Jeremiah Explained - Chapter 1
By Rev. Paul Booth
Lessons: Jeremiah 1: 4-10 | John 12: 48 - 50 | Apocalypse Revealed 8 § 2
By Rev. Paul Booth
Lessons: Jeremiah 1: 4-10 | John 12: 48 - 50 | Apocalypse Revealed 8 § 2
The word of the Lord came to me, saying: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you to be a prophet to the nations.
(Jeremiah 1: 4, 5)
These words are concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and yet they were given to Jeremiah to teach and give to mankind. It is the Word that comes through the Prophets and they signify the Word, for they represent the prophecies, the truths concerning the Lord Himself. The reason is, also, because they represent the Word of God and the Messiah, that is, the Lord to come who is the Prophet and High Priest. As any follower of the Lord knows such words are not from any person, except the Lord use him. A person of the Lord's New Church should know this, for in his study of the Third Testament he learns that when angels speak they represent God, thus too, do prophets represent God as an instrument, even sometimes calling themselves God.
Since the Word is written to reveal the Lord God to all mankind, it necessarily treats of Him, and since, He promised to come and to save man, then it should be no surprise that He preaches His coming and His Mission to the whole world. This is obvious from verse five of the text for it speaks of the Lord to come, "Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1: 5). Jehovah would one day come and preach the Word as a man living among men and He would be called the Son of Man. Thus, in Jeremiah as in all the prophets, God choose them as instruments to show forth the Lord's coming. And, as this has come to pass, that is, His coming, we come to understand that He is the Word made flesh. It has often been said that God is, that is, He exists, that He has or is a Human and, here, in this 5th verse, is the Divine Essence within speaking to the Divine Human that comes through glorification of His Human come on earth. So, whether He is to come in the Natural Human or before when in His Celestial and Spiritual Human, the Lord God is One while the appearance is that He is above in Heaven and not in either in angels or prophets nor the body of Jesus. In this verse we see that this applies to His Human Essence, and thus that He was sanctified before His birth, before being born on earth, as He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and kept sanctified by His own powers.
We are shown by the Lord through the Word that before He became the Word in flesh He was to be born as any person and that He would grow from infancy through youth like any other man, even with infirmities. In this also one sees the Lord talking as it were to His Father, who is the Divine within. This alone opens up to our understanding many other things: that He would be tempted as all mankind is and, so, would have a natural inclination to sin. Since, we have shown that the Lord was one with the Divine before and after coming into the world, then we must come to a rational conclusion that His infirmities came from the mother. And, it is evidenced in the New Testament that the words Jesus spoke were words spoken of by the Father. "Then Jesus said unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know that I am He, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father has sent me, I speak these things" (John 8: 28). We see, here, that the Lord was given authority to uproot and to build, and we learn that He did and thus establish a new Church. Nonetheless, the Word was given to Jeremiah that he should root out, pull down and build, but only authority was given to the Lord who was to come. For, it is the Word who is God who was to come or the Messiah and that Jeremiah was but a representative of the Lord and so, the Word.
Let us read, "Then the words of Jehovah came unto me, saying ..." Even though we have seen that these words point to the Lord to come - the Messiah - who is the Prophet and the high Priest, within them, that is, in their internal sense, are taught many spiritual things or doctrines. In truth, they are of Divine Love or Divine Good. Since they are referred to as 'words of Jehovah' they mean the Lord's internal man, not His external or natural man. The internal man is the celestial of the Lord. So, it is that they reveal the Lord, thus one is to understand spiritually with the eyes of the understanding and not literally as to what one sees with his physical eyes, thinking it true. This did happen; the Lord came on earth as promised.
Next, in the fifth verse, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; and before you cane forth out of the womb I sanctified you; I gave you to be a prophet to the nations", we see clearly it is not Jeremiah, but the Lord about to come that is spoken of, for by 'forming' man is meant to makes alive and this is done by goods and truths in man, though at first they are only seen in the innocence of an infant - the most important of which is called conjugial love. The purpose is, of course, to establish the Church within man and this cannot be divine in anyone, except in the Lord's human, for if it could, then the Lord would not have come. By saying that 'before' Jesus came forth out of the womb sanctified refers to His natural human, for spiritually the womb is 'as it was' shown where good and truth are conceived and to sanctify is to be lead of the Lord, that is, by the Divine and to become, as said by 'before' is meant that which is internal. What was internal was before anything natural, thus was the Lord's natural human formed or made alive through the mother. Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ came or was 'brought forth' or acknowledged, that is, there was his reception into the world that was promised and looked to by so many.
When we continue with what is to be spiritually understood, we learn that by to 'give to be for a prophet' is meant the Revelation of the Word in its internal sense. This can better understood when you know that a 'prophet' is to teach, yet from the words spoken by the prophets most these words cannot be understood in their literal sense and need to be revealed through abstract thoughts, otherwise they cannot be understood or what is understood is not true of the Lord.
The Lord was giving the prophecies themselves that would teach and reveal the goods and the truths to man or to the nations. BY 'nations' are meant those who follow the Lord and are in the 'good of love' and 'charity', referring to both man's faith and charity and, so, the Church.
Reading again from the Word - "Then said I, Ah, Lord Jehovah! Lo, I know not how to speak: for I am a child." Here, the Human of the Lord speaks, just as we can read that Jesus speaks to His Father. By calling on 'Lord Jehovah' the internal and Divine truth and good is meant, for in this state Jesus has not yet realized His full measure of Love, which is without measure. It is the Divine within Him that knows 'how to speak' and, it is from the internal that one speaks, for there must be thoughts and those thoughts are the Divine's within the Lord's human come on earth. It is the state of youth that one is in affections of good and of truths, and, so, the Lord Jesus wants the will of God to lead Him just as our will should be as God's will. In the state of a youth that the Lord comes into His natural mind comes into the spiritual state, not the celestial state, for in the spiritual state truths lead and, as we have shown, the human of the Lord wants the Divine's will to lead, thus He says 'I do not know how to speak.' Here, we see the Lord came to save the spiritual man, for it is the spiritual of man that fell.
The conversation between the Divine within the human that came into the world continues. There is here the principle of the Divine celestial and it is one of perceiving. Thus, we can see a perception between the Divine and the Human and it is like thinking. But since the Human of the Lord said 'I know not how to speak'. He did so by means of the divine celestial by the divine spiritual. We can now continue with the seventh verse where is seen that Jehovah or the Divine is replying on the Lord Human coming on earth. "Say not, I am a youth: but to whomsoever I send you, go: and whatsoever I command you, to speak."
What is seen here is the obedience of the Human to the Divine coming into the external or natural state into which mankind had fallen thus requiring that the Lord in His Human go through the natural order of mankind - conception and birth - into which can be given a will and an understanding for the Divine, that life be given. And, just as man is to be obedient, so, too, is the Lord on earth obedient. However, with the Lord on earth, He was in two states - the Divine in which He had power and the state of humiliation where evils could attack and tempt Him. Thus, by sending the Lord to 'whomever' and to speak as 'commanded' is meant to teach and lead those who believe. We can see that He was to prepare the disciples, and establish a new Church on earth, and that it was through His Human that this could be accomplished.
Continuing, we read, "Be not afraid of them: for I am with you to snatch you away, and the saying of Jehovah" (Jeremiah 1: 8 E), it is not fear of God meant, for it says 'of them'. Jesus was to become as any other man that he could undergo temptations. So, here, His being afraid is a normal natural reaction; but, from His Divine self within, He was able to lift up His thoughts and affections of His human into the Divine. We can understand these words when we apply them to man. Example: When these words are understood coming from the Lord to that various men they wrote the Word, it means their adoration from a profound humiliation where they become made spiritually alive, and 'as if' they were in the spiritual world. Jehovah does not just speak truths, but He acts accordingly and thus does goods.
We read,
"Then Jehovah put forth His hand, and covered my mouth. And Jehovah said to Me, Behold, I put my words in your mouth" (1: 9). It is in such words that the power of God is seen to make it happen. By covering the mouth and putting 'My words in your (Jesus') mouth' reveals that the Divine leads and teaches when it is His words in our understanding from our willing and, if our nakedness is seen, our evil nature is revealed. So, in the Lord to come on earth by putting on the nature of man Jesus is to be obedient to the Father, which is the Divine within.
Our last verse, verse 10, shows that the Lord's coming to earth is for us and in this we see it is to establish a new Church in which man's regeneration and salvation is accomplished. Of course, understanding this verse literally, we only think of the prophet Jeremiah that the Lord spoke to. To be sure Jehovah did speak to Jeremiah and for that we believe his book is the Word of God. Nonetheless, he was not given authority to uproot or to build the Lord's Kingdoms and nations. That authority was given to the Lord who came and who became the Divine Human. We read these words, "See, I have this day set you in authority among nations and kingdoms, to uproot, and destroy, and to put an end to, and to lay waste; to build, and to plant" (Jeremiah 1: 10). One sees here an ending to the prior Church on earth, a destroying of it. But, what is meant is the man having fallen, and so again, he is made alive or vivified by the Lord. This can only be accomplished with man when the love of self that has built up in us a church is destroyed. Man had fallen and, thus, the church needed to be made new in man and by 'planting' is signified man's regeneration in which a New Church can established within while he is on earth and that he comes into in Heaven.
Amen.
(Jeremiah 1: 4, 5)
These words are concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and yet they were given to Jeremiah to teach and give to mankind. It is the Word that comes through the Prophets and they signify the Word, for they represent the prophecies, the truths concerning the Lord Himself. The reason is, also, because they represent the Word of God and the Messiah, that is, the Lord to come who is the Prophet and High Priest. As any follower of the Lord knows such words are not from any person, except the Lord use him. A person of the Lord's New Church should know this, for in his study of the Third Testament he learns that when angels speak they represent God, thus too, do prophets represent God as an instrument, even sometimes calling themselves God.
Since the Word is written to reveal the Lord God to all mankind, it necessarily treats of Him, and since, He promised to come and to save man, then it should be no surprise that He preaches His coming and His Mission to the whole world. This is obvious from verse five of the text for it speaks of the Lord to come, "Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1: 5). Jehovah would one day come and preach the Word as a man living among men and He would be called the Son of Man. Thus, in Jeremiah as in all the prophets, God choose them as instruments to show forth the Lord's coming. And, as this has come to pass, that is, His coming, we come to understand that He is the Word made flesh. It has often been said that God is, that is, He exists, that He has or is a Human and, here, in this 5th verse, is the Divine Essence within speaking to the Divine Human that comes through glorification of His Human come on earth. So, whether He is to come in the Natural Human or before when in His Celestial and Spiritual Human, the Lord God is One while the appearance is that He is above in Heaven and not in either in angels or prophets nor the body of Jesus. In this verse we see that this applies to His Human Essence, and thus that He was sanctified before His birth, before being born on earth, as He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and kept sanctified by His own powers.
We are shown by the Lord through the Word that before He became the Word in flesh He was to be born as any person and that He would grow from infancy through youth like any other man, even with infirmities. In this also one sees the Lord talking as it were to His Father, who is the Divine within. This alone opens up to our understanding many other things: that He would be tempted as all mankind is and, so, would have a natural inclination to sin. Since, we have shown that the Lord was one with the Divine before and after coming into the world, then we must come to a rational conclusion that His infirmities came from the mother. And, it is evidenced in the New Testament that the words Jesus spoke were words spoken of by the Father. "Then Jesus said unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know that I am He, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father has sent me, I speak these things" (John 8: 28). We see, here, that the Lord was given authority to uproot and to build, and we learn that He did and thus establish a new Church. Nonetheless, the Word was given to Jeremiah that he should root out, pull down and build, but only authority was given to the Lord who was to come. For, it is the Word who is God who was to come or the Messiah and that Jeremiah was but a representative of the Lord and so, the Word.
Let us read, "Then the words of Jehovah came unto me, saying ..." Even though we have seen that these words point to the Lord to come - the Messiah - who is the Prophet and the high Priest, within them, that is, in their internal sense, are taught many spiritual things or doctrines. In truth, they are of Divine Love or Divine Good. Since they are referred to as 'words of Jehovah' they mean the Lord's internal man, not His external or natural man. The internal man is the celestial of the Lord. So, it is that they reveal the Lord, thus one is to understand spiritually with the eyes of the understanding and not literally as to what one sees with his physical eyes, thinking it true. This did happen; the Lord came on earth as promised.
Next, in the fifth verse, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; and before you cane forth out of the womb I sanctified you; I gave you to be a prophet to the nations", we see clearly it is not Jeremiah, but the Lord about to come that is spoken of, for by 'forming' man is meant to makes alive and this is done by goods and truths in man, though at first they are only seen in the innocence of an infant - the most important of which is called conjugial love. The purpose is, of course, to establish the Church within man and this cannot be divine in anyone, except in the Lord's human, for if it could, then the Lord would not have come. By saying that 'before' Jesus came forth out of the womb sanctified refers to His natural human, for spiritually the womb is 'as it was' shown where good and truth are conceived and to sanctify is to be lead of the Lord, that is, by the Divine and to become, as said by 'before' is meant that which is internal. What was internal was before anything natural, thus was the Lord's natural human formed or made alive through the mother. Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ came or was 'brought forth' or acknowledged, that is, there was his reception into the world that was promised and looked to by so many.
When we continue with what is to be spiritually understood, we learn that by to 'give to be for a prophet' is meant the Revelation of the Word in its internal sense. This can better understood when you know that a 'prophet' is to teach, yet from the words spoken by the prophets most these words cannot be understood in their literal sense and need to be revealed through abstract thoughts, otherwise they cannot be understood or what is understood is not true of the Lord.
The Lord was giving the prophecies themselves that would teach and reveal the goods and the truths to man or to the nations. BY 'nations' are meant those who follow the Lord and are in the 'good of love' and 'charity', referring to both man's faith and charity and, so, the Church.
Reading again from the Word - "Then said I, Ah, Lord Jehovah! Lo, I know not how to speak: for I am a child." Here, the Human of the Lord speaks, just as we can read that Jesus speaks to His Father. By calling on 'Lord Jehovah' the internal and Divine truth and good is meant, for in this state Jesus has not yet realized His full measure of Love, which is without measure. It is the Divine within Him that knows 'how to speak' and, it is from the internal that one speaks, for there must be thoughts and those thoughts are the Divine's within the Lord's human come on earth. It is the state of youth that one is in affections of good and of truths, and, so, the Lord Jesus wants the will of God to lead Him just as our will should be as God's will. In the state of a youth that the Lord comes into His natural mind comes into the spiritual state, not the celestial state, for in the spiritual state truths lead and, as we have shown, the human of the Lord wants the Divine's will to lead, thus He says 'I do not know how to speak.' Here, we see the Lord came to save the spiritual man, for it is the spiritual of man that fell.
The conversation between the Divine within the human that came into the world continues. There is here the principle of the Divine celestial and it is one of perceiving. Thus, we can see a perception between the Divine and the Human and it is like thinking. But since the Human of the Lord said 'I know not how to speak'. He did so by means of the divine celestial by the divine spiritual. We can now continue with the seventh verse where is seen that Jehovah or the Divine is replying on the Lord Human coming on earth. "Say not, I am a youth: but to whomsoever I send you, go: and whatsoever I command you, to speak."
What is seen here is the obedience of the Human to the Divine coming into the external or natural state into which mankind had fallen thus requiring that the Lord in His Human go through the natural order of mankind - conception and birth - into which can be given a will and an understanding for the Divine, that life be given. And, just as man is to be obedient, so, too, is the Lord on earth obedient. However, with the Lord on earth, He was in two states - the Divine in which He had power and the state of humiliation where evils could attack and tempt Him. Thus, by sending the Lord to 'whomever' and to speak as 'commanded' is meant to teach and lead those who believe. We can see that He was to prepare the disciples, and establish a new Church on earth, and that it was through His Human that this could be accomplished.
Continuing, we read, "Be not afraid of them: for I am with you to snatch you away, and the saying of Jehovah" (Jeremiah 1: 8 E), it is not fear of God meant, for it says 'of them'. Jesus was to become as any other man that he could undergo temptations. So, here, His being afraid is a normal natural reaction; but, from His Divine self within, He was able to lift up His thoughts and affections of His human into the Divine. We can understand these words when we apply them to man. Example: When these words are understood coming from the Lord to that various men they wrote the Word, it means their adoration from a profound humiliation where they become made spiritually alive, and 'as if' they were in the spiritual world. Jehovah does not just speak truths, but He acts accordingly and thus does goods.
We read,
"Then Jehovah put forth His hand, and covered my mouth. And Jehovah said to Me, Behold, I put my words in your mouth" (1: 9). It is in such words that the power of God is seen to make it happen. By covering the mouth and putting 'My words in your (Jesus') mouth' reveals that the Divine leads and teaches when it is His words in our understanding from our willing and, if our nakedness is seen, our evil nature is revealed. So, in the Lord to come on earth by putting on the nature of man Jesus is to be obedient to the Father, which is the Divine within.
Our last verse, verse 10, shows that the Lord's coming to earth is for us and in this we see it is to establish a new Church in which man's regeneration and salvation is accomplished. Of course, understanding this verse literally, we only think of the prophet Jeremiah that the Lord spoke to. To be sure Jehovah did speak to Jeremiah and for that we believe his book is the Word of God. Nonetheless, he was not given authority to uproot or to build the Lord's Kingdoms and nations. That authority was given to the Lord who came and who became the Divine Human. We read these words, "See, I have this day set you in authority among nations and kingdoms, to uproot, and destroy, and to put an end to, and to lay waste; to build, and to plant" (Jeremiah 1: 10). One sees here an ending to the prior Church on earth, a destroying of it. But, what is meant is the man having fallen, and so again, he is made alive or vivified by the Lord. This can only be accomplished with man when the love of self that has built up in us a church is destroyed. Man had fallen and, thus, the church needed to be made new in man and by 'planting' is signified man's regeneration in which a New Church can established within while he is on earth and that he comes into in Heaven.
Amen.
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