From dynamispublications.org:
DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeremiah 44:1-21 (11/10-11/23) Thirty-fourth Reading in Kellia from the Prophecies of Jeremiah
The Eve of Jerusalem’s Fall IV ~ Walking in the Day: Jeremiah 44:1-21 SAAS, especially vss. 13, 14: “‘You are fleeing to the Chaldeans!’ But he said, ‘That is a lie! I am not fleeing to the Chaldeans.’ Yet he did not listen to him. So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the rulers.” Saint John of Sinai points out that “if the day in our soul does not draw to evening and grow dark, then the thieves will not come and rob and slay and ruin our soul.” This ‘day in our soul’ surely is the very day that the Prophet David sought of God: “Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may hymn Thy glory and Thy majesty all the day long” (Ps. 70:7). Of such a day, the Apostle exhorts us to remember that we “...are not in darkness...” but “...are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness,” and, he adds, “let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love...” (1 Th. 5:4,5,8).
Beloved of the Lord, let “...fear of God, and faith and love” guard your soul against ‘nightfall’ and ‘darkness’ so that no “thieves...come and rob and slay and ruin [your] soul.” Review the events recorded in this passage prayerfully. Around Jeremiah were men upon whose souls darkness had fallen, men blind to the light of his prophecy. For a time he walked freely. However, the men ‘of the night,’ the rulers in Judah, could only see his leaving Jerusalem as treason, desertion to the enemy. Deep, bitter, darkness blinded their hearts and souls.
Speaking of darkness of spirit and lack of discrimination, Saint Peter of Damaskos says that those so afflicted exert themselves “...enormously, but...cannot achieve anything; while the person who possesses [discrimination] is a guide to the blind and a light to those in darkness.” Saint Peter’s portrait describes well those who stubbornly ‘knew’ Jeremiah was deserting and portrays the Prophet as a man illumined by God who walked as a child of the day!
Darkness prevailed in the souls of the guard, Irijah (Jer. 44:13,14), the national rulers who beat the Prophet (vs, 15), and King Zedekiah who talked to him in secret (vs. 17). The delusion prevailed. They were sure the Egyptians would rescue them (vs. 7), and their desired and false belief blinded their souls. They could not comprehend Jeremiah’s point that, if the Chaldeans “...left certain wounded men, these men would rise up and burn this city with fire” (vs. 10).
In fear, we, like the majority in Jerusalem, easily become captive to the host of delusions that blind so many in our time. Beseech God to lead you into His day! As the Lord Jesus teaches, only he who walks in the day “...sees the light of this world” (Jn. 11:9). Irijah ‘knew’ Jeremiah was deserting, because delusion had him in thrall. From circumstantial evidence, he concluded that the Prophet was fleeing to the Babylonians. After all, the Prophet had said that the Babylonians would take the city. He must be running to them.
The same illusion embittered the rulers against Jeremiah. They saw the approach of Pharaoh’s army and the withdrawal of the Chaldeans as a sign of God’s deliverance. Controlled by that false belief, they tried to beat sense into Jeremiah. Though the king was intrigued by the Prophet, he also was beholden to the same misconception and so retained Jeremiah in custody.
As Christians flooded with today’s neo-paganism, we need to learn to identify false beliefs and how to escape them. Saint Peter of Damaskos says, “...pray fervently about everything that we do [and] at least strive to be without rancor and evil thoughts.” Heed the Apostle: “the night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness....Let us walk properly, as in the day,” putting on the Lord Jesus (Rom. 13:12,13,14).
Illumine our hearts, O Master, Who loveth mankind, with the pure light of Thy Divine knowledge. Open our noetic eyes to the understanding of Thy Gospel teaching
No comments:
Post a Comment