Homilies on Joshua — Homily 11
Latin source: Origen, In Iesu Nave homiliae (Rufinus's Latin translation), from the public-domain critical text of W. A. Baehrens, GCS 30 = Origenes Werke VII (Leipzig, 1921); cross-checked against Migne PG 12. This English translation is released into the public domain.On the helps of Jesus by which he aided the Gibeonites; and how he made "the sun stand still, and the moon."
[§1] For those who join themselves to the children of Israel, all those who before were friends, after the friendship and intimacy with the children of Israel become enemies. The Gibeonites, who had received a covenant of peace from the children of Israel, the Jebusite king of Jerusalem — having invited four other kings along with himself — attacks in order to overpower. But the Gibeonites, seeing that five kings had conspired against them for battle, put no confidence whatever in their own strength and forces, but "send to Jesus" begging for help. And he, by divine permission, is present with the Gibeonites to bring them aid. Here now marvels are displayed from heaven. The Lord rains down stones of hail from above and lays waste the army of the five kings who were fighting against Jesus. But then Jesus, seeing the divine right hand doing battle alongside him and all things proceeding with prosperous success, lifts up to heaven a certain new and wondrous prayer, saying: "Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon, until I overpower this people. And the sun and the moon stood still in their place, until the Lord utterly vanquished their enemies. And the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not advance toward its setting for the space of one whole day. There was no day like this before this, nor did God so hearken to a man, because the Lord fought for Israel. And those five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave in Makkedah." These miracles of divine power, wrought indeed according to the history, proclaim themselves to all the ages and need no interpretation from outside, in which the light of the deeds flashes forth. Yet let us inquire what spiritual understanding these things may contain.[§2] When the human soul has joined itself to the Word of God, it ought not to doubt that it will at once have enemies, and that those whom it had before as friends are to be turned into adversaries; and let it expect to suffer this not only from men, but let it know for certain that this also threatens it from the contrary powers and the spiritual wickednesses. And so it comes about that whoever seeks the friendship of Jesus knows that he must endure the enmities of many. Hear the Apostle Paul confirming these same things, when he says: "all who wish to live godly in Christ suffer persecution." But Solomon too says similar things: "Son," he says, "coming to the service of the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation." Therefore even now the Gibeonites, of whatever sort they are, are assailed because of the friendship of Jesus, and although they be "hewers of wood and carriers of water" — that is, although you be of the lowest merit in the church — nevertheless, by this very fact, because you belong to Jesus, you will be assailed by the five kings. But yet the Gibeonites are neither abandoned nor scorned by Jesus, nor by the leaders and elders of the Israelites, but they bring aid to their weakness. Or does it not seem to you that this very thing is at work in us, and that this is what that command of the Apostle enjoins, in which he says: "comfort the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient toward all," and again: "but you who are more powerful, bear the infirmities of the weak"? In this manner, then, Jesus with his leaders and princes is present to those who for his name's sake are assailed by the contrary powers, and not only furnishes aid in the war, but also prolongs the time of the day and, extending the spans of light, drives off the coming of night.
[§3] We wish therefore, if we can, to show how our Lord Jesus prolonged the light and made the day longer, whether for the salvation of men or for the destruction of the contrary powers. From the time when the Savior came, it was already the end of the world. Indeed he himself used to say: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near." But he held back and repressed the day of consummation and forbade it to be present. For God the Father, seeing that the salvation of the nations could be established through him alone, says to him: "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and for your possession the ends of the earth." Therefore, until the fatherly promise is fulfilled and the churches grow out of the various nations and the whole "fullness of the nations" enters in, so that then at last "all Israel may be saved," the day is prolonged and the setting is deferred, and the sun never sinks but always rises, while the "sun of righteousness" pours the light of truth into the hearts of believers. But when the measure of believers has been filled up, and the worse and more discolored age of the last generation has come, when "as iniquity increases the love of many will grow cold" and very few will remain in whom faith may be found, then at last "the days will be shortened." The same Lord himself therefore knows both how to extend the day, when it is the time of salvation, and to shorten the day, when it is the time of tribulation and perdition. We, however, while we have the day and the span of light is prolonged for us, "let us walk honorably as in the day" and work the works of light.
[§4] But let us also see what this is, that it says there were five kings and that these "fled into the caves." We have often said that the warfare of Christians is twofold. For the perfect, and such as Paul was and the Ephesians, as the Apostle himself says, "there was for them no warfare against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and the spiritual wickednesses in the heavenly places." But for the lower and not-yet-perfect the warfare is still waged "against flesh and blood," for those who are still assailed by carnal vices and frailties. Which I think is indicated also in this passage; for we said that war was declared against the Gibeonites by the five kings, whose figure I said is in those who are imperfect. These therefore are assailed by the five kings. And the five kings signify the five bodily senses — sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell; for through some one of these each person must needs fall into sin. These five senses are compared to those five kings who overpower the Gibeonites, that is, who overpower carnal men. And that they are said to have "fled into the caves," this can perhaps be indicated because a cave is a place dug down into the depth of the earth. Therefore these senses too, of which we spoke above, when, placed in the body, they have plunged themselves into earthly acts and have done nothing for the work of God but everything for the service of the body, are said to have "fled into the caves."
[§5] Yet it must be known that these very kingdoms, whose kings are now conquered by Jesus and "flee to the caves," afterward come into the lot of the saints and are called the Lord's portion, as the kingdom of Jerusalem, or of Lachish, or of Hebron. In which I think this is indicated, that even these five senses, which we expounded above, placed in the body, when they have been vanquished through Jesus — so that unfaithfulness and unbelief may be driven out from them, and when the sins die in this, that they cease from the service of sin — the soul afterward uses these very same as ministers for working the righteousness of God; and so it comes about that in Jerusalem, in which a wicked and most evil king reigned before, afterward David mighty in hand, or peaceable Solomon, reigns in it. For upon these very bodily senses of men, of which we spoke, there also sit malign powers, which incite them to evil desires and to furnishing foul services to the soul. And if the faith of Christ has overcome these malign powers, and they have been hung up "on the wood of his cross," so that he may "triumph over them on the wood of his cross," these being slain and driven from their kingdom, then the soul is made into God's portion, then Jerusalem is made the kingdom of God and a temple is built in it to the Lord. Or did not that man perceive this about himself, who said that: "we too were once senseless, unbelieving, going astray, serving desires and various pleasures"? For it is nothing other than this, that Jerusalem is written to have been once under king Adonibezek, or other cities under others.
[§6] But meanwhile Jesus slew the enemies, not teaching cruelty thereby, as the heretics suppose, but designating in the things that are done the mysteries that are to come, so that, when he has slain those kings who hold the kingdom of sin in us, we may be able to fulfill that which the Apostle said: "as we presented our members to serve iniquity unto iniquity, so now let us present our members to serve righteousness unto sanctification." What then is it that in this passage is faulted by them as if cruel? This, he says, which is written: "put your feet upon their neck, and slay them." What of it? For this is found to be not cruelty, but humanity and kindness. Would that you too were such a one, who would "put your feet upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy," and would "trample the dragon and the basilisk," the little king who once reigned in you and held in you the kingdom of sin, so that, all those being slain who reigned in you by the work of sin, Christ Jesus our Lord alone may reign in you, "to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen."