THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
The significance of these words presents a profound and complex mystery. I will articulate as much as I am able to share. The unfortunate Jewish people dismissed the teachings of the Savior, remaining steadfast in their adherence to the law of Moses. They believed they were acting devoutly by clinging to the tangible, while disregarding the essence of truth. This led them to persecute Jesus, as He redirected the intention of the lawful commandment, guiding them toward the ministry of the gospel. Drawing upon their agricultural practices, He posed the question, ‘Eat all day long, shall it be oraïti orati?’ through which He intended to reveal a critical insight. The hearts of idolaters are tough and unyielding, resembling parched, unrefined soil.
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Thus, they require a word of encouragement, akin to a plow, to soften their spirits and make them receptive to the divine seed, enabling them to bear fruit for God through diligence and commitment to goodness.
The Israelites experienced something similar. While in Egypt, they worshipped the deities of that land but were called forth by the wise Moses, who brought them the law—a tool like a plow to break up their hardened hearts and minds. However, it was essential for them to proceed from this initial phase of spiritual cultivation, and upon the arrival of Christ, the Savior of all, to bear fruit for God through a life of spiritual service. Therefore, as mentioned, their rejection of Christ’s teachings, anchored in their devotion to Moses, warranted a redirection of their thoughts. He challenged them with the inquiry, ‘Eat all the day long, shall it be oration?’ He posed that a diligent farmer of untamed and thorny land continually plows to prepare it for seed. When one's intention is to cultivate, does one not first prepare the field? Once the land is made ready, the farmer sows initial seeds like blackgrass and cumin before progressing to wheat, barley, and millet. It is essential, he suggests, that the hearts of the people, under the transformative commandment, be softened in advance—like the very surface of the land—so they may properly yield the fruits of righteousness.
The farmer, while conditioning the soil, does not immediately sow the harder seeds but begins with the smaller, weaker ones—blackgrass and cumin—until the earth is ready for greater harvests. This reflects the wisdom of careful cultivation within your borders. Similarly, the law served as a preparatory measure, akin to a skilled farmer planting tiny seeds like chokecherry and cumin—seeds that, alone, may offer little nourishment but, when combined with barley and wheat, become truly beneficial. This illustrates the purpose of the subordinate law. For if it does not prove advantageous when understood spiritually, as a foundation for the more substantial sustenance of the gospel, then it would hold little value on its own.