Book 4
And Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his pain; and Ephraim went to the Assyrians, and sent ambassadors to king Jareb, and he was not able to heal you, and will not stop the pain from you. When God had become like a disturbance to Ephraim, and indeed also like a sting to the house of Judah, Ephraim indeed saw his own sickness, that is, his lack of strength and his weakness; and indeed Judah also his pain; for, as I said, the borders of Benjamin were also ravaged along with those in Samaria; then Ephraim, having despaired at this, and with his own powers not being able to oppose the things that had happened, nor indeed being able to shake off the damages from the war, he has once again offended the all-powerful God, not having considered what was expedient even in the scourges themselves, so to speak; but when the time had come, in which he ought rather to have returned to God, then indeed he chose especially to grieve him and to depart more fiercely. For he was not ignorant of the provider and ruler of all their glory, God, the eternal giver of the ability to overcome those who oppose; but he considered the matter of no account, although the all-wise Moses had cried out, "The Lord shatters wars, "The Lord is his name," and teaching clearly that through him and in him "One shall chase a thousand, and two shall move "ten thousand." Then, when it was necessary to ask for the customary help again from him and him alone, and with prayers to persuade the savior to come to his aid, he plotted bitter things against his own head. For he sent embassies to foreigners, and called for alliances from enemies, that is, persuading the invading Assyrian with money, they thought they had been delivered from the impending evils. And so, when Menahem was reigning in Samaria, Pul king of the Assyrians came up against Israel; then with money and embassies they persuaded him to keep away from the land. This is the meaning of *Ephraim went to the Assyrians*. But again Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, once hired Rezin king of the Syrians and made war on Judah and those from the tribe of Benjamin, when Ahaz the son of Jotham was reigning, who, fearing the attack, with embassies and money persuades the Assyrian Tiglath-pileser to aid Jerusalem; and he, taking Damascus by force, also did away with Rezin himself. But even if, he says, Ephraim has gone to the Assyrians, and with money and prayers has purchased a postponement of the attack; and even if Judah sent ambassadors to king Jareb, that is, an avenger or vindicator; for this is what Jareb means; but they have not conquered the divine wrath, nor indeed will they overcome God as he demands justice for so terrible an apostasy. For he was not able, he says, the one persuaded by money to be quiet for a little while, nor any other of the mercenaries, to heal you; but the sting of pain will in no way cease. It is therefore a most terrible thing not to desire rather to be saved through the gentleness from above, but to take courage in helps from men; although the Spirit cries out through the voice of the blessed David, "It is good to trust in the Lord rather than "to trust in man. It is good to hope in the Lord rather than "to hope in princes;" and again through the prophet Jeremiah, "Cursed is the man who has his hope in "man, and shall make the flesh of his arm his support, and whose "heart departs from the Lord, and he shall be as the wild "tamarisk in the desert, which shall not see when good things come. "And blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, "and the Lord will be his hope; and he shall be as a thriving "tree by the water, and he will cast his roots toward moisture, and he will "not be afraid when the heat comes, and upon it will be "woody branches, in a year of drought he will not be afraid, "and he will not cease bearing fruit." It is better, therefore, to be reconciled to God, and to say that wise thing from a good mind: "I am yours, save me, for I have sought your statutes." Because I am as a panther to Ephraim, and as a lion to the house of Judah; and I will seize and will go, and I will take, and there will be none to deliver. I will go and will return to my place, until they are made to disappear. He makes clear the reason why those who aided Ephraim benefited him not at all, and their pains will not cease. For I am, he says, as a panther to Ephraim and as a lion to the house of Judah. It is therefore manifest that, when God weakens, there is no one who can save; "For who will turn back the high hand?" according to what is written. But that also, with all gentleness removed, the things concerning them have come to pass, he has shown enigmatically, to those who are especially terrible and comparing his own impulse to the most valiant beasts. For the panther rushes with an exceedingly swift course against whomever it may choose, and it leaps with feet so light that perhaps no track is seen, nor is anything marked upon the ground; but the lion roars in the mountains a terrible and heavy sound, similar to thunder, and is able to strike terror into those who hear. "For a lion, he says, will roar, and who will not be afraid?" It has an irresistible attack, and a very difficult impulse to withstand. And if it should seize something, this is immediately destroyed, and no one could rescue what has been seized. But that the panther is a swift beast, and flies away as it were, having seized what it chanced upon; but the lion is an unbreakable thing, and fearless and difficult to withstand, as I said, he himself showed by adding And I will tear and go away, I will take away, and there will be no one to deliver. For this will be fitting for the might of lions; but 'I will tear and go away,' the panther might do, as I said. But that the Lord will also depart from those who have grieved him, and will all but withdraw his help and remove his favor, he has declared by saying I will go and return to my place until they are consumed. For the divine is completely unlimited by place; but it is said to be present to some, when it bestows favor; and again, to be absent from sinners, when it turns away from them, and cuts off its gentleness. For things concerning God are spoken of in a human way; but they are understood, as would be fitting for him. And they will seek my face when they are afflicted. That the terrible things from God are not brought upon those who have an unbridled inclination to what is more shameful, or even upon those accustomed to sin unceasingly, for no reason, but rather for their benefit, and as in the manner of a cure, he teaches again. For the despisers of the divine gentleness, and those who are ignorant that the greatness of forbearance calls to repentance, will not escape the motions of wrath; from where? But being rather broken by the savagery of calamity, they recognize what is beneficial, and those whom philanthropy did not help at all, being tormented by labors leads to the knowledge of what is beneficial. For in the way that the savage passions in bodies, and as many as do not yield to gentle medicines, are often overcome by fire and steel; in the same manner and way, I think, also the passions that occur in human souls, if they are not driven out by good words, nor overcome by sober reasoning, yield to labor and scourge and incurable calamities. Being afflicted, therefore, then indeed with difficulty, he says, they will seek my face. For when good things are in their power, there is not much perception of that which brings joy for the foolish; but if it should happen that they are deprived of such most desirable things, then indeed especially we come upon them with keener desires, and we receive a great and irresistible perception of that which causes pain. When, therefore, they are afflicted, then they will seek my face. And the word seems conveniently to ascend to the mystery of Christ, and to declare very well the redemption through him and the return to God. For the face of God that is sought would be understood to be, and very rightly so, the Son, "Who is the image and the radiance and the character of the Father's substance." The Son, therefore, is the true face of God and the Father, if indeed he is known in him; and "he who has seen him has seen the Father." Thus also the divine psalmist names him, crying out to the God of all and saying "Make your face to shine upon your servant;" and indeed also as from the person of those who have believed and have now been formed into the Son through the Spirit, "The light of your face has been signed upon us, O Lord;" for as the prophet says, "The light of our face, Christ the Lord." They will rise early to me, saying Come and let us return to the Lord our God, for he has torn and he will heal us, he will strike and he will bind us up, he will make us whole after two days; on the third day we will rise, and we will live in his presence before him, and we shall know; we shall pursue the knowledge of the Lord, as the morning we shall find him ready, and he will come to us as the early and late rain to the earth. The 'rising early' in these words seems to signify, that as if awakened from the sleep of their inherent folly, and somehow brought forth from night and darkness into light and day, they will henceforth eagerly exclaim to one another that it is now fitting to return to the Lord. And this is a return to soberness for those who had slipped into deceit, and were entangled in the worship of idols. For it is already the fruit of sobriety to seek to be outside the mist, that is, the demonic one; and, as if filled henceforth with the divine light, to press on with a right purpose toward the knowledge of the God and Lord who is so by nature and in truth, although they were long disposed to believe that there are also "many gods and many lords" in the world, so as to arrive at such a degree of folly as to even "say to the wood, You are my Father, and to the stone, You have begotten me." But the discourse persists in the figure of speech. For see how, as if speaking of a lion, or some other beast, they say, He himself has torn and will heal us. For since he had said, "And I will be as a panther to Ephraim, and as a lion to the house of Judah, and I will seize and go away and take, and there shall be none to deliver," they have kept the form of the metaphor, and say that the one who seized will surely heal. For just as anger has caused grief, so the good things that come from gentleness will surely bring gladness to those who have suffered. At the same time we shall also understand this, that when God afflicts someone, no one else could help; but the affairs of those who have suffered would need him and him alone for their restoration. But if it is necessary to extend the power of the prophecy to all who are on the earth, we shall understand this. For in the beginning Adam seized human nature. For He immediately declared it accursed, subjecting it to death and corruption. Therefore wrath struck, but grace applied a bandage. For he healed in Christ, he has called us to the knowledge of the true vision of God, he made us steadfast through the Spirit for the keeping of the commandments, he showed us to be zealous again, both placing us beyond corruption and delivering us from our ancient infirmities, I mean sin and the passions. And such things have happened to those on the earth, not so much in the first, that is, or in the second time, but as in the third, that is, the last and final one. For all times are numbered as three: first, middle, and last, in which Christ appeared to us. For this reason they say that the things of our bandaging will be for us, as if from medical experience, after two days; with the prophetic word measuring a day for us as a season. Then, it says, we shall pursue the knowledge of the Lord; and they say 'we shall pursue' is used for 'we shall hasten'; then we shall both rise and live before him. For we have been raised together with Christ. And since "one died for all," we live his life, no longer lying outside the eyes of God because of the transgression, nor indeed cast behind because of sin, but henceforth brought into his sight, and having confidence before him, through the righteousness that is in Christ. And that through him we have also known the Father himself, and that the Son, having become as we are, is for us the fulfillment of every good thing, they confess, saying, We shall find him ready as the morning, that is, as a light rising, as the sun, as the dawn, when the darkness has passed away. And he will be to us as the early and late rain. For he waters us who have received the faith, and have rightly understood his appearing, in a twofold manner, I think. For in the Spirit he reveals the knowledge of the ancient and legal and, in addition to these, the prophetic teachings. And this, I think, is the early rain; but as the late rain following that he gives the understanding of the evangelical teachings, and the much-desired grace of the apostolic proclamations. And we have become, as the prophet says, a land of delight. And perhaps the blessed David sings about us, saying, "You have visited the earth and watered it; you have abundantly enriched it." and so it has given its fruit of her a hundred, sixty, and thirty, according to the Savior's voice. What shall I do to you, Ephraim? What shall I do to you, Judah? My mercy is as a morning cloud and as the early-morning dew that passes away. The word is not of one who is at a loss; for God would not be ignorant of what is useful for those who have gone astray; nor would he be too weak to accomplish what is naturally beneficial for those caught in the devil's snares. Rather, he accuses them because nothing was lacking for their healing, but they rather turned away with willing impulses to do what is not right. For it is as if he were to say, for instance: "What way of sparing and assistance has not been devised? And what shall I do after that? How will you ward off the sickness? Or with what medicines, then, will you be healed?" For it was possible for you, as of a fattening cloud, and very richly, and as of a watering morning dew, to be able to partake, and this abundantly, of my gentleness and incomparable love for humankind. But you deemed the matter, he says, worthy of no account; you have made of no account such a venerable and much-desired grace. The power of the prophecy would fit especially well with the gift through Christ. For he is the watering cloud, the fattening dew; and morning, because after a kind of night, which is conceived as being in a diabolical mist and darkness, he has come down from heaven; for the Word has come to us from above and from the Father. And "that passes away," because it comes over all that is under heaven. For the saving proclamation is very broad, and it extends over almost all that is under heaven, although the law was in a way constricted, and patrolled only the land of the Jews. "For God was known in Judea," according to the voice of the psalmist; but the whole world has known the Savior and Redeemer of all, that is, Christ. Therefore I have hewn your prophets, I have slain them by the word of my mouth. The destruction of those who lead astray is proof of sparing and love towards them. For there have been false prophets at times in Israel, who attended at the precincts of Baal, leading astray and being led astray, according to what is written. But they were destroyed at times, as God foretold this also, and pronounced a holy sentence upon them; for some Elijah destroyed beside the altar of Baal, as they were talking nonsense and saying, "Hear us, O Baal, hear us;" and others Jehu killed, whom the blessed prophet Elisha anointed king over Israel through one of the young men, with God commanding that this also be done. He, when he was anointed, with God being wrathful against those who lead astray, first destroyed Ahab, and after him Jezebel, then his sons who were in all Samaria. And pretending to want to hold a feast for Baal, he gathered all the false prophets, and pretending to sacrifice, he slaughtered to a man those gathered in a house; and he tore down Baal himself, and burned his pillars; for so it is written. Therefore, that the destruction of the false prophets was a proof of sparing and love for Israel, as I said, he taught by saying, "Therefore I have hewn your prophets." And he says "I have hewn" very well indeed. For they have fallen in a multitude, being reaped like ears of corn. And my judgment shall go forth as the light. For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than whole burnt offerings. He explains to us another way of sparing and love towards them, which if it had been accomplished according to what seems good to him, all Israel and Judah would have been saved. For not only did he cut down the multitude of the impious false prophets, defining the death fitting for them, but God the Father also sent his own Son at times to make clear, and before all others to those of the blood of Israel, his good will, and to make his judgment manifest. Therefore he also said through the voice of David, "But I was appointed king by him on Zion his holy mountain, proclaiming the Lord's decree;" But he, having become according to us through himself, that is, a man, "Of myself "I do not speak; but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment "what I should say and what I should speak." Therefore my judgment, he says, will go forth as a light, that is, my will is not overshadowed by riddles, but will be placed nakedly and unconcealedly in the minds of all. But that Emmanuel, having arrived in due time, will not transfer the erring ones to legal worship, nor will he persuade them to honor the things that are still in types and shadows, but will rather bring them to gentleness and kindness and compassion, and to love toward one another, and to a true and unadulterated knowledge of God, makes the purpose of the judgment clear, and he says, that I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than whole burnt offerings. For what did the Savior say? "Therefore, whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them likewise;" and showing that love is a thing most honorable with God, "By this all will know, he says, that you are my "disciples, if you have love for one another." But that he brought back the mind of those who approached him to the knowledge of the God who truly is, how could one doubt? For he presented himself to us as an image of the one who begot him, saying to his genuine disciple; this was Philip; "Do you not believe that I am "in the Father and the Father is in me? He who has seen me, "has seen the Father. I and the Father are one." But if someone should choose to say that the Son himself is the mercy of the Father, which is above sacrifice and whole burnt offerings, he will understand well. For he is so called in the divinely inspired scripture. For God the Father himself said somewhere concerning him to us, "My righteousness is near to come, and my mercy to be "revealed;" and the prophets to him: "Show "us, Lord, your mercy, and grant us your salvation, Lord." For Christ is truly the mercy from the Father, as taking away sins, as pardoning transgressions, and justifying by faith, and saving the lost, and showing them superior to death; and what of all good things does he not grant? Therefore, the knowledge of God, as perfected in Christ, is better than sacrifice and whole burnt offerings; for through him and in him we have known the Father, and we have been enriched with justification by faith. But they are as a man transgressing a covenant. Since we are diligent in investigating the truth from all sides, it is now necessary to say that the Hebrew version, instead of 'as a man,' has said 'as Adam' transgressing a covenant, so that the transgression of those of Israel might be understood as being of the same kind as that which happened in Adam. For although it was possible for him to have fellowship with God, and to abide in incorruption, and to delight in the pleasures of paradise, he neglected the divine commandment; then he slipped into worse things, being unexpectedly deprived of his former state. So also they; I mean again, those of Israel; though having the God of all as benevolent and friendly, saving and presiding over them, and setting forth his mercy to them as a morning cloud, and as the early dew that passes away, and bringing forth his judgment as light, and crowning them with a worship beyond the law, they became indifferent about what was necessary and useful for their own prosperity and glory, they too despised the God who rules over all, although he spoke clearly through the all-wise Moses, "You shall not make for yourself "an idol, nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven "above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters "under the earth." And again, "You shall have no other gods "but me." But since they slipped into apostasy in the same way as the first, that is, Adam, they too will surely fall outside of him who knows how to make glad; for they have transgressed a covenant. But if the oracle should be understood more mystically, as concerning Christ, we will say that again, making the sense of what is said manifest: God the Father sent the Son from heaven to enlighten those of Israel, and to make his judgment manifest, and that he might cease persuade you of ancient sacrifices and whole burnt offerings according to the law; but He will rather have mercy, justifying by faith, and will call you to the knowledge of the truly existing God; for through Him and in Him we have beheld the Father, and we have had access, as sacred scripture somewhere says. But those of Israel have become as a man transgressing a covenant. And what this is, I will say again, as best I can. He who transgresses a covenant written by another, either does not himself approach the inheritance assigned by the one who wrote it, or he deprives others who are inscribed of what is owed to them. The Jews have done some such thing, and this with respect to Christ. How, or in what way? For God the Father bestowed upon the Son, as a certain brilliant and choice inheritance, the leadership over the nation. For He cried out, as I said, "But I was appointed king by Him on Zion, His holy mountain;" and He has given to the Son the spiritual vineyard, that is, Israel; "For the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth," according to what is written, "is the man of Judah, a beloved new plant." But, as the blessed evangelist John says, "He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him." For they cast Him out of the gate and delivered Him to death, saying, "This is the heir; come, let us kill Him and have the inheritance." See, then, how they have become as a man transgressing a covenant. Have you recognized the heir? Then give Him the inheritance that has been assigned. They have therefore transgressed the covenant of the Father, as far as it was in their power, by depriving the heir. But neither did they themselves approach grace, nor did they accept the inheritance given to them by God. For God said through the prophet, "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt." But if the new were to be compared with the first, a very great difference in the things promised will be understood. For there He promised them the land of the Amorites and Gergesites and Hivites, and indeed also of the Jebusites; but the new covenant, that is, the ordinances through Christ, called them through faith to sonship with God, to glory, to incorruptibility, to unending life, to a sharing in God through the Spirit, to the kingdom of heaven. But they were not willing to have the inheritance assigned to them through the Son from God the Father. Therefore, they have grieved in both ways by transgressing the covenant, both by thrusting out the heir, as I said, as far as it was in their power, from the inheritance given to Him by the Father, and by having themselves fallen away from the gifts bestowed upon them by God in Christ. There Gilead despised me, a city working vanity, troubling water, and your strength is as that of a robber. The discourse returns again to the narration of accusations, for which the impious multitude of their false prophets has been rightly destroyed. For it says "there," that is, at that time when Israel turned away, and came to be in such a state as to choose to worship demons; for this is what "there" is to be understood as referring to in fact, and not rather topically; Gilead has utterly despised me; this is one of the cities beyond the streams of the Jordan, which was also assigned to the Levites, according to the law of Moses; it was therefore a city of Priests and Levites. But those who ought to have brought the others away from error, and to have instructed them in truth and in the knowledge of what is profitable; "For the lips of a priest," it says, "shall keep judgment, and they will seek the law from his mouth;" they themselves have become the inventors of idols, and the craftsmen of vanities. For they worked vanities, that is, idols. And they troubled the water, that is, again they became a cause of confusion to the common people. For it is a custom in holy scripture to compare the countless multitude of people to water. And so, since Babylon was exceedingly populous, and Nineveh, he says, "Her waters are like a pool of water," instead of, as a pool full of waters, so is her multitude. Or also in another way they troubled the water, setting forth to those who approached a teaching as it were turbid and muddy, and dulling the mind of the more simple; for they taught to worship idols. And so through the voice of Ezekiel the God of all again accused them, and as to rams and leaders of the flock, He addressed them, saying, "And you, "sheep, thus says the Lord: Behold, I will judge between "sheep and sheep, and between rams and goats. And is it not "enough for you that you fed on the good pasture, and trampled the remainder "of the pasture with your feet? and you drank "the settled water, and troubled the rest with your feet? "And My sheep fed on what was trodden by your feet, "and drank the water troubled by your feet." For those of the blood of Levi, being learned in the law, and having as it were the finest pasture, and fine and clear water, the instruction through Moses which was not incapable of leading to truth, they trampled the pasture in a certain way; and they also troubled the water, setting forth a certain thick and muddy teaching, full of earthly impurity, to those who follow them as rams in the order of sheep. Therefore the citizens and inhabitants of Gilead are accused as troubling water, and they are also convicted as having the strength of a pirate. But how it is fitting for us to understand this, we will make clear, by interpreting what follows. Priests have hidden the way of the Lord, they have murdered Shechem, because they have wrought iniquity in the house of Israel. I have seen a horrible thing there, the fornication of Ephraim; Israel and Judah are defiled. The word of the holy prophets sometimes makes mention of certain histories, which if one chose to be silent about, he could not make clear the meaning of what was said. Therefore, it is necessary for those who wish to interpret such things clearly to be superior to hesitation, and from all sides to love to work out for the hearers that which contributes to their benefit. For this reason we will now come to something of this kind. Shechem, then, is a certain small city beyond the streams of the Jordan, a neighbor and bordering on Gilead, which we said before was given to those of the blood of Levi, when Joshua son of Nun was dividing the land of promise. It happened then, when there was a holy feast, I mean the Feast of Tabernacles according to the law, when it was the custom for all to go up from everywhere to Jerusalem, and the law commanded this to be observed, that some of those from Shechem, either having been pricked in the heart, and repenting of their error, or even called to sobriety by God, finally wished to obey the divine laws, and sought to go up to Jerusalem, and wished to offer sacrifices, and to complete the feast there according to the laws. And this was a kind of beginning of a turning, and of ceasing to wish to adhere to the worship of idols. For so that some of those from Israel, that is, from the ten tribes, might not go up from Samaria to Jerusalem for the sake of sacrifices and feasts according to the law, and then little by little change to their original state, and come under the kingdom of Judah, Jeroboam devised the calves in the beginning, and commanded them to fulfill the accustomed rites upon them, that wretched man assigning the glory due to God to his own inventions; so that he himself might have his kingdom securely, and God might be deprived as it were of His own. Therefore, some from Shechem attempted to go up to Jerusalem; but those from neighboring Gilead prevented them from doing this, although, as I said, they were of Levitical blood, and appointed according to the law for priestly service. But since they worked at vain things; for they were craftsmen of idols; as their craft was all but gone to nothing, if Israel should henceforth refuse to worship idols, they were embittered to anger. But when they did not persuade them with words, they came to unholy counsels and deeds. For they prepared some in the middle of the road with robber-like to use ambushes, and to murder savagely the people of Shechem, if they chose to go up to Jerusalem contrary to their will. And very many were utterly destroyed; and those who were saved at all, and were strong enough to escape their hand, having been deprived of what they were carrying for sacrifice, returned with difficulty to their own land. Therefore the Master of all accuses those from Gilead, because although they, as Levites and Priests, and having been allotted the leadership of the others, were rather obliged to show clearly to the straying the way of piety according to the law, on the contrary they hide it, not allowing those of their own counsel, that is, also from the good will from above, who were moved to choose at last to cast off the error of demons, to think rightly. Therefore, he says, priests have hidden the way of the Lord. This again is another way of what was clearly said through another prophet: "The priests "did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' and those who handle my law "did not know me, and the shepherds sinned against me." But the crimes of the Gileadites do not stop here. For in addition to hiding the way of the Lord they have also killed the Shechemites, bringing to bear the hands of robbers. For because of this he also said to Gilead, "And your strength is as that of a pirate." But see how God brings us to the memory of the ancient history, and recalls the old crimes of Levi. And what I am saying is something like this again. For Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, that is, of Israel (for Jacob was renamed Israel), once went out of her father's tent; for she desired to see the daughters of the natives; and she was in Shechem. Then Hamor, the son of Shechem, finding the virgin, unexpectedly violated her; for he deflowered her. Therefore, the maiden's brothers, Levi and Simeon, being greatly distressed at this, devised a plot; for they persuaded the men of Shechem to be circumcised. When this had happened, while they were still in pain and overcome by suffering, they killed them utterly, saying this to their father who was accusing them of their unbridled anger, "But "should they treat our sister as a prostitute?" He now brings us to the memory of such a history, saying with a certain moral tone, they murdered Shechem, because they committed iniquity in the house of Israel. This, he says, they alleged at that time, that they had sinned against the house of Jacob, that is, of Israel, by deflowering the maiden. For this reason we too killed the Shechemites. But now, he says, they resolved to turn to God, to love the things in the law, to fulfill sacrifices, to celebrate feasts, to depart at last from the defilements of idolatry. What then of the Levites? They hid the way of the Lord and murdered the Shechemites. Or perhaps do they now have cause to accuse them, that they committed iniquity in the house of Israel? What maiden has now been violated? Against what Dinah have they sinned, what are the crimes of the Shechemites, of those who have honored God, of those who have loved to choose at last to think rightly, and to hasten to carry out the things in the law. Therefore I have seen, he says, the most horrible fornication of Ephraim there. For one would be amazed, and very rightly so, seeing the sacred and chosen race so far turned away from the love of God, as not only to become inventors of idols for the others, but also to hinder them, if they should choose to love the things of God. Therefore, he says, Israel and Judah are defiled. So that if they should suffer any of the expected things, let no one blame God for being indignant. Begin to harvest for yourself when I restore the captivity of my people, when I heal Israel. Again the word is to the inhabitant of Gilead. And it teaches that I, as God, began to both heal and restore Israel. And so the Shechemites desired at last to submit their neck to God, and to celebrate feasts, no longer those of Jeroboam, but rather those according to the law, and to escape the deceit that was devised I know not how; but you, O Gileadite, all but sheared them, or rather, harvested them, and made unjust wealth from robbery. And again he exclaims with a moral tone 'begin to harvest for yourself', saying something very much like this, Or rather, even if He does not say it, subtly implying that, 'I also will make you the first-fruits of those who are punished.' For when I begin to shear Israel, and to harvest those who practice such terrible impiety, I will make you the first victim of my wrath. For it is necessary to know that Pul, king of the Assyrians, was the first to come against Samaria and Israel, and he carried off into captivity first the tribes beyond the Jordan. And one of the cities there was Gilead. Therefore, just as when I was turning Israel back and beginning to heal it, you, O Gileadite, harvested for yourself the fruits of banditry; so I, when I hand Israel over to the Assyrians, will make you the first-fruits of those who are sent away. And the ancient crimes are related to the charges of the Jews against Christ. For God the Father was calling all of Israel to choose at last to think better things, and to cease from the worship in the Law, and instead to choose the new and evangelical worship. But they opposed not moderately those who were turning back and being called to healing. For it is written that, 'The Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess him to be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.' And their leaders also heard, 'Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.' Therefore, they have been given over to enemies, and have paid a bitter penalty for their drunken insolence against Christ. And the iniquity of Ephraim shall be revealed, and the wickedness of Samaria, because they have wrought falsehood. And a thief shall enter in to him, a robber stripping him in his way, so that they may sing in harmony as those who are in accord in their heart. Good by nature and long-suffering, 'long-suffering and of great mercy' is truly the Lord of all. But while He is still long-suffering with those who sin, their crimes are somehow still concealed; but when He now proceeds and brings justice and no longer tolerates inaction, then they are manifest, and seem now to be revealed, and are wont to be seen brought into the midst, all but before the eyes of all. This, he says, will now also happen against Ephraim and Samaria. And Ephraim here you will understand as the royal tribe in Samaria, from which came Jeroboam and his successors; and Samaria, those in Samaria, that is, the ten tribes. And he says their sins will be revealed, for such reasons as these. That they also wrought falsehood, practicing a cold and stale worship, and having become, as I said, craftsmen of idols, and that a thief, that is, a robber, shall enter in to him, instead of: a thief entered and rested and lodged with him, stripping him in the way; so that from this it might be shown, he says, that they have a heart that is in accord, that is, clearly, harmonious and of one mind. For some robbed those wishing to go up to Jerusalem; and others shared the crimes with them, having impiously partaken of the things that were stolen. And the teachers of the Jews also rejoiced when those who believed in Christ were fiercely warred against, and they became partners in the assault and robbery of others, gloating over the persecuted faithful, and receiving a certain robber, as it were, Satan, into their mind and heart, who strips their mind of all piety, so that they might have a heart in harmony with him. For just as 'He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit,' in the same way, I think, he who is joined to Satan will have one heart with him. I have remembered all their iniquities; now their own counsels have surrounded them, they have come to be before my face. As long as we sin in ways that are tolerable and measured, as human beings, having a nature prone to slip into sin, God passes it over out of his innate love for mankind. For he knows 'our frame, he remembers that we are dust,' according to the voice of the psalmist. But whenever something great and extraordinary and truly unbearable is done by us, which and sometimes it finally sharpens the very gentleness of the judge, and all but forces it, even unwillingly, toward anger; then it runs to the recollection of all, so to speak, of the sins committed by certain ones. For this reason, he says concerning Ephraim and Samaria, that I have remembered all their wickedness. And it is likely that in these words the prophetic oracle again wishes to indicate to us that very thing. For I have benevolently overlooked, he says, the slaughter of those in Shechem who were destroyed by Levi, on account of the violation of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. But since now they have also killed, I will remember their ancient injustice as well, and as now a murderer and cruel, I will demand punishment for their former sins. For their own counsels, he says, have surrounded them; just as if he were saying, They are finally besieged by their own thoughts and unholy considerations. For they once killed those from Shechem by deceit and trickery, but now by robberies, although they were turning to God. But since their transgressions have now become beyond description before My face, for I will not overlook, he says, such evils, nor by putting them out of sight any longer will I be slow to punish. Their own counsels have surrounded the Jews, especially in the things concerning Christ. For they killed the prophets, while God was still forbearing; but since they also became slayers of the Lord, their own counsels surrounded them, and the God of all remembered all their wickedness. In their wickedness they have made kings glad, and in their lies, princes. They ought rather, he says, by doing good and choosing to live according to the law, to have appeased the redeemer for themselves, and to have gladdened the one who saves, who has invincible strength for this. But this they have not done, but having become exceedingly slothful concerning what is necessary for their own life and useful for their well-being, they have made it a matter of no account to offend God; and they acted hypocritically with their own kings and rulers, gladdening them by their compliance with whatever seemed good to them, and offering the things that grieve God as pleasure and delight to those who lead them astray. And again he accuses them, as having run together with Jeroboam and the rulers under him, and as having without delay consented to the profanation he devised concerning the golden calves, and to his wishing to impiously lead them away to another worship. For they should have, they should have, in response to their schemes and utterly outrageous undertakings, generally brought forth the genuineness of their love for God, and tried to restrain them in their folly, not gladdening them by readily going into agreement. And the saying is true, even if it is understood again of those who crucified Emmanuel. For by lying and slandering him, they caused Herod and Pontius Pilate and the leaders of the Synagogue to rejoice. For somewhere the divine Peter also said to the Father and God of all, "For truly in this city there were gathered together "against your holy child Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod "and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel." All of them are adulterers, like an oven heated for baking, that ceases from burning from the flame, from the kneading of the dough, until it is leavened. a day of your kings. In what way they gladdened kings in their wickedness, and princes in their lies, he explains clearly to us in these words. The account of the history is as follows, which if someone should happen to know it, he will certainly understand the meaning of the prophecy. When, therefore, after the ten tribes had broken away, the accursed Jeroboam reigned over them, he was greatly afraid, lest somehow by going up to Jerusalem for the feasts according to the law, they might be persuaded little by little to choose the scepter of Judah again, and being brought to the remembrance of their ancient customs, they might either kill him, or rather, drive him out, and not willingly then, from ruling over them. For this reason the god-hated and wretched man planned to dedicate the golden calves to them, and devised the manner of the impious false worship, and he undertook to innovate the feasts for the heifers, as the account of the Hebrew tradition has it. Therefore, in the beginning he was exceedingly fearful, lest, agreeing with the worship that had come to them from above and from their fathers, they might either thrust him from the throne, or even destroy him, as I said, and, rejecting the undertaking, choose to return to their former state, being grieved and justly indignant, as though Moses had been insulted and the divine commandment given to them had been trodden underfoot. For this reason, being bitter in deceits, he sent many throughout Israel to spread rumors and say that they should also make calves, and innovate their own feasts, and to ask this very thing from the king. And when he learned that the crowds were very readily disposed to this, consenting and rejoicing with those who had advised such things, he gathered everyone together and clearly proclaimed that it was fitting to worship the golden heifers, and he revealed the day of the feast, the fifteenth day of the eighth month, as it is written. When Jeroboam said these things at that time, the people acclaimed him and cried out, "This is the king's day; we too will follow this purpose"; and they wished to cheer him with certain other such praises. And those chosen to be leaders were carried along with the crowds, echoing and consenting with them. The word of the prophet reminds us of these things at present. For he says, all are adulterers, like an oven burning for the baking of a burnt offering from the flame. For having inclined towards spiritual fornication, that is, apostasy from God—for this is fornication—they were like ovens already fired and ready for baking whatever one might cast in; for they were filled with flame, that is, of a hot and, as it were, burning desire. And they were like a lump of dough, already having the leaven, but completely leavened on the day of their king; when, as I just said, Jeroboam had openly declared that it was necessary to sacrifice to the heifers and to celebrate the feasts for them, they themselves cried out, "This is the king's day," just as, as I said, the account of the tradition has it. Then it was also completely leavened, that is, it was entirely possessed by impiety. Therefore, with their minds pre-heated by hot and unrestrainable desires for transgression, and pre-leavened as it were in this very manner on the king's day, they slid into the limit of wickedness. The Jews did something like this again in the case of Christ. For by speaking falsely against his glory, and little by little drawing the crowds away from their love for him, the scribes and Pharisees committed spiritual fornication, causing the common multitude to apostatize from him. The rulers began to be angry from wine; he stretched out his hand with plagues, because their hearts were kindled like an oven. Wine, as it seems, he here calls that from the vine of Sodom, which intoxicates hearts, and clouds the mind and fills it with a destructive and abominable mist. Therefore, when some were displeased with both the innovation of the heifers and indeed of the feasts, certain of the rulers were provoked to anger. And so that the more sober multitude of those who were silent and did not tolerate the acclaim might not be seen, they themselves stretched out their hands with the crowds, and cried out even more loudly, "This is the king's day," and they approved the ways of impiety. Therefore, he says, they were enraged, being drunk with an unholy drunkenness, and they gnashed their teeth at those not running along with such shameful things, stretching out their hands with plagues. And he calls the crowds plagues. For he says they applauded, as I said, although they were obliged to lead them to piety and to reveal the path of what is profitable. But, he says, they themselves were also hot in heart, having received into their mind the destructive flame of the desire for transgression. While they were dashing them down all night, Ephraim was filled with sleep; in the morning it happened, he was kindled like the light of a fire. I said that the God-hated Jeroboam was exceedingly fearful, in being still only in the thoughts of his unholy undertakings. For he thought, and very reasonably, that Israel would be indignant if it should learn of such a thing, and would not make small account of the transgression of the ancestral customs. But when he himself had addressed the crowds, that they must worship the heifers, and they gladly accepted the thought, and together with the rulers applauded, as men who had chosen to think and to do things right and expedient, he was free from fears, he departed from suspicion, and was thereafter cheerful, and was full of luxury. Therefore, in their being dashed down, that is, at that time, when they were falling into ruin and destruction, assenting and consenting to him, and holding in honor the transgression of the love for God, then, it says, Ephraim, that is, Jeroboam of the tribe of Ephraim, slept the whole night. As if it were to say, although formerly he had been kept awake by fears and suspicion, he was without care, he lived luxuriously thereafter, and was in soft beds, sleeping the whole night. But when morning came, he was more fervent than the others. For he was kindled like a flame of fire, and was heated along with the crowds, not deeming the matter worthy of any delay, so to speak, but bringing to fulfillment, and very eagerly, the display of his unholy undertakings. They were all heated, their hearts were as an oven, and it devoured their judges; all their kings have fallen, there was none among them that called unto me. True, then, are the things I said; for those around the accursed Jeroboam were heated, and "were kindled like a flame of fire." Has then the matter of impiety advanced only as far as what was dared by him? By no means, it says; for they were all heated, both those after him still, and the destructive fire of such heat consumed all their judges; and it also destroyed all those who reigned in succession after him. For there was not among them one who wished to worship me, and deemed it worthy to supplicate the God of all, and who had for himself the boasts of the true knowledge of God. Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned. He strongly blames those of the tribe of Ephraim who have been invested with the royal honor over Israel in Samaria, as being accustomed to think nothing better than those under their hand and the common herd; but running with them and being easily carried away with them in everything, although it was necessary, as leaders, to guide them to the good, and with higher considerations to see what would contribute to their salvation. But this they did not do; instead they were mixed up with the crowds, all suffering one and the same sickness of folly, and in addition to this, persistence in wickedness, and the unchangeable nature of a mind that in no way gives up what it has chosen to do, even if these things are agents of ruin and destruction for them. Therefore, he says that Ephraim has become a cake not turned, as from the image or example of breads baked on stones, which if someone does not turn, there is every necessity that they be burned and be seen as useless thereafter, and that what is edible is lost by the abundance of the flame. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knew it not; yea, gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, yet he knew it not. He calls strangers those of other tribes and different races, I mean Persians, and their bordering and neighboring Moabites and Idumaeans, and the nations of the Syrians, who have all but devoured Ephraim. For since he called him a bread, a cake, he has remained in the figure of speech. And by his strength he means the multitude that is beyond number; for the tribe especially of Ephraim, being very populous, and on this account raising a high brow, thought perhaps it would be terrible and irresistible even to the leaders or generals of the Assyrians. But when they arrived, having taken up the war against them, they were consumed without a struggle, and were led into captivity. But 'he knew it not,' it says, that is, he did not understand the cause of the calamity, although it was necessary for him at least through what had happened to come to his senses. which For what is not seen, trials often, by foresight, place it before their eyes. And it is better to consider what is expedient, without waiting for the trial. But if one should fail in this, at least for those who have suffered, it will then remain to be able to understand from the trial itself what is necessary and beneficial. Ephraim, he says, therefore did not know, although grown grey, that is, after a long time had passed, and it was not unable to teach and persuade him to learn, in what way such things had happened to them. And because he had offended the one who is able to save, they slipped into terrible and unexpected evils. And the pride of Israel shall be humbled to his face, and they did not return to the Lord their God, and they did not seek him in all these things. He interprets clearly what he said; for what Ephraim did not know, although grown grey, he again makes plain. For the pride of Israel, he says, that is, the apostasy, which he has contracted from contempt, because of which he has also turned away to foreign gods, dishonoring the God who is by nature and truly God, will be turned against his face. It is as if he were to say, it will prove to be a cause of pride and dishonor for him; for this is what it means for something to be turned against someone's face. But although he suffered such things, again he did not know God, nor indeed did they, being hard and unyielding, and very sick with the lack of love for God, and seen in the midst of terrible things, make account of returning to him. This is an accusation of the utmost insensibility, and a clear proof of a foolishness that has reached its limit. And Ephraim was like a senseless dove, having no heart; he called upon Egypt, and they went to the Assyrians. As they go, I will cast my net upon them; like the birds of the sky I will bring them down; I will chastise them by the hearing of their affliction. It is necessary to recall again what is written in the fourth book of Kings; for we will thus easily understand the meaning of the things before us. Hoshea, therefore, son of Elah, reigned in Samaria over Israel. Shalmaneser the Assyrian sent messengers to him, demanding the customary gifts more tyrannically, and all but wishing to exact tribute from Israel. But he refused the servitude, and rather planned resistance, even if he should happen to choose to impose the law of war on Israel. Then he sent an embassy to So, the tyrant of Egypt, asking for aid; for he thought that with him he would overcome the hand of the Assyrians. But he being very grieved at this, takes up war against Israel. Then Hoshea became his servant, and Israel itself, taken captive by the spear along with him, was removed from Samaria. Therefore Ephraim became like a most senseless dove, not having innocence for a good purpose. Therefore Christ also says, "Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." For simplicity of character, and a free mind, would rightly be worthy of all account; but in the absence of understanding, simplicity is harmful, and the thing is then foolishness. Ephraim, therefore, is senseless; how, or in what way? For he called upon the Egyptians; but they went captive to the Assyrians, since So was weak in providing aid. Then how was it not better for him to seek not rather the care from men, but that which is from above and invincible? Therefore the God of all also said through the voice of Isaiah, "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who trust in horses and in chariots." And that not without God did the hand of those who came to their aid also weaken, he has shown by adding that wherever they commit fornication, he will bring them down like sparrows, casting a net or a snare upon them, and not allowing them to be boastful, but bringing them down as from on high to the earth, that is, from a very high and lofty brow to a pitiful and humble mind, and to that which would be fitting for those who have fallen under the hand of their enemies. Then he says, that I will chastise them by the hearing of their affliction, wishing, I think, to signify that. For the rumors of what was to come preceded for them the experience, and a dreadful report surely terrified those in Samaria. Therefore they were being chastised, hearing of the affliction that was all but upon them. But if they had been wise, this would have been enough for their conversion; but being exceedingly insensible to pain, they were not even shamed by the experience itself, having a disobedient mind that was hard, unbreakable, and very sick. Woe to them, for they have strayed from me; they are wretched, because they have acted impiously against me. That the pretext for their calamities was their apostasy from God, He makes clear to us through these words. For just as those who are physically ill would be found to be the cause of the severity of their diseases, if they did not accept the physicians and the things by which the pain could be soothed, so also we, by removing ourselves from the love for God, will do no small injustice. For nothing saves the one who offends God. Therefore, because they have fled from God, for this reason they are wretched and accursed; and having acted impiously, by worshiping the falsely-named gods and offering reverence to them, they will be subject to the woe. "For if God shuts a man up, "who can open it?" according to what is written. But I redeemed them, yet they spoke lies against me, and their hearts did not cry out to me, but instead they wailed in their beds; over wheat and wine they gashed themselves. That He brings punishments commensurate with each one’s transgressions, He intimates again. For they spoke against the God who redeemed them, who had led them out of the house of bondage "with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm," as it is written, and had delivered them from the oppression of the Egyptians. They spoke against His glory, assigning the praises for the good things they had received to the unclean demons and to the works of their own hands, just as when they had carelessly made the calf in the wilderness, all but impiously insulting the Redeemer, they said in their madness: "These are your gods, O Israel, who "brought you up out of the land of Egypt." Therefore it is indeed insolence and drunken violence against God, and a most manifest contempt, to attribute reverence to carved images and demons, and to offer them thank-offerings, and to bring down the excellence of the highest glory to them. And not only did they speak against God, as I have just said, but they also turned away completely from even thinking at all that things which sustain life in the world are from Him. For their hearts have not cried out to me, He says, that is, they sought nothing from me, although being disposed and having believed that I am the provider and giver of every good thing. And that God does not require a shout, but rather a disposition of the mind and heart, we shall know also through these things. Therefore, they have not cried out to God. But indeed they have also turned away unbridledly to extravagant love of the flesh, so as to wail upon their beds. And this is a demonstration of shameful ways, and of an unrebuked inclination to fornication, and of a mind broken towards pleasures. And it would be fitting only for those who have practiced forcing the distinctives of men towards the habits and appearances and voices of women to slip into such a shameful and most abominable state. But these are effeminate, and very exceedingly enervated, and having come to the end of uncleanness among men. Moreover, to say that they cut themselves over wine and wheat, seems to me somehow to signify that. For giving thanks to their own idols for the fruitfulness of their fields, I mean both of wheat and of the vine, they wished to practice the so-called rites; as if being possessed and raving, and cutting their chests and both their hands with iron, so that also perhaps by sacrificing, as it were, their own blood on the spot to the carved images, they might at last be convicted of the ultimate godlessness. At these things perhaps another prophet also smiles, saying, "Sacrifice men, for calves have failed." And such things are sufficient to grieve most exceedingly the God who has authority over all, to whom they ought rather to have brought thank-offerings, and not to have foolishly assigned the glory due to Him to wood and stones. They were disciplined in me, And I strengthened their arms, and against me they devised evil things. They turned away to nothing, they became like a bent bow. He adds another manner of their ingratitude to them, showing them to be unholy and senseless. For I, he says, although formerly they differed in nothing from irrational beasts and were utterly without understanding, have both instructed them by law, and I have shown them to be wise, knowing what is profitable and the way of righteousness, and not ignorant of the accomplishment of all good order, so that they even now say, rejoicing in themselves, "Blessed are we, Israel, because the things pleasing to the Lord are known to us." And the generosity towards them did not stop at these things; but indeed I also made them most valiant, and sufficiently equipped to be able to subdue anyone willing to make war and resist. for they have conquered many and great nations, and this without toil; but towards me, the God who was the giver of such things to them, they have become wicked, that is, scornful and apostates; and the manner of their turning away has become for nothing. For a man-made image from tangible matter is nothing at all. But if they had found something better, their transgression might reasonably have some justification. But since such things are absolutely nothing compared to God, but are absurdity and foolishness and whatever is close to these, there is no reason for their turning away, having a plausible cause. Therefore they have turned away to nothing, and in addition to this they have become like a bent bow, not relaxed towards repentance, not slackening the tension that carries them to such shame and folly. It should be known that others, interpreting this, have published, they became like a treacherous bow, so that Israel might again be understood as having done such a thing. For those who should have rather, like a bow, been bent against enemies, and vigorously shoot those who practice resisting, have unwittingly struck themselves bitterly as if with the points of bows. For by offending God, at least in the ways already mentioned, what else could they be found doing, than arming their own hands against themselves? The passage at hand might be understood, if it seems good to anyone, in another way also. For the God of all bent Israel, as it were, like his own bow, fighting against the tyranny of the devil, and leading them out against the deceit of idolatry; for Israel alone, out of all the nations in the whole world, at least according to what seemed right to the law, shook off the worship of idols, and was devoted to the one who is by nature and truly the Lord of all; but they turned to the opposite. For those who were obliged to do that, have warred against God for the glory of idols; they have therefore become like a treacherous bow, using their archery in the opposite way. Their rulers shall fall by the sword because of the unruliness of their tongue. The things from wrath will not come only upon those who are subject to the leaders, he says, but it will seize, and very swiftly, also those who are accustomed to revel in the highest honors. for they will fall by the sword, and the pretext for their suffering will be the licentiousness of their tongue. For it is truly unruliness to say to the wood, "You are my God;" and to the stone, "You begot me." And it would be very fitting to say such things to Emmanuel, against whom the scribes and Pharisees have moved their unruly tongue, although he was both instructing and strengthening, it is clear that this is spiritually; taking none of which into account, they also turned away to nothing. For they turned to "teachings, the commandments of men." and they have become like a treacherous bow, impiously shooting their own Lord, for whom they should rather have striven universally, and hasten to conquer their opponents, just as did the true disciples of those who believed. This their derision in the land of Egypt to their bosom. as earth, as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they transgressed my covenant, and acted impiously against my law. These things have been said very obscurely, with the Hebrew language, as I suppose, causing the interpreters much difficulty; but we, following the order of the thoughts, will say what comes to mind. This disparagement of them, therefore, he says in the land of Egypt, that is, since me, who am always saving and chastising and rendering unconquerable to those who oppose them—for I strengthened them—they impiously scorned, allotting their worship to demons, and growing bold in the land of the Egyptians, and thinking that the aids from there would suffice them for prosperity, for this reason their undertaking will also turn back into their own bosom, and they will find no good rewards for their own foolish counsel. But they will receive their just dues as if into their bosom. For he will come, he will come, he says, the one who will ravage them, the tyrant of the Assyrians, having a multitude of warriors greater than can be numbered. And he will come to them as a whole land and country and fatherland, so that one might think that the entire land of the Persians and Medes had moved from its place and come to Samaria; this is what "as the land" means. And he will come also as an eagle to the house of the Lord, that is, he will fly up swift and terrible even against the temple of God itself, and will overrun the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem, seizing without toil, and carrying it off to his own land. For first the country of the Samaritans was sacked, and in it somewhere, certainly, was Israel, and later, finally, the renowned city itself was taken, over which the prophet Jeremiah also lamented, saying: "How the city sits solitary, that was full of people! She who was great among the nations has become a tributary." For that the temple was also burned with the city is in no way doubtful. But these things will happen to them, he says, because they have transgressed the divine covenant and have acted impiously against the spoken law. For holding in very little esteem the things decreed through the all-wise Moses, they were eager to live according to their own wills, and each made what seemed good to him both his mode of worship and his law. They shall cry to me, O God, we know you; for Israel has turned away from good things, they have pursued an enemy. Those who cut themselves over grain and wine, and who celebrate feasts to unclean demons, those who have not cried out to God with their hearts, nor indeed have they acknowledged the giver and governor of all cheerfulness to them, but neither have they honored him with fitting thanksgivings, since in the breadth of their prosperity they have ignored him, yet they will know him when they have suffered what they must, and when they come to a bitter and abominable end of their own ill counsel, they will cry out and will call upon him with difficulty, having slipped into terrible and incurable calamities. But having received, as it were, the experience of their own terrible things as a counselor, they will then accuse their own foolishness, saying something like this: Israel has turned away from good things. For when it was possible to have them, and that richly, being established with God, and having been very zealous to carry out the things that seemed good to him, they pursued an enemy, that is, they themselves have almost voluntarily run to their enemies, and have come under the hand of those who hate them, having grieved by their apostasies the God who always saves and makes them superior to their opponents. It is therefore all-wise and truly beneficial not to await the experience of terrible things, but rather to refuse it while it is still absent, and to hasten to contemplate what is profitable before it comes. They have made kings for themselves, and not by me; they have ruled, and they did not make it known to me; their silver and their gold they have made for themselves idols, so that they might be utterly destroyed. He denies the kingship of both Jeroboam and of those who reigned in succession over Israel in Samaria, although he himself had expressly said, "For this thing is from me;" and he threatened Solomon himself, who had followed the opinions of foreign women and had impiously dedicated precincts and altars to their objects of worship, that "I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant." What then shall we say? That the God of all is a liar? May it not be so; but we will turn rather to what it is necessary to think rightly, considering that. For it is written, "Shall there be evil in a city, which the Lord has not done?" And by evil he means the affliction. For some things He does according to His own will, but others He allows to happen, punishing some, even if it happens somehow against His will. Since, being able to prevent it, He often allows something to happen providentially, He is said to be the author of these things as well. For example: for we shall now proceed to Solomon himself; for He gave him the ability to build the temple of stone in Jerusalem, He made him wise, and distinguished for incomparable understanding; this was a work of His own will. He allowed his kingdom to be broken, not Himself bringing matters to this point according to His own will, but as it were being silent, even at what was not willed, because of His indignation against him. Therefore, although Jeroboam reigned, and those after him, it was not at all with God's assent. For things that happen as a punishment out of anger toward some have a different character, and would not by chance be understood to be of the same sort as those that are truly according to His will. Therefore they have made kings for themselves, and not through me. And since they ruled, it was almost as if God did not know it; for what is against His will He seems not even to know; their rule became weak and easily overthrown, and unable to resist, and not such as to save those subject to it. "For through him kings reign, and tyrants through him hold the earth." But that they suffer from great insensibility in this, and used the things given by God to grieve Him, or rather even for the destruction of their own souls, He taught by saying: Their silver and their gold they made into idols for themselves, that they might be utterly destroyed. For from where it was possible for them to prosper by having compassion on their brethren, from there they offend God, and unwillingly change the way of salvation to the necessity of being destroyed by Him. Cast off thy calf, O Samaria; my wrath is kindled against it: how long will they be unable to be cleansed in Israel? A craftsman made it, and it is not God; because your calf, O Samaria, was a deceiver. How very well he says "cast off," as if of a stain and pollution and of the utmost impurity. For this is truly the nature of idolatry, rendering the soul of man abominable and foul and hateful before God. He therefore counsels as one compassionate and good, to change for the better, and to put away wrath, and henceforth to curtail the causes of what is to come, and by repentance to cut short the terrible things, even if they have sobered up late. For He says He was provoked clearly by the calf, showing that, being philanthropic, He sometimes overlooks the failings that arise from human weakness, but He always punishes apostasy, and considers the turning away of the insolent to be unbearable, I mean the need to worship demons. For how long will you, having been in impurity, remain unchanged? What time will be sufficient for you to put away your foolishness? For what a craftsman has made, you believe to be God; and what is of no help, but rather leads to ruin and destruction, you consider venerable and worthy of acceptance; for the calf deceives, and nothing else. Because they have sown the wind, and their destruction shall receive it: a stalk having no strength to make meal; and if it should make any, strangers shall devour it. By a comparison with those who labor in vain in agriculture, He shows the fruitlessness of their inherent ill counsel and their zeal for vain things. For for some to choose to labor over these things, and sometimes to worship them diligently, to honor them with offerings and sacrifices, would be nothing other than to gather seed that has been ruined by the wind, which is completely unable to benefit the one who labors. For what is the reward for zeal in idolatry? Or what benefit from carved images? Or in what way will those things delight anyone, which must certainly come to destruction? Therefore, those who are accustomed to do such things and devote their zeal to the honors of idols are like those who sow what is ruined by the wind, and to a handful of grain stalks to one who has no wheat, and has not prepared it for the need of flour. But if anything should come from them, that is, even if they should seem somehow to be zealous and genuine concerning the works of error, this also will go from them to strangers, and will in no way please God. And by strangers he means the falsely named gods. Therefore our zeal is utterly without reward in those things that grieve God, and the ways of equity will be wholly and completely slandered before him, falling short of the pursuit of the good.