34. But some man will say,
Would then those midwives and Rahab have done better if they had
shown no mercy, by refusing to lie? Nay verily, those Hebrew women,
if they were such as that sort of persons of whom we ask whether
they ought ever to tell a lie, would both eschew to say aught
false, and would most frankly refuse that foul service of killing
the babes. But, thou wilt say, themselves would die. Yea, but see
what follows. They would die with an heavenly habitation for their
incomparably more ample reward than those houses which they made
them on earth could be: they would die, to be in
eternal felicity, after enduring of death for most innocent truth.
What of her in Jericho? Could she do this? Would she not, if she
did not by telling a lie deceive the inquiring citizens, by
speaking truth betray the lurking guests? Or could she say2454
| 2454 mss. and
edd. “An posset;” but Ben. ed. propose “an non
posset,” “Could she not?” |
to their
questionings, I know where they are; but I
fear God, I will not
betray them? She could indeed say this, were she already a true
Israelitess in whom was no
guile:
2455
which thing she was about to be,
when through the
mercy of
God passing over into the city of
God.
But they, hearing this (thou wilt say), would
slay her, would
search the
house. But did it follow that they would also find them,
whom she had diligently concealed? For in the foresight of this,
that most cautious
woman had placed them where they would have been
able to remain undiscovered if she, telling a
lie, should not be
believed. So both she, if after all she had been slain by her
countrymen for the
work of
mercy, would have ended this
life, which
must needs come to an end, by a
death precious in the sight of the
Lord,
2456
and
towards them her benefit had not been in
vain. But, thou wilt say,
“What if the men who sought them, in their thorough-going search
had come to the place where she had concealed them?” In this
fashion it may be said: What if a most
vile and base
woman, not
only telling, but swearing a
lie, had not got them to believe her?
Of course even so would the things have been like to come to pass,
through
fear of which she lied. And where do we put the will and
power of
God? or haply was He not able to keep both her, neither
telling a
lie to her own townsmen, nor betraying men of
God, and
them, being His,
safe from all harm? For by Whom also after the
woman’s
lie they were
guarded, by Him could they, even if she had
not lied, have in any
wise been
guarded. Unless perchance we have
forgotten that this did come to pass in
Sodom, where males burning
towards males with hideous
lust could not so much as find the
door
of the
house in which were the men they sought; when that just man,
in a case altogether most similar, would not tell a
lie for his
guests, whom he knew not to be
Angels, and
feared lest they should
suffer a
violence worse than
death. And doubtless, he might have
given the seekers the like answer as that
woman gave in
Jericho.
For it was in precisely the like manner that they sought by
interrogating. But that just person was not willing that for the
bodies of his
guests his
soul should be spotted by his own telling
of a
lie, for which bodies he was willing that the bodies of his
daughters by
iniquity of others’
lust should be deforced.
2457
Let then a
man do even for the temporal
safety of men what he can; but when it
comes to that point that to
consult for such
saving of them except
by
sinning is not in his
power, thenceforth let him esteem himself
not to have what he may do, when he shall perceive that only to be
left him which he may not rightly do. Therefore, touching
Rahab in
Jericho, because she
entertained strangers, men of
God, because in
entertaining of them she put herself in
peril, because she believed
on their
God, because she diligently hid them where she could,
because she gave them most
faithful counsel of returning by another
way, let her be
praised as meet to be
imitated even by the
citizens
of
Jerusalem on high. But in that she lied, although somewhat
therein as prophetical be intelligently
expounded, yet not as meet
to be imitated is it wisely propounded: albeit that God hath those
good things memorably honored, this evil thing mercifully
overlooked.
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