace sent from above, or even from Emmanuel himself; because “put on,” says the Apostle, “our Lord Jesus Christ, and do not turn cares for the flesh into lusts” (Rom. 13:14). But Moses commanded the people of that time to do this. Let us also listen to the law itself, which mysteriously preaches what is pleasing to Christ, cleansing with water and the mortification of carnal lusts. For the law commanded the defiled to be cleansed with water, for the purity of the flesh, and also ordered that the one who sheds semen be sent out of the camp as unclean (Num. 5:2), condemning, as I think, the vice of intemperance and declaring the pleasure of the flesh to be unclean. Therefore, we, justified in Christ and sanctified by the Spirit, have received the commandment to hate even the clothes of the flesh that are defiled. So, the law is a preparer, and it presents to us the beauty of Christ’s gifts, as it were, in crude images. But let us consider the very image of the phenomenon. It is said, “on the third day, when morning came, there were thunders and lightning, and a thick cloud over the mountain..., and the sound of a trumpet was very strong” (Ex. 19:16); because the Only Begotten came, as I said, and descended from heaven; not in the first time and not at the beginning of this century, and also not in the second or middle time; but as if in the third and last, and as if in the morning and at the beginning of the day, that is, after driving away the mental darkness inherent in us and, as it were, after the passage of the night and the disappearance of darkness. For out of deception and lust for power, the perceived god of this age mentally darkened the whole earth, leading it into the error of polytheism and into every form of uncleanness. And God and the Lord of all, that is, Christ, appeared to us and showed us a truly blessed day, which the divine David mentioned, saying: “This is the day the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Ps. 117:24). The wise Paul also wrote in one place that “the night is past, but the day is drawing near” (Rom. 13, 12) and that “you are all sons of light and sons of day: we are not sons of night, nor of darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). So, in the morning and as if on the third day, the Only Begotten descended. Then there was lightning and a dark cloud on Mount Sinai. Lightning serves as an image of Divine light and mental brilliance, that is, that which is in the spirit, and which through Christ illuminates everything and runs through the heavenly realms. For this is how the prophet cried out in one place, saying to the God of all and the Savior Christ: “His lightning illuminates the world” (Ps. 96:4). And we do not say that he makes a mention of lightning born from rain; but, as I said just now, he wanted to designate the shining of mental light by the name of lightning. And that the mystery of Christ is truly inconceivable, darkness may indicate this. So blessed David himself, understanding this also, as I think, cried out, saying: “And he made the darkness His cover, shrouding the darkness of the waters, the clouds of the air around Him. His clouds fled from the shine before Him” (Ps. 17:12-13). For the sacrament of Christ is so hidden that it needs secret guidance from above and revelation from God. So Peter heard very clearly, perceiving in the speaker the Word and truly the Son who had appeared in the flesh of God: “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). Paul also claimed that he knew the mystery by revelation of God. So, darkness (clouds) means the obscurity of knowledge. But the trumpet also sounded, indicating the blessing of the gospel revelations. So God in one place, through the mouth of the prophets, said to the people of Judah: “And I set guards over you, saying: ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, “Let us not listen.” So listen, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring destruction upon this people, the fruit of their thoughts; for they did not listen to My words and rejected My law” (Jer. 6:17-19). For the trumpet sounded before them through the guards sent from God, that is, the holy Apostles, since they were appointed guards over us. “But they said: 'We won't listen.' Hear therefore, ye nations” (Jer. 6:17–18). And we will find the holy disciples themselves clearly saying to the Jewish people: “You should have been the first to preach the word of God, but since you reject it and make yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the pagans. For thus the Lord commanded us” (Acts 13:46–47). Blessed Isaiah also likens the blessing of Christ’s preaching to the trumpet, saying the following about the time of His coming: “And it will happen on that day that a great trumpet will sound” (Is. 27:13). The law was also a trumpet, but it was thin-spoken and tongue-tied. Therefore, Moses was the same (tongue-tied), since he barely spoke in Judea alone, in which (alone) God was known. The great trumpet is Christ, or His preaching, which rang out throughout the whole of heaven. For He said that “this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations” (Matthew 24:14). And that this word is true was testified by the very outcome of the case; because no one remained unheard of the glory of our Savior. “And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God,” it is said, “and they stood at the foot of Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:17). Notice the schoolchildren of Moses: he leads them to God because he leads them to Christ; and places those entrusted to his stewardship under the mountain, but does not raise them to the mountain itself. By the mountain in this place you should understand a more sublime and sublime knowledge of the sacrament of Christ. For it is very high and is by no means accessible to those under the law, but, on the contrary, befits us who are sanctified in the Spirit. So the Savior himself said: “it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given” (Matthew 13:11), that is, to the Jews. Likewise, uttering words as if in the form of a prayer for us to the Father and God, He says: “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Hey, Father! For such was Your good pleasure” (Luke 10:21). So, Moses puts the people under the mountain, and does not build it up; because, as I just said, we acquire perfection and sublimity in wisdom and knowledge not through Moses, but on the contrary through Christ. He was a servant (slave) and a teacher, and This One, as the Lord of all, appeared for us as the giver of perfect Knowledge, since in “In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” as it is written (Col. 2:3). When God descended in the form of fire, smoke appeared, as if flying out of a furnace and swirling upward, and, as I think, spreading throughout the whole people. For for our sake the Word of God came down to us from heaven, “like the fire of a furnace,” according to the word of the prophet (Mal. 3:2). And He Himself baptized “you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11; sn.: Acts 1:5). By mental fire, which consumes the (spiritual) feces in us, cleanses sinful impurity and does not allow the mind to cool off with unclean pleasures; and on the contrary, it inflames us, so that we are “on fire with the spirit” (Rom. 12:11). And this is what Christ produced in us. That’s why He said: “I came to bring down fire on the earth, and how I wish it would already be kindled!” (Luke 12:49.) So, according to wisdom, He appeared to the ancients in the form of fire. But, however, not without smoke. And through this again we must understand that it is necessary for those who fall into frivolity and dare to despise His Divine glory to cry and weep; because when you smoke, tears flow involuntarily. And how can anyone doubt that the God-hating and lawless will descend into “outer darkness”? for “there will be,” it is said, “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:13). Thus, the smoke indicates that those we are talking about will shed bitter tears for their laziness. But it is also added that “and the sound of the trumpet became stronger and stronger” (Ex. 19:19), so that at first only a few could barely hear them, but finally many, and even more so, the whole host. The trumpet, moreover, the most blessed and emitting a very loud sound, is the gospel sermon, as we have already said before. But in the beginning, it is said, it was heard only in Judea; After the lapse of time, the Divine disciples went throughout the whole of heaven, preaching to those who exist everywhere, so that from Jerusalem they reached Illyricum, moreover, even to the ends of the earth. And from east to west the sound of this sacred trumpet was heard. This, I think, means that the sounds of the trumpet became stronger and stronger (very strong). Then God commands blessed Moses to testify “go down and confirm to the people, so that they do not rush to the Lord to see Him, and so that many of them do not fall; the priests who approach the Lord... must sanctify themselves so that the Lord does not strike them” (Ex. 19:21-22). So, see, carefully see again, and from this, that through the leadership of Moses it is impossible to approach God. He does not allow to Himself those who are still called types and shadows, which is the whole of the Mosaic legislation, but, on the contrary, He seeks in us the beauty of truth. “Truth” is Christ (John 14:6), through whom we “have access” (Eph. 2:18) and became close to the Father (Eph. 2:13), as if having ascended a mountain, (having achieved) knowledge of Him. For having known the Son, through Him and in Him we knew the Father. So through Him “we have access” (Eph. 2:18), and not through Moses, that is, not through the law. And commanding that the priests themselves be sanctified, thereby clearly shows that the priesthood according to the law is not yet completely holy, as still in need of sanctification; otherwise he would not have commanded to be sanctified. Christ, for us, is the immaculate Bishop, the Holy of Holies, and therefore “the guarantor of the best covenant,” as Paul says (Heb. 7:22). Therefore, the first covenant ceased, and there was also the abolition of the priesthood itself, not free from vice and not completely holy, since it did not lead anyone to perfection in conscience, but, on the contrary, introduced the doctrine of ablutions and instructions about sprinklings for carnal purity. For this almost limited the power of the legal priesthood. Therefore, since it does not have perfect holiness, but must in time be sanctified in Christ, after the transformation of the types into truth, it (the priesthood) receives the command to be sanctified. Having added the words: “lest the Lord strike them” (Exod. 19:22), He made it clear that the punishment of death was determined for those who honor the lawful priesthood, after the priesthood established through Christ had already appeared in the world, through whom the nations and the most anciently revered and sacred race (i.e., priests) were sanctified. But that which is not sanctified by Him remains completely vile and unclean. That is why He said to the Jewish people: “Truly, truly, I say to you... for if you do not believe that it is I, you will die in your sins” (John 8:34, 24). And that the Israelites, being unbridled, had time to be rejected, and could only return to God through Christ, you can easily be convinced of this from the words of God, economically addressed to the valiant Moses: “Go, go down, then go up, and Aaron with you” (Ex. 19:24). Do you see how Moses was sent away, but then not only returns, but Aaron joins him and accompanies him, who was a type of Christ, the great Priest? For through Him, as I said, the Father is accessible. And those who were under the law, that is, the Israelites, who at a certain time became outcasts, in recent times will come to know the venerable and gentle Bishop, that is, Christ (cf. Heb. 7:26). Through Him they will come to God and the Father, as if ascending a mountain to the honest and great mystery of the economy, by which Christ saved us all, through whom and with whom be glory to God and the Father with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen. About the ascent to the mountain of Moses and Aaron, also Nadab and Abihu and the seventy elders of the people 1. The descendants of Israel were called through the law to God, through the mediation and service of Moses. But, as the divine Paul writes, no one “has perfected the law” (Heb. 7:19). Christ is thought of as having accomplished it and the prophets; because all redemption is through Him: “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). And in Him is all perfection through sanctification in the Spirit. Through Him we are called to the Father, and we will ascend with Him to the highest city. So He spoke clearly: “In My Father’s house are many mansions. But if it were not so, I would have told you: I am going to prepare a place for you. And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3). For He, as if the first offering and a certain firstfruits of humanity, ascended into heaven. And that He will lead us there too, no one can doubt this; because He confirms us in this, who cannot lie and who gives hope to those worthy to receive this. We will in time be citizens of heaven, having as our predecessor, as I said, Christ. And that this is true, the wise Paul assures us, writing: “For Christ entered not into a sanctuary made with hands, built in the image of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Heb. 9:24). For He was, and is, and will be God by nature, together with His Father and in the presence of Him who gave birth. He appears for us, because from the deeds of man, so that we, removed from the eyes of the Father, for the sake of Adam’s crime and for the sake of the sin that dominated us, would again appear before His eyes through Christ and return to our original state, and what we have surpassed will then turn into nothing. So, we are called in Christ and to the highest city and are awarded by God the Father to see, and through Him and in Him we are taught to worship God the Father who brought everything into being. And this, too, was foretold to us by the law. For the God of all descended in the form of fire onto Mount Sinai, establishing for the Israelites that through which they could strive for the firstfruits of righteousness; because the law is, as it were, a foreshadowing of what is most perfect, the first foundation and foreshadowing of the teaching brought by Christ. “And to Moses,” it is said, “He said: go up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar; let Moses alone draw near to the Lord, but let them not draw near, and let not the people go up with him” (Ex. 24: 1-2). When the wise Moses announced this, then all the people answered with a great voice, saying: “all that he said.” Lord, we will do it" (Exodus 24:7). But what after this? “And Moses wrote,” it says, “and, rising early in the morning, he built an altar and twelve stones under the mountain, according to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel; and he sent young men from the children of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed bullocks as a peace offering to the Lord.... Moses took half the blood and poured it into the bowls, and sprinkled the other half on the altar; and he took the book of the covenant and read it aloud to the people, and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do and be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you regarding all these words” (Ex. 24:4-8). After the sacrifice had been completed and the blood of the covenant had been sprinkled upon all the people, “Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, went up, and they saw... the God of Israel; and under His feet was something like work of pure sapphire, and clear as heaven itself. And He did not stretch out His hand on the chosen ones of the children of Israel: they saw... God, and ate and drank” (Ex. 24, 9–11) So, now we will say what follows from each part of what we have read, and precisely, starting our consideration directly from what was proposed at the beginning, we will say what was accomplished by Christ regarding us, as if written on a deck (picture), we see in the inspired Scripture that it calls the highest, heavenly, or heavenly Church, and in the likeness of the highest and the most earthly, for the sake of sublimity and ascension into. the virtues of those who live in them. For the mind of the saints is not low and cast down; but with their thoughts it rises above earthly things and above carnal lusts. And moreover, it is truly said through the mouth of David: “The shields of the earth are exalted above them” (Ps. 46:10). And that for those who have decided to understand this and have reached the height of virtue, it is naturally fitting to move into the highest abodes, the Psalmist will again assure us of this, saying: “Who will ascend to the mountain of the Lord, or who will stand in His holy place? The one whose hands are innocent and whose heart is pure, who has not sworn with his soul in vain and has not sworn falsely.... He who does not give his silver at interest and does not accept gifts against the innocent... He will receive a blessing from the Lord and mercy from God, his Savior. This is the generation of those who seek Him, those who seek Your face, O God of Jacob!” ( Ps. 23:3–4, 14:5, 23:5–6 ). 2. So, heaven or the Church of the firstborn is a mountain easily accessible for the saints, but for the nasty and wicked it is an inaccessible mountain. Therefore, the God of all commanded Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel to go up to the mountain. However, he also said: “And worship (the Lord) from afar; Let Moses alone draw near to the Lord, but let them not draw near, and let not the people go up with him” (Ex. 24:1-2). So, the sons of Aaron mean to us a sacred race; elders are chosen people. On the other hand, Aaron portrays to us Christ Himself, the reverend and gentle Bishop, through whom we have rebirth by the Spirit and water, and have acquired the names: “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9). Thus, in time, we, the chosen and sacred, will ascend to the highest city, in the co-presence of (our) leader Christ, the great Bishop, who for our sake became like us and who worships with us the Father, who is by nature God. And there Moses approaches; with us, who were far away, was the Son. For as regards the mystery of the economy of the incarnation, Moses stands closer to God, as a mediator and lawgiver. But since the Son was with us, Who is by nature God and Lord of all, therefore (He) does not dishonor our measure, but economically allows (He) to be thought lower than Moses himself, for He was with us under the same law, although, as God, he is the lawgiver. And that He was under the law can be easily seen from the fact that He was circumcised on the eighth day, and paid the didrachm, although by nature He was free, like the Son. The Holy Scripture itself confirms this, saying that Emmanuel was under the law. And that by virtue of His humanity and the fact that, like us, He was under the law, He may be considered lower than Moses, you can understand this from other testimonies. For God commanded the most valiant Moses to free the Pharaoh of Israel from unbearable slavery, who said: “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has called us” (Ex. 3:18). Thus the law admits its powerlessness to redeem. Then God gives the help of the divine Aaron to Moses, who denied and hesitated, as a prototype of the omnipotent Christ, through whom all redemption is accomplished. For he said this to Moses: “I have made you God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet: you will speak... whatever I command you, and Aaron your brother will speak to Pharaoh” (Ex. 7:1-2). Do you see how again Aaron is the mediator of Moses, representing the Lawgiver? That is why blessed Paul ascribes to him the very law, although given from God. It is he who writes this: “If he who rejects the law of Moses, in the presence of two or three witnesses, is punished without mercy with death” (Heb. 10:28). So, we, the sacred and the chosen, ascend, as it were, to a mountain, to the highest abodes, while all others remain below; because it is said: “and let not the people go up with him” (Ex. 24:2), since, according to the word of the Savior, “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 20:16). But we do not ascend without Christ, because Aaron was then present with those who worshiped and was numbered among those who were still far away. So Christ was far with us for our sake, so that we with Him and through Him would become close to the Father. For He clearly carried out all the dispensation for us and for us. Just as He was with us in the dead, so that we would be called to life with Him and through Him, because He came to life, trampling down the power of death: so He was far with us, although He was near (the Father), so that again we with Him and through Him would draw closer to the Father. This is what happened; because we, having become partakers of Him through the Spirit, have been united with God and the Father through Him, if it is undoubtedly true that we are “partakers of the Divine nature,” according to the Scriptures (2 Pet. 1:4). But the God of all commanded Moses and Aaron, the holy and chosen ones, to go up on high and go up the mountain. In the same way, those who strive for such final glory and intend to truly ascend to heights in order to be near God must be cleansed before by the Blood of Christ, Who made His soul a ransom for the lives of all and offered His assumed flesh to the stench of fragrance. He offered Himself for us to God as an immaculate sacrifice and as a mental burnt offering, as the divine Moses again represented to us in himself, with the light-guiding of the Spirit approaching the knowledge of the Coming. For this, I think, realizing that he, before his procession and those who were called to the heights, “and Moses wrote all the words of the Lord” (Ex. 24:4). And that again this was pre-arranged (pre-depicted), we will talk about this now. Those who strive to move to heights and heights should, I think, have the law of God inscribed in their minds and hearts and should cry out to God along with the Psalmist: “I have hidden Your word in my heart, so that I would not sin against You” (Ps. 119:11). For just as it is not unprofitable for life and it is a saving thing to always remember the words of God, in the same way, I think, the inclination to forget them can cause destruction. Therefore, blessed Moses writes “all the words of the Lord” (Ex. 24:4), about which he himself cried out to those who had children through him, and, moreover, to ourselves: “and speak about them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you get up” (Deut. 6:7). “And rising early in the morning,” Moses built an altar, placed twelve stones on it in accordance with the twelve tribes of Israel, and sent young men from the sons of Israel, who “and they offered,” it is said, “burnt offerings, and sacrificed bulls as a peace offering to the Lord” (Ex. 24:4-5). The altar can be an image, and a very clear one, of the Church of Christ, lying, so to speak, on a mountain; because high up, as if on a mountain, stands, we say, that other main city of the firstborn, “whose artist and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). Thus, the altar represents the Church to us. And Moses very economically places twelve stones on the altar in accordance with the twelve tribes of Israel, almost (with clarity) foretelling to the Israelites through this that the most fitting place for them is the Church of Christ, and that they should exclaim: “I will... go around Your altar, O Lord, to proclaim with the voice of praise” (Ps. 25:6-7). For that the Father sent the Son and Savior and Redeemer to them primarily and before other nations, this will be made clear by Christ Himself, who says: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). since, having fallen into the greatest madness, they raged against Him, then Christ, of necessity, went over to the pagans. So, that the most fitting place for them was, as I said now, the altar of Christ, Moses foretold this, setting up twelve stones for this purpose, according to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel. And that those who are marvelous in courage, obviously spiritual and according to God, having a strong and strong mind, had to sacredly celebrate the sacrament of Christ in time, anyone can learn from what happened. For young men were sent and offered burnt offerings. Having done this, we find the holy Apostles who went around the whole earth, so to speak, performing sacred acts to Him and offering burnt offerings, that is, adorned with immaculate faith and having achieved perfection in deeds of virtue. For a powerless mind and a mind that is sick with weakness and accustomed to incline to worldly lusts, but is so prepared and courageously disposed, cannot even be able to say clearly: “For for me life is Christ, and death is gain” (Phil. 1:21). Such is truly a young man, and one of the very strong ones at that. It is proper for him to dedicate burnt offerings and spiritual sacrifices to God and to touch upon the mental sacred rites, and to perform the sacrifice of salvation, which was very well represented by the sacrificed calves. For sometimes, due to very great power and because the calf is the highest of the pure animals, Christ is likened to a perfect calf, sometimes to a small calf, and this is for the reason, as you see again, that the Only Begotten was made man and was under the yoke of slavery, if it is undoubtedly true that He appeared in the form of a “servant” (Phil. 2:7). But if, and since we can say, He came into the mystery of the flesh, He became with us under the yoke of slavery, yet He did not experience slavery, because He had a nature from above and free. Therefore, it is likened to a calf, as being both under the yoke and outside the yoke, since the small calf does not experience the yoke (yoke), although this kind (of animals) was born for the yoke (yoke). In other words: although He was under the law, as under a yoke, He was free, because He was above the law, as the lawgiver and God. And thirdly, if you like, He bore earthly flesh, which was sickened within itself by the law of sin, according to the word of Paul (Rom. 7, 23-25), since, since He came into the nature of the flesh, He seems to have been placed under the yoke of sin: however, He was free from it; for “he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:3-4). So, Christ is called a little calf in the sense of economy and because he was a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15); for He is the firstfruits of those who are called to this purpose. And that those seeking salvation and wishing to draw closer to God needed to be sanctified by blood, Moses pointed out this by sprinkling the blood on all the people and the book itself. Through this we can also learn that he alone was invalid for sanctification; for see how by the sprinkling of blood you yourself are sanctified; because the law does not at all wash away sin, but the grace bestowed by the sacraments of Christ does this. It was also very good that the sacred mystery Moses, “early in the morning” (Ex. 24:4), performed the most Divine sacrament, set up twelve stones to create the altar, as we said before, and sacrificed bulls. For when it was as if early morning had already arrived and when the morning star had almost shone and the mental day had come for us, and the night had already passed and the demonic darkness had been abolished, then the honest beauty of the Church appeared, having an altar on which the sacrament of Christ is celebrated. The tribes of the earth also appeared before this altar, as if in correspondence with the stones. So the divine Paul, changing the type into truth, writes in the Epistle to those sanctified in Christ: in Him you also “come to Him, a living stone, rejected by men, but chosen and precious by God” (1 Pet. 2:4; cf.: Eph. 2:22). Then the young men offered burnt offerings and became spiritual celebrants. It was then, then, that we appeared before the Father and presented to Him the strength of reason and readiness for all good things, depicting the order of standing (of the Israelites at Sinai). This was clearly foretold to us by the divine David himself, on behalf of those who believed, speaking to God of all kinds: “early hear my voice, early I will appear before You, and I will wait, for You are a God who does not love iniquity” (Ps. 5:4-5). Thus, those who were sanctified and, as if in a type, purified by blood, ascended the mountain “Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw... the God of Israel; and under His feet there is something like work made of pure sapphire and, like the sky itself, clear. And He did not stretch out His hand against the elect of the children of Israel: they saw... God, and ate and drank” (Ex. 24:9-11). Do you hear how they saw the so-called place of God, as if in the image of the firmament of heaven? because the sky is brilliant, and its highest, ethereal color is like sapphire. Heaven is the place most suitable for the dwelling of the One who rests among the Angels. For the Holy One dwells in the saints and, so to speak, coexists with those who live in the city above, because of the perfection of their nature and great zeal for the perfection of life, since we believe that the highest army of spirits is holy. So, for those who ascended the mountain, the place that was under His feet appeared, as it were, “as clear as the sky itself,” as it is said (Ex. 24:10). For it must, truly it must, that those who were once tormented by the delusion of polytheism and served the creatures, and then called to the knowledge of God, for (their) benefit and necessarily saw that He has the very sky under His feet and that He, as the One who brought everything into being, is the Lord of all, freeing them from ancient deception. And that the abundant communion of Divine gifts and the enjoyment of spiritual benefits bestowed from Christ is also likened to the ascent to the highest city, which is due to take place in time, this is indicated by the fact that those who ascended the mountain, being in the place of God, “ate and drank” (Ex. 24:11). But, as I said recently, Moses alone was commanded to approach God; others, including Aaron, were commanded to worship from afar. And we said that by nature he was far away from us, living near God and the Father, the Son, our kindly and free from defilement Bishop, so that through Him and with Him we too would again be near God. That is why He is called Immanuel, “which means: God is with us” (Matthew 1:23). However, although He was with us as a man, it can be seen that even the blessed Moses himself was not accessible to the Father without His mediation. For He is the way; He is the door, as we have said before. And we can learn this again from what was said further, therefore, “and the Lord said,” it is said, “to Moses: come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, and the law and the commandments that I wrote to teach them. And Moses stood up with Jesus his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God” (Ex. 24: 12-13). You see that Moses was called in order to receive the law, written in the shadow and writing, but with him the uncalled Jesus ascends into the type of Christ, who is not called from the Father on a par with others, since He is always with Him, but He makes the path passable for those who are called, by mediating and being present with them. All-Holy Father and with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. About the creation of the calf by the Israelites Having no law to help them, blind and unreasonable aspirations of the will are carried away, and very easily, to everything worse, and fall into great guilt before God and people; and although they often seem to be suffering from this illness innocently, on the contrary, they tend to be surprised and praise the worst and do not know how to distinguish between what is truly worthy and what, on the contrary, is shameful and suspicious. For just as ships sailing across a great and vast sea, if they have a capable and skillful helmsman, then sail happily, but if one of the people who is not very skillful happens to be one, then they are thrown hither and thither and almost bow before the blows of the waves that drive them wherever they want: so the human soul, having no law for its helmsman, easily deviates to everything that it pleases, and becomes intoxicated by the waves of its own. carnal pleasures. Having experienced this we will find Israel. Having a mind that was not yet disposed to piety, and a heart that was not yet established in God, he was again exposed as returning back and as having loved the crime of the cursed and abominable idolatry. Therefore, the Savior himself said about them: “When the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it walks through dry places, looking for rest, and does not find it; Then he says: I will return to my house from where I came. And, having arrived, he finds it unoccupied, swept and put away; then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and entering they live there; and for that person the last thing is worse than the first. So it will be with this evil generation” (Matthew 12:43–45, sn.: Luke 11:24–26). For at the beginning they cast out the evil spirit when they sacrificed a lamb in the image of Christ, were anointed with the blood and escaped the destroyer. But now they have again fallen into the same, and much worse, state than before, if the one who says about those who love such a disease is undoubtedly true: “It would be better for them not to know the way of righteousness, than, having learned it, to turn back from the holy commandment handed down to them. But what happens to them is according to the true proverb: a dog returns to his vomit, and a washed pig goes to wallow in the mud” (2 Pet. 2:21-22). Already from what they dared to do, anyone can see that they again returned to their vomit and, as a result of their return to vomit, wallowed in the same mire. For it is written that “When the people saw that Moses did not come down from the mountain for a long time, they gathered to Aaron and said to him: Arise and make us a god who would go before us, for we do not know what happened to this man, to Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt. And Aaron said to them: Take out the gold earrings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters, and bring them to me. And all the people took the gold earrings out of their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took them from their hands, and made a molten calf out of them, and dressed it with a chisel. And they said, Behold your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt! When Aaron saw this, he set up an altar before him, and Aaron proclaimed, saying, “Tomorrow is a feast for the Lord.” The next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings: and the people sat down to eat and drink, and then stood up to play” (Ex. 32:1-6). The Divine Moses, who taught them the secret laws very well, delayed his stay on Mount Sinai. The people, in their foolishness, did not pay attention to his slowdown, reached such a degree of mental damage that they seemed to no longer know at all that they were in the power of almighty God, although they contemplated God descending on Mount Sinai in the form of fire, and they themselves heard His voice, and they begged Moses to be a mediator between them and God. No one will tell them: Oh, full of extreme madness! truly “Moses does not come down for a long time” (Exodus 32:1); but what does this have to do with God, Who is always co-present with those living on earth, even if He is not visible? Let the divine David therefore cry out: “to a stubborn and rebellious generation” (Ps. 77:8). Moreover, Moses: “You have forgotten the one who gave birth to you” (Deut. 32:18). What other gods did he need who had been so miraculously delivered? - the one for whose sake hail and three days of darkness conquered the land of Egypt? – for whose sake everyone’s first-born sons died in one night? - to whom the fierce and indomitable sea (by parting) made it possible to escape the cruelty of the persecutors? But if anyone wanted to talk about each of this in detail, he would have to spend a lot of time on everything. So, when the wise Moses hesitated on the mountain, the Israelites approached Aaron, who, seeing how irresistible this attack was for him, since they cried out: “Make us a god who would go before us” (Ex. 32:1), ordered the earrings of wives and daughters to be brought. They brought it right away. That they had fallen into the Egyptian error and fallen into the same recklessness, Aaron showed this by his very deed, by arranging for them a worshiped idol in the form of a calf. For the calf was an object of veneration in Egypt not only for the Egyptians themselves, but also for others who were sick of their charms. You see how they return to what they were before. The unclean spirit entered them again. And for them, according to the Savior’s words, “the last thing was worse than the first” (Matthew 12:45). However, I think that the divine Aaron very wisely demanded “useryazi” (earrings) (Exodus 32:2), almost meaning through this that they deprived their hearing of its appropriate decoration, since they no longer had obedience, but, on the contrary, were carried away towards God-hating and criminal disobedience. For, after God commanded: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3), and they expressed approval of these words and honored them with the most praiseworthy agreement, saying: “We will do everything that the Lord has said and be obedient” (Exodus 24:3, 7), now they were looking for the carved gods. Do you see how they rejected obedience? And this, I think, means ear decoration. Look how Aaron ridicules their attempt. Showing them an idol made in the shape of a calf, he cried out to them: “Behold your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” (Ex. 32:4). But it is known that they were not freed from slavery by a calf (because how or where could this happen?) but “with a strong hand and an outstretched arm” (Ps. 135:12) and through signs and wonders. Thus, as if in reminder of what was done by the Lord, he laughs, saying: “Behold your God, O Israel” (Ex. 32:4). Meanwhile, they made sacrifices, then ate and drank as if on a holiday, and “afterwards they stood up to play” (Ex. 32:6). For what follows after apostasy from God is that those who have apostatized are bound by the bonds of the flesh, considering impurity to be a pleasure, and considering that a beautiful and pleasant delight for which they should weep. Therefore, blessed Paul also considered unclean idolatry among the sins of the flesh. “They are,” he says, “the works of the flesh are known... fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry” (Gal. 5: 19-20). For this error entails even worse ones, and separation from God makes one suffer from the most shameful of all evils. And truly, they formed choirs, singing, as I think, drinking songs, doing and saying what is typical of drunken people. God, who did not know about these daring acts of the divine Moses, informs him of them, saying: “Hurry up to go down...; For your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have become corrupt; They soon turned away from the path that I commanded them: they made themselves a molten calf and worshiped it, and brought sacrifices to it and said: “Behold your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” And the Lord said to Moses: I see this people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people; Therefore leave Me, that My wrath may burn against them, and I may destroy them, and make of you a great nation. But Moses began to beg the Lord” with his (Ex. 32:7-11). Do you hear how Israel, frivolous and carried away and very willing to retreat, does not deign to be called her own people? but although he himself gave him the law, he still attributes this deed to Moses. For “they have turned aside,” he says, “from the path that I commanded them” (Ex. 32:8). Therefore, Christ said that to those who think the same thing, present wickedness under the guise of piety and do not care about truly doing good, the Judge at the Divine Judgment Seat will say: “Get away from me, all you who practice lawlessness: I never knew you” (Ps. 6:9; Matt. 7:23). So, only those who have strong love for Him, maintain purity in the faith, are confirmed in doing good and remove the accusation of frivolity can be known to God and truly His people. However, Moses begged God and asked Him to stop his anger against everyone. For it was necessary, truly it was necessary, that the then intercessor should imitate the true intercessor Christ, who delivered us from the wrath from above that was upon us for great sins, as the Son granted to those who sinned justification in faith. Thus, the divine Moses, in that with his prayers he rejected the fury of God’s wrath, was a prototype of the intercession of Christ. Then he goes down the mountain. When he saw those dancing and heard the voices of the drunken, he crushed the tablets on which the laws were inscribed for them, no longer deigning them to be children, as disobedient and unreasonable or of little understanding and having a mind that is extremely easily carried away by what should not be carried away, and thus committed a quick apostasy. Then, when he came to their host, he ground the calf into powder and, dipping it into water, “gave it to drink,” it is said, “to the children of Israel” (Ex. 32:20), almost meaning by this that wickedness touched their entrails and wombs. I also think that through this he pointed out to them that they had a heart filled with nasty and abominable idolatry. Having called the chosen ones, he ordered that those most guilty before others be put to death; not sparing either brother, neighbor or acquaintances. And thus twenty-three thousand people fell. When he inflicted punishment commensurate with his guilt on the people who had so shamelessly disrespected him, he returned to God and offered prayers for the rest. And only then did God bow to his prayers, saying that he would no longer be with them, but would send an Angel to them so that he would be their guide and leader on their way. Moreover, the people mourned this sin of theirs. Then God commanded to take off (expensive) clothes and all jewelry, and thus walk in humility. When this was carried out, then it was said, “Moses took and pitched a tent for himself outside the camp” (Ex. 33:7). This is the literal meaning of the story in a nutshell. But we will find that those who came from Israel dared to do the same thing even when the Only Begotten became man like us. For He called them to the Kingdom of Heaven, as of old through Moses he called them to the Promised Land, and promised to make those who believe in Him free; because he freed those who came from the tribe of Israel, who accepted salvation by blood in faith, from the lust for power of the Egyptians. They slain the representative lamb even when Christ was already performing the sacrament. But those who had the law, which perfectly led to Christ through shadows and types, who boasted in every possible way about the words of Moses, did not respect Moses himself: they turned to the teachings and commandments of men and threw off the yoke of serving God. They by no means came to the One through whom God rules the universe, that is, to Christ. And what was the pretext for this? They turned away to worldly delights and, putting the greatest care into the pleasures of this life, were rightly rejected. For, being called to the marriage, they did not want to come, under the pretext of acquiring wives (for marriage) and fields (fn.: Luke 14, 18, 20). And the time had already come for Israel, having fallen to such a degree of wickedness, to be completely exposed to wrath. But the prayers of the saints saved the remains. However, many suffered punishment; because they fell by the sword and were destroyed by a cruel war, and yet they did not know that evil had befallen them for the crime of madness against Christ. Having cast off, as it were, the robe of ancient glory, and all spiritual adornment, they suffer from great ingratitude and spend their lives deprived of all glory. And that Christ Himself moved away from them was indicated by Moses, who pitched his portable tent (tabernacle) far from the camp. For Christ left the crowds of Jews or the regiments and their entire multitude and, retreating very far from them, revealed the motionless tabernacle, the Church of the Gentiles, which he declares to be His own; He speaks about this in one place through the mouth of the Psalmist: “I will dwell here, for I have desired it” (Ps. 131:14). So, it was necessary that they should finally appear stripped of their adornment and glory, not having Emmanuel, the Lord of glory, who clothed those who love Him with the adornment of faith and virtues, so that they would say very joyfully: “I will rejoice with joy in the Lord, 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, just as He placed a crown on a groom and adorned me with ornaments like a bride” (Isa. 61:10). For extraordinary is the beauty, obviously mental, which is in Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to God and the Father with the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. About the veil on the face of Moses “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30) In fairness, it would be decent to say to the people of Judea, who turned out to have reached such a degree of madness that in the Holy Scriptures they are called even without a heart. For behold, it is said, “a stupid and foolish people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear” (Jer. 5:21; Ezek. 12:2). And that the very law given through Moses became completely useless for them, due to the greatness of their inherent foolishness, Christ Himself pointed out to us, saying: “Search the Scriptures, for through them you think to have eternal life; and they testify of Me. But you do not want to come to Me to have life” (John 5:39–40); for “hardness occurred in Israel in part” (Rom. 11:25), and not having enlightenment through the Spirit, they were slow in faith and completely unwilling to choose and think what was beneficial for salvation. But they are not free from punishment, because after choosing what was useful they turned even more to incorrigible disobedience; and having light from heaven and from above, we rather loved walking in the night and in darkness. The prophet pointed to this, speaking about them: “we wait for light, and behold darkness, illumination, and we walk in darkness” (Is. 59:9); because they were stiff-necked and unbridled and considered absolutely unimportant what was useful and through which they could, and very easily, avoid harmful things. For Christ cried: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12) and: “walk while there is light in the light, lest darkness overtake you” (John 12:35). They were like those without mind or meaning. Therefore, they were enveloped in darkness and remained, as it were, in the night, being completely not involved in Divine illumination and not having the Divine light, since they completely did not understand the inspired Scripture. And for what reason, the divine Paul makes it clear to us, saying: “The same veil remains untaken until now when reading the Old Testament, because it is removed by Christ. To this day, when they read Moses, a veil lies over their heart; but when they turn to the Lord, then this veil is removed. The Lord is Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:14-17). So, contemplate the mystery foreshadowed in the Sacred and Ancient Scriptures. It is written like this: “And the Lord said to Moses: Write these words to yourself, for in these words I make a covenant with you and with Israel. And [Moses] stayed there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, eating no bread or drinking water; and wrote... on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten chapters. When Moses descended from Mount Sinai, and the two tablets of revelation were in Moses' hand as he descended from the mountain, Moses did not know that his face began to shine with rays because [God] spoke to him. And Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, and behold, his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. And Moses called them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation came to him, and Moses talked with them. After this, all the children of Israel approached, and he commanded them everything that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. And when Moses stopped speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. When Moses came in before the Lord to speak with Him, he took off the veil until he came out; And when he went out, he told the children of Israel everything that had been commanded... And the children of Israel saw that the face of Moses was shining, and Moses again put the veil on his face until he came in to speak with Him” (Ex. 34:27-35). The God of all inscribes the law on tablets of stone. since the face of Moses, who stayed with God for forty days and abstained from everything human, was illuminated by the light of the Divine, the chosen ones from among the Israelites, and above all others Aaron, were amazed at this sight. And when they retreated from him and fled, Moses brings them back and talks with the children of Israel, placing a veil on his face and the ray of Divine light emanating from him as such an overshadowing, making it somewhat bearable for the crowd of people. But then, it is said, “he entered ... before the face of the Lord, ... took off the veil” (Ex. 34, 34). Do you understand how inaccessible to the minds of the Jews is the light of the law itself? If what is written in it is understood spiritually, then nothing else will shine than the sacrament of Christ, which sends the Divine and brightest light into the hearts of the listeners. But the Israelites could not listen to such sublime words and could not easily understand the depth of the mystery. And even Nicodemus, when he listened to Christ speaking about rebirth through the Spirit, cried out coldly and sadly, saying: “How can a man be born old? Can food be carried into its mother’s womb a second time and be born?” (John 3:4.) And when Christ convinced him to perceive by faith what is above reason and words, he added to the previous: “how can this be?” (John 3:9) although the law prefigured this sacrament in countless forms. So, even the very light of the law was inconvenient for the Jews, but not only for the weak and simple, but also for the elect and priests themselves; for you have heard that Aaron, along with the elders, feared the glory of Moses. Therefore, with great meaning, Moses put a veil on his face, since the law has some overshadowing - the roughness of the writing and the lack of clarity of the historical narrative. But “whenever... Moses came in,” it is said, “Moses was before... the face of God, he took off the veil” (Ex. 34:34). We will find this true in relation to ourselves; because being brought, as it were, before the face of God and the Father, and Christ bringing us, we will see the glory of Moses without being overshadowed, spiritually understanding the law. For we are “transformed from glory to glory,” according to what is written (2 Cor. 3:18). And that the sacrament of Christ appears in glory, how can one doubt this, when blessed Paul clearly proclaims the following about the first and second (Old and New) Testaments: “For if the ministry of condemnation is glorious, much more abounds in glory the ministry of justification” (2 Cor. 3:9); because the canopy of the law was abolished, although it was honored with glory through Moses, or glory in the person of Moses. And what was brought through Christ remains unshakable and abounds in glory and grace, certainly higher than the ancient glory. Therefore, by removing the veils that cover what is written in the law, we “with open face... behold the glory of the Lord,” as it is written (2 Cor. 3:18). Therefore, as soon as we hear about the figuratively slaughtered lamb, we now recognize the sacrament, meaning the Lamb, who for our sake and for us exalted Himself into the aroma of the aroma of God and the Father. “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, through sprinkling, sanctifies the defiled, so that the body may be pure” (Heb. 9:13): then again we will understand by this nothing other than the cleansing accomplished through Christ, which, through water and the Spirit, does not free us from carnal impurities, but washes away spiritual and mental filth and vices. For we are sanctified in Christ. It would not be inappropriate to add (in conclusion) the following: so far we have decided to offer a brief summary of the contents of the chapters of the book of Exodus, not because we were too lazy to make an interpretation of the following chapters, but because having compiled the books “On Worship and Service in Spirit and Truth,” we subjected them to proper research into the very structure of the holy tabernacle and each of the objects that were in it, I mean the atonement and the ark, the table and the lamp, so that, it seems, nothing necessary for the completeness of the presentation is missing. Books nine and ten were devoted to this. To our God be glory forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: