Homilies on Numbers — Homily 13
Latin source: Origen, In Numeros homiliae (Rufinus's Latin translation), from the public-domain critical text of W. A. Baehrens, GCS 30 = Origenes Werke VII (Leipzig, 1921). This English translation is released into the public domain.On the matters that were left over from the earlier discourse, and concerning Balaam and his donkey.
[§1] Yesterday we spoke of how Sihon, king of the Amorites, who is the lofty one and the barren tree, having engaged with Israel was defeated; concerning whom Scripture also says pointedly that he fell "by the slaughter of the sword" or, as we read elsewhere, "by the mouth of the sword." But if you wish to know more carefully by what sword this barren and lofty one, "like the cedar of Lebanon," fell, let us learn from the Apostle Paul, who says: "For the word of God is living and effective and more piercing than any sword," and again in another place: "and the sword," he says, "of the spirit, which is the word of God." By the slaughter of this sword, then, fell the spiritual Sihon, who is the devil. After these things it is added: "and the sons of Israel," he says, "had dominion over all his land." All this earthly region indeed is called the land of Sihon, but Christ and his Church have dominion over all the land of Sihon. "And they had dominion from Arnon as far as Jabbok." Arnon and Jabbok were cities of the kingdom of Sihon, but the beginning of his kingdom was Arnon and the end was Jabbok, and therefore it is said that "they had dominion from Arnon as far as Jabbok." Now Arnon is interpreted "their curses"; the beginning, therefore, of the kingdom of this lofty and barren Sihon is curses. But the end is Jabbok, which is interpreted "wrestling"; for it is necessary that everyone who wishes to go out from the kingdom of the devil and to escape his borders should find wrestling, and that contests be stirred up against him by his ministers and satellites. But if he has wrestled and conquered, then Jabbok will no longer be a city of Sihon, but will be a city of Israel. This is doubtless what we read also concerning the patriarch Jacob, since, when he had come to a certain place, a wrestling was prepared for him, and there, when he had wrestled the whole night and had prevailed and grown strong before God, his name was called Israel. "And Israel took," he says, "all these cities; and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites." This Israel, who is Israel in Christ, who is Israel not in the flesh, nor a Jew in what is manifest, he himself dwells in all the cities of the Amorites when in all the world the churches of Christ are being propagated. But each one of us also was formerly a city of King Sihon, the lofty king; for there reigned in us folly, pride, impiety, and all the things that are on the devil's side; but when the strong one was overcome and vanquished and his vessels plundered, we were made cities of Israel and the inheritance of the saints—if indeed that power which formerly ruled over us has been utterly cut off in us, and the barren tree has been cut down, and the lofty king has been cast down, and we are under that king who says: "learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart." After these things he now enumerates one by one the cities of the proud and barren king, and says: "in Heshbon and in all its neighboring places." What is this, that he named Heshbon as the chief city of the kingdom of Sihon? Heshbon is interpreted "thoughts." Rightly, then, does the greatest part of the diabolical kingdom and the greater part of its power reign in thoughts; for so the Lord also said: "out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies; and these are the things that defile a man." And therefore this city is necessarily set ablaze and consumed by fire. By what fire? Surely by that of which the Savior says: "I came to send fire upon the earth, and how I wish that it be kindled!"[§2] But after a few words it is reported concerning that very city: "For this reason," he says, "the riddlers shall say: come into Heshbon, that the city of Sihon may be built and constructed; for fire went forth from Heshbon and a flame from the city of Sihon, and it devoured as far as Moab." Sihon, as we said, was the king, whose city was Heshbon. Thus, then, the order of the words is to be understood, that these riddlers say: come, that Heshbon, which was the city of Sihon, may be built and constructed. But let us now inquire who these riddlers are. A riddle is a figured saying; riddlers therefore are those who speak figuratively. And who else is there who has spoken in figures except the law and the prophets? For hear how David says: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter propositions from the beginning." But Isaiah too, that the things he wrote are riddles, declares in this manner: "and the words of this book shall be," he says, "like the words of a sealed book; which if they give into the hands of a man who does not know letters and say to him: read, he will say: I do not know letters. But if they give it to one who knows letters, he will say: I cannot read, for it is sealed." Now the book is called sealed for the reason that it is entangled with figures and wrapped up in riddles. These riddlers, then, say: come into Heshbon, that it may be built. That first Heshbon fell, or rather was overturned and burned; another is to be rebuilt. But how this is done, let us show by taking up an example. If you see a Gentile placed in the disgrace of life and in the error of religion, do not hesitate to say of him that here is the city of Heshbon in the kingdom of King Sihon; for the barren and lofty king reigns in his thoughts. If Israel—that is, a son of the Church—approaches this man and applies the darts of the word of God and unsheathes against him the sword of the spirit, and destroys in him all the fortifications of Gentile teachings and burns up the loftinesses of his arguments with the fire of truth, say of this man that the city of Heshbon of Sihon is overthrown. But this man, in whom the teachings of the Gentiles are overthrown, is not straightway left deserted and abandoned. For it is not the discipline of the sons of Israel to leave in ruins the cities that they have destroyed; but when they have undermined and overturned in a man his evil thoughts and impious sentiments, they build again in the heart of him whom they have destroyed good thoughts, pious sentiments; they will implant the doctrine of truth, they will hand on the rite of religion, they will teach the order of living, honesty of morals, they will show the statutes of observance. And then these riddlers will truly say to one another in turn: come and let us build Heshbon, which was the city of Sihon. For they themselves too—that is, the sons of the Church—because they understand the figures of the law and the riddles spiritually, are called riddlers. This is what Jeremiah also designates by a no less figurative saying, where it is said to him by the Lord: "behold, I have put my words in your mouth; behold, I have appointed you this day over the nations and kingdoms, to root up and to overturn and to rebuild and to replant." What does he root up and what does he overturn? The city of Heshbon, which was Sihon's. What does he root up in it and what does he overturn? Impious and impure thoughts. What does he rebuild in it and what does he replant? Pious and chaste thoughts, so that Heshbon may be made a city not of the Amorites, but of the sons of Israel.
[§3] But if we wish to pursue each point, we shall be shut out from the discussion of those things which were read to us concerning Balaam; the reading of which is of such difficulty that we can scarcely arrive at explaining the account and sequence of the history itself. How great, then, will now be our difficulty in explaining the spiritual senses, if the very surface of the letter is wrapped in such great difficulties? But although desire snatches us toward discussing the things which are more obscure, nevertheless these things also, which are reported in between, are not to be entirely passed over. For after the sons of Israel had obtained the cities of the Amorites, they went up also by the way which leads into Bashan, where Og, king of Bashan, was; but to this one they neither deign to send envoys nor to ask of him that they may pass through his land, but immediately they clash with him and overcome both him and his people. Let us see, then, what Bashan is. Bashan is interpreted "baseness"; rightly, then, are neither envoys sent to that nation nor is passage through its land requested. For there ought to be for us no passage, no approach to baseness, but from the very beginning at once it must be assaulted and in every way guarded against. Now Og, who is said to be king of Bashan, is interpreted "enclosure." This can hold the figure of all carnal and material things, by love and desire of which the soul, being held fast, is shut out and separated from God. Against these, therefore, war is commanded to be waged in such a way that "you shall not leave," he says, "of him one living"; for none must be left by the sons of Israel living in the kingdom of baseness and disgrace. But it befits Israelite virtue to cut down and cut away base things and to rebuild in the soul whatever is pious and to plant honorable and religious things. Concerning the kingdom of Sihon it is not written that no living one be left, nor concerning the kingdom of Moab; for perhaps we have need of some of them, and we require certain of them for the contests and exercises of this life; otherwise we should have had to go out of this world. Of Bashan, however—that is, of baseness—we have need of none whatsoever; let us leave nothing of it; all things must be cut down, all the works of baseness must be overturned; for in nothing can that which is base be honorable.
[§4] "And the sons of Israel, having set out from there, pitched their camp to the west of Moab beside the Jordan opposite Jericho. And when Balak, son of Zippor, saw," and the rest. Now all the things which are written concerning Balaam and his donkey are a history full of business; but the inner meaning is much more laborious, and I do not know whether it is even easy to explain merely the historical statements themselves. Yet, with God granting, we shall touch briefly on what we can. War is threatening you, O king Balak, son of Zippor; six hundred thousand armed men are rushing upon your borders. It behooved you also to prepare arms, to muster an army, to think about the drawing up of battle, so that you might meet the enemy, while still placed at a distance, equipped with arms. But you send to Balaam the diviner and send many gifts and promise greater ones and say: "come, curse for me the people that has gone out from Egypt." But Balaam, as Scripture teaches, referred these things to God, by whom also he is forbidden to come. But again the king sends envoys and, arms neglected, places all his hope in Balaam, that he may come and deliver words and hurl curses against the people in place of weapons, if perhaps the people, whom the king's army could not overcome, might be conquered by the words of Balaam. What consistency does this history have, what counsel does it show? Where or when was it heard that any of kings, with battle threatening him, having set aside his arms and neglected his army, took refuge in the words of some diviner or soothsayer? Whence again and again the grace of God must be implored by us, that we may be able to explain these things not by fabulous and Jewish narrations, but by rational senses worthy of the divine law. First of all, then, it must be confessed that in certain matters words can do more and avail more than bodies, since what the army of many nations could not accomplish, what could not be obtained by iron and arms, this is accomplished by words; and I do not say by holy words or words of God, but by certain words which are held among men, which how I should name I do not know; yet they are composed by a useless art, of which art let that be the name which each pleases to call it. There is, then, as I said, among men some work that is accomplished by words; which work, however, is such that it cannot be fulfilled by however great the strength of body. For example, there were in Egypt enchanters and magicians. Who among men can by strength of body change a rod into a serpent, which is reported to have been done by them, or who can by the powers of body turn water into blood? Yet the enchanters and magicians of the Egyptians did this. For Moses had first done these things; but because the king of Egypt knew that these things could be done by a certain art of words which is held among men, he thought that Moses too had done these things not by the power of God, but by magical art, and that what he had done by human art, this he was pretending to be done by the power of God. He immediately summons the enchanters and magicians of the Egyptians. Between him who was working by the power of God and those who were invoking demons he makes there be a contest. Yet the contrary power likewise makes the rod a serpent, as the power of God had done; but the serpent which had been made by the power of God swallowed up and devoured all those serpents which by magical art had been turned from rods into serpents: for the demonic power could not restore to good the evil which it had made out of good. It could make a serpent out of a rod, but it could not give back a rod out of the serpent; and therefore all are consumed by that rod which by the power of God had been turned into a serpent. But afterward, by the divine power, it is restored to its own nature, so that it might confess the Lord of nature. The enchanters of the Egyptians made water too be turned into blood, but they could not again turn blood into water; but the power of God turned not water, but the whole river into blood, and again, at the prayer of Moses, gave it back with clear and natural streams. And again the magicians of the Egyptians produced gnats, but they could not drive them away; but Moses both produced gnats and took them away; for our God both causes grief and again restores; but the contrary power can indeed do something evil, but it cannot restore to wholeness. Now we have sent all these things ahead, so that we may be able to observe the works of Balaam or his words; for there are also certain differences among magicians; for some avail more, others less. This Balaam was most famous in the magical art and most powerful in noxious incantations. For he did not have the power or art of words for blessing, but he had it for cursing; for demons are invited to cursing, not to blessing. And therefore, as one experienced in such things, he was held in repute by all who were in the East. For unless very many experiments of his had gone before—that he had frequently by curses routed an armed enemy—the king would surely not have presumed that this could be done by words which could scarcely be fulfilled by iron and the battle-line. Balak, then, being certain of this and having frequently made trial of it, setting aside all the instruments and aids of war, sends envoys to him, saying: "behold, a people has gone out from Egypt, and has covered the face of the earth; and this one has settled beside me." But I think also something more that moved the king; for he seems to have heard that the sons of Israel are accustomed to conquer their enemies by prayer, not by arms, and not so much by iron as by prayers. For Israel moved no arms against Pharaoh, but it was said to him: "the Lord will fight for you, and you shall be silent." But neither against the Amalekites did the force of arms avail so much as the prayer of Moses. For when Moses lifted up his hands to God, Amalek was conquered; but when they were let down and lowered, they made Israel to be conquered. These things surely Balak, king of Moab, had heard. For it is written: "the nations heard and were angry; pangs seized those who dwell in Philistia. Then the leaders of Edom hastened and the princes of the Moabites; trembling laid hold of them." You see that there had come to them what Moses foretold in the Canticle, when they crossed the Red Sea. The king of Moab, then, had heard that this people conquers by prayers and fights against its enemies with the mouth, not with the sword; and on account of this, without doubt, he thought within himself, saying: since indeed no arms can be matched against the prayers and supplications of this people, therefore for me too such prayers and such arms of words and such prayers must be sought as can overcome the prayers of these people.
[§5] But that you may know that the king thought something of this sort, understand it from the words of Scripture, which I learned expounded by a certain teacher who had come to believe from among the Hebrews. It is written thus: "And Moab said to the elders of Midian: now this assembly will lick up all who are round about us, as the calf licks up the grass of the field." That teacher, then, who had come to believe from among the Hebrews, would say: why, he says, did he use such an example, saying: as the calf licks up the grass of the field? For this reason, without doubt, because the calf breaks off the grass from the field with its mouth and with its tongue, as with a sickle, cuts whatever it finds; so also this people, like a calf, fights with mouth and lips and has its arms in words and prayers. Knowing this, therefore, the king sends to Balaam, that he too may deliver words contrary to words and prayers against prayers. And do not wonder if there is something of this sort in the magical art; for Scripture too indicates that this art exists, but forbids the use of it. For Scripture indicates also that demons exist, but forbids that they be worshipped and entreated. Rightly, then, it also forbids the use of magic, because the ministers of magicians are apostate angels and malign spirits and unclean demons; for none of the holy spirits obeys a magician. A magician cannot invoke Michael, he cannot invoke Raphael nor Gabriel; much more can a magician not invoke Almighty God nor his Son Jesus Christ our Lord nor his Holy Spirit. We alone have received the power of invoking God the Father; we alone have the power of invoking his only-begotten Jesus Christ. But this is what I say: he who has now received the power of invoking Christ cannot again invoke demons, and he who has been made a partaker of the Holy Spirit ought not further to summon unclean spirits; for if he invokes unclean spirits, the Holy Spirit flees from him. They are magicians who invoke Beelzebul. In fact, that people knew this, and therefore, lying against my Lord Jesus and saying false things, they said: "this man casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons." But the Savior, knowing that it is indeed true that a certain Beelzebul is prince of demons, did not in this convict them of falsehood, but answered them: "if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?" Whence it is established that there are certain evil demons who, when invoked by magicians, are present to them for evil, not for good; for they are ready to do harm, but they do not know how to do good. These demons, then, by a certain art and composition of words, had passed, so to speak, into friendship with Balaam, and, relying on their friendships, he seemed great among men. On account of this, therefore, the king sends to him and says: "come now, and curse for me this people, for it is stronger than we, if perhaps we may be able to strike some of them and drive them out from the land." It seems to me that this king does not entirely trust in Balaam the diviner, being, I believe, greatly terrified by the report of the mighty deeds that had been done among the people of God; and therefore he says, if perhaps the curses of Balaam may prevail even to this extent, that he may be able to strike some of them, and to put the rest to flight, terrified, and drive them from their own land.
[§6] He adds moreover: "for I know," he says, "that those whom you have blessed will be blessed, and those whom you have cursed will be cursed." I do not believe that the king knew that whomever Balaam had blessed would be blessed; but it seems to me that he says these things for the sake of flattery, so that, exalting and extolling his art, he may render him more ready for the crime. For the magical art does not know how to bless, because neither do demons know how to do good. Isaac and Jacob know how to bless, and all the saints; none of the impious knows how to bless. But at length the envoys come to Balaam. For "there came," he says, "the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian, and the divinations in their hands." Among those arts of divination which human curiosity has devised, there are certain things which Scripture indeed has named "divinations," but which Gentile custom calls either tripods or cauldrons or by other terms of this kind; which, as if consecrated to this very purpose, are wont to be moved and handled by these people. Divine Scripture indeed names a certain ephod in the vernacular tongue in the prophets, which they hand down to be the garment of those who prophesy. Yet in the divine Scriptures one thing is held to be prophecy, another divination; for it says: "there shall be no augury in Jacob, nor divination in Israel. In due time it shall be told to Jacob and Israel what God is about to do." Divination, then, is utterly renounced; for it is fulfilled by the work and ministry of demons, as we have already said above. Balaam, therefore, having received the divinations, when the demons were wont to come to him, sees indeed that the demons are put to flight, but that God is present; and therefore he says that he is consulting God, because he nowhere sees the demons accustomed to obey him. God himself, then, comes to Balaam, not because he was worthy that God should come to him, but so that those might be put to flight who were accustomed to be present to him for cursing and doing harm; for from this point God was already providing for his people. He is present, then, and God says to him: "why have these men come to you?" And Balaam said to God: "Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent them to me, saying: behold, a people has gone out from Egypt, and has covered the face of the earth, and this one sits beside me; come now, therefore, and curse it for me, if perhaps we may be able to strike it and drive it out." And God said to Balaam: "you shall not go with them, nor shall you curse the people; for it is blessed."
[§7] Here a deeper question arises, and I do not know whether it is fitting to lay bare a matter of such profound mystery and to bring it forth to the crowds—and those crowds who come to the hearing of the word of God only for a few days and immediately depart, nor tarry longer in the meditation of the word of God; yet for the sake of those who are studious and thirst to hear and are able to grasp the spiritual sense, we shall say a few things out of many. Something of this sort, then, can be objected. Suppose Balaam invokes the demons, suppose he curses the people, suppose the invoked demons do what they can: can God not defend the people from the demons and destroy their power in doing harm? What need was there, then, that he himself should come to Balaam and forbid the accustomed demons to approach, lest they even attempt or endeavor to wish to injure his people? To these things, then, although not all that can occur are to be brought forth, nevertheless we shall say in part that God does not wish to condemn the race of demons before the time. For the demons themselves also know that the present age contains their time. For this reason, in fact, they even begged the Lord that he would not torment them before the time, nor send them into the abyss. And on account of this he has not removed the devil from the principality of this age, because there is still need of his work for the perfection of those who are to be crowned; there is still need of his work for the exercises of the contests and the victories of the blessed. So, then, neither does he wish to draw away the rest of the demons violently, before the time, from the intention of their purpose; and therefore from the beginning he did not permit them to be invoked through Balaam, lest perhaps, being invoked, they should be destroyed before the time and be done away with, while God defended his people. For it is one thing if a demon requests from God someone to tempt, as in the case of Job, and receives power over him with a certain distinction—for example, that it be said to him: I give you all his goods into your power, but do not touch him himself; or again: I give you power over him, but guard his soul. And it is another thing if, at a magician's demand and with certain adjurations extorting it, the demons rage without any restriction; in which case, if freedom of will be preserved for them, they will give the people of God over to destruction; but if freedom of will be taken away, this would be to have condemned the rational creature and to have brought judgment before the time and to have hindered all those who, contending against them in the contest, could be crowned. For if freedom of will be taken from the demons, no one further will assail the athletes of Christ; but with no one assailing, there will be no contest, and with the contest removed there will be no reward, no victory. For this reason, therefore, God uses such a way, so that both the people, still untrained and who had newly begun to be drawn away from the worship of demons, may not be handed over to the demons, and responses may be delivered to the invoking magician, and the race of demons may not be stripped of the power of free will. And therefore God comes beforehand and forbids Balaam to go and to invoke the demons for cursing—if only he had ceased from his cupidity. But because he persists in the desire for money, God, indulging the freedom of will, permits him to go again, yet puts his word into his mouth, forbidding the curse to be made through the demons, so that he might give place to blessings, and in place of curses he makes Balaam bring forth blessings and prophecies, which could edify not only Israel, but also the rest of the nations. For if his prophecies have been inserted by Moses into the sacred volumes, how much more were they written down by those who dwelt then in Mesopotamia, among whom Balaam was held magnificent, and of whose art it is established that they were disciples? From him, in fact, the race and institution of the magicians is said to flourish in the regions of the East, who, having written down among themselves all the things that Balaam had prophesied, had this also in writing: that "a star shall arise out of Jacob, and a man shall spring up out of Israel." These things the magicians had in writing among themselves, and therefore, when Jesus was born, they recognized the star and understood the prophecy to be fulfilled—they, rather than the people of Israel, who despised to hear the words of the holy prophets. Those, then, from these things alone which Balaam had left in writing, recognizing that the time was at hand, came and, seeking him out, straightway adored him and, that they might declare their faith to be great, venerated a small child as if a king.
[§8] But let us return to the subject. Balaam is troublesome to God and almost extorts that it be permitted him to go to curse the sons of Israel and to invoke the demons, to whom God had already come. He mounts the donkey; there meets him the angel who kept watch on behalf of Israel, concerning whom it is written, the Lord saying to Moses: "my angel will go with you." To him, then, pressing on to go, it is granted; on the way he is crushed by the donkey; but the magician sees the demons, he does not see the angel; the donkey, however, sees it. Not because she was worthy to see the angel, just as neither was she worthy to speak, but so that Balaam might be confuted and, as Scripture says in a certain place, a mute animal, answering with human voice, might rebuke the madness of the prophet. But since many things have now been said concerning the history, let us touch also on some things concerning the allegory at the end. If you see the contrary power assailing the people of God, you understand who it is that sits upon the donkey; and if you consider men, how they are cast headlong by demons, you understand what the donkey is. For thus in the Gospel too you will understand Jesus sending his disciples to the donkey, which was tied, and to its colt, that the disciples may loose her and lead her, that he himself may sit upon her. And perhaps this donkey—that is, the Church—formerly bore Balaam, but now Christ, from the time when she was loosed by the disciples and, released from the bonds by which she had been bound, that the Son of God might sit upon her and with her might enter into the holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: "rejoice, daughter of Zion; proclaim, daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your king comes to you, meek and sitting upon a beast of burden." By the beast of burden—that is, the donkey—he means, without doubt, those who believe from among the Jews, and by the young colt those, surely, who from among the nations believe in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.