THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
Let them indeed present the young woman, as it is stated, “and give her to Eleazar the priest, and he shall lead her out of the camp..., and they shall slay her with him.” The priest may symbolize those who are consecrated and anointed by the Holy Spirit, and in reference to us, the faithful, the esteemed Apostle declared, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9). Thus, for us, the holy ones, the selected lineage, and sanctified nation, Christ is bestowed upon us by God the Father as “righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30), our Savior and Redeemer. As the exalted Paul wrote, He “suffered outside the gate” (Heb. 13:12). Consequently, we too must venture forth, as he instructs, “bearing His chastisement” (Heb.
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13:13), which means we must each take up our own cross. The Savior Himself articulated this: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23; Matthew 16:24). That it is fitting and beneficial for the sacred and sanctified to keep the crucified Christ in their thoughts is evidenced by the command that a young girl should be burned before the priest. By remembering Christ, who died for us and on our behalf, we gain a deeper appreciation for the powerful words of the exalted Paul, who proclaims: “If one died for all, then all died. But Christ died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). Furthermore, he states, “By the law I died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself” for us (Galatians 2:19-20). Therefore, let us keep the One who suffered and was sacrificed for us ever present in our thoughts; for in doing so, we will cease to live for ourselves but live for God, having been redeemed by the blood of Christ, who “gave Himself up” for us, as declared in the Scriptures (Galatians 2:20).