Глава 2

After this, the Prophet was commanded to the inhabitants of Jerusalem to say: Jeremiah 2:1–2. This says the Lord: I have remembered the mercy of your youth, and the love of your perfection, when you followed the Holy One of Israel in the wilderness, in the uninhabited land, says the Lord. He called the beginning of the calling of the Jews “youth.” For then the Israelites, being in misery in Egypt, “rose up” (Ex. 2:23), and God had mercy, and, using Moses in his service, freed them. The words: “love of your perfection” are used as a reproach; because the Jews never had perfect “love” for the Benefactor. The hymn-writer David reveals this to us; for he says: “They loved Him with their lips, and lied to Him with their tongue: but their heart was not right with Him, less confident in His covenant” (Ps. 77:36,37). Jer.2:3. Holy is Israel to the Lord, that is, from ancient times I preferred you to other nations, and you began to be called My people. This is what blessed Moses said: “And the portion of the Lord became His people Jacob: now Israel is His inheritance” (Deut. 32:9). For he chose him above all others, which is why he said to Pharaoh: “My son is the firstborn Israel” (Ex. 4:22); and through the mouth of another Prophet he says this: “As Israel found dreams in the desert, and as” the early fruit “on the fig tree” was found by “their fathers” (Hos. 9:10). All who eat it will sin: I will bring evil upon them, says the Lord. For those who fought against Israel did not fight as serving God, but as supposing that they would prevail over God himself. So Sennacherib said: “Let not your God deceive you; in Him you have trusted, saying,” the Lord will save Jerusalem from my hand (Is. 37:10). That is why God threatens those who advocate this with punishment, then says to all the people: Jer.2:5. What sin did your fathers find in Me? as if she had gone away from Me, and walked after the vain, and became vain. Who is able to duly praise the Lord’s love for mankind? For he does not judge as a Judge, but as a guilty person brings justification, and wants to be convicted if he should have done something and did not do it. And the All-Holy God says to lawless people: where have I sinned? In what ways did you act unfairly? Speak, denounce. What could your fathers accuse Me of when they abandoned the Benefactor and began to serve idols made with hands? I freed them from Egyptian slavery, guided them through an impassable land, gave them a stream of abundant water in the “waterless” desert, and brought them into the promised land, producing all kinds of fruits. For by the name (Jer. 2:7) “Carmel” the Prophet signifies the entire promised land. But even though you took advantage of this, you did not recognize the Benefactor; on the contrary, they imitated the abomination of their fathers. Then God pronounces an accusation against each person separately. Jer.2:8. The priests do not ask: where is the Lord? The most wicked thing is that the leaders have become leaders of error. And those who keep the law have not seen Me. Here he accuses the scribes and teachers, who, although they interpreted the law, were the first to transgress it. And your shepherds are dishonest against Me. He called the kings shepherds. And the prophets prophesied in Baal. He calls false prophets prophets, as well as gods who are not gods. “And follow” what is useless. Showed the excess of unreason; because, having abandoned the Giver of all good things, they served evil idols. Jer.2:9. For this reason, the imam will fight with them in judgment, says the Lord, and I will fight with the sons of sons. He does not abandon His moderation, and did not say: I will condemn you and your descendants, but: “Imam will fight with you” and with them, that is, I will go to court and expose the lawless. Showing the excessiveness of lawlessness, he commands to examine the way of life of the peoples, both Western and Eastern, and to find out whether any of them have changed their fatherly gods. (Jer.2:10). “Hettim” refers to Cyprus and the islands lying around it, and by them he means the western countries, and “Kidar” refers to those who inhabit the desert lying towards the sunrise, and means the eastern countries; makes it clear that they follow their fatherly customs and honor the gods whom they learned to honor (Jer. 2:11), and the Jews renounced the true God. Therefore he says: (Jer. 2:12) “the heavens were terrified,” and the earth trembled, not because the elements are rational, but because blessed Moses called them, as a collection of creatures, as a witness; for he said: “See the heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth” (Deut. 32:1). Jer.2:13. My people have committed two evils: they have abandoned me from the source of living waters, and dug up broken treasures for themselves that cannot contain water. He called idols “broken treasures”; because a man-made well does not contain spring water, but receives water that descended from the clouds and flowed from everywhere. If it is ruined and crushed, then the collected water from the sky immediately loses. This is the property of idols; They borrow their composition from matter and art, but the beauty they deliver is taken away from idols by time. The true God is the source of eternal life. Then he asks: Jeremiah 2:14–15. Is Jacob the servant of food, or Israel the householder? How quickly were you taken into captivity? Lviv roared at him and let out her voice “The Lion roared against him,” that is, that Israel was freed from the slavery of Egypt, everyone knew this, and that he was governed by himself, using My providence for him, everyone also knew; because he was famous and glorious. Therefore, what is the reason for the captivity? How did he fall to the power of the kings who attacked him? For he called kings “lions.” He says about them that they divided the land and burned the cities. You suffered this, not only from the Assyrians, but also from the Egyptians; for he also says: Jer.2:16. The sons of Memphis and Taphne knew you and reproached you; the very ones who suffered the well-known disaster for you, whom I gave over to final death in the depths of the sea, quarreled. Then he explains the reason for the powerlessness of the Jews. Jer.2:17. Do not this do to you what you forsaken to Me? says the Lord your God. Then he indicates the beginning of the retreat. While I was leading you through the desert 1 and you were barely delivered from the Egyptians, you had already abandoned Me and idolized the calf. Jer.2:18. And now what to you and the way of Egypt! You should drink the water of Geon, and what is the way of the Assyrians to you, but you should drink the water of the river? When the Syrians waged war against them, the Assyrians called for help; and when the Assyrians took up arms against them, they resorted to the Egyptians. For “Geon” is called the Nile. Jer.2:19. Your apostasy will punish you, and your malice will expose you: and warn and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake Me, says the Lord your God; That is, you did not call on Me for help, but on them, and that is why you betrayed you to them. Those who crucified the Savior suffered similar things. For, having denied Him, they said that they had no king except Caesar. That's why he handed them over to Caesar. Jer.2:20. From time immemorial you have broken your yoke, and you have torn apart your bonds, and you have said: “I am not an imam to serve You.” These are your long-standing plans; for from ancient times you broke the yoke of the law, and followed the customs of lawless nations, and preferred altars and groves to living according to the law. Jer.2:21. I planted fruitful grapes for you, all true. He didn’t just say, “all of them,” but since there were pious men among them, divine prophets and those who followed them, it was as if he were saying: I would like all of you to be like that, because I took care of everyone equally. How you have become a grief to Me, alien grapes! If he had remained true, he would not have been alien. But since "turned into sorrow;" it is no longer called true, but alien. So the great Moses said: “Their grapes are from the vines of Sodom, and their rods are from Gomorrah: their cluster, their gall cluster, their sorrowful cluster” (Deut. 32:32). That’s why they brought bile to the Vladyka. But since they desecrated the divine planting, turned it into grief, and instead of a bunch of thistles grew; then from them Christ, who is in the flesh, calls Himself the true vine, saying: “I am the true vine” (John 15:1); and he called those who believed in Him “birth” (John 15:5). Jer.2:22. If you wash your face with nitrate and multiply boris herbs, you are wicked in your unrighteousnesses before Me, says “Lord. “Borifus herb” refers to the cleansing agents grown by the earth, and in a figurative sense it makes it known that it is not the lawful sprinklings that free one from sins, but sincere repentance and putting aside wickedness. After this he exposes the shamelessness of the Jews. Jer.2:23. How do you say: we will not become defiled, and we will not follow Baal? Then he shows the evidence of wickedness. See your path in the place of many graves, and see what you have done. “Place of many graves” refers to the place where gravestone monuments were erected. At the same place, the Jews burned their sons and daughters in honor of idols. In the evening his voice is sobbing. It is said: “in the evening” instead of late, that is, after experiencing sorrows, he felt iniquity. The Prophet also says the same thing later, showing that the ten tribes mourn and say: “After the captivity they repented” (Jer. 31:19). Jer.2:24. Expand your paths to the desert waters. The word “expand” expressed the insatiability of wickedness. He called idols “desert waters”, as leading to desolation and final destruction. In the lusts of my soul I am carried about by the wind. What they wanted to hear was what the false prophets imagined themselves to be predicting. For this: “blown by the wind” is said about false prophets. Whoever converts him will be betrayed! When God betrays, who will be able to save? This is what he says through the mouth of the great Moses (Deut. 32:30). All who seek him will not be troubled; in his humility they will find him; because, having loved wickedness, they became surmountable for everyone. After this, the Prophet makes it clear that, after repeated advice to leave the harmful path, the Jews decided to openly admit their apostasy (Jer. 2:25). But for this, says God, (Jer. 2:26) I will cover with shame all in general, kings, rulers, priests, and those who prophesy falsely; they will be like a “tatiu”, caught in the act of a crime and greatly ashamed, because the gods, made of wood and stone, were called fathers and parents; but to Me (Jer. 2:27). “turning back their ridges,” and they turned away from Me as from an enemy. Jer.2:27. And in their anger they cry: Arise and deliver us. This, above all, is a sign of extreme shamelessness - while enjoying benefits, one suffers not with gratitude, but, having become impoverished, asks for a message about them. Then he says reproachfully: Jer.2:28. And where are your gods that you have created for you? When will they arise and deliver you in your time of bitterness? It also shows the multitude of these gods. According to the number of your cities, which were your gods, Judah, and according to the number of the ways of Jerusalem to the priest Baal. Thus, having shown the honor given to non-existent gods, and their multitude and powerlessness, with meekness he reprimands the ungrateful. Jer.2:29. How do you speak to Me? All of you are dishonest, and all of you are lawless towards Me, says the Lord. Reminds them of the punishments that were imposed on them. Jer.2:30. I have struck your children in vain; you will not accept punishment. And those who were blessed did not recognize the Benefactor, and those who were punished did not abandon their wickedness. And I also put to death the perpetrators of error. Jer.2:31. Hear the word of the Lord, thus says the Lord: Was there food in the wilderness for Jacob's house, or was the land barren? because My people have decided that we will not be possessed, and we will not come to You. He says this reproachfully, that is: Am I really like idols? Could it be that, like idols, I did not bring them any good fruit, and for this they stopped serving Me? The Prophet moves on to another similarity and says: (Jer. 2:32) every bride cares about her beauty, and every virgin takes care of her “monists of Persia”, her own, and the people, called by God, neglect the Guardian. Then he continues his speech with new reproach. Jer.2:33. What other good have you managed to achieve on your paths that love can seek? That is, what else do you want to add to what was said before in order to acquire My love for yourself? "Not taco". All this does not induce love, but, on the contrary, produces hatred. For you not only crawled towards wickedness, but even dared to commit heinous murder. For the Prophet says: Jer.2:34. In your hands will be found the blood of innocent souls. Blessed David also said this: “And he devoured his sons to the demon. And they shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, even devouring the image of Canaan, and the land was killed with their blood” (Ps. 105:37,38). Showing that they did not do this secretly, but clearly dared to do so, he added: I did not find them in any grove, but in every oak grove. Indulging in lawlessness, they did not try to hide it, as those who undermine walls do secretly; on the contrary, every hill and every grove bears traces of their wickedness. But having become shameless and vile, they also denied what was clearly done. For it is said: Jer.2:35. You said: I am innocent, but let His wrath turn away from me. Therefore he added: “Behold, I am arguing with you, always telling you that you will not sin.” He does not say: I will condemn you, but “I will argue with you,” that is, I will argue, and I will expose that you are lying and denying shamelessly. Jer.2:36. Thou hast so much despised that thy paths should be repeated. For shamelessness corresponds to lawlessness. But through this we can understand something else, namely: just as, having called on the Assyrians for help, they did not benefit from their help, so now, having resorted to the Egyptians, they did not derive any benefit from this. For this allows us to see in the added: And you were ashamed of Egypt, just as you were ashamed of Assur. Jer.2:37. For you have come from there, and your hands are on your head. It is common for those who cry to fold their hands and place them on their heads. The cause of the disaster is as follows. “For the Lord has rejected your hope,” and “you will not prosper in it.” If I had hoped in God, I would have gathered the ripe fruit of hope. Since he relied on people, he was deceived in his hope. The seventy cannot read these words.