Thursday, September 30, 2004
Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia
Kellia: Jeremiah 30:12-17, 23-24 Epistle: Ephesians 5:13-6:9 Gospel: St. Luke 4:16-22
Jeremiah 30:12-17, 23-24, especially
vs. 17: "For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, says the Lord, because
they have called you an outcast...." The present reading is the first of four passages taken from
what commonly is called, "The Book of Consolation" (Jer. 30-33). The historical moment in
which Jeremiah received these prophecies from the Lord was "in the tenth year of Zedekiah king
of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. At that time the army of the king of
Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard
that was in the palace of the king of Judah. Zedekiah, king of Judah, had imprisoned him, saying,
'Why do you prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord: Behold I am giving this city into the hand of
the king of Babylon, and he shall take it?'" (Jer. 32:1-3; LXX 39:1-3).
Jerusalem was in the final days of an eighteen month siege by the Babylonians. Other Judean
cities had already fallen. Recently, "the army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt; and when the
Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem"
(Jer. 37:5; LXX 44:5), but only to drive the Egyptians back to their land, after which the siege
was resumed until "in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month on the ninth day of the
month, a breach was made in the city" (Jer. 39:2; LXX 46:2). King Zedekiah fled the city at that
point only to be overtaken in the plains of Jericho and captured. The dire prophecies of Jeremiah
that comprise the early chapters of his book were being fulfilled.
The Book of Consolation, written as it was in these last days before the breach into the city,
introduces another aspect of the Lord's relationship to His People. God assures His People that
they will not perish utterly (see Jer. 30:17 quoted above). Readers should appreciate that, after
months of siege, the populace of the city was stricken by intense famine, disease, and the
gnawing realization that very soon Jerusalem would be taken. Should any reader think to give up
on Jeremiah, believing he could only predict doom and disaster, these chapters reveal another
side of his prophecies - declarations of the love and faithfulness by God for His People.
The Lord does not mince words in this passage. The warnings He had given through His Prophet
Jeremiah are now coming to pass, for "there is none to uphold [the nation's] cause, no medicine
for [their] wound, no healing for [them]" (vs. 13). The Egyptian army had fled for their own
lives and "have forgotten you; they care nothing for you" (vs. 14), says the Lord.
Our Lord is the God of historical consequences. From ancient times to the present, disobedience,
apostasy, and immorality among the People of God has resulted in judgment after a certain point,
when "guilt is great" and "sins are flagrant"(vs. 15). As St. Tikhon of Zadonsk says: "our
compassionate God promised to show us His grace and mercy, but He did not promise us the
morrow. Let us pay close attention to this, and let us awake from sleep."
God reveals that in times of utter defeat, as we experience His wrath in our souls and bodies, the
hammers with which the Lord strikes will come under judgment: "those who despoil you shall
become a spoil, and all who prey on you I will make a prey" (vs. 16). All men and nations are
accountable before God. He will cause the "whirling tempest [to] burst upon [our] head" (vs. 23)
when we pursue wickedness, but yet He remains faithful to His People forever. He promises:
"your wounds I will heal" (vs. 17). In the pain of judgment, let us remember that "in the latter
days you will understand" (vs. 24). The purpose of the Lord is in all that happens.
Teach us, O Lord, to treat all that comes to us with peace of soul and with the firm conviction
that Thy will governs all. In unforeseen events, let us not forget that all are sent by Thee.