According to John, the author of the divine Ladder, if you take medicine at the right time, then the treatment is beneficial, but if not in time, then it can kill a person. Let us not either, deceived by proud thoughts, inquire about the meaning of the Scriptures before the time, for then we will not understand even in due time; for sometimes the Holy Scriptures bear direct witness, and sometimes a certain time and knowledge of the circumstances described are required for a correct understanding.

All the Holy Scriptures, handed down to the Holy Church, have no flaws in themselves, therefore we should not blaspheme them, but we should keep them with all our might and try to understand them correctly, and not according to our will. If someone denigrates or condemns the Holy Scriptures, relying only on his own reason, there is no one more insane than him. The pagans, Jews, and heretics, in their arrogance, could not say, "We do not know," but they blasphemed the Holy Scriptures; because of this, they fell into error and turned into all kinds of evil.

Everyone who wants to understand the Scriptures, let him not rely on his own mind, let him not consider it sufficient; but he is skilful who keeps the words of Scripture unchanged and, through the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, reveals the mysteries attested to by Holy Scripture. Therefore, we must write a short sermon for our instruction, not on our own behalf, but cite testimonies from the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, from the books of the prophets, from the Holy Gospel and the apostolic works.

Later we will cite excerpts from the writings of our holy and divine fathers and teachers about the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity. From this little teaching we will see that those who misunderstand the Holy Scriptures find contradictions everywhere in the Scriptures, while those who truly understand Him see agreement in everything. Formerly, in the Old Law, God Himself commanded to offer sacrifices, burnt offerings, and play the harp, harps, tympanums, and pipes.

But the Scriptures also say that God not only does not love and does not desire all this, but hates and abhors such worship. In the book of Leviticus it is written: "And the Lord called to Moses, and said to him from the tent of meeting, saying, Let them offer me burnt offerings and sacrifices" (cf. Lev. 1:1 ff.). Through the prophet Jeremiah, God says the opposite: "For I have not spoken to your fathers, nor have I given them a commandment... for burnt offerings and sacrifices" (Jeremiah 7:22).

Through the prophet Isaiah, God says, "All who keep My Sabbath... I will bring you to My holy mountain... their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable on my altar" (cf. Isaiah 56:6, 7). Further, through the same prophet, God says something different: "Why do I need the multitude of your sacrifices?.. I am full of ram burnt offerings... and the blood of bulls and lambs... I don't want to... My soul hateth your new moons and your feasts" (Isaiah 1:11, 14).

Through the Prophet David, the Lord said: "Bring to the Lord sheep's children" (Psalm 28:1), "bring gifts and go into His courts" (Psalm 95:8). And through the same prophet God says the opposite: "Sacrifices and offerings Thou didst not desire" (Psalm 39:7), "I will not receive a bull out of thy house, nor a goat out of thy courts" (Psalm 49:9). How to understand this? Why does God want and does not want the same things, loves and hates?

The answer is that God, who gave the law, did not command sacrifices or burnt offerings, but only permitted them, condescending to the weakness of the Jews. After the Jews had sacrificed to the calf, God gave them the commandment to sacrifice and allowed them to play the harps at the feasts, for God had seen the Jews raging and nearly suffocating themselves to offer sacrifices, and had seen them willing to worship idols, and many of them had already worshipped.

Therefore, the Lord commanded them to make sacrifices, saying: "Since you are furious and desire sacrifices, offer sacrifices to Me." God commanded this, but did not leave it forever: He by wise cunning turned the Jews away from sacrifices, commanding them to be made only in one city. When, after some time, after many signs and wonders, the Jews, although imperfectly, began to comprehend the true God, then the Lord God forbade them to sacrifice animals, play harps and sing, and said through the prophet: "Remove from Me the noise of thy songs, for I will not hear the sound of thy harp" (Amos 5:23).

And again the Lord said, "For I have not spoken to your fathers, nor have I given them commandments... for burnt offerings and sacrifices" (Jeremiah 7:22). And again: "Sacrifices and offerings Thou didst not desire" (Psalm 39:7). And again: "I will not receive a calf out of thy house, nor a goat out of thy courts" (Psalm 49:9). It is now clear that God did not require sacrifices and music, commanding the Jews to offer sacrifices and play harps, but He condescended to their weakness, hardness of heart, and disobedience.

Therefore, the Lord commands at one time, forbids at another, and sometimes loves, and sometimes hates. Many such imaginary contradictions can be found in the Holy Scriptures. Solomon says, "Man has no advantage over cattle... All things go to one place: all things came from dust, and all things will return to dust" (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20). Then he says: "Such is the advantage of the wise over the fool" (cf. Ecclesiastes 6:8).

Having previously said, "Man has no advantage over cattle," Solomon goes on to say that the righteous have an advantage not only over cattle, but also over sinners. Solomon says of sinners, "Whatsoever thy hand can do, do according to thy power; for in the grave whither thou goest there is neither work, nor meditation, nor knowledge, nor wisdom" (Ecclesiastes 9:10). And of the righteous he says: "The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and torment shall not touch them" (Wis. 3:1).

And again: "The righteous live forever; their reward is in the Lord... Therefore they shall receive the kingdom of glory and the crown of beauty from the hand of the Lord" (Wis. 5:15, 16). And again: "He is numbered among the sons of God, and his lot is with the saints" (Wis. 5:5). And then Solomon clearly shows that the end is not the same not only for man and cattle, but also for the righteous and sinners: animals do not live after death and do not go to hell, the souls of sinful people live after death and go to hell because of their wicked deeds, the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God; the righteous will receive a kingdom of glory and a crown of beauty from the hand of the Lord; In addition, there are other differences between humans and cattle.

To show the weakness and insignificance of the sinner, Solomon says: "Man has no advantage over cattle." When Solomon wants to show the glory and majesty of a righteous man, then he says: "The righteous live forever... Therefore they will receive a kingdom of glory and a crown of beauty from the hand of the Lord." And again: "They are numbered among the sons of God, and their lot is with the saints."