Глава 31

1–26. The restoration of Israel to its country after the captivity. 27–37. New Testament. 38–40. Restoration of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 31:1–26. Here the promises “to all the tribes of Israel” continue, but the Israelite kingdom itself, the 10-tribe kingdom, comes to the fore. The Lord will again gather in the land of Israel the inhabitants who were taken away from it, and they will again turn to their God with repentant tears and fervent prayers. A time of joy will begin in the land of Israel, and now the ancestress of Joseph’s tribe, Rachel, should be consoled by the upcoming return of her children from captivity. Israel, for its part, must not delay its turn to God. Jer.31:2. Thus says the Lord: the people who escaped the sword found mercy in the wilderness; I am going to reassure Israel. “The people who escaped the sword” are the captives taken by the Assyrian king from the kingdom of Israel and taken to Assyria. They survived the beating that took place during the capture of the cities of the kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians. – “Found” is the past prophetic instead of the future, and it is better to translate here: – will find. - “In the desert” - that is, in the country of captivity, which posed as many dangers for the Israelites as the desert. – “I’m coming” – more correctly from the Hebrew: I’ll get there or let’s go! To calm down, that is, to bring him out of captivity and bring him into the land of Israel. Jer.31:3. The Lord appeared to me from afar and said: I have loved you with eternal love and therefore have extended favor to you. “From afar” (i.e. from Jerusalem) the Lord appeared to me - these are the words of the captive people of Israel. – “For love...” - these are the words of God, which explain why the Lord is again the intercessor of Israel. Jer.31:4. I will build you again, and you will be built, O virgin of Israel, you will again be adorned with your timbrels and go out in a round dance of the merrymakers; “I will arrange” - I will give not only external well-being, but also internal strength on which this well-being will be firmly established. – “To be decorated with tympans” – lit. put on tympans. Small tambourines were usually worn on the fingers of Jewish women. Jer.31:5. you will plant vineyards again on the mountains of Samaria; the winegrowers who plant them will also use them. The mountains of Samaria are generally the mountains of Ephraim, named here after the capital of the kingdom of Israel. - “They will use it themselves.” According to the law of Moses, the fruits of the newly populated vine were considered unclean for the first three years and were not eaten. In the 4th year they were sacrificed to God, and only in the 5th year they were already used for ordinary use (Lev. 19.23–25). Since in the past, enemies often devastated the land of Israel, it often happened that the one who planted the vine could not wait until the 5th year - the vines were destroyed by the enemies before this time. Then, when the Lord returns the Israelites to their land, such sad phenomena will no longer take place. Jer.31:6. For the day will come when the watchmen on Mount Ephraim will proclaim: “Arise, and let us go up to Zion to the Lord our God.” The guards on the high points of the Ephraim Mountains, who in the past perhaps watched to ensure that the subjects of the kingdom of Israel did not go to Jerusalem on pilgrimage, will now themselves call their compatriots to Zion, from where they will be given a sign about the approach of some holiday. Jer.31:7. For thus says the Lord: Sing joyfully about Jacob and shout before the head of the nations: proclaim, glorify and say: “Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel!” The head of nations is the people of Israel, who have again received primacy among all nations (cf. Jer 2.3). – “Save” – more correctly, as in glory: “You saved, O Lord.” Jer.31:8. Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the ends of the earth; the blind and the lame, the pregnant woman and the woman in labor together with them - a great host will return here. In the north lived most of the captive Jews from both kingdoms (cf. Jeremiah 3.18). Jer.31:9. They went with tears, but I will lead them with consolation; I will lead them by the streams of water on a smooth path, on which they will not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. The Israelites will go (went - past instead of future) from captivity with joyful tears. – Ephraim, that is, the kingdom of Israel, is called here the firstborn of God, because Joseph, Ephraim’s father, was awarded one of the birthrights - a double part of the inheritance (cf. 1 Chronicles 5.2). Jer.31:14. And I will feed the souls of the priests with fatness, and My people will be satisfied with My good things, says the Lord. The priests will have good portions of the thanksgiving offerings (Lev. 7.31–34). The fat here, of course, is not the same as that obtained from the entrails of the animal. Such fat or fatty internal parts were to be burned on the altar. Jer.31:15. Thus says the Lord: a voice is heard in Rama, a cry and a bitter sob; Rachel cries for her children and does not want to be comforted for her children, for they are not there. Ramah is a city in the tribe of Benjamin, two hours north of Jerusalem. This place is high; it offers views of distant space. - “Rachel”, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, is also the ancestor of the entire 10-tribe kingdom, which, after the name of her grandson, was called Ephraim. She appears weeping in Ramah, an elevated area from where she overlooks the desolate kingdom of her sons, mainly the land of Joseph, although she was buried far from here - near Bethlehem (Gen. 35.19). Jer.31:16. Thus says the Lord: keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your labor, says the Lord, and they will return from the land of the enemy. “Reward for work”, i.e. a reward for the suffering that you endured because of your children. This reward is the return of the 10 tribes to Palestine. Jer.31:18. I hear Ephraim crying: “You punished me, and I am punished like an indomitable calf; Convert me, and I will be converted, for You are the Lord my God. "Convert Me". – The people of Israel realize that they do not have enough of their own strength to turn to the true path. Jer.31:19. When I was converted, I repented, and when I was admonished, I struck my thighs; I was ashamed, I was embarrassed, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.” “He beat himself on the thighs” is a sign of deepest repentance. - “The ignominy of youth”, that is, the shame that I deserved by my previous behavior. Jer.31:21. Set up road signs for yourself, set up pillars for yourself, turn your heart to the road, to the path along which you walked; return, O virgin of Israel, return to these thy cities. Israel must undoubtedly return from captivity and, therefore, must already have determined the path in which it will go home. It is not said who should place the stones to indicate the way. Jer.31:22. How long will you wander, fallen daughter? For the Lord will create something new on earth: the wife will save the husband. "The Fallen Daughter" - cf. Jer 3.6, 14. This is the name of the kingdom of 10 tribes, which fell away from the Davidic dynasty and at the same time from the true religion. - “On earth,” that is, in the kingdom of Israel, where the Israelis must return. - “The wife will save her husband.” – More precisely: a woman will protect a man (or a strong man). Here the prophet means a new theocratic community, weak in appearance, like a weak woman, but having enough strength within itself to protect and preserve the country of Israel, which is represented by the image of a strong husband. This will be a new, unexpected thing that the Lord will create. The new, spiritual power of the people will be the basis of the strength of the state. Jer.31:23. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: henceforth, when I bring back their captivity, this word will be spoken in the land of Judah and in its cities: “The Lord bless you, the dwelling place of righteousness, the holy mountain!” Here begins the conversation about the return of the captive Jews. The entire Jewish family will be like the holy Mount Zion - everywhere on it God will be close to people. Jer.31:24. And Judah and all his cities together, the farmers and those who go with the flocks, will dwell therein. The cities or townspeople will be happy, the farmers and herders will be happy. Jer.31:26. At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me. Conclusion of the speech. It is unlikely that Jeremiah received the previous revelation in a dream: he was not a dreamer at all (Jeremiah 23.25 et seq.). He probably wants to say here that the picture that he saw before him in revelation was like a sweet dream. The distant future that unfolded before him acted on his soul like a strengthening dream. Jeremiah 31:27–40. The Lord God, who has hitherto sent such terrible disasters to the Jews in their country, will now constantly take care of the increase in the population of Judea and the well-being of its inhabitants. The curse for the sins of their ancestors, which still weighs on the Jews, will be lifted from them. No one will suffer for the sins of others. But complete and final bliss for the Jews will come when the Lord concludes a New Covenant with them. The Divine Law will then be inscribed not on stone tablets, but indelibly established in the hearts of people. The most important difference of this future Testament is that then the people will be granted complete forgiveness of sins. This will all happen as surely as the order in the movement of the heavenly bodies is undoubtedly firm. With topographical precision, the prophet further depicts the restoration of Jerusalem, and the fact is also noted that in the new Jerusalem there will no longer be any nasty, unclean place. Jer.31:27. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. God is depicted here as a sower, scattering the seeds of life everywhere with a generous hand. Jer.31:29. In those days they will no longer say, “The fathers ate sour grapes, but the children’s teeth are set on edge.” Sour, unripe grapes set teeth on edge. - The meaning of the saying: “The fathers ate...” is that punishment for sins does not always fall on the sinners themselves, but on their offspring, who, however, do not suffer weak-willedly, but because the Lord sees in them the same sins as in their ancestors (cf. Ex 20:5, 34:7). There is, therefore, not only individual sin, but corporate sin - the sin of the family, clan, generation, people and state. Such a sin gradually develops, like any embryo gradually until full maturity, and then punishment falls on it. So Jeremiah's contemporaries had to experience all the terrible consequences of the wrong policies of their ancestors, which they themselves carried to the end. Jer.31:30. but each will die for his own iniquity; whoever eats sour grapes will have his teeth set on edge. Sins in the distant future will not represent anything corporate. If they are carried out, then only as something exceptional and not entailing responsibility on distant future generations. In general, Israel will be a holy community, to which individual sins and misdeeds of individual members will not bring significant and irreparable harm. Jer.31:31. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, The prophet envisions the New Testament as one that will coincide with the restoration of the house of Judah and Israel, which is possible only in the distant future. - “I will conclude.” The essential point of the biblical idea of ​​the Covenant is that it does not seem to put forward a purely contractual relationship between God and man, but points to the initiative coming from God, why the Covenant is an institution of God. Jer.31:32. not such a covenant as I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; They broke that covenant of mine, although I remained in covenant with them, says the Lord. The Lord made a Covenant with the Jews at Sinai, but already on the day of their exit from Egypt, Passover was celebrated, which, as is known, could only be performed by those who were in the Covenant with God, and, therefore, the Jews were called to the Covenant from the day they left the land of Egypt. - “I remained in alliance with them” - in accordance with the context of the speech, it will be translated as LXX: “I neglected them,” or, more precisely: “I am satiated with them.” In fact, if the Lord nevertheless “remained in union with the Jews,” then it means that the first Testament was not at all necessary to replace with a new one, and yet what is further said is about the New Testament as something necessary for the people of Israel. Jer.31:33. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law within them, and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. “After those days” - that is, after the sad future that Israel, rejected by Jehovah, will have to endure. – The first difference between the New Testament and the Old is that in place of the letter of the law standing before a person’s eyes, arousing in him the desire to resist the will of God, the content of this letter of the law will enter the very inner being of a person and good deeds will be performed by the person himself according to his own impulse. This is what the words mean: “I will put My law within them, and write it on their hearts.” – The second difference between the New Testament and the Old is that then there will actually be a unity between God and Israel, which until now was known only by name, in words - “and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” Jer.31:34. And they will no longer teach each other, brother to brother, and say: “Know the Lord,” for everyone themselves will know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord, because I will forgive their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more. The third difference of the New Testament is that then there will be no need for constant reminders from priests and prophets about the need to know the Lord and His holy will, as was required in the Old Testament times. Then everyone will know the Lord and strive to do His will (cf. Isa 54.13; John 6.45; 1 John 2.20, 27). – The fourth difference of the New Testament is that then the Lord will not remember the sins and iniquities of the people, whereas in the Old Testament the sacrifices constantly made for sins showed clearly that the Lord remembers the sins of the people. But, of course, this oblivion of sins does not show that the Divine Judge will only turn a blind eye to the sins and crimes of the people. Undoubtedly, the prophet here has in mind the redemption that will be accomplished for all people by Christ the Savior and by virtue of which all sins can find forgiveness (1 John 2.1). This last difference in the New Testament is also the most significant, because nothing crushes a person more than the consciousness of his alienation from God, caused by his sins. Jer.31:35. Thus says the Lord, who gave the sun for illumination by day, statutes to the moon and stars for illumination at night, who troubles the sea so that its waves roar; The Lord of Hosts is His name. Jer.31:36. If these statutes cease to operate before Me, says the Lord, then the tribe of Israel will cease to be a nation before Me forever. Jer.31:37. Thus says the Lord: If the heavens can be measured above, and the foundations of the earth explored below, then I will also cast away all the tribe of Israel for all that they have done, says the Lord. This New Testament will be eternal and unchangeable, like the laws of nature established by God. God will not reject Israel from Himself - this is as unthinkable as it is unthinkable to measure the heavens and explore the foundations of the earth. - “A people before Me”, - that is, My chosen people. – You can read in detail about the immutability of God’s promises regarding Israel in N.P. Rozanov’s brochure “The Future of the Jewish People in the Light of Revelation”, Moscow, 1901, p. 1–45. Jeremiah 31:38–40. Jerusalem, this central point of Jewish life, will be restored again to its former form and size (Zech. 14.10). Those places on the southern and eastern outskirts of Jerusalem that were hitherto considered unclean and served as a place for throwing out all kinds of garbage will be consecrated again. People will even forget about the abominations that were once committed in these places. There will be no need to fear that Jehovah’s anger will flare up again against the city and that again its walls and towers will be given over to destruction, Jer.31:38. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when the city will be built for the glory of the Lord, from the tower of Anameel to the gate of the coal, "The days are coming." Some interpreters (Dachsel, Die Propheten, etc.) attribute this prophecy about the restoration of Jerusalem and the Jewish state to the times that we are experiencing, that is, to the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, when supposedly the Jews should, as a people, enter the Church of Christ and settle again in Palestine. Such opinions, which their authors try to base on the chronological data of the Apocalypse (for example, on Rev. 11.2), are refuted by reality itself, and undoubtedly the renewal of the Covenant with Israel is a matter of the future, which is still very distant from us. The “Tower of Hanameel” (Heb. Hananla) stood on the northeastern corner of the city wall (Zechariah 14.10; Nehemiah 3.1), and the corner gate stood in the northwest of the city (2 Kings 14.13; 2Chronicles 26.9). First, therefore, the prophet designates the northern line of the city. Jer.31:39. and the surveying line will go further straight to the hill of Garib and go around Goath. The hill of Garib, as can be seen from the following verse, was located on the western side of Jerusalem and thus the prophet here denotes the western line of the city, and Goath, who stood at the convergence of the valleys of Hinnom and Kidron, the southern line. Jer.31:40. And all the valley of the corpses and the ashes, and all the field as far as the brook Kidron, even to the corner of the horse gate on the east, shall be holy to the Lord; will not be destroyed and will not disintegrate forever. “The valley of corpses and ashes” is the valley of Hinnom, south of the city, part of which since the time of King Josiah was considered unclean (2 Kings 23.10); corpses found on the roads and ashes from victims were brought here. – The Horse Gate was located on the southeast corner of the church square; they mark here the eastern border of Jerusalem. Special notes. Ev. Matthew says that what Jeremiah said about Rachel's lament (verse 15) was finally fulfilled when the Jewish women in Bethlehem mourned their children, who were beaten at the command of Herod (Matthew 2.17–18). In fact, just as Rachel, the foremother of Joseph and Ephraim, cried about the taking of her descendants into Assyrian captivity, where they were all threatened with death, so, one might say, she accompanied with crying the death of the innocent babies of Bethlehem in the days of Herod. The women of Bethlehem cried, but the evangelist, among their cries, hears the cry of Rachel, buried near Bethlehem. The prophecy about the New Testament (vv. 31–34) is cited in his letter to the Jews by the Apostle Paul in order to show that the prophet Jeremiah also testified that the Old Testament had indeed already become obsolete and was subject to abolition (Heb. 8.13). Obviously, the Apostle under the New Covenant, which God had to conclude with Israel according to Jeremiah, meant the Gospel Covenant, which over time, in the distant future, will be accepted by all the Israeli people (cf. Rom 11.25). You might be interested in: