Chapter 11
Instructed by the priests and diviners, the Philistines, with due veneration, return the ark of God, which the Beth-shemites first receive, offering sacrifices to God. And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, etc. This reading typically teaches that the faith of the Gospel, which is now celebrated among the Gentiles, is to return at the end of the world to save the remnants of Israel. The Philistines, taught by plagues, ask the wise men what to do with the ark of God, and how to return it to its place.
[1 Samuel 6:3] -- But they said: If you send back, they said, the ark of the God of Israel to its place, etc. And we, seeing the vengeance of the impious, and washing our hands in the blood of sinners, if we decide to send back the ark of heavenly grace to its place, that is, into the hearts of those neighbors who once had it and lost it by straying, advising them to repent, it must be done with utmost care that we do not seek to do this void of virtues. But according to the one who said: And his grace towards me was not in vain (1 Cor. XV), let us hasten first to act rightly ourselves and then instruct others. In this way, we will be able to escape the plagues of those who, having received the gift of knowledge, do not know how to repay the bestower for the sins they have committed. Also, it is universally advisable for the Church that the grace of faith, which is, the fruit of virtues among the nations, should not be found empty at the end of the world, and thus return to Israel for salvation; but as it came, so it should return, given to us through great teachers and return to them by means of great teachers.
[1 Samuel 6:4] -- According to the number of the provinces of the Philistines, etc. According to the number of the five senses of the body, which you contaminated by looking back, whose fruits you all lost by poorly handling faith, now in all that you do by seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, or touching, offer to Christ the most illustrious virtues due to him, such as patience, compunction, humility, and others.
[1 Samuel 6:5] -- And you will give glory to the God of Israel, etc. And confess that God alone is true, but every man is a liar (Rom. III; Psalm CXV); perhaps He may turn His face away from your sins and wipe out all your iniquities, and, while the merciful Compassionate One imposes on you a very light burden.
[1 Samuel 6:7] -- Now, therefore, seize and make a new cart, etc. Now, they say, hasten, and either in your hearts or in the hearts of your brethren, putting off the old man with his deeds, put on the new one, which is created according to God in righteousness and holiness and truth (Ephes. IV); and this in the unity of Catholic peace, in which it is so beneficial to salvation to perform whatever good one can, and as noble teachers in the twin, that is, the love of God and neighbor, free from the yoke of sin, rejoicing in the offspring of spiritual faithful children, whether for the burden of preaching the faith or bearing the necessity of the brethren, submit. But hold back any little ones and infants still in Christ within the small scope of your counsel until they grow into a perfect man.
[1 Samuel 6:8] -- And you will take the Ark of the Lord and place it on the cart, etc. Place the more secret parts of the heavenly mysteries, imbued with the new commandment of Christ, upon it, and also set forth for all together as an example to be observed and followed, in such a way that the Church, adorned with both the mysteries of faith and examples of virtues, may be sent to seek the remnants of the Israelite people, and never let your mind's eyes turn away from observing its steps.
[1 Samuel 6:10] -- They therefore did this in this way, and took two cows, etc. The Philistines made the ark according to the advice of their priests and diviners. And the faithful stewards of it will also act in accordance with the predictions or future instructions of previous priests and prophets; let us also make corrections either of our own, or of a neighbor, namely the members of the Church according to the command of spiritual teachers. No one should think it absurd that we say the deeds of unbelieving diviners and priests overflow to the interpreting prophets and teachers of the Church with spiritual mystery; but rather, recognizing the use of allegorical speech, let the one who reads see that even those things that not only unbelievers but also those openly hostile to God have done are typologically related by distinguished expositors for the observance of most wholesome piety. No less sacred or full of mystical piety is it that the impious persecutor of the Lord in His passion clothed Him in a purple or white robe, crowned Him with thorns, gave Him vinegar to drink, hung Him on the cross, wrote "King" in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, than that His devout and inviolate mother wrapped Him in swaddling clothes at His birth, laid Him in a manger, shepherds praised Him, magi worshipped Him; that when He was killed, His chosen disciples anointed Him with spices, wrapped Him in linen clothes, laid Him in a stone tomb, closed it with a large stone, and do not doubt to learn useful things from people of any kind, your fellow human beings. Hear what Solomon says: "Go to the ant, O sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise" (Prov. VI).
[1 Samuel 6:12] -- But the cows went straight, etc. The teachers went straight through Christ, leading to the kingdom of heaven. Indeed, the way to Beth-shemesh, that is, the house of the sun, is the very same that says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John XIV). And elsewhere: "I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John VIII).
[1 Samuel 6:12] -- They journeyed on the same path, progressing and groaning, etc. They walked on the same path of faith and truth, indeed groaning, as people, being separated from those they love; yet they were more willing, when necessity arose, to hasten eagerly to the sacrifice of passion for the ark of the Lord rather than agreeing to lay down the ark out of the weeping of their children. Do you want proof of what we say? When Paul was staying in Caesarea, a prophet coming from Judea declared that he was to be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem and handed over to the Gentiles (Acts 21). Behold, the cow bearing the ark of the Lord is prophesied to be sacrificed; and whatever concerns these calves, whether they, with dry eyes, expect the departure and death of their parent, let the noblest calf, distinguished by this name among the four great animals, recount what they did. When we heard this, he said, we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem; but because he could not be swayed to the right or to the left by the love or tears of the children through the insistence of the mother, see what he, about to leave, says to the weeping ones: What are you doing, weeping and disturbing my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. Truly, mourning for the weak, as if confined at home like calves, which they conceive from the carnal loss of spiritual parents, gradually ceases as they also make progress. Luke says the same: And when we could not persuade him, we ceased, saying: The will of the Lord be done.
[1 Samuel 6:13] -- Moreover, the Bethshemites were reaping wheat in the valley, etc. Furthermore, the citizens of eternal light, desirous to store the ripe fruits of virtues, which they produced with humble hearts, into the joys of the heavenly homeland; and with the eyes of their hearts lifted, they rejoiced wherever on earth they saw the heavenly things.
[1 Samuel 6:14] -- And the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, etc. And wherever the Church sees hearts bringing forth fruit for Jesus Christ, the Lord of eternal clarity and the inventor of perpetual light, it prepares to make a dwelling there, as if finding rest after the labor of seeking. Such was always the progress of the Church; such was its coming into the nations; such will be its return to Israel.
[1 Samuel 6:14] -- Now there was a great stone there, etc. There was in the field of the Church that exceptionally great stone, which was cut out of the mountain without hands and grew into a great mountain and filled the whole earth. And concerning which the Psalmist says: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone" (Psalm 118); that is to say, to make both one. And the persecutors of the Church cut down the structure, which, erected in the likeness of the Lord's cross, rejoiced in the firm state of new grace. Moreover, they slaughtered as a most pleasing victim to the Lord, even though unknowingly, the teachers and those who were able to bear the burdens of the weak, consumed in the flame of martyrdom. For the wood of the new cart, which had carried the ark of the Lord, was cut down when, persecution arising in the Church of Jerusalem, all were scattered through the regions of Samaria and Judea, except the apostles. The cows were made a burnt offering to the Lord upon it when all were pricked by the ardor of intimate love and dissolved into mourning and tears. Stephen was stoned, and James, the brother of John, was killed by the sword; and reading the church history, you will find innumerable such events, and infinite acts of martyrs. Among all these, the greater cutting down of this cart, that is the perturbation of the Church in the times of Antichrist, is not doubted to come. Nor is there anything preventing these two cows, which bearing the ark of the Lord were given as a burnt offering to the Israelites, from being interpreted as Enoch and Elijah, who will then reveal the grace of faith to the Jews and are believed to receive death from Antichrist without delay. Nor should you marvel that the good deeds of the Beth Shemites are interpreted by us in the opposite manner, because it is the custom of Holy Scripture to sometimes delineate evil through good and good through evil. Indeed, how many kinds of sacrificial victims in the law, which by command of the Lord were offered with devoted minds, typologically foretell the death of the Savior, which He received at the hands of the wicked.
[1 Samuel 6:15] -- The Levites, however, laid down the Ark of God, etc. Ministers of the word, receiving faith and examples of the lives of saints from those who have preceded in Christ, did not place these things in some base and lowly earthly breast, but in those which they saw as firm in Christ. That great stone can be not inappropriately referred to the people who glory in the law (for the law is written on stone); and the ark placed upon the stone may be understood, when the people emulating the law have received the faith of grace.
[1 Samuel 6:15] -- But the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings, etc. Whosoever belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its vices and desires (Gal. V). And elsewhere: I beseech you, he says, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God (Rom. XII).
[1 Samuel 6:16] -- And the five lords of the Philistines saw, etc. All who have preceded in Christ, so long contemplate the faith and deeds of those succeeding them in Him as in a mirror, until they recognize them also as firm in faith and progressing well; and thus, becoming more assured of their salvation, they return to the homes of their own conversation to be cared for. It can also be understood of hypocrites, who, although they seem for a time to imitate the way of life, yet do not merit to enter the gates of Beth-shemesh, that is, of the Sun of righteousness, because of the instability of their left-leaning mind.
[1 Samuel 6:18] -- Here are the golden mice, etc. All, both small and great, strong and weak, must repay the Lord with golden vessels for their sins, that is, with the splendid gifts of contrition and humility, gentleness and chastity, and the other spiritual fruits. For who is clean from impurities? Not even if his life on earth be but a single day. And if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves (Job XVIII; 1 John I; Job XX). For who will boast of having a pure heart, who has not in some way deviated from the path of truth in one of the five well-known senses, or whose thoughts or good actions have not occasionally been gnawed at by the bite of the ancient adversary, so that he must rightly ask for the remedies of penance for these, and from the memory of the vices he committed or the temptations he endured, he has to insist more sharply on practicing virtues? For it is to repay the Lord corrected with golden five-fold for the mice and corruptors and corrupted ones in which he was punished for erring. And it is beautifully said that the metropolis of any province, with its adjoining cities and villages, returned one golden mouse and anus each, because we duly pay the debt for sin when the rich and poor, the learned and unlearned, signified by the difference of a walled city and a village deprived of a wall, all made one in Christ, strive to see the one and the same will of God, perceive the same good fragrance of Christ, taste together how sweet the Lord is, and equally hear and do His words. But those who refuse to repent and pay the debt of penance for sin will not escape the hand of the stringent Judge, but driven into outer darkness, will not come out until they have paid the last farthing. To whom the wise of the Philistines above, suggesting better things, said: "Why do you harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? Did they not, after being struck, then let them go, and they departed? Which is to say openly about the reprobates: Did they not, after receiving the sentence of eternal death, then first cease to sin and do harm to the good?"
[1 Samuel 6:18] -- And up to Abel the great stone, etc. Even the strong ones in faith, and those who are sufficient in devotion to support and govern the wavering Church, conscious of their own fragility, say: For in many things we all offend (James 3). Indeed, the very highest cornerstone himself, who did not commit sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth (1 Peter 2), having suffered humanly for us, speaks: What I did not seize, I then restored (Psalm 68). And that great stone, upon which the ark of God was placed, aptly signifies him, which was the border between Israel and the Philistines. For the border is shown, from where both these demand their dues, and upon which those place the ark of the Lord as their own. For he bears the burden of the Church with his singular piety of virtue, who is our peace, and made both one.
[1 Samuel 6:18] -- Which was until that day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. The same Joshua, who above is Jesus, and signifies the same Lord. For both names interpret as Savior.
[1 Samuel 6:19] -- But he smote certain men of Beth-shemesh, etc. Not the priests and Levites, whose office it was to carry the ark; but the ignoble common people, to whom it was not even lawful to look upon it, he smote. To prevent this, in Exodus the people stood afar off and prayed, and Moses alone went up to the Lord. For only those perfect in knowledge and action know how to direct their mind to the contemplation of heavenly things in this life. But if anyone less perfect should presume to handle divine matters among human, it must be cautioned lest his unconsidered rashness be struck down either by heresy, or despair, or any other danger. But perhaps it is better to take this smiting of the people who had seen the ark of the Lord in a good sense; for the more anyone begins to look upon the secrets of divine majesty, the more soon, feeling humble about himself, he trembles and faints from all his confidence in his own virtues. With this most salutary wound he trembled who said: I will speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes (Exod. XVIII). And also the Psalmist, when he said: My eyes fail looking for your salvation (Psalm CXVIII). Which means to say: the higher I contemplate the most sacred mysteries of your salvation, that is, Jesus, the more quickly I, struck by a vital wound, despise my own deeds which I thought were strong. In this wound, not only struck but also dead, he rejoices who said: For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God: I have been crucified with Christ (Gal. II). To this same sense the number of the slain, fifty or seventy, which principally regards signifying rest and the grace of the Holy Spirit, also agrees. For both the seventh day and the fiftieth year were consecrated by law for rest. And the Holy Spirit, whose sevenfold grace Isaiah writes about, descended on the Church on the fiftieth day of the Lord’s resurrection. For while now having eternal years in mind they console their soul, and are delighted by the sole memory of God, and their spirit fails for a while, then, exalted by the Spirit of God, they strive towards perpetual rest. To both senses fits aptly what follows:
[1 Samuel 6:19] -- And the people lamented, for the Lord had struck them, etc. Because the Church laments with tears over its infirm or faltering members to restore them to their former state; and enkindled with zeal for the well-being of its flourishing members, who it sees have desired and failed in the court of the Lord, it pours forth sweet tears of salutary compunction and says, wounded by love: I am love-sick, and my soul has melted, as he has spoken (Songs 5); and other such things, with which countless places of Scripture and the entire text of the forty-first psalm are filled.
[1 Samuel 6:20] -- And the men of Beth-shemesh said: Who can stand, etc. The men of the house of the sun, that is, the citizens of the heavenly homeland, wandering on earth; and if they taste even a little, and that by snatching, of the eternal light which they thirst for, they immediately realize how much they are nothing of their own, rightly fearing they say: For no living being will be justified in your sight (Psalm 142). Because even if someone seems to stand by human judgment, yet in the sight of the Divine Majesty, they are proven to be lying low; and with modest and kind advice, after that sublime ardor of love known only to themselves and to God, they impart to their lesser neighbors the gifts of spiritual knowledge that are sufficient for them. As the great citizen of Beth-shemesh said: For whether we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you (2 Corinthians 5). And this is what follows, with the men of Beth-shemesh speaking about the ark of the Lord:
[1 Samuel 6:20] -- And to whom will it ascend from us? etc. Cariathiarim, indeed, which is called the city of forests, signifies the great perfection of life, but certainly less than Bethsames, that is, the house of the sun. For this, namely, signifies the sublimity of contemplation, because the pure in heart will see God (Matt. 5); that one shows the community of active conversation, by which also all the trees of the forests bearing their fruits will rejoice before the face of the Lord, because He comes, and makes His abode with them. And from Bethsamis the ark is sent to Cariathiarim, because divine grace now kindles the hearts of the great, so that they contemplate the summit through faith, now helps the humble hearts of beginners, so that they, like fruits, produce varieties of good works.