And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
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Caesarius of Arles
AD 542
“Your foes will be cut down by your sword.” Who they are we mentioned above, but let us find out by what sword they are said to fall. The apostle Paul teaches us what this sword is when he says, “For the Word of God is living and efficient and keener than every twoedged sword and extending even to the joints of soul and spirit, of the members also and the marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” This is the sword at whose edge our enemies will fall. For it is the Word of God which casts down all enemies and puts them under its feet, so that the whole world becomes subject to God. Do you wish to learn from still another epistle of Paul that the sword with which spiritual enemies are overcome is the Word of God? Listen to him as he provides arms for the soldiers of Christ: “Take unto you the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, that is, the Word of God. With all prayer and supplication pray.” By these words he declares very clearly that by the Wor...
“Five of you will put a hundred to flight.” Who are those five who can pursue a hundred? The number five is applied to both the praiseworthy and the culpable, for there were five wise virgins and five foolish; so also the number one hundred can be accepted in either way. Therefore if we belong to the five laudable ones, that is, the five wise virgins, we pursue one hundred of the foolish. If we fight wisely in matters of God’s Word, if we discuss the law of the Lord prudently, we convince and put to flight a multitude of unbelievers. Similarly the number one hundred indicates both the faithful and the unfaithful. Under that number of years Abraham is recorded to have believed in God and been justified, while “the sinner of a hundred years shall be thought accursed.” Now here a hundred unfaithful souls are put to flight by five wise men. Again, a hundred just men, who are so designated because of their perfection rather than their number, pursue many thousands of unbelievers. Indeed, de...
Five. Thus Gedeon's 300 men put to flight the great army of the Madianites; (Judges vii. 22,) and the Machabees destroyed vast numbers with a small force.
