Day of the feast= feast of the caves "You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress.” (Deuteronomy 16:13)

For the people used the caves of the trees, which was similar to that which was set in the fruit garden in the days of harvest.  This used to resemble the Israel tents in the wilderness.  These feasts were of the most popular traditional feasts.  “Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim,

Which is the seventh month.” (1 kings 8:2). 

25 "In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall do likewise for seven days, according to the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil." (Ezekiel 45:25)

These three feasts were not celebrated till after entering the promised land of Canaan.

15 "And you shall say: `Righteousness belongs to the Lord our God, but confusion of face, as at this day, to us, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

16 and to our kings and our princes and our priests and our prophets and our fathers,

17 because we have sinned before the Lord, 18 and have disobeyed him, and have not heeded the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in the statutes of the Lord

Which he set before us. 

Here we see that the confession was a collective confession, of kings, priests, prophets, leaders, masters, and fathers.  They all confessed that they did not abide in the ways of the Lord. 

That is why in justice they have been judge, and they did not justify their sins or look for excuses but confessed that they are sinners, that is why when they asked for forgiveness the Lord answered their prayers, unlike our father Adam and Eve that looked for excuses.  Some of the people in their confession with the priests look for thousands of reasons to justify their innocence, but if they did like our father David when he spoke to Nathan the prophet “So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the

LORD.” And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away our sin; you shall not die.  (2 Sam 12:13)

19 From the day when the Lord brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt until today, we have been disobedient to the Lord our God, and we have been negligent, in not heeding his voice.  20 So to this day there have clung to us the calamities and

The curse which the Lord declared through Moses his servant at the time when he brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt to give to us a land flowing with milk and honey.

21 We did not heed the voice of the Lord our God in all the words of the prophets whom he sent to us, but we each followed the intent of his own wicked heart by serving other Gods and doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God.

Moses = is an Egyptian name meaning “ boy” and its meaning in Hebrew is “ picked”.

(picture)

A picture for the life of Moses the prophet.

(picture)

The family of Moses the prophet.

Egypt = the name of Egypt in the foreign languages is derived from the word “manfies” in the old Egyptian language and that is “ ha-ko-betah”, meaning “ home- spirit-betah”.  And the name Egypt in Greek is “Agyptos”.  But for the old Egyptians they called their nation many different names, one of which is “Kemi” which means the black land, and they also called it the “ two lands the upper and lower Egypt” but for the name of the nation in Arabic is similar to that in Hebrew and that is “masriam” which in a way resemble the plural of the two upper and lower Egypt.

The Lord has warned His people so many times after they came out of the land of Egypt.  And that is found in the book of Joshua (chapters 23,24).  16 So the people answered and said: "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORDto serve other Gods; 17 for the

LORDour God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the

Way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed.  18 And the LORDdrove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land.  We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God." 19 But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God.  He is a jealous God; He will not

forgive your transgressions nor your sins.  20 If you forsake the LORDand serve foreign Gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good."

21 And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD!" (Joshua 24:16).

Here we can see that the sin involved the whole congregation

The fool has said in his heart,” There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good.2 God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.3 Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.  (Psalm 14; 1-3, 53:1-3)

It has been over more than seven centuries sine the exodus out of Egypt till the book was written and the Lord is patient with them and gave the chance, and sent Jeremiah the prophet who warned them and said, "Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem;

See now and know; and seek in her open places if you can find a man, if there is anyone who executes judgment, who seeks the truth, and I will pardon her.” (Jeremiah 5:1)

O Lord open our ears that we can hear Your voice and soften our hard solid hearts so that it become human and that we may be able to give the first place in the heart and make the door of our house open for you at all times so that when you knock on our door you find us ready and not asleep in darkness, for it is fearful to fall in the hands of the living God.

26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and

fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries

31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  .  (Hebrew 10:26,27,31).

   Picture

Chapter Two

Justice

[1]"`So the Lord confirmed his word, which he spoke against us, and against our judges who judged Israel, and against our kings and against our princes and against the men of Israel and Judah.  [2] Under the whole heaven there has not been done the like of what he has done in Jerusalem, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses,

Israel = the Lord gave the name Israel to our father Jacob the son of Isaac the son of Abraham   after a long fight in the night at Penuel at his way to the field of Aram.  For the Lord said to him “ And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." (Genesis 32:28)

And the Lord repeated that when he blessed him at Bethel.

And God said to him,” Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob

Anymore, but Israel shall be your name." So He called his name Israel.  (Genesis 35:10)

The meaning of the name is “ struggling with God”.  This name was called upon all the descendants of Jacob, which are the people of Israel.

Judah = Is a Hebrew name meaning “ thanks” and he is the fourth child of Jacob from Leah and he is born in the land between the rivers, and that name was given because of the thanks giving of his mother at his birth.  “And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now I will praise the LORD." Therefore she called his name Judah.  Then she

Stopped bearing.” (Genesis 29:35).

The Lord has warned them and they did not listen so they deserve punishment, and the punishment was like never before as Moses has told them in (Genesis 27 and 35).  It was great evil under heaven at that time that has never been seen in Jerusalem before, it was a sever siege that the humans lost their humanity and look what they did:

[3] That we should eat, one the flesh of his son and another the flesh of his daughter.

A man by nature care for his/her children as they are considered part of his/her own body, and every parent would like to see their children far better than them, but see here what sin has done?

“ The hands of the compassionate women have cooked their own children; they became food for them in the destruction of the daughter of my people”.  (lam 4:10 )

The sin make humans think of themselves and forget everything else and it was also mentioned in Elisha how some mothers slaughtered their children.

And it happened after this that Ben-Hadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.25 and there was a great famine in Samaria; and indeed they

besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver 26 Then, as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, "Help, my Lord, O king!"

27 And he said, "If the LORDdoes not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?" 28 Then the king said to her, "What is troubling

you?" And she answered, "This woman said to me, "Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.' 29 So we boiled my son, and ate him.  And I said

to her on the next day, "Give your son, that we may eat him'; but she has hidden her son."

30 Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes; and as he passed by on the wall, the people looked, and there underneath he had

sackcloth on his body.  31 Then he said, "God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today!" ( 2 Kings 6:24-31 )

and that happened because God gave them over to a debased mind to do what was not fit.

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; (Romans 1:28)

[4] And he gave them into subjection to all the kingdoms around us, to be a reproach and desolation among all the surrounding peoples, where the Lord has scattered them.  [5] They were brought low and not raised up, because we sinned against the Lord our God, in not heeding his voice.  [6] "`Righteousness belongs to the Lord our God, but confusion of face to us and our fathers, as at this day.

For sin is separation from God. 

20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.( 2 cor 5:20

By their separation they became a disgrace among nations for the Lord is the one who defend them, but they did not want the Lord and they left him and deserved their punishment, for God is just and the got their shame and disgrace.

[7] All those calamities with which the Lord threatened us have come upon us.

[8] Yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord by turning away, each of us, from the thoughts of his wicked heart.  [9] And the Lord has kept the calamities ready, and the Lord has brought them upon us, for the Lord is righteous in all his

Works, which he has commanded us to do.  [10] Yet we have not obeyed his voice, to walk in the statutes of the Lord, which he set before us.

The Lord has kept the calamities ready= is a prophecy by Jeremiah the prophet

27 Behold, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good.  And all the men of

Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them.  (Jeremiah 44:27)

How beautiful that in your prayers you confess your sins and ask for forgiveness from God, for sin is a confrontation with God.  And bring the blame upon your self as Baruch did in his prayer.  Yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord by turning away, each of us, from the thoughts of his wicked heart. 

Thought of the heart= this means the mind (thoughts) and it is the one that drives the feelings (heart) and both were united in evil.

[11] "`And now, O Lord God of Israel, who didst bring thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and with signs and wonders and with great power and outstretched arm, and hast made thee a name, as at this day, [12] we have sinned, we have been ungodly, we have done wrong, O Lord our God, against all thy ordinances.

[13] Let thy anger turn away from us, for we are left, few in number, among the nations where thou hast scattered us.

Sin can haven unintentionally, but transgression is the sin that happen with intention, that is why in the Old Testament the sacrifice for the sin was different to the sacrifice for the transgression, and the saint Baruch was asking the forgiveness for the few people who were left after exile.  for the sin has brought about spiritual death, eternal death, and the physical death.  As it is written in the parable of the prodical son when he sinned: “for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began

to be merry.” (Luke 15:24).

[14] Hear, O Lord, our prayer and our supplication, and for thy own sake deliver us, and grant us favor in the sight of those who have carried us into exile;

[15] That all the earth may know that thou art the Lord our God, for Israel and his descendants are called by thy name.

Those who carried us into exil = those who captured us.

They started to ask for God’s mercy and remind Him that they are His people and any insult to them is an insult to Him personally, and here Baruch remind the Lord by His promise to Moses in the book of Deuteronomy "The LORDwill establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORDyour God and walk in His ways.  10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you (Deuteronomy 28:9,10).

[16] O Lord, look down from thy holy habitation, and consider us.  Incline thy ear, O Lord, and hear; [17] open thy eyes, O Lord, and see; for the dead who are in Hades, whose spirit has been taken from their bodies, will not ascribe glory or justice to the Lord, [18] but the person that is greatly distressed, that goes about bent over and feeble, and the eyes that are failing, and the person that hungers, will ascribe to thee glory and righteousness, O Lord.

Hades = this word is not mentioned in the new testament except once when the Lord spoke to Peter answering him about being the son of the living God, and that He will build the Church on the rock.

15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,

but My Father who is in heaven.  18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  (Matthew 16:15-18).

It is a translation from the Greek word hardes which is repeated in the new testament for eleven times and it was translated in most of them to Hades and in the catholic version it was ( elgahim ) which is equal to (shaoul) in Arabic, which is mentioned over sixty five times in the old testament and in all it was translated to the word Hades.  “Gahim” in Arabic is a strong fire, and every strong fire resembles hades, hades is the place of suffering of the evil people as we read in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.

23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.24 "Then he cried and said, "Father Abraham, have mercy on

me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' (Luke 16:23,24).

Here Baruch is bringing the Lord attention by “ look, consider, incline, and open the eyes”.  Not that the Lord does not do; but to bring the covenant and promises to His attention.

From the characteristics of the righteous:

That goes about bent over = is the humiliated person.

The eyes that are falling = from the tears and crying over the sins.

The person that hunger = is the fasting, and self-controlled spirit.

It is interesting to note that the people who offered the prayers were from the righteous group of the people, they lived in obedience to God’s commandment but hardship got to them and they did not cry, but instead they said it is because of our sins and the sins of our children that in justice we are being condemned and they gave God the glory.

[19] For it is not because of any righteous deeds of our fathers or our kings that we bring before thee our prayer for mercy, O Lord our God.  [20] For thou hast sent thy anger and thy wrath upon us, as thou didst declare by thy servants the prophets, saying: [21] "Thus says the Lord: Bend your shoulders and serve the king of Babylon, and you will remain in the land which I gave to your fathers.  [22] But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord and will not serve the king of Babylon,

Here Baruch is asking for mercy for the sake of the bones of the kings, and the fathers the saints, eg. Elisha the prophet whose bones raised the dead.

21 So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the

bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.  (2 kings 13:21). 

He finishes the prayer by mentioning the sin the people committed when they did not listen to Jeremiah the prophet who asked them to bend and serve the king of Babylon.  And when they refused to greet the king of Babylon – which was Nebuchadnezzar – and the Lord the leader of His people does not defend them but rather use Nebuchadnezzar his slave to fulfill His will.  As he his not his servant who worship Him but a tool in the hand of the Lord to set a holy war against His people.

And the punishment was:

[23] I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the region about Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, and the whole land will be a desolation without inhabitants."

The Lord is punishing the people, and leave them in a state of fear and destruction and takes away all the signs of living from joy, wedding, sound of mirth, and the become in a state of mourning and family loss and lack of food.

10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.  11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.  (Jeremiah 25:10).

[24] "`But we did not obey thy voice, to serve the king of Babylon; and thou hast confirmed thy words, which thou didst speak by thy servants the prophets, that the bones of our kings and the bones of our fathers would be brought out

of their graves; [25] and behold, they have been cast out to the heat of day

and the frost of night.  They perished in great misery, by famine and sword and pestilence.  [26] And the house which is called by thy name thou hast

made as it is today, because of the wickedness of the house

of Israel and the house of Judah.

To serve the king of Babylon= it was difficult for any Jewish especially the king to allow the worship of the king of Babylon; for the Lord asked them ‘I am the LORDyour God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright’.  (Leviticus 26:13).

A worship to any king who worship the idols is a sign of God’s anger, and it was one of the curses that the people would fall under, when they break the commandment ‘48 therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORDwill send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on

Your neck until He has destroyed you’.  (Deuteronomy 28:48).

So the Lord asked them to worship the king of Babylon for as their humiliation to the king they will discover their sins, for by the physical humiliation and their exile from their land, the holy city and the holy temple they may know how the sin can exile humanity from God.  6 And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to

Serve him.  7 So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son's son, until the time of his land comes; and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them.  8 And it shall be, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that

nation I will punish,' says the LORD, "with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.  9 Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, "You shall not serve the king of Babylon." 10 For they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish.  11 But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land,' says the LORD, "and they shall till it and dwell in it.'"'"

Everyone was happy after building the temple and finding the book of law, as the were proud of the literal meaning of the covenant, but they did not care about it spiritually as they worshiped the idols, not because their enemy forced them to do so, and because they were ignorant, but because they loved the idols and followed and worshiped the idols and asked its help, and the punishment of those who worshiped the idols comes after their death, so what will happen to them / their bones will rise up after their death to be under the sun, and the moon, and the heavenly powers, so that they are in shame and humiliation even after their death.  All of them have sinned so the insult will be upon all of them after their death. 

They have chosen the dead idols over the living God, so that is why death came upon them and shame even after their death.

[27] "`Yet thou hast dealt with us, O Lord our God, in all thy kindness and in all thy great compassion, [28] as thou didst speak by thy servant Moses on the day

when thou didst command him to write thy law in the presence of the people of Israel, saying, [29] "If you will not obey my voice, this very great multitude will surely turn into a small number among the nations, where I will scatter them.

We notice here that he started in hope as he talked about the covenant that was between God and man, as He said to Moses “9 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.  For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.  (Deuteronomy 5:9,10).

"Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His

Commandments; 10 and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them.  He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face.  (Deuteronomy 7:9,10).

This is what happened as the Lord had warned them if they worship another God that they will become small number of nations and that is due to the many being slaughtered in exile.

[30] For I know that they will not obey me, for they are a stiff-necked people.  But in the land of their exile they will come to themselves, [31] and they will know that I am the Lord their God.  I will give them a heart that obeys and ears that hear; [32] and they will praise me in the land of their exile, and will remember my name,

Stiff-necked= harsh hearted = its translation in the New Testament is stiff-necked.

51 "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.  (Acts 7:51).

They will come to themselves = coming back to God.

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  10 For with the heart one believes

unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (Romans 10:9,10).

Humans look to the eyes but the Lord looks to the heart.  7 But the LORDsaid to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused

Him.  For the LORDdoes not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORDlooks at the heart." (I Samuel 16:7).

I will give them a heart the obeys and ears that hear = the Lord is the giver, thought man is still in evil and sin, but God is the one who opens the ears and change the hard hearts to human hearts, and Says to us as He did in the new testament ‘9 And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Mark 4:9).

16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"(Mark 7:16).

So after the heart is changed and the ears are opened not to sin and evil but to spiritual talk, our talk become praises to God even in a foreign land in which   you will be killed for not worshiping idols.

[33] and will turn from their stubbornness and their wicked deeds; for they will remember the ways of their fathers, who sinned before the Lord

[34] I will bring them again into the land which I swore to give to their fathers, to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, and they will rule over it; and I will increase them, and they will not be diminished.  [35] I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God and they shall be my people; and I will never again remove my people Israel from the land which I have given them."

Abraham = means father of many.

Isaac = means in Hebrew “to laugh”.

Jacob = a Hebrew name which means ‘to follow” or “to catch the heel”.

Stiff-necked is a sign of harshness in the heart, and when the Lord puts a human heart in them, they will repent form being stiff-necked.  Sin is the one that makes man stiff-necked, but the point of repentance the Lord have changed their hearts, opened their ears, blessed their numbers, and gave them His fatherhood by becoming their God .he returned them to His son-ship by having them as His people, and protecting them from enemies, and make them inherit the land which He had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  (Jeremiah 31:33).

Some people see that the Lord has made many promises with man, which were all fulfilled by the blood of Our LordJesus Christ on the cross.

1-The covenant with Adam: in which man will be blessed with the paradise of delight and all its fruits.  But Adam rejected the covenant and was kicked out of paradise, as it is written in the book of  " But like men they transgressed the covenant; There they dealt treacherously with Me.  (Hosea 6:7).

2- The covenant with Noah = it was regarding the new land after the flood as the Lord blessed Noah and his people.  So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: "Be

Fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.  (Genesis 9:1).

28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."(Genesis 1:28).

And the covenant was set on blood, the blood of the sacrifice.

3- The covenant with Abraham: the promise was linked to circumcision

and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.( genesis 17:11).

4- The covenant with Moses: it was based on the offerings 9 "The LORDwill establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments

of the LORDyour God and walk in His ways.( Deuteronomy 28:9).

That is why we need to ask were is our promise that we have with Him at the beginning of the year, it is our fault that we change our promises and reject the covenant; may the Lord bless you all and strengthen you to fulfill your promises, in order to take the blessing of setting with Him and enjoying His promises.  

Chapter Three

Wisdom

[1] "`O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, the soul in anguish and the wearied spirit cry out to thee.  [2] Hear, O Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned before thee.  [3] For thou art enthroned forever, and we are perishing forever.

The soul in anguish= is the soul that is in sadness from the troubles.

Here the hearts are talking to the God the almighty in mercy, for He is merciful and ask for Him to hear, and have mercy on them after they had sinned against Him, for the wage of sin is death, for if the Lord did not forgive them and had mercy on them they will perish. 

[4] O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, hear now the prayer of the dead of Israel and of the sons of those who sinned before thee, who did not heed the voice of the Lord their God, so that calamities have clung to us.  [5] Remember not the iniquities of our fathers, but in this crisis remember thy power and thy name.  [6] For thou art the Lord our God, and thee, O Lord, will we praise.

Here the prayer is for the mercy and acceptance of the prayer of the people of Israel.

Dead of Israel = they are the one who are almost dead by their sins.  They confessed that their fathers sinned against the Lord and ask Him to forgive their fathers sins, that they have committed against the Lord, they also remember that he is their God and they will continue in parsing Him no matter what happens.  

We notice that in the verses (3:1-6) is a cry and praise to God from those who are stressed in exile, those who sinned and their fathers sinned, but returned from exile by their heart, so that the Lord may have mercy on them and remember His promises with them.

[7] For thou hast put the fear of thee in our hearts in order that we should call upon thy name; and we will praise thee in our exile, for we have put away from our hearts all the iniquity of our fathers who sinned before thee.  [8] Behold, we are today in our exile where thou hast scattered us, to be reproached and cursed and punished for

all the iniquities of our fathers who forsook the Lord our God.'"

Put away  = rejected.

We have put away from our hearts all the iniquity of our fathers “7 Our fathers sinned and are no more, But we bear their iniquities.” (Lamentations 5:7).  We notice that so many times these days that the children born with illnesses or deformities, because of sins that the parents have committed, eg. those who are drug addicts, or smokers during pregnancy, and unfortunately the children pay the price.

[9] Hear the commandments of life, O Israel; give ear, and learn wisdom!

[10] Why is it, O Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies,

that you are growing old in a foreign country, that you are defiled with the dead,

[11] That you are counted among those in Hades? Baruch [12] You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom.  [13] If you had walked in the way of God, you would be dwelling in peace for ever.  [14] Learn where there is wisdom, where there is strength, where there is understanding, that you may at the same time discern where there is length of days, and life, where there is light for the eyes, and peace.

Learn wisdom = means to have knowledge.

El gahim = hades.

Fountain of wisdom = is God’s commandment or is God Himself.

13 " For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water.  (Jeremiah 2:13).

The subject here is wisdom (Sophia), which is a Greek word which means wisdom.  Here Baruch mentions an important fact, which is no matter how man reach from richness and power, without God there is no peace.  You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom.  if you had walked in the way of God, you would be dwelling in peace for ever.  (Baruch 3:12,13).

Here Baruch asks a question when he talks about the importance of wisdom: Why is it, O Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies? (Baruch 3:10).

He answers: because you have forsaken the fountain of wisdom (Baruch 3:12).  Wisdom is God’s commandment, and man has to abide in God’s word to attain His wisdom, as it is written in the book of proverbs: “ For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.  Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.’ (Proverbs 3:2-4).

Here Baruch asks another question: “where there is strength, where there is understanding, that you may at the same time discern where there is length of days, and life?’ (Baruch 3:14).

And he answers him and says: ‘She is the book of the commandments of God,

and the law that endures for ever.  All who hold her fast will live, and those who forsake her will die.” (Baruch 4:1).

And Baruch is still wondering about attaining wisdom.

Defiled with the dead = being in contact with idolaters makes the believer defiled as if he touched a dead body.   "Or if a person touches any unclean thing, whether it is the

carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and he is unaware of it, he also shall be unclean and guilty.  3 Or if he touches human uncleanness--whatever uncleanness with which a man may be defiled, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty.  (Leviticus 5:2-4).

11 "He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days.  12 He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean.  But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean.  13 Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD.  That person shall be cut off from Israel.  He

shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him.  (Numbers 19:11-13).

[15] Who has found her place? And who has entered her storehouses? [16] Where are the princes of the nations, and those who rule over the beasts on earth; [17] those who have sport with the birds of the air, and who hoard up silver and gold, in which men trust, and there is no end to their getting;[18] those who scheme to get silver, and are anxious, whose labors are beyond measure? [19] They have vanished and gone down to Hades, and others have arisen in their place.  It is a question which is for wisdom.

Hoard up = it indicates that who ever treasure wisdom is treasuring an imperishable treasure.  When Baruch asks about the one that finds wisdom, all the answers are negative which indicates that neither power, nor the leaders, nor the rich who have time and capabilities to sport with birds, or rule over the beasts; all did not attain wisdom.  Even the ones who passed away and went to Hades and others took their place also did not attain wisdom.  He comments that wisdom is beyond the reach of humanity  ‘7 The fear of the LORDis the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ (Proverbs 1:7).

Baruch asks a question and answers firstly in the negative indicating that no human effort can attain wisdom… Where are the princes of the nations, and those who rule over the beasts on earth?   They have vanished and gone down to Hades, and others have arisen in their place.  (Baruch 3:16,19).  Then positively indicating that God has the wisdom, and He gave it to the people of Israel in the book of law.  (Baruch 3:24-Baruch 4:4).

[20] Young men have seen the light of day, and have dwelt upon the earth;

but they have not learned the way to knowledge, nor understood her paths,

nor laid hold of her.  [21] Their sons have strayed far from her way.  [22] She has not been heard of in Canaan, nor seen in Teman; [23] the sons of Hagar, who seek for understanding on the earth, the merchants of Merran and Teman, the story-tellers and the seekers for understanding, have not learned the way to wisdom, nor given thought to her paths. 

Here Baruch continue saying that even their children did not benefit from the past of their fathers, and they did not take any lesson from it, but rather they insisted to stay away from God.

Canaan = is the fourth son of Ham.  6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.  (Genesis 10:6).  And he is also the grandson of Noah, and the grandfather of the tribes that lived to the west of the Jordan which is called Canaan, the people of Canaan were well known for their wisdom in trade and their skills in marketing.

Teman = is a Hebrew name which means “ the right or south” and the well know in that land is Eliphaz the friend of Job the righteous, and Teman was well known for its wisdom.

Sons of Hagar = they are the Ismalities and they possessed caravans and were well known merchants. 

Merran = is an unknown place.

The story-tellers = they are the one who put the general proverbs in the conduct of wisdom.

All of those, not the wisdom of the Canaanites in trade, nor the Teman, nor the sons of Hagar, nor the people of Merran, nor the storytellers, had any of them got the wisdom by the power from within.  Here he explains that the nations and tribes that were well known for their wisdom, did not really know the true wisdom   

[24] O Israel, how great is the house of God! And how vast the territory that he possesses! [25] It is great and has no bounds; it is high and immeasurable.

[26] The giants were born there, who were famous of old, great in stature, expert in war.  [27] God did not choose them, nor give them the way to knowledge; [28] so they perished because they had no wisdom, they perished through their folly.

House of God = it means the entire world the whole universe. 

The giants = they are creatures mentioned in the holy Bible before the flood.

‘There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God

came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them.  Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.’ (Genesis 6:4).  They were rebellious and were well known for their size and power. 

And Baruch started to look all around on the land and review the past and visit the future, so that he can find someone who had attained the wisdom? He found no one of the giants (3:26) one of which was Nimrod, which the Bible describes as being a giant. 

8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth.  9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD." (Genesis 10:8,9).  It is said that Nimrodwas the founder of Babel, Erech, and Calneh.

10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.  (Genesis 10:10).  One of his followers named this collection of stars (kasila which

in the Hebrew language means the collection of stars by the name of Virgo).  On the name of Nimrod, the great God of Babylon “ Murdock’ is named, which is translated in Hebrew to Nimrod.  Both names come from the name ‘mord’ meaning giant, those did not attain wisdom, for their wisdom were earthly, egoistic and evil.

15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.  (James3: 15).  and they perished with it.

[29] Who has gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down from the clouds? [30] Who has gone over the sea, and found her, and will buy her for pure gold? [31] No one knows the way to her, or is concerned about the path to her.  [32] But he who knows all things knows her, he found her by his understanding.  He who prepared the earth for all time filled it with four-footed creatures; 

ibrez = is an Arabic word which is commonly used to describe pure gold.  Unlike all those whom we spoke about, the Lord is the only one Who knows were it is.

[33] he who sends forth the light, and it goes, called it, and it obeyed him in fear;

[34] the stars shone in their watches, and were glad; he called them, and they said, "Here we are!" They shone with gladness for him who made them.  [35] This is our God; no other can be compared to him! [36] He found the whole way to knowledge,

and gave her to Jacob his servant and to Israel whom he loved.  [37] Afterward she appeared upon earth and lived among men.

God is the one who found the unit of wisdom, and he is the one who knows its way, and by it He created the creation, for Solomon describe it as ‘ the maker of everything and the fashioner  of the universe .  ‘[5] If riches are a desirable possession in life, what is richer than wisdom who effects all things?[6] And if understanding is effective, who more than she is fashioner of what exists? (Wisdom of Solomon 8:5,6).

For the Lord gave it to Jacob his servant and Israel his beloved and said: ‘"Then the Creator of all things gave me a commandment, and the one who created me assigned a place for my tent.  And he said, `Make your dwelling in Jacob, and in Israel receive your inheritance.'  (Sirach 24:8).

The Jewish released that wisdom which God has created the whole universe with all its beauty in heaven and earth, has all been put into His Book, so that this torah will be declared, and the wisdom of God vivid in heaven and earth.

No other God like Him = no one in His likeness.

It these verses Baruch the prophet –as in the rest of the Holy Bible – confirms that there is no other God like Him, and He was the one Who gave the law to Jacob His servant and Israel his beloved, and said to them regarding wisdom: ‘Make your dwelling in Jacob, and in Israel receive your inheritance.'  (Sirach 24:13).

It is said in the New Testament that it is the way to educate by the word.  For Our Lord Jesus Christ says: ‘17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law (the natural law and the moral law as it is the law of Moses)or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.’ (Matthew 5:17).    which means to fulfill the meanings.

[38] Afterward she appeared upon earth and lived among men.

There has never been a verse that is so theologically controversial as this verse is! As the early fathers used it in declaring the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, in fighting the heresy of Arius.

1.      Saint Hilary of Poitiers used it in his fourth book (De Trinitate), and his book used to deal; with the three hypostasis, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; he used this verse in proving the incarnation of God.   He also used it for the second time in his fifth book of the same series.

2.      Saint Gregory of Nyssa used it in his second book (the incarnation of the logos)

3.      Saint Athanasious also used it in answering the people of Arius, in his speech against the heresy of Arius.

4.      Saint Cyril of Jerusalem used it in his eleventh lecture about the word the Son of God before all ages.

5.      Saint Hypolytus used it too.

Baruch the prophet wrote this verse were he was in a state of transfiguration, as St John the beloved was in the spirit.  “I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,” (Rev 1:10).

Baruch the prophet found himself this reality, that God himself appear on earth and walk among people.  (Baruch 3:37), he did not say appeared in Judah, and walked among Jerusalem, for God the word when he appeared in the nations too, as He visited Egypt and walked among its people, “14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother

by night and departed for Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I

called My Son.  (Matthew 2:14,15).

Like Baruch the prophet Micah the prophet “ For behold, the LORDis coming out of His place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.”(Micah 1:3).  And he explains that in saying “All this is for the transgression of Jacob”(Micah 1:5).  St John also explains the God walked among the people in the famous verse “ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (john 1:15).

And he add saying “ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,

Which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life”(1 John 1:1).

St Paul said: “And without controversy great is the mystery of Godliness: God was manifested in the flesh,” (1 timothy 3:16).

For Baruch saw Him walking among the people as in walking doing goodness, walking her means not staying for ever, and that is what O’ Lord Jesus Christ did when he walked among us, and after His ascension to heaven that He sent to us the comforting Spirit that stays with us for ever.  “ And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever”  (John 14:16).   “Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come

to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”(John 16:7).