THEOSISJohn Chrysostom
Contemplate the consequence that follows from a single transgression, and observe the relentless penalty; one person sinned, and death and sorrow descended upon the entire nation. What does this signify, O gracious Lord? You are the only one who is just, and Your judgments are true; You recompense each individual according to their actions; You have declared, O Lover of mankind, that each shall perish for their own iniquity, and that one shall not bear the punishment for another. Thus, what is the meaning of this, Your just decree? All Your works, O Lord, are commendable and deserving of our highest praise; they are orchestrated for our benefit. Why, then, do You impose judgment on others for the sin of one?
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Sin, He responds, can be likened to a contagion; let it be humiliated by the punishment of all, that they may recognize the damage caused by a single offense and avert greater eternal penalties.
Consider the nature of those who seek wealth, for I do not wish to burden those present. Yet, if one were to examine all who enter the sanctuaries across the globe, what transgression would they not uncover? They would observe leaders greedily pursuing wealth, securing their positions through buying and selling, and they would witness many caught up in envy, slander, vanity, and an insatiable thirst for gain, serving money instead of the Lord. Such great wickedness invites a multitude of evils.
To understand the punishment deserved by the followers of these vices, let us recall the lessons of history. One warrior took some of the consecrated treasures, and a great calamity fell upon them all. You are surely familiar with the story of Achan, who appropriated a portion of the offerings from the conquest, which had been dedicated to God. The prophet declared that their land was filled with sorcery, as if it were a foreign territory (Isaiah 2:6). Today, evil saturates everything and everyone, yet there is no fear! God also allows the righteous to suffer alongside the unrighteous, as was the case with Daniel, the three young men, and many others, just as continues to occur today in times of war. Through the trials that descend upon them from above, the righteous purge their wrongdoing, but the wicked remain unrepentant.