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Jer.1:1. The word of God came to Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, the priest who dwelt in Anathoth. The prophet accepted the deep grace of priesthood and prophecy. He inherited the first by birth, and accepted the second as a gift from above. The time of the prophecy also tells. For he says: Jer.1:2. In the days of Josiah the son of Amos king of Judah, in the third ten years of his kingdom. He also mentions those who reigned after him until the last siege of Jerusalem; then he reports what was said to him by the God of all things. Jer.1:4. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Jer.1:5. before I could create you in the womb, having known you, and before I could bring you out of the falsehood that sanctified you. The election was not made contrary to justice, because knowledge preceded it. God knew and then sanctified, and He knows everything before it comes into being. It is said: “sanctified,” instead of setting apart. Then it speaks about the need for which Jeremiah was chosen. “I have placed you as a prophet in your tongues;” because he foretells the future not only for the Jews, but also for other nations. Jer.1:6. And he said: O Lord Lord, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child. The Prophet knew the One who spoke to him, because he calls him by his very own name. For when the great Moses inquired and wanted to know the divine name, the Master said to him: “I am this” (Ex. 3:14). The Prophet imitates the reverence of Moses in that he recognizes his youth as incapable of the title of Prophet. But the Lord commands him not to renounce, citing his youth, but to fulfill his command. It also removes fear from him; for he says: Jer.1:8. Do not be afraid on their behalf, do not be afraid of them. Then he indicates the reason for this courage. For I am with you, to deliver you, says the Lord. The Lord God said the same thing to the God-wise Moses. When he was afraid of the service and said: “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh?” The Master answered: “As I will be with you” (Ex. 3:11,12). He gave the same undoubted promise to the holy Apostles. For, having commanded them to teach all languages, and as God foresaw that thoughts were entering their hearts, how it was possible for eleven people, the poorest, who did not have the gift of speech, to convert the whole universe, he resolved doubt and destroyed fear, saying: and behold, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19,20). The same thing he said to the Prophet here: “For I am with you, to deliver you, says the Lord.” And the word is confirmed by deeds; for it is said: Jer.1:9. Stretch out Your hand and touch it with your mouth, and the Lord said to me: Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. The Prophet will tell you what these words were. Jer.1:10. Behold, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, and you will uproot, and destroy, and waste, and destroy, and again build, and plant. For Jeremiah foretold not only the captivity of the Jews, but also the liberation granted by Cyrus. He also foretold to many other nations, not only all kinds of disasters, but also the salvation granted by the incarnation of the Lord Christ. Therefore, what is said: “uproot and destroy” means regrettable; and “you create and plant” is the opposite of that. After this, God shows the Prophet (Jer. 1:11) a “walnut rod,” or, according to the Syriac and Jewish readings, an almond rod, for this is what the rod is called in both readings. And when the Prophet was asked, he answered that he saw; The Lord told him: Jer.1:12. Thou hast seen good, even though I was vigilant over My words which I created. He calls His readiness for punishment “vigilance,” and long-suffering “sleep.” For blessed David says: “Arise, O Lord, write down this world” (Ps. 43:24)? And again: “And the Lord arose as if he were sleeping” (Ps. 77:65). The almond rod indicates the speed of punishment; because the almond tree blooms earlier than other trees. And according to the translation of seventy, it should be understood this way: the fruit of the hazel has a bitter and hard shell, and it covers the food; Likewise, punishment has in itself, apparently, something unpleasant and sorrowful, but in terms of consequences it is useful. Then God shows the Prophet (Jer. 1:13) “the konob is set on fire, and its face is from the face of the north.” And he calls Jerusalem “konob”, and the king of Babylon “fire.” For he is called one who came from the “north”, because Babylon is located north of Jerusalem. And the godly Ezekiel calls Jerusalem “konob”, and its inhabitants “meat” (Ezek. 11:3). Then God more clearly expresses to the Prophet what was said in detail; for he says: Jer.1:15. Behold, I will call together all the kingdoms of the kings of the earth from the north, says the Lord; and they will come and set up each one his throne at the threshold of the gates of Jerusalem, and on all its walls, and on all the cities of Judah. And showing the justice of what is happening, he adds: Jer.1:16. And I will speak to them with My judgment about all their wickedness, how they forsaken Me, and devoured God with a stranger, and worshiped the work of their own hands. What is more senseless than this wickedness? What is fairer than this punishment? The Jews, having abandoned their Creator, deified their own works; and God, after long-term patience, deprived them of His grace, and having lost it, they became slaves of wicked people. God commands the Prophet to gird his loins (Jer. 1:17), that is, to behave cheerfully and courageously; and recalling the promises that have already been fulfilled, destroys fear in the Prophet, and says that he will make him like (Jer. 1:18) “a pillar of iron, a wall of copper, a solid city;” so that it will be irresistible, not only for the priests and princes of the Jews, but also for the kings themselves and the whole multitude of subjects. He promises him not peace and silence, but deeds and victory; for he says: Jer.1:19. They will fight against you, and they will not prevail against you, because I am with you, that I may deliver you, says the Lord. He made the same promise to the Church; for he said to the divine Peter: “On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Here he did not say: they will not fight, but by fighting they will not overcome; because victory is achieved by those who are opposed.