Bede

Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. etc. The arrangement that had been begun right after the rebuilding of the city is now complete; but up to this time, it could not be finished before the numbering of the people and the completion of the solemnities of the seventh month, so that it might be determined who should live in the holy city itself and who in the other towns. It is fitting regarding the figures of the sacraments that the leaders of the people are said to have lived in Jerusalem. For it is proper that the prelates of the holy Church should surpass the people as much in the merits of their life as they surpass them in the height of their power. Indeed, the other cities of Israel signify the devout conversation of God's people. But the habitation of the people of Jerusalem especially represents the deeds of those who, having overcome the struggle against vices, approach the vision of supreme peace with a free mind, according to that verse of the Psalmist: "The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob" (Psalm 87). Hence, subsequently, a tenth part of the people was chosen by lot to receive habitation in Jerusalem, while the other nine parts resided in their own towns; because it is indeed the privilege of the perfect—those who fully keep the precepts of the Decalogue in the love of God and neighbor—to approach the heavenly secrets with their minds and to imitate, if I may say so, the peace of supreme blessedness amid the turmoil of a fleeting life. Although the gate to eternal life is open to those who keep God's general commandments, as the Lord declares to the rich man who questioned Him in the Gospel. Such people dwell, as it were, in the cities given to them by the Lord, because they vigilantly guard themselves against the snares of the ancient enemy by adhering to the divine law. But those who wish to be perfect, having sold all that they have and distributed it to the poor, and thus follow the Lord, these dwell, as it were, in the citadel of Jerusalem, close to the temple of God and the ark of the covenant, because they approach more intimately the grace of their Creator. It is well said that their habitation in the holy city was not due to human choice, but by the casting of lots, just as the possession of other cities was given by lot to the children of Israel in the time of Joshua; because indeed both small and great blessings are received not by the freedom or effort of one's own will but by the gift of the hidden Judge and Giver.

And concerning the Levites, portions of Judah and Benjamin, it indicates that the Levites received their share in the possession of the children of Judah and Benjamin according to the decree of the law. Let these few words be said about the history. Concerning all these things, if we also wish to hear an allegorical sense that fits our actions, Judah is interpreted as confessing, Benjamin as the son of the right hand, Levi as taken up. Tribes of all these partly live in Jerusalem, and partly in subordinate cities given to them by God, because the gains of the faithful are many and diverse, for which there are also many mansions in the house of the Father in the heavens, as we taught above. Some are content to keep the general commandments of God: not to kill, not to commit adultery, not to steal, not to bear false witness against their neighbor; to honor father and mother, and to love neighbors as themselves. Others try to take a stricter way of a perfect life, yet all praise and confess the grace of their Creator according to their calling and are children of the eternal kingdom, which is at His right hand; and they are taken up by Him into life, when the time of that judgment comes, in which two will be in the field, one will be taken, two women grinding at the mill, one will be taken, and one left (Matthew XXIV).

In the days of Joachim there were priests, etc. However, after providing the succession of chief priests, a catalogue of the lesser priests and Levites who existed during their times is also added, so that we might know that, when the number of citizens in Jerusalem increased abundantly, the group of priests and Levites was also distinguished and noble, sufficient for the ministries of the temple and altar, for confessing and praising God, for the guardianship of the same temple and city, and for instructing the people. Nor was it done without the understanding of a holier mystery, that the rebuilt city of Jerusalem deserved such a great number of citizens in every rank and order, as it is never read to have lost so many even while the enemy was pressing and destroying. For just so, the holy Church often received greater increases from its losses, when many, frightened by the example of one who lapsed into sin through negligence, became more cautious about persevering in the chastity of faith. Often the very ones who sinned, after performing penance, began to bear greater fruits of good works than those they were accustomed to bear before the incursion of sin. Often the Church, devastated by heretics, after receiving the light of truth through the diligence of Catholic doctors, generated more children of the same truth, recovering many to know and defend reason. For blessed Fathers Athanasius, Ambrose, Hilary, Augustine, and others like them would never have composed so many and such magnificent treatises on the holy Scripture if not for the multifarious errors of heretics against the correct faith. But while the heretics were trying to support their lies with testimonies of Scriptures, they were forced contrariwise to refute them with the authority of the same Scriptures and to explain how their statements should rightly be understood. Reading these writings today, we receive them as more vigilant guards at the gates and entrances of the holy city and temple, and as more copious ministers for the office of the altar and the sacrifices of the Lord; for through their words we are instructed to more intently serve under the divine gaze of majesty, in the custody of faith, and in good action. This can also mystically be understood of the persecution by the pagans, by which the holy Church was very frequently shaken; it seemed indeed to be completely destroyed on the occasion of the martyrs, but it was better constructed as they were crowned in secret. With their miracles shining forth after their deaths, a greater people flocked to the confession of faith, until the very pinnacle of worldly power consented to submit its neck to the sweetest yoke of Christ, so that the state of the holy city, which is the Church of Christ, long attacked by unbelieving kings, was again helped and propagated by the efforts of believing kings and princes of the age; just as the city of Jerusalem was indeed overthrown by the kings of the Chaldeans, who are interpreted as fierce or like demons, but was restored and exalted with the due honor by the kings of the Persians, who are said to be interpreted as tempted, through friendly provision.

They sought out the Levites from all their dwellings, etc. Spiritual Levites, that is, those chosen for the lot of the kingdom, are also sought from all their places, when the Son of Man shall send His angels, and gather His elect from the four winds, from the highest part of the earth to the highest part of the heavens. And they make dedication with joy, song, thanksgiving; and with various musical instruments, for in the perception of eternal life they will rejoice together, giving thanks to Him by whose gift they have deserved to enter that city. Moreover, cymbals, psalteries, and lyres can be understood as the bodies of the saints, now immortal, rendering the sweetest sounds of their praise to the Lord. But in the present life, the Levites are gathered in Jerusalem when the faithful, inflamed by the memory of supernal peace, place their whole mind's delight in it, and of that eternal inheritance in the heavens which they hope to receive; and if they cannot yet see it, at least they rejoice in the hope, according to the words of the Psalmist: Rejoice, you just, in the Lord, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness (Ps. XCVI). For they make dedication in song and thanksgiving, receiving with a mind rejoicing in the Lord whatever occurs in the world, whether adversity or prosperity. They also make it in cymbals, psalteries, and lyres, when they cause the grateful sounds of good works to ascend to the ears of their Creator, and also kindle the hearts of their neighbors to the love of the same Creator and Savior.

And the priests and Levites purified themselves, etc. It is a wholly just order that those teachers and prelates who wish to purify the people should first be purified themselves; first, they should chastise their own body and bring it into servitude, lest perhaps, while preaching to others, they themselves should be found reprobate (I Cor. IX). The priests and Levites were purified by prayers and by the offerings of sacrifices, and also by abstaining from wives, they purified the people by preaching the same continence. They also purified the gates and the wall with trumpets and the songs of psalms, with the people accompanying them by encircling. Together they purified with themselves the people, the gates, and the wall, offering great sacrifices after completing the circuit for the state of the citizens and the city. But also now, those who preside over the people with holy leadership, and have been taken by the Lord into spiritual ministry, carry with greater seriousness the memory of our dedication, which is in the future resurrection; thus, they strive the more earnestly to purify and sanctify both themselves and those entrusted to them; lest perhaps anyone, found in a defiled state of mind, be cast outside from the common joy of the holy solemnity and be bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness.

And I caused the leaders of Judah to ascend upon the wall, etc. The leaders of Judah, that is, of confession or praise, are indeed the more advanced teachers of the holy Church, who ascend upon the wall in the dedication of the city; because when the time of recompense shall appear, they will be shown to have transcended the general conduct of the holy Church by living more loftily. These are of whom the Lord promises to the same Church through the prophet, saying: "I have appointed watchmen upon your walls" (Isaiah XXVI). Hence it is just that those who are now elevated as the wall of the holy Church in the capacity of watchmen, should then also surpass the others in the glory of their reward. Where two large choirs of praisers are established, because from both peoples, namely, the Jews and the Gentiles, who praise God in the heavenly homeland, they come. What also anyone learned recognizes to happen daily in this life. These choirs indeed go to the right upon the wall, because the just, by living rightly, hasten to eternal life both now in the present, and will reach it in the future. They go to the gate of the dung heap, indeed in the present to purge the filth of sins from the Church by living rightly and correcting those who err. In the future, however, so that they may expel by judicial power from the city of the Lord, that is, from the entrance to the heavenly homeland, those who were unwilling to be corrected. Or certainly, the choirs of praisers go to the right upon the wall to the gate of the dung heap, while they proclaim the worthy of praise, who took care to eliminate all uncleanness from the Church by preaching, reproving, excommunicating, anathematizing.

And they went up against them on the steps of the city of David, etc. Above, when the city was being built, it was said: Those who built the gate of the fountain continued their measure of work up to the steps descending from the city of David (Neh. III). There, therefore, is the descent of the steps during the building; here, however, during the dedication of the city, is the ascent mentioned; just as there labor and conflict with the enemy is conducted, here the joy of the enemy having been defeated is celebrated, because indeed all the saints, who now are humbled under the mighty hand of God, will be exalted by Him in the future. Those who now build the walls of the Church on earth from living stones, namely holy souls, in affliction and dangers, in many vigils, then with the completion of the same building, and when it has been raised in the kingdom of heaven, they, rejoicing, ascend to contemplate its glory. However, the house of David, that is, by the strong and desirable hand, are all the just, who by the grace of their Creator are filled and inhabited by Him. And the sons of priests ascend upon the house of David, when holy preachers, or martyrs, as they now pass through the general life of the just, either through the ministry of the word or the struggle of martyrdom; in this way, then, the general rewards of them precede the higher gifts of remuneration. To whom the parable of the faithful servants aptly fits, of which one says, Lord, your mina has made ten minas; the same Lord says, Well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in a little, you will have authority over ten cities. To another saying the same, Lord, your mina has made five minas; and He says, You be over five cities (Luke XIX). For as many as one now instructs to life by his word or example, to such an extent he will then be honored, appearing more glorious in the perception of life. The priests also come to the water gate towards the east, when those who in this life, just as the deer longs for the fountains of water, so desired to appear before the face of God, they reach the affection of this desire, and merit to see the rise of the Sun of righteousness without setting. But it is said, And they went up against them; it does not signify the contrariety of distance, but the encounter of harmony, by which the elect both in this life once kindle each other to the love of their Creator, and in the next life more perfectly rejoicing in each other's happiness, always without weariness they praise Him, in accordance with the example of the seraphim, who, as the prophet testifies, calling to one another, celebrate the holy Trinity with associated exultation (Isa. VI).

And a second chorus of those giving thanks went opposite, etc. It is long to discuss each gate or tower in particular; it suffices to say that those who completed the gates, towers, and wall of the city in great labor, hardship, hunger, cold, daily and nightly watchfulness, against an indefatigable and insidious enemy, then, with the enemy repelled and confounded, walking through the gates, towers, and buildings of the same city, rejoice together in songs and hymns, with psalteries, cymbals, lyres, trumpets, and thanksgiving, together with those who were the makers of the work and the teachers of God's law. It is doubtful to none that this also happens in the same manner in a spiritual edifice. When the time of ultimate retribution comes, as if by the long-desired dedication of the city of God, everlasting faith receives rewards for its works; when, like Nehemiah and Ezra, and the other priests and Levites, each presenting their laborers, all the teachers of the faithful people introduce those whom they have brought to the Lord to the walls of the heavenly homeland. Then, among other things, in the holy walls of the city, even upon the tower of the ovens, in whose structure they had labored before, Nehemiah advances with a chorus of praisers, while the teachers of truth rejoice in the sublime rewards of those they have taught. For if the breads of the ovens, which are baked in secret, signify the inner devotion of the faithful mind, confirmed by the fire of love; whence such breads are commanded by law to be offered as a sacrifice to the Lord (Leviticus II), which are more aptly figured by the ovens in which those same breads are baked than by their own hearts, which are always to burn with the flame of intimate love, and tend to produce acts and words of virtues. About which the prophet beautifully says: "Your Lord is a fire in Zion, and a furnace in Jerusalem" (Isaiah XXXI). And Luke himself about himself: "Was not our heart burning within us, while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?" (Luke XXIV). And against, the hearts of the reprobate also burn, but with the fire of sins. Hence another prophet about them: "All of them are adulterers, like a heated oven" (Hosea VII). Therefore, the builders of the holy city build a tower of ovens among others, when the teachers establish the hearts of their hearers in faith and in the work of truth, so that they may be worthy to receive greater gifts of the Spirit, and daily new feasts of virtues to be brought forth in the joy of the people of God. Rejoicing, and singing praise to the Lord, they advance upon the tower of the ovens on the day of the dedication of Jerusalem, when in the time of future retribution, they rejoice in the eternal beatitude for the glory of those whom they have instructed with the teachings of life. Therefore, the ovens are the hearts of the elect, in which love is poured out by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to them. And the tower of the ovens is the height and guard of good works; which same hearts, lest they may be harmed by evil spirits, lest the flame of virtues be able to be inflated or disturbed by the wind of pride, always need to be fortified with careful and anxious vigilance.

And two choirs of those praising stood in the house of God, etc. Walking before the walls and gardens of the city, in a song of joy, and with musical instruments, they return to the temple of the Lord; so that there also standing, they may render praise to the Lord with sounding trumpets, and fulfill the vows of dedication with the offered sacrifices. But that same homeland of the future life mystically signifies the house of the Lord, which both the city of the Lord also indicates, just as the present Church is customarily called in the Scriptures both the house of Christ and the city. However, there is a distinction, as the buildings of the city sing the praises with songs of gratitude and instruments; but in the house of God standing, they are reported to have praised and sung clearly. For the chosen ascend the walls of the city, which they made with the joy of the heavenly country, which they themselves made with the diligence of good works, they enter. They perceive the diversity of the gates, and the height of the towers and buildings, when entering into the house of the Father, they contemplate the difference of many mansions there according to the diverse merits of men. But they stand in the house of God, and sing more clearly, when each received into their own mansions, they remain in stable habitation in the perpetual vision of their Creator, and celebrate His praises in the age of God with an undivided voice. Where two choirs of those praising will be, either from both peoples, as we interpreted above, joined, and coupled into one modulation of divine praise; or made of angels and men, fulfilling the Lord's promise, where it is said, that men will be equal to the angels of God (Mark XII). But also in this life the just ascend into the city of the Lord with hymns of dedication, when longing with all their heart for the memory of future reward, they daily progress more and more in good works, according to that of the Psalmist: He has set ascensions in his heart in the valley of tears (Ps. LXXXIII). And again: Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord (Ps. CXVIII). For behold he also calls the undefiled those walking in the way in the law of the Lord, because they thus indeed hold the accepted innocence of heart and work, so that moreover they strive to grow in the merits of virtues to higher things. But they stand in the house of the Lord with praises, because in the very pursuit of good works they persevere indefatigably, according to that of blessed Elijah: The Lord lives, in whose sight I stand (III Kings XVII), that is, in whose will to be completed I remain with an indefatigable mind. But aptly it follows: