Homilies on Judges — Homily 1 (Judges 2:7)
Latin source: Origen's Greek homilies on Judges, surviving only in Rufinus of Aquileia's Latin translation (c. 400), from the reading text of W. A. Baehrens (ed.), Origenes Werke VII (GCS 30, Leipzig, 1921), pp. 464–522. This English translation is released into the public domain.On what is written in the book of Judges: "and the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders, as many as were of many days after Joshua, who saw all the great works of the Lord which he did in Israel".
1. The reader of the present lesson was reading it thus: "and the people feared the Lord all the days of Joshua", but we have: "and the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of their elders, who were of longer days after Joshua". We must therefore understand that each one of us secures it for himself, whether he be in good days or in evil, and whether he have "the days of Joshua" — that is, the days of the righteous — or have the days of the impious. For if we understand "the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world", and offer it our souls to enlighten, or if "the sun of righteousness" rise upon us and "enlighten the world" of our soul, then we too have "the days of Jesus" Christ, the days of salvation. But if anyone offers his soul to receive that light which "shall be extinguished", the light contrary to the truth, and is enlightened by it, he too shall have days, but evil ones, and he will not be among the days of Joshua, but will be among the days of Manasseh, or among the days of Pharaoh, or among the days of some other most wicked man. Therefore, in short, in the days of Ahaz, that iniquitous and most wicked king, Isaiah could not see a vision, could not "see the Lord of Sabaoth seated upon a throne high and lifted up". But from the time that the wicked king died, whose were "the evil days", then the prophet could see the vision of God. And do you wish to know that these days, when they are spoken of in the scriptures as belonging to this man or that, do not signify the span of the life of the one who is spoken of, or of his bodily presence? Hear what the prophet foretold concerning the days of our Lord Jesus Christ: "there shall arise", he says, "in his days righteousness and abundance of peace, until the moon be taken away". If we take this thus, that "in the days" in which the Savior tarried on earth there were days "of righteousness" and days "of peace", how shall we prove that days "of righteousness" arose for those who crucified him and who did not receive his coming and the faith? Or how will "the abundance of peace in his days" be seen to have been among those who delivered him to death by false accusations? How to these will "days of righteousness and" days "of peace" be seen to have arisen, in whose minds the darkness of iniquity and of fury was at work? And again, if this which is written — "there shall arise in his days righteousness and abundance of peace" — be referred to those days which the Savior spent in the flesh, then now, since those days are not present, therefore "his righteousness does not arise" nor is the "abundance" of Christ's "peace" found among the faithful and the religious. Rather, then, each one according to his own acts and manner of life acquires for himself "days" either of iniquity and of war, or "of righteousness" and "of peace". Hear, in short, the prophet saying: "to those who fear my name", he says, "shall the sun of righteousness arise", doubtless that it may make for them "days of righteousness", "days of Jesus". But of the impious he says that "the sun of righteousness" will set for them — doubtless for those in whom righteousness sleeps, and for whom the darkness of iniquity has arisen. And do you wish likewise to learn from the prophet who they are that have "the abundance of peace"? Hear how he says in the psalms: "much peace to those who love your name, and there is no stumbling-block for them". "Days" therefore "of righteousness and abundance of peace shall arise" for "those who love the name of the Lord". But the impious too have their own light, from which doubtless "evil days" arise for them. And do you wish this too to be proved to you from the scriptures? Hear what is written: "light", it says, "is for the righteous always, but the light of the impious shall be extinguished". You see, then, that there is a certain "light proper to the impious", which "shall be extinguished", and a "light of the righteous", which remains "forever". And I do not know whether anyone would understand it so ineptly as to think that there is some other substantial light which is called "of the impious", and another which is "of the righteous". This assuredly can in no way be. For the light of the world made by God is one, which shines upon all in common and equally. But in the manner which we expounded above it must be understood that our soul is either "enlightened by the true light", which will never "be extinguished", which is Christ, or, if it does not have in itself that light which is eternal, it is doubtless enlightened by a temporal and extinguishable light from him "who transfigures himself into an angel of light" and enlightens the heart of the sinner with a false light, so that those things which are present and perishing seem to him to be good and splendid. By this light are enlightened those who call pleasure the highest good; by this light are enlightened those who seek riches and worldly honors and earthly glory as though the memorial of eternity. These too, then, are "in the days" of his light which "shall be extinguished" (for all these things which they do, which they desire and covet, shall be extinguished); by this light are enlightened also the heretics, who proclaim "knowledge falsely so called": hence Marcion, being enlightened, says that the God of the law is just, but not good. If therefore we have rightly understood who are the days that are enlightened by our Lord Jesus Christ, "the true light", and who are the days that are enlightened by him "who transfigures himself into an angel of light", and whose light "shall be extinguished", we can fittingly understand also those "days of Joshua" of which it is said that: "the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua"; for it is certain that whoever has in himself "the days of Jesus serves the Lord", nor can it come to pass that anyone having in himself "the days of Jesus" and "the light" of Christ should serve the devil or serve avarice; nor can it come to pass that one should be enlightened by the light of truth and serve falsehood, nor can one enlightened by the light of sanctification be a slave to lust and uncleanness. And so the Apostle too says: "for what participation is there of righteousness with iniquity? Or what fellowship of light with darkness? And what concord of Christ with Belial? Or what part has the faithful with the unfaithful?". Let us pray, therefore, that Christ, who is "the true light", may always make good days in us, and that never, with the devil enlightening us, may we have in us "evil days", of which the Apostle says: "redeeming the time, because the days are evil". For we have "evil days" when we seek carnal things instead of spiritual, earthly instead of heavenly, perishing things instead of eternal, present things instead of future. If ever, then, you see desires of this kind arising in you, know that you are set in "evil days" and most wicked ones; and therefore persist in prayers, that you may be freed from the "evil day" and, as the Apostle says, be delivered "from the present evil age"; for in the manner which we said above, not only do "days" become "evil", but the "age" too is made "evil".
2. "The people therefore served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who were after Joshua". Blessed is he who "in the days of Jesus serves the Lord", who is enlightened by his word and his wisdom, who is illuminated by his precepts, who from his teaching receives the light of knowledge. Yet in the second place, and after this man, that man too is blessed who "serves the Lord in the days of the elders who were after Joshua". The "elders" who were either with Joshua or "after Joshua" — who are they but the Apostles, who also by their own writings and precepts enlighten our hearts and make in us likewise certain days out of that light which they themselves, coming, partook of from "the true light"? Whoever therefore is enlightened and instructed by the precepts of the Apostles and is trained by apostolic rules for the service of the Lord — this is the one who is said to "serve the Lord in the days of the elders who were after Joshua". And do you wish to see that, just as the Savior "was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world", so the Apostles too were "the light of the world"? In the Gospel it is written, the Lord saying to them: "you are the light of the world". But if the Apostles too are "the light of the world", doubtless by their precepts and commandments they enlighten for us "days" in which "we may serve the Lord".
3. But as for what he said: "all the days of the elders who were of longer days after Joshua", this too does not seem to me to be said idly, that the "elders who were after Joshua" are said to be "long-lived" or "of longer days". And indeed it belongs to God alone to know who, "after Joshua", among "the elders" made "a longer day", that is, who sent forth from himself a greater light — whether Paul or Peter, Bartholomew or John; yet the saints are said to be "of longer days". But on the contrary, then, when the world shall be filled with stumbling-blocks, when "with iniquity increasing the love of many shall grow cold", and when "the Son of man coming will scarcely find faith upon the earth", then the days to come are said not to be "long", but rather are said to be shortened, as the Lord said that: "unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would be saved". Evil days, therefore, are said to be "shortened", but the good days in which "we serve the Lord" are "long-lived" and of much time and, as it were, of a great span. See, however, that he indicated this too in the Gospel, that: "for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened". For "the elect", then, "the evil days shall be shortened", the days of iniquity and of stumbling; and, as I judge, once the "evil days" have begun to be "shortened" for the elect, they are always shortened and diminished, until they are reduced to nothing and utterly waste away and at last perish. Of these, I think, was that one too who said: "let that day perish, in which I was born!". Thus, therefore, "for the elect the evil days are shortened" and perish, but the days of the holy elders are long-lived and prolonged. But that too which occurs to us as we speak — and would that it may occur at the Lord's prompting — must not be passed over, namely that he said: "the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua"; he did not say that there was one day of Joshua, but "the days of Joshua" are many. What, then, are these many days that we posit according to this order which we have expounded? I judge thus, that one day of his is righteousness, another sanctification, another prudence, another mercy, and thus through the several good things of the virtues are the "days of Jesus" reckoned, in which "the Lord" is served, because in these virtues of the soul the Lord is pleased. But reckon also his patience a day, and his gentleness and piety and goodness, and call a day of his everything that pertains to virtue. And thus "in all the days of Jesus you will serve the Lord", that is, in all these virtues; for the instruction of holy Scripture does not will that you should have some of these virtues in yourself and neglect others, but that, adorned with all these virtues and set in the acts of them, you should "serve the Lord". And in the same way one has also in himself the "days of the elders" and "in their days serves the Lord", fulfilling that which the Apostle Paul says: "be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ".
4. "In the days", he says, "of their elders, who knew all the works of the Lord". Who is it that "knows all the works of the Lord", but he who does them? For just as it was said of the sons of Eli that they were "sons of pestilence, not knowing the Lord" — not that they were ignorant of the Lord, who were indeed even teachers of the rest, but because they acted as those act who do not know the Lord — in this way too it must here be understood, when he says: "who knew every work of the Lord". And not only, he says, "did they know the work of the Lord", but he added: "who knew every work of the Lord", that is, who "knew" both the work of the righteousness of the Lord and the work of sanctification and of patience and of gentleness and of piety; and everything whatsoever that comes from the commandments of God is called "the work of the Lord". But just as there is a work of the Lord, so there is doubtless a work of the devil contrary to it. For it is certain that, just as righteousness is the work of God, so also injustice is the work of the devil, and, just as gentleness is the work of God, so also anger or fury is the work of the devil. Those, therefore, are said to "have known" the work of God who do his work. But that it may become still clearer from the authority of the scriptures how Scripture is accustomed to speak of knowing or not knowing, see how it is also written elsewhere: "he who keeps", it says, the commandment "shall not know an evil word". Can it come to pass that "he who keeps the commandment" should "not know evil words"? He does indeed know them, but he is said "not to know" for this reason, that he guards against them and avoids them. But also, as regards what was said of the Lord and Savior himself, that he "knew no sin", it is certain that he is said to have "been ignorant of sin" for this reason, that he did not do the work of sin. In this way, then, he too is said to "know the works of the Lord" who does "the works of the Lord". But he is ignorant of the work of God who does not do the work of God.
5. But how do we pass over this too, which he added: "who knew the great works of the Lord, which he did in Israel"? For what? Are there any "works of the Lord" that are small, in distinction from which these are called "great"? I judge that every work of God is indeed great, but according to the capacity of those for whom he works, if they be compared with one another, the works of the Lord are said to be either great or small. For example, he led the sons of Israel out of Egypt "with a strong hand" and "an exalted arm"; when Egypt had been smitten with heavenly prodigies, he "made a way in the sea"; he gave manna in the desert to the people; he spoke "from heaven" to Moses; he gave the law written "on tablets of stone". Are not these "great works of God"? But if you compare with these the fact that "God so loved this world that he gave his only Son" for the salvation of the world, you will find that all those are small in comparison with the greatness of this work. Which work we too must both know and believe, and must work "the works of the Lord", not negligently, but faithfully and attentively, so that we too may be found "in the days of Jesus" Christ and "in the days of the elders", his holy Apostles, with whom may we deserve also to receive the fellowship of the heavenly inheritance, through our Lord Jesus Christ himself, "to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen!".