“As the husbandman governs a yoke of oxen and tills the ground, so Jesus, the fair true husbandman, yoked the apostles two by two and sent them forth, tilling with them the ground of those who hear and truly believe. Only this is worth saying, that the Kingdom of God and the preaching of the apostles is not in the word of hearing only, like one who knows a set of words and rehearses them to others, but the Kingdom is in the power and the effective working of the spirit. This was the sad case of the children of the Israelites; always studying the scripture, and in fact making the Lord the theme of their study, and yet not receiving the truth itself, they parted with that inheritance to others. So those who rehearse to others words of the Spirit, while they do not themselves possess the Word in Power, part with the inheritance to others.”

-St. Macarius the Egyptian

As the Husbandman Governs

Many don’t know that a husbandman is not someone who helps women find husbands. A husbandman is an outdated term for one who cultivates the soil, or quite simply, a farmer. In the time of St. Macarius, farmers didn’t have tractors, but usually used draft animals such as oxen to pull the plow and till the field. Macarious is comparing this to Jesus sending out the Apostles to teach the true knowledge of God, and the practice of spiritual development necessary to reach the Kingdom of God.

Memorizing and Repeating Words

Parrots, Macaws, Ravens, and some other birds can memorize and repeat words. If the words they hear come from scripture, that is what they will repeat. They will not become enlightened as a result. St. Macarius tells us that the Israelites of Jesus’ time liked to memorize and repeat scripture, but that did not bring them to the Kingdom of God. Today, many Evangelical Christians do the same thing and are proud of the fact that they can quote from much of the Bible. The image I used to illustrate this post was from an article titled “ The Importance of Memorizing Scripture” and is one of many promoting the idea to Christians. The article promotes the practice because the Bible tells us to learn the Word of God, but the Word of God is not static and locked up in any book of scripture. The word of God is dynamic and must be learned directly. But a Parrot can be taught the same words, but it does not comprehend their meaning. Likewise, those Christians who memorize Bible passages, without understanding their actual meaning, or practicing the spiritual development teachings that were key to the teachings of Jesus, are not moving any closer to God. It is also important to understand that scripture is often written in allegorical language, so memorizing the words is meaningless.

Possess the Word in Power

What St. Macarius is implying here is that one must practice the teaching of holy ones like Jesus, not simply memorize their words. It is in practicing spiritual development techniques that we develop our own spirit. You don’t get the benefits of a healthy diet by reading about it but eating junk food instead. You don’t get strong, healthy muscles by reading a workout plan, but only by putting the plan into practice. Likewise, knowing that the realm of Spirit exists doesn’t make you a spiritual person. You must practice spiritual development methods regularly and develop your spirit, not just read about it, or memorize scripture.

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding , the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and reverence for the Lord.

His delight shall be in the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear.

But with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall destroy the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them…

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put it hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

On that day, the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nation shall inquire of him, and the dwelling shall be glorious.

On that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people…. He will raise a signal for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts, and gather the dispersed from the four corners of the earth.

– ISAIAH 11: 1 – 6, 8 – 12

The Book of Isaiah

Isaiah was one of the greatest of the Bible writers and prophets, but his writings are ignored by most modern Christians because it is written in such an allegorical way that little of it is understood. He was an Essene, the real spiritual people of Israel and Egypt.

A Shoot from Jesse

This is an allegorical reference to Jesus, the Messiah. The branch coming out of the shoot refers to what Christians call “The Second Coming.” This one who comes as Christ will council with the wisdom and understanding of God. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes or hears with his ears because the physical senses can be deceiving. He will know what is in the hearts and minds of people, and from that will he judge.

Extend His Hand a Second Time

When the Second Coming happens, it will be a return of Christ, not Jesus. As all humans come into the world, he will be born an infant, not a great warrior as some expect. He will come to bring peace, not war, but it will be at a time when there is much war. War between groups of humans, war of Nature against Man, and war of the Cosmos as the Realm of Matter tries to stop the takeover of the Realm of Spirit. Yet he will not bring more war, but a promise of peace, love, and harmony for those who listen. He will bring about that promised day when the lion and the calf will lie together, and that will mean that peace has come to humanity, in thought as well as deed, for it is the thoughts of Man that cause other species to be violent.

They Will Not Hurt Those on The Holy Mountain

It doesn’t seem like much of a hope to say that those who dwell on a particular mountain will be saved, but that statement is allegorical. It means that the materialists will, in the end, not be able to stop the spiritual people from bringing God’s Truth, Wisdom, and Love into the world. Unfortunately, before that day we will probably continue to go through much suffering and abuse at the hands of the materialistic people and the demons and dark forces that control them. But as Isaiah says, in the End Times, which are happening now, God will recover the remnants of His people. Those people are not from a particular faith, nationality, or race. They are those who listen to God, who follow His Law, who awaken and develop their spiritual Self, and use the spiritual truth and wisdom they gain to help others.