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.

Or do you not know that even if you compel him to retire into the wilderness, he has such a skillful Lord that he will glorify him there even more? There is no power that can overcome the one who enjoys assistance from above, just as there is nothing more powerless than a person who is deprived of the help of the above.

2. Do you see, beloved, the moral lewdness of both the king of Gerar and all the inhabitants there? Look also at the great meekness of the righteous man, how he did not dream much of himself, and in spite of the fact that he actually saw the great mercy of God towards him, he did not rise up against the king in the hope of a power that would conquer him, but as a defenseless man, receiving no help from anywhere, with great meekness, not resisting the king even in words, He fulfilled his command, and immediately went out of there, and by his departure calmed the flame of passion, showing both his extreme meekness, and at the same time taming the irritation (of the king). "And Isaac departed from thence, and pitched his tents in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there" (v. 17). And what Christ, having come (to earth), commanded His disciples with His words: "When they persecute you in one city, flee to another" (Matthew 10:23), Isaac had already fulfilled in deed. And just as David, taming Saul's intense hatred, withdrew and turned himself away from danger, tempering his great irritation, so in the same way that righteous man fulfilled the word of the apostles: "Give place to the wrath [of God]" (Romans 12:19). Leaving the city, he withdrew (and settled) in the wilds. But see how he behaved there with great meekness, for his sorrows did not end there, but when he was here too, and wanted to dig wells, the inhabitants began to rise up against him. "And Isaac dug again," says (the Scripture), "the wells of water which had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, and which the Philistines had filled up after the death of Abraham; And he called them by the same names by which his father had called them. And Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of living water, that is, one that springs up from below. - And the shepherds of Gerar argued with the shepherds of Isaac, saying, "Our water" (vv. 18-20).

But even here the righteous man does not argue, does not oppose, but yields even to shepherds. This is true meekness, when one does not complacently endure insults from the strongest, but yields in case of insults from people who are considered inferior to him. In this case, only the meekness of the offended is fully revealed. Otherwise, someone may say that he shows meekness because he is unable to resist the power of the offender. In order that you may know that in relation to the king he showed meekness not because of his power, but because of his character, see: he does the same with the shepherds. And just as at the time when the king said to him, "Depart from us," he immediately departed, accepting this as a command, so now, when the shepherds began to insult him and appropriated the well, he yields to them. As (the shepherds) had done him a manifest injury, he, according to the testimony of the Scriptures, "And he called the name of the well Esek, because they were arguing with him" (v. 20). Thus, the very name of the place, as if (inscribed) on a copper pillar, served for subsequent times as a monument to both the meekness of the righteous and the injustice of those inhabitants. Everyone, having learned from the name of the place the reason for his nickname, saw the virtue of one, and the extreme malice of others. And see how he himself exalts his virtue, revealing his meekness in everything, and even those, even against their will, by the very excessiveness of their malice, contribute to his glorification. Not content (with one offense), they rise up against him again when he has dug another well. "They dug another well; they also argued about it; and he called his name Sitna" (v. 21). Notice again the prudence of the righteous man! Here they did not seem to have taken the well from him entirely, but only argued and, already clearly seeing their injustice, retreated. For this reason he called that place enmity, since it became the cause of enmity. But enduring such insults every day, so to speak, from the surrounding inhabitants, he did not lose heart, did not show faint-heartedness, did not think within himself, or did not say: I do not have enough strength to use wells - has not help from above left me, have I not lost the Lord's providence? He did not think or think anything of the kind, but endured everything with perfect meekness. But he had all the more help from above in everything. Such cases were, so to speak, a kind of exercise for the virtue of the righteous. "And he went forth from hence, and dug another well, of which there was no longer dispute, and called his name Rehoboth: for," he said, "now the Lord has given us a spacious place, and we shall multiply in the earth" (v. 22).

3. Notice the good sense of the righteous man. When they wanted to take away the first wells from him, he was not upset, did not resist, but only left an indelible memory of the anger of the inhabitants with the name of the wells. And now, when no one hindered him, and he enjoyed his labors with complete freedom, he attributes all this to God. "He called his name," it is said, "Rehobof (space)." Then, he explains this name: because, he says, I call it space, because "the Lord has given us a spacious place, and we will multiply on the earth." Do you see how the God-loving soul, not remembering in the least about previous troubles, but remembering only the good, gives thanks for this and says: "The Lord has given us a spacious place, and we will multiply on the earth"? Nothing is so pleasing to God as a grateful and grateful soul. Every day showing us all innumerable blessings, regardless of whether we desire them or not, whether we know them or not, (God) requires nothing more from us than gratitude to Him for all that has been given to us, in order to give us an even greater reward for this very thing again. To confirm this, look at the same righteous man, how he is again vouchsafed a appearance from above for his gratitude. Since he had shown sufficient experience of his virtue before the inhabitants of Gerar, and before the king who expelled him, and before the shepherds who took away his wells, the humane Lord, wishing to strengthen his good humor and approve of his great meekness, at the time when he "passed from there to Beersheba. And the Lord appeared to him that night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father; do not be afraid, for I am with you; and I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed, for the sake of Abraham my servant" (v. 23, 24). "And that night the Lord appeared to him," it is said, "to him." Notice God's care for him! In order to strengthen him and encourage him, God appears to him and says: "I am the God of Abraham your father," who glorified your father, made him on such a degree of greatness, and made him, a stranger, more glorious than the inhabitants of this place. I am the one who promised to multiply him so much (by posterity) - in everything I showed a special providence for him. "I am God...; do not be afraid." What does it mean, "Do not be afraid"? Do not be troubled because Abimelech drove you out and the shepherds offended you. Your father also suffered many such things; but through this he appeared even more glorious. Therefore, let this not frighten you: "I am with you." I allow this to happen, wishing that you also by your meekness would show your virtue, so that the evil disposition of them would become known to all, so that for this also you might be crowned. "I am with you," therefore you will be invincible, stronger than all those who rise up (against you) and insult you. My providence for you will even make you an object of envy. "I am with you; and I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed, for the sake of Abraham my servant."

Take note of God's love for mankind! By saying, "I am the God of Abraham thy father," God thereby showed how He drew the patriarch to Himself by deigning to call Himself the God of Abraham, i.e., the Lord and Creator of the universe calls Himself the God of one man, not in the sense that He limits His dominion to one patriarch, but in order to show His great favor towards him. I, he says, have brought him so close to Me that before Me he appears worthy of all other people. Therefore, "And I will multiply thy seed for the sake of Abraham my servant." He must receive many rewards from Me for his obedience to Me; therefore for his sake I will multiply thy seed. In this way God encouraged the righteous man, and by reminding him of his father, aroused in him a zeal for the manifestation of a virtue similar to him. And after God had promised him so many good things, "he made an altar there," it is said, "and called upon the name of the Lord. And he pitched his tent there" (v. 25). What does it mean, "He built an altar there"? This means that he offered sacrifices of thanksgiving to the Lord there for the great care shown to him. "Isaac's servants dug a well there." Now the righteous man is safe. He who said to him, "I am with you; and I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed, for the sake of Abraham my servant," suddenly he gave him glory, and made him worthy of all. Behold, how the same Abimelech who made up his mind to cast him out, and said, "Depart from us," now comes to him himself. "Abimelech came to him from Gerar, and Ahuzath his friend, and Phichol his captain. Isaac said to them, Why have you come to me, when you hated me and sent me away from you?" (vv. 26-27). See how great is the meekness of the righteous! Seeing that those who had persecuted him and manifested such hatred for him now appeared to him in the form of supplicants, he did not become proud before them, nor was he exalted in thought, having in fresh memory the words spoken to him from God, and trusting in the power of the Lord, he did not rise up against the king, but again showing his usual meekness, he said to them with great modesty: "Why have you come to me, when you hated me and sent me away from you?" Why, he says, have you thought to come to me, a man whom you have banished and hated? "They said, 'We have seen clearly that the Lord is with you,' and therefore we said, 'Let us make an oath between us and you, and make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, even as we have not touched you, but do you only good, and let you go in peace; now you are blessed by the Lord" (vv. 28-29).

4. See how great is the power of meekness, and how great is the power of virtue! Those who formerly expelled him now come to a stranger who has no homeland, to a stranger, and not only apologize for their former actions with him, ask forgiveness for their sins (against him), but also glorify the righteous man, reveal the fear that has seized them, confess their own impotence, and acknowledge the great power of the righteous man. And what can be stronger than one who has God with him? "We have seen clearly that the Lord is with you." And how do you know this? Thus, they say, the events themselves served as a lesson for us. We have seen that you, who have been banished, have become stronger than those who have been expelled, the offended have gained the upper hand over those who have offended you, and from the very course of events we have understood that you are enjoying great help from above. The work of divine providence was that their minds should be imbued with wonder at the righteous man, and that such understanding should be instilled in them. We have learned, they say, that "the Lord is with thee...: let us put an oath between us and thee."

See how, from the prompting of their own conscience, they hasten to denounce themselves, while no one else compels them to do so, nor explains what has happened. If you have not offended the righteous man, then why, he says, do you ask him for a union? But this is not true: every day the conscience is tormented, and while the offended is silent, those who have offended them, thinking that they are threatened with punishment, are daily worried, and as if they sign their own sentence for the crime. So (those inhabitants of Gerar), knowing this, say: "Let us put an oath between us and you." Then they explain what kind of oath they want. "And we will make a covenant with thee, that thou mayest do us no harm, even as we have not touched thee." See how, out of confusion and anguish (conscience), they contradict themselves when they say, "Lest thou do us no harm." Why are you so afraid of the righteous man, when you see that he shows such meekness to those who insult him? But the incorruptible judge - conscience awoke in them, and they realized what injustice they had done to the righteous; out of fear and embarrassment, they do not notice how they contradict themselves. "Whatever you do," they say, "harm us, just as we have not touched you." Why then did you expel him? However, the righteous man does not demand an account of them and does not expose their speeches. "And they did," says the Scriptures, "only good to thee, and sent thee away in peace; now you are blessed by the Lord." Do you see that they were afraid of punishment from above? They saw that, although the righteous man, in his meekness, did not avenge himself for what had been done to him, yet He who showed such a providence for him would demand from them an account for their actions with the righteous man. Therefore, they propitiate the righteous man and ask for an alliance, at the same time apologizing for their past deeds and protecting their safety for the future. "He made them a feast," it is said, "and they ate and drank. And rising up early in the morning, they swore an oath to one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace" (v. 30, 31). Notice the friendliness of the righteous man, how he conversed with them without any rancor, and not only consigned to oblivion their actions with him, but also showed them great hospitality. "He made," it is said, "a feast for them, and they ate and drank." By such hospitality he wants to prove to them that he does not remember the insults done to him by them. "And Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace." With these words the Divine Scripture makes it clear that they came to him with great fear, expecting trouble for themselves, and in a word, fearing for everything, they hastened to apologize to the righteous man. Do you see that there is nothing stronger and more powerful than virtue, and there is nothing safer than a man who uses help from above? Then, it is said, "On the same day the servants of Isaac came, and informed him of the well which they were digging, and said to him, We have found water. And he called him: Shiva. Therefore the name of that city is Beershiva to this day" (vv. 32-33). Here too he gives the place the name of the event. Those who dug the well found nothing; but as it was on the same day on which they made an alliance between them, Isaac called this place an oath well, in order to leave a memory of what had happened. Do you see how a righteous man, who had not yet been instructed by the law, who did not see before him an example in anyone else, but only followed his father, and who was guided by a teacher who was in the very nature of man, that is, in his conscience, showed such great wisdom? The events that happened to him revealed not only the meekness of the righteous man, but also the fact that he was already fulfilling the commandments of Christ by his very deed. What Christ commanded His disciples, exhorting them not only to love those who love them, but also to show love to their enemies, Isaac had already fulfilled before, when he showed such great hospitality to people who hated him so much, and expelled from his soul the sin of rancor.