Homilies on Jeremiah and 1 Kings 28

Homily 1 : Jeremiah 1.1–10

HOMILY 1 Jeremiah 1.1–10 When did Jeremiah begin to prophesy and in the time of which kings did he prophesy and what was then said to him by the Lord? 1 od is ready to do good but hesitant to punish those who deserve punishment. In fact, though he can inflict punishment on those whom he has sentenced without saying anything, without prior warning , he never does. For when he sentences, he says so, and the speaking is a way to turn the person to be condemned away from the sentencing. It is possible to take many examples of these sentences from Scripture, but for now it will suf- fice2 to mention a few in order to arrive at the vision3 of the passage just read. (2) The Ninevites had become sinners and were sentenced by God: Still in three days and Ninevah will be overthrown .4 God did not wish to sentence without saying anything ,5 but giving them the opportunity for repentance 6 and conversion, he sent a Hebrew prophet, so that, when he said, still in three days and Ninevah will be overthrown, those sentenced might not be sentenced, but would obtain the mercy of God by repenting. 3 1. The title and this description are from Jerome. S has only ‘Ieremiva". 2. “Suffice,” from Jerome and Klostermann. 3. See the note on this word (skopov") in Schadel, 239, n. 2, who translates it: Sinnziel. We have translated it to reflect not only the inner meaning of the passage, but also the object which is to be seen by the work of exegesis. 4. Jon 3.4. 5. “Without saying anything,” (siwpw'n) from Jerome. S has eijpwvn. 6. Wis 12.10. (3) The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were sentenced , as is evident from the words of God according to Abraham.7 Nevertheless the angels have done their work, wanting to save those who did not want to be saved, by saying to Lot, Are there here with you some who are in-laws or sons or daughters? 8 They realized that the others did not follow Lot but they still did the work of goodness and loving kindness 9 of their own, and at the same time10 of the one who had sent them. 2. You will find the same in what concerns Jeremiah. The time of his prophecy is recorded—when he began, and until when he prophesied. Now, if the reader neither pays heed to the passage nor examines the intent of what was read, he will say that it is a history and it records when Jeremiah began to prophesy and how long before he stopped prophesying. What, then, does this history mean for me? When I read on, I learn that he began to prophesy in the days of Josiah, the son of Amos, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his kingdom. Then he emerged in the days of Joachim, son of Josiah, king of Judah prophesying to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, son of Josiah , king of Judah. And11 I learn that his prophecy continued under three kings until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month. What then do we learn from these words, if we attend to the reading? 3. God sentenced Jerusalem for her sins, and those condemned were to be delivered into captivity. Nevertheless, at the appointed time, the benevolent God sends this Prophet under the third king before the Captivity so that those who wish to consider it may repent by means of the words of the Prophet. He had charged the Prophet to prophesy under the second king also after the first king, and under the third king until the times of her captivity. For the patient God was ORIGEN 4 7. Gen 18. 8. Gen 19.12. 9. Titus 3.4. 10. “Of their own, and at the same time,” from Jerome. 11. “And,” from Jerome. HOMILY 1 5 offering a respite even, so to speak, down to the day before the Captivity, urging hearers to repent so that he may prevent the misfortune of the captivity. Hence it is written, Jeremiah prophesied until the captivity of Jerusalem, until the fifth month. The Captivity begins, and still he prophesied, saying something like this: “Become captives, provided in such circumstances you can repent! For when you repent, the misfortunes of the captivity...