1 Samuel 6

1 Samuel 6:1

Bede: Therefore the ark of the Lord was in the region of the Philistines for seven months. Seven often expresses the universality of any matter, either of time, or number, or surely the fullness of spiritual grace. But the month, which is varied by the increase and decrease of the lunar light, insinuates the state of the Church laboring between good and bad times, but never failing from the Sun of righteousness. Therefore, the ark of the Lord’s faith has been and will be among the nations for the entire time of the age, in which the grace of the sevenfold Holy Spirit will fill the Church and be worthy to illuminate lands, as if they were weak and subject to itself. But according to the literal present reading, which narrates that the Philistines were struck by the proximity of the ark of the Lord, it teaches that no unclean person should presume to approach the holy things; but whoever wishes to receive the Lord’s body, or handle His most sacred words, let him prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup, discipline his body, and bring it into subjection, lest preaching to others, he himself should become a castaway (1 Corinthians XI, 9). — Commentary on Samuel

Gregory the Dialogist: 1. What do these seven months signify, if not the entire length of the present life? Although the Azotites and Ekronites cried out, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried around, and let the ark of God not remain among us,” nevertheless the truth of the sacred history tells us — that we may recognize in the type of the holy Church — that the ark of God was in the region of the Philistines for seven months. Therefore it was not the will of evil and impious men, but the dispensation of God that was fulfilled in the salvation of the Gentiles. Already indeed the impious have been removed from paganism, already those who persecuted the confessors of Christ have died, and yet the ark of God is not taken away from the region of the Philistines: because the divine sacraments are preserved with zealous care among the Gentiles, who have been made drunk with the cup of the Holy Spirit. And it is rightly said “seven months,” because the mysteries of the Holy Scriptures will endure with the faithful of Christ until the end of the world. But whoever grasps the mysteries of that same Holy Scripture through the grace of intimate charity was concerned not about the place where the ark is temporarily left, but about that place where it is eternally established. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

1 Samuel 6:2

Gregory the Dialogist: 2. Who are those who consult priests and diviners, if not the faithful of the holy Church, who desire to hold the way of eternal salvation without error? And who are understood as the priests and diviners, if not the preachers of the holy Church? They are indeed priests on account of the offering of the sacrament, and diviners by the ministry of preaching. For these two things come together in the person of the pastor, if he possesses both holiness of life and learning of wisdom: because he has been appointed both to purge the sins of those under him and to dispel the darkness of errors by the light of preaching. Therefore, a pastor of the holy Church who has holiness of life but does not have the power of divine preaching is indeed a priest, but not a diviner. Likewise, if he retains eloquence of speech without holiness of life, although he may appear to be a diviner, he is by no means adorned with the honor of the priesthood: because what he preaches sublimely, he tramples underfoot by earthly conduct. But those who inquire about the place of the ark and about sending back the ark of God call upon both priests and diviners: because indeed those who, from knowledge of divine preaching, love the joys of the life to come, seek for the counsel of salvation pastors who are neither carnally wise nor overly simple in their piety. And so they call upon priests and diviners: because they entrust themselves to those who both show the uprightness of the heavenly way by the sublimity of their knowledge, and are worthy intercessors before almighty God for those under them, through purity of life. Therefore they inquire about sending the ark back to its place: because from that knowledge of the Scriptures which they receive in the mysteries of words, they desire to pass over to the perfect knowledge of God in eternity. For the ark is, as it were, sent back when this small knowledge is fulfilled through the passage of the present life. And we behold the glory of God’s ark displayed in its place when, from beneath the lofty coverings of figures, we gaze upon the appearance of the divine majesty with unveiled face. Concerning this return of the ark to its place, it is said through the prophet: “And a man shall no longer teach his neighbor, saying: Know the Lord; for from the least to the greatest they shall know me” (Jeremiah 31:34). Hence John promises, saying: “When he shall appear, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). But let us now consider what counsel the priests and diviners give to those who inquire about sending back the ark. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

1 Samuel 6:3

Bede: 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. — Commentary on Samuel

Gregory the Dialogist: 3. What is an empty ark, but divine knowledge without good works? For to send back an empty ark is to bear no fruit of good works from the knowledge of spiritual mysteries. The ark is therefore sent back empty when the mind of one coming to the faith already desires to pass over to the eternal contemplation of God, and yet takes no care to labor at good works in this life. By the voice of the preachers, therefore, it is commanded that when the ark is sent away, it not be released empty, so that if anyone who is faithful does not multiply good works, he should not presume to trust that he will pass over to the eternal knowledge of God Almighty. But the ark is not sent away empty if what is owed is rendered to it for sin. What is owed to the ark for sin, but the affliction of devout penance? Here it should be noted that he speaks to those who were bitten by mice. For who are bitten by mice, but those who, placed in the illumination of the catholic faith, recall that they have done wicked things before or after their knowledge of that same faith? For one who committed no crimes before the grace of regeneration, and retained the gift of regeneration through a worthy manner of life, indeed owes something to the ark, but does not owe it anything for sin. He is compelled to render the fruit of good works through knowledge of the divine Word, but he is not pressed by any debt of satisfaction for penance arising from crimes he rejected. Therefore, let those who are still being bitten pay their debt to the ark for sin, so that for the memory of their crimes they may restore a humble offering of penance to Almighty God. And then indeed they are healed, because the wound of conscience is closed over when the afflicted mind is raised up through penance to the assurance of hoped-for pardon. Then also they know why the hand of the Lord does not withdraw from them, because then they understand the benefit of compunction, that is, the good of afflicted flesh, when they rejoice ineffably in the confidence of divine forgiveness. For what is the pain of penance but the distress of a wound from the striking of demons? For as if in the pain of a wound still sharply stinging, that converted man was sighing when he said: “I was turned in my anguish while the thorn was fastened in me” (Psalms 31:4). For what does “anguish” suggest but the affliction of penance? But he declares himself turned in that same anguish while he feels the piercing of the thorn. As if to say: While I am stung by the memory of my shameful deed, I do not cease to pay my debt to the ark. For the thorn is fastened in when, through the dispensation of Almighty God, the soul of the converted is inflamed to tears by the memory of their crimes. And the debt to the ark is paid when the measure of lamentation is now extended according to the gravity of the crime: when after prolonged tears the light of inner consolation is poured into the long-afflicted mind, and by the divine gift it is relieved from the weight of the inward blow; when Almighty God draws near through the grace of His inspiration to the now purified mind, and gladdens it with the confidence of obtained forgiveness, which He supplies to it from the grace of His presence. For the soul is then healed, as it were, from its wound, when through the grace of poured-forth forgiveness the greatness of pain is removed from the afflicted mind of the penitent.

4. Whence also he who was being turned about in distress, while he was being pierced by the thorn, in the same psalm joyfully addresses almighty God as the author of his healing, saying: “You are my refuge from the trouble that has surrounded me, my exultation” (Psalms 31:7). For he calls the very heavy hand of the Lord a pressure. Of which stroke of the most heavy hand Paul also speaks, saying: “For the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unutterable groanings” (Romans 8:26). He who therefore indicates that he has found the Lord’s refuge and exultation from pressure, shows that he has been healed from the blow of inward grief by the joy of divine mercy. Hence likewise, still grieving, he confesses, saying: “Against you alone have I sinned, and done evil before you” (Psalms 50:6). But because he presumes upon healing, he adds, saying: “You will give joy and gladness to my hearing, and the humbled bones will exult” (ibid., 7). Therefore the debt is paid to the ark for sin, when sinners are afflicted through the knowledge of Sacred Scripture, and strive by torment to wipe away the faults they contracted through the delight of the flesh. Moreover they are healed when, the measure of affliction now being fulfilled, they are lifted up to confidence in divine mercy through the help of inward consolation. Whence the Psalmist also speaks, saying: “You will feed us with the bread of tears, and give us drink in tears by measure” (Psalms 79:6). For he gives the drink of tears by measure: because indeed the sinner, even if he is pierced with compunction for his fault by God’s inward inspiration, is relieved from the same affliction of compunction by the consolation of that same God. Whence also the Lord says through Moses: “I will kill, and I will make alive: I will strike, and I will heal” (Deuteronomy 32:39). For he strikes and heals: because those whom he wounds through compunction, he cures through the assurance of pardon. Therefore it is rightly said to those now healed: “And you will know why his hand does not withdraw from you.” For before he heals, they cannot know why the hand of the Lord does not withdraw from them: because they then understand the good of repentance, when in a now purified heart they recognize the grace of the Holy Spirit, and long for the gifts of divine mercy, over which they rejoice with ineffable exultation. For he had perceived that they knew the reason why the hand of the healing Lord had not withdrawn from their affliction—he who expresses the exultations of those who were struck, speaking to God and saying: “We were filled in the morning with your mercy; we exulted and were delighted for the days in which you humbled us, the years in which we saw evils” (Psalms 89:14–15). For they had received, as it were, the mourning of repentance in the night, who in the morning—that is, when the brightness of divine favor appeared—rejoiced together that they were filled with mercy; those who declare that they were delighted for the days in which they had been humbled are shown, through the gift of healing, to know the weight of the Lord’s hand and why it had not withdrawn from them. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

1 Samuel 6:4

Bede: 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. — Commentary on Samuel

Cassiodorus: We read in the first book of Kings [Samuel] that because of the damage done to the consecrated ark the foreigners were smitten on their hinder parts, so that they even suffered the dreadful fate of being gnawed alive by mice. This remains a perennial reproach on them, because no other was punished in this way. Similarly he afflicts sinners in the afterlife … they are so devoured by mice when the devil’s hostile troop surrounds them. — EXPOSITION OF THE Psalms 77.66

Gregory the Dialogist: 5. What does it mean that five likenesses of tumors, and as many likenesses of mice, according to the number of the provinces, are commanded to be made, and thus the debt to the ark is paid? These things indeed, if weighed in the Jewish manner according to the lowliness of the letter, are not only to be despised, but not even worthy of hearing. He indeed receives these things worthily who understands that the more lowly they sound by the letter, the more useful they are through their spiritual meaning. For the Holy Spirit, by whose inspiration this entire sacred history is written, would never have brought forth such lowly things if He did not signify certain great and very precious mysteries in the hidden depth of this lowliness. Whence the excellent teacher declares, saying: “All these things happened to them in figure; but they were written for our sake, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:11). Therefore, the more base what they say appears in the exposed flesh, as it were, of the letter, the more deeply must they be sought through the spirit. What then are the likenesses of tumors, what are the images of mice? And since we referred these things above both to tempting demons and to the members of sinners exposed to stenches, in what sense are the likenesses of tumors and mice gilded? But indeed the debt to the ark for sin is well paid if the likenesses of tumors and mice are fashioned from gold. For in the likeness of a tumor, the member that emits stench is seen; and yet, because it is a likeness, not the reality, it is no longer stained by any stench. And because it is made of gold, this indeed suggests that by the splendor of beauty the appearance of deformity is transformed. Therefore the converted sinner makes a likeness of a tumor when he brings to memory with what stenches of sin he had surrendered his members. Therefore to fashion a likeness of a tumor is to recall with a penitent heart the shame of one’s members that recently sinned. And so he fashions not a tumor, but the likeness of a tumor, who both washes his members from the stenches of sin and does not fail to recall to which sins he had subjected those same members. And indeed the likeness of a tumor is seen to be made of gold, because the shamefulness of sins is worn away unto the prize of eternal salvation. Or perhaps by remembering, the likenesses of tumors are made; by weeping, they are gilded: because by recalling what we have done, we fashion them, and while we mourn our offenses more attentively, we gild our members in the splendor of righteousness. Therefore the likeness, not the reality, of tumors is seen, because then the sinner looks upon the disgrace of his deformity when he not only no longer practices wicked works by committing them, but also vehemently grieves that he committed them in the past. But five tumors are commanded to be made, because the universal satisfaction of all the Gentiles is commanded. Whence it is also carefully noted: “According to the number of the provinces of the Philistines.” For why are there five provinces of the Philistines, unless because the carnal life of the Gentiles is signified? For because they devoted the five senses of the body not to the praise of the Creator but to carnal life, the provinces of the Philistines are expressed by the number five. They are commanded to make five golden tumors so that they may be pricked with compunction in all their senses; and because all have sinned, therefore let them restore to the brightness of the heavenly life all the members which they defiled with every kind of shameful filth through the pleasures of the flesh. For in gold the splendor of heavenly conduct is shown, because through John it is said of the heavenly city: “The city itself was pure gold, like clear glass” (Rev. 21:18). The members are therefore gilded when the body, deformed by the earthly and filthy foulness of lusts, is transformed into the splendor of eternal life: when, namely, that which was defiled by the stench of sins in the appetite for worldly pleasure shines forth through the beauty of holy conduct. For blessed Paul was admonishing his hearers toward this gilding, saying: “As you presented your members to serve uncleanness and iniquity unto iniquity, so present your members to serve righteousness unto sanctification” (Rom. 6:19). And as if compelling them to look upon the likenesses of tumors, he added, saying: “What fruit then did you have in those things, of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.” Therefore the likenesses of tumors are made for our shame: because indeed we bring the stains of our foulness to memory so that we may be confounded by those same stains. But they are gilded for our security: because indeed while we cover over our deformity with the brightness of the heavenly life, we await the scrutiny of the divine judgment with a certain security.

6. The mice also, which demolished the land, are commanded to be made of gold: because the unclean spirits, who suggest the enticements of corruption to our flesh, are remembered for our justification. For what is it to make likenesses of mice, except to remember those victories which malign spirits have had over us? But the likenesses of mice are also gilded, when we sigh over their broken powers. For while we lament that we were conquered by their deceits, we indeed hold golden likenesses of mice, since we hold the past counsels of demons not in the allurement of their work, but in the contempt of reprobation. Therefore the likenesses of mice are made of gold, because the past deceits of demons advance us toward the splendor of a good life. For we are now so much more humble, inasmuch as our members shine through the splendor of heavenly conduct; and we ourselves, who now by the help of almighty God do mighty things, see that we were prostrated by the deceits of unclean spirits. This counsel, because they offer it to many, they also show the reason for it, because they say: “For the plague was one for you and for your rulers.” As if they were saying openly: Because you were all subject to sin, it is necessary that you equally prepare your hearts for the pursuit of a better life. Whence Paul also says: “All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace” (Rom. 3:23).

7. And to commend more attentively the resolution of improving one’s life, they repeat by insisting, saying: “You shall make likenesses of your tumors and of the mice that have destroyed the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel, if perhaps He may lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land.” Once these likenesses that were mentioned have been made, to give glory to God is, out of zeal for good work and out of an estimation of humility, not to glory vainly in oneself, but to devote to the praises of almighty God everything that is done. And because they say: “If perhaps He may lighten His hand from you” (1 Sam. 6:5)—what else is understood in this word of doubt, except that the reconciliation of sinners is shown to be difficult? Hence also through Jonah it is said: “Who knows if He may turn and forgive?” (Jonah 3:9). Because, therefore, it is said “if perhaps He may lighten His hand”, we ought to be moved to tears of repentance with great earnestness: for if those who perform severe penance scarcely find confidence of salvation, when can the negligent be saved? This difficulty of reconciliation, if it is held in the estimation of the penitent, is by no means found with almighty God: for even when the Ninevites cast themselves down with heavy penance as if for a difficult reconciliation, they easily merited the mercy of almighty God. And when the people prostrated themselves before God with bitter lamentation at the voice of the prophet Joel, they brought it about that He who seemed difficult to appease softened His anger. For immediately it is written therein: “The Lord was zealous for His land and spared His people” (Joel 2:18). The hand, therefore, is lifted when the mind, powerfully pierced with compunction in repentance, is raised up by divine inspiration to the gift of obtained mercy. And because, as I said, in the beginning of the nascent Church, just as there was a general conversion of sinners, so also there was a general reconciliation of the converted: the hand of God, which is declared to be lifted, is said to be lifted both from the hearers, and from their gods, and from the land. For by “gods,” sublime and wise men are designated. For the Lord also says to Moses: “I have made you a god to Pharaoh” (Exod. 7:1). And in the commandment of the Law it is also prescribed: “You shall not speak ill of gods” (Exod. 22:28). By “land,” indeed, the life of the simple is expressed: for when they receive the preaching of their superiors, like rain from heaven falling upon them, from the watering of the word they bring forth the fruit of good work. From the gods, therefore, and from the land, the hand of the Lord is lifted, when both the wise and the simple are brought back to the certainty of divine pardon, either by hidden and spiritual consolation, or by the judgment of preachers. Hence also he who a little earlier had urged that the members be gilded, saying: “Present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification” (Rom. 6:19), as if pronouncing the judgment of the Lord’s lifted hand, says: “But now having been freed from sin and having become servants of God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end, eternal life” (Rom. 6:22). Hence again, marveling at the complete splendor of gold in those converted from the deformity of a most wicked life, he says: “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Eph. 5:8). Hence the same, praising his own, says: “In the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15). Therefore, when the likenesses of the tumors and mice have been made from gold and glory has been given to God, the hand of the Lord is lifted: because after the mourning of repentance, after the improvement of life and the humility of estimation, sinners are brought back to the full mercy of almighty God. And because all these things are still prescribed by counsel—yet some devoutly carry out the counsel of preachers, while others despise it—those who extol the good with praises for the splendor of a good life are inflamed against the proud through the force of rebuke. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

1 Samuel 6:5

Bede: 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. — Commentary on Samuel

1 Samuel 6:6

Gregory the Dialogist: 8. For the heart hardens, like Egypt and Pharaoh, when one already understands the wounds of his sins through knowledge of sacred Scripture, and yet does not direct his mind toward the true joys of the future life through the improvement of his life or through the bitterness of repentance. Rightly, then, is he compared to the Egyptians in hardness of heart. For Egypt means “darkness.” What then is understood by the name of Egypt, if not the multitude of angels who fell from the heavenly seats? And what is designated by Pharaoh, king of Egypt, if not the devil himself, the author of darkness? Rightly, then, are those who neglect repentance compared to Egypt and Pharaoh in the hardening of the heart. For the reprobate angels, once fallen from the heavenly places, just as they do not recover the love of their lost blessedness, so too they can never do penance for the pride they committed. Therefore, when the holy preachers attack the shameless sinners with sharp rebuke, they bring forward the likeness of Egypt and Pharaoh, so that their hearers may the more readily rush to make satisfaction, inasmuch as they recognize that by refusing to do penance, they are like the condemned angels. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

1 Samuel 6:7

Bede: 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. — Commentary on Samuel

Gregory the Dialogist: 9. For what is designated by the name of the cart, if not either the whole holy Church together, or the individual soul of each faithful person? The wheels of this cart are indeed the two Testaments. For while the holy Church, or any chosen mind instructed through the Old and New Testament, presses onward toward eternal life, it is carried aloft to its appointed place as if upon lofty wheels set before it. But the cart is commanded to be made new, so that, namely, whoever desires to arrive at eternal joys may be clothed through the commandment of love with the splendor of the new man. Indeed, the Lord was commanding this cart to be made new when He said: “This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12). Hence Paul commands, saying: “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, who was created according to God” (Ephesians 4:23). Hence, addressing the Romans, he says: “Not in reveling and drunkenness, not in strife and jealousy, not in debauchery and impurity, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:13). Therefore, he makes a new cart who both rightly understands each Testament and, clothed with the splendor of holy conduct, stretches himself upward toward heavenly desires.

10. The wheels by which this cart moves can also designate the twofold desire of each elect person: because whoever, with God’s help, already regards the present life as a hardship of pilgrimage, desires to reach future blessedness for this reason — that he may become impassible and immortal: so that through one, he may leave behind the misery he dreads; through the other, he may never lose the blessedness he merits. The cows, moreover, are the holy preachers. Because they are both distinguished by the twofold precept of charity and give birth to the souls of the converted in a new way of life, they are rightly designated both by the number two and by the feminine gender. The calves, however, are earthly desires. When therefore the cows pull the cart, they shut the calves up at home: because while they provide guidance to the faithful elect toward the heavenly homeland, they prevent those desires which suggest a reprobate life to them from coming forth into effect. They shut up the calves, indeed, when they crush proud desires at the very beginning of their suggestion, within the conscience, and do not allow them to advance to the effect of action. Hence also cows upon which no yoke has been placed are said to be sought out for pulling the cart: because preachers must be provided for the faithful elect who are subjected to the dominion of diabolic power by no burdens of crime. Concerning this yoke, indeed, it is said through the prophet: “The yoke shall decay because of the oil” (Isaiah 10:27). And well does the progression of the meanings agree with the order of the words: because even if they are free from hostile domination, it is necessary that they always be watchful concerning their future conduct. The cows therefore are both without a yoke, and yet their calves are shut up at home: because the holy preachers rule over adversarial spirits by virtue, but they do not withdraw their attention from subduing wicked desires, since they cannot have perpetual security in this life from the holiness with which they see themselves adorned. And because to such persons the grace of divine knowledge is more widely opened, it is fittingly commanded that the Ark of the Lord be taken up and placed upon the cart. Moreover, that the Ark is commanded to be placed upon the cart for the listeners — this indeed suggests that in the holy Church we find many orders of prelates: because while some are worthier than others by prerogative, they also obtain the authority of commanding at the summit of a higher order. When therefore the Ark of the Lord is commanded to be brought back, it is said to be placed upon a new cart: because he rightly advances toward the eternal homeland with knowledge of spiritual mysteries, who does not abandon what he has learned from Holy Scripture through the beauty of a new way of life. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

1 Samuel 6:8

Bede: 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. — Commentary on Samuel

Gregory the Dialogist: 11. Moreover, it is commanded that the golden vessels, which were rendered to the ark as a guilt offering, be placed at its side. For he calls “golden vessels” what he mentioned above, saying: “You shall make likenesses of your tumors and of your mice.” In these vessels, as we had said, the memory of sins and temptations was signified. What does it mean, then, that above he declared them to be likenesses of tumors and mice, but now has called them golden vessels? But there the discussion concerned what had to be paid to the ark for sin, whereas here it concerns the sending away of the ark. What does it mean, then, that these same things are expressed by a more honorable name, except that sins which have not been cleansed by the tears of repentance must be viewed more attentively in their deformity and lamented, while those which have already been washed away by great weeping are not to be gazed upon more attentively or in their deformity, but are to be thought upon from time to time with an estimation of humility? For in the mind of the penitent who grieves bitterly, there is, as it were, a likeness of tumors and mice: when, so that he may mourn more attentively, he sees the accumulated mass of sin which he heaps before the eyes of his mind. But when, already somewhat secure about the remission of his sins through great and prolonged weeping, he has begun to hasten toward the heavenly homeland by the course of a great conversion, he now beholds, as it were, golden vessels: because he sees his sins not as things by which he saw himself bound, but as things which he may devote to the praises of almighty God. And rightly are those same vessels placed in a box at the side of the ark. For if the ark signifies the secret of divine knowledge, the vessels hang at its side because, while the height of divine knowledge elevates the mind, our past weaknesses must be recalled to memory for the sake of the virtue of humility. They are not, therefore, to be placed before the ark, lest, while we gaze upon our weaknesses too immoderately, we become unable to be raised up to heavenly things. It is clear, then, that they hang from the side: so that we may both freely behold heavenly things and, when it is fitting, recall the eyes of our mind to our own weaknesses.

12. But what does it mean that they are commanded: “And let it go, that it may depart”? The ark is let go when the learned minds of subjects are permitted by their rulers to live freely: so that they may hasten to their eternal homeland, no longer by the command of a superior, but by the judgment of their own reason. It must therefore be held so that it may be placed on the cart; and once placed, it is also let go: because indeed the freedom to arrange their own life is not to be given to chosen subjects by their prelates before they receive instruction in spiritual doctrine and a firm habit of good conduct. For the freedom of living is rightly granted neither to simple subjects who live well, nor to the learned who are weak. For the former can be deceived by the cunning adversary all the more easily, since they have in no way learned to detect his snares through spiritual instruction; while the latter preserve the good of their instruction with all the more difficulty, in that, though learned, they perceive the snares of the tempter, yet, though learned, they cannot avoid his bonds. Therefore the ark is fittingly let go when the cart on which it must be placed is first constructed, when the golden vessels that are owed for sin are hung from its side: because indeed the life of a subject living freely can then be secure when he has learned through long practice to preserve the renewal of the inner man; when from the purity of his life he grasps the loftiness of divine instruction, and amid sublime gifts does not neglect to recall for the sake of humility those things which he remembers having once done wrongly. This freedom of living, because it is granted to good subjects solely for the pursuit of heavenly love, fittingly adds the reason for which the same ark is let go: “that it may depart,” it says. For it is as if it said in other words: They are to be permitted to live more freely for this sole purpose, that they may journey more swiftly to the heavenly homeland. But because some subjects are perfect in both conduct and knowledge by human judgment, not by divine, it must be provided by the diligence of good rulers that they do not entirely abandon care for them even when those same subjects think themselves released from their care, but with pious shrewdness observe how those live when now free, whose good qualities under obedience they had more fully known. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

1 Samuel 6:9

Gregory the Dialogist: 13. Bethshemesh, as we have already said, is interpreted as “house of the sun.” The preachers observe the released ark to see whether it proceeds on a straight path toward Bethshemesh, because even when subjects are released to their own judgment, prelates must examine whether they convert the good of liberty to the advancement of the heavenly journey. But it must also be carefully noted that the ark rightly ascends toward Bethshemesh when it does not abandon the road of the border territory while traveling. For our neighbors are the elect who came before us; neighbors indeed are those who have properties arranged next to one another. The neighbors of the elect, therefore, are the perpetual co-heirs of the eternal kingdom. For they dwell as if with properties arranged next to one another, those who, called into the same fellowship of the eternal homeland, have received the rights of eternal inheritance from the one and same majesty of the Creator. Or they are called neighbors for this reason: because when the elect arrive from a good manner of life to the joys of everlasting life, those who live rightly in this world are close to the heavenly citizens. What then is the road of the border territory, if not temporal affliction? The Lord Himself demonstrates this road to Bethshemesh, saying: “Narrow is the way that leads to life” (Matt. 7:14). He likewise commends this road when, rebuking the disciples, He says: “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe! Was it not necessary for Christ to suffer, and so to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:25.) Hence Paul says: “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21). The ark is therefore directed toward Bethshemesh when it is seen to ascend by the road of the border territory, because in the heavenly manner of life he more truly advances who seeks to reach eternal joys not through worldly pleasures but through afflictions of the flesh and adversities of the world. But because the released ark is said not merely to go but to ascend, a higher road is indicated for subjects released into freedom, because they do not rightly travel the road to Bethshemesh if they do not daily advance from good things to better. For to ascend by the merits of virtues is to advance daily toward better things. But when the ark is rightly directed toward Bethshemesh, they ascribe the great evil they had suffered to the works of almighty God. For they call that great evil the striking about which it is read above: “The hand of the Lord was upon each city with exceedingly great slaughter.” And because we have referred that same slaughter both to the conversion of the Gentiles and to the salutary compunction of sinning believers, when the ark rightly proceeds toward Bethshemesh, that great evil which had occurred is shown to be from God, because indeed the end of each of the elect indicates how the mind of the preacher should recognize their first works.

14. For if they fail in the end, it is openly recognized that their good beginnings were not from the Lord. Whence it is also added: “But if not, we shall know that it was not at all his hand that struck us, but it happened by chance.” What is the hand of the Lord, if not the Only-begotten of the eternal Father? For they are not touched by the hand of the Lord who are separated from their former way of life not by the inspiration of the divine word, but by a sudden resolution of their own heart. They certainly fall away from their begun goodness all the more quickly, inasmuch as they did not know how to consider beforehand with what fortitude that which they had proposed—to enter by the narrow way to the eternal homeland—was to be carried out. Therefore it was aptly said: “It happened by chance.” For what happens by chance occurs suddenly and without counsel or foresight. When therefore those who, having been converted, seemed to have departed from the love of the world, or from unbelief, return to the wickedness of their former life, it is openly recognized that they were separated from their former way of life not by the hand of the Lord, as they seemed to have been struck down, but by an accidental chance. There follows: “They did in this manner, and taking two cows they yoked them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home, and placed the ark of God upon the cart, and the small chest which contained the golden mice and the likenesses of the tumors.” Since these things have been more fully expounded above, let us now see what the journey of the ark itself contains in terms of spiritual instruction. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

John Chrysostom: For this reason he [Paul] says, “To the Jews I became as a Jew, to those without law, as one without law, to those that are under the law, as under the law.” Thus God does too, as in the case of the wise men, he does not conduct them by an angel, nor a prophet, nor an apostle, nor an evangelist, but how? By a star. For as their art made them conversant with these, he made use of such means to guide them. So [he does] in the case of the oxen that drew the ark. “If it goes up by the way of his own coast, then he has done this great evil to us,” as their prophets suggested. Do these prophets then speak the truth? No; but he refutes and confounds them out of their own mouths. — HOMILIES ON Titus 3

1 Samuel 6:10

Bede: 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). — Commentary on Samuel

Gregory the Dialogist: We know that when the ark of the Lord was returned from the land of the Philistines to the land of the Israelites, it was placed on a cart. They yoked cows that had recently borne young to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. “And the cows went straight on over the way that leads to Beth-shemesh, keeping to the one road, lowing as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left.” What do these cows represent but the faithful of the church? When they ponder the sacred precepts, it is as if they are carrying the ark of the Lord placed upon them. We should also notice that they are described as having recently borne young. Many who are inwardly set on the way toward God are externally bound by their unspiritual feelings, but they do not turn aside from the right road because they are carrying the ark of God in their hearts.The cows were going to Beth-shemesh, a name meaning “house of the sun.” The prophet says, “For you who fear the Lord, the sun of righteousness shall rise.” If we are moving on toward the dwelling place of the everlasting sun, we do right not to turn aside from the route toward God on account of our unspiritual feelings. We must consider with all our energy that the cows yoked to God’s cart moan as they go, lowing from their depths, but do not turn aside from their road. So surely must God’s preachers, so must all believers within holy church do. They must be compassionate toward their neighbors through their love, while not deviating from God’s way through their compassion. — 40 Homilies on the Gospels, Homily 37

Gregory the Dialogist: For it is not that holy people do not love their fleshly kin, to give them all things necessary, but they subdue this very fondness within themselves from love of spiritual things, in order so to temper it by the control of discretion, that they may be never led by it, even in a small measure and in the very least degree, to deviate from the straight path. And these are well conveyed to us by the representation of the cows, which going along towards the hilly lands under the ark of the Lord, proceed at one and the same time with fondness and with hardened feeling; as it is written, “And the men did so: and took two milk cows and tied them to the cart and shut up their calves at home; and they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart.” And soon after: “And the cows took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, and they went along by one way, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” For observe, when the calves were shut up at home, the cows, which are fastened to the wagon bearing the ark of the Lord, moan and go their way, they give forth lowings from deep within, and yet [they] never alter their steps from following the path. They feel love indeed shown by compassion but never bend their necks behind. Thus, they must go on their way, who, being placed under the yoke of the sacred law, henceforth carry the Lord’s ark in interior knowledge, so as never to deviate from the course of righteousness which they have entered upon, in order to take compassion on the necessities of relatives. For Beth-shemesh is rendered “the house of the sun.” Thus to go to Beth-shemesh with the ark of the Lord placed on them is in company with heavenly knowledge to draw near to the seat of light eternal. But we are then really going on toward Beth-shemesh when, in walking the path of righteousness, we never turn aside onto the adjoining side-paths of error, not even for the sake of the affection we bear for our offspring. — Morals on the Book of Job, Book 7.42

Justin Martyr: You are aware, then, that when the ark of the testimony was seized by the enemies of Ashdod, and a terrible and incurable malady had broken out among them, they resolved to place it on a cart to which they yoked cows that had recently calved, for the purpose of ascertaining by trial whether or not they had been plagued by God’s power on account of the ark, and if God wished it to be taken back to the place from which it had been carried away. And when they had done this, the cows, led by no man, went not to the place whence the ark had been taken, but to the fields of a certain man whose name was Oshea, the same as his whose name was altered to Jesus (Joshua), as has been previously mentioned, who also led the people into the land and meted it out to them: and when the cows had come into these fields they remained there, showing to you thereby that they were guided by the name of power; just as formerly the people who survived of those that came out of Egypt, were guided into the land by him who had received the name Jesus (Joshua), who before was called Oshea. — Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter CXXXII

1 Samuel 6:12

Bede: 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). — Commentary on Samuel

Bede: 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. — Commentary on Samuel

Gregory the Dialogist: 15. To go straight along the road that leads to Beth-shemesh is, in the pursuit of heavenly perfection, to maintain affliction of the flesh through the virtue of discretion. For the cows by no means walk in a straight line if discretion is not preserved in the affliction of the flesh. For when the flesh is afflicted beyond measure, that same flesh, utterly spent, is unable to render aid to the spirit. And if it is not worthily afflicted, while it grows proud, it disdains, as though free and untamed, to serve the mind. Rightly therefore, while the cows are reported to go straight along the road to Beth-shemesh, it is added: “They turned aside neither to the right nor to the left.” To turn aside to the right is to press immoderately upon the virtue of abstinence: because through what appears to be a good, we abandon the way, when we so pursue the necessary virtue of abstinence that we withdraw from ourselves the other helps that come from the flesh. To turn aside to the left is to indulge the flesh too abundantly. For through the vice of open laxity we are deflected from the road to Beth-shemesh, when we lead the flesh through delights—we who had known that the way to paradise was appointed in affliction.

16. And because there is no sincerity of a more sparing life if the simplicity of purity in good work does not agree with one’s intention, it is carefully expressed: “And they went by one path.” For he goes by one path who preserves in right intention the virtue that he displays in good work. On the contrary, it is said of every reprobate: “Woe to the sinner who enters the land by two ways” (Sirach 2:14). For the sinner enters the land by two ways when what he does appears to be of God, but from everything that he outwardly exhibits as religious, he inwardly holds a worldly intention. Moreover, the Lord indicates that His elect go by one path, saying: “If your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light” (Matthew 6:22). Hence Paul says: “Our glory is this: the testimony of our conscience” (2 Corinthians 1:12). Hence David: “All the glory of the king’s daughter is from within” (Psalms 44:14). Therefore the cows go by one path toward Beth-shemesh, because the elect, hastening to their eternal homeland, do good works outwardly, but from those same good works they do not seek the rewards of the world.

17. But what is it that is said of these same cows, that they went along the way, lowing as they went? They are said to go forward because holy men do good unceasingly; but they low because they cannot extinguish carnal desires within themselves without great daily tribulation. For to low pertains to the labor of subduing the flesh; but to go forward pertains to the perseverance of good will. For when the flesh is compelled against its nature to suppress carnal motions, it lows, as it were, while it walks, because it is forbidden from fulfilling its own desires. Rightly indeed are these two things described in the progress of the saints, namely, going forward and lowing — because even though for those hastening to the heavenly homeland there is great urgency of desire, there is nonetheless an unconquerable patience in labor. For of these cows going forward, it is said through Ezekiel: They did not turn back when they went (Ezek. 1:12). Paul also expresses both the lowing of the cows and its cause, saying: I see another law contradicting the law of my mind and leading me captive under the law of sin. Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom. 7:23, 24.) Therefore the cows low, but they go forward, because holy men, even though the temptations they endure are great, nevertheless do not abandon the way of the heavenly homeland. They go forward likewise, but they low, because even though they hasten toward heavenly things with great desires, they do not obtain the progress of the heavenly journey from the quiet of peace, but from the triumph over temptation.

18. What are the boundaries to which it is necessary for prelates to follow the departing ark of God, and beyond which it is not fitting to proceed in the company of the ark of God? If we understand these boundaries as instruction in sacred Scripture and good works, it does not seem contradictory. But these boundaries of Beth-shemesh are indeed the boundaries of the following leaders, when each one in his own measure is perfected over his subjects in the teaching of sacred Scripture and in the practice of good works. For a pastor is made secure regarding this to the degree that he both carefully perceives spiritual things and grasps by the strength of good works what he has discovered through reason. These boundaries are indeed said to be the boundaries of Beth-shemesh: because, when they worthily receive the learned workers of God, they lead them to the contemplation of the heavenly fatherland. For they are boundaries: because they both receive the worthy to contemplation and expel the unworthy. For if the unlearned presume to raise themselves to contemplate heavenly things more subtly, they go astray in error rather than grasp the light of truth. And unless someone sends good works ahead, he certainly brings it about that he never finds that clarity of inner vision which he desires. Hence the Lord also in the Gospel, as if sending lovers of the contemplative life to the boundaries of Beth-shemesh, says: “He who has my words and does them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and I will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). For he who says that he will manifest himself only to those who love him, and that he loves those who keep his commandments, openly teaches that he does not grant the light of his hidden vision except as a reward for good works. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

1 Samuel 6:13

Bede: 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. — Commentary on Samuel

Gregory the Dialogist: 19. For who can the Bethshemites be more rightly understood as than those who are already perfect men in the sublimity of contemplation? For they are as if from the house of the sun, who, having despised all earthly things, are illuminated by the splendors of the true light. They are indeed from the house of the sun, who, already buried to the whole world, burn with the flame of wondrous love to see the glory of their Creator. They ascend to their city in two ways: they who are led to the glory of the heavenly homeland both now through contemplation and in the end through the truth of glory. Now they fly to the house of the sun by contemplating; but what they now behold through purity of mind, they will then grasp the truth of eternal recompense through present joy. Therefore the ark of God is brought to Bethshemesh when the chosen mind is raised to eternal joys, either through the height of contemplation or through the reception of recompense. Since therefore we cannot know that eternal and ineffable resting place of the ark, let us hear the things that are said about this one which we know. What then does it mean that the Bethshemites were reaping wheat in the valley, except that those devoted to the contemplative life gather the delights of inner refreshment in the virtue of humility? For indeed in sacred Scripture the valley signifies the lowliness of the humble, as the Psalmist testifies, who speaking of the Lord says: “Who sends forth springs in the valleys” (Psalms 103:10). For He pours the infusion of heavenly grace into minds disposed through humility. The Bethshemites therefore reap wheat in the valley: because those devoted to contemplation, while they behold heavenly things more clearly on account of the merit of humility, bind sheaves of joys for the sweeter refreshment of their minds. For wheat bread, just as it is whiter in appearance, so also is it more delightful in taste.

20. But perhaps while still placed in this life we do not take bread, but harvest ears of grain; whereas in that heavenly life of blessedness, we eat not ears of grain, but bread. For in this life, when we are raised up to contemplate eternal things, we strive to grasp likenesses of heavenly realities from these lowly and visible things, so that, according to the voice of the distinguished teacher, we may know the invisible things from the creation of the world through those things which have been made visible (Rom. 1:20). Wherefore also that true Bethshemite, belonging to the household of the Sun of justice, exulting says: “You have delighted me, O Lord, in Your handiwork, and in the works of Your hands I will exult. How magnificent are Your works, O Lord! Exceedingly deep have Your thoughts become” (Psalms 92:5–6). But while we receive the joys of invisible things in visible things, we still hold the wheat, as it were, within the chaff. Then, however, the pure wheat, or bread made from wheat, will be ours. For when death has already been swallowed up, in eternal life, with face unveiled, we shall behold the Redeemer more clearly, and we shall have no need of the coverings of likenesses for the knowledge of Him. Rightly therefore it is said of the Bethshemites that they were harvesting wheat in the valley: because perfect men, even though they receive the loftiness of heavenly contemplation as a reward for humility, cannot attain to contemplating the pure substance of almighty God to such a degree, inasmuch as they still harvest the refreshment of their mind, as it were, among the chaff. And indeed the good of this humility is signified when it is added: “And lifting up their eyes, they saw the ark of God.”

21. For they raise their eyes: because while they do not think lofty things of themselves, they are, in their own estimation, as if on level ground. They raise their eyes: because those whom they see made worthy by divine grace, they contemplate as placed on the lofty summit of merits. But raising their eyes, they see the ark: because the more humbly they cast themselves down in their own estimation, the better they can recognize the good qualities of their neighbors. For that Truth which abandons the hearts of the proud of itself, also hides from them those very gifts which it bestows upon the humble; so that, as if utterly blinded, they do not even see the sun already spread across the earth—they who have ceased to behold the rays of its brightness in heaven. But since we have referred the return of the ark of God to the purpose of the contemplative life, the raising of the eyes can also be fittingly referred to the pursuit of discerning spirits. For the Bethshemites raise their eyes when, in the purpose of a more secluded life, they consider with careful examination the gifts of those flocking to them; when with attentive mind they examine whether those approaching pursue the purpose of a higher life, which they seek by drawing near, with right and strong intention. To raise their eyes, therefore, is for them to consider more deeply the spirit of the newcomers. But raising their eyes, they behold the ark of God: because while they examine more carefully the conduct of those persons, they discover that they shine with the grace of spiritual virtues. And because through the affection of love they rejoice over the good qualities they have recognized in them, it is fittingly added: “And they rejoiced when they saw it.” — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

1 Samuel 6:14

Bede: 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. — Commentary on Samuel

Bede: 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” (Psalms 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. — Commentary on Samuel

Gregory the Dialogist: 22. If Bethshemesh is interpreted as “house of the sun,” the house of the sun is the heavenly city. Here Joshua the Bethshemite signifies the Redeemer of the human race not so much by type as by his very name and dignity. For Joshua is called “savior” in our language. And the Lord says of himself: “The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Hence it is also that Joseph is promised in a dream through the angel: “He shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). He also manifests himself to be a Bethshemite, saying: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:41). Hence John the Baptist says: “He who comes from heaven is above all” (John 3:31). What then is the field of Joshua the Bethshemite, if not the delight of the contemplative life? For there both the greenness of herbs, and the fragrances of spices, and the diverse beauty of flowers are seen; because indeed the more clearly that heavenly society is beheld—what blooms incorruptibly in the angels, what flourishes unfadingly in the saints, what gives off an inviolable fragrance in virgins—the more graciously it is displayed to the eyes of those who contemplate. And rightly is this same field said to belong to the Savior; because lovers of the contemplative life, the more secretly they dwell, are more pleasing and more familiar to our Redeemer. The cart also comes into the field of Joshua the Bethshemite when the elect mind, separated from worldly concern, attends to heavenly things alone, when it already enjoys the delight of heavenly vision; because it disdains to look back upon earthly things through love. And it should be noted that this cart was said to be new, as was related not far above; because indeed a mind worn out by the oldness of sins does not deserve to be received into such great glory.

23. But the more hidden life has its delights in the pleasantness of vision, and has immense labor in the vigor of struggle; because indeed, just as we obtain divine rewards from triumph, so also we guard them by fighting strenuously. Well therefore is it added concerning the cart of Jesus coming into the field: “And it stood there.” For to stand pertains to the guarding of battle, not to the rest of peace. For the cart stood in the field; because even if the mind already inhabits the pleasant regions of that heavenly and ever-green homeland by seeing and loving, nevertheless what it delightfully possesses through the love of vision, it by no means preserves without the anxiety of unceasing care. But indeed the human mind, placed in so great a struggle, would fail, if He who strengthened human weakness in His divinity did not offer it the help of His presence. Therefore, also explaining the reason by which the cart was able to stand in the field, he added, saying: “For there was a great stone there.”

24. For by the great stone is understood the Redeemer of the human race. Concerning which stone it is said through the Psalmist: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner” (Ps. 117:22). Hence the distinguished teacher, praising, says: “Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone” (Eph. 2:20), “in whom you also, as living stones, are built up” (1 Pet. 2:5). And He is indeed called a great stone, because He is proclaimed with incomparable strength. When therefore the cart is said to have come and stood still in the field, it was added: “There was there a great stone”—so that by hidden mysteries it might signify that those devoted to the contemplative life are able to preserve such great gifts for this reason: because they are, through grace, near to Him from whom they received those same gifts.

25. What are the wood pieces of the cart of the Ark of God, if not the statements of Holy Scripture and the examples of the righteous? For the Bethshemites cut up the wood when those set over the more secluded life more subtly open the meanings of the Scriptures to the minds of their subjects, when they bring forth the more excellent examples of the Fathers for their imitation; so that the flame of heavenly love may burn all the more fervently in their hearts, the more quickly they supply the fuel of the fire, like cut-up wood. They are indeed the wood of the cart, because the mind, renewed through the grace of God, retains them through memory. Concerning these pieces of wood the holy lawgiver decrees, saying: “Fire must always be on my altar, which the priest shall feed, adding wood each morning every day” (Lev. 6:12). But because the wood is recorded as having been cut up, this more openly indicates that for those seeking the purity of the contemplative life, not common things from sacred Scripture, but rather the higher and more excellent things must be laid open; so that they may raise themselves up more powerfully in beholding lofty things, the more the nobler goods they hear please them. Hence it is also well added: “That they placed the cows upon it as a holocaust to the Lord.” For a holocaust is called a whole burning. Therefore, when the wood is cut up, holocausts are made with the cows placed upon it: because those who receive extraordinary things from the Scriptures with a devout mind, the higher they extend themselves into heavenly desires, the more nothing is left in them that is not consumed by the flame of divine love. And then indeed it is necessary for the teacher to take care that his religious subjects contemplate lofty things, and yet do not hold lofty opinions of themselves through their own estimation; lest, the higher they advance by beholding the highest things, the more dangerously they are dashed down by falling through pride. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

1 Samuel 6:15

Bede: 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. — Commentary on Samuel

Bede: 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). — Commentary on Samuel

Gregory the Dialogist: 26. The Levites are interpreted as “the assumed.” Who then are the Levites, except those who are so confirmed by divine grace that they can never be forsaken by the Holy Spirit? Indeed, the Levites set down the ark when perfect preachers admonish their subjects, so that spiritual knowledge may in no way puff them up. They also set down the box with the golden vessels when they likewise address them concerning the splendor of life, so that they may think more humbly of themselves, inasmuch as each of them has learned that our Redeemer attained the reward of His exaltation because He did not vainly think lofty things of Himself. Well therefore is it recorded that the ark was set down and the golden vessels placed upon a great stone: because amid sublime gifts, those can more truly think humbly of themselves who have learned more frequently to recall the greatness and humility of the Redeemer. For he wished to set down the ark of God and place it upon a great stone, who said: “Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and found in appearance as a man; He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:5). But those who sacrifice to God a victim of love from the hearts of their subjects through the ministry of preaching also present from their own minds far more excellent gifts of offerings. Whence it is also added: “And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices on that day unto the Lord.”

27. On what day, unless on that day on which they placed the cows as a holocaust to the Lord upon the wood of the cart? What then is that day, unless the illumination of divine preaching? For on that day the Bethshemites offer holocausts to the Lord, on that day they immolate victims when they cut the wood, when they place the cows upon it as a holocaust to the Lord; because holy preachers, by that light of the word by which they shine forth to their subjects, also furnish to themselves the office of vision for the rectitude of the heavenly journey, and despising the lowest things, through the force of love they offer themselves to almighty God all the more freely, the more they see their hearers already joined to Him in great intimacy. Because indeed the men of Bethshemesh are reported not only to have offered holocausts but also to have immolated victims, the spiritual oblation of perfect men is signified. For they offer holocausts when through the ascent of contemplation they unite themselves to almighty God with ineffable affection. But they join victims to the holocausts, because indeed they attribute the good of so great a joy not to their own merits but to divine goodness. He indeed offers a holocaust without victims who is already joined to heavenly things in great delight, yet when the movements of hidden pride arise, he by no means overcomes them through the virtue of humility. In the oblations of the perfect, therefore, holocausts and victims are described as having come together, because they are both worthy to enjoy divine sweetness, and in all that by which they already make themselves wholly heavenly, they are ignorant of pride. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

1 Samuel 6:16

Bede: 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. — Commentary on Samuel

Gregory the Dialogist: 28. The satraps of the Philistines, as I have already said above, are chosen as preachers of the Gentiles. They are indeed contained in the number five, because they preside over those who are either still unlearned in the faith or are carnal, in order to restrain the five senses of the body. They indeed accompany the cart with the ark of God, because, passing over to the pursuit of the spiritual life, they follow their already instructed disciples with the care of their solicitude. But when the cart arrived in the field of Joshua and the cows were sacrificed, they returned to Ekron: because when they have already considered the perfection of those disciples, they no longer investigate the paths of their way of life any further. They return to Ekron because they turn themselves to converting others. For Ekron in our language means “barren.” Barren also are those who either lack faith or a good way of life. And fittingly, when the princes are said to have returned, it was added: “On that day” — because unless they had recognized in them the brightness of so great a perfection, they would not have returned from their solicitude with the certainty of security. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

1 Samuel 6:17

Gregory the Dialogist: 29. What all these things signify has been set forth at length above. But what does it mean that when the debt owed to the ark is commanded to be paid for sin, five golden hemorrhoids and five mice are named together; yet when what was owed is declared to have already been paid, individual cities are reported to have each paid one separately? But they are named together above because the adornment of all members was being shown together, in the exchange of good works; but here, when the debt paid to the ark is described, it is carefully shown that individual cities offered one golden hemorrhoid each and one mouse each: so that indeed it may be suggested to the converted sinner that he should abandon sins once for all, and not seek again through habitual depravity what he has left behind. For individual cities pay back one hemorrhoid and one mouse each, when converted sinners do not repeat sins once washed away by the tears of repentance. Whence also Sacred Scripture admonishes, saying: “Do not repeat a word in your prayer” (Sirach 7:15). For he repeats a word in prayer who has tried to purge sins by prayers, yet does not cease to commit others for which he must pray. He indeed does not offer one hemorrhoid and one mouse to God for his offense: because even if he is pricked with repentance, he multiplies the foul deeds which, in confessing to God, he presents before Him. When therefore the cities of the Philistines, or individual provinces, are described as having paid back one hemorrhoid and one mouse, what else does this signify but the perfection of true conversion? For he is perfectly converted who, once he has lamented what he had done wickedly, does not repeat what he would have to lament again. Therefore he offers one hemorrhoid and one mouse for sin who so mourns past deeds committed that he perfectly guards against future ones. And because this form of conversion must be observed in the holy Church by the wise as much as by the unlearned, by the strong as much as by the weak, the payment of this debt is rightly said to extend from the walled city even to the village without a wall. For no one established within the holy Church is free to sin, for no one is it harmless to commit wicked deeds. Wherefore the Lord threatens through the prophet, saying: “The soul that sins, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). For walled cities are minds surrounded by the learning of the Holy Scriptures. But villages without a wall are simple minds. Therefore not only do individual cities pay back one golden hemorrhoid, but also villages; so that whoever is converted to a religious life, by God’s guidance, once the stench has been washed away, may not be defiled further. And because no one is so holy that he does not have in himself something foul to lament, the payment of this debt extends even to Abel the Great, upon which they had placed the ark of God. For Abel is interpreted as “mourning.” By which name, of course, the stone on which they had placed the ark of God was called. But this name indeed befits our Redeemer: because, even though He had no sins of His own to weep over, yet He purged our sins by daily prayers and weeping. There are also in the holy Church perfect men, joined to that supreme Stone by the consummation of charity. For he was united to this Stone who said: “No one separates me from the love of Christ” (Romans 8:35); let us hear whether he pays the debt to the ark: “At first,” he says, “I was a blasphemer and a persecutor” (1 Timothy 1:13). Then again confessing, he says: “I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9). It should also be noted that the debt of the ark is read to have extended to the stone which is recorded as remaining to that day in the field of Joshua, and upon which the ark of God was placed. In this matter, what else do we hold but what we observe in the holy Church: that those also make satisfaction to God for their fault who have not only been rescued from sins by the grace of God, but have also been taken up into His tabernacle through the great heights of holy virtues? — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

1 Samuel 6:18

Bede: 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?” — Commentary on Samuel

Bede: 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 (Psalms 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. — Commentary on Samuel

Bede: 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. — Commentary on Samuel

1 Samuel 6:19

Bede: “And he struck down from the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people.” [1 Samuel 6:19] This was said of those who dared to see the Ark of the Lord returned from the land of the Philistines, although they were not of the Levitical lineage: “And he struck down from the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people.” The terms “people” and “common people” are used interchangeably to signify the same thing. For both are commonly translated from the Greek term “laos.” However, there seems to be a distinction here, as the word “men” is added in the first phrase of the verse. For what your Codex reads, “seventy-two,” is entirely erroneous; for “men” refers to elders, implying that seventy of the dignitaries of the people were struck down, while fifty thousand were from the general crowd of common men; thus, to prevent this in Exodus, the people stood far off, and prayed, with only Moses ascending to the Lord (Exod. 20). — Questions on the Book of Kings #3

Bede: 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: — Commentary on Samuel

Bede: 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. — Commentary on Samuel

Gregory the Dialogist: 30. Who are the struck-down Beth-shemites, if not heretics deceived by false contemplation? For the Beth-shemites existed not in truth, but in presumption. Therefore, while they presumed to look upon the ark on the stone, they were struck down: because when they, being unworthy, scrutinized the sacraments of our Lord and Redeemer, they were cast down into the snares of eternal damnation through the deceit of their own error. But what does it mean that seventy men of the people, and fifty thousand of the common folk, were struck down? But since under the designation of “people” even the nobles of cities are included, while “the common folk” is the remaining populace without nobles, this can be gathered: that some among the heretics stood out among others as if noble, who perished by error alone while maintaining purity of works; but the rest, as if following the rusticity of the common folk, were darkened with the filth of depraved conduct along with the error of faith. Hence some are expressed by the number fifty, and others by the number seventy: because the latter carried out their conceived crimes through the five senses of the body; while the former, by falsely ascribing to themselves the gifts of the sevenfold Spirit, were buried under the eternal darkness of blindness. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

Richard Challoner: Seen: And curiously looked into. It is likely this plague reached to all the neighbouring country, as well as the city of Bethsames.

1 Samuel 6:20

Bede: 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 (Psalms 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: — Commentary on Samuel

Bede: 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. — Commentary on Samuel

Gregory the Dialogist: And because the true faithful were saddened by their striking down, there follows: “And the men of Beth-shemesh said: Who is able to stand in the sight of the Lord, this holy God?” For it is as though the true faithful, yet simple ones, were saying: If such wise men and philosophers are deceived in the knowledge of the highest truth, when can the unlearned and simple come to the knowledge of Him? But even if they lack confidence in their own measure, nevertheless they do not lack confidence that the gift of divine knowledge is present to the Church. Wherefore it is also added: “And to whom shall He go up from us?”

31. For the Lord ascends from us when that which is hidden from us concerning the knowledge of Him is preached through the voice of the chosen faithful. For His ascending from us is, as it were, to reveal to lofty hearts through humility what He has hidden from the simpler or weaker ones concerning eternal contemplation. What then does it mean to say, “To whom shall He ascend from us,” except to seek a worthy teacher who so preaches divine things that he does not stray from the way of truth? In these words also, if we seek the historical sense, we clearly recognize that those who died because they looked upon the ark of the Lord were indeed not worthy of that vision. Rightly therefore, those who behold the stricken say: “Who shall be able to stand in the presence of this holy Lord God?” For if those who are unworthy die by seeing, how shall those who handle sacred things live? The Bethshemites in the holy Church are dead priests and reprobate ministers of the sacred altar, because they are of the house of the Sun of justice by the dignity of their ministry, not by the virtue and grace of holiness. They are indeed Bethshemites, because through the office of sacred oblation they dwell in the house of God; but they are to be struck with all the sharper condemnation inasmuch as they dare not only to look upon the sacred mysteries but to handle them, inasmuch as they no longer merely gaze upon the ark of the Old Testament, but—what surpasses all—they unworthily thrust themselves upon the body and blood of the Redeemer; that they are struck down Paul indicates, saying: “He who eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment to himself” (1 Cor. 11:29). For the truly faithful say: “Who shall be able to stand in the presence of this holy Lord God?” For they consider the loftiness of so great a ministry and tremble at the dignity of so great a sacrament. But while they fear to undertake the office of so great a thing, they seek worthier persons who may be able to perform it. Whence it also follows: “And to whom shall He ascend from us?” As if, therefore, humbly fleeing the sacred mysteries, they were to say: “Because we are struck down by our weak manner of life, ministers must be sought from a higher life, whom a lofty manner of living raises to the highest sanctification of virtues, so that they may stand before God through the office of so great an oblation.” — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4

Gregory the Dialogist: 2. Because we said above that the cart is Sacred Scripture, the ark is its spiritual knowledge, and the chosen cows are elect souls, the fear of the Bethshemites, which we showed to be present in the elect at the offering of the sacrament, can also be referred to the burden of prelacy. For no lesser holiness is fit for instructing souls than for offering the sacred mysteries. And therefore the Bethshemites are said to have been struck down: because many who live well as subjects die as prelates. For the ark of God also has an outward beauty, which if a weak minister looks upon not for spiritual veneration but for worldly desire, he by no means lives. Rightly therefore the cause of their being struck is declared when it is said: “Because they looked upon the ark of God.” For what does “they looked” mean, except that by looking they coveted its glory? But now, by God’s doing, the glory of holy Church is abundant throughout the whole world. Because this glory is sought in a worldly manner by reprobate priests, the men of Beth-shemesh die by looking upon the ark of God from the outside. For they do not seek its spiritual honor for the sake of the inward glory of virtues, but so that they might seize the splendor of God’s ark and bear the radiance of ecclesiastical prelacy in the flower of the world for their own display. The ark of God is also looked upon wrongly from the outside, to one’s destruction, when wicked leaders, overcome by the outward appearance of persons under their charge, are drawn into carnal desire. The men, beholding with fear the vast multitude laid low by the weapon of desire, say: “Who shall be able to stand in the sight of the Lord, this holy God?” For he stands in the sight of God who is strong in the order of divine ministry. Indeed, to stand is a matter of fortitude; to minister is a matter of service. He is therefore said to stand in the sight of God who arranges the order of heavenly office at the height of a worthy way of life; who in the ministry he performs is deceived by no appetite for ecclesiastical honor, and is overcome by no carnal desire. But because such fit ministers are rarely found, they rightly say: “Who shall be able to stand in the sight of the Lord, this holy God?” And because the little ones of Christ leave so great a burden to stronger men, they add: “And to whom shall it go up from us?” Now, how they sent to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, how they brought the ark of God into the house of Abinadab, and how they sanctified Eleazar, we do not change from what was set forth above. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 5

1 Samuel 6:21

Gregory the Dialogist: 32. Kiriath-jearim is called their city. What is the city of the saints, if not that Jerusalem which is above? Who then are its inhabitants, if not perfect men separated from the love of the world by their lofty manner of life? Of whom indeed one, more effective than the rest, says: “Our conversation is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). To these, of course, messengers must be sent to receive the ark of God: because for the election of priests, holy men must not only be received but also invited. And it should be noted that to these more exalted men it is said through messengers: Come down and bring it back. For they come down because they obey: for they would by no means come down if they refused with a proud mind to render what brotherly love seeks from them. Then indeed they are truly exalted, when they do not withdraw themselves from Christ; when they do not reject what is imposed upon them by the judgment of their brethren. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4