THEOSISGregory the Great
The soil that yields bread is deeply consumed, as though it were set ablaze, as noted in Job 28:5. Judah provided bread, presenting to the people the words of the commandments. Yet, the same commandments have become incomprehensible to the children of destruction, a sorrow expressed by the prophet Jeremiah in his anguish when he declares, "The infants asked for bread, and there was no man to grind it for them" (Lamentations 4:4). This is described as the earth being consumed inwardly like fire, for witnessing true miracles produces an inner turmoil fueled by envy. Envy, arising from pride, leads the afflicted earth to perish in its own flames, consumed by jealousy because it refuses to relinquish pride.
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Hence, "the ground on which bread grows is inwardly pounded out as if by fire," for the Synagogue, which presents the divine commandments through the law, ultimately ignites itself in the flames of envy as it carries out its persecution of the newborn Church. Was it not from this envy that, upon witnessing our Redeemer's miracles, some of her followers exclaimed, "What shall we do? For this Man performs many signs" (John 11:47), or indeed: "Look, the world has gone after Him" (John 12:19)? They understood that transformation was necessary, and to resist this, they steeled their hearts further. They sought to extinguish the One who was granting life to the dead. They declared the law with their mouths while turning against the Author of that very law. Thus, the ground that yields bread was internally consumed as if by fire. Judah, in herself, exemplified the first to have the law renewed, only to become the envy that ultimately consumed her. To illustrate her plight, he further elaborated: