2. From this time on, the order (between the brothers) changed, and the dignity of the birthright passed to him who shone with the virtue of the soul. "And Esau sold," says the Scriptures, "the birthright," i.e., he sold for food the dignity given to him by nature itself. That is why the Scripture adds: "And Esau despised the birthright" (Gen. 25:34): so he became insensible to the advantage granted to him by nature itself. And all this was done in such a way that his foolishness would be revealed and God's prediction would actually be fulfilled.

Hearing this, we will learn never to despise the gifts of God, and not to lose great things for small and insignificant things.

And you often see that he who has thousands of talents of gold considers happy the worker who earns his living by the labor of his hands. What pleasure, what profit, is it when we do not enjoy these goods either, but through addiction to them we are deprived of the highest goods? And what do I say, "of the highest blessings," when, in addition to the calamities that befall us here, and the deprivation of the blessings prepared there, we are also sent to hell itself? Not to mention the thousands of sins engendered by wealth – deceit, malice, predation, covetousness. And even if someone is free from all such sins, which is nevertheless difficult, but if he, having much wealth, accumulates money and uses it only for his own enjoyment, and does not give generosity to the needy, the fire of hell will overtake him too. This is clearly taught to us by the parable in the Gospel, when he presents some at the right hand, and others at the right hand, and says that the kingdom of heaven is prepared for the first, for the care of the needy: "Come," it is said there, "ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34). Why and for what? "For I hungered, and ye gave Me to eat" (Matt. 25:35). And the last are prepared for eternal fire. "Depart," it is said, "from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). Great is the importance of this saying! The Lord and Creator says: "For I hungered, and ye gave Me not to eat" (Matthew 25:42). What soul will not be moved by this, even if it is a soul of stone? Your Lord walks hungering, but you live in luxury! And this is not the only thing that is terrible, but also that, living in luxury yourself, you dare to despise Him, moreover, when He does not ask for much of anything, but only bread to satisfy hunger. He walks, numb from the cold; but you, dressed in silk cloth, do not pay attention to Him, do not show any compassion, but pass by without any mercy. What kind of apology can this deserve? "Let us not be anxious to gather, in any way, the riches above all; but let us pay attention to the fact that what we have is well disposed of. Let us alleviate the misery of the needy, so as not to be deprived of those blessings which are always present and are not subject to any change. For this reason the Lord hid from us the day of our death, in order to dispose us to constant sobriety and vigilance, and thus to encourage us even more to care for virtue, "Watch," He says, "for you know neither the day nor the hour" (Matt. 25:13). But we do the opposite, and constantly sleep more soundly than natural sleep. Those who sleep naturally become incapable of doing either evil or good; but we sleep in another sleep, we sleep for deeds of virtue, and we are awake for evil deeds; we do evil deeds foolishly, but in good deeds we show great negligence and drowsiness. And so we do, seeing every day that some are departing from here, while others are undergoing many changes in the present life. However, even this inconstancy of life does not sufficiently enlighten us, does not sufficiently arouse in us the desire for virtue, disposes us to the contempt of present goods and to the desire of future ones, so that we prefer truth to shadows and dreams. After all, real goods are no different from shadows and dreams. Therefore, let us not deceive ourselves, and chase after shadows; but, at least someday, let us take care of our salvation, and let us spend our wealth on the needy, so that for this we may be worthy of recompense from the loving God, which may we all receive, through the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom be glory to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CONVERSATION 51

"There was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham" (Gen. 26:1).

1. Again I want to offer you a lesson, from what follows from what we said last time. And for greater clarity, it is necessary to remember your love, where we ended our sermon last time, and from where we must begin it today. You yourselves, amused by many worries, may have forgotten this. But it is my duty to bring it to your remembrance, so that through such a reminder the word that will be said today will become clearer to you. You know that last time, when we spoke of the piety of Rebecca, and then came to Esau and Jacob, we stopped at how Esau gave the birthright to Jacob, wishing to use his cooking, and, out of passion for a certain food, deprived himself of the primacy. And this was not done simply, but in order that the divine prophecy might actually be justified: "He loved Jacob, but hated Esau" (Mal. 1:2). Since God had already foreseen future events, He also foretold both the virtue of Jacob and the baseness of spirit in Esau. What does the right of primogeniture mean? Formerly time did not permit me to speak of this to your love; But today it is necessary to explain it to you. In antiquity, the birthright was revered as the greatest honor; and the reason for such respect for him was the following circumstance. When God wanted to deliver the people of Israel from Egypt and deliver them from the torment of Pharaoh according to the promise given to the forefather (Abraham) - and the king of Egypt resisted this and wanted to keep the people - then the Lord, after various plagues, having brought the last plague (on Egypt), forced the Egyptians, so to speak, to lead the people of Israel out with their own hands. Precisely, God determined to destroy all the firstborn of Egypt suddenly, so that tears and sobs were visible in every house. The Egyptians thought that the execution would not be limited to this; and they expected that death, continuing to go, would befall everyone. Thus, when death suddenly overtook all the firstborn of Egypt, and the Israelites, enjoying the protection from above, remained unharmed, then God, showing His favor to them in this event, commanded that for the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt, henceforth the firstborn of the Jews should be dedicated to Him. For this reason the tribe of Levi was set apart for the priesthood, and not only the firstborn of men were consecrated to God, but also the firstborn of the dumb, and in general of all things. It was also a command to bring a price, both for people and for clean animals. It is true that this law of the firstborn was established later; but even before and at the very beginning the advantage of Those who were the first to open the mother's bed was recognized. And so, this very honor which Esau received from nature, he, through his intemperance, passed on to his brother. In this way, one lost what was given to him by nature itself; and the other acquired for himself what he did not have by nature. And since this was predestined for him from above, Rebekah also, when she gave him a name, called him Jacob, which means stumbling, just as Esau, after the blessings given to Jacob by his father, wept and said: "Is it not because he has been given the name Jacob, because he has already stumbled me twice? He took my birthright, and behold, now he has taken my blessing. And he said, "Have you not left me a blessing?" (Gen. 27:36). Notice how shrewd the ancients were, or, better, how great was the wisdom of God, which so arranged that women did not simply, not as it happens, give names to those born of them, but contained in the name of the child an omen of what was to happen to him. And it is rare to find that children are called by the same names as their parents, or, perhaps, you will not find this anywhere. But when the father intended to give the name of the child, he gave him some extraordinary, new name, so that through it he would foreshadow some future event. His mother did the same. Thus Lamech, naming his son, called him Noah and added: "This one shall comfort us" (Gen. 5:29). Thus, if you carefully examine each name, you will certainly find some omen in it, not as they do now, naming children without a purpose and as it happens, or only after the names of their parents. With the ancients, however, it was always the aim of enclosing in the name of children a constant reminder of something. But let us see further what, after the change in the birthright, the blessed Moses tells us about the father of Jacob and Esau, just as he, like Abraham, at the onset of famine, is vouchsafed great care from above, as much for his own virtue, as well as for the promise that was given to the forefather. "There was," says the Scripture, "a famine in the land, besides the former famine which was in the days of Abraham" (Gen. 26:1). Lest you think that the Scriptures speak of the former famine, it explains: "In addition to the former famine which was in the days" of the forefather, that is, now, in the time of Isaac, another such famine has come upon the earth as it was in the time of his father. The scarcity of necessities exposed everyone to the greatest danger, forced them to move from their countries to those places where an abundance of vital needs could be found. Thus, this righteous man, seeing the famine, "went," says the Scriptures, "... to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, to Gerar." Abraham also came here another time, on his return from Egypt. Probably, Isaac also came here to go to Egypt from here. And that this is so, listen to what the Scripture says: "The Lord appeared to him, and said, Go not into Egypt" (v. 2). I do not want, says God, that you should go on such a long journey; but stay here. I will not suffer you to be in need, but I will fulfill the promise I made to your father; what was promised to him will be fulfilled in you; you will receive the fulfillment of the promises that came to him. "Thou shalt not go into Egypt; dwell in the land of which I will tell you, and wander in this land" (v. 2, 3).

2. But lest the righteous man think that God is giving him such a command, that He is not allowing him to go into Egypt, because He wants to put him to the test of hunger, God says to him, "Do not be troubled, do not be anxious, but remain here: "I will be with you." Having the Giver of all good things near you, do not worry about anything; I, the Lord of all, will be with you, and not only will I be, but I will also "and bless you," that is, I will make you glorious, and I will give you My blessing. Is it possible to be more blessed than this righteous man, who received from God such a promise: "I will be with you and bless you"? This is what will make you the happiest of all; this is what will help you to live in great abundance; for you is the greatest glory, the unspeakable triumph, the stronghold, the pinnacle of good things, namely, that I will be with you and bless you. And how shall I bless you? "To thee and to thy seed will I give all these lands." You consider yourself a stranger and a stranger within these limits; Know this, then, that all this land shall be given to thee and to thy seed. And that you may be convinced of this, know that the same oath that I swore to Abraham your father, I will make with you. Note the condescension of God. God did not simply say, "The covenant which I have made with thy father, or the promise which I have made unto him; But what? – "the oath by which I swore." With an oath I have assured him, says He, and I must fulfill My oath and fulfill it.

Do you see God's love for mankind? He speaks thus, not looking at His own greatness, but condescending to our weakness. Just as people are most concerned about the fulfillment of what they have not just promised to someone, but have promised with an oath, so God, assuring the righteous that what is promised to him will certainly come to pass, says: Know that by My oath that which is confirmed by My oath must be fulfilled. What is it, someone will say? Did God swear? And what could He swear? You see that this was said by condescension: He called the confirmation of the promise an oath. "And I will fulfill," says He, "the oath which I swore to Abraham your father." Then he explained to him what he had promised, and what he had confirmed by his oath. "I will multiply," he says, "thy seed as the stars of heaven" (v. 4). He also said to the forefather: "Thy seed shall be so numerous that it shall be equal to the number of stars and sand." "And I will give to your descendants," He continues, "all these lands; In Thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." And I will fulfill in you the promises made to Abraham, because "Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept what I [commanded] to keep: my commandments, my statutes, and my laws" (v. 5). Notice the wisdom of God, how it stirs up the spirit of the righteous, encourages him, and directs him to become an imitator of his father. If, says God, because he "obeyed my voice," he was vouchsafed such a great promise, and because of his virtue I intend to fulfill this promise in you, his son, then consider what favor you will enjoy from Me, what providence you will be worthy of, if you are a zealous imitator of him and walk in his way. He who can receive good for the virtue of another will be much more worthy of care from above, if he himself is virtuous. What does it mean, "I have listened to my voice, and have kept what I have commanded me to keep, my commandments, my statutes"? When I said to him: "Go out of your land, from your kindred, and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you" (Gen. 12:1), he left everything that he had in his hands, and rushed to something unknown, and did not waver in spirit, did not delay, but with all readiness, fulfilling My commandment, he listened to My voice. Then I promised him something supernatural, when even his age gave him no hope of it, and neither he nor your mother had any ability to bear children; but when he heard from me that his seed would spread so far as to fill the whole earth, he was not troubled in thought, but believed. And this was imputed to him as righteousness, because, believing in My power, trusting in My promises, he became above human weakness.

Finally, when he received from Me the command to sacrifice the son given to him in his old age, so dear to him, he did not experience what the command meant, he was not indignant in spirit, he did not inform either your mother or your servants about it, and he did not explain to you what he intended to do; but with a courageous spirit and with perfect readiness, he hastened to fulfill My command. Therefore, having crowned his intention, I did not allow the deed itself to be accomplished. Therefore, because of the great obedience shown to him in all things, and the keeping of My commandments, I make you, who were born of him, heir of the promises given to him.

3. Therefore, imitate his obedience, and believe my word, so that you may be worthy of even greater rewards both for the virtue of your father and for your own obedience; and thou shalt not go into Egypt, but tarry here. Do you see God's love for mankind, how God, through the reminder of the virtue of his father, strengthened the spirit of Isaac? "Isaac," says the Scripture, "dwelt in Gerar." But see how he, too, is exposed to almost the same dangers as his father. When he settled in Gerar, "the inhabitants of that place," says the Scriptures, "asked about his wife, and he said, This is my sister" (v. 6, 7). He feared lest the inhabitants, struck by the beauty of his wife, should kill him: "Lest the inhabitants of this place kill me," he thought, "for Rebekah, because she is beautiful in appearance. But when he had been there for a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines, looking out of the window, saw that Isaac was playing with Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, this is thy wife; How then did you say, She is my sister" (v. 7, 8, 9)? When the truth is revealed by these signs, the righteous man no longer denies, but confesses and declares the reason why he decided to call Rebekah a sister. "Said," says the Scripture, "to him, ... I would not die for her." The fear of death forced me to do so. Or perhaps he knew that his father had saved himself by such an invention, and therefore he himself used the same means. But the king, still remembering vividly what he had suffered under his forefather (Abraham) when he had kidnapped Sarah, immediately and now understood the punishment that threatened him, and said to Isaac: "What has you done to us? And if one of the people had not had sex with thy wife, thou wouldst have led us into sin" (v. 7, 10). Such deception, he says, we have already been subjected to in the time of your father, and now, if we had not soon learned (the deception), we could have endured it too, "and you would have led us into sin." Then we sinned through ignorance; and even now Thou hast almost led us into the sin of ignorance. "And Abimelech gave a command to all the people, saying, Whosoever touches this man and his wife shall be put to death" (v. 11). Take note of God's providence, take note of the ineffable care! He who said to Isaac, "Go not into Egypt, but dwell in this land, and I will be with you," He arranged all this, and made the righteous man so safe. See how the king sees to it that Isaac lives in safety and is free from all anxiety. The king threatened, as it is said, with death anyone who touched him or his wife. It was this fear, I mean, the fear of death, that troubled the soul of the righteous man; therefore the Lord, the lover of mankind, removed this fear from him, so that he could already live there in complete safety. And this is what is wondrous and wonderful: how the caring and all-wise God, who arranges all things according to His will, who opens the way in impassable places, how He establishes the safety of His servants through the very circumstances that seem to be repugnant and hostile to them. In the same way, Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 3:28), having thrown the three youths into the furnace and actually learning the virtue of these captive youths, began to glorify them and exalt them everywhere in his own language. It is in this that the greatness of the power of God is especially revealed, that it compels their very enemies to preach about the servants of God. And he who in his rage commanded the furnace to be kindled, when he saw that the virtue of the youths, with the help from above, had conquered the power of fire, suddenly changed his mind and exclaimed: "Servants of the Most High God!" "Servants of the Most High God," he says, "come out" (Dan. 3:93). What has become of you? Did you not put them to death? Did you not order the furnace to be kindled to such an extent? Yes, he says; but now I see wondrous and wonderful things. This element, as if forgetting its power, as if bound by some kind of bonds, showed such obedience to them that it did not even touch their hair. And from this it must be understood that this event is beyond the forces of human nature, that some ineffable and divine power is at work here and renders such a great providence for these youths.

Thus God, when He wills, magnifies those who are in the midst of grievous calamities, and makes those who suffer stronger than those who cause them suffering. So it was with the apostles (Acts 4:16). Those who, having seized them in their power, heaped threats upon them, and as if gnashing their teeth at them, said to one another: "What shall we do with these people?" - they held them in their hands, but did not dare to do anything. So strong is virtue, and so impotent is malice; the first one wins in the midst of suffering, and the last one shows only her own powerlessness in what she does. Knowing this, beloved, let us have all the care of virtue and flee from evil. In this way we will receive help from above, and we will attain future blessings, which may we all be vouchsafed to receive, through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, dominion, and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CONVERSATION 52

"And Isaac sowed in that land, and in that year he received a hundredfold of barley" (Gen. 26:12).

1. Today it is necessary to give to your love the remains of yesterday's conversation, and, remembering the sequence of (biblical) speech, pay attention to the care that the righteous Isaac enjoys from above. He who forbade him to go into Egypt and said: "Live in the land, ... and I will be with you", so glorified him in all respects, that after a while the king of Gerar began to envy him. Seeing how his property increased from day to day, they began to fear the settlement of this man there and forced him to move from there. But it is better to listen to the words of the Divine Scripture themselves, in order to fully see the favor that God shows to His servants. "And Isaac sowed," it is said, "in that land, and in that year he received a hundredfold of barley." I ask you to observe the wisdom of God: in order to show the righteous that he, the Creator of nature, can make possible the impossible, that even in the beginning he by his command stirred up the earth to bring forth fruit, (God) caused the righteous to receive a hundredfold fruit from what he sowed in that land, by which he also brought him into greater prosperity, so that he no longer needed anything, and to them (the inhabitants of Gerar) he showed by his very deed what help the righteous man enjoys from above. The Lord, who is skilful and all-wise, often does good to His chosen ones by His own works, and gives to those who are in error the means to know the power of His providence. He did this later in Egypt, when He brought plagues upon its inhabitants, and preserved the people of Israel unharmed. (The Egyptians), not only in God's wrath against them, but also in God's providence for them (the Israelites), learned to know the power of God and the Creator of all. But these, in turn, not only from God's providence and care for them, but also from the very spectacle of the plagues that befell Egypt every day, understood God's wondrous love for them. Thus, by the same works, He manifested the greatness of His power both to His own and to His adversaries. And the elements themselves, on their part, render service and obedience to the servants (of God), when the Lord is pleased with them. This can be seen in the life of this righteous man [Isaac]: what at other times the nature of the earth did not manifest, now it produces all kinds according to the will of God, and bears such fruit that Isaac suddenly becomes very rich: "The Lord has blessed him. And this man became great, and was magnified more and more, till he became exceedingly great" (v. 13). Since the wealth of the righteous then consisted in the fertility of the land and in the multiplicity of the flocks, it is said: "The Lord blessed him. And the man became great", i.e. he became rich, and not just rich, but also "more and more to the point that he became very great". Think how much it meant to receive a hundredfold fruit from what was sown. If this seems important to you, then know the even greater power of God's love for mankind, which later He showed to those who live virtuously, after His coming (to earth). He promises them not only to repay a hundredfold here, but also to allow them to enjoy eternal life and the kingdom of heaven. Do you see the generosity of the Lord? Do you see the greatness of the beneficence? Do you see how much the coming of the Only-begotten has given us? What unspeakable change in the affairs (of our life) did it produce? Therefore, everyone, reasoning about this with himself and seeing the difference between what (God) promised to those who lived before grace, and what is after grace, let him glorify at least the boundless love of God for mankind, and let him not attribute everything only to the change of times. But it is necessary to return to the order of the narrative, and consider how the inhabitants of Gerar, perceiving the wealth of the righteous man, were inflamed with envy, and resolved to remove him from thence: "The Philistines," it is said, "began to envy him," v. 14. Then the divine Scripture, desiring to show in what they had found their envy, adds: "And all the wells which his father's servants had dug during the life of his father Abraham, the Philistines heaped up, and covered with earth" (v. 15). See what malice they have: even in the water they envied the righteous; even the king, having himself an abundance in everything, could not restrain himself from envy, and said, "Depart from us, for thou hast become much stronger than we," v. 16. Great ill-will! Why do you expel the righteous? Did he hurt you in any way? Did I offend you with what? But such is envy: it does nothing with reasoning. If the king saw that the righteous man enjoyed such mercy from God of all kinds, he should have respected him all the more, served him even more, so that by honoring the righteous man he himself might gain favor from above. And not only does he not do this, but he tries to remove him, and says: "Depart from us, for you have become much stronger than we." Such is hatred: it does not endure the happiness of others complacently; He considers the well-being of his neighbor to be his own misfortune, and languishes, looking at the good of his neighbor. So it was here. The king, who has the whole city in his power, holding everyone in fear, says to the stranger, the stranger, who passes hither and thither: "Depart from us, for thou hast become much stronger than we." And, truly, he was stronger than they, because in all things he had help from above and was protected by the right hand of God.