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.

2. And so, the young woman, completely blameless, completely free from all impurity and knowing no sin, is our Lord Jesus Christ. For He boldly said: "The prince of this world is coming, and in Me he has nothing" (John 14:30). Likewise, He says to the Jews: Which of you will convict Me of unrighteousness? But if I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me? (John 8:46.) In addition, notice that in the scriptures He is called either a calf or a young woman. This, of course, is so that by means of the male sex He may be signified as a leader, and by means of the female sex as the lesser and subordinate. For, like all things, God governs all things, and together with God and the Father extends His dominion over everything. But He voluntarily became under the law, fulfilled the precepts of Moses, as if He had an advantage over Him, although this was a slave. And no wonder; for He was also called a prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15) and appeared in the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7), although He is the Lord and God of the prophets themselves. The young woman was supposed to be a redhead. For in the blood the mystery of incarnation was accomplished, if it is true that He was obedient to the Father even unto death, even the death of the cross (Phil. 2:8), and came to save the heavenly world by His Blood. A sign of blood, and a very clear one, can be the red color. But even if He was obedient to the Father, and together with us, according to the economy, He became under the law, as a man, if He was also called a slave, without dishonoring the nature of the flesh He had taken on, nevertheless He was and is at the same time free, as God by nature, by no means bound by the yoke of slavery and did not experience it at all. For He came from above and is above all things, proceeding from the freest being of God and the Father. That is why it is said that the young woman should be brought red-haired and blameless, and who has not experienced the burdens of the yoke. For if the Only-begotten humbled Himself and voluntarily condescended to the sight of a servant (Phil. 2:7), then how or why can it be doubtful that this condescension was in any case from on high, and exhaustion from fullness? From the innate and primordial freedom, it was like a descent, I say, into the shadow of a slave. Thus, He was a young woman because the rulers are, as it were, in subjection and under the law; — red, because the image of the economy consisted in blood for our sake and for us. And blameless, because of sinlessness, because He knew no sin, — who did not experience labor and yoke, because of His freedom according to Divinity and His unkinship with slavery, although He was made like us and was in the form of a servant. But let them give, it is said, a young girl, and give her to Eleazar the priest, and bring her out of the camp, and slay her before him (Num. 19:3). A priest can be an image of priests and those who are sanctified and anointed in the Holy Spirit; For in relation to us who believe it is said in one place by the mouth of the holy Apostle: "Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (1 Pet. 2:9). And so, to us who are holy, a chosen and holy people, Christ is given from God the Father, as by righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30), the Savior and Redeemer, Who, as the God-speaking Paul writes, suffered outside the gates (Heb. 13:12). Thither also we must go, he says, bearing His reproach (v. 13), that is, each his own cross. The Saviour Himself spoke of this: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23; Matt. 16:24). And that it is most appropriate and useful for the sacred and sanctified to have the dead Christ before their eyes, may be indicated by the law that the young woman should be slaughtered before the priest. When we remember Christ, Who died for us and for us, then we will be even more amazed at the words of the God-speaking Paul, who cries out to us for Him: if one died for all, then all died. And Christ died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). And again: By the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for us (Gal. 2:19-20). And so, let Him who suffered the slaughter for us stand before the eyes of our minds in a certain way; for then we will no longer live for ourselves, but rather for God, as redeemed by the blood of Christ, who gave Himself up for us, according to the Scriptures (Gal. 2:20). Further, it was commanded by the hand of the priest to sprinkle the blood of the holy tabernacle, and this seven times, and to burn the young woman, without vomiting up anything that was in her body; but together with meat, dung, skin, and other parts of the body. For Christ by His blood sanctifies the truest tabernacle, that is, the Church: and He sanctifies perfectly, that is, richly; for this, I think, means the seven times sprinkling of the tabernacle with blood: the number reaching seven is a sign of perfection. The burning of the young woman with fire after the slaughter seems to indicate a temptation (trial) even to death, to which Christ was subjected for us. For silver is tempted (tested) in the fire, according to what is sung in the Psalms: "Thou hast tried us, O God, hast refined us, as silver is refined" (Psalm 65:10). And that through obedience Christ was in some way tempted even unto death, I think the following can clearly indicate this: In one place, through the mouth of the prophet Zechariah, He said to those who were justified in the faith, or to those for whom He died: "And I will say to them, If it pleases you, give Me My wages; but if not, give not (Zech. 11:12). Then the prophet says, "And they shall weigh thirty pieces of silver in payment to me." And the Lord said to me, Cast them into the storehouse of the church, for the high price at which they have valued Me! (vv. 12-13). Thus, the temptation of Christ even to death can mean, as I said, the burning of the young woman with fire after the slaughter. But besides, nothing is expelled from it, since Christ is all holy; both meat and skin, that is, both hidden in secret and open, which is at hand. For He was by nature God, Who was made like unto us, but knew no sin. Further, cedar wood is put into the ashes (of the youth), as well as hyssop and scarlet thread (scarlet nipple). At the same time, the cedar tree excellently indicates to us incorruption, since the cedar does not rot; hyssop – for purification, since this herb has a purifying property and naturally destroys impurities in the insides; but the scarlet thread very clearly signifies the incarnation of the Word, since the Word is as if bound by flesh and blood. And He was tempted for our sake also through fire, and even unto death, as I have just said. But His suffering and the image of His incarnation were for us the guarantee of incorruptibility and purification. For in Him we are justified, having been cleansed from defilement in soul and womb, if baptism is truly salvific, and by power it is not the washing away of bodily impurity, but a promise to God of a good conscience (1 Pet. 3:21), through Whom there can be remission of sins, and the confession of faith will undoubtedly be followed by grace. And that Christ's death for us became the path to incorruption and life, this is by no means subject to doubt. But he who burned the young woman and mixed cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet thread with her ashes, as well as he who gathered up the ashes, is said to be unclean until evening (Num. 19:8-10), even though after washing his clothes, they could be clean. This law, in all likelihood, points to the weakness of human nature. And if we subtly and carefully examine our condition, then no one who is appointed to service, the Divine, of course, and the sacred, can be blameless; but even if one of men might decide to lead the best possible life, and be as pure as possible, yet he cannot have his ministry blameless, because no one is worthy to touch the mysteries of our Saviour. And no wonder. The Divine word can convince us of this, saying: "And the stars are unclean in His sight" (Job 25:5). Therefore, if anyone compares our condition with the purity of Christ, it will be found to be unclean and defiled and subject to divine condemnation. Perhaps someone will be surprised, which is very natural, at the divine Psalmist, who says: If You, O Lord, take notice of iniquity, O Lord! Who will stand? But with Thee is forgiveness (Psalm 129:3-4). Even he who seems to be pure is thus rebuked; because, as I have said, it is much higher than the nature of man, that we may be completely sinless, and that we may draw near to Christ in purity. Then the water of purification must be poured out, it is said, outside the enclosure (Num. 19:9), and no longer in the camp itself; for it was as if outside the synagogue of the Jews there was a cleansing in Christ, since He came out of it, decisively declaring: "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (Matt. 23:38). And at last, as it were, cleansing grace was poured out on the Gentiles, and, as Paul says, "He who was far off became near" (Ephesians 2:13); for they were called by faith, and were enriched by justification in Christ, while the Israelites would not believe. And that every kind of Uncleanness can wash away, and very easily, the water of purification, this is explained by the Scriptures, saying: If anyone touches the dead, he will be defiled; but he can be freed from this accidental defilement only if he is sprinkled with the water of purification on the third and seventh day (Num. 19:11-12). Sprinkling with water, with the addition of ashes and other substances, can be an image of holy Baptism. Thus, he who adheres to dead works and defilements that lead to corruption (and by works of deadness we call the ungodly and filthy passions of the flesh: fornication, uncleanness, lust, evil lust, Col. 3:5) can only become clean only if he is cleansed and washed away by means of holy Baptism on the third and seventh days. And the third signifies the time of the resurrection, and the seventh is the last, and as it were, constituting the final purpose, for which the Only-begotten was made man. If also a house is defiled, it is said, because of the presence of any dead person in it, then all who enter it are unclean. Any utensils and uncovered vessels also become unclean. But by the water of purification this also is cleansed in the same way on the third and seventh days (Num. 19:14-15). In this case, the legislator seems to point out to us the defiled house, the vessel in it, and the vessel uncovered, to the assembly of the Jews who killed the Lord, which is understood collectively under everything that is in the house, and separately under each of the vessels; for man is like a vessel on earth. And that their minds are not firm, very capable of defilement and of all that usually admits of injury, this is secretly indicated by uncovered vessels, into which something unclean can easily fall: a lizard, or any other animal that has taken up residence in the house. But the mind of those who are justified in faith is not like this: it is firm and hidden, and is inaccessible to being carried away by that which usually damages it. Then, if any man also touch, it is said, an ulcer, or the bone of a dead man, or a sepulchre, he shall be defiled, v. 16. By ulcerative we do not mean a sound heart, as if wounded either by worldly lusts or by worldly or carnal desires. We will take the bone of a dead man in the meaning of a remnant of impurity. The coffin is also a reminder of the impurity that has already died. For Satan sometimes strikes the heart with wounds. Overcome in part by carnal passions, we ourselves become sick, not falling into every sin, but as if still among its remnants we spend our life in the world, as, for example, when someone strives to conquer anger or love of money, but does not completely avoid arrogance. This, I think, means that some are not free from the remnants of impurity, a sign of which can be the bone of a dead man. But even when we admit into our minds the remembrance of a passion that has already been conquered, and come close to the pleasure that has already been buried, we sometimes sin not a little. We are delivered from the guilt of these sins when Christ washes us and cleanses us with His passion; for He died for us, and by His wound we were healed (Isaiah 53:5). And He bears our sins (v. 4) and is an Advocate before the Father for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the whole world, as the God-speaking John wrote to some (1 John 2:2). Thus, in Him is all purification, all justification, sanctification, deliverance. With Him and through Him to God and the Father be glory with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

About the copper serpent

God did not create death, and does not rejoice in the destruction of the living, according to what is written (Wis. 1:13). For He created all things to come into being, and all things in the world are salvific (v. 14). But when the firstfruits of the race, that is, Adam, became ill with disobedience and, neglecting the Divine commandment, offended the Creator of God, and therefore fell into corruption, then human nature was cursed and our race was subjected to condemnation. But we, the wretched ones, though created in incorruption, at last, like shadows or the grass of the field, for a short time and as soon as we come out into the light, suddenly fall, as it were, on our mother, on the earth. From here the saints cried out excellently, lamenting our condition. Thus, for example, one can clearly hear Blessed David, crying out: "Man is likened to vanity" (Psalm 143:4); and on the other side Isaiah: "All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field" (Isaiah 40:6). For we have reached, as I have said, such a calamity and misfortune that even the wisest Spirit-bearers could not say with what our condition could justly be compared. However, the Creator did not despise those who fell into such a state; on the contrary, He vouchsafed them both His care and attention, and showed them in Christ free from death and corruption. How, or in what way? Everyone knows beforehand, even though no one has spoken of it. And, besides, in the Old Testament Scriptures themselves, everyone can see the power of this sacrament. And it is written thus in the book of Numbers: From Mount Hur they set out by the way of the Red Sea, to pass by the land of Edom. And the people became faint-hearted on the way, and the people spoke against God and against Moses, Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, for there is neither bread nor water, and our soul is disgusted with this worthless food? And the Lord sent poisonous serpents against the people, which bitten the people, and a multitude of the people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, that we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He will remove the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, "Make thee a serpent and set it on a banner, and he who is bitten will look at it and live." And Moses made a brazen serpent and set it on a banner, and when the serpent bit a man, he looked at the brazen serpent and remained alive (Num. 21:4-9). The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt and, weighed down by the unbearable yoke of slavery, they were delivered by God, who did many wonderful signs there: water was turned into blood; frogs and flies, flies, and hail, as it were, waged war against the land of Egypt. The Egyptians were also punished with darkness, and the death of the firstborn severely struck those who wished to continue violence against the Israelites, whom God miraculously saved. Then, walking in the middle of the sea, as if on dry land, they saw the Egyptians unhappily lost. They received bread from heaven, because God sent them manna. Then, as if predestined in stone, Christ had mercy on them, unexpectedly giving them to drink with streams of water; for the Divinity is all-powerful and unenvious in bestowing that which is necessary for life to those who are devoted to Him. But those who have tasted such abundant blessings dishonor themselves in small sufferings, because they do not remember what God has done to them, and turn out to be not firm in faith in Him, impudent, easily indignant and ready for faint-heartedness, they unwisely neglect the knowledge of what they are honored by God. For they called the bread sent down from heaven worthless, and complained about the lack of water, although they knew that there was nothing undoable for the Divine and ineffable nature, Which even the rocky stone made for them the source of the streams of the river. Producing a causeless murmur against God, they were punished by the bites of a snake. Then, having come to the remembrance of their sin, they finally began to shed tears, confess their guilt, and besought their mediator, I mean Moses, that he would make God merciful and forgiving to them. Moses, falling down before God, besought Him for this, and, obeying the gestures from above, made a bronze serpent, placed it on high and commanded those struck by the bites of the serpents to look at it intently. By doing this, they were healed.

2. But what is the meaning, what great and all-wise mystery is contained in this? "This needs to be carefully investigated. For for people who have a deeper mind, one letter is not enough; for them, the mysteries are hidden in the types, as it were. And so, let us now speak of this; as if again transferring the narrative from the prototype to the universal and most important, to that which is true. By showing dissatisfaction with the blessings bestowed by God and from above, by unwisely striving for what is pleasant rather than useful, and by rejecting the exercise of virtue, and by indulging in the most shameful, we grieve the Benefactor and do not offend the Creator in any way. For this reason we are subjected to the bites of serpents: serpents, I mean, mental serpents, which, striking us with every sin, subject us to the bonds of death. As if over the multitude of these poisonous animals, the apostate serpent, that is, Satan, from whose bite the first man, that is, Adam, perished in ancient times, is in charge. But this evil, as if from the root, extends to us, who have come from it. But we're saved in some way. For we look to the serpent, that is, to Christ. In what way is He a serpent, Who by nature is a good God, moreover, even goodness itself? This is because He was made like us, who are evil by will, He was in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3) and was numbered among the evildoers (Isaiah 53:12). And that we are evil, not being created as such by God, but having descended to such a bad state because of the sin that has prevailed over us, can be explained by Christ Himself, who says: "If, therefore, being evil, ye know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father in heaven give good things to them that ask Him" (Matt. 7:11). the serpent is Christ, Who was in the likeness of evil (sin), because He was made man. But whoever looks at Him mentally will be above corruption, will avoid death, can neglect bites and not care about a multitude of poisonous animals. We will look to Christ, if we correctly understand the mystery about Him and firmly believe that, being God by nature, He was made man. But even if He was in the likeness of evil (sin), He nevertheless remained good; for He was made like us, not in order to be evil with us, but in order to make us good, leading us with the help of the Holy Spirit to every kind of virtue. The serpent was hung on a banner. For Christ was to be lifted up on the Honorable Cross, and He Himself proclaimed this to the Jews, saying: "When ye shall lift up the Son of Man, then ye shall know that it is I" (John 8:28). And what the (Old Testament) type referred to this mystery of Him, you can learn from Him Himself, who clearly says: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up" (John 3:14). And the serpent of brass was because of the sonority and goodwill of the Divine and Gospel preaching. For there is no one who has not heard the inspired words of Christ; but in all the heavens the mystery which He performed is proclaimed, and to Him every knee in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confessed that the Lord Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:10-11). Amen.