About Those Who Spied the Land of Promise

1. Excellent is the inheritance of those who have decided to love the King of all, God. They are destined to possess goods that surpass the mind. The blessed prophet Isaiah can assure us of this, saying: "This is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord" (Isaiah 54:17). And again: Thou shalt have joy in the Lord, and I will bring thee up to the high places of the earth, and will give thee to taste the inheritance of Jacob thy father: the mouth of the Lord hath spoken these things (Isaiah 58:14). Therefore the promise is true and in all respects certain; for they can never deviate from the truth, and lie to the mouth of God. In any case, He will fulfill the promise. And knowing this, the divine Psalmist thus says in one place: The Lord is a part of my inheritance and of my cup. Thou hast held my lot (Psalm 15:5). But who are these servants of the Lord, or to whom will such a glorious and worthy inheritance pass? These are those who strive to do what is pleasing to God, who unswervingly strive for all that is praiseworthy, who are ready to fight very lazily against every enemy, and who do not dare to do this by their own strength or skill, but as if they had a weapon in their hands, grace from above, and have God of all things as their leader and defender. For those who are so disposed, they say, For I do not trust in my bow, neither will my sword save me; but Thou shalt save us from our enemies, and put to shame them that hate us (Psalm 43:7-8). Good and bold, ready for faith, God especially distinguishes them, granting them blessings with a generous hand; but those who are afflicted with the most shameful vices and fall into disobedience, He will completely separate them from the flock of the elect and remove them from everything that brings joy. He will cry out to everyone in full righteousness: "This is a part of yours, a part of your disobedience against Me" (Isaiah 17:14; 57:6; Jeremiah 13:25). Such reproaches, as we shall see, will be subjected to the people of Judah. For this reason he lost hope and remained outside the inheritance, although the inheritance belonged to him, if it is true that their promises are according to the word of Blessed Paul (Romans 9:4). And because they did not listen to Him who called them to promises, they remained untouched by them, and, according to the word of the Saviour, they became the last first, and the first last (Matt. 20:16). And this was again foretold to us in the Old Testament Scriptures themselves. And it reads thus: After these things the people departed from Hazeroth, and stopped in the wilderness of Paran. And the LORD said to Moses, "Send men away from you, that they may look out for the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; Send one man from the tribe of their fathers, the chief among them. And Moses sent them out of the wilderness of Paran, at the command of the Lord, and they were all chief men of the children of Israel (Num. 13:1-4). And so, the men chosen from all the tribes, twelve in number, were singled out from among all the people and went out to carefully examine whether the land was fat or thin, whether it was suitable for cattle breeding, whether it was good and fertile or dry and barren; also whether it can bear fruit trees, produce ripe fruit, and whether it can, with some care, be a fruitful field. In addition, what are its inhabitants, whether they are terrible in strength, warlike and invincible for ordinary people, or easily conquerable for courageous people; Then, how many and what kind of cities there are, whether they are without walls, or well fortified with walls and towers, v. 19-21. Moses added also that they were to pluck and bring with them the fruits themselves, as if to prove the fulfillment of the commission, v. 21. Thus departing, they set out to do what they had commanded, and at the appropriate time they examined the land, carried with them on their way back a bunch of grapes, rare and extraordinary, a true miracle, and, without suffering any harm, returned to Moses. But only in their opinions were they divided. Everyone considered it necessary to praise the earth and clearly proclaimed that the earth was good and fat, as proof of which they cited the fruit taken from it. But some of them called the people who lived on it brave, strong and warlike, little inclined to yield when insulted by anyone. The sons of the giants, they said, saw there so tall and great that those who came from the tribe of Israel were like locusts before them, when compared with those in magnitude, v. 34. Caleb and Joshua openly said that the land is good and fat, and if the Lord loves us, He will bring us into it, and again they asserted that those who inhabit it will be defeated if God is the defender of Israel (Num. 14:8-9). But when the Israelites heard these words, the whole crowd of the people, forgetting God and not remembering the signs performed in Egypt, was seized with great fear, hesitated to go to war, refused to resist the enemy, and no longer showed love for the promised. She did not think of the all-powerful and invincible hand of the Helper, but wept like a child, and with trembling awaited that her wives and all that was most precious would perish by the swords of the enemy. They even dared to say that the slavery of Egypt is better for them and the yoke of this slavery is more bearable. With tears in their eyes they said that they should return to the Egyptians (Num. 14:3-4). As for Jesus and Caleb, who stirred them up to courage, they tried to stone them and cover them with earth. But when at last it came to such a state of misery, it is said, the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting to all the children of Israel, and was ready to destroy them all without delay, v. 10-12. And no sooner had God bowed down to mercy than Moses fell down to Him and begged Him. And the Lord said, it is said, I forgive according to thy word; but as I live, and the whole earth is full of the glory of the Lord: all who have seen my glory and my signs in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me ten times, and have not listened to my voice, shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers. all who have provoked Me will not see it; but my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit in him, and he obeyed me perfectly, I will bring him into the land into which he went, and his seed shall inherit it (vv. 20-24). Notice, then, how grievous is the transgression of unbelief before God. It was necessary that those who became guilty of this crime should be subject to grave punishment. This is what Israel endured, as we shall see, with the Old Testament Scriptures, tearing down the New Testament and revealing the truth hidden under the shadows. For Moses urges the elect from all tribes to go in order to carefully look out for the land of promise. When they went there and then returned, ten of them spoke ill of her, and for the whole assembly they became the authors of fear and God-hating unbelief. The other two, Caleb the son of Jephaniah, and Joshua urged them to go and conquer the land, and they praised the land itself, openly saying that it was fat, fruitful, and had fields suitable for sowing. But they have lost the promise, and these have been appointed heirs by heavenly decree and honored by God.

2. Now it is necessary to say what image of true and spiritual contemplation is contained here. According to the testimony of the books of Moses, the mind of the Jews was in some way deprived of either the blessings foretold in them, as if still in types, to the saints or to the holy land promised to the fathers. For it is possible, very possible, to see in the law-positive books inscribed in the types the mystery of Christ, the sanctification granted by Him in the Spirit, and the hope promised to the saints. Namely, in Egypt the lamb is slaughtered by the Israelites, the anointing with blood is performed, and the destroyer is abolished. And that death was to be weakened by the death of Christ, and that perdition would one day pass by those anointed in the Holy Spirit, this was foreshadowed. Likewise, that we will receive the prosperity bestowed in the beginning, and that man will return again to heavenly bliss, the law also clearly indicates to us. For he commanded to celebrate in the seventh month on the fifteenth day of the month, and to take in hand the branches of dates, and the branches of beautiful trees, the branches of palms, and the branches of broad-leaved trees and willows of the river (Lev. 23:40). He did not just command to take it, but on the first and seventh days of the month; and the first day names the holy assembly, v. 35; so also the seventh (v. 36). And this circumstance indirectly indicates that paradise in the first time was given to the beginning of the race, that is, to Adam; and it will also be given in the last time, that is, at the end of the present age, the image of which, and very clearly, can be the last, seventh day. The first and seventh days are holy: for holy was the time in which our forefather Adam still kept the commandment given to him; the last time is also holy; for we are sanctified in Christ, having been delivered from the guilt of sin, and having been made partakers of the Holy Spirit. Thus, through the type and shadow of Moses, or the power of the law-positive Scriptures, as it were, sends beforehand those who are more well taught than others and have a chosen mind, so to speak, to carefully consider the promised things of God. Inasmuch as those who wish to receive such important and glorious blessings do not fight against flesh and blood, but rather against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, according to what is written (Ephesians 6:12), then those who think of the things of the flesh, who prefer the temporal and perishing to eternal bliss, hesitate to enter into this early morning. For see how the Israelites, because of their wives and children, contradict the words of the elect in every way, giving themselves over to a little fear and faint-heartedness (Num 14:3). Think also, on the other hand, of those who, at the time of the coming of the Saviour of us all, Christ, lost their faith through the cries of the Jews. Our Lord Jesus Christ has granted believers the Kingdom of Heaven. But in addition, He called for courage, spiritual, of course; and he exhorted those who believe in Him that they must very courageously resist the violence of the devil, and said: "Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and on all the power of the enemy" (Luke 10:19). But some did not want to believe, preferring bodily things to love God. For those who were invited to the marriage began, it is said, to apologize, as if by agreement. And one said, "I have bought land; the other: "I am married, and therefore I cannot come" (Luke 14:18 and 20). Do you see the kinship of the passions? Do you see the affinity of ailments? Thus, the scribes and Pharisees in some way spoke against the promise of God in that they themselves did not want to go to it and did not allow others to go to it. Wherefore they heard: "Woe unto you, lawyers, that ye have taken the key of understanding: ye yourselves have not entered, and have hindered them that enter in" (Luke 11:52). Thus, as a result of the words of the leaders, the people subject to them perished. That is why God speaks in one place through the mouth of the prophet: "For the shepherds have become senseless and have not sought the Lord, and therefore they have acted foolishly, and all their flock is scattered" (Jeremiah 10:21). In the same way, the great multitude of the Jews lost the promise and became unpartakers of the grace given through Christ. However, the remnant was saved through Christ (Romans 11:5; 9:27). And this is a clear type of Caleb the son of Jephaniah, and Joshua, who spoke very much to the children of Israel, stirring them up to courage, calling the land beautiful and worthy of occupation, and loudly proclaiming that they would gain the upper hand over the nations that inhabited it. But they almost died; And it was said, all the society, to stone them! (Num. 14:10). However, they are also appointed heirs by God. Who is Caleb, his name can be clarified. It means: "the whole heart." Jephaniah, on the other hand, means "conversion." Thus, those who have a perfect heart with God are sons of conversion, and Jesus with them. And they are again those who believed as a result of the preaching of the Apostles, who can be understood as those who were as if in the form of the firstfruit, and who called Israel. In them, one can also imagine the remainder. Calling the Jews, the Apostles were exposed to dangers; however, they were appointed heirs of the Holy Land. For that the heart which is fully at rest in God are possessed by the sons of conversion, that is, those who have turned from the commandments of the law to the service of faith and to grace, this can be learned by everyone from what Paul clearly writes, who considered as wise what was in the life under the law, I consider it loss for the sake of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, that only he may gain and have justification through him (Phil. 3:11). 6-9). And so, that Israel will be deprived of the promise, but will not perish entirely, but will be saved, though in a small part of it (for I think this means "remnant"), this you can very easily understand, as I have said before, when you see Caleb entering the land according to the promise of God, with whom the saver is connected in a certain way, and enters beside him. For this is the interpretation of the name Jesus. That is why the Divine Angel Gabriel, when preaching to the Holy Virgin the image of the incarnation of the Only-begotten, said: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for Thou hast found grace with God; and behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bear a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:30-32). Thus, only a remnant of the entire assembly of Jews inherited the promises and entered the holy land. And the people themselves are far from it. Together with the remnant entered the new and believing people; for together with Caleb God promised to bring in all the younger generation. This was also pointed out to us by the divine David, speaking of the inheritance of the saints: "It shall be written of these things for the generation to come, and the generation to come shall praise the Lord" (Psalm 101:19). For it is not for those who are child-taught that the inheritance is kept in the law, but for another kind. What kind of other kind is this? They are, as I have said, a new and believing people: because we are created in Christ for the renewal of life, having put off the old man with his passions and lusts, since it is said that Christ created both peoples one new man, building the world, and in one body to reconcile both to God, we have access to the Father, in one Spirit (Ephesians 2:15-16 and 18). Thus, in the form of a new people, let the children who are brought in also be the true Caleb. To them also the God-speaking disciple (of Christ) wrote in the Epistle, saying: "Like newborn babes, love the pure milk of the word, that from it you may grow unto salvation; for you have tasted that the Lord is good (1 Pet. 2:2-3). And that the God-speaking Paul, having thus understood the things contained in the law, changes into truth the type contained in the writings, you can clearly learn from what he wrote in the Epistle to the Hebrews, saying: Wherefore, as the Holy Spirit says, now, when you hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the time of murmuring, in the day of temptation in the wilderness, where your fathers tempted me, they have tried me, and seen my works forty years. Wherefore I was indignant with this generation, and said, They are continually deceived in their hearts, they have not known My ways; therefore I swore in My wrath that they would not enter into My rest (Heb. 3:7-11). And so that we, too, pushing away the accursed unbelief from ourselves and removing it as far as possible from our souls, would be heirs of the promise, he cried out again: Take heed, brethren, that there be no evil and unfaithful heart in any of you, lest you depart from the living God. But instruct one another every day, as long as it is possible to say, 'Today,' lest any of you be hardened, deceived by sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if only we hold fast to the end of the life we have begun, until it is said, 'Now that ye hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the time of murmuring.' For some of those who heard murmured; but not all those who came out of Egypt with Moses. Against whom did He resent for forty years? Is it not on those who have sinned, whose bones fell in the wilderness? Against whom then did He swear that they would not enter into His rest, if not against the disobedient? Thus we see that they could not enter because of unbelief (Heb. 3:12-19). For that their unbridled and unyielding to the impulses of the will of God was the cause of their hope, though they had hoped, yet they had lost hope, and that they would have benefited no less than the contrary, the same Apostle can convince us of this no less than before, saying: "Wherefore let us beware lest, when the promise of entering into His rest remains, any of you shall be found late. For it has been proclaimed to us also, as to them; but the word they heard did not profit them, not dissolved by the faith of those who heard. And we who have believed (Heb. 4:1-3) enter into rest to the Saviour of us all and the Redeemer, that is, Christ, through Whom and with Whom be glory to God and the Father with the Holy Spirit unto the ages of ages. Amen.

That Christ became for us the bread of life

1. Denouncing the passion of the Jews to teach others, the God-speaking prophet Jeremiah said, and very justly: How do you say, 'We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us'? But behold, the lying reed of the scribes turns [him] into a lie. The wise men were ashamed, troubled, and entangled in a net: behold, they rejected the word of the Lord; wherein lies their wisdom? (Jeremiah 8:8-9.) For although the scribes and Pharisees, who were very much haughty in the observance of the laws and raised their eyebrows, were arrogant towards the crowd of the people, nevertheless they were afflicted with stupidity, and by their very deeds they were denounced as unwise and ignorant; for they rejected the Wisdom that came down from above and from heaven, that is, the Word that came from God the Father, Who became for us wisdom from God, righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). That is why they turned out to be false and soulless, buoys and blinds, according to the word of the Savior Himself (Matt. 23:17). When they rejected the word of God and as it were went very far from life-giving grace and were repeatedly exposed as having grieved God with extreme disobedience, they died of hunger. And that which was spoken of God by the mouth of the prophet came to pass: Behold, the days are coming, saith the Lord God, when I will send a famine upon the earth, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a thirst to hear the words of the Lord. And they shall walk from sea to sea, and wander from north to east, seeking the word of the Lord, and they shall not find it (Amos 8:11-12). For those who could have had it, and moreover in abundance, having very unwisely rejected it, are at last, according to the divine decree, punished, losing all that is best and that by which they could certainly be enriched with the highest blessings. And since they decided not to submit and impiously offended the Divine and Wondrous grace, the famine of the Divine teachings was brought upon them; And very fairly. For us who believe in him, Immanuel became the bread of life. He is the bread that came down from heaven and gives life to the world (John 6:41, 51, 58 and 33): in Him and through Him, overcoming the God-hating power of corruption and putting on grace sent down from above and from heaven, that is, incorruption, we offer ourselves to God and the Father, bright and holy. And with what are we not gifted with such blessings that we end the course in the world? In such reasoning the letter of the law confirms us. It says this: And the Lord said to Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye enter into the land into which I am leading you, and eat the bread of the land, ye shall offer an offering unto the Lord; from the firstfruits of your dough you shall offer up the cake for an offering; offer it up as the threshing floor is offered; Of the firstfruits of your dough you shall give as an offering to the Lord throughout your generations. But if you transgress, through ignorance, and do not fulfill all these commandments which the LORD spoke to Moses, all that the LORD commanded you through Moses, from the day that the LORD commanded you, and henceforth throughout your generations, then if through the negligence of the community a mistake has been made, let the whole congregation offer one young ox for a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the LORD, with a meal offering and a drink offering thereof; according to the ordinance, and one goat for a sin offering; And the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and shall be forgiven them, for it was a mistake, and they offered their offering as a sacrifice to the Lord, and a sacrifice for their sin before the Lord, for their error. and it will be forgiven to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and to the stranger who dwells among them, because all the people have done it by mistake. But if one sins through ignorance, he shall offer a goat a year old for a sin offering; and the priest shall cleanse the soul that has committed a sin before the Lord by mistake, and it shall be cleansed, and it shall be forgiven; let one law be unto you (Num. 15:17-29). So in the book of Numbers. In the book of Leviticus, the sacrament is depicted differently. However, the contemplations are not very far apart from one another in dissimilarity. Therefore, having reminded us of this also, for it is very necessary to know this, let us compose, as it were, one narrative from the two. And it is written again thus: And the Lord said to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you come to the land which I am giving you, and reap in it, you shall bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest. he will offer this sheaf before the Lord, that you may gain favor; on the next day of the feast the priest will raise it; And on the day of the sheaf offering, you shall offer to the Lord a lamb a year old without blemish, and with it a meal offering, two tenths of fine flour mingled with oil, as an offering to the LORD, as a sweet aroma, and a quarter of a gin of wine to it. You shall not eat any [new] bread, nor dried grains, nor raw grains, until the day in which you offer offerings to your God: this is an everlasting ordinance throughout your generations in all your gates (Lev. 23:9-14).

2. Thus the sheaf is the beginning of the harvest and the sign of new fruitfulness; and the bread is of the gathered grain, heaped in a heap to be taken from it for use, and perhaps carried to the very granaries. And by offering up to God He commanded those who had already settled in the Promised Land, so that Christ might be understood in both. For He is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life (John 6:33), and the firstfruits of the mixture (dough) of those who are recreated in Him for the renewal of life. The beginning of the most ancient mixture (dough) was Adam; When, having neglected the commandment given to him, he fell into transgression, he was immediately cursed and in him was condemned to death and corruption of the human race. He escaped the curse, precisely because He Himself made the alley for us with an oath (Gal. 3:13), and drove away the power of corruption again because He was in dead freedoms. For He rose again, trampling down death, and ascended to the Father not only as a bright offering and a gift, but also as a kind of firstfruits of humanity, renewed into incorruption. Therefore, bringing bread to the holy tabernacle and offering it to God in the Holy of Holies can signify, and very naturally, Immanuel's ascent to heaven. For Christ did not enter into the sanctuary made with hands, in the image of the true one, but into heaven itself, that He might now stand for us before the face of God, as it is written (Heb. 9:24). And that He is also the life-giving bread, come down from heaven and from above; that, moreover, He also delivers from sins, and frees those who are on earth from the sins of ignorance, offering Himself for them in the stench of fragrance to God and the Father, you will understand very well, beholding with the eyes of your mind Him being slain, as a calf offered as a burnt offering, and as a goat for the sins of the people's ignorance. For who understands the Fall? as it is written (Psalm 18:13). See how clearly the lawgiver called the cleansing accomplished through Christ incomparably superior to the service of the law. If you transgress the commandments of Moses, says Moses, and if some are found to be negligent in the commandments of lawful service, then, I say, you will find the forgetfulness (of sins) that is given to you through blood, precisely when the calf is slain and the goat is sacrificed. And this was a type of Christ. Thus, the law determines the punishment for transgressors, and the Precious Blood of Christ delivers from punishment and frees from the guilt of ignorance. He laid down His life for us, that He might destroy the sin of the world. Therefore, as if by bread we can understand Christ as life and life-giving; By the calf He is again understood as being offered as a burnt offering, and offering Himself to God and the Father in the stench of fragrance; and in the form of a goat, as having been made for us a sacrifice for sin, and being slain for sins. And the sheaf can also be understood allegorically. And what it means will be said as far as possible. The human race can be likened to the ears of the field, ascending, so to speak, from the earth and waiting for the fullness due to it, and in the course of time it is cut off, in which it finds its death. Thus Christ Himself said to the holy disciples: "Do you not say that there are still four months, and the harvest will come? But I say unto you, lift up your eyes, and behold the fields, how they are white, and ripe for the harvest. He who reaps receives a reward and gathers fruit into eternal life (John 4:35-36). So, as I have just said, it is very easy to liken those who live on the earth to sowing in the field. Christ was made like us, having arisen from the Holy Virgin in the likeness of an ear. For this reason He Himself called Himself a grain of wheat, saying: Verily, verily, I say to you, if a grain of wheat falls into the ground and does not die, it will remain alone; but if he dies, he will bear much fruit (John 12:24). And he became as it were an offering to the Father for us, and in the sense of a sheaf, as the firstfruits of the earth, which through its work testifies to its fruitfulness. The ear, named alone, like ourselves, is not only one, but as a sheaf is offered, that is, as one bundle consisting of many ears of grain. And this work is necessary for the benefit and is an image of the sacrament. For Jesus Christ is one, but as if in the form of a sheaf He appears spiritually as one of many, which He is, since He contains in Himself all believers, of course, precisely because of spiritual unity. Otherwise, how does Blessed Paul write that we have been resurrected with Him and will be seated by Him in heaven? (Ephesians 2:6.) And since He was made like us, we became His stewards and were enriched in unity with Him through the body. That is why we say that we are all contained in Him. Thus He Himself in one place says to the Heavenly Father and God: "I will, that as I and Thou art one, so are they also in Us" (Jn 17:24, 11 and 21), as he who is united to the Lord is one spirit with the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:17). Thus Christ is the sheaf, as containing all in Himself and being lifted up for all, and the firstfruits of humanity, perfect in faith and destined to be brought at last into the highest and heavenly treasuries. The sheaf must be offered, it is said, on the next day (Lev. 23:11), which means: on the third day. For Christ came to life from the dead on the third day, and by His power ascended into heaven, that is, into the true tabernacle and into the Holy of Holies. But as spiritually represented by bread, He was also signified in the form of a calf, which was intended for a burnt offering and for the stench of incense, and also in the form of a goat, which was offered for the sins of ignorance: so, on the other hand, although spiritually represented as a sheaf, He is also a sheep of one year, that is, perfect; for Christ is all-perfect and free from defects by His very nature. Moreover, He was completely blameless; for He knew no sin, and there was no flattery in His mouth (1 Pet. 2:22). He Himself is also the flour of wheat, bright and filled with oil, that is, a life of fat and gladness. For we live in Him, rejoicing in the hope of what is prepared (Col. 1:5); and watered by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we say according to what is said in the Psalms: "He anointed my head with oil" (Psalm 22:5), because we have mercy through faith in Christ, with Whom we are sacrificed in a certain way, occupying the second place, just as the so-called yarn clases in relation to His wheat flour. By "yarn classes" we mean flour made from green fruits. For that Christ, although He was made like us in the dispensation, is nevertheless superior to us by nature, no one can doubt. Thus, more honorable, without comparison, than ours is His life, since it is completely holy and blameless. Our condition is worse and inferior, and takes the place of the wheat flour, as it were, in relation to wheat flour. And wheat flour is a way of life. But the yarn classes are also brought to the altar together with wheat flour. For we are sacrificed to incense, as I have said, with Christ and Him all things are fragrant, and together with Him we become pleasing to God and the Father. And those who do not have Christ are generally incapable of being a sacrifice; for without Me, He says, you can do nothing (John 15:5). And the new ones, it is said further, shall not be taken away, even until that day, until you bring a sheaf (Lev. 23:14). For neither the time of the law nor the countenance of the holy prophets had new nourishment, that is, the teaching of Christ, nor the renewal of human nature itself, except in one prophecy. When, finally, our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and as if instead of a sheaf in the firstfruits of mankind offered Himself to God and the Father, then and only then will we, as it were, be recreated into a new life. For according to the Gospel we begin to live in the renewal of the spirit, and not according to the old letter (Romans 7:6). Through Him and with Him to God and the Father be glory with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

About a red-haired young woman (heifer) burned outside the camp

The God-speaking David says in one place: "What shall I repay the Lord for all His good deeds to me? (Psalm 115:3.) And the same word befits us in particular. For what can be done that is equal on our part to God and the Father? He gave His Son for us, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16), as if despising the love that befits Him; for He gave Himself up for our sins, according to the Scriptures (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Pet. 2:24), and through Him we are saved. He was tormented for our sins, and was afflicted for us (Isaiah 53:5 and 4), having endured bodily death itself, not that we might see him remaining with us in the dead, but that with Him and through Him flowing into life and returning to incorruption, we might rejoice and say: Death! Where is your sting? hell! Where is your victory? (Hos. 13:14; 1 Cor. 15:55.) What path leads us to this? — Grace given through Baptism, through which, cleansed from all defilement, we are partakers of the Divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4), which dwells in us by the Spirit of Christ. Then, and only then, being sprinkled and cleansed in conscience from dead works, as Blessed Paul writes (Heb. 9:14); having become partakers of the mysterious blessing and having filled our minds with grace from above, we can appear worthy of competition and general attention, and what else (we cannot be worthy of) such? And what I have said, you will truly see, if you understand the sayings concerning the young (heifer). And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, saying, "This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, Say to the children of Israel, let them bring you a red heifer without blemish, which has no blemish, [and] on which there was no yoke; And you shall give her to Eleazar the priest, and he shall bring her out of the camp, and they shall kill her in his presence. And the priest shall take Eleazar with his finger the blood thereof, and sprinkle the blood on the front of the tabernacle of meeting seven times. And they shall burn the heifer in his sight: her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her uncleanness, shall be burned; and the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop, and a thread of scarlet wool, and cast it on the heifer to be burned; And the priest shall wash his garments, and wash his body with water, and then enter into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the evening. And he who burned it shall wash his garments with water, and wash his body with water, and he shall be unclean until the evening. and let someone clean gather the ashes of the heifer (Num. 19:1-9). And further: This shall be an everlasting statute for the children of Israel, and for the strangers who dwell among them, v. 10. To this the lawgiver adds that it defiles some and makes them unclean by touching the corpse of the dead. Unclean shall be he to whom it has befallen for seven whole days; he is to cleanse himself by the ashes of a heifer mingled with water, sprinkled with blood on the third day, and also on the seventh day, v. 11-12. But if he does not do this, it is said, he will have uncleanness unwashed (cf. v. 13). He will even suffer punishment, because he will defile the habitation of the Lord: that man will be destroyed, it is said, from among Israel, for he is not sprinkled with purifying water (ibid.). And if it happens in the tent, it is said (v. 14), that any one dies, then the accusation of uncleanness must then be transferred to the hearth itself, and to everything in the house, such as the vessels. And even if some of the vessels were free of drinks, they should also be considered defiled. No less unclean, it is said, is anyone who touches in the field a man who is slain with the sword, or the dead, or the bone of a dead man, or the sepulchre, v. 16. How (God) commanded that such things be purified, we will also tell as far as possible, skilfully revealing the obscurity of the letter of the Scriptures by proper reasoning.