"This is the genealogy of Isaac the son of Abraham" (Gen. 25:19).

Isaac's example of patience and perseverance in prayer. — The reasons why the wives of the righteous were barren. — Isaac's twenty-year prayer for Rebecca's barrenness and the urge to imitate the righteous man.

1. Again I would lead you to the usual table, and offer you a refreshment from the words of Moses, or rather, from the words of the Spirit, because Moses does not tell us his narrative of his own accord, but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And so, let us see today what he teaches us. For it is not without reason and not without purpose that he expounds to us the lives of the righteous, but so that we may imitate their virtue, and be followers of their perfections. Having described in detail the circumstances of the life of the forefather (Abraham) and having described his last feat, the sacrifice of the only-begotten (son), having shown us how the forefather offered this wondrous sacrifice to God, if not by deed, then by intention, Moses thus ended his narration about it. Listen, indeed, to what Paul says: "By faith Abraham, being tempted, sacrificed Isaac, and having the promise, he offered the only begotten" (Hebrews 11:17). And then, in order that we might know exactly how the forefather did all this by faith, and how he was not troubled in spirit, seeing that the command given to him was contrary to the promise, the Apostle says: "Wherefore he also received it as a sign" (Hebrews 11:19). What does it mean, "received as an omen"? It means that by sacrificing his son and showing a resolute intention in this, he himself was worthy of a crown, and he received his son back, and meanwhile the sacrifice was accomplished by offering a ram. In all this, God in every way showed the superiority of His own love for mankind and showed that He had given (the forefather) such a command, not wanting the death of Isaac, but only testing the obedience of the righteous man. Thus, we have seen the virtue of the forefather, shining in all his deeds. Now, reviewing the legends about Isaac, we also see how he also revealed his pious spirit in all his deeds. Let us listen to how the Scripture itself says about this. "This is the genealogy," he says, "of Isaac the son of Abraham: Abraham begat Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian (Aramean) of Mesopotamia, the sister of Laban the Syrian (Aramean)" (Gen. 25:19-20).

Notice, beloved, the accuracy of the divine Scriptures, how they say nothing unnecessarily. Why does it mean to us the years of Isaac's life, and says, "Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife"? Not without reason, and not without purpose. But since the Scriptures will tell you further about the barrenness of Rebekah, and that it was only through the prayer of the righteous man that she began to bear children, so it wants to depict to you all the strength of Isaac's patience, and to indicate exactly the time during which he was childless, so that we, imitating the righteous man, may also be persistent in prayers to God, when we ask him for something. This righteous man, so virtuous and enjoying such favor from God, showed such great diligence and firmness of spirit, constantly beseeching God to resolve Rebecca's barrenness. What shall we say, burdened with a multitude of sins, and not discovering in ourselves the slightest portion (virtues) of the righteous? And when we have a certain zeal for a short time, then we are confused and retreat from the podvig, if we are not heard immediately. Therefore, I urge you: learning from the events in the life of this righteous man, we will never cease to beseech God for mercy on our sins; let us show fiery zeal and let us not be impatient, let us not be lazy, if we are not immediately heard. Perhaps the Lord is delaying, thereby teaching us unflagging diligence (in prayer) and wants us to receive a reward for patience as well. He also knows the time when it is useful for us to get what we want. And we ourselves do not know so much what is useful for us as He knows, Who leads the most secret thoughts of everyone. Therefore, we should not experience much, reason a lot about what comes from God; but for everything to express our gratitude to Him and marvel at the virtues of the righteous. So; The Divine Scripture, having said how old Isaac was, goes on to say of Rebekah, his wife, that she was barren. Pay attention to the piety of the righteous man. As soon as he saw the defect of nature, he resorted to the Creator of nature and tried to loosen its bonds by the power of prayer. "And Isaac prayed," it is said, "to the Lord for Rebekah his wife, because she was barren" (Gen. 25:21). First of all, it is worth examining one thing here: why was she barren, while both she and her husband were men of wonderful life, and both maintained great chastity? We cannot suspect their lives, and say that their barrenness was the result of sins. And what is surprising, it was not only Rebekah who was barren, but also the mother of the righteous man, Sarah; and not only his mother, but also his daughter-in-law, I mean Rachel, Jacob's wife. What is the meaning of such an assembly of the barren? All of them are righteous, all are virtuous, all have received a testimony (of their righteousness) from God. After all, God said of them: "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exodus 3:6). And Blessed Paul says: "Therefore God is not ashamed of them, calling Himself their God" (Hebrews 11:16). They are praised much in the New Testament, and they are glorified much in the Old. In all respects they are illustrious and eminent: and yet they all had barren wives, and for a long time were childless.

2. Therefore, when you see a husband and wife living virtuously, and yet childless, when you see that they fear God and care for a godly life, but do not have children, do not think that this is a consequence of sins. Many intentions of the divine economy are unknown to us, but for everything we must thank (God), and only those who spend their lives in vices are considered unhappy, and not those who have not begotten children. God often arranges many things in our favor, but we do not know the cause of events. Therefore, in any case, we should marvel at His wisdom, and glorify His ineffable love for mankind. All this is said to you for your benefit, so that you may always show gratitude to God's providence, and not test His destinies. It is necessary, however, to reveal the reason why those wives were barren. What is this reason? So that you do not fall into unbelief, when you hear that the "Virgin" gives birth to our common Lord. Accustom your mind, as the Scriptures would say, to be the example of the barren here, and seeing how the obsolete and barren womb is opened by the grace of God for childbearing, do not be surprised when you hear afterwards that the Virgin gave birth. Or, better yet, be surprised, amazed, but believe in a miracle. Wherefore, when the Jew saith unto thee, How did the Virgin give birth, thou shalt also say unto him, And how did the barren and old woman give birth? In the latter case, there were two obstacles to birth: the untimely age and the inability of nature; and for the Virgin there was only one obstacle – that she was not involved in marriage. Thus, the barren woman prepares the way for the Virgin. And in order to convince yourself that the barren appeared in the past, that we might believe in the virgin birth, listen to the words of Gabriel to the Virgin. When he came to her and said, "Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bear a son, and shalt call his name Jesus," she was amazed, and in perplexity asked, "How shall this be, since I know no man?" What about the angel? "The Holy Spirit will come upon you," he says, "and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (Luke 1:31, 34-35). Do not demand, he says, the order of nature, when this matter is above nature. Do not assume the sorrows of marriage, when the manner of birth will be higher than marriage. "How will it be, she says, when I do not know my husband?" Therefore this will come to pass, because you do not know a man. If you knew a man, you would not be worthy to serve this secret. So believe for the very reason you don't believe. Not because, however, marriage is bad in itself, but because virginity is better than it. The image of the coming to earth of the Lord common to all had to be higher than ours, since it was a royal coming. In His birth, He had to have something in common with our birth, but also something different from ours. Both have been accomplished; Listen. That he was born of his mother's womb is what he has in common with us; and that He was born without wedlock is above our nature. To have in the womb is inherent in human nature; but conception without copulation is above human nature. So understand from this both His likeness and superiority over you. Note also wisdom in that neither His superiority has destroyed His likeness and affinity with us, nor His affinity with us has darkened His superiority. But both were revealed in His works: some of them were completely common with us, and others were different from ours. For this reason, as I have said, those women were barren, that we should believe in the birth of a virgin, that she herself might be led (by their examples) to believe in the gospel and promise given to her. Listen to what the angel says to her: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." In this way, he says, you will give birth, and all things will be accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit; do not look at the ground; this power will come from heaven; this is the work of the grace of the Holy Spirit; do not look here for the order of nature and the laws of marriage. But since these words were beyond her understanding, he wants to present her with another proof.

3. See, beloved, how the barren wife leads the Virgin to believe in this birth. Since the first proof was beyond the understanding of the Virgin, listen to how (the angel) reduces his word to the simplest things, admonishing her with tangible examples. "Behold," he says, "Elizabeth, thy kinswoman, who is called barren, and she conceived a son in her old age; and she is now six months old" (Luke 1:36). Without a doubt, in order to confirm the Virgin, he also pointed to the barren woman. Otherwise, why would he have given her the example of the birth of her relative, and why would he have added, "called barren"? All this he directs her so that she believes in the gospel; for this he mentioned both the age (of Elizabeth) and the exhaustion of nature; for this he also indicated the very time of conception. The angel did not preach the good news to the Virgin immediately, from the very beginning (of Elizabeth's conception), but after six months, so that the clear evidence of pregnancy would clearly confirm the reality of the conception. And note the wisdom of Gabriel: he did not mention to her Sarah, or Rebekah, or Rachel. Why and for what? After all, they were barren and old, and a great miracle was performed on them? But they all belong to ancient history, and therefore the angel points out to her the nearest event in order to confirm (in faith) her thoughts.

4. But let us return to the word we began earlier, and show the virtue of the righteous Isaac, how he resolved the barrenness of Rebekah by prayer, and overcame the bonds of nature. "And Isaac prayed," says the Scriptures, "to the Lord for Rebekah his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord heard him" (Gen. 25:21). Do not think that as soon as it is written here, so soon he received what he asked for. For twenty years he did not cease to ask and beseech God — only then did he get what he wanted. How do we know this? We will find out if we carefully follow the legends contained in the Divine Scriptures. It did not hide this time from us, but signified it, albeit covertly, in order to excite our attention and encourage us to investigate. As it has shown us how old Isaac was when he took Rebekah, so clearly does this circumstance show us. "Isaac was forty years old, he said, when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian, to wife" (Gen. 25:20). Notice this time carefully. Then, the Scriptures, having said: "And Isaac prayed to the Lord for Rebekah his wife, because she was barren" (Gen. 25:21), so that we may know the number of years that elapsed during all this time, also means how old Isaac was when Rebekah's children were born to him. "Isaac was," it says, "about sixty years old, when Rebekah gave birth" (Gen. 25:26). If, therefore, he was forty years old when he took her, and sixty years old when his wife gave birth, it is evident that for twenty years he prayed to God, and thus aroused the barren womb of Rebekah to bear children. Do you see the power of prayer — how could it conquer nature itself? Let us all imitate Isaac: let us also be constant in prayer, with a vigilant soul, with a broken heart. Let us listen to Paul, who exhorts us with the words: "Lifting up clean hands without anger or doubt" (1 Tim. 2:8). Let us always try to be alien to the indignation of the soul, and to keep the mind in peace, especially during prayer, when we are in need of special love for mankind from God. If He sees that we pray according to the laws established by Himself, He will soon give us an abundance of His gifts, which may we all be vouchsafed to receive, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, dominion, honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

DISCOURSE 50

«И зачала Ревекка, и сыновья в утробе ее стали биться» (Быт. 25:21–22).

Благочестие и благоразумие Ревекки, при плодоношении вопрошавшей Господа (чрез священника). — Различные занятия и нрав родившихся близнецов. — Невнимание Исава к дару своего первородства и внушение слушателям не терять великого за малое и ничтожное.

1. Хотите ли вы, чтобы мы предложили вашей любви остатки вчерашней нашей беседы? Мы не могли (вчера) докончить всего сказания об Исааке, а остановились на том, что Исаак собственной, неослабной молитвой возбудил утробу Ревекки к чадорождению, и, так сказать, отверз поврежденное естество. Все это вчера мы достаточно разъяснили вам, показав число лет, которое тот блаженный муж провел в молении и прошении о том Бога. Затем, перешедши к слову о бесплодных и объяснив вам причину, по которой супруги тех праведников были бесплодны, этим мы окончили вчера наше слово. А сегодня надобно изучить и благочестивую душу Ревекки, чтобы не только от добродетели праведного Исаака получить нам пользу, но чтобы и повествованием о Ревекке могли мы возбудить слушающих к соревнованию ей. После того, как услышал Бог молитву праведника, и Ревекка зачала во чреве, — «стали биться, говорит Писание, сыновья в утробе ее», и оттого она терпела тяжкие боли. Она говорила: «если так будет, то для чего мне это»? Не один (младенец) имел родиться, а двух вместе носила она во чреве, и оттого стеснение во чреве причиняло ей много скорби. Но заметь при этом случае благочестие этой жены. Она не прибегла к какой–нибудь человеческой помощи, как делают многие из нынешних жен, живущих беспечно; не обратилась и к тем, которые стали бы судить о подобных событиях своим умом, по каким–нибудь догадкам и наблюдениям; не вверилась обольщению обманщиков и таких, которые обещают то, что выше человеческой природы; нет, она «пошла вопросить Господа». Заметь и благоразумие ее. Она знала, что сам Владыка природы разверз ее утробу и бесплодное чрево внезапно сделал столь плодоносным; видела также, по величине чрева, что готовится ей нечто великое, — и потому «пошла вопросить Господа». Что значит: «пошла вопросить Господа»? Значит, что она прибегла к истинному знанию — к священнику, служителю Божьему, желая тайно приобрести через него сведение и, рассказав все о себе, узнала все в точности, потому что человеколюбивый Бог устами священника все ясно открыл и через то сделал ее еще ревностнее. И чтобы ты знал, как высоко было тогда священническое достоинство, Писание нигде не говорит, что «священник» отвечал ей, но, сказав: «пошла вопросить Господа», Писание прибавляет: «и сказал Господь ей», то есть — через священника: два языка во утробе твоей носишь. А в другом месте божественное Писание называет священника ангелом, показывая этим, что священник провозвещает то, что внушит ему благодать Святого Духа. Итак, Господь сказал ей через священника: «два племени во чреве твоем, и два различных народа произойдут из утробы твоей, один народ сделается сильнее другого, и больший будет служить меньшему» (Быт. 25:23).Это пророчество ясно открывало ей будущие события. Младенцы, своими сильными движениями во чреве, уже предвозвещали все с точностью. И теперь сама жена узнала не только то, что она родит двух младенцев, но и то, что они возрастут в народы, и что меньший будет господствовать над большим. И когда, говорит Писание, настало время рождения, «первый вышел красный, весь, как кожа, косматый, и нарекли ему имя Исав; потом вышел брат его, держась рукой своей за пяту Исава, и наречено ему имя Иаков» (Быт. 24–26). Бог в самом начале уже как бы предзнаменовал, что, по Его предречению, будет господствовать меньший над большим. Иаков держал, сказано, рукой пяту Исава; а это было знаком, что он преодолевает того, который казался сильным. И заметь, как божественное Писание наперед уже предзнаменует имеющие совершиться впоследствии события, когда показывает вам занятие каждого из братьев с самого начала: один занимался ловлей зверей, а другой был земледелец, человек простой, постоянно живущий в доме. Оттого Ревекка любила Иакова, а Исаак — Исава: «потому что дичь его, говорит Писание, была по вкусу ему» (Быт. 25:28). Посмотри, как сами родители разделяли детей. Мать, видя в Иакове дитя простосердечное, постоянно остающееся дома, оказывала к нему большее расположение. А отец больше любил Исава, и за то, что он был его первенец, и за его добычу (на охоте). Впрочем, они так делали, следуя естественной любви. Но предсказание, что «больший будет служить меньшему» (Быт. 25:23), мало–помалу приходило в исполнение. Вот смотри сейчас. «Сварил, говорит Писание, Иаков кушанье, а Исав пришел с поля усталый. И сказал Исав Иакову: дай мне поесть красного, красного этого, ибо я устал. Оттого дано ему прозвание Едом. Но Иаков сказал: продай мне первородство» (Быт. 25:29–31). На это Исав отвечал: что мне пользы от первородства, когда угрожает мне смерть, если не приму пищи? Но Иаков требует и клятвы, через которую уступка ему первородства получила бы свою твердость. «Поклялся, сказано, Исав» (Быт. 25:33).

2. Вот с этого времени изменился порядок (между братьями) и достоинство первородства перешло к тому, который сиял добродетелью душевной. «И продал, говорит Писание, Исав первородство», т. е. продал за пищу достоинство, данное ему самой природой. Потому Писание и прибавляет: «и пренебрег Исав первородство» (Быт. 25:34): так он стал нечувствителен к преимуществу, предоставленному ему самой природой. А все это сделалось так для того, чтобы открылось его неразумие и исполнилось на самом деле предсказание Божье.