5. This is how much people who were still in error cared about the hospitality of strangers. "And he gave water to wash his feet and the people who were with him; and food was set before him" (Gen. 24:33). But note here the prudence of the slave. What does he say? "I will not eat until I have told my work." You, he says, have done your work; but I will not think of my rest until I have explained to you the reason why I was sent on such a journey, and why I came here from Canaan, and how I was brought into your house, so that when you know all things, you also may show your favor to my lord. And he began to tell thus: "I am Abraham's servant; The Lord blessed my lord exceedingly: He gave him sheep and oxen, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels and asses; Sarah my lord's wife, when she was already old, bore my lord a son, to whom he gave all that he had." (Gen. 24:34-36). See how carefully he tells them all things: I am a servant, he says, of Abraham, whom you know. Know also that he has received a blessing from the Lord of all, and lives in great wealth. Then, showing the abundance of this wealth, he says that he has "sheep and oxen, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys." Listen to this, you rich people, who buy a few plots of land every day, build baths and places of entertainment and magnificent buildings – see what the property of the righteous man was. He has no field anywhere, no buildings, and no superfluous luxury, but only "sheep and calves, camels and donkeys, male and female slaves." And in order to know whence he had such a multitude of servants, (the Scriptures) says in another place that they were all "members of the household" (Russian translated: his servants born in his house) (Gen. 14:14) [i.e. slaves not hired or bought, but born in his house]. So this lord, who lives in such wealth and deserves great help from above, when he was already in old age, received a son from Sarah. Having only this son, he made him the heir of all: "He gave all that he had." Having thus spoken of the glory of his master and of the birth of Isaac, the servant goes on to speak of the command which he received from his master, and by which he came to Haran. "And my lord took an oath from me," he says, "saying, Thou shalt not take a wife for my son Isaac from among the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, but go to my father's house, and to my kinsmen, and take a wife for my son" (Gen. 24:37-38). Thus he commanded me. Then I, imagining the inconveniences in this matter, and reasoning about its difficulty, asked my master: "Perhaps a woman will not go with me" (Gen. 24:39)? And he said unto me, The Lord, in whose face I walk, will send his angel with thee, and make thy way prosperous, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from among my kinsmen, and from my father's house. If the woman does not agree to come with you here, "then you will be free from my oath" (Gen. 24:40-41). "Wherefore, my lord," says (the servant), having given me this command, and having given me these prayers, he sent me, and I, encouraged by his prayers, when I came to the well, uttered these words: "Lord, God of my master Abraham! If Thou wilt prosper the way which I make, behold, I am standing by a fountain of water, and the virgin who will come out to draw it, and to whom I shall say, Let me drink a little of thy pitcher, and who shall say to me, Thou shalt drink, and I will draw thy camels, behold, the woman whom the Lord hath appointed for my master's son" (Gen. 24:42-44). And so, he says, I prayed inwardly and asked God; and before my prayer was finished, it was immediately fulfilled, and the word became a deed. "Before I had ceased to speak in my mind, behold, Rebekah came out, and her pitcher was on her shoulder, and I said to her, Give me to drink. Straightway she took down her pitcher, and said, Drink, and I will give your camels to drink" (Gen. 24:45-46). Seeing in this a clear providence of God, I asked her: whose daughter is she? And when I learned from her words that I had not come to strangers, but to the house of Nahor my master's brother, I dared to offer her "earrings and wrists for her hands. And I bowed down, and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my lord Abraham, who brought me in a straight way, to take the daughter of my master's brother" (Gen. 24:47). It is evident that it is so arranged by God, that the prayers of my lord have ascended to Him. Now, if you, for your part, agree, "Do you intend to show mercy and truth to my lord or not? tell me" (Gen. 24:49). Let me know about it, he says, so that I may know what I must do.

If you do not agree, I will go to another place and turn "to the right or to the left" (Gen. 24:49). But as God Himself arranged everything through the prayers of the forefather, the maiden's father and brother answered (to the servant): "From the Lord came this matter, we cannot tell you in spite of either evil or good" (Gen. 24:50). Your story, they say, shows that all this happened by God's providence; therefore, do not think that we will become contrary to the will of God: this cannot be on our part. Behold, the maiden is before thee; "Take it and go; let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has said" (Gen. 24:51).

6. Do you see how in ancient times people took care of choosing wives for their sons? How was spiritual dignity sought in preference to wealth? They had no records, no contracts, and no other things that happen today; there were no heterogeneous conditions, such as are now entered in the (marriage) records, as, for example, in case the husband dies without children, if this or that happens. The ancients had nothing of the sort, but there was a much more important and reliable record – the temper of the bride. They also had no music or dances. You will see this when you know how this maiden was brought to the bridegroom. The servant, hearing the words of her father and brother, "worshipped the Lord to the ground" (Gen. 24:52). This is how he always gives thanks to the Lord of all, because the Lord Himself helped him in everything, and, according to the word of the forefather, sent an angel before him, who arranged everything for him. Finally, the servant, having made sure that the goal of his efforts had been achieved, "took out the things of silver, and the things of gold, and gave them to Rebekah" (Gen. 24:53). Now he boldly serves her, as if she had already been betrothed to Isaac in words, he also honors both his brother and mother with gifts, and when he saw his master's command fulfilled, then, at last, he allowed himself to rest. "And they ate," it is said, "and he and the people who were with him drank, and spent the night. And when they arose in the morning, he said, Let me go to my master" (Gen. 24:54). As everything has already been arranged for me so successfully, he says, and there is nothing more left (for me to do), and it is desirable for you to do so, "Let me go to my master. But her brother and her mother said, "Let the maiden stay with us for ten days, and then you will go." He said to them, "Do not hold me back, for the Lord has made my way prosperous; let me go, and I will go to my master" (Gen. 24:55-56). Why, he says, should I postpone and postpone, when God has given me such success in all things? "Let me go, and I will go to my master. They said, "Let us call the maiden and ask what she will say." And they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "I'll go." And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his people. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "Our sister! that thousands upon thousands shall be born of thee, and that thy descendants shall possess the dwellings of thy enemies" (Gen. 24:57-60). See how these people, without their own knowledge, predict the future of a maiden, because God Himself directed their thoughts to this. They foretell her two things: that she will be in thousands of thousands," and that her seed "will possess the dwellings of her enemies." Do you see how in all cases the manifest providence of God is revealed, and how the Lord God of all things, even through unbelievers, foretells future events? "And Rebekah and her maidservants arose," it is said, "and sat on the camels" (Gen. 24:61). This is the kind of bride the forefather takes! She goes to fetch water, carries a water carrier on her shoulders, and now she mounts a camel. There were no mules with manes decorated with silver, there was no crowd of servants, there was no effeminacy that is visible today; ancient women had such a fortress that they themselves mounted camels and thus made their journeys. "And let's go," it said, "for that man. And when evening came, Isaac went out into the field to meditate, and lifted up his eyes, and saw, Behold, camels were coming" (Gen. 24:63). As Isaac was walking in the field, the Scripture says, he saw camels. "Rebekah looked, and saw Isaac, and got down from the camel. And she said to the servant, 'Who is this man who is coming into the field to meet us' (Gen. 24:64-65)? Notice the nobility of the maiden: when she sees Isaac, she asks who it is. And when she learns that this is the one who wants to take her for himself, she dresses, as it is noted in the Scriptures, in summer clothes, and the servant, coming up, carefully told everything to Isaac. See, beloved, how there is nothing superfluous and empty here, there is no vain pomp, no cymbals, trumpets and dances, no indecent feasts, no backbiting full of all shamelessness, but everything is honest, everything is wise, everything is modest. "And Isaac brought her," it is said, "into the tent of Sarah his mother, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted in sorrow for his mother" (Gen. 24:67). This is whom let the wives imitate. Let men be jealous of those to whom they should be jealous, let them take care to find brides in the same way. Well, tell me, why do you allow the maiden's ears to be filled with shameless songs and inappropriate noise from the very beginning? Or you don't know how easily youth is accessible to temptation. Why do you disgrace the venerable sacrament of marriage? All this should be banished, and from the very beginning the girl should be accustomed to modesty.

Amen.

DISCOURSE 49

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

1. Again I want to 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 story from himself, 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 him. 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 may 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 a sign"? 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," it 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) from Mesopotamia, the sister of Laban the Syrian (Aramean)" (Gen. 25:19-20).

Notice, beloved, the accuracy of the Divine Scripture – how it says 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, not only was Rebekah 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. For 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, by the example of the barren, 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 don't know my husband"? Therefore this will come to pass, because you do not know your husband. 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. The fact 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 beyond 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 receive 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. "There was," it said, "Isaac forty years old, 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 have passed during all this time, also means how old Isaac was when his children were born to him by Rebekah. "Isaac was," it says, "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 Timothy 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

"And Rebekah conceived, and the sons in her womb began to beat" (Gen. 25:21-22)

1. Do you want us to offer your love the remnants of our conversation of yesterday? We could not (yesterday) finish the whole story of Isaac, but stopped at the fact that Isaac, by his own unremitting prayer, stirred up Rebecca's womb to childbearing, and, so to speak, opened the damaged nature. All this yesterday we sufficiently explained to you, showing the number of years that this blessed man spent in prayer and supplication to God for this. Then, having passed on to the word of the barren and having explained to you the reason why the spouses of those righteous men were barren, we thus concluded our discourse yesterday. And today it is necessary to study the pious soul of Rebekah, so that we may benefit not only from the virtue of the righteous Isaac, but also so that by the narration of Rebekah we may stir up those who hear it to compete with her. After God heard the prayer of the righteous man, and Rebekah conceived in her womb, "the sons in her womb began to beat," says the Scriptures, and for this reason she endured grievous pains. She said: "If it will be so, then why do I need it"? Not one (child) was born, but two together she carried in her womb, and therefore the constriction in the womb caused her much sorrow. But note on this occasion the piety of this woman. She did not have recourse to any human help, as many of today's wives do, who live carelessly; nor did she turn to those who would judge such events with their own minds, from some conjectures and observations; she did not trust in the deception of deceivers and those who promise things that are above human nature; no, she "went to inquire of the Lord." Notice also her prudence. She knew that the Lord of nature himself had opened her womb and suddenly made her barren womb so fruitful; she also saw, according to the size of her womb, that something great was being prepared for her, and therefore she "went to inquire of the Lord." What does it mean, "I went to ask the Lord"? It means that she had recourse to true knowledge – to the priest, the servant of God, wishing to secretly acquire information through him, and having told everything about herself, she learned everything exactly, because the humane God through the mouth of the priest revealed everything clearly and thereby made her even more zealous. And so that you may know how high the priestly dignity was then, the Scripture nowhere says that the "priest" answered her, but having said: "She went to inquire of the Lord," the Scripture adds: "And the Lord said to her," that is, through the priest, "You bear two tongues in your womb." And in another place the divine Scripture calls the priest an angel, showing that the priest proclaims that which the grace of the Holy Spirit will inspire him with. So, the Lord said to her through the priest: "Two families in your womb, and two different nations will come out of your womb, one nation will become stronger than the other, and the greater will serve the smaller" (Gen. 25:23). Babies, with their strong movements in the womb, already foretold everything with accuracy. And now the woman herself knew not only that she would bear two children, but also that they would grow into nations, and that the younger would rule over the greater. And when, says the Scripture, the time of birth came, "the first came out red, all as skin, shaggy, and they called his name Esau; then his brother went forth, holding his hand on the heel of Esau, and his name was called Jacob" (Gen. 24-26). At the very beginning, God already seemed to foreshadow that, according to His prophecy, the lesser would rule over the greater. Jacob, it is said, held Esau's heel with his hand; and this was a sign that he was overcoming the one who seemed strong. And note how the divine Scripture already foreshadows the events that will take place afterwards, when it shows you the occupation of each of the brothers from the very beginning: one was engaged in catching beasts, and the other was a farmer, a simple man, constantly living in the house. For this reason Rebekah loved Jacob, and Isaac loved Esau: "for his game," says the Scriptures, "was to his taste" (Gen. 25:28). Look at how the parents themselves divided the children. His mother, seeing in Jacob a simple-hearted child who always stayed at home, showed him greater affection. And the father loved Esau more, both because he was his firstborn, and because of his prey (on the hunt). However, they did so, following natural love. But the prophecy that "the greater shall serve the lesser" (Gen. 25:23) gradually came to fruition. Look now. "Jacob cooked," says the Scriptures, "a meal, and Esau came from the field weary. And Esau said to Jacob, Give me to eat this red, this red, for I am tired. That is why he was given the nickname Edom. But Jacob said, Sell me the birthright" (Gen. 25:29-31). To this Esau answered, "What shall it profit me of the birthright, when death threatens me, if I do not take food?" But James also requires an oath, through which the surrender of the birthright to him would receive its firmness. "Esau swore," it is said, "Esau" (Gen. 25:33).