God Seeks Out the Pursued From Abel to the Altar

"That which has been is now, and that which is to be has already been" (Ecclesiastes 3:15). Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Nehemiah. Rabbi Judah said: If a person says to you that had Adam not sinned he would be alive and existing until now, say to him, "it already is" — Elijah, remembered for good, who did not sin, is not alive and existing until now. "And that which is to be has already been": if a person says to you that the Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future revive the dead, say to him, "it already has been" — did He not already do so through Elijah and through Elisha and through Ezekiel? Rabbi Nehemiah said: If a person says to you that the whole world was once water within water, say to him, "it already is" — the ocean, is it not all water within water? "And that which is to be has already been": if a person says to you that the Holy One will in the future make the sea into dry land, say to him, "it already has been" — did He not already do so through Moses, "and the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea" (Exodus 14:29)? Rabbi Aha in the name of Rabbi Simeon bar Halafta said: Everything the Holy One, blessed be He, will do in the world to come, He has already done a portion of it in advance through the righteous in this world. The Holy One said He will revive the dead — He already did so through Elijah, Elisha, and Ezekiel. The Holy One said He will make the sea dry land — did He not already do so through Moses? The Holy One said He will open the eyes of the blind (Isaiah 35:5) — did He not already do so, "and God opened the eyes of the young man" (II Kings 6:17)? The Holy One said He will remember the barren — did He not already do so, "and the LORD remembered Sarah" (Genesis 21:1)? The Holy One said, "kings shall be your foster fathers and their princesses your nursing mothers, with faces to the earth they shall bow down to you" (Isaiah 49:23) — did He not already do so? Was not Nebuchadnezzar a king, and to whom did he bow? To Daniel, "then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and paid homage to Daniel" (Daniel 2:46). "And God seeks the pursued" (Ecclesiastes 3:15). Rav Huna in the name of Rav Yosef said: In the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will demand the blood of the pursued from the hand of their pursuers. A righteous man pursuing a righteous man, "and God seeks the pursued." A wicked man pursuing a wicked man, "and God seeks the pursued." A wicked man pursuing a righteous man, "and God seeks the pursued." Even if you say a righteous man pursuing a wicked man, in any case "and God seeks the pursued." Know that this is so: Abel was pursued by Cain, and God sought the pursued, "and the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering" (Genesis 4:4). Noah was pursued by his generation, and God sought the pursued, "and Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD" (Genesis 6:8). Abraham was pursued by Nimrod, and God sought the pursued, "You are the LORD God who chose Abram" (Nehemiah 9:7). Isaac was pursued by the Philistines, and God sought the pursued, "and they said, we have surely seen that the LORD was with you" (Genesis 26:28). Jacob was pursued by Esau, and God sought the pursued, "for the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself" (Psalms 135:4). Joseph was pursued by his brothers, and God sought the pursued, "and the LORD was with Joseph and he was a prosperous man" (Genesis 39:2). Moses was pursued by Pharaoh, and God sought the pursued, "He said He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen one" (Psalms 106:23). Israel is pursued by the nations of the world, and God seeks the pursued, "and the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own treasure" (Deuteronomy 14:2). Rabbi Yudah son of Rabbi Simon in the name of Rabbi Yose bar Nehorai said: So too here, the ox is pursued by the lion, the sheep by the wolf, the goat by the leopard; the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Do not bring an offering before Me from the pursuers but from the pursued, "an ox, or a sheep, or a goat, when it is born" (Leviticus 22:27).