Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 1:13-19

"And the word of Jehovah came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a boiling caldron; and the face thereof is from the north. Then Jehovah said unto me, Out of the north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith Jehovah; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay thee before them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee, saith Jehovah, to deliver thee." — Jeremiah 1:13-19 (ASV)

Here, the author describes the destruction of Jerusalem itself.

He speaks of the incitement to see, what do you see?, as mentioned above.

He speaks of the vision: and I said: I see a boiling cauldron, which signifies the burning of the city. And its face—its bottom—is from the north, from which the fire was lit. Place an empty pot upon the coals, that it may grow hot, and melt its bronze, that its filthiness may flow into the midst thereof and its rust be consumed (Ezekiel 24:11).

Then, the exposition is given: and the Lord said.

It is explained generally: from the north refers to the king of Babylon, who was to the north in relation to the Holy Land. Inhabitants of the land refers to Jerusalem or other adjacent cities that will be destroyed by him. As it says below, behold, the sound of a noise comes, and a great shaking from the land of the north, that he may turn the cities of Judah into wilderness and the habitation of dragons (Jeremiah 10:22).

Next, the order of the whole matter follows.

The assembling of the army is described: for, behold, I will call together, by inspiration, the kingdoms subject to Nebuchadnezzar. He shall raise a sign to the nations that are afar off (Isaiah 5:26).

He speaks of the siege of the city: and they shall come, and each one shall place his throne, that is, the tent, in the entry of the gates, as if they will bring the siege to the very walls. The horsemen shall put their seats in the gate, and the covering of Judah shall be revealed (Isaiah 22:7). Alternatively, he is thinking of the captivity of the city itself and touches upon what happens below: and all the princes of the king of Babylon entered and sat in the middle gate (Jeremiah 39:3).

He discusses the punishment of the inhabitants: and I will speak my judgments, not with words, but with punishments. They shall judge you with the judgments of adulteresses, and of those who shed blood (Ezekiel 16:45).

Regarding You, therefore, gird up, the author here teaches the manner in which this will be carried out.

It should follow immediately: gird up your loins, like one who prepares to go quickly. Gird up your loins as a man (Job 38:3).

He should proceed fearlessly.

Concerning this, he first excludes fear: do not be afraid. Do not fear them, neither be dismayed at their face, for it is a rebellious house (Ezekiel 3:9). Who are you that you fear mortal man, and the son of man, who is like straw that dries up and is forgotten by the Lord your maker, who stretches forth the heavens, and establishes the earth; and you have shrunk back in fear the whole day from the presence of him who troubles you, and had readied you for destruction (Isaiah 51:12).

He promises the fortitude to resist: I have surely set you today as a fortified city, to uphold others, as an iron pillar. The Lord has given me a learned tongue, that I might know how to uphold him who is fallen with a word, that he may not flag within himself (Isaiah 50:4). And as a brazen wall. I have set your face as steel and as flint (Ezekiel 3:9).

He promises the disappointment of the enemy: and they shall wage war with you, but will not prevail—they will not be able to turn you from the truth. As it says below, I shall make you as a strong brazen wall before this people; and they shall wage war against you, and they shall not prevail, because I am with you to save you, and I will rescue you, says the Lord (Jeremiah 15:20).

Collations

Concerning the things mentioned above, it must first be known that God is able to have a knowledge (Jeremiah 1:5) of approbation for something, as was said. This includes knowledge of foresight: all things are known to the Lord God before they are created; thus also after their completion he sees all things ; of predestination: the Lord knows who are his (2 Timothy 2:9); of the infusion of grace: I know my sheep and they know me (John 10:27); of special familiarity: and I have known you by name (Exodus 33:12); and of glorification: I have known him in his blessings, and have given him an inheritance .

• God touches (Jeremiah 1:9) some by reproving them: have mercy on me, have mercy on me, at least you, O my friends, for the hand of the Lord has touched me (Job 19:21); by cleansing them from sin: Jesus touched him, saying, ‘I will it, be clean’ (Matthew 8:3); by infusing grace: my beloved put forth his hand through the hole, and my belly trembled at his touch (Song of Solomon 5:4); by strengthening with grace: and behold, a hand touched me, and raised me to my knees, and the knuckles of my hands (Daniel 10:10); and by stirring up fervor: touch the mountains and they shall smoke (Psalms 143:5).
• The sinful soul is called a cauldron (Jeremiah 1:13) because of the fervor of its sinful desire: He makes the deeps of the sea to boil like a pot, and he reckons it as when they boil unguents (Job 41:22); because of the carnality of its work: they break their bones, and cut them up finely as in a kettle, as meat in the midst of a cooking vessel (Micah 3:3); and because of the blackness of its stain: the face of all is as the blackness of a pot (Nahum 2:10).
• The aforementioned cauldron is heated by the fire of inordinate love: When the fire has been kindled and spread abroad, they will perish at the rebuke of your countenance (Psalms 79:17); of wrath and contention: behold you are all kindling the fire and girded about with flames (Isaiah 50:11); and of eternal damnation: a fire has been kindled in my wrath, and it shall burn to the lowest depths of hell (Deuteronomy 32:22).
• The devil is called the north wind (Jeremiah 1:14) because of the violence of his temptation: The voice of his thunder has struck the earth, a storm of the north wind and a gathering of air ; because he hinders the fruit of good work: arise, O north wind, and come, you south wind; blow through my garden, and its spices shall flow forth (Song of Solomon 4:16); and because he dries the river of tears: the north wind scatters the rains, and a sad face a backbiting tongue (Proverbs 25:23).
• The Church, and even the soul, is fortified (Jeremiah 1:18) by divine assistance: I shall be a fire for them round about, and I shall be in the midst of him in glory (Zechariah 2:5); by the protection of the angels: his height is a rampart of stones (Isaiah 33:16); by the example of the holy fathers: the tower of David is your neck, which is built with bulwarks (Song of Solomon 4:4); by the help of one’s brothers: a brother who is helped by his brother is like a strong city (Proverbs 18:19); and by the remedy of the sacraments: I am a wall, my breasts are like a tower, from which I am made as one finding peace (Song of Solomon 8:10).

Chapter 2