Receive still, that Moses himself signified. He added: Horns of a unicorn, the horns of it: in them the nations shall be scattered (Deut. XXXIII, 17). But do not fear because he scatters; for he has said: I will strike and I will heal (Deut. XXXII, 39). Good horns, with which he encloses the circle of the earth: good horns, with which he scatters our adversary the lion: good horns, with which he makes us unable to fear the horns of the adversary; for even Satan has his horns, as Daniel testifies, saying: I saw and that horn, which made war with the holy ones: and it prevailed against them until the Ancient of Days came (Dan. VII, 21 and 22). This is the Ancient of Days. For who is the unicorn, if not the only begotten Son of God, and the only Word of God, which was in the beginning with the Father? This Word has mortified and vivified the people of the Gentiles with its horn; so that there may be ten thousand Ephraims unto the ends of the earth, and unto a thousand Manassehs: in order that the people of the nations, who would believe in him and fill the whole world, might believe also afterwards the people of the Jews, turned from oblivion to grace. For he who converts to Christ so late has forgotten his own salvation. Therefore, Saul among thousands, David among ten thousands; because he is harsh with few, gentle with many.
However, I do not deny, if anyone interprets it as if it were said to Joseph: His firstborn bull is his glory (Deut. 33:17); and thus he thinks it should be distinguished, because he gave horns to his holy ones: For he exalted the horn of his people (Psalm 148:14). And Anna, the mother of the prophet Samuel, says: My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted in my God (1 Samuel 2:1). Certainly, Joseph also had spiritual horns in the Lord. So let Joseph be accepted insofar as he is a figure of Christ, to whom it is said, 'Joseph, my son, has been made great, my younger son, return to me' (Gen. XLIX, 22). For it is not Joseph who returns to Jacob, but Christ who has been resurrected from the dead returns to the Father God; as it is written: 'His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it' (Psal. XVIII, 7). Let it be understood, however, that in the case of Joseph, 'Return to me' means that the people return to the land of the Canaanites, in which the patriarchs had previously dwelled. Where Isaac says to Jacob: 'You shall not take a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites' (Gen. XXVIII, 1); and he sends him to Mesopotamia to find a wife for himself there. Did the lords of the arrows plot against him? Was he blessed throughout the whole world solely because of the blessing of his mother's womb, and not the Lord Jesus, whom the Virgin bore? And therefore, he is blessed not only above men, but also above angels and archangels, and above all the heights of the heavenly powers; as the Scripture testifies, saying: 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord: The Lord God has shone upon us' (Psal. CXVII, 26 and 27): For the Lord God himself is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords in those things which are held in heaven.' Because of these horns of the Lord Jesus, and of David singing with the sound of the horn trumpet (Psalm 97:6), it is heard from Christ: and Moses taught (Numbers 10:10) that the rituals of sacrifices are to be celebrated with the sound of the trumpet; as it is also written: Trumpet at the beginning of the month (Psalm 80:4). Who is this for, if not for us? For the ancients used to observe the months from the beginning of the moon. But the Church is the moon, which is exalted with spiritual and Evangelical preaching in abundance of peace, as the Prophet said (Psalm 71:7). Therefore, in Christ, we will scatter our enemies like chaff.
And in His name let us reject those who rise up against us. What is a name except that by which each individual is properly identified, which is not common with others? For man is a common noun; unless you add the one who is called, it cannot be defined. Therefore, a name is the uniqueness of each individual, by which it can be understood. Hence, I believe that when Moses desired to know the proper name of God, and something about Him that was not common with the celestial powers, he asked, 'What is your name?' (Exod. III, 13). Finally, God, knowing his mind, did not respond with a name, but with a matter; that is to say, he expressed a thing, not a designation, by saying: I am what I am (Ibid., 14); for nothing is so proper to God as to always exist. Therefore, because they deny that Christ is coeternal with the Father, let them see that they deny God, whose property it is to always exist and never not to have existed. By this knowledge of divine property, Moses wanted to reject those rising up against him: or, as Aquila and Symmachus said, to trample on those resisting him like serpents and scorpions, which the Lord also says in the Gospel (Luke 10:19) must be crushed under our spiritual footsteps, so that they cannot hinder our path leading to the secrets of paradise. Therefore, we have within us the desire for divine knowledge: we have the Word of God, which is the name of the Father. This is truly the property of God, because He is the Father of Christ: and therefore He comes in the name of the Father, who came to do the will of the Father. And so He says: I came in the name of the Father, and you did not receive Me: if another comes in his own name, you will receive him (John 5:4); indicating that the Jews would believe in the Antichrist, who they refused to believe in Christ. Therefore, those who believe in Christ do not trust in their bow or sword, but place their hope of victory in his name.
(Verse 7.) And therefore he says: I will not hope in my bow: and my sword will not save me. But if hope is to be placed in a bow, surely hope is to be placed in the bow of God, which he placed in the clouds; so that the human race would cease to fear the flood. This bow protects us, with which bow he also hurls arrows, with which he strikes our enemies and adversaries.
(Vers. 8, 9.) And he says: For you have saved us from those who afflict us: and you have confounded those who hate us. In God we shall praise all day long: and in your name we shall confess forever. Listen to how he delivers us; for the arrows that he shoots from heaven penetrate the innermost parts of our land; so that all earthly movement may perish and be at rest, as he says later: You have shot forth judgment from heaven: the earth trembled and was still (Psalm 75:9). So we are set free when hostile and opposing powers are confounded; when the wisdom of this fleshly nature is put to shame by heavenly commands and is confounded by the blush of its own sins; when the adulterer is consumed by the flames of his own lust and the fire of his insane love; when the greedy person is consumed by the ardor of immoderate desire, desiring more the more he seizes what belongs to others; when the drunkard is consumed by drunkenness, and the criminal is confounded by his wickedness, both being greatly confounded here; but much more will they be confounded when they see the saints of the Lord rising again, and that Gospel saying of the Lord will be fulfilled: Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall rise, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt (John 5:28-29).
So when they have begun to be raised up to everlasting confusion, the holy one of the Lord says: In God we will be praised all day long; and in your name we will confess forever. The wealthy man is praised for his riches, the luxurious man for his feasts, the adulterer for his nights, the powerful man for this life which has nights; but the holy one will be praised not in this life, but in God; he who has strived to please the Lord in all things, who can say: The Lord is my strength and my praise (Psalm 117:14). He will be praised all day long; because he acted honorably and did not hide his deeds and crimes, but revealed them to the eternal king, walking in the light, not in darkness and secrets. Therefore, the Apostle says: Let us walk honorably in the daylight (Rom. XIII, 13); that is, not in gluttony and carousing, not in bed chambers and immorality, in which a wicked person thinks he is hidden by walls, so that he can escape the knowledge of God; for before God, the shameful deeds of all are uncovered, and the hidden sins of humanity cannot escape divine knowledge. Therefore, the saint will be praised in the future; for he sought not the praise of the present, but the grace of the future.
However, consider the distance. Here, while he is in the Lord, he is praised: there, he will be praised in the Lord, and for a short time he will receive the reward of eternity. But the eagle has said: In the Lord we will glory all day long. Symmachus says: We will sing a hymn to God all day long. The agreement of all is such that we never cease in the praises of God, whether by singing a hymn or by singing the divine glory in all moments. For whoever sings a hymn, does so with a pure heart and spiritually, and excludes all kinds of human passions; so that he is not hindered in his duty by any sadness, by the bitterness of any pain, so that his feelings are not aroused: but by singing a hymn to God, he remains immovable and irrevocable; just like David himself who says: I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise is always in my mouth (Psalm 33:2); and like Job, who, after losing his sons, having all his possessions taken away and destroyed, says: The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. ... blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21) .
(Verse 10.) But now you have rejected and disgraced us. And God will not go forward with our powers. For even the holy David says in another place: For the Lord will not reject his people (Psalm 94:14); how can he say here: You have rejected us; especially when he speaks of the people, to whom he enumerates no small tokens of their own virtue? For it is not insignificant to say that storms and various temptations have come upon them, and they have forgotten their Lord God, and have acted unjustly in his testament (Verse 19 below), and the other things that follow. And furthermore, the holy Apostle interprets (Rom. X), and says that the Lord has not rejected his people to the extent that he made it speak: 'All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people' (Isa. LXV, 2). Supported by the authority of this word, he says: I say, therefore: Has God rejected his inheritance? By no means. For I too am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin (Rom. XI, 1). God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. But it can be said in this place that he did not reject the people because the remnant chosen by grace was saved. And it seems that in a few cases he did not reject the people; although not the whole people, he rejected many of them. Hence, he added by stating God's response, that he has not only preserved a few people, but also left for himself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal (ibid., 4). Truly, this saying was spoken by the Apostle according to the Gospel; for the Lord had gone to the Gentiles: but divine response refers to a time of zealous, still fervent faith; when even the grace of the prophets overflowed to the people of the Jews. Therefore, if during the time of Elijah the Lord denied having rejected the people; much more so during the time of David, or the sons of Korah, when the faith of the chosen people still shone forth.
However, let us also examine the holy David himself, how the Lord did not reject his people. For since he is a God who draws near, not one who distances Himself, as the scripture of the old Testament says (Jeremiah 23:23); certainly, He who draws near does not reject. For it is a characteristic of divine mercy that there is no one for whom there is cause for death, and He considers all to be redeemable. But see that it is not he who distances himself from the Lord who is rejected, as David says: For behold, those who distance themselves from You will perish: You have destroyed everyone who commits adultery with You (Psalm 73:27). What is happening, they fornicate without you? Because they mock their own depravity, they leave you and stray from your teachings. Ultimately, elsewhere it is written: But God shall judge adulterers and will disperse them from Himself (Hebrews 13:4). Therefore, you have rejected, that is, by alienating yourself, you have lost them. Therefore, whoever separates themselves from the Lord, they shall be separated from the Lord; and whoever does not know the Lord, the Lord will not know them; and whoever is ignorant, they shall be ignored; as the Lord Himself said: Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, I do not know you (Matthew 7:23). For he does not consider it worthy to know the ministers of injustice and the authors of iniquity. Therefore, the sinner is not repelled; because he repels himself. Thus, he says in this manner: But now you have repelled and confused us.
However, the verse that follows explains how God repels. For He says, 'You will not progress, God, in our virtues.' When God does not assist, He seems to repel. For each one who does not feel the help of divinity to be conferred upon them, they think themselves rejected and abandoned. But what does it mean when it says, 'You will not progress, God?' And what does it mean when God is sometimes said to progress, or to go out, or to rise, or to descend? For God does not move corporeally, nor does He exit from any place, nor does He pass to another, who is above all things; nor does He truly rise, as if He were lying in some bed, or sitting physically in some seat; but these things are said so that you may understand when and to whom the words "to go out" and "to rise" are spoken. For we read in this very psalm: Rise up, why do you sleep, O Lord? (Psalm 44:23) And it should be considered lest it seem that God is sleeping due to our unworthy actions; as we read in the Gospel, when the apostles were still imperfect, that Jesus Christ was sleeping (Matthew 8:24). But when they were struck with fear of shipwreck and dread, they awakened Christ who was sleeping (Ibid., 25). Therefore, the Lord Jesus sleeps with the faithless, and watches with the faithful.
Finally, even the faithful person enters into God, and it seems that God departs from the negligent. Certainly, the Lord attracts those who are imperfect and still weak to Himself; as you have read the saying: Draw us, we will run after the scent of your ointments (Song of Songs 1:3). But truly, Moses, who was already stronger and chosen by the Lord, is mentioned as ascending and entering into his Lord God, as it is written: Because Moses ascended the mountain, and the mountain was surrounded by light, and the majesty of the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, and it was covered by a cloud for six days; and on the seventh day, the Lord called Moses from the midst of the cloud. But the appearance of the majesty of the Lord was like a burning fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the children of Israel. And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud (Exodus 24:15 and following). Just as Moses entered into the cloud here, where he was first called to the mountain by the Lord, so in later times, when he himself entered into his tabernacle, a pillar of cloud would descend to him and stand at the door of the tabernacle; and all the people would stand and worship, each at the door of his own tabernacle. But the Lord was in the cloud; for he had placed darkness as his hiding place (Exodus 33:9 and 10). So that you may know, however, that it is said concerning the Lord: 'And the Lord spoke, saying to Moses' (Exodus 33:1). Moreover, the fact that the tent of Moses is mentioned as being placed outside the camp in order to meet God does not seem to be contradictory; for whoever seeks God enters as if into God, and with their whole mind enters into knowledge of Him.
Therefore, the just one enters to the Lord; just as Moses entered into the cloud: and in the cloud is God. Finally: Behold, the Lord comes in a light cloud (Isaiah XIX, 1). And in the Gospel it is written: But when thou prayest, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret, will repay thee (Matthew VI, 6). Therefore, God is inside, as if in your own chamber. Also, hear in another place, that God is inside. Behold, he says, the Lord will go forth from his place, and will come down and ascend upon the high places of the earth, and the mountains will be moved under him, and the valleys will melt (Micah 1:3-4). Scripture says this: and already then it signified that he would forsake the people of Judah and pass over to the Gentiles. Finally, we find it expressed in this psalm, when David says: And he himself, like a bridegroom coming forth from his chamber, rejoiced as a giant to run his course (Psalm 19:6).
Therefore, we find that God goes forth from certain species or enters into them; just as the Lord Jesus says that He comes to the man who fears Him. 'Behold,' He says, 'I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me' (Rev. 3:20). Therefore, we have said these things because the Prophet says: 'You have rejected us, and will not go forth, O God, with our armies'.
However, let us also take this into consideration: that God made progress in the virtues of the Jews when Joshua, the leader of the heavenly army, worshipped him. And so, without using weapons, he conquered and destroyed the city of Jericho, which had very strong walls. For when God made progress in the virtues of his servants, victory followed. For an angel made progress toward Hezekiah's prayers and struck down countless armies of the Assyrians. But sometimes the Lord abandons those whom He wishes to be crowned in battle, as if for a time; so that they may conquer with faith, and devotion may not be weakened by success and prosperity. Finally, often those who have fallen in the course of prosperity and the enjoyment of good fortune are corrected by adversity. Therefore, we frequently find that the Jews, after experiencing victory, have fallen, and after being subjected to servitude, have been corrected; because they have caused God to return to them through prayers and lamentations.
And hence also what was said according to the human, and the human affection, is not opposed to this sentence; because the Lord said: God, my God, look upon me; why have you forsaken me (Psalms 21:2)? Not that the Lord was forsaken, who also said elsewhere: I am not alone, because the Father is with me (John 16:32); but because according to the flesh of man and his affection, which is placed in a grave struggle, he seems forsaken by the Lord. Finally, Scripture says not in vain (Luke IV, 13), because after the first temptation the devil departed from him until a time, that is, until the contest; for when the great contest of the sacred passion came, the adversary again succeeded in his temptations: but when a man is as though in doubt, he thinks that he has been deserted by his God. But we understand this according to the affectation of the flesh; for a man seems to himself to be forsaken, whose process Christ accomplished in his body: so also by his divinity he knew that he was never forsaken by the Father; for he himself said: I am in the Father, and the Father in me (John XIV, 10), and only he did not abandon himself.
(Verse 11.) He also added this verse: 'You have turned us back from the enemy.' It is not good for one who turns back, because no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). Finally, Lot's wife, because she looked back, could not reach the top of the mountain, that is, she could not attain higher things; but she was turned into salt, which quickly dissolves and cannot have lasting use. So are those who follow temporal things, and do not follow eternal things; and they are deceived by their own foolishness, and they cannot have the grace of things to come. However, there are those who forget the things that are above, and they reach back to previous things in order to be able to obtain reward. And it is said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan' (Mark 8:33), so that he may be provoked to something better. And in the order of numbers, the one who comes after Christ is prior. Therefore, we are ahead of our enemies, because they afflict us and they persecute us. You wanted us to look back and reflect, in order to reach higher, always keeping ahead, pursuing our enemies and desiring to surpass them.
Finally, Theodotion has it this way, just as the Seventy men; that is, how this verse is translated. Aquila has: You have turned us back from the oppressor. Symmachus: You have set us as the last ones against every adversary. What are contrary to us, except the pleasures of this age, and full of delights and lasciviousness, and what are incentives to luxury? Lot's wife was deceived; because she had behind her the luxury of the Sodomites, and the allurements of that region. Where have you been deceived? Because you looked back. And so, do not look back at your enemies, for God has placed you as the last in the world. Or: Whoever makes themselves the lowest, does not turn back; but always looks forward. But in order for you to know who your enemies are, listen to what is said: Listen, Israel . . . . What is it that you are in the land of your enemies . . . . You are defiled with the dead (Baruch 3: 9, 10, and 11)? But who is your enemy and adversary, other than the prince of this world and his companions, who persecuted the Lord Jesus even to the cross, ignorant of his power? For if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of majesty. Therefore, even though you are the last, do not follow your enemies; but follow the Lord Jesus and his cross with joy, and persist in his footsteps. For whoever follows Christ does not look back; that is, to the luxuries and enticements of sin; and therefore, he can say with the saints: Our heart has not turned back (Psalm 44:19). Hence it is understood that even one who is first among his enemies becomes the last and the least in his heart if he looks back at them and focuses more on carnal desires than spiritual ones. The one who is the last can also be the first in heart; if he considers the things that are in heaven, and not the things that are on earth. Listen, because the last one in the world is among the first with Christ. I think that God shows us, the apostles, as the last ones, as if destined to death; so that we may be a spectacle to this world, both to angels and to humans (1 Corinthians 4:9). He called himself the last, and yet showed that he was also the first, when he said: But our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20).
(Verse 12.) It follows: And those who hated us plundered for themselves. You have given us as sheep for food; and you have scattered us among nations. Perhaps you wonder why those who speak, as we have said, have the greatest constancy of faith in later times, say here that they were plundered by those who hated them: but do not let these things frighten you. For many are plundered here; and yet their merits cannot be separated from Christ. The apostles were taken away, they were beaten with rods, they were thrown into prison, they were separated from one another, and yet they remained with Christ: in fact, by the very fact that they were taken away by the faithless, their merits increased, and grace was increased in heaven. For not immediately is one who is plundered by humans also conquered. See the apostle Paul rejoicing in his dangers: see his glory, that he was let down through a window in a basket. See how the holy Jeremiah, the holy Ezekiel, the holy Daniel, when led into captivity and plundered by the Assyrians, nevertheless endured no captivity of their own faith; nor did they transgress the Testament of the Lord, who kept even in captivity the divine precepts of the law, nor did they think that anything contrary to the institution of their ancestors should be appropriated from the forbidden foods.
Therefore, Theodotion said well: And those who hated us exulted over us; for the insult of enemies does not bring harm to good minds, nor does the plunder of enemies. And for this reason, the saint says, who is certain that plunder cannot harm him: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress? and so on: But in all these things we overcome and conquer through him who loved us: knowing that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor Principalities, nor present things, nor future things ... . . . so that we may be separated from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. VIII, 35 et seq.). Therefore, whoever is such, is not separated from Christ. Hence, even if he is physically torn apart, he is still spiritually free: and he is not only not subject to being torn apart, but he even seeks out praiseworthy plunder; just like those of whom it is written: From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful people lay hold of it (Matthew XI, 12). Victor is therefore the one who, being placed in earthly captivity, does not know how to be a captive to treachery; not only does he not steal what is excellent, but he himself steals what is eternal.
There are also those who become sheep of the pasture. Our Lord Jesus Christ is good because he became the lamb of our feast. Do you ask how he became so? Listen to the one saying: Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed (I Cor. V, 7). And consider how our ancestors, in the form of sheep being torn apart, ate the lamb, signifying the passion of the Lord Jesus, whose sacrament we partake of daily. Therefore, through this very lamb, flocks of pastures were made, as the Eagle said: or, flocks for food, as Theodotion spoke: or, grazing for those who eat, as Symmachus said. But a good feast is not only not to be feared by the saints, but also desirable. For otherwise, one cannot enter the kingdom of heaven; as the Lord himself said: Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will not have eternal life (John 6:54). It is therefore proven that our Lord is the food, the feast, or the nourishment of those who eat; as he himself says: I am the living bread that came down from heaven (Ibid., 51).
And so that you may know that all these things were done for our sake, from the time he descended, the holy one says: We are all one bread (I Cor. X, 17). Therefore, let us not be afraid, for we have become sheep of the food. For just as the flesh and blood of the Lord redeemed us, so too did Peter endure many things for the Church. The holy apostle Paul and the other apostles also endured many things; they were beaten with rods, stoned, thrown into prison. For it was through endurance of injuries and the experience of dangers that the people of the Lord were established, and the Church attained growth; while others hastened to martyrdom, seeing that through those sufferings nothing had been lacking in the virtues of the apostles; but also because of this brief life, immortality was sought by them.
Which is also shown by the following verse, because they said: And among the nations you scattered us. Similarly, Theodotion said: But Eagle and Symmachus: Among the nations, or among the nations you scattered us. For the holy apostles were sent to the nations, and they were scattered among the nations, just as the holy prophets, of whom we have spoken above; so that through that scattering, the fruits might grow in abundance. For just as our Lord Jesus Christ fell like a grain into the earth, and he died, in order to bring forth much fruit: so too the holy apostles were scattered, in order to bring forth good seed among the nations; so that the fruit of the nations might sprout forth in their likeness. Finally, the Scripture says that the Lord said: 'I have sent you in order that you may go and bear much fruit, and that your fruit may remain' (John 15:16). Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ became like a seed, as it was said to Abraham: 'And to your seed' (Genesis 17:8), which is Christ. Christ is the seed of all. And for this reason, he allowed himself to fall and be scattered, in order to transform our humble body to be like his glorious body. Therefore, this saving seed sprouted for all men, and from it, in the likeness of Himself, were formed as it were the seeds of the holy apostles, sent through various places and dispersed, so that the peoples gathered in the field of the Church might shine forth with diverse fruits throughout the entire world. Therefore, these dispersals are called, just as in later times David also says the same thing: 'The Lord building up Jerusalem, and gathering together the dispersed of Israel' (Psalm 146:2). For they were scattered in order to produce new fruits, and afterward they were brought into the storehouses of the Church like new wheat.
However, this dispersal does not occur in lower things; that is, not on earth, but in heaven. Finally, the precepts of the Law confirm this, by which the Lord says: If your dispersal will be from the highest heaven even to the highest heaven, from there I will gather you, says the Lord (Deut. XXX, 4). What is the dispersal from the highest heaven even to the highest heaven? Who is this great one, who could be so widely spread? If it is a human, they are born on earth: they begin not from the highest, but from the lowest. If these things move and disturb you, return to the words of that holy prophet, and listen to who he is, the one who has made such fertile fields on this earth that their fruits reach the heavenly abodes. He is the bridegroom who, like a giant, runs through this entire path, impassable for others, passable for himself. And from him, the path began to be passable for mortals, although they would have to ascend. However, he himself alone would descend first, so that later his saints would deserve to ascend. Therefore, listen how the dissemination has been from the highest heaven to the highest heaven. From the highest heaven, it is said, came its going forth, and its circuit extends to the highest heaven (Psalm XVIII, 7). To whom can this be attributed? Moses barely ascended to the top of Mount Sinai, and this was because he was called by the Lord and was encouraged by a heavenly voice. Who could descend from the highest heaven except Christ, who both descended to the earth and remained in heaven? For no one ascends to heaven, except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven (John 3:13). Therefore, you see that when he both descended and ascended, he himself was and remained in heaven. For he himself said: I fill heaven and earth, says the Lord (Jeremiah 23:24). He is the one who is in heaven. This is enough to be said about the dispersal.
Moreover, what He says, 'You have tested us,' although it differs in wording, agrees in meaning. For just as those who have been scattered have been proven, so also those who have been tested have deserved to come to the test. For just as wheat, when it is winnowed and separated from the chaff, is clean, if it has not been winnowed, it cannot be clean; but the chaff remains compact and mixed together: so also a person, unless he has been winnowed by temptations, cannot separate fragile things, like chaff, from himself. Also to Peter it is said: Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. (Luke 22:31-32). See what he saith, and understand. Peter is sifted, that he may be compelled to deny Christ. He fell into temptations, and spake as it were full of chaff: but he spake with the word, that his love might be more firmly grounded. Finally he wept, and washed away his chaff, and by those temptations deserved that Christ should intercede for him. How much greater is the protection than the temptation of that disturbance? And so he acquired more than he suffered; for he acquired Christ as his protector. However, the adversary is forced to tempt the holy ones of the Lord to their own losses. For while he tempts, he makes them better; so that the one who is tempted can also instruct others, who seemed weak to himself. Finally, Peter is placed in charge of the Church, after he was tempted by the devil. Therefore, by this it signifies that the Lord knows what it is that afterwards he chose him as shepherd of his flock. For to him he said: But you, once converted, strengthen your brothers (ibid., 32). Therefore, the holy apostle Peter turned to good fruit, and he was threshed like wheat, so that he himself would be one bread with the saints of the Lord, which would be our nourishment. For as we read about the actions of Peter, we come to know the teachings of Peter, and it becomes the nourishment for our eternal life and salvation.
(Verse 13.) You have sold your people without price, he said. It seems that buying and selling is a kind of equal contract: but nevertheless, if you consider the feelings of the buyer and the seller, each one sells himself cheaper and buys things that please him. For example, besides those people who engage in the business of selling slaves, no one easily sells unless it is someone whom they dislike, and whom they consider unfit for their use. And again, each person desires to buy someone whom they judge to be suitable for their utility or service. But even those who engage in the buying and selling of slaves regard their own profit; indeed, they value the slaves they sell so cheaply that they are even worth less to them than money: and often they prefer to keep those whom they have considered more capable for their business than to sell them.