2 Chronicles 26:9Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

What do the pillars signify, including those at the gates of the corner and Judah? What do the wilderness pillars and the excavated storehouses represent, along with the cattle? What is the significance of the lowlands and the workers in the vineyard? What about the highlands and Carmel, and what does it mean, "Bebo the tiller of the soil"?

Come, O venerable Word of God, grant us a fitting revelation of Your teachings. Strip away the layers of physical understanding, and reveal to us, O Christ, the beauty of the spiritual meaning. Take our right hand, which signifies our intellect, and lead us in the paths of Your commandments (Ps. 118:35); guide us into Your marvelous abode, to the house of God, filled with joy and the sound of celebration (Ps. 41:5), allowing us, through spiritual confession and joyful meditation, to be honored with entry into Your indescribable banquet and join the heavenly chorus, praising in silence the message of the ineffable.

Forgive me, O Christ, for attempting what exceeds my capacity for the sake of Your faithful servants. Illuminate my darkened mind so that I may perceive the truths before me, that I might bring more glory to You, who opens the eyes of the blind and enables the tongue of the mute to speak (Isaiah 35:5-6). I assert that just as Solomon serves as a type of Christ, so too does Hosea symbolize the Savior. The name ‘Hosea’ in Greek translates to ‘the power of God,’ and our Lord Jesus Christ, the cornerstone (Psalm 117:22), is the true Power and Divine Authority of God the Father.

Just as the corner connects two walls, the Church of God serves as the unity of two peoples: the Gentiles and the Jews, fastened together by Christ, who built the pillars in Jerusalem; these pillars symbolize the foundational and divine pronouncements of the Godhead, which serve as strongholds. He also raised pillars at the gates of the corner, representing the teachings related to the Incarnation. The Church's entryway is Christ Himself, who declares: “I am the door” (John 10:9); it is through these gates, supported by the strongholds of divine truth about the Incarnation, that all who wish to believe rightly must enter. A person protected by the pillars of these foundational truths, fortified by divine tenets, will not be deterred by slander or malicious spirits.

The phrase “above the corner of Judah” signifies the flesh, while the corner illustrates the union of flesh and soul in harmony with the spirit. The pillars are the strongholds of commandments, while the teachings must be carefully understood to bind soul and flesh in an inseparable union. The references to angles in Scripture may pertain to the various unions among distinct beings achieved through Christ. He brought together humanity, transcending gender distinctions through the Spirit, rendering the essential nature found in both genders devoid of passionate traits. He also unified the earthly realm, eliminating the divide between the sensual paradise and the inhabited world. Furthermore, He reconciled heaven and earth, illustrating the unified nature of all creation. Similarly, He integrated sensual and intelligible realities, demonstrating the shared essence of creatures connected by a profound cause. Ultimately, He united the created and the uncreated realms, establishing pillars of divine truths to uphold each connection.

Ozias, by seeking the Lord through contemplation and a genuine fear of God—demonstrated by following His commandments—successfully raised pillars in Jerusalem, which symbolize the stability of divine knowledge. The gate at the corner, representing the faith of the Church, is the virtuous life through which believers inherit blessings. Upon this foundation, the guiding intellect constructs formidable pillars of divine teachings regarding the Incarnation, paving the way for virtues meant to protect the practice of commandments. The corner of Judgment, representing the flesh, is united with the soul through the law of commandments. On this, the ability to discern is erected, subjugating the flesh under the soul through spiritual law.

The Scriptures state that there are many angles where a mind fortified by God establishes pillars. An angle not only denotes the connection between parts sharing a common origin, such as individuals within a species, but also embodies the union of intellect with sensation, heaven with earth, the tangible with the intelligible, and nature with its divine Logos. By grounding the true understanding of each, the contemplative mind raises spiritual pillars—doctrines that bind together these connections.