Глава 13

1–14. A symbolic image of God's judgment over the Jews who persist in their wickedness. 15–27. Last admonition. Jeremiah 13:1–11. The prophet receives a command from God to constantly wear a linen belt on his body. This is a symbol of Israel and Judah, whom the Lord brought extremely close to Himself. The Prophet did not put this belt in water, so as not to spoil it - so Jehovah did not allow His people to plunge into the elements of paganism. But finally, the prophet receives a command from God to take the belt to the river of the same name as the great Mesopotamian river Euphrates, and place it there so that the water can wet it, but so that it will not be carried away by the waters from its place. This caused the belt to deteriorate. In the same way, the Jewish people, separated by captivity from God, will be completely corrupted (which, however, does not exclude the salvation of the remnant). Jer.13:4. take the belt that you bought, which is around your waist, and get up, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in the cleft of the rock. "To Euphrates". Since the fate of the belt must be verified by those who wish, it cannot be assumed that the distant river of Mesopotamia is meant here. Most likely we are talking about Wadi Fara, a river that flowed not far from Anathoth (cf. Joshua 18.23). But there is no doubt that this river was chosen for a symbolic action because of its consonance with the name of the river near which the Jews taken into captivity would soon have to live. Jeremiah 13:10. This worthless people, who do not want to listen to My words, live according to the stubbornness of their hearts and follow other gods to serve them and worship them, will be like this belt, which is good for nothing. The majority of the Jewish captives will not only not benefit from their stay in captivity, that is, they will not repent, but on the contrary, they will finally perish there and forget about their great goals, which the Jewish people had previously thought of achieving. Jeremiah 13:12–14. A figuratively expressed thought is added to the symbolic action. Each vessel is filled with what it is intended for. But the inhabitants of Jerusalem, in their direction, cannot be determined to do anything other than to accept the wrath of God; as a result of this, they will lose their minds and themselves will go to their death, which is figuratively designated as the breaking of vessels. Jer.13:12. Therefore speak to them this word: Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Every wineskin is filled with wine. They will say to you: “Don’t we know that every wineskin is filled with wine?” “Wine skin” in Heb. nevel can also mean a vessel for liquids, especially wine. Jeremiah 13:13. And you say to them: Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of the land with wine until they become drunk, and the kings who sit on the throne of David, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, The vessels that the prophet has in mind here are individual members of the people, primarily their leader. – The wine that intoxicates them is the wine of God’s wrath (see Jer 25.15). – Kings – not only the king, but also his relatives who took part in the affairs of government (see Jeremiah 21.11 et seq.). Jeremiah 13:15–27. In his last exhortation, the prophet indicates that repentance is still possible. If the Jews still do not take this into account and implement it, then the prophet will have no choice but to mourn in solitude the soon-to-come destruction of the Jewish state. Let the king and queen repent - they have many sins. But the Jews stubbornly do not want to turn to the true path, and the prophet only has to indicate the reason for the fall of Jerusalem - namely, the sinfulness of its inhabitants, which has become second nature to them. Jer.13:16. Give glory to the Lord your God, before He brings darkness, and before your feet stumble on the mountains of darkness: then you will wait for the light, and He will turn it into the shadow of death and make it darkness. To give glory to God, according to the prophet, means not only to praise God, but also to confess to Him your iniquities and turn from your evil deeds (cf. Mal 2.2). Darkness and gloom, that is, the sudden onset of night, greatly frightens a traveler in the Judean mountains, where he can easily fall and hurt himself. Jer.13:18. Tell the king and queen: humble yourself, sit down, for the crown of your glory has fallen from your head. Queen is the official title of the queen-mother (1 Kings 15.13; 2 Kings 10.13), who at the court of the kings occupied second place after the king himself (cf. 1 Kings 2.19), which, given the existence of polygamy in those days, is very understandable. Most likely, the prophet here means the mother of King Jehoiachin, who shared the sad fate of her son (cf. Jer 22:26, ​​29:2). Jehoiachin was only 18 years old, and according to the book of Chronicles (2 Chronicles 36.9 according to the Hebrew text) only 8 years old, when he ascended the throne, and therefore participation in the affairs of his mother’s reign was necessary. Jer.13:19. The southern cities are locked, and there is no one to open them; Judas is completely taken into captivity, completely taken into captivity. “The southern cities are locked,” that is, the inhabitants of Jerusalem can no longer escape there if they wanted to. The Jewish cities lying south of Jerusalem were the first to be attacked by enemies and cut off from the capital. Jeremiah 13:20. Lift up your eyes and look at those coming from the north: where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful flock? The “flock” that was entrusted to shepherd Jerusalem were those same southern cities of Judah, already captured by enemies. Jer.13:21. What will you say, daughter of Zion, when He visits you? You yourself taught them to rule over you; won't pain seize you like a woman giving birth? “Them,” that is, of course, the Babylonians, with whom even King Hezekiah wanted to enter into friendly relations (2 Kings 20). Jer.13:22. And if you say in your heart: “Why has this happened to me?” “Because of the multitude of your iniquities, your hem is uncovered, your heels are exposed.” Jerusalem is depicted as a noble woman, who, of course, dressed in a long dress and whose dress suddenly rose. Jer.13:23. Can an Ethiopian change his skin, and a leopard his spots? So can you do good if you are accustomed to doing evil? The leopard or leopard with spots is still found in Palestine, on the Lebanese mountains. -Can you? Sin takes such hold of a person that it becomes a necessity for him, as if it were a second nature. Jer.13:27. I have seen your adultery and your furious lusts, your lewdness and your abominations on the hills in the field. Woe to you, Jerusalem! Even after this you will not be cleansed. How long? “Adultery,” i.e., idolatry accompanied by actual lewdness. Special notes. Under which king was this speech spoken - under Joachim or under Jehoiachin? When explaining the 18th Art. It has already been said that it was most natural for the prophet to mention the queen-mother when addressing young Jehoiachin. Now let us add that King Joachim was a man with a very independent character and it is unlikely that he would have decided on matters on the advice of his mother. Next, most likely the speech of Chapter XIII. said during the reign - three months - of King Jehoiachin. You might be interested in: