Homilies on Judges 5.1–6.6

We pass from questions to questions and from mysteries to mysteries; and while we explain each of the first with effort and difficulty, harder things follow on the hard ones, which need not so much eloquence of mind as the inspiration of divine grace. For without doubt the hearer looks for something profitable, since it is the judgment of the apostle Paul, who says: "All Scripture inspired by God is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness." What, then, this Scripture contains in itself, which we certainly confess to be inspired by God as well, that may serve us for teaching, for reproof, for discipline, for righteousness, must be inquired into more carefully. For what does it bring us if we read what has been recited, namely that "Deborah," it says, "a woman prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, judged Israel at that time; and Deborah," it says, "sat under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel, in the hill country of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went up to her to be judged"? And then, what learning, or teaching, or righteousness do the things that follow bring us, about Barak, or about Jael, or about Sisera, the commander of the army?

Let us see, then, whether through these things too, as through the other Scriptures, we may be taught something worthy about the more hidden mysteries. First, this very fact: although very many men are said to have been judges in Israel, of none of them is it said that he was a prophet, except of the woman Deborah. Even the first face of the letter itself gives no small comfort in this to the female sex, and encourages women by no means to despair, because of the weakness of their sex, of being able to become capable of the grace of prophecy, but to understand and believe that it is purity of mind, not difference of sex, that merits this grace. But let us see what hidden thing of inner understanding breathes here as well. Deborah means "bee" or "speech." We have already said above that Deborah is to be taken as the figure of prophecy, which is the bee. For it is certain that all prophecy brings together the sweet honeycombs of heavenly teaching and the sweet honey of the divine word. That is why David sang, saying: "How sweet are your words to my throat, more than honey and the honeycomb to my mouth!" And again elsewhere he says that the judgments of God are more precious than gold and much precious stone, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.

But let us also consider where prophecy is said to sit and where its place is described as being. "Under a palm tree," it says, "between Ramah and Bethel." Prophecy has its seat under a palm tree, because, as David says, "the righteous will flourish like a palm tree," in that prophecy leads the one it has trained by its instruction to "the palm of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." And it is said to sit between Ramah and Bethel. Ramah means "heights," Bethel "house of God." See in what places prophecy is said to sit: between the heights and the house of God. For nothing low, nothing abject, nothing mean can be found near the seat of prophecy; just as Solomon too, describing the seat of wisdom, says of her that she stands at the gates of cities, or dwells on the ramparts of walls, or acts freely on high towers. In this way, then, prophecy, which is now described in Deborah, is said to dwell between the house of God and the heights. For it does not teach us to seek the things that are on earth, but the things that are in heaven and on high, "where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God"; there prophecy urges us to ascend, there it labours to set its disciples.

"She, then, first of all," it says, "sent and called Barak to her." Barak means "a flash of lightning." A flash of lightning has light, but light that does not last; it shines for a short time and is gone. This Barak, then, seems to me to bear the figure of the former people, which was called first of all through prophecy and invited to hear the words of God and to receive the gifts of the divine law; it shone indeed, and flashed for a short time with the splendour of the law, but it did not last long and could not keep a continuous brightness of light. When Deborah, then, had said to Barak, that is, prophecy to the former people, "The Lord God of Israel has commanded you: go up to Mount Tabor and take ten thousand men," and the rest that is written, let us see what Barak answered prophecy in the person of the people: "I will not go up," he says, "unless you go up with me, because I do not know the day on which the Lord will send his angel with me." You see, then, how prophecy brought the words of God to that former people and tells them that commands have been given them to go up the mountain; but they make excuses and say, "I will not go up unless you also go up with me." And what they say in excuse is true, but what they promise is false. That they did not go up the mountain of God is true; but that they promise they will go up with prophecy is false. For they did not follow prophecy so as to believe in Christ, of whom all prophecy wrote beforehand. That is why Deborah says to him: "I will go with you. But know that the first place will not be yours on this road on which you are walking, but the Lord will hand Sisera over into the hand of a woman." She shows plainly that the first place will not be with that people, nor will the palm of victory remain with it, but Sisera will be handed over into the hand of a woman whose name is Jael. It is described how, at Deborah's (that is, prophecy's) urging, Barak pursued Sisera, the prince of the Philistines; and he himself could not catch him, but a foreign woman, Jael, met him as he fled, a woman who had earlier had a pact of friendship with him. When he turned aside to her to hide, he asked for water to drink, but she gave him milk to drink. And when she had placed him in hiding and covered him with skins, after this she drove a tent peg with a hammer through his jaws or cheeks and fixed it there. And then, meeting Barak as he pursued, she showed him Sisera already dead and laid low.

What mystery, then, does this whole text of the history show us? Jael, the foreign woman, of whom prophecy said that the victory would be won by the hand of a woman, bears the figure of the church, which has been gathered from foreign nations. Jael means "ascent," because truly there is no other ascent by which one goes up to heaven except through the church of the manifold wisdom of God. She it is, then, who, while she ascends from bodily things to spiritual ones and from earthly to heavenly, has killed Sisera, who, as we said above, bears the figure of the fleshly vices and of the natural or senseless man, since Sisera means "vision of a horse." Of this Scripture says: "Do not become like the horse and the mule, which have no understanding." She killed him, then, with a tent peg, that is, she lays him low by the sharp point and the power of the wood of the cross. And not without reason is she described as having pierced his jaw with the peg. For that mouth which spoke of fleshly things, and that teaching which set the glory of the flesh first, because it persuaded the wise of this world that one must live in luxury and pleasure, and had deceived the human race with the flattery of indulgence: that mouth, I say, is pierced and bored through by the wood of the cross. For the way of pleasure which philosophy had preached as broad and wide, Christ has shown us to be the narrow and strait way of salvation. So Jael, that is, the church, having covered Sisera, the prince of vices, with skins, that is, having lulled him to sleep by the mortification of the members, handed him over to eternal sleep. Then Jael, that is, the church, after this also meets the former people, as it pursues Sisera. For Israel pursued "the law of righteousness but did not attain to the law." The church, then, meets it too, shows it her work, shows it the victory accomplished, and invites it into fellowship in the fallen enemy. For what the apostle says will happen at the last time is true: that "when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved." The first place, then, is in the hand of the foreign woman; yet Barak too is not shut out from a share in the glory, he who began first but came last to the end. Indeed, while he was arriving, the foreign Jael in a way snatched the victory as it passed by. The same figure went before in the brothers Esau and Jacob. For while Esau was hunting game and lingering in the woods, Jacob forestalled him and, offering his father food prepared on the counsel of a woman, that is, his mother, received the first place of the blessing. So too in the Gospel, as the Lord went to raise the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, the woman who suffered from a flow of blood forestalled him and by her faithful touch obtained healing first.

But if attentive hearers think something must also be asked about the statement that she gave him milk to drink when he had asked for water, let us see whether something of this kind can be shown about this too, according to the mystical or allegorical interpretations of the law. In the holy Scriptures the food of milk is said to be that first moral instruction which is handed on to beginners, as to little children. For at the beginning disciples must not at once be taught about the deep and more hidden mysteries; rather, correction of morals, amendment of discipline, and the first elements of a religious way of life and of simple faith are handed on to them. This is the church's milk; these are the first elements of little children for beginners. But this food gives life and salvation to those who have the purpose of advancing toward the good; to those, however, who love the opposite, whose heart is set on luxury, lust, avarice, and every impiety, teaching of this kind brings death and destruction. So it comes about that by the very same foods by which the good are nourished, the wicked are choked; and where the godly find life, the ungodly find death. In short, to make what we say plainer by an example: wine helps those who are healthy and living comfortably, and, as Scripture says, it surely "gladdens the heart of man"; but for those with fever, if they take it, it straightway brings ruin and death. So it comes about that one and the same thing, taken in the same way, brings life to one and death to another. In this way, then, it must be understood that this Sisera, the natural man and prince of vices, was destroyed by the teaching of the church, which he did not receive in faith. But let each soul too take pains to lull to sleep and destroy Sisera in itself with the milk of the Gospel and the apostles. For if anyone, taught by these, has put to death his members that are on earth, avarice, sexual immorality, and the other things the holy apostle lists, he will be seen to have slain Sisera in himself, so as to show that these things are fulfilled not only in the person of the church but also in each one's own soul. For, as we have said, Sisera began to be pursued by the former people but was slain by a woman, the church of the Gentiles, and the palm of victory was given into her hand. At the consummation of all things, that is, at the end of the age, a song will also be sung to the Lord through Deborah, in which the first place will be given to Jael, the church of the Gentiles; yet Deborah's praise will not be silent, but the reward of victory will be given both to the first and to the last, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Sisera, with his army and the iron chariots with which he attacks the people of God, has been overcome, as prophecy foretold through Deborah that it would be. And after the victory was won by the hand of a woman, Deborah is recorded to have sung this song, as the praise of her victory. But if we remember what was said above according to the mystical figure, what Deborah figures, what Barak figures, what image the woman Jael bears, who alone threw down the adversary of the people of God, and what too is the image of Sisera himself, who was laid low by a foreign woman by the power of the wood, we understand that all these are mysteries that are accomplished through the church in the last times and at the end of the age; and that in this song is written, as it were, her song of victory, that is, the praise of her victory, namely of that time when "the last enemy, death, will be destroyed." For then Deborah will exult, that is, the glory of prophecy will exult, because what it foretold has been fulfilled. Then Jael, that is, the church, will overcome the common enemy of all; and after "the fullness of the Gentiles has come in," then Barak too, that is, the remnant of Israel, "will be saved" and be received into the fellowship of the victory. Then, if we are worthy, we too shall sing this song, full of mystical and prophetic mysteries, all of which there is not time to discuss one by one. For the hearers of the church love brevity. Yet, by discussing a few points about its beginning, or picking a few little flowers from it here and there, we shall try to bring some comfort to the hearers, or to train ourselves and meditate, so that we may be made fit to sing the song of Deborah.

"When the leaders in Israel began, in the willingness of the people, bless the Lord." Let the blessing, it says, with which we bless the Lord be at the beginning by the leaders in Israel, and then also in the willingness of the people. For example: when we first begin to come to the worship of God, when we receive the beginning of the word of God and of the church's heavenly teaching, we must take these beginnings from the leaders of Israel. By the leaders of Israel, that is, of the Christian people, I think we should understand the angels, who the Lord says are present to each of the least in the church, and who are also said always to see the face of the Father who is in heaven. They, then, are the leaders, and from them we must take our beginnings. For example: if a boy goes to school, he is received by a master and becomes that teacher's pupil, but he does not at once begin learning from the master himself; rather, when he has received only the first elements from him, he is handed over to others to be taught, the "leaders," so to speak, of that school, so that, when he has been taught by them as far as they can, and has put off his first rudiments with them, then at last he may receive the more perfect precepts of the teacher himself. In this way, then, prophecy, going back over the beginnings of our instruction, says that when we have begun with the leaders, or the leaders have begun to work in us, we should then follow with our own will and purpose, and, increased by progress, so come at last to bless the Lord himself. But let us see what it says: "When the leaders in Israel began." Beginnings are said to be helped by the leaders; but after this we must strive by our own will and purpose, so that we may be worthy to bless the Lord. For when the people of Israel too were beginning to go out of Egypt and cross the Red Sea, nothing was done by their own labour, but everything through the leaders, that is, through the angels. So Moses says to the people: "You will be silent, and the Lord will fight for you." For the destroying angel is plainly described as having fought for them, who killed the firstborn of the Egyptians but did not let even a beast of the Israelites make a sound. Yet we must not always expect angels to fight for us; only "when they begin," that is, at our beginnings, are we helped by the angels as leaders. But in the course of time we ourselves too must go out armed to the battles. For before we learn wars, before we set ourselves to prepare the Lord's battles, we are supported by the angels as leaders; before we obtain the ration of heavenly bread and are filled with the flesh of the spotless Lamb, before we are made drunk with the blood of the true vine that came up from the root of David, while we are little children and are fed with milk and hold to the word of the beginnings of Christ, we live like little children under guardians and stewards, the angels. But when we have tasted the mysteries of heavenly warfare and have been refreshed with the bread of life, hear how we are roused to battle by the apostolic trumpet. For Paul cries to us with a mighty voice, saying: "Put on the armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." He no longer lets us hide as if under the wings of nurses; he invites us to the fields of combat. "Put on," he says, "the breastplate of love, and take the helmet of salvation, and also the sword," he says, "of the Spirit, and above all the shield of faith, with which," he says, "you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one." You see, then, how everything is done in order, and nothing confused, nothing disordered or back to front, is done among the people of God. "When they begin," the leaders help; when you have been helped and taught by the leaders, then do of your own accord and by your own will what you have learned from the leaders. For when the beginnings have been properly mastered and the rudiments put off, we are entrusted to our own will, so that either the praise of merit may be ours, gained by our own virtue, or the blame may rightly be ours, which comes through our own sloth. So much for what is written: "When the leaders in Israel began, in the willingness of the people, bless the Lord."

After this it says: "Hear, O kings, and give ear, O satraps. I will sing to the Lord, I will make music to the God of Israel." "Hear," it says, "O kings." It calls kings those who are called together to hear the word of God. Exult, people of God, hearing the marks of your nobility. You are called to hear the word of God, and you are called not as common folk but as a king. For it has been said to you: "A royal and priestly race, a people for God's possession." Because you are kings, therefore, our King, Christ the Lord, is rightly called "King of kings and Lord of lords." But just as you exult in the title of your nobility, so you must learn by what conduct each of you becomes a king. I will define it for you briefly. What makes you king of all is that Christ reigns in you. For "king" (rex) is named from "ruling" (regendo). If, then, the mind reigns in you and the body obeys, if you put the desires of the flesh under the yoke of your rule, if you restrain the nations of the vices with the tighter reins of your sobriety, you are rightly called a king, since you know how to rule yourself rightly. When you have become such, you will be worthily called, as a king, to hear the divine words. But what follows indicates something more bodily, when it says: "Give ear, all you satraps." For as satraps are lower than kings, so giving ear seems to be lower than hearing. For hearing belongs to the inner man, as the Lord also said: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." But giving ear belongs to the outward and bodily hearing. That is why here too those who ought to hear are called kings, while those who give ear are called satraps. "I will sing to the Lord, I will make music to the God of Israel." Blessed are those who can sing a song to the Lord. When we go back to the Scriptures, we find many songs committed to the sacred volumes. We have a whole volume written of the Song of Songs. See, in this book of Judges too we have a song; a song is written in Numbers, and in Deuteronomy, and in Exodus, and in the first book of Kingdoms. In the first book of Chronicles too, and in many other places, you will find divine songs set down. This voice of the righteous, then, says: "I will sing to the Lord, I will make music to the God of Israel." Who, do you think, has so tuneful a voice, so pure a spirit and so sincere a mind, that his song can delight the divine hearing? Surely the one who has in himself no hoarse sound of sin, who carries no stumbling in his tongue and no coarseness in his spirit: he can say, "I will sing to the Lord, I will make music to the God of Israel."

But since we cannot explain the continuous text of the song point by point, let us at least, skipping through the order of the reading, see what it means when it says: "My heart is toward the things that have been ordained for Israel." It seems to say this: my heart, my soul, my sense, and my whole mind are intent on that and look toward that which has been ordained and prepared for Israel; with my whole mind I look toward what is to come. For if I set my mind on that, I shall count all things in this world as dung, that I may gain Christ, who has prepared "what eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man," for those who love him. "My heart," then, it says, "reaches toward those things." For I no longer carry a human heart, nor do I think what I think according to man; but since, according to Scripture, those to whom the word of God comes are gods, I too look toward these things not with a human mind but with a divine one.

"You mighty of the people, bless the Lord, you who have mounted upon beasts of burden." What is it to have mounted upon a beast of burden? This body of mine is a beast of burden (iumentum), for it was given for help (adiumentum) and for service; and I, that is, the inner man, am the one who has mounted upon this beast, to whom it is said that I should bless the Lord. If, then, you have truly mounted above the body and become superior to bodily desires, and the movements of your body are governed by the reins of the mind and the direction of the inner man, it is said of you that you have mounted upon this beast, to whom it is said that you should bless the Lord. But what follows? "Sitting," it says, "upon carriages and upon shining she-asses." What can the shining she-asses be? For Scripture says that those who sit upon carriages and upon shining she-asses ought to bless the Lord. In passages so difficult something like this seems right to me: when this beast of burden, that is, my body, has come under the yoke of the word of God, then the carriage of my body will begin to shine; and this she-ass, that is, my flesh, will be said to shine when it has been adorned with the splendour of chastity and modesty. And so the soul is rightly said to bless the Lord sitting upon a shining she-ass, and to praise God "in the midst of those who rejoice." "There they will render righteous deeds to the Lord." That sacrifice is acceptable to the Lord which is offered to the Lord in righteousness and equity. And so it is said: "The righteous have been strengthened in Israel." Among other nations, those who are stronger in bodily might are called mighty in battle; but in Israel those who are more righteous are called mightier in wars, because righteousness, even if weak in strength, conquers, while unrighteousness, even if it has many strong fighters, is overcome. So, then, in this nation of ours, that is, among the people of God, we conquer by righteousness or are conquered by unrighteousness.

"Arise, Deborah, arise, and rouse the tens of thousands of the people." When does prophecy arise? Surely at the coming of the Lord; and not only does it arise itself, but it also rouses the peoples to believe. "Lead captivity captive, son of Abinoam." Abinoam means "the father's answer." His son is Barak. He will take captivity from the enemies who has kept the answers of the heavenly Father. "Lord, humble for me those stronger than I." This is the voice of the faithful, who simply confess that their enemies, against whom we have battle and struggle, are stronger: "for our battle is not against flesh and blood." Otherwise our adversary would not be stronger. But since "our struggle is against principalities and powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness," therefore the prophet says: "Lord, humble for me those stronger than I." For how could so great a force of spirits not be far more powerful than human frailty? But God helps our weakness in that of which the apostle says: "I can do all things in him who strengthens me, Christ." These powers are indeed stronger than we are; but again, he who is in us, Christ, who strengthens us, is stronger than all, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.