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Hos.6:1–3. They will cry to Me, saying: Let us go and turn to the Lord our God, for he has beaten us, 99 and He will heal us: He will hurt us, and He will heal us: He will heal us twice a day; on the third day we will rise again and live before Him, and we will be wedded: let us marry, so that we may lead the Lord away: for the morning is ready we will find it, and it will come to us like the early rain and late earth. The expression: “they will be in the morning” here apparently means that they, having awakened as if from a dream from their inherent foolishness and, as if from night and darkness, having finally entered light and day, vying with each other, will exclaim in front of each other that they should finally turn to the Lord. And this is the conversion of those who have fallen into error and given over to idolatry; for the fruit of conversion is the desire to be outside the darkness, obviously demonic, and, filled with the light of the divine, is carried away by correct reflection to the knowledge of the true and nature of God and the Lord, although in ancient times they thought that there were gods and lords in the world (1 Cor. 8:5), and reached such foolishness that they said to a tree: “Thou art my father, and to a stone: Thou hast begotten me” ( Jer.2:27). Speech continues to be figurative. Look how they seem to say about a lion and another beast: he grabbed (ἤρπακε), “and will heal us.” since He Himself said: “And I will be like a panther to Ephraim, and like a lion to the house of Judah: and I will snatch, and will go, and shall not be taken away” (Hos. 5:14), then they hold back this figurative speech and say that the one who snatches them will heal them completely. Just as His anger caused them grief, so the benefits received from His mercy will undoubtedly bring joy to those who suffered. At the same time, we will also understand that if God sends misfortune to someone, then no one is able to help, and only He alone can correct the situation of the suffering 100. If it is necessary to relate the meaning of the prophecy to everyone living on earth; then we must take into account the following. Adam in the beginning distorted 101 human nature; for that very hour showed her worthy of damnation, being subjected to death and corruption. So anger struck, and grace put a plaster on the wound: for Christ healed us, called us to the knowledge of true contemplation of God, through the Spirit showed us capable of keeping the commandments, made us blessed again, delivering us from corruption and freeing us from ancient ailments, I say, sins and passions. This came true for those living on earth, not in the first or second time, but as if in the third, that is, in the last and final. After all, all times are counted as three, the first, the middle and the last, in which Christ appeared to us. That is why they say, as if from medical experience, that what pertains to healing will happen to us after two days, since the prophetic word uses the day as a measure for time. Then, he says, “let’s get married and lead the Lord away.” “Let’s get married” they say instead of: “I tried my best.” Then “we will rise again and live before him”; for we were “raised with Christ” (Col. 3:1) and even if one “died for all,” then we live His life (2 Cor. 5:15) and are no longer removed from the eyes of God for transgression and not rejected for sin: but we have already been admitted to the contemplation of God and have received boldness from Him, because of justification in Christ. And that through Him we came to know the Father Himself, and that the Son, who became like us, is for us the fullness of all good, this they confess, saying: “as the morning is ready we will find him,” that is, like the rising light, like the sun, like radiance, after darkness has passed. “For us it will be like the former and the latter rain,” that is, He waters us who have accepted faith and correctly recognized His appearance - in two ways, I think: namely: He reveals in the Spirit the knowledge of ancient, legal and, moreover, prophetic instructions. (This, I think, is the “early rain”): to this is added, as it were, a later understanding of the gospel instructions and the longed-for grace of the apostolic gospel. And we became, as the prophet says, “a desirable land” and perhaps blessed David sings about us, saying: “thou hast visited the land, and thou hast made it drunk, and hast multiplied it to make it rich” (Ps. 64:10). Therefore she gave her fruit in hundred, sixty and thirty, according to the word of the Savior (Matthew 13:8). Hos.6:4. What will I do to Ephraim? What will I do to you Judas? My mercy 102 is like the morning cloud, and like the early falling dew (πορευομὲνη). This is the speech of someone who is not in a difficult position; for God was not ignorant of what was useful to those who were in error, and was not powerless to do what could benefit those who fell into the devil’s snares. On the contrary, he accuses them of the fact that although they had no shortage of means for healing, they voluntarily inclined to commit what was illegal. This is similar to saying this: what means of care and infirmity were not used? and what will I do after all this? How will you remove your disease? And by what medicine can you finally receive healing? After all, you had the opportunity in your power to accept my goodness and incomparable love for mankind, like a cloud that makes you fat, and, moreover, very richly, and like the morning dew that waters, and moreover, abundantly: but you, he says, did not pay any attention to all this and put such a sacred and much-desired grace at nothing. But the meaning of the prophecy can be attributed especially to the gift received through Christ, for He is the watering cloud and the fattening dew, and, moreover, “morning”, because (he appeared) in some way after the night, by which is meant darkness and the darkness of the devil. So it comes down from heaven: for the Word came to us from above and from the Father. “Passing” (πορευομενη) is called because it spreads throughout the whole of heaven; for the saving preaching is very broad and, as it were, expanding throughout the whole of heaven, while the law was in some way constrained and revolved only in the land of Judea: “God is known in Judea,” according to the word of the Psalmist (Ps. 75:2); The Savior and Deliverer of all, that is, Christ, was known by the whole universe. Hos.6:5. For this reason I have reaped your prophets; I have killed you with the words of my mouth. The destruction of those who mislead is a proof of (God's) favor and love towards them (the Israelites); for false prophets arose from time to time in Israel, who were attached to the altars of Baal, misleading others and themselves being mistaken, according to what is written (2 Tim. 3:13). But from time to time they were beaten when God commanded this and pronounced a righteous sentence over them. So Elijah beat some near the altar of Baal because they were idle and said: “Listen to us, Baal, listen to us” (1 Kings 18:26), while others were killed by Jehu, whom the blessed prophet Elisha anointed to rule in Israel through one of the sons of the prophets, which was also at the command of God (2 Kings 9:1). When he was anointed king, after God was angry with the deceivers, then he (Jehu) first of all killed Achaab, after him Jezebel, then his sons who were in all Samaria. Pretending that he wanted to celebrate the feast of Baal, he gathered all the false prophets, and pretending to want to make a sacrifice, slaughtered them all one by one, gathered in a house ( 2 Kings 10:19–25 ). And he overthrew Baal himself and burned his altars, as it is written about it. So that the beating of the false prophets was, as I said, a proof of (God’s) favor and love for Israel, this he taught, saying: “For this reason your prophets have reaped.” He says very well: “pozhah”; for they fell in multitudes, cut down like ears of corn. Hos.6:5–6. And my judgment will come out like light: I desire mercy rather than sacrifice, and the leading away of God rather than burnt offerings. He also points to another type of favor and love for them, which, if carried out in accordance with His will, then all Israel and Judah would have been saved: for God and the Father not only destroyed many wicked false prophets, giving them over to a well-deserved death, but also sent in his time the Son himself, who revealed His good will before others to the descendants of Israel and made His judgment clear. Therefore, through the mouth of David, he said the following: “I am... I have been appointed king over Zion by her holy mountain, proclaiming the commandment of the Lord” (Ps. 2:6-7). And He Himself, having become like us, that is, a man, says: “I do not speak about myself, but the Father who sent me gave me this commandment, what I should say and what I should say” (John 14:10, 12:49). “So, “my judgment will come out,” he says, “like light,” that is, my will will not be hidden in riddles, but will be directly and openly presented to the minds of all. And that Emmanuel, having once come, will call the lost not to legal service and will convince them to venerate not what is in images and shadows, on the contrary, will lead to a good life, justice and mercy and love for each other and to the true, unerring knowledge of God and will make clear the purpose of judgment - he says about this: “I want mercy, and not sacrifice, and the leading of God, rather than burnt offerings." For what does the Savior say? “Whatever slaughter you will, let men do to you, so do you to them” (Matthew 7:12). Showing that love is especially revered by God, he says: “All of them understand this, just as you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). And that he led the minds of those who came to Him to the knowledge of the true God - who can doubt this? For He pointed us to Himself as the image of Him who gave birth to Him, saying to His true disciple Philip: “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? seeing me and the Father. I and the Father are one” (John 14:9–10, 10:30). And if anyone wants to say that the Son Himself is the mercy of the Father, surpassing sacrifice and burnt offering, he will understand correctly; for so He is called in the inspired Scripture. So God and the Father Himself nowhere told us about Him: “For my salvation is coming, and my mercy” will be revealed (Is. 56:1). And the prophet (speaks) to Him: “Lord, show us your mercy, and give us your salvation” (Ps. 84:8). Truly, Christ is mercy from the Father, because He destroys sins, forgives crimes, justifies by faith, saves the lost, delivers from death, and what else best does He not give us? Therefore, better than sacrifice and burnt offerings is the knowledge of God, as if it were accomplished in Christ: for through Him and in Him we have honored the Father and have been justified by faith. Hos.6:7. These are like a man who transgresses the covenant. Trying from all sides and as best as possible to explore the truth, we must now say that in the Hebrew edition, instead of: “like a man” it reads: “like Adam transgressed the covenant,” so that we can understand the crime of the Israelites that Adam committed. Although he had the opportunity to have close communication with God and to remain in immortality and enjoy the pleasures of heaven, he neglected the divine commandment, then died in the most shameful way and unexpectedly lost his primeval bliss. So they (I mean the Israelites again), although they enjoyed the favor and love of the God of all, had in Him a Savior and protector, giving them mercy like the early cloud and like the descending dew of the morning, bringing forth His judgment like light, and honoring them with service according to the law, but they turned out to be negligent in relation to what was necessary for themselves and useful for their well-being and glory, and they despised God, the Lord of all, although He spoke clearly through the wise Moses: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, nor any likeness, such as the tree in the heavens, and the tree upon the earth below, and the tree in the waters under the earth” (Ex. 20:4) and again: “Let not thee be gods except me” (Ex. 20:3). since they, like the first, that is, Adam, fell into apostasy: then they themselves completely fell away from the One who could bring them joy, for they transgressed the covenant. If we understand this prophecy more mysteriously, as a prophecy about Christ: then, clarifying the meaning of what has been said, we will also say the following. God and the Father sent the Son from heaven to enlighten the Israelites and make His judgment clear and teach them to abandon the ancient sacrifices and burnt offerings according to the law; on the contrary, He had mercy, justified them by faith, and called them to the knowledge of the true God; for through Him and in Him we saw the Father and were “led” to Him (Eph. 2:18), as the Holy Scripture nowhere says about this. But the Israelites became “like a man who transgressed the covenant.” What this means, I will say about this again, as best I can. Whoever violates a will written by another either does not himself take possession of the inheritance assigned by the writer, or deprives others included in the will of what is assigned to them here in the will. The Jews did something similar and, moreover, in relation to Christ. How or in what way? God and the Father granted Christ, as it were, some glorious and hefty inheritance - dominion over the people, for he cried out, saying: “I... I have made him a king over Zion over her holy mountain” (Ps. 2:6), and he gave the Son a spiritual vineyard, that is, Israel, “the vineyard of the Lord of hosts...,” according to what is written, “the man of Judah, a new beloved garden” (Is. 5:7). But, as the blessed evangelist John said, “he came to his own, and did not receive his own” (Is. 1:11), for they took him out of the gates of the city and put him to death, saying: “This is the heir: come, let us kill him and keep his property” (Matt. 21:38). Notice how they became “like a man who transgresses the covenant.” You have known the heir, so give him the inheritance intended for him. So they violated the will of the Father, depriving the heir of the inheritance, as far as it depended on them: but they themselves did not approach grace and did not achieve the inheritance given to them from God. God through the prophet said: “These days are coming, says the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that their father commanded, on the day that I eat them by the hand, that I will bring them out of the land of Egypt” (Jer. 31:31-32). If anyone compares the new covenant with the first, he will understand a very large difference in the promised blessings. There the land of the Amorites and Girgashites and the Hivites and the Jebusites was promised to them: the new covenant, that is, Christ’s institutions through faith called for the sonship of God, for immortality and endless life, for communion with God through the Spirit, for the kingdom of heaven. But they did not desire to have the inheritance assigned to them from God the Father through the Son. So they offended God in two ways - both by breaking the covenant and by expelling, as far as it depended on them, the heir from the inheritance given to him by the Father, while also depriving themselves of what was given to them from God in Christ. Hos.6:7–9. There the Lord despises 103 me, ... making a vain city, muddying the waters, and your fortress 104 ... husband... a robber. The speech again returns to the depiction of the crimes for which the wicked multitude of false prophets who were among them were justly exterminated. “Tamo,” he says, that is, at the time in which Israel fell and reached such a state that they decided to worship demons (for this is what “tamo” means, understood in the sense of events, and not in the sense of place), Gilead despised me to the extreme. This is the city on the other side of the Jordan, designated for the Levites according to the law of Moses. So it was a city of priests and Levites. But they, obligated to turn others away from error and guide them to the truth and to the knowledge of what is beneficial (“before the lips of the priest retain understanding, and the law will be sought at his mouth” Mal. 2:7), they themselves became inventors of idols and artists of vain things, “they made vain things,” that is, idols. “They muddied the waters,” that is, they served as a cause of confusion for the crowd. In St. In Scripture, countless people are usually likened to water. Therefore, about the country of Babylon and Nineveh, which was distinguished by its large population, he says: “like a font of water is its water” (Nahum.2:8) instead of: as the font is full of water, so are its people. Or they muddied the waters in another way, offering those who came to them a kind of muddy and dirty teaching and making the minds of inexperienced people coarse, for they taught them to worship idols. Therefore, the God of all, through the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel, again accused them and cried out to them, as to the rams and leaders of the flock, saying: “And you are my sheep, this says... The Lord: Behold, I judge between a sheep and a sheep, and a ram and a goat. Is it not enough for you that you have grazed in good pasture, and have trampled down the remains of your pasture with your feet, and disturbed the settled water with your feet, and disturbed the remains with your feet: and my sheep have been trampled alive by your feet, and the disturbed water has been drunken with your feet” (Ezek. 34:17-19). The descendants of Levi, being versed in the law, and having, as it were, beautiful pasture and clear and pure water - the teaching of Moses, sufficiently capable of leading to the knowledge of the truth, in some way trampled the pasture and muddied the water, offering rough, dirty and full of earthly uncleanness teaching to those who, like sheep, followed them as rams. Therefore, the citizens and inhabitants of Gilead are brought to justice as troublemakers and exposed as having the power of a robber. And in what sense we should understand this, we will try to understand by interpreting the following words. Hos.6:9–10. Having hidden the way of the priests... 105, having killed Sikim, as if he had created iniquity in the house of Israel. I saw the terrible tamo, the fornication of Ephraim, Israel and Judah became defiled 106. The speech of the holy prophets sometimes recalls historical events about which, if someone wanted to remain silent, he could not explain the meaning of the words spoken. Therefore, those who wish to clearly interpret the words given and always strive to do something useful to their listeners must overcome laziness. So now let's get to it. Shikima is a small city on the other side of the Jordan in the neighborhood of Gilead, which, as we said before, was given to the descendants of Levi when Joshua divided the land of promise. It happened that during the holy feast established by the law, I say, the feast of tabernacles, when everyone from everywhere usually came to Jerusalem, as the law required, - and some of the Shechemites, either as a result of torment of conscience and repentance for their error, or as a result of God's call to prudence, finally wanted to show obedience to the laws and tried to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the feast there according to the law. This was some kind of beginning of a conversion and cessation of attachment to serving idols. So that some of the Israelites, that is, those belonging to the ten tribes, did not come from Samaria to Jerusalem to perform sacrifices and festivals established by the laws, and then little by little return to the ancient religion and become subjects of the kingdom of Judah, Jeroboam from the very beginning invented heifers and ordered the pitiful to perform for them everything established by the law, giving to their own inventions the glory due to God. In order to ensure security for his reign, he took away from God, as it were, His own subjects. So some of the Shechemites tried to go to Jerusalem, but the inhabitants of neighboring Gilead kept them from doing so, although, as I said, coming from the tribe of the Levites, they were appointed to priestly service according to the law. Since they did vain things (for they were artists of idols), they became angry, fearing that their art would fall into complete decline if Israel finally turned away from serving idols. And when they did not obey their words, they resorted to wicked plans and actions. They began to persuade some to commit robber attacks in the middle of the road (to Jerusalem) and brutally beat the Shechemites if they decided to go to Jerusalem, against their wishes. And thus many died. Others were saved and had the opportunity to escape their hands, but having lost what they carried with them for sacrifice, they barely returned to their fatherland. Therefore, the Lord of all accuses the inhabitants of Gilead that they, as Levites and priests and called to rule others, although they were obliged to show the erring people the bright path of piety according to the law, but on the contrary, they hid it, not allowing the right to philosophize those who, either of their own free will or as a result of a higher suggestion, were excited to the determination to finally free themselves from demonic error. So, “hiding,” he says, “the priests are the way of the Lord.” This is the same as what was otherwise clearly said by another prophet: “The priests do not ask, where is the Lord? and those who keep the law do not know me, and your shepherds dishonor me” (Jer. 2:8). But the deeds of the Gileadites did not stop there. In addition to hiding the path of the Lord, they also killed the Shechemites, delivering them into the hands of robbers. Therefore He said to Gilead: “And your strength is like a robber’s man.” See how God brings to our memory ancient history and remembers the ancient crimes of Levi. What I'm talking about is this. Dinah, the daughter of Jacob or Israel (for Jacob was renamed Israel) once left her father’s tent because she wanted to see the daughters of the native inhabitants. This was in Shechem. Then Shechem, the son of Hamor, saw the maiden and suddenly raped her and deflowered her. The girl’s brothers, Levi and Simeon, were greatly indignant at this and plotted deceit. They persuaded the people of Shechem to be circumcised. When this was accomplished, they completely destroyed the Sichemites, who were still sick and exhausted from suffering; and when the father was reproached for his unbridled anger they said the following: “Are they taking our sister like a harlot?” (Gen. 34:31) He reminds us of this event now, with some subtlety 107 saying: “I killed Sikim, because I committed iniquity in the house of Israel.” Then, he says, they were guilty because they sinned against the house of Jacob, or Israel, by deflowering the maiden, which is why we killed Sikima. But now, he says, they wanted to turn to God, love the establishment of the law, make sacrifices, celebrate holidays and finally move away from thoughts of idolatry. What about the Levites? “Hidden the way of the Lord, killing Sikima.” Will they now be accused of committing iniquity in the house of Israel? Which virgin is now dishonored? Which Dinah did they sin against? What were the crimes of the Shechemites when they honored God, when they discovered love for the right state of mind and an ardent desire to fulfill the requirements of the law? So, “I saw,” he says, “the most terrible fornication of Ephraim.” It is as if someone is struck with surprise, and quite rightly, to see that the sacred and chosen race has withdrawn to such an extent from the love of God that they have not only become inventors of idols for others, but also prevent them from expressing their love for God. So, “be defiled,” he says, “Israel and Judah,” so that if they are subjected to something terrible, then let no one blame God, who is angry with them. Hos.6:11, 7:1 Begin to gather your own grapes, when I bring back the captivity of my people, when I heal Israel. The prophetic speech again turns to the inhabitant of Gilead and says that I, as God, began to heal and convert Israel. And the Shechemites finally wanted to bow their necks to God and celebrate holidays, not by Jeroboam, but established by law, and to move away from I don’t know how they invented the error. But you, O Gileadite, seem to have sheared them and gleaned them like a vineyard, and from the spoils you have acquired unrighteous wealth for yourself. Therefore, again with some sophistication 108 exclaims: “begin to embrace the grapes for yourself.” This seems to be speaking, and if he does not speak, then he subtly makes it clear that I too will make you the firstfruits of those punished. Beginning to shear Israel and, as it were, to gather grapes from the perpetrators of such terrible wickedness, I will make you the firstfruits of wrath. You need to know that Phul, the king of Assyria, who was the first to attack Samaria and Israel, took into captivity first of all the tribes living on the other side of the Jordan. And there Gilead was the only city. And just as you, O Gileadite, took for yourself what you had gained by robbery, when I turned Israel to Me and began to heal them, so I, having delivered Israel to the Assyrians, will make you the firstfruits of those led away into captivity. Ancient crimes are akin to the crimes of the Jews against Christ. God and the Father called all Israel to have the best aspirations and stop serving according to the law and instead choose the new and gospel. But they resisted quite a bit to those who converted and called them to healing, as it is written that “already... the Jews were formed, yea, if anyone confessed Christ, he would be excommunicated from the congregation” (John 9:22). And their leaders heard: “Woe to you scribes and hypocrites, because you have taken away the key of understanding; you do not enter in, nor leave those who enter to heed” (Matt. 23:13; Luke 11:52). Therefore, they were betrayed to their enemies and suffered severe punishments for their fury against Christ. ἠρπακεν at St. Cyril and in the authoritative text LXX, but the Slavic follows the reading πέπαικε, as in Theodoret and some, also in Ital. verberavit. letters The situation of the victims needs only Him for correction (improvement). In glory your Greek υμῶν so in all authoritative lists of the LXX, in Heb. and in all translations, that is, mercy to you, about you. In Slav. There you despise me. Gilead...as is Compl. ed. In glory added: like a robber's husband, as in some. In Slav. added: of the Lord, as in Alex. list, in Italian. lane etc. In Slavs. this place reads like this: killing Sikima, as if he had committed lawlessness. In the house of Israel I saw a terrible thing: there is the fornication of Ephraim: Israel and Judah are defiled. μετά τινος ἤθους lat. cum quadam urbanitate ac dissimulatione. Ἐν ἥθει lat. cum irrisione quadam. You might be interested in: