Fragments on Kings

The Suckling Lamb, a Type of Christ§1

1Book One.

“And Samuel took one suckling lamb” (1 Samuel 7:9). Do you see how he took Christ as his mediator and, at the same time, as the one who presides over salvation? And how the mystery concerning him, set like an unbreakable weapon against the attacks of the Philistines, saved Israel? For he sacrificed a suckling lamb as a type of Christ, who also cried out long ago through the voice of the prophets: “But I, like an innocent lamb led to the slaughter, did not know” (Jeremiah 11:19).

Observe, too, how the power of the sacrifice made the Father all the readier to help those who were in distress. For he thundered something great and extraordinary against their enemies (1 Samuel 7:10), and to those who offered the sacrifice he gave salvation as their reward, as a type of the mystery of Christ.

“And now appoint a king over us” (1 Samuel 8:5).

Israel Asks for a King§2

2Israel gave up being ruled by God as their king through the prophets, and called for a man as king. For this very reason they also slipped from the commandment: for Solomon was the first to worship the Baals (1 Kings 11:5–8), and then after him Jeroboam set up the heifers (1 Kings 12:28–29).

“And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to their voice,’” and so on (1 Samuel 8:22). Though their affairs were going well for them and were set in the best of order, the wretched people planned bitter things against themselves. Shaking off, as it were, the yoke of the kingdom under God, they came to the blessed Samuel, saying: “Appoint a king over us to judge us” (1 Samuel 8:5), and the rest. Then, when the blessed Samuel announced to them the rights of the king (1 Samuel 8:11–18), filling them with many terrors, and very earnestly trying to turn them away…

Repaying a Kindness; Doeg the Edomite§3

3…from such rotten and unholy designs, they clung to their demand no less, saying: “No, but there shall be a king over us” (1 Samuel 8:19).

“And Saul said to his servant,” and so on; “And what shall we bring?” and so on (1 Samuel 9:7). (Cyril, from his Commentary on Matthew.) It is always natural for those who have been helped, that is, who have received very pleasant things from others, to want to make whatever return they can, and to gladden their benefactors with equal or even greater honors. And those in whom a good and grateful character is present always show, in one way or another, their eagerness in these things as proof of their gratitude.

“And one of Saul’s servants was there, and his name was Doeg” (1 Samuel 21:7). There was a certain man, an Edomite by race, whose name was Doeg. This man lived among the guards of…

Doeg Betrays David§4

4…the blessed David. He was a herdsman, but a bitter and barbarous man, with nothing genuine about him at all. He used to meet Saul in secret and report to him David’s deliberations and all his plans, and he promised that in due time he would also hand him over. And once, having seen the blessed David enter the house of God, when he ate the bread of the Presence, and meet Ahimelech the priest (1 Samuel 21:1–6), he reported to Saul that David had only a very few men with him, and that Saul could easily seize him by coming upon him, and overpower him without trouble (1 Samuel 22:9–10).

So Doeg betrayed him by reporting to Saul that he had met Ahimelech in the house of God; but the Master of all kept the prophet safe, and brought that perverse man’s attempt to nothing.

The Blind and the Lame; When Saints Fall§5

5Book Two.

“And it was said to David, ‘You shall not come in here,’ because the blind and the lame resisted” (2 Samuel 5:6). So then, the blind and the lame of Jerusalem, that is, of Jebus, resisted the blessed David; and for doing this they perished miserably, for he captured the city. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, lame and blind, resisted Christ, the Savior of all, at the time of his coming. For they did not know how to walk uprightly; nor did those who would not accept the faith receive the divine light into their minds, above all the scribes and Pharisees.

“And David sent messengers, and took her, and went in to her” (2 Samuel 11:4). Do not be quickly troubled about the saints if at times they too have fallen into lapses. For it is true that even the very bravest of soldiers, those admired for bodily courage and skill, are sometimes wounded while fighting, yet they do not fall. And besides, I think I must add this to what has been said: for Christ alone, the Savior who loves mankind, has it been reserved not to suffer sin, because, being God by nature, he became flesh (John 1:14).

That is why he himself said of himself: “The ruler of this age is coming, and he will find nothing in me” (John 14:30).

And a little further on: I say these things about the sin of David, when he went in to Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. The account in the history concerns everyone. For even if he was weak as a man, and something unlooked-for…

David's Repentance and Flight§6

6…is found to have befallen him, yet he showed that the falls of the saints are quickly set right.

“And David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord’” (2 Samuel 12:13). (Cyril, from his exposition of Psalm 51.) Here, I ask you, marvel at the blessed David: … he mourned over his sin.

“Moreover, the son born to you shall surely die” (2 Samuel 12:14). (Cyril, from his Commentary on the Psalter, on the verse “O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger” (Psalm 6:1 or Psalm 38:1).) And yet, having heard these things from the prophet, … rather than to be pardoned.

“And he took the crown of Molchom the king” (2 Samuel 12:30). He set himself in battle against the sons of Ammon and against those who had joined shields with them in their madness, I mean those from the land of the Syrians. He conquered and took them by force; and taking the crown of Molchom, and finding in it a very large and precious stone, he bound it onto his own crown.

“And David went up weeping, with his head covered” (2 Samuel 15:30). Since it happened that before the war against Absalom the blessed David had committed the sin, I mean the one against Uriah, there was talk throughout the whole land of the Jews, so to speak, and some held a not unlikely suspicion about him. For they thought that he was paying the penalty for his offenses against Uriah, and that, since he had offended God, he would now be easy prey for any who wished and weak on every side. “Scatter, I beg you, the counsel…

Ahithophel, Hushai, and Shimei§7

7…of Ahithophel” (2 Samuel 15:31). “Scatter,” he says, “the counsel of Ahithophel, O Lord my God.” For Ahithophel was deep, bitter and full of schemes, able to find a way in every matter, and on top of this a most skilled general. So David feared Ahithophel most of all, because he always put forward bitter counsels and knew how to command an army.

“And behold, Hushai came to meet him” (2 Samuel 15:32). He persuades Hushai, who was one of his own friends, to feign desertion from him and a wish to be taken into Absalom’s service, so that he might secretly fight against the counsels of Ahithophel; and that is just what happened.

“And thus Shimei said as he cursed him” (2 Samuel 16:7). Though Shimei insulted him and all but hurled bitter words at him as from a sling, he went away having suffered nothing from David at that time, even though afterward he paid a harsh penalty that he deserved (1 Kings 2:44–46). The point is that David endured, and though many urged him on, he counted silence worth everything, out of very great and admirable understanding.

For he reasoned that, because he had offended God, he had in some way been given over to scourges, and he counted the reproaches, taunts and laughter of certain people as part of the blow. For where there is turning away and abandonment by God, even if it falls on someone only in moderate degree, there, without doubt, will be many bitter things of the kind that bring deep grief.

Ahithophel's End and Absalom's Death§8

8“Because the Lord told him to curse David” (2 Samuel 16:10). He recalls this in Psalm 39, where he says: “You have made me a reproach to the fool” (Psalm 39:8).

“And Ahithophel said to Absalom,” and so on (2 Samuel 17:1). Absalom wanted to pursue his father as he fled, and Ahithophel boldly advised that this must be done. But Hushai, persuasively drawing him back, urged him to keep in view his father’s fierceness, and not simply to rush straight at the task, but rather first to make ready a sufficient force and gather a crowd of soldiers, because the blessed David was mighty, skilled in war, and among the most warlike of all.

“And the woman took and spread the covering,” and so on (2 Samuel 17:19). So then, even if at times good things come to us through men, let us not give thanks to them rather than to God, who through them has granted us what gladdens the heart.

“And Ahithophel saw that his counsel had not been followed” (2 Samuel 17:23). The opinion of Hushai prevailed; and Ahithophel, deeply grieved at this, ended his life with a noose, bringing a just sentence against himself.

“And he wept, and thus he said,” and so on (2 Samuel 18:33). Absalom made war on the blessed David, and the young man unexpectedly took up the weapons of hostility against the one who begot him; but he was caught and perished. Yet his father did not rejoice over him when he met his death, but mourned him as a son.

Solomon Asks for Wisdom§9

9Book Three.

“And King David was old and advanced in years” (1 Kings 1:1). He had come through unbearable struggles, yet he had triumphed over his enemies and proved unconquerable to those who plotted against him. For he prevailed not only over foreigners, nor did he only put to flight the ranks of bloodthirsty barbarians; he prevailed also over those who rose up against him from time to time, and over those who joined shields with them.

“And you will give your servant a heart to hear and to judge your people in righteousness” (1 Kings 3:9). For those who wish to serve God, and who wish to escape the rough sea of this present life, must be wise and know what is profitable, with minds kept alert toward those they deal with. For just as ships, when they have rudders, are carried straight to their goal and escape the battering of the waves, even if the sea sometimes rages against them, but when they have no rudders are easily tossed this way and that, reel as if drunk in their drifting, and strike on stones and rocks and are shattered; so too a human soul, when it is governed by good sense, will easily escape Satan, who stirs up the storm, and in this way it also makes useless the evil schemes of those who plot against it. But a heart that has no wisdom suffers a grievous shipwreck.

“And it pleased the Lord,” and so on (1 Kings 3:10). “And it pleased the Lord,” it says, “that Solomon asked for this thing.” He was praised in no small measure, and he was counted worthy of the gift. For the Master of all, rich in his giving, granted his request; for God gladly grants the requests of those who ask rightly. For wisdom and understanding are truly a choice gift from God. With such splendid gifts the very nature of the angels is made radiant, and the blessed multitude of the spirits above, in the heavens. For what other possession of the soul could compare with this? Gold and silver, perhaps? But that is nothing to us, because such things are passing, they waste away and are altogether easily lost, and they have no power at all to benefit the human soul. Wisdom and knowledge, then, are a truly precious and lovely possession for the human soul: the knowledge, that is, of God.

“And I have given you what you did not ask, both riches,” and so on (1 Kings 3:13). In this he teaches us what we ought to ask for, and what we ought to receive as something added. For to the one who rightly asked for wisdom he first gave it, and then added all the rest besides, since he is the very one who said in the Gospels: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

“That your eyes may be open toward this house” (1 Kings 8:29). “And let your eyes,” he says, “and your ears be open” (1 Kings 8:52). If the divine Scripture, speaking to us about God, mentions parts, that is, limbs, we must understand that it converses with us in terms of what we know and of what we are by nature; for otherwise we could not have understood the things concerning God. The true cause and reason, then, why the God-inspired Scripture speaks to us about God in bodily terms is the poverty of both mind and tongue in us; for the things concerning him are wholly beyond words. Nor could those who live in tangible and coarse bodies understand anything of what they needed, except by way of…

Solomon, Jeroboam, and Naboth’s Vineyard§10

10…by way of examples, taking up our own members; only in this way do we rise, and barely, to faint thoughts about God.

“And the queen of Sheba,” and so on (1 Kings 10:1). (Cyril, from his Commentary on Luke.) A foreign woman, though great distances kept her away, overcame her reluctance, not to gather riches but to hear the wisdom of Solomon, who spoke in parables and riddles and sketched both the beauties and the faults of human character.

“Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the idol of Moab” (1 Kings 11:7). What could be more grievous than such monstrous offenses: to assign to herds of demons the dignity of honor and love that belongs to the one God, who is God by nature; or rather, to fashion them out of stones and wood, and to build temples for them?

“And the Lord was angry with Solomon,” and so on (1 Kings 11:9). And what, then, had been commanded to him and to all men under the Law? That they should not marry foreigners. For he said: “You shall not give your daughter to his son, and you shall not take his daughter for your son. For he will turn your son away from me, and he will go and serve other gods” (Deuteronomy 7:3-4). Forgetting this command, then, he joined himself to the daughters of foreigners. “Since, then,” he says, “you have counted as nothing the command that was given, and have slipped into apostasy and served the gods of foreigners; and since, though you knew that creation is my servant, you have assigned to it the honor and glory that are mine and that befit me alone, I too will tear your kingdom apart and give it to your servant (1 Kings 11:11), so that you may learn what you have done from what has happened to you.”

For Solomon, very wise though he was, was overcome by his desires for women, and all but tore apart the kingdom of God, so far as his efforts could reach, by attaching to idols the honor and glory that befit God alone. For this very reason God threatened, and with good cause, to tear his kingdom apart, grieving him in equal measure, as it is written in the prophet Ezekiel: “As you have done, so it shall be to you; your recompense shall be repaid upon your head” (Obadiah 1:15; compare Ezekiel 16:59).

“And the king took counsel, and went, and made two calves” (1 Kings 12:28). Jeroboam became the author of ruin for the people of Israel, displaying their choice of the kingship of men instead, and their turning away from being ruled by God through prophets. For: “See, Jeroboam has provoked me, the Master, by devising new calves and investing them with my own dignity.” And again: At the start Jeroboam devised the calves and ordered the customary rites to be performed before them, the wretch, attaching to his own inventions the glory that befits God, so that he himself might hold the kingdom securely; and so he robs God, as it were, of what is his own.

“And Naboth had a vineyard” (1 Kings 21:1). Isaiah teaches us to understand the vineyard as Israel (Isaiah 5:7). But its leaders, of whom Ahab bears the type, longed to have it; yet they could not persuade him to betray to them his father’s choice vineyard, so that they might turn it into a vegetable garden, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men (Matthew 15:9), and giving…

Naboth as Christ, and Prompt Obedience to God§11

11…it a muddy drink that overthrows (Habakkuk 2:15). Then what did Jezebel, hateful to God, do, that is, the synagogue of the Jews, joining in the grief of its leaders? By deceit she pursues the righteous Naboth, that is, the One who is to come. For Emmanuel was put to death on false charges.

“The God of Israel is a God of mountains” (1 Kings 20:23). For they supposed that the Israelites had won because God could save only on the mountains, or perhaps on the hills as well. “So we were defeated,” it says, “because the God of Israel is a God of mountains; but if we should meet in battle on bare plains, we shall surely prevail, since the God of Israel is powerless in the valleys.” These are the faults of pagan madness, the dreadful unbridled tongue of those who do not know the true God, who is God by nature. So God, who is mighty in all things, was angry with the foreigners, and with very good reason, because when they defeated Israel, as I said, they credited their thank offerings to their own gods, and in their folly supposed that they had prevailed over God himself.

“And he found another man and said, ‘Strike me’” (1 Kings 20:37). Do you hear how the man who refused to strike the prophet was miserably killed when he fell in with a fierce beast? And yet how could it not be true to say that it was the fruit of reverence not to dare to strike down a holy man and a prophet? But since it was at the word of the Lord, disobedience became a charge hard to escape (1 Kings 20:35-36). So hard to escape is the charge of doing anything against what seems good to God, or of not doing without delay what he commands. It is necessary, then, that whatever pleases God be carried out by us without hesitation or delay. To do anything other than this, or even to choose to think otherwise, brings the charge of arrogance; for such people have all but resolved to rebuke God, as though he had sometimes not counseled rightly.

Book Four.

“And now you have taken the silver,” and so on (2 Kings 5:26). Christ too says this in the holy Gospels: “Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road” (Luke 10:4). For one must go to the work with a straight course, and not even return a blessing to one who blesses. For turning aside to others is a loss to zeal, and so is spending idly, on things that are not necessary, the time that belongs to preaching; nor should one grant friendships the favor of useless delay.

“And they took possession of Samaria” (2 Kings 17:24). These, then, who took the land of the Samaritans as their lot and settled there, in time, it seems, became fathers of children; and they inclined toward the customs of the Jews, terrified by the attacks of the lions (2 Kings 17:25-26). From them came Sarasar and Arbeseser, who was also called king because at that time he led those who had been resettled in Samaria from the land of the Persians.

“Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign” (2 Kings 18:1). He had advanced so far in glory and in strength alike as to subdue the nations living around Judea, and indeed to impose heavy tribute on them. And a little further on: Then he suffered something human. For through excessive luxury, and overcome by the eminence of his fame, he became in a way proud; and, gripped by the disease of arrogance, he rose up against the divine law itself. For he thought…

The Assyrian Boast and Jerusalem’s Deliverance§12

12…that he ought to crown himself with the honors of the divine priesthood as well. For he attempted to push his way into the divine temple, to burn incense to God by his own hand, and to perform the customary rites as the Law prescribes. For this reason he was struck with leprosy at once and was held in the deepest dishonor; for under the Law one gripped by the disease of leprosy is unclean.

“Where is the god of Hamath?” and so on; “Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?” (2 Kings 18:34). For the barbarian, whose tongue matched his pride, perhaps supposed that the Master of earth and heaven, the Maker and Lord of all things, was just like one of the falsely named gods. Indeed it is the habit of those who do not know God sometimes to mock the hope of the saints, and to dare to say that they would not be delivered by God. Yet he was not unaware that human hands had made the falsely named gods, while the One who is God by nature and in truth was made by no one, but rather himself brought into being things that once did not exist. Samaria, then, was captured because God withheld his help. And, as I said before, even if none of the gods spoken of among the Greeks saved its own land, that counts for nothing against God, who truly and by nature exists and is great. For those gods have received from human craft only this much, that they can at least be seen; but he rules over all things, being the Lord of hosts.

“He tore his garments” (2 Kings 19:1). Do you see how, disregarding his own affairs, he grieves for God’s sake and seeks vengeance? “He tore his garments,” it says, “and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord” (2 Kings 19:1). And what was the reason for tearing his clothes? It was the custom of the Jews to do this at blasphemies against God; and the Gospels record that Caiaphas did the same (Matthew 26:65).

“I cut down the height of its cedar” (2 Kings 19:23). Its: whose? Lebanon’s, that is, Judea’s. By the height of the cedar he means their kingdom. For the glories of Hezekiah’s kingdom were about to be raised on high.

“And I will put my hooks in your nostrils,” he says, “and a bridle in your lips” (2 Kings 19:28). So that he would not dare to utter such things. Yet even if he did not share the fate of the multitude, for the reason already stated, the same reason for which Pharaoh too was kept as an onlooker while the rest of the Egyptians were punished, still he found his own sons to be his murderers when he had come back to his own land (2 Kings 19:37).

“And I will shield this city for my own sake” (2 Kings 19:34). For this befits the One who is God. Therefore: “I will do these things for my own sake,” and not because those who are helped are worthy.

“And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand” (2 Kings 19:35). So the war is ended, and the threats flee along with the dangers; and so from then on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, rejoicing greatly at the help that came from God, could say: “You have turned my mourning into joy for me” (Psalm 30:11). See how things are reversed; consider carefully what he says: “You have turned my mourning into joy for me.” Great was the mourning because of the multitude of those making war; great has the joy become because of the multitude of those who have fallen.