Demonstrations 3.6–4.5

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

But if Jezebel, who did not keep the law, took and chose from the law itself what might serve her in her injustice, you, impious men, sons of Jezreel, how did you accept letters in which a fast of iniquity, false testimony, and the shedding of blood were set down? In what age did you ever hear: "Keep a fast and shed innocent blood"? Why did you not rather reject the evil letters with their false testimony? Therefore a just judgment was repaid to Ahab and Jezebel for the innocent blood of Naboth that they shed; and to the sons of Jezreel, because they obeyed Jezebel, a just judgment was likewise rendered. For Hosea prophesies and says: "Yet a little while and I will require blood upon the house of Jehu." Jehu required Naboth's blood at the hand of Jezebel and of the house of Ahab, and he killed the sons of Jezreel in the house of Baal. So the blood of Naboth came upon them, as Jehu said on that day of retribution: "Yesterday evening I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons." For retribution befell him; and the fast that the sons of Jezreel kept was turned into condemnation.

[7] The Ninevites also kept a pure fast when Jonah preached repentance to them. For it is written that, hearing Jonah's preaching, they proclaimed a constant fast and continual supplication, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. They took off their soft garments and were covered with sackcloth instead. They kept the infants from their mothers' breasts and the flocks and herds from the pastures. For Scripture says this: "The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne, laid aside his crown, sat on sackcloth, and sprinkled himself with ashes. And he had it proclaimed in Nineveh, his city, saying: By order of the king and his nobles, let neither man nor beast taste anything or graze, and let them not even drink water. But let man and beast be clothed with sackcloth, and let them cry to God with groaning, that he may turn his wrath and fury from us, that we may not perish." And Scripture continues: "God saw their works, that they turned from their very evil ways, and he turned his wrath from them and did not destroy them." It does not say, "He saw the fast of bread and water with sackcloth and ashes," but: "that they turned from their evil ways and from the wickedness of their works." For this reason the king of Nineveh had proclaimed: "Let each man turn from his evil way and from the iniquity that is in his hands." See, this is pure fasting; and so the fast the Ninevites kept was accepted, after they turned from their very evil ways and from the iniquity of their hands. The pure fast that the Ninevites fulfilled was well pleasing, and it was not like the fast of the Jezreelites, in which innocent blood was shed.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

For always, my beloved, the fast by which one abstains from iniquities has been excellent; it is better than the fast of bread and water, better than if one lays himself down, or bows his neck like a hook, and puts sackcloth and ashes on himself, as Isaiah says. For when someone fasts from bread and water and all foods, when he spreads sackcloth and ashes under him and afflicts himself, he becomes pleasing, good, and acceptable; but it will be much better if he humbles his soul, looses the bonds of wickedness, and breaks the bundles of fraud: then his light breaks forth like the sun, his righteousness goes before him, and he is like a rejoicing garden and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail; and he is not like the hypocrites who darken their faces, disfigure their looks, and openly display their fast.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

But consider [the followers] of the false teachings, which are instruments of the evil one: they fast and confess sins, but they have no one to give the reward. For who will repay a reward to Marcion, who does not confess our good Maker? Who will reward the fasting of Valentinus, who preaches that his makers were many and says that the perfect God cannot be named by the mouth or searched out by the mind? And who will pay a reward to the sons of darkness, the school of the impious Mani, who like serpents dwell in darkness and practise the arts of the Chaldeans and the teachings of Babylon? All these fast indeed, but their fast is not accepted.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

But listen, my friend, and I will show you the acceptable fast that Mordecai and Esther fasted, which became a shield of salvation for all the children of their people, by which they also beat back the pride of Haman their troubler. His iniquity was turned upon his own head, and his evil counsels were turned back on himself. He was judged by the judgment with which he had wished to judge; the measure with which he meant to measure was measured to him; and what he planned to do happened to him. He was bound by the snare of his own sins; the riches in which he boasted did not go with him, and his wisdom did not save him. Because he was skilful in evil, his pride was brought low, his glory departed from him, his splendour was overthrown, and his strength humbled; he was struck by the blow he wished to inflict, and destroyed by the ruin he planned to bring, because he intended to kill all the Jews who were under the rule of King Ahasuerus. The fast of Mordecai and Esther became a shield that caught Haman's arrows. Haman himself was caught in his iniquity; the deadly sword pierced his own heart; his bow, bent for sin, was broken, as it is written against the wicked: "Let their sword enter their own hearts, and let their bows be broken." This was fulfilled against Haman when, the gallows having been set up for Mordecai and his children, Haman himself was hanged with his sons. He was caught in the pit he had made, entangled in the net he had hidden; his trap was sprung against himself; he fell into the snares of iniquity and perished for ever.

[11] But why, my beloved, did Haman ask and demand of the king that all the Jews should perish? Only because he was striving to avenge the children of his people and to blot out the name of the Israelites, as the memory of Amalek was blotted out under heaven. For Haman was a survivor of the Amalekites, for it is written that Haman was the son of Hammedatha the Agagite. While he was being raised in honour with King Ahasuerus, Mordecai sat all day at the king's gate because of his ward Esther, who had been brought in and had pleased King Ahasuerus above all the virgins her companions; and she went in and sat in the place of Queen Vashti; and Mordecai sat daily at the king's gate as the first. Haman was third from the king and honoured in all his kingdom; and all who were at the king's gates bowed down and did him homage when they saw Haman. But Mordecai did not rise in his presence; so for that reason he wished to take vengeance on the children of his people and to repay the vengeance of the Amalekites. For Haman traced his descent from Agag, king of Amalek, the one whom Saul brought back and Samuel hewed in pieces before the Lord. But Mordecai was of the stock of Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin and the sons of Kish. Because Saul had destroyed the Amalekites, Haman wished to avenge his people on Israel and the slaughter of Agag on Mordecai. But the madman did not know that it had been decreed against Amalek that its memory should be blotted out under heaven. For it is written in the holy law: "The Lord said to Moses: Tell Joshua the son of Nun to choose men for himself and go into battle against Amalek." And Joshua armed himself and fought against Amalek, and Amalek was overcome by the sign of the cross, when Moses stretched out his hands. But when those who had gone out to battle were killed, some were left surviving in their houses. Then the Lord said to Moses: "Write a book of remembrance and set it before Joshua the son of Nun; for I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." But God was long-suffering toward the Amalekites, in case they might hear what is written in the holy books of God, "I will utterly blot out the Amalekites," and return to him, and he turn to them. For if they had repented, the same turning would have taken place as for the Ninevites, who, when God threatened them with destruction, openly showed repentance, and he turned his wrath away from them; in the same way as a covenant was granted to the Gibeonites, who did not perish with the Canaanites; and as repentance was granted to Rahab because she believed, so repentance would have been granted to the Amalekites if they had believed, while for four hundred years he dealt patiently with them. But only after that span of time, when he saw that they did not repent, his wrath came upon them, and he recalled all that Moses had set down in his holy book. For when Saul was raised to the kingdom, God said to Samuel: "Tell him that I remember all that Amalek did to you when you came out of Egypt and attacked you with the sword. Now go and destroy the wicked Amalek." And Saul went and struck Amalek; but because he showed mercy to Amalek he was rejected from his kingdom, for he left a survivor of them. Now that Haman came from the house of that Agag whom Saul had spared; but Mordecai belonged to the stock of Saul, who had destroyed the family of Agag.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

There are some, my beloved, who reproach Mordecai, saying: "Why did he not rise before Haman, who was honoured by the whole kingdom? What harm would he have suffered if he had shown him honour?" They add further: "If Mordecai had risen before Haman, he would not have devised this evil against Mordecai and the children of his people." But one who speaks so does not grasp what the matter means. Mordecai did this as a righteous man and one who kept the law. He did not rise in the presence of the wicked Haman because he looked to Saul, the founder of his family, who, because he had pity on King Agag, the forefather of the impious Haman, was cast down from his kingdom, and wrath came upon him. Likewise wrath would have come upon Mordecai, as it rose against Saul, if he had shown honour to Haman, a worthless man.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

But for what reason, my beloved, had Amalek, above the other peoples, gone out to meet Israel in battle? This is surely what Amalek devised: "Let us go out and destroy the sons of Jacob and overturn the blessings of Isaac"; for he feared servitude to the sons of Jacob. For Isaac had said to Esau: "You will serve Jacob your brother; but if you turn back, his yoke will be taken from your neck." You should know that Amalek was the son of a concubine of Eliphaz, the son of Esau; so he did not wish to serve the sons of Jacob. And why, my friend, had Isaac said to Esau, "You will serve Jacob your brother"? The word itself shows it: because Esau had taken his wives from the daughters of Canaan, whom Noah his father had cursed. For Noah had said to him: "You will be a servant of servants to your brothers." So Abraham and Isaac, knowing that the Canaanites were cursed, did not take their daughters as wives for their sons. Abraham by no means took such a wife for Isaac, nor Isaac for Jacob, lest the cursed seed of the Canaanites be mixed with the offspring of Shem, whom Noah had blessed. Therefore Amalek, son of Eliphaz, son of Esau, wished to make void the curses of Noah and the blessings of Isaac, and to attack the sons of Jacob. So with good reason God wrote against Amalek that their memory would be destroyed by the sons of Rachel. First Joshua the son of Nun, of the tribe of Joseph, fought against them; afterwards Saul, of the sons of Benjamin. Finally Mordecai finished off their remnant by his fasting. For of all the sons of Esau, Amalek [alone] wished to contend with the sons of Jacob, and his memory was wiped out. See how, through the fast of Mordecai and Esther, Haman was cast down from his rank, the remnant of the Amalekites perished, Mordecai took over Haman's office and became great in the whole empire of Ahasuerus, while Queen Esther was set in the place of Vashti.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

Daniel too kept an acceptable fast for three weeks of days for his people, that their time in Babylon might not be prolonged beyond seventy years. And by his fast of twenty-one days he was counted worthy to be heard before his God. In those same days Gabriel, who always receives prayers, rose to his aid; Michael, their Prince, also came to help with Gabriel, and both withstood the Prince of Persia for twenty-one days; and [Gabriel] brought help to Daniel in his fast. You should know, my beloved, that Gabriel is the one who receives prayers before God. Therefore Gabriel stood by Daniel as he prayed, strengthened him, and said to him: "Your prayer has been heard before God, and I have come because of your words." And he encouraged him, saying: "Be strong, man of desires." And as he came to him in the prayer of his fast, so too Gabriel presented the prayers of Zechariah to God when he announced to him the birth of John. For he said to him: "Your prayer has been heard before God." Likewise he offered Mary's prayers to God and brought her the good news of the birth of Christ, saying: "You have found grace before God." And Mary found grace in no other way than by her fasting and prayer. So Gabriel received pure prayers and presented them before God. But Michael was the Prince of the children of Israel; for of him [God] said to Moses: "See, I send my angel before you, and he will crush the Amorites who are in the land before your face." He is also the one who showed himself to the donkey of Balaam, when he went to curse Israel; he again who appeared to Joshua the son of Nun with a drawn sword in the plain of Jericho; when Joshua saw him he thought he was one of the enemy and said to him: "Are you ours or of our adversaries?" Michael said to him: "I am the Prince of the hosts of the Lord, and now I come"; and he himself overthrew the walls of Jericho before Joshua the son of Nun; he also struck thirty-one kings before him; he crushed a thousand thousand Ethiopians before Asa; he too killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. And when the children of Israel went to Babylon, he went with them and fought for them …

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

But why, my beloved, did Daniel fast these three weeks of days, praying and making supplication to the Lord, when it is not written that he had fasted before? … the seventy years of the overthrow of Jerusalem, which Jeremiah the prophet had foretold … because of their sins, longer than seventy … Gabriel with Michael, their Prince. For that Michael was to have rest among them when they returned to their land … he helped, so that the fruits of their prayers in the sanctuary might be multiplied … entrusted, from the impious [Prince] of Persia … might rejoice in them. See then how Daniel's excellent fast prevailed and, at the fullness of the seventy years, turned back the captivity of his people.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

But the Captain of our hosts is greater than Gabriel, more excellent than Michael, stronger than the Prince of Persia; for he is our Life-giver, our Lord Jesus Christ, who came, put on our mortality, and suffered and was tempted in the body he took from us, so that he could help those who are tempted. For he fasted for us and overcame our adversary, and he commanded us to fast and keep watch at all times, so that through the power of pure fasting we may come to his rest.

Here ends the Demonstration on Fasting.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

Purity of heart is a prayer more excellent than any prayers uttered with a loud voice; and silence joined to cleanness of mind surpasses the sound of a man who shouts. Now then, my beloved, give me your attention and thought, and hear the power of pure prayer. See how the righteous of old, our fathers, became illustrious before God through their prayer, and how it became for them a pure sacrifice. For through prayer sacrifices were accepted. Prayer turned back the flood; it healed barrenness; it routed armies; it revealed mysteries; it opened the sea and divided the Jordan; it held back the sun and made the moon stand still; it destroyed the unclean; it brought down fire; it shut up the heavens; it brought up from the pit, rescued from the fire, and saved from the sea. The power of prayer accomplishes very much, just as the power of pure fasting is very great; and what I have already set out and shown you in the previous discourse about pure fasting, I will not be slow to show again about prayer.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

First of all, Abel's sacrifice was accepted before God because of the purity of his heart, and Cain's sacrifice was rejected. But how do we learn that Abel's sacrifice was accepted and Cain's spurned? How did Abel know that his offering had been accepted, and Cain that his was rejected? This I will teach you as well as I can. Know, my beloved, that whether a sacrifice was accepted by God was recognized in this: fire sent down from heaven consumed the sacrifice. So when Abel and Cain set out their offerings together, the living fire, the minister of God, came down and licked up Abel's pure offering; but it did not come near Cain's offering, since it was impure. From this Abel knew that his offering was accepted, and Cain in turn that his was rejected. Then from the very fruits of Cain's heart it was shown, and testimony was given against him, that he was full of deceit, when he killed his brother; for his hands brought forth what his thought had conceived. But the purity of Abel's heart was his prayer.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

I want to show you, my beloved, that all accepted sacrifices were [consumed] by fire. So when Manoah, Samson's father, offered a sacrifice, the living fire came and licked around it, and the angel who was speaking with Manoah went up to heaven in the flame. Abraham too, when God confirmed to him the promise of the son to be born to him, was told: "Set out for yourself a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a turtledove also, and a young pigeon." When Abraham had sacrificed them, cut them in two, and laid each part opposite the other, a deep sleep fell on him; darkness came, and fire came down, passed between the parts, and burned up Abraham's sacrifice. So also the living fire came down and consumed the sacrifices offered in the Tabernacle of the covenant. And likewise, with the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, who despised the service of the sacrifice, fire came down as usual at the time of sacrifice; and when it did not find their sacrifices clean, it did not touch them. Seeing that the sacrifice was not consumed, they brought strange fire to burn it, so as not to be rebuked by Moses [with the words]: "Why has the sacrifice not been burned?" So the strange fire burned the sacrifice; but that heavenly fire burned them themselves, and the Lord was sanctified in them, because they had despised his service. And when two hundred and fifty men rebelled against Moses and offered censers without command, fire was ordered to come down from the presence of the Lord, and it consumed them; and their censers were made holy by their death. So too Solomon, when he built the temple, offered sacrifices and victims; and he prayed, and fire came down from heaven and devoured the fat of the burnt offerings on the altar. So also fire came down and devoured the sacrifice Elijah made, and it was accepted like Abel's offering; but the sacrifice of the servants of Baal was rejected like Cain's sacrifice. I have written this whole argument about fire to you so that you might see clearly that Abel's sacrifice was consumed by fire.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

Now hear, my beloved, how much power appeared in that pure prayer. Abraham prayed, and he brought back spoil from five kings; the barren woman bore a child through his prayer; and by the power of his prayer he received the promise that in his seed the nations would be blessed. Isaac too showed the power of prayer when he prayed for Rebecca and she bore children; and again for Abimelech, and wrath was restrained from him.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

Likewise Jacob our father prayed at Bethel and saw the gate of heaven opened and a ladder leading on high. And what Jacob saw is a mystery of our Savior. The gate of heaven is Christ, [as he said: "I am the gate] of life; whoever enters through me will live for ever." David also said: "[This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous] enter [through it]." And the ladder that Jacob saw is a mystery of our Savior, by whom righteous people ascend from below to above. It is moreover a mystery of the cross of our Savior, which was set up like a ladder, and at the top of which the Lord stood. For above Christ is the Lord of all, as the blessed Apostle said: "The head of Christ is God." Jacob called that place Bethel, and there Jacob set up a stone pillar as a witness and poured anointing oil on its top. And by these stones that received anointing Jacob our father foreshadowed another mystery: the peoples who have believed in Christ, behold, they are the ones who are anointed, as John says of them: "From these stones God can raise up children to Abraham." So by Jacob's prayer the mystery of the calling of the nations was prefigured.