Беседа LXII

“And Judah saw the daughter of the man of Canaanite, whose name was Sheba, and he gave her drink, and went down to her. And when she was conceived, she gave birth to a son, and he called his name Ir” (Gen. 38:2–3). Last time, the story of Joseph taught us enough how destructive envy is and how this destructive passion first of all spoils the soul in which it arises. You also saw how Joseph’s brothers, enslaved by this passion, forgot their very kinship, and treated their brother, who had not offended them in any way, with the cruelty of wild animals and, thereby revealing their own malice, did not so much harm their brother as cover themselves with dishonor. Although they sold him to strangers, and these resold him to the archmagir of Pharaoh, but since Joseph had help from above in everything, everything turned out to be bearable and easy for him. I wanted to continue the same story today and again draw instruction from it for you. But it also includes another legend, which cannot be ignored; Having explained this as much as possible, we will return again to the story of Joseph. What legend is included here? This is about Judas. He, having taken the daughter of a Canaanite, Sheba, as his wife, and having three sons from her, “gave,” the Scripture says, “to the firstborn of Er, Tamar, a wife” (Gen. 38:6). But Er turned out to be “evil before the Lord” - and God struck him down. And he commanded Abnan, who had taken his brother’s wife, to restore his brother’s seed. This is exactly what the law commanded, so that after the death of a brother who left no children, another brother would take his wife and restore his brother’s seed (Deut. 25:5). But Avnan also turned out to be evil; God struck him with death too. Judah, seeing the sudden death of his two sons, fell into fear and, in order to console Tamar, promised to give her his third son; but, fearing that this one, like his brothers, would not be punished, he did not fulfill the promise. Meanwhile, Tamar, comforted by the promise, remained “in her father’s house,” awaiting the fulfillment of what was promised by her father-in-law. Although she noticed that Judas did not want to fulfill his promises, she complacently endured, not wanting to enter into marriage with another, but endured widowhood, waiting for a favorable time, because she hoped to give birth to children from her father-in-law himself. And when she found out that her mother-in-law had died, and Judah had gone to Timna to shear sheep, Tamar decided by deception to share a bed with her father-in-law and give birth to children from him - not for the sake of carnal lust, no, but in order not to be left without a name 743. However, there was also providence (of God) in this matter, which is why her intention was actually fulfilled. “Having cast off,” it is said, “the robe of his widowhood 744, and having put on 745 the summer robe, and having adorned himself 746, he sat before the gate” (Gen. 38:14). Then, as if in apology for her, the Divine Scripture says: “Seeing how great Shiloh was 747; this one will not give her to him as a wife,” that’s why she decided to commit such a deception. Judas thought that this was a harlot (because she covered her face so that she could not be recognized), “and turn away to her... She said: what mi dasi?” (Gen.38:16). He promised to send her “a goat of goats... She said: if you give me a pledge, you will send it 748” (Gen. 38:17). “And he gave... the ring, and the hryvnia, and the rod, and went down to her: and she conceived in the womb by him” (Gen. 38:18). But no one, hearing this, should condemn Tamar: as I have already said, she served in this case as an instrument of Providence, which is why she was not subjected to any censure, and Judas was not condemned. From here, extending further, you will see that Jesus Christ descends from the children born to him 749. In addition, the two sons born of Judah transformed two nations, and were a foreshadowing of Jewish and spiritual life. But now let's see how, after the removal of Judah, the matter was soon explained, and Judah himself blamed himself, and Tamar justified him. As soon as she had achieved what she wanted, she again changed her clothes, returned from there and came to her house. And Judah, knowing nothing about this, fulfilled his promise - he sent a goat to Tamar to take back the pledge given to her; but the messenger, not finding this woman anywhere, returned and announced to Judas that he could not find her anywhere. Then Judas said: lest they condemn us for being ungrateful (Gen. 38:23), he still did not know what had happened. But when three months had passed, and the burden of the womb revealed conception, and meanwhile no one knew about the secret copulation, then it was announced to Judah that Tamar was “in the womb from fornication”; and he, having learned about this, “said: Take her out, and let them burn her” (Gen. 38:24). Great indignation! A terrible execution because the sin seemed great. What about Tamar? Having sent Judas the things that she had received from him as a pledge, she said 750: “This is his essence,” from him I received the fruit of the womb 751. 2. Notice how the silent one (hitherto) brings the most reliable witnesses who can give a voice and sufficiently demonstrate her innocence. Since the accused in such a case had to present three witnesses, she sent three things given to her as collateral that could clearly testify in her favor: a ring, a hryvnia and a staff, and, staying at home and without saying a word, she won. Judas, having learned these things, said: “You were justified more than me, for you did not give it to my mighty son” (Gen. 38:26). What does it mean: “justified more than me?” This means: she is innocent, and I condemn myself and reveal my crime, although no one denounces me; or better said, I have a strong accuser: the pledge that I gave her. Then, again excusing Tamar, he says: “For I did not give it to my mighty son.” Perhaps this happened for a special reason, which I will tell you about. Namely: Judah thought that Tamar was the reason for the defeat of Er and Abnan by death, and, fearing the same regarding Shiloh, he did not give her this son, although he promised. So that he can be convinced by experience that it was not she who caused the death of his children, but they themselves were punished for their evil behavior (as it is said: “God kill him”; and again about the other son: “kill this one too”), for this, he, out of ignorance, falls into incest with his daughter-in-law, and then by the very fact he is convinced that it is not through her fault, but for his evil character, that his sons are punished. Having realized his sin and freed Tamar from punishment, Judah “do not add to that knowledge,” it is said, “(Gen. 38:26); by this he showed that he would not have copulated with her before if he had recognized her. Finally, after such a detailed narrative about Tamar’s deception, Divine Scripture also shows us what kind of children were born from her. “It came to pass when she was born,” it is said, “and she was quickly born in her womb. When she was born, one spoke with his hand: and the woman took it up and tied scarlet on his hand, saying, “This one will come forth first” (Gen. 39:27-28). Notice here the mystery and foreshadowing of future events. After the midwife tied the baby’s hand with a red thread to mark him, he “pulled his hand, and his brother came out” (Gen. 38:29) - that is, he allowed his brother to come out first (from the mother’s womb); and thus the one who was considered last came out first, and the one who was considered first appeared after that. “And the woman said: Why did you stop for the sake of blocking? And he called his name Perez” (Gen. 38:29), because this name means “suppression”, you can also say: “separation”. “And after him 752 his brother went out,” with a mark on his right hand; “And show his name Zara” (Gen. 38:30), which means “east.” And that this did not happen simply, but was an image of the future, the fact itself shows: it did not happen according to the natural order. How could it have been possible for a hand tied with a red thread to disappear again and leave a passage for another, if the Divine power had not arranged it and, as if in the shadows, had not predicted that Zara had appeared from the very beginning, i.e. the east (it is the image of the Church); and when he had advanced a little and retreated, the observance of the law (signified by Pharez) began; after it had been in force for a long time, the one who initially retreated appeared again, i.e. Zara, and the entire Jewish order gave way to the Church? But perhaps it is necessary to tell you this again in brief and clearer words. Just as Zerah was the first to stretch out his hand, Noah and Abraham, and before Noah Abel and Enoch, began to be much concerned about pleasing God. Then, when people, having multiplied, collected many sins upon themselves, they needed some small admonition; like a shadow, the law was given, not so that it could blot out sins, but so that it would point them out and make them obvious to people who, like little children fed on milk, could thus come to perfect age. But when they did not use this to their advantage, and despite the fact that the law pointed to many sins, they continued to corrupt themselves with them, then the common Lord of all appeared on earth and gave the human race a spiritual and perfect structure 753, the image of which was represented by Zara. Therefore, the evangelist mentions Tamar and the children born from her, and says: “Judah begat Perez and Zarah from Tamar” (Matthew 1:3). 3. So, let us not ignore what is contained in the Divine Scripture, or dwell superficially on its sayings; but, penetrating into its depths and recognizing the wealth contained therein, let us glorify our Lord, who arranges everything with such great wisdom. If we do not want to test both the reasons and the goals of each event described here, then we will not only condemn her (Tamar) for incest with her father-in-law, but we will also blame Abraham for intentionally becoming a child killer, and Phinehas for committing two murders at once. And if we carefully study the case of each of them, then we will not blame them, and we ourselves will still receive great benefit from this. But as for this story (from the life of Judah and Tamar), we have revealed, if possible, to your love. Now, if you are not tired and still want to (listen), we will touch upon subsequent events, and again turn to the story of the wonderful Joseph, so that from what has been said today you can see how much this courageous fighter suffered after those dreams that foreshadowed his dominance and authority over his brothers, how he moved from one struggle to another, how temptation after temptation befell him, shipwrecks followed one after another, but the helmsman did not drowned, and when the strongest storm came, he steered his ship as if sitting at the helm. But let’s listen to the story itself to find out everything exactly. “Joseph,” says the Scripture, “was brought into Egypt, and he was bought by the archmagir of the Pharaohs at the hand of the 754 Ishmaelites” (Gen. 39:1). Since those who bought it from the brothers were, in their morals, people wild and rude, and they resold it to the Egyptian archmagir of the pharaoh; and thus the son, raised in the arms of his father, passed from one master to another, so that it would not be incomprehensible to us how he, still young, not accustomed to such a hard way of life, brought up at home with all the fatherly love, endured this cruel slavery - the Divine Scripture adds: “And the Lord was with Joseph, and the husband was prosperous” (Gen. 39:2). What does it mean “the Lord was with Joseph”? The fact that grace from above accompanied him and made all difficulties easy for him. She arranged everything that concerned him. She made the merchants meek and disposed to sell him to the archmagir so that he, little by little moving forward along this path and being subjected to such temptations, could approach the royal throne. And you, beloved, hearing that he suffered slavery from merchants, and then went into slavery to the archmagir, think about how he was not embarrassed in spirit, did not indulge in doubts about his own reasoning and did not say: “How false are those dreams that foreshadowed my glory! After these dreams, slavery and hard slavery; My masters change, and I move from one to another, from another to another, and am forced to adapt to their wild customs. Are we already abandoned? Are you deprived of the help of the Most High? He didn't say or think anything like that; but he endured everything with meekness and complacency. “The Lord is with Joseph, and the husband is prosperous.” What does “prosperous” mean? The fact that everything was going well for him; grace from above preceded him everywhere, and manifested itself so clearly on him that his master, the archmagir, noticed it. “But knowing,” says the Scripture, “his master, that the Lord is with him, and that all things are created, the Lord arranges them in his hand. You will find 755 Joseph grace before his master 756: and make him ruler over his house, and give all that was to him into Joseph’s hands” (Gen. 39:3-4). Do you see what it means to have help from the right hand on high? Here he is - a young man and a wanderer, and a captive and a slave, and yet he receives the whole house from the master. “Everything,” it is said, “will be given into his hand.” Why? Because with the highest help he brought his own (good) disposition. “Be good to him” (the lord), it is said, i.e. I did everything for him with great zeal. Then, the Lover of Mankind, God, wanting to lead him to even greater well-being, did not yet free him from slavery and did not give him freedom. This is how it always pleases God - not to remove virtuous people from dangers and not to free them from temptations, but in the very temptations to show them such His help that even the temptations themselves become a reason for triumph. That’s why blessed David said: “You have spread me out in sorrow” (Ps. 4:2). You, he says, did not delay the sorrow, did not give me peace, freeing me from it, but - what is wonderful and extraordinary - in the midst of the very sorrows, you brought me to safety. The Lord, the lover of mankind, does the same here. “Bless 757 the house of Joseph the Egyptian” (Gen. 39:5). The stranger was already convinced that the imaginary slave was one of those who were pleasing to God. “And he delivered,” it is said, “all that was unto him, into the hands of Joseph: and knew nothing save the bread, which he ate” (Gen. 39:6). He made him almost a lord over his entire house. So, the slave, the captive, had in his hands all the property of his master. Such is virtue! Wherever she appears, she conquers everything and dominates everything. Just as darkness disappears when light (solar) appears, so all evil is removed, just as virtue appears. 4. But the fierce beast, the devil, seeing that the righteous man was succeeding and that through the most sorrowful circumstances, apparently, he became only more glorious, gnashed his teeth and raged, and, not being able to see the righteous man gaining greater glory day by day, digs a deep abyss for him, prepares a rapids from which he thinks to cast him into complete destruction, raises a storm that could expose him to terrible shipwreck. Soon, however, he became convinced that he was going against the grain and was planning everything only on his own head. “And Joseph,” it is said, “was kind in appearance and handsome in appearance” (Gen. 39:6). Why is it said about bodily beauty? So that we know that he not only had spiritual goodness, but also physical goodness. He was in the bloom of youth; had a good appearance and a beautiful face. And first, the Divine Scripture speaks about this in order to explain to us how the Egyptian woman, captivated by the beauty of the young man, inclined him to lawless communication with her. “And it came to pass,” it is said, “there were 758 of these” (Gen. 39:7). What is “so far”? That is, after he was given power over the entire house and after he was awarded such an honor by the master. “His master’s wife set her eyes on Joseph” (Gen. 39:7). What shamelessness of an unbridled woman! She did not take into account either the fact that she was considered the mistress of the house, or the fact that he was a slave; but, captivated by his beauty and surrendering to satanic fire, she attempts to attack the young man and, having this vicious intention in mind, seeks only time and solitude in which she could carry out her criminal plan. But Joseph, it is said, did not want this; he did not obey, did not listen to her speeches: he knew that this matter would bring him death - and he not only thought about himself, but tried, as far as possible, to keep her from such madness and criminal desires. He instills in her thoughts that can both shame her and bring her to the consciousness of her own benefit. “And he said,” it is said, “to his master’s wife (the mistress receives advice from the slave!): “If my master,” he says, “does not know me for the sake of anything in his house, but 759 everything that is great to him is in my hand” (Gen. 39:8). What a grateful man! See how he counts the benefits of his master to show what ingratitude she shows to her husband. I, he says, a slave, a foreigner, a captive, have such a power of attorney from him that everything is in my hands, and he has not excluded anything from my power except you; I am in charge of everyone here, but I am subordinate only to you, and only you are outside my power. Then, in order to deal her a decisive blow, he reminds her of her husband’s love for her, convinces her not to be ungrateful to her wife and says: that’s why you are not in my power, “because you are his wife.” And if you are his wife, then “how can I create this evil verb and sin before God?” (Gen.39:9). Since she was looking for an opportunity to be alone with him and was biding her time, trying to hide from her husband and from all the household servants, he says: how can I do this evil and sin before God? What do you think? Even though we could hide from all people, we cannot hide from the All-Seeing Eye. He alone must be feared, feared and trembled, so as not to do anything criminal before His eyes. And so that we know all the superiority of the virtue of this righteous man, and the fact that he not once or twice, but many times withstood this struggle, listened to such speeches and did not cease to exhort, the Divine Scripture says: “When... she spoke day after day, and did not listen to her” (Gen. 39:10). Observing household chores, she, like an animal gnashing its teeth, attacked this young man and, grabbing him by the clothes, held him back. Let's not ignore this; but let us think about the struggle the righteous man had to endure. It was not so wonderful, it seems to me, that three youths in the middle of the Babylonian furnace remained unharmed and did not suffer anything from the fire, as it is wonderful and extraordinary that this wondrous young man, being held by his clothes by this dishonest and unbridled woman, did not surrender to her, but fled, leaving even his clothes in her hands. And just as those three youths, having received help from above for their virtue, became conquerors of the fire, so this one, because he used all his efforts on his part and showed great constancy in the exploits of chastity, received great help from above, so that, with the assistance of the right hand of God, he could win this victory and escape the snares of a dissolute wife. One could see after the wondrous young man came out naked from his clothes, but clothed in a robe of chastity, and how he fled, as if from fire and flame, without suffering any harm and not only without being scorched, but becoming even more pure and bright. 5. But pay attention to the fact that after such a victory, after such courage, for which he should have been crowned, should have been glorified, he again, as a guilty person, is exposed to a thousand troubles. This Egyptian woman, unable to bear the shame and dishonor to which she subjected herself, having conceived an impossible deed, first of all summoned her family, accuses the young man and, attributing her insane desire to him, tries in this way to deceive everyone. This is how vice usually acts: always at odds with virtue, it tries to attribute its crimes to it. This woman did the same: she slandered the young man as a dissolute one, and covered herself with a mask of chastity and said that for this reason he left his clothes, and she kept them. And God, the lover of mankind, in His forbearance, allowed this in order to glorify His servant all the more. When her husband came, she told all this with great deceit and, accusing the young man, said: “A Jewish youth came to me, and you brought him to us to scold me” (Gen. 39:17). Unhappy and pathetic! He did not come in to you to dishonor you; but the devil guided you so that you would not only become an adulteress, but, if you need to, commit murder. To confirm her words, she showed the young man’s clothes. At the same time, think about how philanthropic the Lord, common to all people, is. Just as He had previously delivered Joseph from his brothers who wanted to kill him and arranged it so that first, on the advice of Reuben, he was thrown into a ditch, and then, on the advice of Judah, sold to merchants, so that the fulfillment of dreams would convince the righteous that it was not in vain and not without a purpose that it was revealed to him, so now the hand of the Most High restrained the stranger and did not allow him to immediately rush to kill the young man. In fact, what prevented him from doing this when he learned that the young man had even attempted to dishonor his bed? But the Benevolent God arranged it in such a way that the master showed such meekness that, being thrown into prison and here again showing his virtue, Joseph thus achieved control of the (Egyptian) kingdom. “Being angry 760,” it is said, “his master... threw him into prison, where the king’s prisoners were kept” (Gen. 39:19-20). However, if he did not believe, then he should not have been imprisoned; and if he believed that the words of the Egyptian woman were true, then Joseph no longer deserved imprisonment, but the death penalty and the highest punishment. But when the highest right hand shows its providence, then everything becomes easy and tolerable, and cruel people turn out to be the meekest. And help from above comes with generosity when we show a lot of virtue. Since this (righteous man) labored a lot, he received a lot of reward. And after such a courageous feat, he was taken to prison and endured everything silently. You know how people who know nothing bad about themselves, when condemned as guilty, retain all the strength of their spirit, speak freely and speak out with a consciousness of their dignity against those who accuse them of being innocent. But this one is not so; he is silent and accepts everything with meekness, and awaits God’s help with great patience. And look how in the prison itself he again received all power from the prison guard; and justly, because, says Scripture, “the Lord was with Joseph, and poured out mercy on him” (Gen. 39:21). What does it mean to “pouring mercy on him”? This means: the Lord inclined the prison warden to compassion and disposed to show him great favor. “May God give him grace” before him. Truly, there is no one more blessed than the one who enjoys favor from above. “And from there, it is said, the elder of the guards put the prison in the hand of Joseph” (Gen. 39:22). This is how the prison guard cedes (his rights), gives him independence and commands all prisoners in the prison to be under his authority. “And the elder of the prison guards knew nothing 761: for everything was in the hands of Joseph, even though the Lord was with him: and the great things that he did, the Lord made haste in his hand” (Gen. 39:23). Notice how the grace of God was always with him, and how everything he did was filled with grace. Let us also take care to always have the Lord with us and that He will always prosper in our affairs. Whoever has been awarded this help will laugh at them even in the midst of troubles and will not put them in anything, because the Lord creates everything for him and arranges it well, helps him in everything and makes difficult things easy. How can we always have the Lord with us and receive prosperity from Him in everything? If we are always sober and vigilant, we will imitate the chastity of this young man and his other virtues, the firmness of his spirit, we will remember that everything must be done with such care that we will never be condemned by the Lord, that it is impossible for anyone to hide from His vigilant Eye, and that the sinner must certainly be punished. Let us not prefer human fear to the wrath of God; but let us always remember the words of Joseph: “How can I create this evil verb and sin before God?” If any thought confuses us, then let us bring this saying to our minds, and every impermissible desire will immediately disappear. If anyone were carried away by a carnal desire or a passion for money or some other reckless pleasure, then let him immediately imagine that we have a Judge, from Whom even secret desires cannot hide. (By doing this), we will completely avoid the wiles of the devil and receive great help from above, which may we all be worthy of, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Zlat.: αὐτῆς according to sp. Dorothea and many others etc.; in Alex., Lucian. etc. is missing, but instead reads, in accordance with Heb. t., ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτῆς – “with oneself” (Slav. B.). - περιβαλλομένη instead of περιεβάλετο - “put on.” καλλωπισαμένη instead of ἐκαλλωπίσατο - “adorn yourself.” ἕως τοῦ ἀποστεῖλαί σε; in Lucian. – σοι – “to you.” ἐκ τῶν παίδων τούτῳ τεχθέντων . Words: ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου - “from man” (Slav. B.), usually read in the book. according to Heb. t., at Zlat. none. Zlat.: παρ᾿ ἐκείνου τῆς γαστρὸς τὸν ὄγκον ἐδεξάμην instead of the usual reading in the book: ἐγὼ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχω - “I am the imam in the womb” (Slav. B.). The list from which Zlat drew. the given reading remains unknown if it does not represent a paraphrase of biblical words belonging to the saint. Zlat.: μετὰ τούτον according to the Bodleian. (“de Lag”. Gen. gr.) and some. others (“Holmes”); in Lucian. and so on. according to Heb. t. – μετὰ τοῦτο – “therefore” (Slav. B.). καὶ ἐκτήσατο αὐτὸν ὁ ἀρχιμάγειρος Φαραὼ ἐκ χειρὸς ᾿Ισμαηλιτῶν, the saint reads, omitting other sayings read in the Bible. text. Εὗρε δὲ; in Lucian. and so on. sp. – καὶ εὗρε – “and you will find it.” The words: εὐηρέστει δὲ αὐτῷ - “and please him” are omitted here; and then read from Zlat. Zlat.: εὐλόγησε γὰρ with the omission of Κύριος, instead of καὶ εὐλόγησε Κύριος - “and bless the Lord,” as is usually read in Greek. sp. and ev. T. Zlat.: μετὰ ταῦτα; in Lucian. and so on. according to Heb. t. – μετὰ τὰ ρήματα ταῦτα – “according to these words” (Slav. B.). According to the text of Minh patrolology ἀλλὰ; but in 5 manuscripts, as noted in this edition, it is read instead καὶ - “and” according to the Greek. sp. and ev. T.; also in Slav. B. Εθυμώθη γὰρ instead of: καὶ ἐθυμώθη – “and became angry” in sp. Words: δὶ αὐτὸν – “for his sake”, read in Lucian. and so on. sp., at Zlat. are missing here, but in the following. in the conversation αὐτὸς is replaced by the name Joseph. You might be interested in: