THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
In response to this, he elaborates on the previous statement by saying, "The youngest shall grow weary, and the young shall labor, and the elect shall not be strong." While the Gentiles reached such a state of fatigue that they fell prey to the devil and continuously catered to the desires of unclean spirits, there were others, despite their fortitude and youthful vigor, who experienced spiritual and mental hunger and hardships. Those who, guided by the principles of the law, understood virtue and adhered to the commandments, he states, will also become disheartened and toilsome, rendered incapable of performing any good deed. The eloquence of divine words, should it befall anyone, leaves him powerless across all fronts, weary, and unfit for acts of righteousness.
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The people of Israel faced devastation due to this famine, while believers in our Lord Jesus Christ were rescued from evil. God foretold this through one of the prophets in days of old: "Behold, the days are coming, saith the Lord, and I will send a famine upon the earth, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord... and from the east to the west shall flow those who seek the word of the Lord, and they shall not find it" (Amos 8:11, 12). How could they remain empowered, how could they avoid languishing and perishing from hunger, except because they rejected Christ, who declared, "I am the bread of life which came down from heaven" (John 6:51), and "I give life to the world" (John 6:33); "if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever" (John 6:51). Yet, in their folly, though it was within their grasp, they chose not to partake of this life-giving bread, suffering hunger whilst the Gentiles feasted. Indeed, as Solomon writes, "The Lord will not let the righteous go hungry, but He will thwart the craving of the wicked" (Proverbs 10:3). This is precisely what the Jews endured, having dealt treacherously with the Prince of Life.