GOD SEEKS HIS BRIDE In the last chapter, God revealed the cause of His charges against us; something that He often does; not only in the book of Jeremiah, but in several holy books. When God chastens, He likes to explain the cause of chastisement, to realize His goal. He does not chasten just to show His authority, nor for the sake of revenge, the way man does when he gets the chance; but for the sake of dialogue, to let man return to Him. In the present chapter, He clearly proclaims His desire for the return of His divorcee bride who defiled herself with many, and corrupted the ground. He makes a divine plan, to open before her the door for repentance, and to receive her, glorified and dignified. 1- The Groom seeks His harlot divorcee 1 - 5 2- A divine plan for her return 6 - 11 3- The way to repentance 12 - 14 4- The blessings of the return to God 15 - 25 1- The Groom seeks His harlot divorcee: God revealed His limitless love toward His people; and toward every believer; saying: “‘they say, ‘If a man divorces his wife; and she goes from him and becomes another man’s; May he return to her again? Would not that land be greatly polluted?’ But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me’, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 3: 1) The scholar Origen says: [This is a new kind of goodness; God receives the soul, even after harlotry, if she returns and repents from her whole heart ,,, Here God appears as jealous; He seeks your soul, and wishes that you attach to Him. He is indeed not pleased; He is angry; and revealing some kind of jealousy; to let you know that He longs for your salvation1]. It is difficult for man to imagine himself in this situation; having back his divorcee whom he left because of harlotry; who did not transgress out of weakness. with someone who coveted her; but who loves to transgress shamelessly and stubbornly with several lovers; She has “a harlot’s forehead” ...; And yet her man longs for her to repent and to return to him ! God started His talk with His people, by referring to one of the statutes of the law concerning divorce (Deuteronomy 24: 1 - 4), that He presented to them because of their weakness. It was not allowed for man to take back his wife, if she, after being divorced, was married to another. Here, He reveals the essence of marital life, clarifying that marriage is supposed to be an unbreakable secret union; Yet, if a third party got in between, that union is dissolved for good. No man would remarry his harlot divorcee, lest the ground; namely his body would get defiled! God, on the other hand, is not like any human husband, to expel His betrayer wife; But, in his limitless love, although He sees that the soul has voided her union with Him through her union with His enemies - the Devil and his hosts with their evil works; counting them as her friends Yet He calls her again, saying, “Return to me”. 1 In exod. Hom 8: 5. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 103 Father Methodeus says: [He speaks of that who presents herself to harlotry with a multitude, who came to corrupt her; those who are related to Satan and his angels, who plot to defile and corrupt the beauty of our rational mind and sound insight; through dialogue, and corrupting every soul that is betrothed to the Lord1]. How amazing is God’s love for man; Despite His knowledge of man’s evil and wickedness, He opens before him the door of hope to return; saying to him: “Will He remain angry forever ? Will He keep it to the end? !” (Jeremiah 3: 5) He keeps on seeking the return of the soul to Him … not because He likes to see her sad, pained, and regretting the transgressions she committed; but because He seeks her as His holy bride, who to have her place in His Bosom; or as a daughter who finds her father running toward her, falling on her neck, and kissing her (Luke 15: 20). How amazing is God’s love !; He knows us well, and classifies us in our evil as such: (1) As a divorcee who married another man (Jeremiah 3: 1): According to the Mosaic Law, it is not allowed for man to return to the woman he divorced then married another man; even if the other man divorced her, or died (Deuteronomy 24: 1 – 4). (2) As one who played the harlot with many lovers (Jeremiah 3: 1): There is a great difference between a girl who is coveted by someone and falls; and a married woman who throws herself in the bosom of this and that, with no fulfillment greedy in evil and in seeking pleasure. (3) As one who is not sought by the wicked, but runs in all the roads seeking evil; there is no road where she did not commit sin: “Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see: Where have you not lain with men? By the road you have sat to them like an Arabian in the wilderness; And you have polluted the land with your harlotries and your wickedness” (Jeremiah 3: 2) (4) As one to whose evil, even nature testifies, because of whom: “… showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain”(Jeremiah 3: 3) The early rain during the two months of October and November, helps to sow the seeds; while the late rain during the months of March and April, helps plants to ripen. When man persists on sinning, defying the commandment of God, nature that is created for his sake will defy him, to testify that, because he got corrupted, and diverted from realizing his mission; why should it support and serve him ? ! (5) As one who has a harlot’s forehead (Jeremiah 3: 3): Namely a face of bronze that knows no shame nor shyness. In the old days, a harlot used to put a sign on her forehead, to be recognized by those who seek evil. St. John Chrysostom2 believes that committing sin with no shame, makes out of man a harlot with a harlot’s forehead. And, in another place he says: [The use of this expression applies to all those who shamelessly defy the truth3]. (6) “Will you not from this time cry to Me, ‘My father, You are the guide of my youth? Will He remain angry forever? Will He keep it to the end? Behold You have spoken and done evil things, as you were able” (Jeremiah 3: 4, 5). Some believe that Israel has misused these compassionate fatherly words of admonition, that come from God, to arouse in her a spirit of hope by repentance, despite the corruption she has 1 Banquet of Ten Virgins 6: 1. 2 In Hebr. Hom: 15: 7. 3 In Joan. Hom 74: 1. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 104 reached; and talked like a daughter, yet acted like a violent rebel. She assumed that God , like any human father, would disregard her faults; but she did not comprehend that, being more compassionate, would not change His ordainments before she change her behavior, present repentance, and seek to return to Him. (7) She did not stop at harlotry and marital treason, but she has deceitful lips, says what she does not intend to do (Jeremiah 3: 3-5); hated by men, so how would she be by God?! God does not receive the prayers of deceitful lips, but seeks poured out souls (1 Samuel 1: 15) and poured out heart (Psalm 62: 8). Having presented this portrait, He confirmed to us two things: a- The horror of the sin, being marital treason ! b- Reconciliation is not based on words of apology on our part, but on the rich grace of God that surpasses the Law; to receive us after our betrayal to Him. It is to be noticed that the word “Return” (shuv) came several times in this book. As repentance, in truth, is not just a confession of sin; nor abstention from it; but it is a return to God and a union with Him. 2- A divine plan for her return: God reveals to Judah His plan for her salvation, proclaiming that the kingdom of Israel (10 tribes), has previously got corrupted; And after being warned several times, He allowed for her captivation, in order to repent, and to become a practical example for Judah. But instead of benefiting from what happened to the kingdom of Israel (10 tribes), the kingdom of Judah (two tribes: Judah and Benjamin), although left for a full century after the captivity of Israel, to repent; She, likewise, betrayed Him like her sister, She probably leaned on the wrong presumption that God would never allow for the captivity of His city Jerusalem, and the devastation of His temple in it; but would soon open the door of hope, not only before Judah, but before the two kingdoms together, and even before all nations, being the Savior of the whole world. A cause for chastisement is for the one chastened to become a living example before sinners: “The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: ‘Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done?’ She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. And I said, after she has done all these things, ‘Return to Me’, But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away , and given her a certificate of divorce; Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not returned to me with her whole heart, but in pretense’, says the Lord. Then the Lord said to me, ‘Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah” (Jeremiah 3: 6 – 11) In this text, the following points are to be noticed: a- The scholar Origen says: [The prophet here intends to inform us that the people – as it came in the book of kings – has been divide, after King Solomon, into a kingdom of ten tribes under the reign of Jeroboam, and another, of two tribes, under the reign of Rehoboam (1 kings 12), The kingdom of Jeroboam was called ‘Israel’, and that of Rehoboam was called Judah. This schism continued until the days of the prophet …. Israel, under Jeroboam and his successors, was the first to sin; going so far, compared to https://coptic-treasures.com/ 105 the kingdom of Judah, that God allowed for her captivation by the Assyrians, which extended till the days of the prophet, according to the book. Then afterwards the kingdom of Judah also sinned, and was captivated to Babylon. After all those sins committed by Israel, that Judah knew of, and knew how they led to her captivity; she did not benefit of this lesson; but on the contrary, she so increased her sins; that, if compared to Israel, more righteousness would be found in Israel than in Judah. Judah should have taken a lesson, from the fact that I have divorced Israel, delivered her to the Assyrians, and given her a certificate of divorce. Yet she did not only reject that lesson, but added to her sins more transgressions; to the extent that, the sins of Israel, if compared to those of Judah, would all seem as righteousness1]. The backsliding Israel openly rebelled against the Lord, since the two golden calves of Jeroboam were set; with the goal that the people would not yearn to go to worship at the temple of God in Jerusalem; and since Jeroboam ordained priests who are not from the tribe of Levi (1 Kings 12: 28, 31); and made a feast in Bethel. We do not find among their kings, one who sought the Lord, except for once, when affliction became intense and unbearable, because of the oppression of the Aramites (2 kings 13: 4, 5); It so happened that the Lord saved them; “Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam who had made Israel sin, but walked in them; and the wooden image also remained in Samaria”. Before this open and continuous stubbornness, along the generations, God delivered them to the Assyrian captivity; so they left their land , like a divorced wife leaving her marital home. As to the sin of the betrayer Judah; although she had, on the contrary, some few good kings, Judah became preoccupied with apparent worship, together with a hidden treason: the hearts were directed to the abominations of the Gentiles. While Israel was known for open backsliding, and for opposing the worship of God; Judah, on the other hand, was known for deceit. And as the scholar Origen says on the Lord’s tongue: [Judah did not fear Me after all what I did to Israel; and did not return to Me with her whole heart; On the contrary, she returned to me with deceit2]. b- The scholar Origen believes that what happened in the old days to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah: that the first rebelled, and the second played the harlot; represents a symbol of what the Jews did in the days of the Lord Christ; when they rejected the Savior and rebelled against Him. It also represents a symbol of what is done by some of the men of the New Testament; as certain Christians adhere to the nomination, rather than to the actual spiritual life; It is as though what came here is a reproach to them. [The call to the Gentiles started by the fall of Israel. After preaching to the congregation of the Jews, the apostles said to them: “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; But since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13: 46). And the apostle Paul, being also aware of this says: “Through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles” (Romans 11: 11). 1 In Jer. Hom. 4: 1. 2 In Jer. Hom. 4. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 106 Therefore, the many transgressions of those people, have led to their rejection; as well as to our entry into the ‘hope of salvation’; we who were “strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope” (see Ephesians 2: 12). How did this happen ? How, being born in just any place in the world, and a stranger to the land of promise, I stand today to talk about the promises of God, and to believe in the God of the forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? And even more than that, to receive in me, the Lord Jesus Christ, prophesied by the prophets? Let us notice here, that the people of Israel are the one of whom it is written: “I put her away, and gave her a certificate of divorce”. God divorced Israel, and gave her a certificate of divorce. This happens with a wife who becomes hated by her husband, as is written in the statutes of Moses; and the husband who divorces his wife for bad behavior, has the right to marry another. In the same way, the people of Israel, having got their certificate of divorce, were completely neglected by God. Where are their prophets? Where are their miracles? Where are God’s appearances to them? Where are the worship, the temple, and the sacrifices? They were expelled from their position. Therefore, God gave Israel a certificate of divorce; Then we, the (kingdom) of Judah - the Savior having come from the tribe of Judah - Although we returned to the Lord; yet it seems that, in our last days, we shall come to liken Judah in her last days; if not worse than that. It looks as though, this is actually the end of the world! This seems obvious in the words of the Lord Christ in the Gospel: “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold; But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24: 12, 13); and also: “For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders so as to deceive if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24: 24). This is our present days, meant by the Savior for His second coming; as, if we search in several churches, we shall not find one single true believer. “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18: 8). Truly, if we judge the situation according to the truth, and not according to the numbers; and if we look into the inner depths, instead of looking into the number of people gathering together in the church; we shall realize that we are not true believers any more! In the flourishing time of the martyrs, there were indeed true believers. Returning from accompanying the processions of bodies of martyrs to their tombs, all the congregation fearlessly gathered together in the church; and the new Catechumens were taught the bases of Christianity, while they see around them the bodies of the martyrs. Several believers used then to proclaim their faith even to death without fear; and we know many who saw amazing and exalted things. There were then few believers; Yet they were true believers; who followed the difficult and narrow path that leads to life. Now, we became more in number; Yet it is not possible to find as many elect; as the Lord Jesus Christ truly says: “Many are called, but few are elected”. Among those who take religion as a profession, few are worthy of the blessing of God’s election. When God says: that He divorced Israel because of her sins, and sent her away; and that Judah did not return to Him despite her knowledge of what happened to Israel; He is also talking about our sins. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 107 When we read about the calamities that have befallen the people of Israel, we should tremble, and say: “If God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare(us) either” (Romans 11: 21). If those who used to boast, that they are branches of the true olive tree (Romans 11: 24); who are connected to the roots of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have been mercilessly cut by God, despite His goodness and love of mankind; How could it be for us ? “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God” (Romans 11: 22). He is not just goodness without severity; neither severity without goodness. If He is good but not severe, His goodness would be despised; and if He is severe but without goodness, we would fall into despair concerning our sins. But actually, God is good and severe at the same time. As far as we are concerned as humans, we have to choose: either His goodness, if we return to Him, or His severity, if we remain in our sins. God speaks to us through His prophet saying: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? (Israel here means the Jewish people) She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree” (Jeremiah 3: 6). When you see that Pharisee who haughtily went up to the temple; and without beating his breast or thinking of his sin; he said: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men – extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector; I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I Possess” (see Luke 18: 11 – 12); you will understand that he has “gone up on every high mountain” with his feelings worthy of reproach, with his love of boasting, and with his haughtiness and pride. He “came under every tree”; yet not fruitful trees, but those who produce only wood, that come from barren seeds, and symbolize the arguments of heretics, with the deceiving glitter, not good enough to convince the listeners, that if we go after, we would be going under wood-producing trees. “And there played the harlot. And I said after she has done all these things, ‘Return to me’, But she did not return; and her treacherous sister Judah saw it” (Jeremiah 3: 6, 7). This admonition is also directed to us; we who transgress and do not keep our promises to God; we who see what happened to those who did the same, although they were of the seeds of Abraham, and have got the promise. We should abide to this notion: If those have been cut, of the divine blessings and promises, and have been denied the benefit of being of the seeds of Abraham, ; How would it be for us, if we transgress? God would forsake us. The Savior says to the Jews: ”If you are the children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham”; And St. John say to them: “And do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’, For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones” (Matthew 3: 9). By ‘these stones’ he means us; with our stony hearts and our hardness toward the truth. Truly, God raised up from the stones, children to Abraham. If a new servant came to serve a master, he would enquire, who among the previous servants was good in his master’s eyes? And why ?; and who was worthless in his eyes ? and why ? He would then try, in order to continue serving his master, to avoid the behavior that led to the punishment and expulsion of the wicked servants; and to follow the lead of those who were commended and blessed by the master. We also, who have been servants, not to God but to the idols and devils; We, who have been pagans and returned to God, yesterday or the day before; let us read the Holy Book, and see who in it was justified, and who was condemned; in order to follow the https://coptic-treasures.com/ 108 lead of the first, and to avoid falling into the faults of those who were delivered to captivity, and those cast away from God. The true repentance is to read the old books (the Old Testament), to know who were the righteous and follow their lead, and who were the sinners and avoid falling in their faults. Let us also read the New Testament and the words of the apostles. And after reading, we should write down all what we read in our hearts, and apply them in our life, so as not to get a certificate of divorce, but to gain the eternal inheritance. When the Gentiles are saved, then Israel (by accepting the faith) can be saved; because “hardening in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11: 25, 26), for all to be one flock for one Shepherd1]. c- “She defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees” (Jeremiah 3: 9) When “God created man in His image, and according to His likeness, He saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1: 26, 31). Man, as a king set over earthly creation, as though with authority in a royal palace, was pure in the eyes of God. But as his heart got corrupted, and thus all his nature got destroyed, even the earth that was created for his sake, was defiled. For the sake of man, stones and trees were created … Yet, as he made, out of the stones, images to worship, and out of the trees, temples and altars for the idols, he was counted as though he is committing adultery with the stones and the trees, that were corrupted because of him. God did not create nature for us to unite with, and to worship, but to use it to partake of our praise for God. Do you love nature; then use it, and do not let it use you. Submit it, and do not let it submit you. If you use nature, it will bless the Lord together with you; And if it uses you, it would be corrupted; and would become defiled together with you in the eyes of God. d- It is obvious that the book of Jeremiah as a whole, is a call to repentance and to return to God. We see him here repeat this word “Return” (Jeremiah 3: 7). And as St. John Chrysostom says, God does not grieve for our sins, as much as He grieves for our abstention to forsake them by resorting to Him. He is a Father who waits for His children; and a heavenly Groom who seeks His bride. [The evil we commit does not offend God, as much as our abstention to change. As he, who transgresses falls into human weakness; while he who persists on falling to the same sin, cancels his humanity to become a devil. See how God condemns, on the tongue of His prophet, the second deed more than the first2]. [I wish any man who lives in evil, would never despair! And any man, who lives in virtue, would never relax! I wish he who come last, would never trust in himself; lest the adulterers would go ahead of him! And he who comes first, would never despair; as he is capable of getting ahead of the later! If we return to the zealous love of God; we shall not recall the previous things. God is not like man; when we repent, he does not blame us for the past; and will never say: ‘Why were you so late in coming to me?’ 1 Ibid 4: 2-6. 2 Ep. To Theodoer 1: 15. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 109 I wish we approach Him as is fitting. I wish we attach ourselves to Him zealously. I wish we nail our hearts in His fear1] [He came as a Physician and not as a judge2]. e- “She did not return to Me with her whole heart” (Jeremiah 3: 10). There are many who assume that they can return to the Lord, not by repentance and confession, but by justifying their transgressions. That is why St Jerome comments on the last verse, saying: [I wish we do not lose, through false peace, what we gained by strife (spiritual war) 3]. 3- The way to repentance: The Lord often repeats on the tongue of the prophet Jeremiah, the two words: “Return … …Acknowledge” (Jeremiah 3: 12, 13). “’Return to Me’, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 3: 1). “And I said after she had done all these things, ‘Return to me’, But she did not return” (Jeremiah 3: 7) “Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say: ‘Return backsliding Israel’, says the Lord, ‘And I will not cause My anger to fall on you; for I am merciful’, says the Lord; ‘And I will not remain angry forever; your iniquity; that you transgressed against the Lord your God, and have scattered your charms to alien deities under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice’, says the Lord. Return, O backsliding children” (Jeremiah 3: 12 – 14). “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding” (Jeremiah 3: 22). The last divine phrases summarize the concept of repentance in the following stages: a- Repentance is the acceptance of God’s invitation to the soul to return to her beloved. .God, in His love for the soul keeps on calling “Return to Me”. In the darkest moments of sin, and in the midst of the hardness of our hearts, God stands anticipating a hidden scream of the heart; a look of the eye toward Him; or an inner moan, in order to carry us on the eternal arms. He yearns to our return, and glory, more than we yearn to our own salvation. But, also in His love, He does not wish to force the soul against her will; He sanctifies her freedom to chose, and respects our humanity. b- Discovering the Person of God: “’For I am merciful’, says the Lord, ‘And I will not Remain angry forever’”. The world often distorts the image of God, portraying Him as a cruel Judge, who is not compassionate toward our weakness … who dwells high up in His heavens, not feeling us down on our earth. Yet, He is merciful; helps the tempted, and supports those who seek returning to Him! God confirms His love; He could be betrayed by His bride; yet He remains the Lord, merciful to her. He may become angry and chastens her; yet this is not His last word; as He says: “I will not remain angry forever”. c- Acknowledging the truth of our weakness: “Only acknowledge your iniquity”. The soul has to judge herself, and acknowledge her iniquity, to find her compassionate 1 In Matt. Hom 67: 4. 2 Ibid 3: 5. 3 Against Pelagians: Prologue. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 110 Savior justifying her. There is no way to salvation for man without acknowledging his sins; for, how can the sick responds to the counsel of his physician, unless he feels his illness ! Our Christ is the Savior of sinners; If we acknowledge our iniquities, we would feel our need for Him! We are in need of quiet sessions with God, for His Holy Spirit to reveal to our souls, her weaknesses, without letting her lose her hope. St John Cassian says: [The more man’s mind progresses and proceeds toward clarity and purity in meditation, the more he will discover his uncleanness and impurity! When he beholds himself in the mirror of the true purity! For, the more the soul rises to a higher level of meditation, and proceeds forward, the more she yearns for something higher than she has already achieved; Then she would realize the lowliness and nothingness of the things she is currently doing; for the keen look reveals many hidden things. Life without blame creates deep grief on the iniquities committed1]. d- To realize that every transgression is actually directed against God: “You have transgressed against the Lord your God”(Jeremiah 3: 13) And as the prophet David says: “Against You, You only, I have sinned” (Psalm 51: 4); even if the sin is only in thought, and did not harm anyone. Every sin is a breaking of God’s commandment, who wants us to take His image, and to become according to His likeness: “’And you have not obeyed My voice’, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 3: 13). e- To realize our situation as children; as it is painful for anyone to be insulted by his own son: “Return, O backsliding children” (Jeremiah 3: 14). f- To have confidence in the Savior, as a Father, capable of healing our wounds, and of rooting up the nature of backsliding from us. “Return, O backsliding children and I will heal your backsliding”(Jeremiah 3: 22) Who are these children, called to return to God? The scholar Origen believes, that believers became children of God; Yet sometimes, after enjoying sonhood, through Baptism, they rebel against God their Father; However, He keeps on calling them to return to Him … The door of repentance is open before all. Closing the door of repentance before anyone, is a heresy opposed by the Church; and was dealt with by several fathers, like St Cyprian, who wrote two articles on repentance, clarifying that the Church , like her Groom, should absolve without closing the door before anyone2. St. Jerome used certain phrases of the book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 3: 29; 8: 4) in his letter to Marsela, to clarify how the Church opens its doors for repentance every day; while the followers of ‘Mani’ close them before some, because of transgressions they have committed3. The scholar Origen comments on the divine words: “Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backsliding” (Jeremiah 3: 22); saying: [At the beginning of our readings today, the Lord says to the children of Israel: “’You shall call Me, ‘M Father’, and not turn away from Me. Surely,as a wife . 1 للمؤلف: الحب الرعوي، 1965 ، ص 308 2 ا رجع: القدیس كبریانوس: التوبة، ترجمة القمص تادرس یعقوب ملطي. 3 Ep. 41: 3. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 111 treacherously departs from her husband, So have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel’, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 3: 19, 20). After saying these words concerning Israel, the Holy Spirit addresses us, the Gentiles, and says: “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding” (Jeremiah 3: 22).We are the ones meant by those full of backsliding (wounds). Every one of us can say: ‘We were also …; We also were non-believers, foolish, lost, slaves to lusts and various iniquities; living in evil, and hating one another; But, when the goodness of our Savior God, and His love for mankind, appeared, He poured His mercy on us, through the grace of the new birth’. Let me explain these words more clearly: He did not say “We, who were before foolish …”, but the apostle Paul, the son of Israel, who has been, concerning the Law, blameless, says: “We, who were before (also) foolish”; namely, ‘We also, ‘the children of Israel’, were non-believers, and foolish. It was not only the Gentiles who were foolish, or who were non-believers, or sinners, but we also, who received the Law, were like that, before the coming of the Lord Christ. After those words, addressed to Israel; it was said to us, the Gentiles: “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding”. Yet some may say: these words were addressed to Israel, and now you are applying them to the Gentiles. To this I clarify, that when God intends to addresses Israel, with words concerning repentance and returning, He always adds the word ‘Israel’; as He does when He says: “’If you will return, O Israel’, says the Lord, ‘Return to Me. And if you put away your detestable idols out of My sight, and no longer go astray; And if in a truthful, just, and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’, then the nations will be blessed by Him and in Him they will glory” (Jeremiah 4: 1, 2) Therefore the first part was addressed to Israel; as “The hardening in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so Israel will be saved” (Romans 11: 25, 26). Look how God calls us to return; So, if we return, let us return completely; as He promises us, if we return to Him in repentance, He would heal our wounds (backsliding) by Christ Jesus. Then we, without delay, will answer like Israel did, and say: “Indeed we do come to You, For You are the Lord our God”(Jeremiah 3: 22) The Lord says: “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding”. And the children of the Gentiles answer” ‘We shall be servants to you; we who were before servants to the devil and his hosts’. Now after You called us to repentance, we respond: “Indeed we do come to You”; We were waiting for only one thing: ‘Your call’. On the contrary to those whom You called, and they gave excuses, We, once we are called, will unconditionally respond. In the parable of the gospel; we see those invited said: “I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it, I ask you to have me excused. And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them, I ask you to have me excused. Still another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come” (Luke 14: 18 – 20). This is not our way, the children of the Gentiles: to be called, then ask to be excused ! Then, why should we? What ground or wife would preoccupy us ? What indeed will ever preoccupy us ? Therefore, as God says to us: “Return, O backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding”; We shall look at our wounds, and to the promise of healing, and https://coptic-treasures.com/ 112 responds promptly, saying: “Indeed we do come to You, For You are the Lord our God”. Yet, let us remember that, by these words, we are setting a covenant with God, not belong to any one else; We shall not belong to the thoughts of anger, nor to those of depression, nor to those of lusts; and we shall never be a possession of the devil or his hosts. On the contrary, ‘We were called, and we responded: “Indeed we do come to You”. Let us prove by our deeds, that we are the possession of Him alone, and add: “For You are the Lord our God”. We do not know any other God. The belly is no god to us, like those about whom is said: “Their gods are their bellies”; nor silver or greed. We should set for ourselves no other god; not like other people; We have a God who is “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4: 6). And as our only preoccupation is the love of God, we would say: “Indeed we do come to you, For you are the Lord our God”1]. 4- Blessings of the return to God: Calling us, He reveals the blessings of returning to Him, together with the danger of keeping away from Him. We can summarize these blessings in the following: a- He will include us in His Church (the new Zion). “For I am married to you, I will take you, one from a city, and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion” (Jeremiah 3: 14) Although the call is publicly addressed to all the people, Yet it is also a persona call. Amid His wish to acquire all the people, He also receives one out of a whole city, or two out of a whole family; He does not despise a single soul returning to Him, even if He is rejected by the whole city. At the time when the whole world has been heathens, except for Abraham and Sarah his wife; He called them, to set out of their descendents a holy nation and a pure Church. God seeks your return to Him, to bring you to Zion, His church which He has redeemed by His blood; to set you a member in His holy body; and to qualify you for the eternal inheritance. If the whole world becomes corrupted; He still waits for you by your name, to bring you into His glory. So do not say with Elijah: “They have forsaken Your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life” (1 Kings 19: 14); As “God has reserved for Himself seven thousand, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” (1 Kings 19: 18). Even if you are alone, For your sake. Christ died to save you. b- He sends workers holy to Him; with spiritual knowledge: “And I will give you shepherds according to My heart who will feed you with knowledge and understanding”(Jeremiah 3: 15) When the people return to God, He will be zealous for His Church; and give her shepherds according to His heart; who have spiritual knowledge and true understanding, to shepherd the people by the Spirit of God to the heavenly life. Do not ever judge the ministers; Your repentance moves heaven itself; and God will send holy workers to minister to humanity ! Instead of judging others, let us judge 1 1 In Jer. Hom. 5: 12. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 113 ourselves; and count the hardness of the ministers’ hearts, as a sign of God’s displeasure with us, allowing for our chastisement through them. Of the most important attributes of a pure minister, who has the Spirit of his Master, is his enjoyment of knowledge and understanding ! To present the pasture of knowledge to the people, and to minister to them without any spirit of haughtiness, in ignorance and foolishness. The fathers of Alexandria count ‘knowledge’ as the greatest gift that the Lord Christ gives to His bride, as he raises her by His Holy Spirit to His secret place; where He reveals to her the secrets of the Word, and brings her into the secret of His knowledge. c- The increasing fruition: “’Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days’, says the Lord …”(Jeremiah 3: 16) There are many who consider returning to God, as a waste of time and energies; prayers, as a vain effort; fasting as deprivation; and praises and collective worship as loss …….; These are disregarding and forgetting in their life, the factor of ‘blessing’. Our returning to God means bringing blessing to our time, our words, and our actions, even the temporal ones; to have every thing in our hands blessed and abundant fruition. Because of Joseph, God blessed the house of Potiphar; and because of Abraham, God blessed a people along the generations, even after his death! By the shadow of the apostle Peter, many were rescued from the evil spirits; and by the handkerchiefs and aprons of the apostle Paul, many were healed By your return, you will be blessed, will become a blessing to those around you; and will be fruitful even after your departure! d- He Himself will return to us: “They will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord’, It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore” (Jeremiah 3: 16) In other words, encountering with God, will be no more through symbols like the Ark of the Covenant, but will be a true encounter … God will dwell among His people; and the believer will recognize God’s presence in his depths1. The Ark of the Covenant, with what it included: the two tablets of the Law and the pot of manna, referred to the divine presence among His people; especially during the period of wandering in the wilderness, and the beginning of settling in the Promised Land. But now, that the Word of God Himself came, the bread coming down from heaven, there is no more need for confirming the divine presence … He dwells among His people, and in their hearts. e- The return of the Gentiles to Him: There is no more need for the ark of the covenant to confirm the divine presence; as Jerusalem – the city of the great King – became an attraction to all nations. People from every nation and tongue will come to behold the exalted Jerusalem our mother; to live in it, and to carry its features, saying with the apostle Paul: “He made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2: 6). 1 جاء في 2 مكابین 48 :2 أن إرمیا النبي خبأ تابوت العهد والمذبح في كهف لدى تدمیر المدینة والهیكل. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 114 Seeking the return of His old people to Him, He proclaims to His prophet the return of the Gentiles, and their acceptance of faith in Him. “At that time, Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; They shall walk no more after the stubbornness of their evil hearts” (Jeremiah 3: 17) With your repentance, you will attract many to the Lord, and will bring them over to His heavens. Our weakness and our wickedness are obstacles in the way of the salvation of many; as the name of God is blasphemed because of us; while our return to God, heartily and practically, would attract many to Him. Here, we notice that God is lifting the eyes beyond the return from captivity, as a divine blessing, to what is greater, namely, to the return of the nations from the captivity of sin and disbelief, to the Church of Christ, the new Promised Land. f- Healing from the nature of corruption working in us: “Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backsliding” (Jeremiah 3: 22). And the repentant Psalmist says: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast Spirit within me” (Psalm 51: 10). He who returns to God, feels daily, the continuous work of the Holy Spirit to renew him, to become according to the likeness of God ! Finally, after talking about the blessings of the return to God, He refers to the danger of backsliding and stubbornness in holding fast to wickedness; or to the betrayal of man or of the congregation to God. A- “A voice was heard on the desolate heights; Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel; for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the Lord their God” (Jeremiah 3: 21) On the same location, where they used to do their abominations; namely, on the desolate heights, the voice of their weeping is heard; as they are taken in humiliation to captivity. Sin cannot give man a true joy; but sedates him for some time, until he finds out that he has lost his inner peace, his joy, and his life itself. This is the fruit of entering into perverted ways, and of forgetting the Lord our God. b- Entering into vanity, and not into the truth: “Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains; Truly, in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel”(Jeremiah 3: 23) Here, he compares between worshipping the idols on the hills and mountains, thought by the wicked as wealth and riches to the soul, where they find the wide road and the easy life; and the salvation of the Lord our God. Idol worship offers an easy, yet a vain road; while in that narrow road of the Lord, there is the true salvation. The literal translation of the word ‘hills’ here, is (looselyness); It presents all what is vanity; while the Lord presents to us the truth. The scholar Origen1 believes that the nations used to worship two kinds of gods: They worshiped persons who became gods; these were referred to as hills; and they worshiped gods that they see as such by nature; these are referred to as mountains. 1 See In Jer. Hom 5: 3. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 115 [Those who worship these gods do not realize that they are false gods; but assume that their inspiration is true, and that they offer true healing. They do not realize the difference between the work of Satan, with all his power, signs, and lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2: 9), and the power and wonders of the ‘Truth’. What Lord Jesus Christ used to do, were wonders of the ‘Truth’. What Moses used to do, (in the name of God), were also powers of the ‘Truth’ Whereas what the Egyptians used to do, were false signs and wonders; like what the sorcery Simon used to do, to impress the people of Samaria, who said, ‘This man is the great power of God” (Acts 8: 10); although they were all, false signs and wonders]. That is the danger of sin; It makes man lose his ability to distinguish between what is vain and false , and what is true ! it makes him lose the inner spirit of discernment. c- Entrance into shame and reproach: “For shame has devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth – Their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. We lie down in our shame, and our reproach covers us (like a veil); For we have sinned against the Lord our God, We and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God” (Jeremiah 3: 24, 25) The work of sin does not stop at the loss of the inner peace, and the destruction of the spirit of discernment, to make man confused between what is true and what is vain, make him think that life is eternal, and heaven is imaginary; but it brings him into reproach (bosheth), that destroys all his labor since his youth. The wise Solomon says: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach of him who has understanding” (Proverb 14: 34). When the people entered the land of Canaan and presented a holy worship, the place was called “Gilgal”; meaning (rolling away), as the Lord rolled away the reproach from them (Joshua 5: 6); the reproach of bondage, the symbol of sin. Saul called his son, ‘Ishbosheth’ (s Samuel 2: 8); meaning, (man of reproach) … That is the fruit of sin! The danger of sin lies in its deceit. While pushing man to shame and reproach, some are proud of it, and think it as though it is glory for them. …; instead of standing in shame and reproach before God, and instead of admitting what they ended up to, before themselves, because of their sins; Namely, by repentance and confession, we strike the shame and reproach of sin, by our feeling of shame and reproach ! The scholar Origen says: “For shame has devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth …” (Jeremiah 3: 24) There should be ‘shame’, to devour the vain labor and the false works of our fathers; for without ‘shame’, those works would never be consumed (come to an end). There are sinners who feel no shame of their sins; those have lost all feelings, and are delivered to all abominations. You actually see how the Gentile peoples, sometimes boast a long list of their abominations and adulteries, as though they are heroic works. They feel no shame for them, and they do not even call them ‘sins’. As long as they are that way, their sins will never be consumed (wiped away). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 116 Feeling shame for what did not cause us shame before, is the beginning of goodness1]. What are these ‘flocks and herds” that are devoured by shame? The scholar Origen says: [The irrational behavior, practiced by our fathers, are called “flocks and herds” [The irrational behaviors by the fathers are called, “flocks and herds”. The irrational creatures (the animals), are not always commendable, but blamed, like the “flocks and herds” of the fathers who sinned; while others are blessed; of which the Lord Christ says: “My sheep hear My voice”. When the Savior says, “I am the good Shepherd”, we should not understand it in a general sense like all others, counting Him as the Shepherd of the believers alone, and not of the sinners. As a sinner, I should receive the Lord Christ in my soul; receive the good Shepherd in me; the good Shepherd, who, by His staff, can control my irrational behavior, not allowing them to show however and whenever they chose; But, under the guidance of the good Shepherd, they would become sound behavior. “You are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2: 19). Thus, if the Shepherd is inside me, He would guide my senses, and would keep them from submitting to any foreign thought; from submitting to Pharaoh or to Nebuchadnezar, but only to the good Shepherd2]. Therefore, as long as there is, in my inner life and my behavior, lost herds and flocks; By true repentance and straight forward confession, I shall feel reproach; the corrupt animals inside me will be consumed; and the good Shepherd will set in me, holy herds under His personal care. The children of Israel used to have “flocks and herds”; as they used to lean, sometimes on the Pharaoh of Egypt, and sometimes on the king of Babylon … Let us seek the true Shepherd of our souls, and take refuge in Him; He is alone capable of caring for us and protecting us against all the deadly temptations of the devil. What is meant by the sons and daughters who are devoured by shame ? The scholar Origen3 often interprets the ‘sons’, as the fruits of the soul and its thoughts; and the ‘daughters’ as the works of the body and its thoughts … Thus, by the shame of repentance, the corrupt thoughts of the soul, and the evil works of the body, are consumed; and the Lord Savior, by His Holy Spirit, will set for us holy fruition for both the soul and the body. What does He mean by saying “We lie down in our shame, and our reproach covers us (as though by a veil)” (Jeremiah 3: 25)? The scholar Origen says: [We are used to talk of the veil put over the faces and hearts of those who do not return to the Lord. Because of this veil, the sinners do not understand, when Moses is read (2 Corinthians 3: 15); Hence we call that shame ‘a veil’. As long as we have works of shame, we surely have the veil; as is said in the psalm: “The shame of my face has covered me” (Psalm 44: 15). While those who do not practice shameful works, will not have that veil. That is what the apostle Paul says: “But 1 In Jer. Hom 5: 5. 2 Ibid 5: 6. 3 Ibid 5: 7. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 117 we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3: 18). If we wish to remove the veil resulting from shame, let us do glorious works; putting in our minds these words of the Savior: “So that all will glorify the Son as they glorify the Father”, and the words of the apostle Paul: “By breaking the Law, we insult God”. We alone, can remove the veil, and not anybody else. When Moses used to approach God, he removed the veil. God did not command Moses to cover his face with a veil; but when Moses saw how the people were unable to look at his glory, he put a veil over his face; And he did not also wait for God to tell him every time he talk to him: ‘Remove the veil’. Therefore, this was written, that you in your turn, should remove the veil of your shameful works, that you put over your face; whenever you put your eyes on the Lord; Then, you would say no more, “My reproach covers me (as though with a veil)”.. For example, when wrath settle in our souls, it will be like a veil covering our face. And when we say in our prayer: “Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us” (Psalm 4: 6), we remove the veil, according to words of the apostle Paul: “I desire that the men pray everywhere, lift up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” (1 Timothy 2: 8). If we remove wrath, it would be as though we remove the veil; and so it would be for all sins. As long as the sins are in our minds, the veil would be over our inner faces, in a way that would hide from us the light of God’s glory. God does not hide His glory from us; But we, by putting the veil of sin over our souls, deprive ourselves of beholding His glory1]. Therefore, by repentance and confession, we would feel reproach, and would cast away from inside us the irrational animal life; our flocks and herds would be devoured; and our Shepherd would dwell in the heart, to shepherd new spiritual flocks, and to set His kingdom in us. By the true repentance, the Holy Spirit of God sanctifies our “sons and daughters”; namely, the works of both the soul and the body; so that we would have the holy thoughts and the feelings flaring with His love, and the behavior fitting as children of God. By true repentance, the Spirit of God would lift up from our hearts the veil of shame and reproach, to be able to behold the glory of God, and to comprehend His exalted heavenly secrets. This is the way of repentance, with which we cry out saying: “For we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God” (Jeremiah 3: 25). The scholar Origen comments on this phrase, saying: [Can we likewise say as those did: “We have sinned”; this is different from saying, “We have sinned and are still sinning”. Who is still in his sin, does not say, “We have sinned”; that is only said by those who, after they sin, truly repent. In the Holy Book, there are several examples of people who, although they sin no more, yet they still say, “We have sinned; We have not kept Your Law”; as it came in the 1 Ibid 5:8,9. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 118 book of Daniel; and as said by the prophet David: “Remember not, O Lord, the sins of my youth, and my ignorance”. Let us then confess our sins: not only those of yesterday and the day before, but also those we committed fifteen years ago, even if we have committed no more sins since then. If we go to confess only the sins of yesterday, we would be untrue in our repentance; for “We have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day”. Wounds need time to get completely healed; So is the pure and complete return to God, it, likewise, need some time1]. We end our talk here about repentance and confession by the following sayings of the fathers: The start of the way of repentance, is to condemn our sins2. Whoever repents after sinning, is worthy of congratulation, and not grief; as he crosses over to the place of the righteous3. (St. John Chrysostom) Let the sinner be aware of the danger of his wound; and let him not despair of the greatness of the Physician. Sin with despair is a sure death4. (St. Augustine) 1 Ibid 10. 2 Resisting the temptation of the Deirl, hom, 2: 6. 3 In 1 Cor., hom 11. 4 In Ps. 50 (51). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 119 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH (Chapter 3) RETURN, O BRIDE, TO THE HOLY Return … Return, O bride, to the Holy. He opens His bosom to have you back. He will not admonish you, O betrayer; but will grant you back the joy of your wedding. Who, among men, would have his betrayer wife back after divorce? You have betrayed Him; … as you set foreign gods inside yourself. In your depths, you came to have several partners in harlotry. You sat, as though by the road, and was not ashamed of your harlotry O my soul, You loved the world more than Him! You preoccupied yourself with many things and disregarded Him! The amazing beloved became the last of all in your eyes! Behold, even the dumb nature testifies against you! Behold, Your Groom is waiting for you, O my soul. If he is angry, It is for the sake of your return and salvation! He brought you into the heavenly Zion, His eternal secret place! He grants you every spiritual fruit; and offers you divine knowledge! He makes you a blessing for many! And gives Himself an inheritance to you ! He heals and renews your nature! What more do you seek, you whom pride and backsliding have destroyed ? O my soul, Remember what the sin has done to you. It gave you pleasure for a limited time, then let you cry bitterly and incessantly ! It gave you temporal things; Yet you yourself became vain ! It gave you shame as a veil over your face, that kept you from beholding the glory of your Groom!
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