Jeremiah read online. Interpretation of the book of the prophet Jeremiah. A Call to the Prophetic Ministry

Prophet Jeremiah

Prophet Jeremiah and his book.

"Jeremiah" translated from Hebrew means "Great is God", or "" Jehovah rejects ", or" The Lord founds. "

The origin of the prophet Jeremiah.

The prophet Jeremiah was born about 650 BC. in the city of Anafof (translated as "obedience", according to some researchers - the image of the prophet's obedience to God). It was the city of the Levites. Jeremiah's family lived there, because his father, Hilkiah, was a priest, a descendant of the high priest Abiathar (1 Kings 2:26), whom Solomon had deprived of his ministry.

The family of the future prophet was distinguished by its piety, "which can be judged already from the choice of a name for his son - Jeremiah -" the height of the Lord "(Blessed Jerome).

Calling to the prophetic ministry.

When Jeremiah was 15 years old (this age is given by St. Demetrius of Rostov) or about 20 years old (according to the Biblical Encyclopedia of Archimandrite Nicephorus), God called him to a special ministry:

“And the word of the Lord came to me: before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you came out of the womb, I sanctified you: I made you a prophet for the nations…” (1: 4-5). Jeremiah tried to object to God that he was still young for this (1: 6), but, as St. Basil the Great, the prophet was young in age, but "old in the way of thinking."

The call to the prophetic ministry meant the end of free youth, the demand for complete selflessness (1: 7). "The prophet Jeremiah thought that he would not speak against the Jews, so at first he readily accepted the call of the Lord ... But it happened on the contrary that he would have to predict troubles and sorrows, the destruction and captivity of Jerusalem and would have to endure persecution and calamities" (St. Abba Nestorius). When Jeremiah realized this, he cried out: “Woe to me, my mother, that you gave birth to me as a man who argues and quarrels” (15:10). But the Lord strengthened His chosen one (1: 8), and the prophet humbled himself under the mighty hand of God.

The purpose and objectives of the ministry.

Jeremiah had a great mission ahead, which God designated in His word to him on the day of his calling:
"... to eradicate and destroy, destroy and destroy, create and plant" (1:10).

Those. to eradicate, destroy, destroy and destroy what is harmful; but to build up and plant righteousness and virtue.
The main theme of Jeremiah's prophetic speeches is the judgment of the house of Judah in the form of punishment from the army from the north (i.e. Babylon) in the very near future, because the people deserved this by a deviation from the true God. In addition, the prophet often turns accusatory speeches towards the enemies of theocracy.

Tasks are also derived from vocation:

1) The prophet must be independent of the influence of his contemporaries and their authorities (1:18)

2) Must be firm and courageous, faithful to the will of God, give all of himself (1: 8,1: 17)

Time and activity.

The prophet Jeremiah lived, most likely, in his hometown of Anatof (3 miles, 1.5 hours walk from Jerusalem, now the city of Anat). Since it was very close to the capital, Jeremiah preached a part there: in the Temple (7: 2), and in the streets, and in houses, at the city gates (17:19), in the Valley of Hinnom, in the courtyard of the guards (32: 2) ... His preaching lasted about 45-50 years.

The ministry of the prophet Jeremiah took place during a turbulent period in the history of the Kingdom of Judah under the following Jewish kings:

Called in the 13th year of reign Josiah (640-609), i.e. about 627 BC (1: 2.25: 3). During the reign of Josiah, during the repair of the temple, a scroll of the Old Testament was found with the promise of punishment for those who do not live according to the commandments of God. These words prompted Josiah to start a religious and moral reform, which was fully supported by the prophet Jeremiah. When the king was killed in battle, "he mourned Jeremiah for Josiah in a lamentable song ..." (2 Chr. 35:25).

Reigned next Joahaz (609), son of Josiah, “... and reigned three months in Jerusalem. And the king of Egypt put him down in Jerusalem ... "(2 Chronicles 36: 2-3)

- "... and the king of Egypt reigned over Judah and Jerusalem, Joachim ..." (2 Chronicles 36: 4). The years of the reign of Joachim are about 609-597. He reversed Josiah's reforms and “did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Chron. 36: 5).

“At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim” (26: 1), according to the word of God, the prophet Jeremiah appeared in the Jerusalem Temple, which was overcrowded on the occasion of the holiday, and in the middle of the general celebration began to preach about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (26: 6). "Then the priests and prophets and all the people seized him and said: you must die ..." (26: 8). But “the hand of Ahikam (one of the elders of the earth) was for Jeremiah, so as not to give him into the hands of the people to be killed” (26:24).

This moment is considered the beginning of the open struggle of the prophet Jeremiah with the priests and false prophets, the essence of which is well illustrated by the collision of Jeremiah with one of the false prophets Ananias, who was worshiped and listened to by the inhabitants of Jerusalem:

“… At the beginning of Zedekiah's reign, Ananias spoke to me in the house of the Lord in front of the priests and all the people: Thus says the Lord…: I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon, in two years I will return to this place all the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar… transferred to Babylon… and I will bring back the captives ... and Ananias took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah and crushed it. And Ananias said these words before the eyes of all the people: Thus say the Lord: Thus I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar ... removing it from the necks of all nations. And Jeremiah went his way " (28:1-4, 10-11).

That is, as Jeremiah himself said, only those prophets “who foretold the world” have long been recognized (28: 9). And he spoke of the impending doom, so outwardly he suffered defeat in front of the eyes of all the people. In the years to come, Jeremiah's conflict as a true prophet with false prophets will deepen.

Under King Joachim, “in the 4th year of the reign of Jehoiakim ... the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: take a scroll and write in it all the words that I spoke to you ... from the day I began to speak to you, from the days of Josiah to this day ... ”(36: 2).

With the help of Jeremiah's faithful friend and helper, his prophecies were collected in one book, Baruch copied them (36: 4) and read them in the house of the Lord (36:10). Then he was called by “all the princes” (36:12) and read to them aloud (36:15). “Then the princes said ... go and hide, you and Jeremiah, so that no one knows where you are. And they went to the king ... and Yehudi read aloud the scroll to the king ... When Yehudi read three or four columns, the king cut them off with a scribe's knife and threw them into the fire of the brazier, until the whole scroll was destroyed ... ”(36: 19-23). Jeremiah and Baruch were hidden by the Lord (36:26).

“And Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch” (36:32), and they wrote down again all the words of Jeremiah that were in the first, and “many more similar words were added to them” (36:32).

But we have, perhaps, a somewhat different text that was in the scroll, we have many prophecies uttered by Jeremiah after the 5th year of the reign of Jehoiakim. Perhaps Baruch later wrote down, and in Egypt (43: 6) collected and edited all the prophecies.

During the time of Jehoiakim, the prophet Jeremiah predicted the 70-year-old Babylonian captivity (25: 1-14).

Joachim was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, where he died (the events of the battle of Karkemish - the 4th year of the reign of Joachim - Dan.1: 1).

-king Jeconiah (about 597) (ch. 20). It is possible that during his reign Jeremiah utters a prophecy about the Babylonian captivity. King Jehoiachin, along with the house and inhabitants (except for the poor) was taken to Babylon.

-king Zedekiah or Matfania (about 597-587) entered into an alliance of the kings of Moab, Idumea and others, incl. Egypt, against Babylon. Jeremiah calls to think again and submit to Babylon (27: 12-22), walks in "chains and yokes" (27: 2) on the streets of Jerusalem and sent the same yokes to the five kings of this union.

This period includes the conflict with Ananias - a false prophet, who was one of many like him who predicted a quick release from Babylonian captivity and sorrows. Jeremiah fought with them (ch. 28).
Under Zedekiah, the most terrible prophecies of Jeremiah came true. Jerusalem first came under a severe siege that led to famine in the city. Jeremiah's voice did not stop, for which he was persecuted, arrested, beaten, and mocked. Meanwhile, King Zedekiah constantly secretly sent people to the prophet, then “to pray to the Lord our God for them” (37: 3), then to find out “if there is a word from the Lord” (37:17). But what Jeremiah predicted from the Lord ("You will be betrayed into the hands of the king of Babylon" -37: 17), Zedekiah did not like ... "and the king gave the order that they concluded Jeremiah in the court of the guard and gave him a piece of bread for a day ..." (37:21).

But even in the courtyard of the guard, Jeremiah continued to call for surrender to Babylon (38: 2), for which he was thrown into a dirty pit (38: 6). A certain Ethiopian Abdemelech, a eunuch from the royal house, interceded for the prophet (38: 9-10), pulled him out of the pit and returned to the courtyard of the guard.

Zedekiah calls on the prophet Jeremiah again to him to to know the will of God, swearing that he will not punish the prophet, no matter what he prophesies (38:16). Jeremiah again repeated the exhortation that Jerusalem and the inhabitants can only be saved by surrendering to Babylon without resistance, otherwise the captivity and destruction of the city will be imminent (38: 17-23). Zedekiah was afraid of "the Jews, who went over to the Chaldeans, lest the Chaldeans deliver him into their hands ..." (v. 19) and did not follow the advice of the prophet. “And Jerusalem was taken” (v. 28). Zedekiah and his family were taken to the Syrian city of Ribla, where all their sons were stabbed to death in front of his eyes, and he was blinded and taken in chains to Babylon, where he died.
In 587 the Jews were driven to Babylon. Jeremiah was given the right to choose a place to live. He decided to stay in the ruined capital with Godolia. Baruch was with him. But as a result of the coup, Godoliah was killed (41: 1-2), and the remaining inhabitants of Jerusalem fled to Egypt. Jeremiah and Baruch were forced to follow them, although it was not their will. Further in the Scripture there is no information about the prophet Jeremiah.

Tradition says that the prophet Jeremiah spent the rest of his life in the city of Tafnis, where he continued to preach (chap. 43-44). There he was stoned by the Jews for denouncing their prophets and for the prophecy about their destruction.
According to the Alexandrian legend, Alexander the Great took the body of the prophet to Alexandria, now his grave is located near Cairo and is still respected by the Egyptians.

Chronological structure of the book.

Although the book of the prophet Jeremiah is not actually arranged in chronological order, it is interesting to cite Edward Young's attempt to group the chapters of the book according to the timing of the speeches they contain:

1) The reign of Josiah:

1: 1-19 - 13th year of reign, Jeremiah's call to ministry;

2: 1-3: 5 - the first prophetic message;

3: 6-6: 30 - the second prophetic speech about the punishment of Judah from the north;

7: 1-10: 25 - speech at the gates of the Temple, possibly in support of the reforms of Josiah;

11: 1-13: 27 - possibly pronounced after Josiah;

14: 1-15: 21 - drought and death;

16: 1-17: 27 - general character, about the devastation of Judah (possibly under Josiah, and maybe under Joachim);

18: 1-20: 18 - a symbolic image of the future captivity.

2) The reign of Jehoahaz: there are no prophecies dating from his time, even about himself (22: 11-13) is reported in the era of Zedekiah.

3) The reign of Joachim:

Ch.26 - the beginning of the reign of Joachim, speech in the courtyard of the Temple. Uriah, who prophesied with Jeremiah, is killed (26: 20-24);

Ch.27: 1 - as if about the beginning of the reign of Joachim, but the content of the chapter shows that it was written under Zedekiah;

Ch.25 - the 4th year of the reign of Joachim, the siege of Jerusalem (Dan.1: 1);

Ch.35 - about the Rechavites as an example of behavior for the Jews;

Ch.36 - the 4th year of the reign - about the collection of all the prophecies on a book scroll and its destruction by Joachim, as well as about a new scroll;

Ch. 45 - 4th year of reign; - chap. 46-49 - after the battle of Carchemis (46: 2).

4) Reign of Jeconiah: There are no unambiguous prophecies dating from this period, but Jeconiah is mentioned in 22: 24-30, in a word spoken under Zedekiah.

5) Reign of Zedekiah:

21: 1-22: 30 - speeches were made when the king sent Paschor and Zephaniah to Jeremiah to learn about the outcome of the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans;

From verse 11, the prophet calls for just government;

From chapter 22, the prophet gives an assessment of the three previous kings (Jehoahaz - 22: 11-12, Joachim - 22: 18-23, Jeconiah - 22: 24-30);

Ch.23 - continuation of chapters 21 and 22 - exposure of false prophets who falsely prophesy about peace and security;

Ch.24 - a symbolic message to the prophet after the captivity of Jeconiah;

Ch.27 - under Zedekiah, a speech delivered about how Jeremiah obstructed the designs of five neighboring nations (Edom, Moab, Amon, Tire and Sidon - 27: 3), which sought to persuade the Jewish king to an alliance with them against Babylon;

27: 12-22 - exhortation to Zedekiah about the folly of this undertaking;

Ch.28 - the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah (4th year and 5th month of reign) - about the opposition of Jeremiah and the false prophet Ananias;

Ch.29 - a letter to Jeremiah driven to Babylon after the capture of Jeconiah: Jeremiah advises building houses in Babylon, because the captivity will last 70 years (v. 10);

Ch. 30-31 - there is no unambiguous dating, but the content shows that the resettlement has already taken place, therefore, these are the times of Zedekiah. Here the prophet says that now the people are suffering, but they have a glorious future ahead of them. The Lord will deliver from troubles and conclude "With the house of Israel and the house of Judah, a new covenant ... I will put My law in their inwardness, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they will be My people."(31:31,33);

Chapter 32 - the 10th year of Zedekiah's reign - the prophet buys a field in Anathoth from his cousin Anameel (v. 9) and informs Baruch about it. The purpose of this symbolic action is to show that the land will again be populated and cultivated;

Ch.33 - the period of the arrest under Zedekiah: the messianic prophecy and the promise of the eternity of the throne of David;

Ch.34 - the time of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the prophecy about the capture of Zedekiah, the destruction of Jerusalem (v. 1-7), the denunciation of the people for not freeing the slaves by order of Zedekiah;

Chapter 37 - historical information about the accession of Zedekiah, as well as an admonition to Jeremiah about the futility of an alliance with Egypt. For this, the prophet is imprisoned, and then transferred to the courtyard of the guard;

Ch.38 - the period of Jeremiah's arrest under Zedekiah;

Ch. 39 - the historical nature of the chapter, about the capture of the king, the destruction of Jerusalem (9th year of the reign of Zedekiah).

6) Godolia: There are no chapters unambiguously dating from this period, but presumably, these may be:

Ch.40 - after the release of Jeremiah, Navuzardan gave him the choice of a place of residence, and the prophet chose to join Godoliah (v. 6-7);

Ch.41 - the murder of Godolia by Ismail, the fear of the Jews before the revenge of the Chaldeans;

Ch.42 - continued - Jeremiah in the name of God calls not to go to Egypt, not to be afraid of the Chaldean revenge, "for I am with you to save you and deliver you from the hand of Babylon ..." (v.11).

7)41:1-44:30: a historical story about how the people did not listen to the prophet and went to Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them. At Tafnis, the prophet performed a symbolic act with stones (43: 9-13);

- Chapter 44: why Jerusalem was destroyed, why the Jews were captured and the punishment of those who went to Egypt. And also about the salvation of the remnant (v. 28).

8) chap. 50-51: it is believed that these chapters contain the word with which Jeremiah sent Seraiah to Babylon to the captive Jews. After reading, Seraiah had to throw them with a stone into the Euphrates as a sign of the future fall of Babylon.

Either Jeremiah spoke here about the future,

Or Jeremiah is preparing this message in Egypt after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

9) ch. 52: historical materials repeat the events described in 2 Kings 24-25.

The personality of the prophet Jeremiah.

Everyone knows Jeremiah as a weeping prophet. There is even such a term "Jeremiah" to denote grievous complaints and laments.

“Jeremiah weeps over their previous calamities and laments over the captivity of Babylon. How not to shed bitter tears when the walls were excavated, the city was compared to the earth, the sanctuary was destroyed, the offerings were plundered ... The prophets fell silent, the priesthood was taken captive, there is no mercy to the elders, the virgins are being mocked ... songs are replaced with weeping. Whenever I read ... tears flow by themselves ... and I cry with the crying prophet "(St. Gregory the Theologian).

As a person, as a person, the prophet Jeremiah experienced a tremendous inner drama [deac. Roman Staudinger]:

He was born into the family of a pious priest, he was also facing the path of the priesthood, serving in the Temple, he would probably get married, rejoice with his wife in the success of his children, etc. But God calls him to a special ministry, which required to renounce himself completely, from all plans, comfort, satisfaction of some of his personal needs. And God calls not the mature and wise Jeremiah, but still a boy, he was about 15-20 years old. And God does not accept objections, but says that “before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you left the womb, I sanctified you: I made you a prophet for the nations” (1: 5).

The next sacrifice God demanded of Jeremiah was his love for his own people. Of course, the Lord did not forbid loving the people, on the contrary, for the sake of their good Jeremiah made sacrifices. But it was not easy for a loving heart (Blessed Theodoret even calls him “the mother of Jerusalem” for his truly motherly love), instead of prosperity and happiness, to predict the people of death and destruction, rejection by God. And Jeremiah cries again in broken heart: “Woe to me, my mother, that you gave birth to me as a man who argues and quarrels” (15:10).

And what was it like for the Old Testament Jew, who knew the Law and built his life according to it, to hear from his God: “Do not take a wife for yourself, and let you have neither sons nor daughters ...” (16: 2). The path of celibacy was unknown to the Old Testament Jews. Marriage was considered a divine commandment, children - evidence of God's presence in the family and His blessings.

But the prophet Jeremiah was able to endure and exclaimed in the end: "Lord, my strength, and my strength, and my refuge in the day of trouble!" (16:19).

The inner drama of the prophet was accompanied and external drama due to his relationship with the people of God:

The condition of the Jews at that time wounded the heart of the prophet: “they left the fountain of water alive, they left it and hewed out broken cisterns for themselves, which could not hold water” (2:13). Hence, a moral decline of such depth was observed among the people that even the Lord commands Jeremiah: "Drive them away from My face, let them go away" (15:1).

“The Prophet is sick for them ... his womb and the feelings of his heart ache, he is like a mother who is tormented by the death of her children” (Blessed Theodoret).

"Jeremiah tried to find some kind of justification for sinners ..." (St. John Chrysostom).

Failure to preach among both the poor (5: 4-5) and the nobility, and the result is a keen sense of loneliness.
-God rejects the prophet's prayers for the people:

"Do not ask for this people, and do not offer prayers and petitions for them, and do not intercede with Me, for I will not hear you." (7:16).

But why? “Is there a sage who would understand this? And to whom the mouth of the Lord speaks - would he explain why the country perished and was burned like a desert, so that no one passes through it? And the Lord said, Because they have forsaken My law, which I have decreed for them, and have not listened to My voice, and have not walked in it; but they went ... after the Baals ... "(9: 12-14).

St. Cyril of Alexandria called those mourned by the prophet "deicides" for their deliberate denial of God's blessing.

Blzh. Jerome: "Because they forsaken His law ... and walked out because of the wickedness of their heart."

Blzh. Theodorite: "Repentance could extinguish the fire of anger, and since it does not exist, no one is able to save one from punishment."

In addition to a motherly loving heart, Jeremiah still had righteous zeal for God: “Therefore, I am filled with the Lord's fury, I cannot keep it to myself; I will pour it out on the children in the street and on the meeting of young men ... ”(6:11). This zeal does not give the prophet rest: “But, Lord of hosts, righteous Judge, ... let me see Your vengeance against them, for I have entrusted my work to You” (11:20). There is no room for compromise with sin in his thoughts and actions.

All the external ones denied him: fellow countrymen (11:21), because he inspired them with horror with his threats and envy with his superiority over other priests; the ruling circles of Jerusalem (20: 1-2); the whole Jewish community (18:18), kings (for example, Joachim put him in prison - 36: 5).

But with God, nothing happens in vain. It would seem that such excessive undeserved torments to such a righteous man, for what? Not for anything, but for the sake of a revolution in the mind of the prophet Jeremiah through all the suffering: he saw God in a new way.

“God did not in vain allow the prophet to experience sorrow; but, since he was ready to pray for the wicked, then with the intention of convincing him not to recognize himself as humane. The treasure of grace is unmerciful, God allowed the Jews to revolt against him. "(Blessed Theodorite).

Through all this Jeremiah saw the love of God for the people, for the human race. God ceased to be for him punishing children for the guilt of their fathers (31: 29-30). God appeared before Jeremiah the Most Merciful and gave a teaching about the new covenant:

“The days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah ... I will put My law into their inwardness and write it on their hearts ... everyone will know Me themselves ... I will forgive their iniquity ... and the whole valley of ashes and carcasses, and the whole field to the stream of Kidron, to the corner of the horse gate to the east, it will be the shrine of the Lord; will not collapse and will not disintegrate forever "(31:31-40).

The proclamation of the judgment of God as a consequence of idolatry (1:16, 2: 5,7: 9-10, etc.). On this basis, the prophet had a conflict with the priests, who believed that Jehovah could not give up His Temple for mockery (2: 8,5: 31,8: 1,26: 7).

Jeremiah sees the future fall of Judah, the Babylonian captivity, the fall of Babylon (chap. 50-51), the return of the people to their country (3: 14-12: 14; 30-33).

Prophecy form.

Visions (1: 11-13; ch. 24);

Symbolic and representative actions (13: 1-11; 19; 27: 2; 28:10, etc.);

Living examples and figurative expressions (Ch. 18; 19: 1, etc.).

A number of researchers believe that Jeremiah recorded speeches because he was not allowed to speak. For the same reason, when his mouth was blocked, he performed symbolic actions. For example, chapter 13:

The Lord tells the prophet to buy a good belt. Then the belt not only served a practical benefit, but was also an important part of the garment, an adornment. By the belt it was possible to judge the material situation of a person: simple or with precious stones, embroidered or simple rope. Further, God tells the prophet to go to the Euphrates and hide the belt in the cleft of the rock, which meant that Jeremiah had to walk about 500 km on foot. Then people often traveled to distant countries, joining some kind of trade caravan. On the way, the caravans met, exchanged news and carried what they learned next. That was how the news spread. And Jeremiah, for sure, met someone on the way and they, of course, asked where he was going. And he said that God commanded him to hide the belt there, but why, he does not know yet.
“After many days had passed, the Lord said ... go and get the belt from there ...” (13: 6). And again Jeremiah walks, and again meets, perhaps even his old acquaintances and shares the purpose of his journey. And “he took the belt out of that place… and behold the belt was spoiled, good for nothing” (13: 7). “And the word of the Lord came: so ... I will crush the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem ... this bad people ... will be like this belt, which is good for nothing. For as the belt lies close to the loins of a man, so I brought the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah close to Me ... but they did not obey ”(13: 9-11).

Book of the prophet Jeremiah.

1) From t. Pfeifer's book of the prophet Jeremiah consists of the text of Jeremiah himself (written or dictated by him), from the biography of the prophet (compiled by Baruch) and from later additions. Pfeiffer believes that Baruch, without Jeremiah's knowledge, combined everything that the prophet wrote with his texts.

But from the book of the prophet Jeremiah, we see the piety of Baruch, who would hardly interfere with the text of Jeremiah. There is no other evidence of this point of view either.

2) Osterley and Robinson claimed that a certain compiler of the book in the 4th century BC. collected it from poetic and prophetic sayings, as well as from the biography of Jeremiah (most likely compiled by Baruch) and the autobiographical data of the prophet himself. Later, supposedly, the book was supplemented with many poetic inserts (in the late 5th - early 4th centuries).

3) The most radical point of view belonged to the Duma: two-thirds of the book was made by later authors (up to the 1st century BC).

For the authenticity of the book of Jeremiah:

As a true book of prophecies Jeremiah is known to the Old Testament writers: 2 Chronicles 36:22, 1 Ezra 1: 1, Dan.9: 2;

The New Testament refers to the prophecies of Jeremiah: Matthew 2:17 (Jer.31: 15); Matthew 27: 9 (Jer. 18-19,32);

Jewish tradition confirms the authenticity of the book;

Christian tradition too (represented, for example, by St. Athanasius, John Chrysostom, Theodoret, Jerome).

Origin of the book[based on materials by A.P. Yungerov].

In the 4th year of the reign of Jeremiah, at the behest of God, Jeremiah summoned Baruch, who, under the dictation of the prophet, wrote down a scroll of all the speeches of Jeremiah (36: 1-4). The scroll is read in the house of the Lord “out loud of the people” (36: 6), then to the Jewish princes, and then it reaches the king, who destroyed the scroll in the fire of the brazier (36: 5-25).

- "And Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch ... and he wrote in it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of that scroll ... and many more similar words were added to them" (36:32).

At the end of the prophetic ministry in Judea, during Zedekiah and the last siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (32: 1-2), Jeremiah received a second command from the Lord: “write for yourself all the words that I spoke to you in a book” (30: 2). This record was supposed to contain not only formidable, but also comforting prophecies (30: 3,8,10,16-24; 36: 3). And not only about Judea, but also about foreign peoples (25:13).

Language and style.

According to Blzh. Jerome, the book of the prophet Jeremiah in terms of literary merits is lower than the books of Isaiah Hosea, although it is equal to them in thoughts.

Modern researchers note monotony, frequent repetitions. With regard to the latter, it can be argued that this is not a drawback, but a deliberate technique in order to accentuate, convey the insistence of the call (5: 9 - 5:29 - 9: 9; 6: 12-15 - 8: 10-12).

And if somewhere the text lacks something in a literary sense, then you need to remember the grief and tears of the prophet (9: 1, 13:17, 14: 2, 17, Lamentations 1: 3). In such a state of mind, a person has no time for the beauty of language.
- often quotes the Pentateuch, comparing through this the requirements of the law, the formidable prophecies of the legislator, modern violations of the Law and the imminent death of the people. From all this, the prophet concludes: "The Lord has righteousness, the Jews have shame on the face."

The prophet does not observe chronological order, but the integrity of meaning does not suffer from this.

The book of the prophet Jeremiah differs from, say, the book of Isaiah in that it is no longer a warning, but the "last attempt" of God to lead the people and deliver them from destruction. Hence, a gradual change of mood: from persuasion and promises of forgiveness (subject to the Covenant) - through threats - to a firm promise to punish, to the prohibition to pray for the people (7:16, 11:14, 14:11). And after the threats - the promise of deliverance, but only the remnant, which will be isolated and cleansed after passing through these temptations, after returning from captivity.

Interpretations.

Origen wrote 45 homilies on the book of Jeremiah, of which 14 are preserved in the Latin translation, 7 in the Greek;

Eusebius of Caesarea "Prophetic eclogs" - about some of the prophecies of Jeremiah;

St. John Chrysostom "Conversation on Jer.10: 23";

St. Cyril of Alexandria - fragments of katens;

Blzh. Jerome - interpretation on Jer. Ch. 1-32.

Modern research:

Yakimov I. The relation of the Greek translation of the Seventy to the Hebrew Masoretic text in the book of Jeremiah;

Yakimov I. The intactness of the book of the prophet Jeremiah.

Yakimov I. Book of the Prophet Jeremiah (strictly scientific explanation of the entire book in Slavic and Russian translations).

Troitsky K. Book of the prophet Jeremiah.

Frank-Kamenetsky I. Prophet Jeremiah and the struggle of parties in Judea.

Kazansky N. The Holy Prophet Jeremiah as a Type of Christ.

Ways of dividing the book by content.

1) two parts: first - chapters 2-45 - prophecies about Judea; the second - chapters 46-51 - about foreigners.

2) five parts:

Ch. 1-10 - about the fall of Judah and about the judgment through Babylon. The only way to avoid this is repentance and true inner renewal. And external rituals will not change anything (4: 1, 7: 4, 9: 10-15);

Chapters 11-20 - the reasons for punishing the people;

Chapters 21-33 - admonition of shepherds and prophets, speeches about the mercy of the Messiah, about the salvation of the remnant and the new covenant with him (31: 31-33), about the return from captivity (25: 11-12);

Chapters 34-45 and 52 provide a general overview of the downfall of Judea;

Chapters 46-51 are about other nations and Egypt. Especially about Babylon (chapters 50-51).

3) Yungerov P.A. divides the book into five parts:

Introduction - Jeremiah's Calling (Chapter 1)

God's judgment for the people's crimes against God (chapters 2-24)

On modern historical events that mainly proved the incorrigibility of the Jews (chapters 25-43)

Prophecies for Foreign Nations (chapters 44-51)

Chapter 52 - epilogue - fulfillment of formidable and comforting prophecies.

Jeremiah's Victories.

1) the anger and anger of the Jews were destroyed by the judgment of God: the Babylonian captivity sobered them and made them believe the speeches of Jeremiah. Posthumous veneration of the prophet began. For example, 2 Mac.15: 12-17 testifies to this: Maccabee's vision of 2 husbands-intercessors, among them - Jeremiah, "adorned with gray hair, and glory, greatness ... He is a brother-lover, he prays a lot for the people and the holy city."
The Lord consoled the Maccabean mother with the help of two husbands (2 Ezra 2: 17-19).

The Gospel honors the prophet Jeremiah (Matthew 16:14).
2) "The people who escaped the sword found mercy in the wilderness, I am going to calm Israel."

St. Cyprian of Carthage: "God does not easily forgive idolaters."

St. Ambrose of Mediolan: “Although it was said to Jeremiah from the Lord (7:16), he prayed and asked for forgiveness.

The Lord bowed down through the petition of such a great prophet to pardon Jerusalem ... ”.

“With eternal love I have loved you, therefore I have extended favor to you” (Jer. 31: 3).

3) Yahweh was found by the Savior: as a result of everything, Jeremiah drove out of himself a mortal horror (17:17), the horror of another's sin (8: 20-22). The image of Yahweh, who brings destruction, changed in Jeremiah's soul to the image of Yahweh - the Savior (17:17, 15:20).

Messianic prophecies.

St. Hippolytus, denouncing the heretic Noetus, confessed faith in the incarnate Word, relying on Jeremiah: “Jeremiah says, who was in the being of the Lord and saw His Word? The word of God is only visible, while the human word is only audible. "

Liturgical tradition reveres Jeremiah as a divine contemplator:

1) Canon to the Prophet at Matins:

The 6th canto is of the Theotokos: “The Word from the Father, which was born incorporeally, from You, Pure One, is born fleshly in the summer, and in the shadow of That we will all live, as the ancient prophecy of Jeremiah” (based on 31:22);

The 1st Troparion of the 5th Canto shows Jeremiah as a preacher of Christ;

The 3rd troparion of the 6th canto depicts Jeremiah as a secret bearer of the sufferings of Christ: "You secretly predicted the death of the Redeemer, God, as if Bo Agnes, erected a lawless Jewish cathedral on the Tree of Christ ...".

2) 1st parimia at the 1st hour on Maundy Thursday (11:19)

3) 1st parimia at the 9th hour on Good Friday

4) 14th Parimia at Vespers on Holy Saturday (22:20).

Jeremiah as a type of Christ.

Sanctified by God even before his birth (1: 5). In this St. Cyril of Jerusalem sees the prototype of the Incarnation, the mystery of the Logos' creation of His human nature.

Serving the people with sincere love for them, tears of compassion did not dry up in the eyes of the prophet (4:19). So the Savior grieved over the death of Lazarus and wept over Jerusalem.

Prophecy through a way of life: Saint Jeremiah prophesied about the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ, revealing in himself the mysterious type of Him, the meek Lamb, led to the slaughter (11:19).

They wanted to kill Jeremiah (26: 7-9), and Christ too.

Ancient legends(after St. Demetrius of Rostov).

Tradition says that the prophet Jeremiah covered the sacred fire, taking advantage of the disposition of Neuzardan to him. He hid the fire in a waterless well, believing that if the fire is temporarily extinguished (changing into thick water), then in due time it will return to its former properties. Fire was found under Nehemiah (2 Mac. 1: 19-32).

It is also believed that Jeremiah hid the Ark of the Covenant, taking it with him. He hid it on the Moabite mountain behind the Jordan River, near Jericho, from where Moses contemplated the promised land, where this patriarch died and was buried. Jeremiah hid the ark in a cave, blocked the entrance with a stone, on which he inscribed the name of God with his finger. "This place will not be known to anyone, until the Lord gathers councils of people ...". The ark has not yet been found.

Lamentations.

The Septuagint attributes this book to the prophet Jeremiah, which is fully confirmed by its content, the nature of the views of the prophet.

Written immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem, as witnessed by the author.

The book tells about the unfortunate fate of Jerusalem, and also contains the confession of the sins of the Jews and prayers to God for help.

Canto 1: sorrow for the captive Jews, for the destruction of Jerusalem.

Canto 2: sorrow over the rejection of the holy altar and Zion as punishment for the crime.

Canto 3: The Prophet's Sorrow for His Condition.

Cantos 4 and 5: softening Jeremiah's feelings and hope for God's mercy.

The book of the prophet Baruch.

Baruch is the son of Nirius, his brother Seraiah, under Zedekiah, was in charge of collecting taxes and participated in the embassy to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar (51:59).

Baruch was Jeremiah's disciple and helper (36: 19-26; 43: 3; 45: 2-3). He stayed with the prophet Jeremiah until the latter's death in Egypt, then went to Babylon, where he died, according to tradition, in 12 years after the destruction of Jerusalem.
Reason for writing the book: a letter of encouragement to those who remained in ruined Judea on behalf of those Jews who were in Babylonian captivity.

Baruch promises in the text that the punishment is temporary, so we must not grieve about our fate, but repent and the Lord will save (3: 36-4: 4).

1 These are the words of Jeremiah the son of Helkiin. Jeremiah was from a family of priests who lived in the city of Anaphote, located in the land of Benjamin.

2 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the days when Josiah was king of the Jewish people. Josiah was the son of Amun. The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah.

3 The Lord continued to speak with Jeremiah at the time when Jehoiakim the son of Josiah became king of Judah. The Lord continued to speak with Jeremiah for eleven years and five months during the reign of Zedekiah, who was also the son of Josiah. At the end of Zedekiah's reign, the exile of the people of Jerusalem began.

4 The word of the Lord came to me, Jeremiah:

5 “I knew you long before I created you in my mother's womb. I recognized you before your birth. I have chosen you as a prophet for the people. "

6 Then Jeremiah answered: "Lord Almighty, I do not know how to say: I am still too young."

7 But the Lord answered me: “Don't talk about youth, you will go where I will send you. You will say everything that I tell you.

8 Do not be afraid of anyone - I am always with you. And I will protect you from everyone. ”So the Lord Himself said to Jeremiah.

9 Then the Lord touched my mouth and said so: “From now on I am putting my words into your mouth.

10 Today I am giving you responsibility over kingdoms, nations. You will destroy, eradicate, overthrow and destroy, plant and build. "

11 And the word of the Lord came to me: “Jeremiah, what do you see?” I answered that I saw a staff carved from the branch of an almond tree.

12 The Lord said: "You saw correctly, but I watch that My words are fulfilled both correctly and quickly."

13 Again, a message from the Lord came to me: “Jeremiah, what do you see?” I replied that I see a boiling cauldron, which is slightly inclined from the northern edge.

14 And the Lord told me that a great calamity will come from the north, which will affect all the inhabitants of my land.

15 “I will summon as soon as possible,” said the Lord, “all the kings of the north. They will come and sit on their thrones at the gates of Jerusalem and attack its walls and all the cities in Judea.

16 And I will declare a decision against my people, because they turned away from me and worshiped, giving sacrifices, to their idols made with hands.

17 But you, Jeremiah, be ready, get up and talk to the people, say everything that I have told you. Do not be afraid of people, or I will truly give you a strong reason to be afraid of them.

18 But I will make you a fortified city, a pillar of iron, a bronze wall, so that you can stand before anyone: before the kings of the Jews, the rulers, the priests and the people of Judah.

19 They will all be against you, but they cannot overcome you, for I am with you and I will save you. ”That was the message from the Lord.

The book of the prophet Jeremiah

Jeremiah the Prophet Book

JEREMIAH THE PROPHET BOOK, canonical. book OT, which is part of the collection. * Great prophets. Contains 52 chapters. Includes cycles of sayings and psalms of the prophet, as well as fragments of his biography. Greek. translation of I. p. K. is shorter than Heb. text; in particular, there are no repetitions in it, which are characteristic of Heb. text. However, the Greek. the version is not a simple abbreviation: it is focused on one of the ancient manuscript traditions, which is attested to in the Qumran fragment of the book.

Life path of a prophet... More is known about Jeremiah's personality and ministry than about K.-L. from the prophets-writers, since he himself said a lot about himself, and the collector of his utterances (possibly Baruch) added a biographer to them. sections.

Jeremiah (Heb. ירמיהו, IRMEYA NS Have), son of Khelkia, b. OK. 645 BC NS. near Jerusalem in the small Levite town of Anathoth (Heb. ענתות, ANATOT). He belonged to the ancestral line of priests, but instead of serving the altar, he was called to serve the Word of God. His childhood fell on the years of King Manasseh, when the prophets were persecuted (2 Kings 21:16; Jer 2:30), and in his youth he witnessed the successes of the pious King Josiah, who took advantage of the decline of Assyria and returned the northern regions of the country to his rule ... OK. 625 The Lord called Jeremiah to preach, although he himself opposed this in every possible way. "Oh, Lord God!" He prayed, "I cannot speak, for I am still young." But his fate was predetermined: "Before you left the womb, I sanctified you: a prophet for the nations(here and hereinafter ours. - AM) set you up. "Thus, Jeremiah's mission was not to be limited to the Old Church. He was sent as a herald of the will of God to all nations. to destroy and destroy, to create and plant "(1: 5-10). He was to destroy delusions and illusions, and to plant - the seeds of true worship.

Jeremiah's entire life is stamped with tragedy. The defender of the people, rooting for him with his soul, he was forced to tell him the bitter truth, mercilessly break the ingrained views, predict catastrophes, be their witness and participant. His first sermons were directed against those who relied too much on the politician. revival of the kingdom. The blessing of God will be preserved, the prophet said, only under three conditions: if people repent, they will sacredly observe the laws of justice and begin to rely only on God, and not on earthly strength. But Jerusalem remained deaf to the word of the prophet, and he returned to Anathoth.

In 622, King Josiah carried out a liturgical reform. Forgotten Book. The law (probably Deut; see v. Pentateuch), which was found in the Temple (2 Kings 22: 3-20), was solemnly codified and declared sacred to the entire people. In accordance with the directions of the book, the reform of Josiah not only did away with the remnants of polytheism, but also abolished all the sanctuaries, except for the Temple of Solomon. Jeremiah supported these reforms (Jer 11: 2), which caused the enmity of the clergy of Anathoth, who was dissatisfied with the reform.

Meanwhile, the fall of Nineveh (612) led to a power struggle between the pharaoh and the growing Chaldean kingdom. Trying to maintain his independence, King Josiah intervened in this struggle and died in the battle of Megiddo (609). Israel temporarily became a tributary of Egypt. Pharaoh Necho II appointed twenty-five-year-old Joachim as king in Jerusalem, who was not going to continue the work of his father Josiah.

And again God sent Jeremiah to preach. He appeared at the gates of the Temple, where crowds of people usually flocked, and publicly declared that they should not rely on the shrine as long as they would "oppress a stranger, an orphan and a widow," until they put an end to wickedness and evil customs. The worship of unrepentant sinners is not pleasing to God. "Has not this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I have seen it, says the Lord" (7:11). In the words of the prophet, they saw an insult to the Temple and faith. They tried to seize him, and only the intervention of the courtiers saved Jeremiah this time. However, in order to frighten the troublemakers, King Joachim ordered the execution of one of Jeremiah's associates, prop. Uriah. From this time on, the path of the cross of the prophet begins. He pours out the torment of his heart in psalms, which are usually called "confessions" (11: 18-23; 12: 1-6; 15: 10-21; 17: 12-18; 18: 18-23; 20: 7-18). He was torn between pity for the blinded sinners and the need to threaten them, suffered, foreseeing retribution for the people and unable to prevent it because of the deafness of the princes. Jeremiah did not stop at the direct denunciations of Jehoiakim (22: 15-19).

In 605, after defeating the pharaoh, the Chaldean prince was crowned in Babylon as Nebuchadnezzar II. It was revealed to Jeremiah that from now on he was political. power passes to this person that Israel should devote itself to works of faith and not resist the new ruler of the East. Prophecies about this Jeremiah dictated to his disciple Baruch, who read them to the people from the balustrade of the Temple, after which the courtiers took the scroll to the king. Joachim listened to the reading in parts, tore off the read pieces of the scroll and threw them into the brazier as a sign of complete contempt for the words of the prophet. But that didn't stop Jeremiah. He again ordered Baruch to write down the Word of the Lord, adding new formidable warnings to the previous ones. Soon they seized him and put him at the gate in stocks, like a pillar of shame.

In the fall of 598, King Joachim suddenly died. The throne passed to his son Jeconiah. But he, too, did not listen to Jeremiah's voice and supported Pharaoh against Nebuchadnezzar. A year later, the Chaldeans, having defeated the army of Egypt, laid siege to Jerusalem. Jeconiah had to surrender, and Nebuchadnezzar sent him along with a party of Jewish nobility to Babylon (this party also included the prop. Ezekiel). The Chaldeans established Jeconiah's brother Zedekiah as king. This weak-willed monarch turned out to be a toy in the hands of the military party, which constantly pushed him onto a disastrous path - to be set aside from Babylon. Jeremiah was on the verge of despair. Now his hopes were centered around the "remnant" - those who had been taken away to a foreign land (24: 1-10; 29). They must repent and understand their true calling. He was left powerless to look at the agony of Jerusalem. The Prophet was declared a traitor and thrown into a ditch, where he almost died. Soon he was transferred to the guardroom at the palace, where the king secretly asked him about the future. Jeremiah tried to convince him: it is necessary to leave the calculations on the allies and remain loyal to Nebuchadnezzar. But in vain - Zedekiah cut off all escape routes. In 588 the Chaldeans invaded Palestine; one after another, its main fortresses fell. The siege of Jerusalem began. There was nowhere to wait for help. The people were starving (see article of the Weeping Book). On July 19, 587 the Chaldeans made a breach in the city wall. The king tried with his people to hide behind the Jordan, but was overtaken. Nebuchadnezzar ordered to kill his children in front of him, and, having blinded him, sent him to Babylon. The city was destroyed, and the Temple was burned along with the Ark, as Jeremiah had predicted.

The Chaldeans freed the prophet, and he became an advisor to Godoliah, the new governor of Judah. But soon Godolia was killed by supporters of the military party, to-rye, having committed this crime, decided to flee to Egypt from the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar. They made Jeremiah go with them. For a time he lived and preached in the Jewish colony of Egypt. In recent years, the Lord has instilled a sense of hope in the heart of the aged prophet. One of the cycles of his speeches, conventionally called the "Book of Consolation" (30-31), already announced the New Testament. According to legend, St. * Ephraim the Syrian, Jeremiah died a martyr's death, stoned (Commentary on Jer. Preface). After his death, Baruch, collecting the writings of the teacher, moved to Babylon.

Jeremiah's influence on subsequent generations was enormous. He was seen as a model of the incorruptible herald of the will of God. During the time of the Savior's earthly life, some considered him resurrected (Matt 16:14). As A. * Olesnitsky writes: "In the name of the prophet Jeremiah and his mournful sacred speeches and songs, any mourning for the lost, literary outlined, is called Jeremiah among today's Christian peoples."

), and in the 20th year of his life, he began to destroy idolatry in his country. In the 26th year of his life, when the book of the Covenant was found in the temple, Josiah reformed the divine service according to the guidance of this book (;).

Even five years before this important reform, Jeremiah was called to the prophetic ministry, but, obviously, in the first years of his ministry he was unknown in Jerusalem: otherwise his advice would have been asked by the courtiers who turned to the prophetess Aldama for explanations of the threats of the Book of the Covenant (). The first speeches of Jeremiah, contained in II-VI chapters, date back to the time of King Josiah. and . Although Jeremiah did not take a close and direct part in the reform activities of Josiah, nevertheless he deeply sympathized with her and mourned the death of this king in a lamentable song that did not reach us (). At this time, Jeremiah appears in Jerusalem and speaks his accusatory speeches mainly in the temple, where he had the most audience.

Jeremiah, whom Jeremiah calls Sallum (), reigned for only three months (et seq.). The prophet predicted to him only the deprivation of the throne forever.

Joachim, Jehoahaz's elder brother, was seated on the throne by Pharaoh Necho and reigned for 11 years (609-598). In contrast to his father, this king patronized idolatry and violated theocratic traditions (), which, however, was started by his brother (). His reign was unhappy for the people, who suffered a lot from his desire for luxury and from his cruelty (et seq.). He especially damaged his state with his treacherous policy. Having been seated on the throne by Pharaoh, in the fifth year of his reign he became a vassal of Nebuchadnezzar, but three years later he began to arrange a conspiracy against him and thus brought on Judea the invasion of hordes of Chaldean, Syrian, Moabite and Ammonite (and the rest), until Nebuchadnezzar himself came to Jerusalem and took a large number of Jews into captivity. Jeremiah bitterly reprimanded the king for all this and predicted a sad end for him (). In addition, under Joachim, at the very beginning of his reign (cf.), a large temple speech was said, contained in the VII-XI chapters. and in verses 17-25 of the X-th chapter. Then, when Nebuchadnezzar won, in the 4th year of the reign of Joachim, a brilliant victory over the Egyptians under the city of Karhamis, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah (), Jeremiah at this time prophetically foreshadows the consequences of this event for the states of Asia and Africa (ch.) ... Separate speeches about different kingdoms belong to the same year (ch.; And). Under Joachim, the speeches contained in ch. XI, XII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII (according to the 18th century), XVIII, XIX and XX. The event described in Ch.

As would be expected, the incorruptible and fearless prophet in this era was exposed to serious dangers from government and individuals. Already for his temple speech, the prophet was condemned by priests and false prophets, whom he strongly denounced (cf. chap.). But this time the nobles were just in their attitude to Jeremiah and defended him, although the prophet still did not get rid of the arrest and beatings by the temple police (Ch.). The king himself was extremely hostile to Jeremiah and almost prepared for him the fate of the unfortunate Uriah, who was executed for prophecy (et seq.). Likewise, the relationship between the prophet and the people (and the rest) became aggravated at this time. It seems that even the entrance to the temple was forbidden to him and the right to make speeches before the people was taken away (). This explains the fact that it was in the 4th year of Joachim that the prophet received the command from God to write down his hitherto said about the Jews and pagans in a book: in this way the people, to whom Jeremiah could not directly address, could read or listen this book, to see how they begin to come to the fulfillment of his prophecies, and to repent of his unbelief, which he found in relation to the prophecies of Jeremiah (ch.). Baruch, his faithful disciple, served him as a scribe, and then read the prophecies of Jeremiah in the temple to the people. When, in the 5th year of Joachim, on the day of repentance, he read this book to the people, the book was taken from him and given to the king, who ordered to seize Jeremiah and Baruch, and destroyed the book ... , further increasing its content. Jeremiah did not speak before the people for a long time after that.

Jeconiah, the son and successor of Joachim, reigned for only three months () and was taken with the best part of his people to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar (;). Jeremiah foretold this king, who adhered to the policy of his father, his unhappy fate ().

Zedekiah (597–586), who was enthroned by Nebuchadnezzar, was the younger son of Josiah, the uncle of Jeconiah. Almost 11 years of his reign ended with the death of the Jewish state (and the next). Instead of seeking Jehovah's help and executing judgment and righteousness, crushing pagan altars, this weak-willed sovereign had the idea of ​​throwing off his dependence on Babylon. Jeremiah at this time felt much freer than under Joachim; his worst enemies, especially among the priests, were taken into captivity; the king himself had a certain respect for his word. And the prophet tirelessly continued to reiterate to the king and people that their only salvation is to submit to the will of Jehovah, who demands that the king and people recognize the authority of the king of Babylon over them, of course, for a certain period of time. But Zedekiah could not agree with the prophet and acted in just the opposite spirit. In the 4th year of his reign, in the hope of the difficulties that the Babylonian king had then, who fought with Elam (), Zedekiah decided to leave Babylon (), against which Jeremiah armed himself with all his might (- ch.). For the greatest impact on the audience, the prophet at this time wore a yoke, which meant the future enslavement of the Jews to Nebuchadnezzar. In the same 4th year of Zedekiah, the journey of this king to Babylon falls, and Jeremiah sent to Babylon his speeches against this great state, the book with which a friend of Jeremiah was supposed to lower in r. Euphrates (). The vision of the chapter and the letter to Babylon (chap.) Refer to the first years of the reign of Zedekiah. Then there are prophecies relating to the time of the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, who came to punish Zedekiah for treason (;;; and seq.). Here Jeremiah admonished Zedekiah to surrender to the Chaldeans, pointing out in this the only salvific outcome for the king.

The position of the prophet at this time deteriorated significantly. The weak-willed Zedekiah, who at first had full confidence in the words of the prophet, soon departed from him, and Jeremiah was severely persecuted by the nobles during the siege of Jerusalem. The nobles accused Jeremiah of intending to go to the Chaldeans and put him in a dark dungeon, where he stayed for a long time (ff.). The king, however, assigned him a more bearable room - in the barracks at his palace, where Jeremiah could talk with the Jews who came to him. The comforting prophecies of chapters XXX-XXXIII, spoken by him, date back to this time. At the same time, he spoke about the fate of pagan peoples (). But this had very sad consequences for Jeremiah. His enemies managed to get the king's permission to throw Jeremiah into a dirty well, where he would have died hungry, if not for the eunuch Abdemelech, who, on his side, managed to convince the king to allow him to release Jeremiah and transfer him to live again in the barracks, where he remained before the capture of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans.

After the capture of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar, who knew the activities of Jeremiah, suggested that the prophet, through the commander of his guard, either go to Babylon or stay in Judea. The prophet chose the latter, hoping that the governor of Judah, Godoliah, appointed by the Chaldeans, would be able to rally around him the Jews who remained in their country. But Godoliah, in whose residence, Massif, Jeremiah began to live, was soon treacherously killed by one Jewish officer, Ishmael, who wanted to please the king of Ammon. When the villain fled to the Ammonites from the vengeance of the Jews who rebelled against him, the latter, fearing that the Chaldeans would not forgive the murder of Godolia and take out their wrath on them, decided to retire to Egypt. In vain did Jeremiah persuade them on behalf of Jehovah to give up this intention (chap.), He himself was carried away by them to Egypt and came with them to the city of Tafnis (in Lower Egypt).

That in Egypt the Lord continued to speak through Jeremiah to the Jews - this can be seen from chapters XLIII (ff.) And XLIV-th chapters. The Prophet, when he settled in Egypt, was already about 70 years old, and probably ten years later he died. There is a legend that he was stoned by his own people for his reproofs, but this is hardly probable. On the contrary, the Jewish people retained the memory of him as a great prophet, and even the expectations of the Messiah were associated with his name (and so forth;;).

3. Personal characteristics of Jeremiah.

The book of the prophet Jeremiah reflects with particular relief the personal characteristics of its author. We see in him a soft, compliant, loving nature, which is an amazing contrast to the unswerving firmness with which he acted in the sphere of his prophetic vocation. In it, one might say, there were two people: one, who was under the influence of a weak human flesh, although ennobled in its impulses, and the other - completely standing under the influence of the all-powerful Spirit of God. Of course, the flesh obeyed the spirit, but the prophet suffered excessively from this. As a young man, the prophet eagerly accepted his lofty mission, but then, when the work he took upon himself isolated him from other people, turned him into an “enemy of the people,” his sensitive heart began to suffer very much. His position could be called highly tragic: he had to turn the people who had apostate from Jehovah to God, knowing well that his calls to repentance would remain unsuccessful. He had to constantly talk about the terrible danger threatening the Jewish state, and remain misunderstood by anyone, because they did not want to understand him! How he must have suffered, seeing the disobedience of the people, whom he loved and who, however, could not help ... How must the stigma imposed on him by public opinion as a treason ... the accusation hanging over his head continued to speak of the need to submit to the Chaldeans. The fact that the Lord did not even want to accept his prayers for the Jewish people (;;;) and the hostile attitude towards him of all Jews, even relatives, - all this drove the prophet to despair, and he only thought about how he could go to a distant desert to mourn the fate of his people there (;). But the words of God in his heart burned like fire and asked to come out - he could not leave his ministry (and the rest) and the Lord continued to lead him with a firm hand along the difficult path he had chosen. Jeremiah did not abandon the struggle with false prophets who unconsciously sought to destroy the state and remained an iron pillar and a copper wall, from which all the attacks of his enemies were reflected (;).

Of course, the feelings of discontent and despair expressed by the prophet of cursing his enemies place him incomparably lower than the Son of Man, Who suffered from His fellow tribesmen, not issuing complaints and not cursing anyone even at the moment of His suffering death. But in any case, among the prophets, no one was in his life and sufferings a more prominent type of Christ than Jeremiah. And the respect that the Jews had for him was sometimes shown against their wishes. So Zedekiah consulted with him twice, and the Jews, who did not listen to Jeremiah's advice regarding the removal to Egypt, nevertheless took him there with them, as it were, some sacred Palladium.

As the history of Jeremiah's call to the prophetic ministry already shows (), the prophet was especially to proclaim court why his book is rightly named in the Talmud book of threats... This judgment is caused by the extreme guilt of the Jewish people before Jehovah. The first guilt of the people is, according to the prophet, a deviation from the true God - Jehovah to other gods, such as Baal, Moloch, the queen of heaven, etc., and then, in the proper sense, serving idols. It is for this sin that the judgment of God falls upon the Jewish people: see and next; , 6i f .; , 10 and f .; Jer. 11ff .; et seq .; et seq .; and sl. From these places it becomes clear that the service on the heights, that is, in some places outside Jerusalem consecrated by ancient memories, attracted the people to paganism and should be subjected to complete, from the point of view of the Law of Moses, condemnation, since by this service it was not only violated the law on the unity of the place of worship, but pagan customs were also introduced into the very service of God. But besides this ambiguous cult, near Jerusalem, in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, at least before the reform carried out by King Josiah, there was an altar in honor of Baal-Moloch, where children were sacrificed (;;), and, finally, in the temple itself there were pagan idols (). Perhaps in the last years of the existence of the Kingdom of Judah there was no direct idolatry in Jerusalem, but in any case the inclination towards it in Jeremiah's fellow tribesmen was not destroyed, and the Jews were to be punished not only for the sins of their fathers, but also for their own behavior. in relation to God.

But if, according to the conviction of the prophet, all the misfortune of the people is rooted in the people's unfaithfulness to Jehovah, then this unfaithfulness led directly to all untruth and immorality, against which the prophet tirelessly raised his voice (Jer. 5 and v. 7 et se. 26 et seq. .;; and fol. 9;; Jer. 18 and fol .;; and sl .;; Jer. 29 and other places). It can be seen that fear of the true God disappeared among the people and reverence for His holy law was replaced by pagan licentiousness. The basic commandments about virginity, honesty, justice were neglected by both the nobility and the common people, even among the priests and prophets, who, instead of being the organs of divine law, were rather slaves of the then trends, bowed to secular power and served mammon, why they were unable to raise the level of morality among the people.

The judgment announced by Jeremiah was essentially a political catastrophe. Although he sometimes pointed out the avenging hand of Jehovah in natural disasters (; Jer. 14 et seq.), However, he mainly threatened his fellow tribesmen with an invasion of alien peoples from the north, without first naming (until the XXVth chapter, referring to the 4th year of Jehoiakim) like an instrument of the wrath of God (and the next;; Jer. 4 and se. 13 et se .; Jer. 6 and se .;;;). On the contrary, from XXV chap. 9 tbsp. the perpetrator of this judgment is clearly set out to be Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.

In proclaiming this judgment, Jeremiah entered into serious wrangling with the priests, who considered it impossible that Jehovah would give up His sanctuary to be reproached by the Gentiles, and with the prophets, who substantiated this false hope of the priests with their visions and dreams. Against this destructive optimism Jeremiah fought with all his might (for priests see:, 26 and f .; about the prophets:, 6 and f .;).

Contrary to the assurances of these false prophets, Jeremiah, from his very appearance in the ministry, foreshadowed the complete destruction of the Jewish state, just as Israel was destroyed. The people must be transferred into captivity (;; Jer. 9 and seq; Jer. 12 and seq .; and se. 19;; Jer. 17 and se .; Jer. 20 and se.;; Jer. 22 and seq. And other places) ... According to the XXV-th ch. Art. On the 11th, the Babylonian captivity must last 70 years (cf.). After that, Babylon itself will be destroyed (ch. I) and the people of God will return to their country. Although even at the beginning of his ministry Jeremiah at times expressed these joyful promises (ff .; Jer. 12 et seq .; Jer. 16 et seq.), But especially vividly he began to paint pictures of the renewal of the life of the Jewish people when Jerusalem was already under siege. enemies and then, after the capture of the city (ff .; Jer. 24ff .; Jer. 47ff .; and especially).

Jeremiah in his contemplation is a prophet who penetrates deeply into the essence of true theocracy. According to him, it is not external circumcision that gives a person the right to the favor of God, but circumcision of the heart (;;). The Temple of Jerusalem does not in itself represent a guarantee for the integrity of Jerusalem - on the contrary, this temple, desecrated by the sins of the Jews, incurs the wrath of God upon itself (and the rest;;;;). Hope for external worship is also vain - Jehovah does not favor these ceremonies that do not correspond to the internal mood of those praying (; Jer. 7ff .;;). Thus, Jeremiah exposes an urgent need for a more inward, more sincere fellowship between God and the people. Then there will be no need for the ark of the covenant, this external medium and symbol of the spiritual presence of God (); then the law of God will not be something only external, written on stone tablets - no, it will be inscribed in the heart of man (Jer. 31ff.). Thus, the Lord will not destroy the covenant that he once made with Israel and David, but will give it a more majestic appearance (). This new covenant, to which Jeremiah strove with all his soul, he had the courage to put above the Old, although it must be said that the messianic time for him was outlined only in general features.

5. The form of Jeremiah's prophecies.

As for the form of the prophecies of Jeremiah, we find between them visions in the close sense of the word, and precisely the visions are symbolic (; Jer. 24ff.), And then especially symbolic actions (Jer. 13ff .; Jer. 19ff .; Jer. 19ff .; Jer. 27 & f; & f. 12 & f .; Jer. 43 & f .; Jer. 51 & f.). In order to more clearly present his thought, the prophet draws the attention of his listeners (in the th ch., 2 et seq.) To the potter and his work. Another time, the prophet symbolically depicts the wrath of God as a goblet of wine, offered to the nations for drinking, without showing the goblet itself (). Jeremiah willingly resorts to figurative expressions, to play on words, to living examples (; Jer. 35ff.), But his images are simple, artless, as well as symbolic actions are extremely simple. All his strength lies in his powerful speech, imbued with the spirit of living conviction and cordiality. Although his style lacks "boldness, straightforwardness, brevity and expressiveness", although "in the presentation of his thoughts Jeremiah is very long-spoken and detailed" we have a number of paintings, of which almost in each one encounters the same persons and objects ”(Divine Encyclopedia vol. 6, pp. 284–285), nevertheless, the impression from Jeremiah's speeches is often irresistible. Jeremiah undoubtedly had a high poetic talent, which is reflected mainly in his speeches about foreign peoples, where he speaks with a particularly lively, fiery language, while in his speeches to his people, a melancholic tone prevails. In Jeremiah's speech, there are often Arameisms.

6. Book of prophecies of Jeremiah.

The original origin of the book of Jeremiah is reported in chapter XXXVI. In the 4th year of Joachim, the Lord commanded Jeremiah to write down all his speeches, spoken so far during his 23 years of activity, in one scroll or in one book, and Jeremiah dictated them to his disciple Baruch, who served him as a scribe. The following year, this book was burned by the king, and Jeremiah prepared a new list of his speeches, with some new ones added. The speeches written under the dictation of Jeremiah Baruch go up to the XXIVth chapter, as can be concluded from the fact that here the prophet speaks of himself in the first person (I, to me). From the XXVI chapter, in all likelihood, there are speeches recorded by Baruch no longer under the dictation of Jeremiah (Jeremiah is spoken of here in the 3rd person). After all, in Egypt Jeremiah, of course, looked at his entire book himself, so that it is justly called the book of Jeremiah.

It is difficult to say by what plan the author of the book was guided by posting his speeches. It can be assumed that he wanted to keep not a chronological order, but a systematic one. However, in some departments, the chronological sequence of delivering speeches is also preserved. It is possible to divide the entire book, with the exception of the first and last chapters, into two parts. The first part (2 - 45 chap.) Contains speeches related to the Jewish people, the second (46 - 51) - speeches about foreign peoples, and the first part can be divided into two sections: I - XXXV - speeches addressed to the Jews, and XXXVI - XLIV - narrations about some events in the life of Jeremiah and the Jewish people.

Ch. I. Calling Jeremiah.

II, 1 – III, 5. First accusatory speech.

III, 6 – IV: 4. A call to repentance.

IV: 5 – VI, 30. Approaching judgment.

VII – IX. Temple speech.

X: 1-16. Against idols.

X: 17-25. Israel's Punishment and Complaint.

XI-XII. The bitterness of Israel against God and the wonderful ways of God.

XIII. Court. over the stubborn Jews. XIV – XV. About the threatening hunger.

XVI, 1 – XVII, 18. Judge and Savior.

XVII, 19-27. Read Saturday!

XVIII. It's about the potter and the clay.

ХIX-ХX. Breaking a jug.

XXI, I – XXIII, 8. About kings.

XXIII, 9-40. Prophets and prophecies.

XXIV. Fig baskets.

XXV. Judgment of the nations.

XXVI. The persecution of Jeremiah for his temple speech under Joachim.

XXVII – XXIX. Jeremiah and the false prophets.

XXX-XXXIII. Promises for the restoration of Israel and the New Testament.

XXXIV: 1-7. Lot of Zedekiah.

XXXIV: 8-22. Defiant breaking of a vow.

XXXV. An example of rehavites.

XXXVI. The book of prophecies of Jeremiah and its fate.

XXXVII – XXXIX. Jeremiah and his speeches during the siege of Jerusalem.

XL: 1 – XLIII, 7. The prophet's speech against the removal of the Jews to Egypt.

XLIII, 8-13. Nebuchadnezzar in Egypt.

XLIV. The last speech against the idolaters - the Jews in Egypt.

XLV. Consolation to Baruch.

XLVI – LI. Speeches for foreign peoples.

LII. Destruction of Jerusalem.

The authenticity of certain parts of the book of Jeremiah is noted at the end of the chapters.

7. The relation of the Hebrew text to the Alexandrian-Greek.

The Greek-Alexandrian text of the book of Jeremiah differs quite significantly from the Hebrew-Mazoretic text. The difference is primarily in the order of the chapters. It is Ch. XLVI-LI in the Greek translation are placed after the 13th verse of the XXVth chapter (in Slavic this is not done - the order of the Mazoretic text is preserved there). In addition, the Greek text of the book of Jeremiah generally corresponds to the Masoretic text much less than all the other books of the Old Testament (excluding only the books of Job and Daniel). And in terms of the number of verses, the Greek text is less than the Masoretic text by 2,700 words, i.e. by 1 8 (see especially XXXIII, 14-26. And XXXIX: 4-13). On this basis, some critics of the biblical text believe that LXX - translated the book of Jeremiah not from the text adopted by the Mazorets, that in antiquity there was a different, more original, edition of the book of Jeremiah. But if we compare the translation of the LXX with the Masoretic text in such places where speech about different editions cannot be raised, then we see how the Greek translator, at the slightest difficulty of the Hebrew text, is now in danger of not understanding it, interpreting it incorrectly, and often rather unsuccessfully altering it according to - to his own (see, for example, II, 2, 19, 20, 23; VIII, 6, 18; X et seq., etc.). In XXIX chap. 24–32. the translator did not clearly understand the meaning of the text and missed difficult words. He also omits expressions that were incomprehensible to readers from the Hellenistic Jews or had already been encountered in the book (see, for example,

8. Literature.

The most valuable commentaries on the book of the prophet Jeremiah are: a) Catholic: Comelii a Lapide. Commentaria in Scriptur. Sacram. ed Peronne t. 12th 1863 - Migne. Scripturae sacrae cursus completus t. 19th ed. 1861 - Scholz. Kmm. z. Buche d. Pr. Ieremias - 1880 Schneedorfer. Das Weissagungsbuch d. Pr. Ieremias - 1881 b) Protestant: Ewald. Ieremia u Hezekiel 2 Auf. 1868. - Graf. Der Pr. Ieremia - 1862. - Nagelsbach. Der Pr. Ieremia - 1872. - Keil. Komm. ub. d Pr. Ieremia u. die Klagelied. - 1872 .-- Dachsel. Bibelw. - Att Test. B. 4th (D. Buch d. Ierem. U. Klagelieder). - 1872. - Cheyne. Jeremijah 2 vol. (in English) - 1885. - Giesebrecht. Das Buch Ieremia - 1894. - Duhm. Das Buch Ieremia - 1903. - Orelli. Der Pr. Ieremia 3rd Auft - 1905. - Cornill. Das Buch Ieremia - 1905.

From foreign monographs about the prophet Jeremiah, it should be noted: Erbt. Ieremia u. seine Zeit. - 1902. - Bulmennoq, - Das Zukunftsbild d. Pr. Ieremia - 1894. - Lazarus D .. Pr. Ieremia - 1894. - Marti. Der P. Ieremia von Anatot - 1889. - Moller. Die Mession. Erwartung d. vonelilisch, Propheten - 1906 (S. 283–349). - Iacoby. Zur Composition d. Buches Ieremia (Theol. Stud. U. Krit. 1906) and Stosch. Die Prophetie Israels - 1907 (S. 452–482). - In particular, Kuhl - 1882 (in German), Workman - 1889, and Streane - 1896 (in English) about the relation of the LXX text to the Jewish Masoretic.

In Russian, it should be noted: the interpretation of St. ... blessed. Theodoret and blessed. Jerome (for the first XXXII chap. Books), then prof. I. S. Yakimova, “Interpretation on the book. St. Prophet Jeremiah ", 1879. - His" Relationship of the Greek translation of the LXX to the Hebrew Mazoretic text in the book. Prophet Jeremiah ", 1874 - A. Bukharev, a)" St. prophet Jeremiah ", 1864, and b)" On the authenticity and integrity of St. books of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel ”, 1864. Then useful information can be found in the book of Spassky. Interpretation on the Prophetic Books of the Old Testament, no. 1st, 1893 and in the "parimias" of the reverend. Vissarion.

The holy prophet Jeremiah, according to the instructions of his book (I, 1), was the son of the priest Helkiah from the village of Anathoth near Jerusalem. He was called to the prophetic ministry in the 13th year of the reign of the Jewish king Josiah, when he was still a young man (I, 2, 6-7). From that time on, the prophet passed his ministry in all the subsequent years of the reign of Josiah and his successors: Jehoahaz, Joachim, Jeconiah, Zedekiah until the destruction of Jerusalem and after this event he lived for about five more years. The duration of this period is determined at forty-five years.

The life of the prophet and his work coincided with the last years of the existence of the kingdom of the Jews, when the religious and moral state of the Jews reached an extreme decline and the just Lord began to subject them to punishment from the formidable pagan peoples, who quickly crushed and destroyed the kingdom of the Jews. Acting as a formidable exposer of modern wickedness and a messenger of the impending punishment of God, the prophet Jeremiah was subjected to various ridicule and even persecution from his depraved compatriots. Even with the pious king Josiah, who ascended the throne as an eight-year-old boy (2 Kings XXII, 1; 2 Chronicles XXXIV, 1), the position of the prophet was unfavorable. Although, at the insistence of King Josiah, the eradication of paganism and the restoration of the true faith among the Jews was begun, to which the prophet was a zealous assistant to the king, but the conversion of the people under the influence of this religious transformative activity was temporary and external, since many of the people were only out of pleasing and fearing before tsar tried to be pious, but in fact they were in paganism and vices. The prophet Jeremiah denounced the hypocritical life of the people, inspired to serve God not only outwardly, but blamelessly, reproached him for stubbornness and through this incurred strong indignation. The more sincere the reproof was, the more sick anger and further rage it aroused in the hearts of those reproved.

Under the successors of Josiah - Jehoahaz, Joachim, Jeconiah and Zedekiah - wicked kings - the position of the prophet became even worse. At this time, the prophet was repeatedly persecuted by kings, priests, false prophets, and he was even threatened with mortal danger. Especially disastrous was the life of the prophet during the reign of Zedekiah. When the troops of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar approached Jerusalem, Zedekiah did not lose hope of holding firmly in her capital, counting on the help of her allies, the Egyptians. The prophet Jeremiah, at the command of God, announced to the king that the hope of the Jews for the help of Egypt would not be justified, that the city would be taken and the king himself would be taken captive. For these predictions the prophet was taken into custody (Jeremiah XXXIII, 1-5). For an attempt to free himself from captivity, he was subjected to corporal punishment and again imprisoned. Soon after this, the prophet, for his speeches, in which he still pointed out to the Jews the futility of resisting the Babylonians, advising them to humbly submit to them, as an instrument of the terrible judgment of God, was accused of treason to his fatherland, and was thrown into a dirty pit. Here the sufferer almost died and only the intercession of a certain Avdemelech (the royal bodyguard) saved him from danger (XXXVII, XXXVIII Ch.).

After the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, the prophet was freed from the guard and received complete freedom - to stay in Judea or go to Babylon. The Prophet chose to stay in his homeland and live with other ideas that the Babylonians left for the cultivation of the land under the direction of Godoliah (Jeremiah XXXIX, 10; XL, 6–7). But here he was not for long. The following unfortunate circumstance occurred which violated these established conditions of the prophet's life. A certain Ishmael, one of Zedekiah's relatives, conspired and, having killed Godolia, put to death all the Babylonian soldiers who were with him. Under the influence of fear of revenge from the Babylonians, the Jews did not know what to decide on. After consulting with the prophet Jeremiah, they completely contrary to his advice and revelations, withdrew to Egypt. Jeremiah with his disciple Baruch also had to go to Egypt against his will. He predicted that the Jews could find their safety in humble submission to the Babylonians and in Judea, and vice versa death in Egypt, which would also be attacked by the Babylonians. Living in Egypt, the prophet very often repeated these predictions and denounced his fellow tribesmen in the fact that they, despite having comprehended and having to comprehend the punishment of God, indulge in idolatry (XLIII, XLIV chap.). These menacing speeches of the prophet aroused such strong angry irritations among those exposed that they, according to the testimony of tradition, stoned him. This happened in the city of Tafna (near Cairo) shortly before the invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, about which the prophet so persistently predicted. Since the invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar took place in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem, the prophet's stay in Egypt lasted no more than five years. However, there is an assumption that Jeremiah lived in Egypt for 10 years and that his prophetic ministry therefore lasted 50 years.

The personality of the prophet Jeremiah was highly respected among the Jewish people, so that the memory of him as a great husband was preserved until the time of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the days of the Savior's earthly life, some of the Jews revered Jesus Christ Himself as Jeremiah (). According to the testimony of the 2nd Book of Maccabees (II ch. 4 v.), Before the destruction of Jerusalem, Jeremiah hid the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant and the altar of incense in the cave of Mount Nebo; it also tells that St. Jeremiah appeared to Judas Maccabee and gave him a golden sword to defeat enemies (XV, 13-14).

In addition to the book of prophecies, St. The prophet Jeremiah also owns the books "Lamentations of Jeremiah" and "Epistle of Jeremiah", which constitute, as it were, an appendix to the book of prophecies.

The peculiarity of the prophecies of Jeremiah in terms of content and method of presentation

From the point of view of content, the book of the prophet Jeremiah is characterized by the fact that it is dominated by formidable accusatory speeches. The Prophet mercilessly denounced his contemporaries for the apostate, impious life and announced to them the punishment of God in the form of terrible impending disasters - the disastrous invasion of powerful pagan peoples. Indeed, the state of the modern prophet of the Jews was so low in the religious and moral sense that a short word of admonition and persuasion could no longer act on the hearts of the wicked, evil was so firmly rooted in the people that the punishment of God was close and inevitable. Accordingly, this messenger of God had no choice but to scourge the vices of people with a word, a formidable reproof, burn their coarse hearts with the power of reprimand and proclaim to them the thunders of heavenly justice. The subject of his accusatory speeches are not only Jews, but also pagan peoples, who were even worse than the first in their religious and moral life. But being a formidable denouncer of unworthy of his contemporaries, the prophet Jeremiah at the same time treated them with a deep feeling of love and compassion. The selfless love of the righteous man for his native, but depraved people was manifested in the fact that he grieved with his soul for every disaster announced to the people, was imbued with a feeling of pity and was always ready to pray and intercede for the guilty (). That is why he often accompanied his threatening speeches with the promise of God's mercies to those who will reform (III, 14–18; XXI, 8–12). His very reproofs are directed towards their threatening tone to induce those who are mistaken to turn to the path of truth and be saved. This explains why the prophet, in his harshest denunciations, is imbued with deep sorrow and pity for those accused and meekly calls them to repentance, promising under this condition the great mercies of God (Chapter III; Chapter XXI).

The presentation of the book of the prophet Jeremiah is distinguished by the following features:

a) the simplicity and lack of artificiality of the language. The prophet Jeremiah came from a small village of Anathoth; for this reason, his word could not be so processed graceful and correct as that of the prophet Isaiah, who was of noble birth. Blessed Jerome calls Jeremiah's speech the village, common people. But this speech is distinguished by the character of lively spontaneity and has a strong effect on the heart, it is clear and quite expressive. Due to these qualities, she was quite suitable for the time of the prophet's life and the conditions among which he had to act.

b) frequent repetition of the same thoughts. This way of expressing thoughts was a matter of necessity for the prophet. In order to influence the hardened hearts of his listeners, he had to say the same thing several times. With a variety of many phrases used by the prophet, when repeating the same thoughts, his speech does not become boring, monotonous and monotonous because of this.

c) frequent borrowing from other books of Holy Scripture: the Pentateuch, Isaiah, Hosea, etc. In all likelihood, the authority of these holy books and their writers, who enjoyed great respect among the people, the prophet wanted to have more effect on his contemporaries.

Contents of the book of the prophet Jeremiah and its division into parts

The main subject of Jeremiah's prophecies is the proclamation of the great tribulations of the Babylonians to the criminal people of Judah. The Lord will send the formidable Babylonians against the Jews and punish the wicked. The judgment of God will also touch the pagan nations, who, for their wicked, corrupted life, will be subjected to the same fate. By manifesting His righteous judgment, the almighty Lord will put an end to the further extreme spread of evil in people. Hence, God's punishment will have a corrective meaning. According to the prophet's prediction, the stay of the Jews in captivity in Babylon will make them realize their sinfulness and turn to God with a prayer for mercy. The merciful Lord will go to meet His repentant people and deliver them from captivity. The Babylonians, strong by external power, will themselves fall from other more powerful nations, the Babylonian captivity will last no more than seventy years. At the end of the captivity, the Jews will return to their homeland again, such glorious times will come when they will restore the kingdom of David and send the Shepherd King and conclude a new covenant with the people. Like the prophet Isaiah, Jeremiah, under the image of the coming events of deliverance from captivity, predicts about the times of the New Testament, which will come with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The book of the prophet Jeremiah is divided into two main parts with an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction tells about Jeremiah's calling to the prophetic ministry and indicates the main subject of his prophetic ministry (I ch.). The first part of the book sets out the prophecies relating to the Jewish people (II Ch. -XLV Ch.). The second part of the book is made up of prophecies about the fate of the pagan nations neighboring with the Jews (XLVI ch.-LI ch.). The book concludes with a story about the destruction of Jerusalem and the enslavement of the Jews by the Babylonians (LII ch.).

Chapter I. Jeremiah's Call to Prophetic Ministry

Pointing to his origin from Khelkiah, the priest of Anafovsky, and briefly identifying the duration of his ministry, Jeremiah testifies that God's predestination for the prophetic ministry took place even before his birth, as he learned about it from God Himself. Called to the feat of prophetic ministry, Jeremiah humbly pointed out to the Lord his youth and inability to speak. But the Lord reassured the young man, promising to be with him and protect him from all evil (v. 1-8). After that, the Lord stretched out His hand and touched the mouth of Jeremiah and with this great action imparted to him the grace-filled power to fulfill the prophetic ministry. In particular, having given the prophet the power of the word, the Lord also determined the subject of his prophetic activity. The subject of the prophet's preaching should be the prediction of the destruction of kingdoms, the fall of nations, the founding of new kingdoms and the rise of new nations (vv. 9 - 10). Further, the prophet was honored to see two visions: a walnut or almond rod and a cauldron set on fire from the north. With these visions, the Lord clearly presented the main subject of his sermon before the prophet and inspired him when he faced difficulties (11-16). According to the Lord, with all the obstacles available to meet, the prophet should not be faint-hearted, but fearlessly and courageously fight them. He must remember that God Himself helps him by His power and that under this condition, no matter how fierce and persistent the attacks on him from the enemies may be, he will always triumph over them with the help of God and achieve his great goals, as a summoned by God (17– 19).

1 tbsp. The origin of the prophet Jeremiah is indicated from one of the Anathothian priests. His father's name was Helkiah, but this Helkiah cannot be identified with the high priest Helkiah, who during the reign of Josiah found the Book of the Law written by Moses in the temple. In the city of Anatof, located 7 versts north of Jerusalem, there lived priests from the family of Abiathar, who was deprived of his high priestly dignity under Solomon (1 Kings II, 26). Having lost in the person of their ancestor the right to serve at the tabernacle, the Anathoth priests lived in poverty with the simplest morals, therefore the city of Anathoth was so insignificant that it looked more like a village than a city. The conditions of this patriarchal environment are known to have influenced the manner in which the book of the prophet Jeremiah is presented.

3 tbsp. Kings: Jehoahaz, who reigned in Judea after King Jociah and Jeconiah, who reigned after Jehoiakim, are omitted as a prophet because their reigns were very short (each of them reigned no more than three months).

5 tbsp. The prophet of God, even before his birth, in the womb of his mother, received from the omniscient, almighty Lord the preparatory and sanctifying grace of God. Such a special influence of God on the prophet was due to those difficult circumstances, in the midst of which he had to pass his ministry. In order to enable the prophet to overcome the difficulties of these circumstances, the Lord, even in the womb, sanctified his weak human nature, filling his strength with gifts of grace.

9 tbsp. By the visible action of the touch of a hand on the lips of the prophet, the Lord gave him the gift and power of the word. This preaching ability, which Jeremiah did not find in himself, was received by him to such an extent that the mouth of the prophet became, as it were, the mouth of God. And stretch out His hand to me, and I will touch with my mouth, and the Lord speaks to me: behold my words in your mouth., so says the prophet about this grace-filled influence of God.

10 tbsp. The received gift of God Jeremiah, at the command of God, will use it to foreshadow the fate of the peoples living on earth, first of all the Jews, and then the neighboring pagan peoples. In this regard, the prophet is called to serve as an instrument for the actions of the Supreme Judge, who justly looks at the life of earthly peoples and manifests His strict judgment on the unworthy of them.

11-12 Art. The vision of the wand of the almond tree had the following meaning. The almond tree, earlier than all other trees, begins to turn green in the spring in Palestine. Because of this property, it seemed to the inhabitants of Palestine more vital than the rest of the trees, and therefore they called it awake. The Lord, encouraging the prophet in the field of difficult ministry, tells him that He Himself will be vigilant about the fulfillment of the prophecy inspired by the prophet about the fate of the nations, and that these determinations of God will be fulfilled as soon as the almond tree begins to blossom early in the spring. The prophet, therefore, should not be embarrassed by the apparent solidity of the order of things about the destruction of which he will preach.

13 Art. Another symbolic vision - the vision of a cauldron heated from the north, according to the Lord (14-16 v.), Signifies the calamities that will fall on the Jews from the north, ie. from Babylon. The Babylonian peoples lived from Palestine to the east, but they are called northern because they came to the Jews from the north through Syria. However, the Jews themselves did not travel to Babylonia by a direct route to the east, but went north to Syria and from there they were already heading to the countries lying to the east of Palestine. This long path to the north was more convenient than the straight from west to east, although the shortest, but presenting great difficulties due to the desert terrain. The boiling of the cauldron in a figurative sense indicated the preparation of these disasters, while the fire served as an image of the fiery anger of the Lord, with the power of destroying the wicked.

17 Art. Girdling your loins means preparing yourself for a comfortable course of action. In the east, they usually wore wide and long clothes, which, without a girdle, constrained a person during work, while the belt did not allow the clothes to go down too low and impede the movement of the legs (Kings XVIII, 46; 2 Kings IV, 29; 3). In the appendix to the prophet Jeremiah, the words of God: gird your loins pointed out that he was spiritually prepared for the forthcoming prophetic activity. As one who has received such great authority from God in relation to action towards people, the prophet must freely, shamelessly, self-confident and courageous in his great ministry.

Chapter IX. Conviction of the sins of the Jewish people and the prediction of God's punishment to them

At the beginning of the chapter, it is indicated how the prophet, struck by the stubbornness of the unrepentant people and the terrible fate that befell sinners, would cry endlessly day and night. He realizes that he does not have the strength to help correct the criminals. The Prophet would have preferred for the best to leave the disgusting environment of this adulterous, treacherous, greedy, deceitful people and go into the wilderness (1 - 6, v.). Further, the calamities that the Lord will send to the unrepentant people are depicted. These calamities, like fire that melts metals, will crush the corrupted lives of the Jews and help them to reform. Nothing can prevent the upcoming disasters, for the people are far from repentance, and the evil in their life has taken on the widest dimensions (7-9 st.). The punishment of God will be accompanied by the devastation of the country, the eviction of its inhabitants to foreign countries. Not only mountains, valleys with pastures, but also cities as a result of this will undergo desolation, then the main city of Jerusalem will turn into a heap of ruins and become a dwelling place for snakes (10-11 st.). The false leaders of the people, who are considered wise by the people and support wickedness in them, will then be unable to explain these calamities. The prophet Jeremiah, as a true messenger of God, gives the only correct explanation of the plight of the country. According to the prophet, the cause of threatening calamities is idolatry and the wicked life of the people (vv. 12-15). The magnitude and power of the approaching punishment of God will be so amazing that the entire Jewish country will be covered with corpses and special mourners will be required to mourn the dead from great grief - the loss of loved ones in the country will become universal (16-24 v.). In the conclusion of the chapter, the prophet says that before the just God, who rewards every person according to his deeds, it is not strength, not wealth that matters, but only the fulfillment of His good will, which consists in knowing Him, doing mercy, judgment and righteousness on earth. ... The Jews in their lives are completely equal to the pagans and therefore have to undergo the same fate with them (v. 24-26).

1 tbsp. Here the thought of the sad fate of the Prophet's fellow tribesmen is figuratively expressed. To mourn their plight, according to the figurative expression of Jeremiah, a whole source of tears is needed.

2 tbsp. The fruitlessness of the admonitions of the people deeply mired in evil aroused in the prophet a desire to leave him, go into the wilderness, and find refuge there ( vitalische).

3 tbsp. The instrument of the evil heart, the vehicle of sinful thoughts, is the tongue. The Jews, according to the prophet, strain their tongue as if pulling a bow, utter words as if they shoot arrows from a bowstring.

4-6 Art. The picture of the extreme wickedness and vicious life of the Jews is depicted in vivid lines. In words: dashing for dashing (profit for profit), the prophet points out that the moral corruption was based on the desire for profit.

7-16 Art. Under the calamities, which the prophet presents as a formidable retribution from God to the wicked, it is understood the devastating invasion of the Babylonians, who really cruelly dealt with the Jews and took them into captivity.

17 Art. The Jews called mourners who sang lamentable songs over the dead. The name of the wise is assimilated by him in the sense that they could carry out their work with special skill and experience.

21-22 Art. The prophet's prediction about the extraordinary mortality of Judea was actually fulfilled during the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. Then the besieged perished not only from the enemy's sword, but also from hunger, especially from such terrible diseases as, for example. plague, which completely exterminate the population.

23-24 Art. According to the instructions of the prophet, in vain the Jews think to strengthen their prosperity by external means: wealth, human wisdom, strength, and so on. They forget that the only support for their well-being is the Lord God, who keeps those who know and do His will from all dangers.

25-26 Art. The circumcision was a visible sign of the Jews' belonging to God's chosen family of Abraham. But the rite of circumcision acquired the character of true circumcision only if a moral and mysteriously representative meaning was combined with it. In the first case, circumcision indicated the Old Testament man to struggle with passions and lusts; it was, so to speak, not only circumcision of the flesh, but of the heart and ears (). In the second case, circumcision inspired the person with the idea of ​​the coming of the Redeemer, thus being the seal of the truth of faith(). The Jews contemporary to the prophet Jeremiah performed this sacred rite as one external action without indicating a meaning, and therefore, like circumcision of the pagans, such circumcision did not have any meaning for them. Hence, according to the judgment of God, the Jewish people will suffer a punishment equal to the punishment of the Gentiles.

Chapter XX. A terrible prediction to Paschur, who insulted the prophet and Jeremiah's complaint about the difficulty of his ministry

The events described in this chapter are closely related to the circumstances that preceded them and were told by the prophet in the XIXth chapter. These circumstances are as follows. At the command of God, Jeremiah took an earthen vessel already burnt (an image of the stubbornness and impenitence of the Jews, for burnt clay cannot be softened and restored to its previous state), went with him to the valley of Ennom and, denouncing the elders of the people and priests who were present here, smashed it to smithereens. In explanation of such an unexpected action for all, the prophet announced that the Lord would do the same with the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem (XIX, 1-13). When Jeremiah returned from the valley of Ennom and again repeated his formidable predictions in the temple of Jerusalem (XIX, 14-15), then Pashor, the priest who oversaw the order in the temple, struck the prophet and imprisoned him. For this, Jeremiah predicted a disastrous fate for Easter during the Babylonian captivity, and at the same time again repeated his prophecy about the withdrawal of the entire Jewish people into captivity (XX, 1–6). Under the influence of such an offensive act and a painful condition from other oppression, the prophet complains about the severity of his situation. To avoid trouble, he repeatedly decided not to prophesy anymore, but each time he felt as if a fire was burning in his heart and therefore could not fulfill his desire. On the contrary, being under the influence of this inner strength, he had to preach the will of God, despite the fact that he was surrounded by enemies on all sides (vv. 7-9). The malice of these enemies in relation to the prophet increased to such an extent that they did not confine themselves to ridicule and curses, but threatened even him and only the almighty Lord saved him from danger (10-11 v.). The Prophet always in such cases turned with prayer to God and praised Him with gratitude singing as his Intercessor. But the accusatory speeches of the prophet caused new attacks from enemies and then, under the influence of human weakness, the prophet came to cowardice and cursed his birthday, expressing the thought that it would be better for him not to be born than to be born, to experience such grief in life (12 - 18 tbsp.).

1-2 tbsp. Paskhor, the son of Emmerov, a priest, was the head of the temple. This position was performed in turn by the priests and consisted in overseeing the correct performance of duties by the Levites who served in the temple (). In general, when setting order in the temple, the head of the temple was obliged to watch over those who prophesied at the temple and had the right to put them in prison (Jeremiah XXIX, 26). As can be seen from the words of the prophet Jeremiah, Pashor belonged to the number of false prophets and together with them predicted about the peace of the country, and therefore was a hostile rival of the true prophet of God (XX, 6).

3 tbsp. Released the next day from prison, the prophet Jeremiah predicted the great calamities of captivity to the evil priest and, as a sign of this, gave him a new name. Paskhor means “the world around”, according to his future sad fate, he should, according to Jeremiah, be called “an immigrant from everywhere” (Magor-Missaviv - horror around).

6 tbsp. Although the calamities of captivity will befall all the Jews (v. 4–5), but the calamity of Paschur with relatives and friends will be especially cruel. For their false evil activity, they will not be worthy of the grace of God to return to their homeland and will die in captivity, where they will be buried.

7-8 Art. You carried away(deceived) me, and therefore overpowered("Prevailed") me: and now I have become the subject of ridicule every day, everyone scoffs at me(7 tbsp.).

For I am in my accusatory speeches("With my bitter word") gotta ridicule("Laugh") vices of contemporaries and predict("hover") their rejection by God and poverty, this was the reason that the Word of the Lord turned into a reproach to me and daily mockery(8 tbsp.).

These words express the prophet's bitter complaint about the difficulty of fulfilling those great duties of prophetic activity, which he placed upon him at the very call to the prophetic ministry.

9-10 Art. The words of these verses indicate that the prophets were unable to refrain from showing inspiration and stop the prophetic ministry. They were completely dependent on the will of God, and therefore, as they were called to serve by God, so they left him in accordance with the expression of the will of God.

14-16 Art. The calamities experienced by the prophet from his compatriots became so great that they overpowered his weak forces and became unbearable for him. Falling under the burden of a calling, the prophet now uncontrollably cries out for his plight with bitter despairing cries. He curses the day of his birth and the husband who announced his birth to his father. These curses should be understood not literally, not in the sense of malice, but in the sense of expressing the consciousness of life on earth unbearable from disasters. With the curse of his birthday, the prophet sadly expresses the fact that his birthday cannot be joyful, as the beginning of such an unhappy life. The curse of the man-messenger, innocent in the sorrowful life of the prophet, denotes the father's vain joy about the birth of a son, whose life can cause sorrow, and not joy to the father. The Prophet Jeremiah recalls in this case the long-suffering righteous Job, who, under the influence of his painful fatal illness (leprosy), also cursed his birthday (Ch.). These actions of the two Old Testament men do not contradict their righteous and pious life. Of course, in their words there is imperfection, but this only testifies to the weakness of human nature, the influence of which affected other great chosen ones of God, not only the Old Testament (St. Elijah, 1 Kings XIX, 3–8; Moses; Deut. XXXII , 48–52; David, 2 Kings XI 14–17; Solomon, 1 Kings XI, 5–8), but also of the New Testament (eg the Holy Apostles; Peter, Matthew XXVI, 69–75 and Paul. ; Cor. X, 12).

Chapter XXIII. Proclamation of God's Judgment on Shepherds and False Prophets

According to the prophet's prediction, the negligent Jewish shepherds, who do not care about their flock, will suffer the punishment of God (v. 1-2). This punishment of God will consist in the fact that the Lord Himself will intercede for the scattered Jews, help them return to their land and give them new better shepherds instead of the former careless shepherds. Under the leadership of the new shepherds, the people will prosper and no one from among them will perish (vv. 3-4). But from these good shepherds, One Great Shepherd will stand out. He will also be King and will sit on the throne of David. This royal Descendant of David will have the properties of righteousness and wisdom. With His accession to His reign, the gracious times of salvation will come, when both the Jews and the Israelites will receive complete security (v. 5-6). The time of the coming of this Great King-Shepherd will make such a strong impression on the Jews that this event will be unceasing in the consciousness and on the lips of everyone, just like great events in the life of the people, for example. delivered from Egyptian slavery, served among the people as the subject of long memories (7-8 v.).

Next, the prophet turns to denouncing the false prophets, who also took on the responsibility of leading the people. He begins his accusatory speech against them with an expression of deep sorrow that the entire Jewish country has been corrupted by the activity of the prophets and therefore is in the most pitiful state (v. 9-11). For such criminal activity, the prophets will be subjected to great disaster (v. 13). The Jewish prophets in the spread of wickedness became the same as the Samaritan prophets among the Israelites. Like them, the Jerusalem prophets corrupted the people to the point of the lawless life of the Sodomites and the Gomorites, for which a terrible punishment from God awaits them (v. 11-15). After denouncing the false prophets, Jeremiah addresses the people and, on behalf of the Lord, convinces the Jews not to believe the false speeches of the prophets, who are trying to prove that breaking the law of God will not entail harmful consequences and that the inhabitants of Palestine, with the presence of their sins, will prosper (Art.16-18) .). Contrary to the deceptive fabrications of the false prophets, Jeremiah, as a true messenger of God, cannot predict peace and prosperity for the Jewish people. On the contrary, he tries to open the eyes of the blinded and in the sins of the people who are abiding in the distance of the approaching destructive actions of the angry Lord (v. 19–20). False prophets are impostors, not messengers of God; they do not know what the Lord's determination is about the fate of the Jewish people. If they were participants in the revelations of God, they would not prophesy what they now prophesy, and would not act as they are now doing (v. 21-25).

Regarding the criminal pernicious activity of the false prophets, Jeremiah expresses a deep feeling of his spiritual sorrow: he becomes especially sad in his soul when he sees that the pernicious wicked are successfully operating among the people, bringing them to complete oblivion of the law of God (26–27). In view of the fact that false prophets presented their dreams as revelations from God, Jeremiah says that there is nothing in common between simple dreams and the true word of God. The true word of God is distinguished by an extraordinary power of action (vv. 28-29). To what has been said about the lawless, perverse activities of false prophets, the prophet of God adds the following features of their criminal behavior, which incurs the righteous wrath of God on them. Some of the false prophets borrowed the revelations of God from the true prophets and, passing them off as their own, used them to cover up lies. Others of them passed off their false speeches as genuinely received from God. A common feature of all false prophets is that they limit their activities to only one word and often their life is completely opposite to the teaching that they preach to others (v. 30–32). At the end of the chapter, it is indicated how the prophet, in a speech again addressed to the people, condemns the latter for a scornful and even derisive attitude towards his predictions of impending disasters. Since in the proclamation of these terrible predictions the prophet is the interpreter of the will of God, the insults of the prophet by the people in this case are at the same time an insult to God Himself. For such a disdainful attitude to his speeches, the prophet threatens the Jews with God's punishment (v. 33-40).

1-2 tbsp. Shepherds mean bets and priests, but the sheep of the flock mean the Jewish people. The kings were supposed to rule the people on the basis of the laws of God and together with the priests - the leaders of the religious and moral life of the people - thus lead the people along the path of the good and truth of God. But both of them neglected their sacred duties, leaving the people to live in the lusts of their hearts. Not only were these leaders distinguished by negligence in fulfilling their duty, they themselves became apostates from God and therefore brought their flock to the complete oblivion of God. This, in turn, had disastrous consequences for the Jews, since with the decline of their faith in God as their protector, they lost their political power and were attacked by pagan peoples. This last thought is expressed in the following words of the prophet: you have squandered the nature of my sheep, and if I have rejected it, and will not visit them, behold I will visit you according to the craftiness of your intentions, in the words of the Lord(2 tbsp.).

3-4 st. The words of these verses depict the events of the return of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon, when the Jews really from different regions of the East were gathered together to return to their homeland under the leadership of the wise rulers: Prince Zerubbabel, the high priest Jesus, the son of Iosedek, and then ruled by Ezra and Nehemiah. But as can be seen from the subsequent speech of the prophet, the coming times of deliverance from the captivity of Babylon are combined with the times of the coming to earth of the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 5-8). Accordingly, by the gathering of all Jews into one whole, one should mean the gathering in Christ of all believers, and by new rational, good shepherds, one should mean St. apostles and successors, their New Testament pastors of the Church ().

5-6 Art. Now the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will make David a righteous East, and then such a King will reign who will act wisely (will be wise) and will execute judgment and righteousness on earth.(5 tbsp.). In His days the Jews will be saved and the Israelites will live in safety, and this is His name by which they will call him: "Our Lord is just ours."(6 tbsp.).

Here the prophet stops at one great Shepherd, points out His features, calls Him by names that cannot belong to any of the people. The accession of this supreme Shepherd on the throne of David, the union in one person of royal and pastoral dignity, the nature of His activities, His wonderful great names, all this clearly indicates that this future Shepherd from the house of David means the Savior Lord. This is confirmed by the testimonies of the New Testament (Matt. XXII, 23: XXII, 42: Luke XVIII, 38).

The consequence of the activities of the royal Descendant of David will be that He, having justified people before God, will establish on earth the kingdom of righteousness, i.e. whose members will lead a righteous life, fully worthy of the mercies of God and be completely safe ( Will create judgment and righteousness on earth. In his day Judas will be saved, and Israel will remain in hope, and this is His name, who will call Him, the Lord is our righteous) .

7-8 Art. In the words of the prophet, the salvation and justification of people with the coming of the Savior are combined with the deliverance of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah in this case acts like the prophet Isaiah, who also represented the salvation of the Lord of the human race under the image of the return of the Jews from the captivity of Assyro-Babylon. In doing so, the prophets had in mind to inspire their contemporaries with the idea that the last event, deliverance from captivity, is a prototype of the first and that the fulfillment of the last can serve as a guarantee of the fulfillment of the first event.

9 tbsp. The words o prophet should be understood as an inscription to the further speech of the prophet, it should not be combined with the following words: my heart is shabby... In other words, after this word it would be more correct to put an end to it.

19-20 Art. Under the formidable punishment that will befall the lying prophets, of course, the calamity of the Babylonian captivity. False prophets, as perverters of the people, will suffer the same fate in the midst of common calamities, which the prophet announced to Easter. It is impossible to prevent and get rid of the impending punishment by natural external means (for example, by force, with the help of neighboring peoples, etc.). There is only one means for this: repentance and a life in accordance with the will of God. The prophet expresses this thought in the following words: all the storm is from the Lord, and the fury goes out into a shaking, rushing to come upon the wicked(Art. 19). And the fury of the Lord will not return to him, Dondezhe will do this, and Dondezhe will bring about the thought of His heart(Art. 20).

28 Art. A prophet who has a dream(who had a dream) yes broadcasts his dream(let him tell it like his own dream), and others who have my word(and who received my revelation), let my word speak in truth. What a spit to wheat; this is my word, the speech of the Lord... (What wheat has to do with tares, so is my word, says the Lord.)

The Prophet, through a visual comparison of wheat with tares, establish a strict distinction between human dreams and divine revelations. Wheat, as a good nutritious grain, is considered incomparably more expensive than chaff or weeds unfit for food, so the word Pozhne or truths revealed by God Himself for the salvation of mankind have an even more incomparable advantage over ordinary dreams.

29 Art. Continuing to reveal the idea of ​​the high significance of Divine Revelation, the prophet says: The food of My word is not like a burning fire, the Lord speaks, and like a mlat that erases a stone(Are not my words like a burning fire, says the Lord, and a hammer that breaks a stone). The power of the action of the word of God is so great that in its implementation it cannot be hindered by any obstacles. This is because the Lord has the properties of omnipotence, wisdom, omniscience and other perfections. The immutability and effectiveness of the word of God is clearly attested by other sacred writers (;;;).

33 - 36 Art. For his terrible predictions, the prophet Jeremiah was often ridiculed. Unbelieving compatriots, led by false prophets who predicted their prosperity, laughed at the true prophet, who constantly reminded them of impending disasters. But since these impending disasters did not come, they turned to the prophet with mocking words: something is the burden of the Lord, i.e. what calamity will befall us from the Lord? To this question, St. Jeremiah receives from God the command to answer as follows: you are a natural burden, and I will overthrow you, speak the Lord... For unbelief and ridicule, the Lord threatens the Jewish people by not only depriving them of His care, but also punishing them. This last thought is expressed in more detail in the very last verses of the chapter (39-10).

Chapter XXX. The prophecy of Jeremiah about the end of the calamities of the captivity of Assyro-Babylon and the onset of new grace-filled times

At the beginning of the chapter, the circumstances preceding the uttering of the speech are depicted. The prophet, by command of God, must record the words of the speech so that they are known to all Israelites and Jews (v. 1-4). After the terrible calamities that the Jews will have to experience, happy times will again come for them. The slavery state under the rule of foreign rulers will be replaced for them by an independent life under the control of His lawful king from the clan of David (5-9 v.). This joyous event should be a great comfort to the sufferers when they are in captivity (vv. 10-11). The impending disasters of captivity will be inevitable by any natural means, for they were sent by the Lord God Himself, as His righteous retribution for the sins of the Jews. The latter should therefore not grumble at the severity of their well-deserved position (12-15 st.). The pagan peoples, for their cruelty towards the Jews, will suffer worthy retribution (Art. 16).

By punishing the enemies of the Israelites, the Lord will help His people get rid of the dire consequences of captivity, so that the Israelites will no longer be called a "rejected" people. Further, the prophet depicts a joyful picture of the return of the Jews from captivity, when, with the help of God, the former captives, having come to their homeland, set up their capital and a temple in which worship will continue to be performed; The Lord will treat them so mercifully that he will bring them closer to Himself than it was before (v. 17-23), the prophet repeats again. But this bright, joyful event must still be preceded by ordeals in captivity (Article 24).

2 tbsp. The Lord commands the prophet to write the prophecy in a book, because it concerned the fate of all Jews. But the prophet was not able to pronounce the words of prophecy to the Israelites, since they were already in captivity with the Assyrians at that time. For the majority of the Jews, who did not believe the prophet's threats of captivity, it could only matter in the future, when, being in captivity in Babylon, they would need comforting promises.

5-6 Art. The prophet's speech about disasters that are about to come is so vivid that he imagines them as if they had come. Above all, the presumptuous Jews will be gripped by a feeling of terrible confusion ( hear the voice of fear: fear, and there is no peace). Further, in the living description of the prophet, the ordeal of adversity is compared with the agony of a woman in childbirth, the Jews are presented with pale yellow faces, this soreness will appear due to the severity of internal and external suffering.

9 tbsp. It should be a great consolation for the sufferers that the calamities of captivity will end and the Lord, in His goodness, will deliver them. The grace of God for the victims will be accompanied by great mercies. These mercies will consist in the fact that He will not only restore their independent political life, but will also send them King David. The latter in the immediate sense means Zarubbabel, who really comes from the clan of David and ruled over the Jewish people upon his return from captivity. But since Zarubbabel was in some dependence on the king of Persia, and the reign of David was independent, and since the accession of the second David is combined in the prophet's view with the true service of the people to God, with the cleansing of their sins and the restoration of the covenant with God (21-22 st. ), then on the basis of such signs under David should be understood as the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Sam. VII, 21: Matt. I. 1:: Jerem. XXIII, v. 5).

11 Art. The words: cleansing, I will not cleanse thee mean I will not leave you unpunished.

12 Art. The words: Raise your contrition should be understood as follows: I (i.e. the Lord, the speech of the prophet on behalf of God) renewed, etched your wound.

16 Art. The judgment of God will punish the pagan peoples who caused so much trouble to the Jews. The righteousness of the judgment of God over the Gentiles is evident from the fact that they were at enmity against the Jews without any reason on the part of the latter, for the Jews did them no harm. Being the instrument of God for punishing the Jews, the pagans did not want to see the almighty right hand of God, which led them into contact with the people of God, so that they would borrow from him the light of the true revealing religion (). Since of all the pagan peoples, the Assyro-Babylonians did the most harm to the Jews, the prophet means mainly them. These peoples really suffered a terrible devastation from the more powerful, the Persian peoples, who founded their powerful kingdom on the ruins of the Babylonian kingdom.

21 Art. The words of this verse are completed, the words of the 9th verse. The second David, i.e. To the Lord Jesus Christ, here a new quality of His service to the human race is assimilated. According to the prophet, the Prince, who will take over the government of the people, will be close to God. This approach will exceed the degree of closeness to God that the Old Testament priests () had in their ministry (), or the great mediator between God and the people, Moses (). The Old Testament ministers did not dare to approach God with the consciousness of their dignity. The prince, about whom the prophet speaks, will have special powers to approach God, precisely with the consciousness of himself fully worthy of this advantage. Obviously, Jeremiah's prophecy refers to Christ as To the high priest of future blessings, which the entered the sanctuary once and acquired eternal redemption ().

Chapter XXXI. Prophecy of the salvation of the Israelites and Jews. Predictions about the coming times of the new everlasting covenant

The chapter begins with the prophet's comforting speech to the Israelites. The prophet speaks for God Himself and comforts them with the following promises. After a hard time in captivity, during which many of the Israelites will perish, once again there will be good times for them to live. To the Israelites removed and excluded from the covenant with God, the Lord will draw near and accept them into His love (v. 1-3). Under the auspices of God, scattered in the captivity of Assyria, the Israelites will return to their homeland and continue to arrange their life in their homeland. Their capital, Samaria, will be restored and the sound of music will be heard again. By planting vineyards in the highlands of Samaria and using the labor of their hands, the Israelites will praise the Lord for this. they will be out of any danger, so the duty of the guards will not be to proclaim the impending dangers to the people, but to invite them to express feelings of reverent joy and devotion to their Benefactor (v. 4-6). Although the joyous events predicted by the prophet were to come in the future, the Israelites should now rejoice over their undoubted coming. The deliverance of the Israelites from captivity will be so solemn and wonderful that it can be compared with past glorious times, when the Jews celebrated their liberation from Egypt on the Passover holiday (v. 7-9). Further, the prophet speaks of the pagan peoples, just as powerful pagans, obedient to the commands of the Lord God, will not only return the Israelites from the countries where they were scattered, but will also assist the captives to return to their homeland (v. 10). The time that has come for the manifestation of the bounty of God to the people of Israel will cover and reward the time for the manifestation of God's judgment on him at the onset of captivity. The Prophet says that Rachel, who used to cry for her descendants, now, when the Israelites are returning to their homeland, should be comforted by this and not cry (v. 15-17). The surrender of the people of Israel to captivity and deliverance from captivity, according to the prophet, is the work of the greatest justice of God. When the Israelites turned away from God and forgot His mercies, the Lord justly punished them with captivity. When, being in captivity, they acknowledge their sins, their stubbornness and unrepentance before God and wish to live in communion with God, then the Lord will go to meet His repentant people and intercede with His mercies. In order to quickly gain the favor of God, the prophet advises the captive Israelites not to postpone their appeal to God. Let them rather realize the reason for their plight in captivity, take all measures to correct themselves, choosing the path of true life in God, and stand guard over their religious and moral interests (18-22 st.).

Having proclaimed the will of God about the fate of the captive Israelites, the prophet makes comforting promises to the Jews. The Jews, as well as the Israelites, will return safely from captivity. Mount Zion will continue to be the focus of their religious life (v. 23). The inhabitants of Judea, having settled in the cities and other places of their homeland, will go about their business (agriculture, cattle breeding) and will enjoy their well-being (24–25 st.). At the conclusion of the speech, the prophet proclaims the great mercies of the Lord alike to Israelites and Jews. According to the prophet, the restoration of the happy life of the Jews, upon their return from captivity, will be combined with their extraordinary multiplication. The Lord, who previously exterminated and punished the Jews, will now ceaselessly take care of their multiplication and prosperity.

The life of the people will be placed in such favorable conditions that the saying: "the fathers (ancestors) ate sour, and the children (descendants) have sore teeth" will no longer be repeated as inappropriate in its meaning to the conditions of the new life, Then everyone will be punished for his iniquity and no one will suffer for the sins of others (v. 27-30). But complete and final bliss for the Jews will come when the Lord makes a new covenant with them. This covenant will surpass in its perfection the old covenant made at Sinai. The latter was violated by the Jews, therefore it was temporary, while the new covenant will be eternal and unchanging. The divine commandments of this covenant, in contrast to the Old Testament, will not be inscribed on stone tablets, but will be indelibly imprinted in the very hearts of people. Therefore, the closest relationship will be established between God and the participants in this covenant. The true knowledge of God will then spread everywhere, so that all people, from small to large, will know the Lord and strive to do His will. The reason for such a gratifying phenomenon in the life of people will be that the Lord will forgive all unrighteousness and their sins, with this condition the participants of the New Testament will be given the opportunity to approach God (31–31 st.). The prophet confirms the certainty of the fulfillment of the predicted promises of God by pointing out the constancy of the operation of laws in nature. According to the prophet, it is more likely that the laws in nature, such as the order of movement of the heavenly bodies, will cease to operate, than these promises predicted from God will not be fulfilled (v. 35-37)

2 tbsp. So the Lord speaks: he found warmth in the desert with those who were bent from the sword: ("The Lord had compassion on the servants in the wilderness") go don't consume Israel("So that the enslavers do not destroy the Israelite"). It points to the manifestation of God's mercy to the Jewish people in captivity. By wilderness, we mean the Assyro-Babylonian captivity, which caused them the same suffering as a person who accidentally gets lost in the wilderness experiences. By warmth is meant the goodness of God. According to the figurative expression of the prophet, this property of God in this case will be especially called to the captive-sufferers by the fact that many of them will perish by the sword.

8 tbsp. The deliverance of the Israelites from captivity will be just as wonderful as their ancient exit from Egypt was. Bringing these two events together ( Se Az lead them from the north and I will gather them from the end of the earth on Easter ...), the prophet expresses the great truth that the miraculous accomplishment of these events depends entirely on the Almighty Lord and that the first glorious event, as accomplished by the power of the Divine, serves as the guarantee of the second, who has to be accomplished in the future by the action of the same power of God.

15-17 Art. So the Lord's speech: the voice in Rama is heard the speed of crying and sobbing and screaming: Rachel is crying for her children, and reluctantly be comforted, as it is not the essence... ("Thus says the Lord: then the voice of crying, sobbing and wailing was heard in Ramah; it was Rachel who wept for her descendants and did not want to be comforted, for they are not there" (v. 15). Rachel is the wife of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Prophet, she is called the mother of all the Israelites, since her grandson, Ephraim, had the most numerous offspring, which occupied a leading position among the Israelites and by his name the entire 10 tribal kingdom of Israel was often called. Rachel was buried near Bethlehem, and Rama was in the tribe of Benjamin.In order to more clearly express the terrible calamities that the Israelites underwent during the captivity, the prophet portrays their ancestor or great-grandmother Rachel, as it were, with a revitalized and animated feeling of motherly love for her descendants. Rachel's burial rest and she announced with her sobs the city of Rama, as this sublime area showed her the empty kingdom of her sons taken captive.

16 Art. This is how the Lord speaks: let your voice rest from weeping and your eyes from tears, as there is a reward for your work, saith the Lord, and they will return from the land of the enemy.(“Thus says the Lord: let your voice be quiet from weeping and your eyes from weeping, because there is a reward for your labors and they will return from the land of the enemy” (v. 16). And there is hope for your last ones, saith the Lord, and your sons will return to their borders... (“There is hope for your future, says the Lord, and the descendants will return to their borders.” (V. 17). When the joyful times of the return of the Israelites from captivity come, then Rachel must also change her sorrow to joy. Like any mother caring for her children , who devotes a lot of work and effort in the matter of their upbringing, but forgets all her hardships, at the sight of her adults and prosperous children, Rachel should also forget her great grief and need from the deprivation of her descendants and be comforted when her descendants return safely to their homeland and again here they will prosper.

In the words of the prophet Jeremiah under consideration (v. 15-17), St. Evangelist Matthew sees the prophecy about the beating of the Bethlehem babies by Herod. According to the testimony of the evangelist, the event of taking the Israelites into captivity has much in common with the event of the massacre of the Bethlehem babies, so that the first event serves as a type of the second (Matthew II, 16-18). Indeed, both events were the greatest disaster for the Jewish people: just as during the Assyrian captivity, many Israelites perished and were taken away into captivity, so under Herod, who wanted to kill the God-Child Christ, many innocent babies perished. Just as the stay of the Israelites in captivity in Assyria did not lead them to extermination by the cruel enslavers, so the Savior Lord, having retired with His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary and with Joseph the betrothed to Egypt, was preserved from the sword of Herod.

27 Art. Those who are coming, saith the Lord, and to all Israel and Judah the seed of man, and the seed of the beast.(“I will sow the land of Israel and the land of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of cattle”). The devastation of Palestine during the captivity will be rewarded after captivity with a new multitude of people and cattle.

29-30 Art. Children and descendants suffered for the sins of their fathers and ancestors only when they inherited the wickedness of their ancestors and therefore themselves were worthy of punishment (). This testified to the fact that the action of evil so strongly influenced the life of the Old Testament people that it extended to entire societies, passing from generation to generation. But according to the prophet, there will come a time when kiyzhdo will die by his sin, and the sour food will numb his teeth(Art. 30). This means that the power of evil in the world will be weakened and limited to such an extent that the sins of people will become isolated phenomena, so to speak, an exception to the general rule. It is obvious that the coming of these glorious times will be when the Savior appears in the world, Who will deliver people from original sin and grant them new gracious conditions of life. With greater clarity and completeness, the prophet reveals this thought in the subsequent words of his speech.

31-32 Art. Those who are coming, speak to the Lord, and I will command the house of Israel and the house of Judah. the covenant is new, not according to the covenant, it was his father's will, in the same day I eat by the hand of theirs;... On behalf of God Himself, the prophet here announces the establishment of the New Testament. This Covenant will not be what it was between God and the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. The members of the Old Testament could not resist the union with God and broke it, for which they were rejected by God. In exchange for the broken Covenant, the Lord will enter into a New Covenant, which will be continuous and eternal. In words: the days are coming the prophet points to the Christian times when the God-man Christ the Savior will appear on earth and, as the Intercessor of God and men, will reconcile fallen humanity with God and thus serve as the originator of the establishment of a new eternal Covenant (;; XII, 24).

Continuing to reveal the doctrine of the coming of the times of the New Testament, the prophet further says: as if this Covenant, which I will bequeath to the house of Israel for days, saith the Lord, for my laws in their minds and in their hearts I will write and I will be in God and they will be in people(Article 32). Another significant difference between the New Testament, in comparison with the Old, will be that its commandments are inscribed not on stone tablets, but in the hearts and thoughts of people. The Old Testament mankind was under the influence of original sin, as a result of which the forces of the slaves of sin were weakened, the heart became coarse and could not perceive the truth of God. The hard material used for the inscribing of the Old Testament commandments corresponded to such a rough, hard-minded state of theirs. True, the Lord demanded that every good Israelite make the commandments of the Sinai legislation a property of his heart, but the fulfillment of this requirement for people weakened by sin was impossible. A person, with all his desire, could not fulfill the commandments of the law, and with such a fruitless effort to achieve the goal, he became in the conditions of the most miserable, miserable life. That is why the Old Testament people, who were called to fulfill the commandments, either did not fulfill them at all, or, straining all their strength towards this, did this feat reluctantly, under pain of God's punishment for breaking the law, which they could not completely fulfill.

Those who have entered the New Testament will have laws inscribed in their thoughts and hearts, i.e. divine prescriptions are, as it were, identified with their innermost being. This will happen because the Intercessor of the New Testament, the Lord, will bring about a gracious change in the nature of people. He will deliver them from sin, curse and death, give the redeemed powers of grace to do good, fill the Old Testament law with His Gospel teaching, realize it in the person of Himself and thus show people a new way of life in God. That is why the people of the New Testament - Christians will fulfill the will of God not by compulsion, as was the case before, but voluntarily, out of love for God and with full awareness that their will coincides with the will of God, that they are children of God, born of God and The Spirit of God abounds in them (;;).

34 Art. And he will not teach kiyzhdo his neighbor, and kiyzhdo his brother, saying: know the Lord: as if everyone will know Me from small even to their great: as if I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and I will not remember their sins.

With these words, the prophet does not deny mutual teaching, instruction and admonition between the members of the New Testament, but expresses the idea that it will be easy for people with blessed abilities and strength to cognize the Lord and fulfill His holy will. Indeed, Christians, by the mercy of God, for the sake of the redemptive merits of the Savior, in the sacrament of chrismation, receive the special grace of the Holy Spirit, which restores and strengthens a person in an exalted spiritual Christian life.

In words: I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and I will not remember their sins. The prophet points out that distinctive feature of Christian times, according to which all who believe in Jesus Christ as the Redeemer will receive the remission of sins and, as a result, get rid of the consciousness of their alienation from God, produced by sins. The grace of God towards Christians in this case will be so great that they will be given by God the opportunity to cleanse their sins and injustices, committed after the sacrament of Baptism. Therefore, if a Christian, as a free being, sins by his inclination to sin, which remains with him after Baptism, then he gets the opportunity through the actions of the same Holy Spirit to be cleansed from sins in the sacraments of Repentance and Sanctification of Oil.

To assure his listeners that he will be eternal and unchanging, the prophet points to the immutability of the laws established by God in the world (35 v. If the sky rises to the height(if the sky went up) Speech the Lord, and if He will humble himself under the earth below("And the underworld of the earth would come down") and I will not reject the race of Israel about all who have done, says the Lord("Then and then I would not reject Israel for all that he did").

In the following verses (36–37), the prophet proves the same idea by pointing out the omnipotence of God, manifested in the creation of the universe.

Verses 31–34 of the chapter under consideration constitute the paremic reading on Holy Saturday. This is due to the fact that the content of these verses, which contains the prophecy of the establishment of the New Testament, has a close relationship to the events celebrated on this holiday. On Great Saturday, the burial of the Lord Jesus Christ is also glorified, and the New Testament was initiated by His Death on the Cross.

Chapter XXXII. Promises of the return of the earth to the people and the conclusion of the New Testament

In the tenth year of the reign of King Zedekiah, the army of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar surrounded the city of Jerusalem from all sides. At this time, by order of King Zedekiah, Jeremiah was imprisoned for predicting to the Jews that the Lord would give Jerusalem into the hands of the Babylonians, that King Zedekiah himself would not escape the fate of a captive (v. 1–5). When Jeremiah was in prison, the Lord revealed to him that soon a relative of his, a certain Anameel, would come to him, who would offer him to buy a plot of land in Anatof (6–7 v.). The revelation of God was really fulfilled. Soon he came to the prophet Anameel and, as a relative, offered to buy him an Anathothian plot of land. The prophet, in accordance with the command of God, bought a plot, drew up a deed of purchase in the presence of witnesses who signed it and paid a set amount of money (8-10 v.). After that, the prophet read the written act, sealed it and, in the presence of all who were here, handed it over to Baruch. According to Jeremiah's will, Baruch had to keep this document in an earthen vessel, since over time, as the prophet knows from the revelation of God, they will again buy fields, houses and vineyards in the land of Judea (v. 10-15).

Having fulfilled the command of God, the prophet turned to the Lord with a prayer about the perfect event. In his prayer, Jeremiah professes faith in the omnipotence and justice of God.

These properties, according to the praying person, are manifested in general in the world, its structure and in the life of mankind. But they were revealed especially in relation to the Israelites, whom the Lord miraculously brought out of Egypt, brought them into Palestine - a land boiling with milk and honey, and now, for disobedience, he subjected them to terrible calamities under siege. At the end of the prayer, the prophet in bewilderment asks the Lord: why did He command him to buy a plot of land, when the city of Jerusalem with all its surroundings is given into the hands of the Babylonians (v. 16–25).

In response to the bewilderment of the prophet, the Lord replies to him that the city of Jerusalem will not only be taken by the Babylonians, but will also be burned because its inhabitants have departed from God and devoted themselves to paganism. With their treachery and vices of an abominable life, following the example of the pagans, they insulted their Patron, and for this they must be punished (v. 26-36). But this punishment of the people will not last long. The Lord will again gather His people from different countries of the diaspora and return them to their homeland. Then the Jews will again become in the closest relationship to God, for they will change for the better and will revere their Benefactor. The Lord will make a new everlasting covenant with them and will visit them with His mercies. Then the Jews will again prevail over land plots, which will continue to be bought and sold by them (v. 37-44).

6-15 Art. The purchase of a field in compliance with all the rites of the law, which the prophet performed, according to the instruction of God, should be considered as a symbolic act. By buying a land plot from his relative Anameel and handing over a written act of purchase to his disciple Baruch for keeping it in a safe place, the prophet by these actions assures his contemporaries that the Babylonian captivity will have a temporary meaning, that after the captivity the law of selling and buying land will again apply. , and therefore the written act, given for safekeeping, will have significance for the descendants of the seller (Anameel) and the buyer (Jeremiah). As you know, the prophets resorted to symbolic actions when it was necessary to use the special power of God's influence on people in order to imprint more deeply in the consciousness of their definition of God. The Jews of the time of the prophet Jeremiah were in such a position that they really needed such an extraordinary method of influence. Under the influence of the calamities of the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, many of them were gripped by a terrible feeling of despair and began to consider themselves lost forever. That is why the prophet, who had previously encouraged them with predictions of a return from captivity, now proclaims this with particular insistence, prophesying not only in words, but also in actions.

38-39 Art. And Mi will be in people, and I will be in God. And I will give them a different way and a different heart, fear Me all the days, for their good, and as a child for them(“And I will give them a new way of life and a new heart, so that they fear Me all the days of their lives for the good of themselves and their descendants”).

The prophet repeats the prophecy about the times of the New Testament, expressed by him earlier (XXXI ch. 33 v.). Here, with greater clarity, the prophet expresses the great Christian truth that he announced above in the following words: Giving My laws in their thoughts, and on their hearts I will write(their). People will be given a new heart in the sense that a profound inner change will take place in their nature. According to the teachings of St. Apostle Paul, Christians by the Holy Spirit of God are made a new creation in Christ (:). This means that, perceiving the Spirit of God in the sacraments, they are reborn from their former sinful life into a spiritual and holy life. Only under this condition will they be able to truly please God.

The promise of the stay of Jerusalem in hope must be understood in the sense of the eternal, unshakable existence of the Christian Church (Mt. XVIII; XXVIII, 20). Naming ( Jerusalem) in the name of the Lord ( Lord our justification), the prophet by this indicates that the Church belongs to the Lord, who purchased it with His blood () and became its Head. The deep Christian thought about the union of Christ with, expressed here in a hidden way, with greater clarity and fullness is revealed by the Apostle Paul. According to the teaching of the Apostle, the Church is the living body of Christ, who is her Head. Between the members of the Church, who, through the actions of the Spirit of God, constitute the body of Christ and Christ, as the Head of the Church, there is a close unity similar to that which occurs in the bodily organism of man (). Due to such a close union with Christ, the Church, according to the teaching of the Apostle Paul, is the fullness of all His perfections (), and therefore, in a spiritually grace-filled relationship, the members of the Church inherit from Christ everything that belongs to Him as the Head of the Church.

17–18. This is how we speak, Lord: a man will not become scarce from David, who will sit on the throne of the house of Israel. And from the priests and from the Levites a man shall not perish at my presence, offer burnt offerings and a gift and make sacrifices all the days... It is not predicted here about the successive royal power in the lineage of David and not about the eternity of the priestly service, since the royal power in the offspring of David ceased even before the birth of the Savior, and the Old Testament ministry of the Levites lost its significance along with the abolition of Old Testament sacrifices and rituals. Obviously, the words of the prophet under consideration are applicable only to Jesus Christ, as the Descendant of David, who founded the eternal Kingdom and appeared at the same time as the eternal high priest. But since the Lord Savior appointed New Testament shepherds to continue His ministry to the human race (), therefore, in the words of verse 18 you can see an indication of the continuity of the ministry of the New Testament hierarchy (Corinth. XI, 26).

22 Art. The multiplication to the countless number of the descendants of David and Levi, which the prophet here speaks of as the great promise of God, must be understood in a broader sense. By the descendants of David and the descendants of Levi are meant all true believers - Christians, whom the Lord in the spiritual sense made kings and priests (;).

0general meaning of Jeremiah's prophecies

The reviewed chapters from the book of the prophet Jeremiah show that the prophet constantly denounced his contemporaries. The main subject of his accusatory speeches was the apostasy of the Jews from the covenant with God and their impenitence. Depicting a picture of the vicious life of the people, who departed from God and replaced serving Him with serving idols, the prophet explains how the Jews acted criminally in this case in relation to their Benefactor. Their guilt before God is aggravated by the fact that few of them think about their repentance and correction. The Prophet constantly raised his voice against the wicked life of the people and urged them to turn to God through repentance. But the Jews, led by false prophets, did not heed the prophet's voice. Then the prophet, at the command of God, began to proclaim to stubborn sinners the coming of the terrible judgment of God over the leaders of the people and the people themselves. At first, the prophet pointed out that disasters would befall Judea from the north from the invasion of foreign peoples. But then he clearly announced that the Babylonians would be the instrument of the avenging right hand of God, and in particular, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, would be the perpetrator of God's judgment on the Jews. Despite such definite threats, the hard-hearted people still did not pay any attention to this, even laughed at the prophet and persecuted him. Moreover, when the threat of the prophet had already come true and the troops of the Babylonian king began to besiege Jerusalem, the Jews did not believe the words of the prophet and thought that the siege calamities of the enemies would be unsuccessful, and therefore, in the hope of their safety, as a result of this assumption, they continued to stubbornly remain in wickedness ...

When the calamities of the siege reached an extreme degree and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were clearly convinced that the Babylonians would capture the city, then their former self-confidence was replaced by complete despair; everyone began to experience a complete collapse of spirit and the hearts of all were filled with a sense of horror at the mere idea of ​​falling into the hands of cruel conquerors. Under the influence of the gripping fear, the besieged began to consider themselves dead. Under such circumstances, the prophet Jeremiah made his consoling speeches. He began to explain to the people that the calamities of captivity would not destroy them, that they were sent by God to correct the lawless, vicious life of the Jews. The captivity itself will last no more than 70 years, after which the people of God will return to their country again. Jeremiah accompanies his predictions for greater persuasiveness with a symbolic action (the purchase of land from Anameel).

In consoling the unfortunate sufferers, the prophet even says that God's mercies towards the people repentant under the influence of captivity will not be limited to this.

The Lord will send them more favorable conditions for life than it was before the captivity. In particular, these new conditions of life will be made favorable when the promise given once to King David is fulfilled. According to this promise, the great Descendant of David will come to earth, Who will save and justify the people. He will establish an eternal kingdom on earth, through His mediation, people will enter into a new covenant with God, the members of this covenant will live with a renewed heart and willingly fulfill the commandments of the law given by Him. The Lord will be merciful to their unrighteousness and will not remember their former sins. Having established the New Eternal Covenant between God and people, the glorious Descendant of David will give people new true leaders who will take care of the salvation of people and under their benevolent pastoral influence no one will perish from the flock.

The pagans, as cruel enslavers and oppressors of the Jewish people, will be overtaken by the terrible judgment of God. The Babylonian peoples, who did the most harm to the people of God, will themselves be subjected to the hard fate of slavery and perish.

But even for the Gentiles, according to the prophet's prediction, the impending terrible events of disasters will not have a decisive disastrous significance. They will be given the means to avoid death (XII, 14-17 Art.). Although many of them will perish during political upheavals, this will not prevent some of them from becoming participants in eternal blessings in the kingdom of the Descendant of David (XLVIII, 47; XLIX, 50; XLVI, 26, etc.)

St. Apostle John the Theologian, warning modern Christians against false teachers who distorted the true teaching of Christ, speaks to them (Christians). And you have received the anointing from the Holy One, and you know everything ... and you the hedgehog will receive the anointing from Him, it dwells in you, and does not demand, but whoever teaches you: but that the anointing itself teaches you about everything, and truly is and is not false : and also teach you, abide in it (). The Holy Apostle Paul also testifies about the outpouring of the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit on Christians for their confirmation in the spiritual life in Christ. Announce (approve) you and me in Christ, and God who anointed us, Seal us, and give betrothal of the Spirit in our hearts, he teaches the Corinthian Christians (2 Corinth. I, 21-22).