THE SECRET WHY GOD BRINGS CHARGES AGAINST JERUSALEM God as a Philanthropist intended at the beginning of his admonition, to let Jeremiah speak in the hearing of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 1); as though He does not want to disgrace her, nor to punish her, but would rather reform her through a secret dialogue as far as possible. By saying, “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 2: 2); He may have intended to let him approach her with the daring of friendship and love; which does not mean to cover up her sin, but to expose to her the cause of her corruption. God is the jealous Bridegroom, who still seeks His bride who deserted Him; gently trying to draw her back to Him; yet He would not have her if she persists on her sins. Some scholars believe that God in this chapter is bringing charges of marital infidelity against His beloved bride; not to seek her conviction, but to expose her weakness to get her back to Him. It is said, that the word of God comforts the weary, and troubles the comfortable1; It presents comfort to the souls that confess its sins; and troubles those who justify themselves ... Here, the word presents trouble to a people who found comfort in sin and who justified themselves. In this chapter He speaks of the following: 1- God remembers Jerusalem’s previous virtues 1 - 2 2- What she is to Him 3 3- He has not forsaken her 4 - 8 4- She has not even followed the example of the Gentiles 9 - 11 5- The secret of her weakness 12 - 28 6- The fruits of her sins 29 – 37 1- God remembers Jerusalem’s previous virtues: “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, I remember you; the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, when you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown” (Jeremiah 2: 2) The Lord started His admonition with a word of encouragement, proclaiming to Jerusalem that He would never forget the day He betrothed her when she was still in her youth in Egypt; how she accepted Him as her Bridegroom; and followed Him in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. He proclaims that He is indebted to her for that love; although He has been the One to hear her crying out of bondage, cared for her, presented Himself a cloud to protect her during the heat of the day, and a pillar of light to lead her by night; He sent to her the heavenly Menna, to let her in need of no other food, and provided her with a rock of water which followed her wherever she went; He has been for her the Guardian, the Physician, and the Architect ... to fulfill all her needs. God remembers all the sweet moments, when she listened to the voice of the prophet Moses, and trusted the divine promises; how she was like a bride in her 1 John Guest: The Communicator's Commnentary, Jeremiah, p. 35. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 71 ‘honeymoon’ with her Bridegroom; and did not remember how she was hard-hearted and quick to murmur! How amazing God is in His love; He never forgets a cup of cool water, that man offers in His name; As for his sins, he wishes to forget. He loves man; yet He confronts him with all his weaknesses, without hurting his feelings, and without disregarding his good points, present or past. He is a God who projects the virtues of man, and concentrates on them, to support him and to let him not despair. This is the spirit that was followed by the apostle Paul, who in his epistles, starts by encouraging, and projecting the virtues of those he is writing to, before mentioning their problems and exposing their weaknesses ... Indeed, a word of encouragement would support a feeble soul ! I say, In the midst of your weaknesses and falls; lovingly, the Lord says to you: “I remember the kindness of your youth; the love of your betrothal” ... He never forgets the work of love, even after long years! 2- What she is to Him: “‘Israel was holiness to the Lord, the firstfruits of His harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them’, declares the Lord’ (Jeremiah 2: 3) If the Lord , in this book, speaks to Israel very frankly, enters with him in a bitter admonition, and proclaims His chastisement firmly; yet all that was not for the sake of revenge or disgrace, but on account of the fact that He is “holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of His harvest”. What doe these mean? The High priest used to enter into the Most Holy Place once a year, after offering sacrifices for his own sins and those of the people; Then he puts a plate of pure gold on his forehead, with the words “Holiness to the Lord” engraved on it (Exodus 28: 36 -38), as a symbol of the Lord Christ, the First fruit and the subject of the Father’s pleasure; who enters into it on behalf of all humanity; or in other words, carrying humanity in Himself as His holy body; to become holy in Him and accepted by His Father. In what the High Priest used to do in the old days, he was representing the Lord Messiah who says: “For their sake I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” (John 17: 19). If Israel was “Holiness to the Lord” ; He was counted like a High Priest compared to other people and nations; Only to them was given the right to enjoy His Holies. That is why He request from them sanctification, not as a law to which they are bound, and not as a commitment under which they are burdened, but as a privilege, to which it is fitting to hold fast. According to the law, it is also a commitment to present the firstfruits to the Lord, so that all the harvest would be sanctified. So that was, how the Lord used to see His people: as the firstfruits of all peoples; as the portion of the Lord; on account of whom, the whole world is blessed ... That is why He bitterly admonishes them; … they are His! Being “Holiness to the Lord, and firstfruits of His harvest” , Israel was His possession, the firstfruits of the whole world, holy to Him alone; Whoever devour him is devouring the portion of the Lord, and would be found guilty toward the holies of God; That is why He says “disaster will overtake them”. Even if God delivers Israel to the Chaldeans for chastisement; In case those treat them fiercely, they are counted as doing wrong to the portion of God Himself! https://coptic-treasures.com/ 72 How amazing it is !; While God allows for our chastisement or affliction; He still see us as His Holiness and the firstfruits of His harvest; Whoever dares to stretch his hand toward us, is doing wrong to the portion of the Lord Himself. That is why the Lord confirms: “When they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak” (Matthew 10: 19) God probably intended to admonish them gently, for sometimes they joined forces with Pharaoh against the Chaldeans, or the other way round; So it is as though he was saying to them: ‘You do not belong to Yourself; you belong to Me; you are My holiness and My firstfruits; So why do you lean on somebody else?!, and deliver yourself as free fruits to pagan nations. Anyhow, God used to remind His people, every now and then, of what they are to Him; to keep them from doubting His fatherly care, His love and watchfulness; like His saying: “Is Israel a servant? Is he a home-born slave (Jeremiah 2: 14) He is not a slave; “He is my Son; My firstborn” (Exodus 4: 22); for whom God wants true freedom from the captivity of sin. Yet Israel considered the commitments of son hood as a yoke, out of which he wants to be set free; So God admonishes him, saying: “Long ago you broke off yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, I will not serve you’ “(Jeremiah 2: 20) Although Israel misunderstood his position as a son to God; yet God remains on His faithfulness toward His son; He wants him to be a mature and blessed son who bears the image of his Father; So He keeps on straightening his path and mending his twists. If he is not his son, he would not bother to chasten him; But for the sake of son hood, he brings him into the pains of chastisement, to make him worthy of his inheritance. Once more God reminds His people that they are His vine that He Himself planted (Jeremiah 2: 21); and keeps on calling them “My people” (Jeremiah 11, 13, 32, 33); and, “The adorned virgin; and the bride who does not forget her attire” (Jeremiah 2: 32) ... By all ways, He keeps on revealing to her where she stands to Him, to let her trust in Him, and accept His directions and chastisements. 3- He has nor forsaken her: In order to expose the weakness of His people, God does not only reveal their past virtues to encourage them; and proclaim their position to Him by every mean: as holiness to the Lord, His first fruits, His son, His people, His bride, etc.; but He also reminds His people of His divine works and care for them along the long history; saying: “What injustice have your fathers found in Me; That they have gone far from Me; Have followed (vain) idols, and became (vain) idolaters themselves? Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, through a land of desert and pits, through a land of drought and the shadow of death, through a land that no one crossed, and where no one dwelt ? I brought you into a bountiful country, to eat its fruit and its goodness” (Jeremiah 2: 5 - 7) In admonition, He presents a clear and quick account of His care for His people; as He brought them out of the land of bondage and servitude; accompanied them along their way in the wilderness, where there was nothing but the shadow of death; where no one ever crossed ... and brought them to the land of promise, the bountiful country. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 73 If that was His works in the Old Testament; What would we say, we, who enjoy salvation of such magnitude?! He did not bring us out of a land of bondage, but of the kingdom of the devil; granting us the authority to renounce Satan and all his works, and trample on all his potentials under our feet. He did not bring us through a barren wilderness; but accompanied us all the days of our sojourn, where the war with sin and iniquity never comes to an end; granted us the strength to escape the snares put for us along the way by our enemy. He brought us to a land full of thorns; but bore those thorns on His forehead, to keep them from wounding our feet. He brought us to a way never crossed by man; as he trod for and with us the winepress; saying, “I have trodden the winepress alone; And from the peoples no one was with Me” (Isaiah 63: 3); and, “And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me” (John 16: 32). He brought us into a bountiful land to feed on its fruits and goodness. This bountiful land is the Lord Christ Himself who descended to us, and opened up His side for us to enter into Him, and to get fulfilled with His love; to say: “I sat down in His shade with great delight; And His fruit was sweet to my taste”; “His mouth is most sweet; Yes He is altogether lovely” (Songs 2: 3; 5: 16). So he set forth with us from the land of the shadow of death, to His body, the life-giver, to live by and with Him forever. Probably the most serious in this verse is His saying: “They followed (vain) idols; and became (vain) idolaters themselves” (Jeremiah 2: 5). This admonition bears two meanings: (1) Whoever follows the truth and unite with it, would enjoy the divine nature, and would bear the truth; While he who follows the vain corruption, and unite with it, would have his life turn to corruption, and would become himself vain. It is as though, whoever unite with God, would be divine; And he who unite with sin, would bear its corrupt nature. (2) The word ‘vain’ in Hebrew (habel) is very close to the word ‘Baal’, the god of fertility for the Canaanites; They worship it hoping to enjoy the abundant fruit; but to find out that their life became barren, and vain. The sin, actually, offers nothing but mirage that leads travelers to their death by thirst! It is probably because of this, that the Lord Christ offered us His body and blood, as spiritual food to carry in us; in order to bear the new risen life; the fruitful heavenly life, instead of the corruption that came to dwell in us ! Our Christ became a true food; for us to become “truth”, instead of feeding on the vain to become “vain”! If God in His love, did not forsake His people, but cared for them; yet the priests and ministers, unfortunately were slothful in their caring for the vine of God; They neither tasted God’s love, nor were capable to convey it to His people; They went astray to the worship of Baal, and drew the people’s hearts after them: “The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord ?’, And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me” (Jeremiah 2: 8) Here, He spoke of three categories at least: a- The priests :The Jewish priests assumed that their main job is just to offer sacrifices; and disregarded their foremost mission, namely, the reconciliation with God, the Savior of Mankind. They practiced the rites of sacrifices with great accuracy; yet https://coptic-treasures.com/ 74 they did not raise their hearts, nor those of the people toward God their Savior. That is why He admonishes them saying: “The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord? “. They should have also delivered the law, a generation after another; and should have revealed the knowledge, will, and plan of God! They could not do that, because they themselves did not know God in their life and works! b- The rulers: namely the governors and kings: Who are considered as the representatives of the Lord, to care for the people, especially the poor and needy, as it came in psalm 72; to consummate His counsel; Yet they selfishly disobeyed Him... c- The false prophets: They did not testify to the Lord; but prophesied on account of Baal. So the priests disregarded the Lord, whom they should have proclaimed, and with whom they should have interceded; The eyes of those who handle the law were closed shut to knowledge; The rulers resorted to disobedience instead of leading the people to obedience. And the false prophets prophesied to Baal instead of reproaching the people for their diversion! All the spiritual leaderships have gone astray and walked along a path contrary to their missions. Sin entered into the life of man, to deprive him of the balance of all the leaderships of his inner soul. The priests here refer to the energies of love, that should draw man to God, to seek Him with his whole heart; yet evil corrupted the heart to turn it into wicked lusts; to seek the earthliest instead of the heavenlies; and the love of the body instead of that of God. Those who handle the law, refer to the mind, who should be enlightened by the Holy Spirit, to recognize the secrets of God; Yet evil corrupts the mind, to transform it from the light of knowledge to the darkness of ignorance, to become like blinds leading the blind; and both will fall into a ditch (Matthew 15: 14). The rulers refer to the senses that should lead man to the salvation pastures of God, to touch, taste, and smell the new life; Yet when they get diverted, the senses turn into a burden on the soul, drawing it to the earth and to the body! Whereas the prophets refer to the inner insight, where, it is fitting for the heart, in purity, to behold God and to seek the eternities; Losing its purity, the heart becomes blind; and God turns for him into a shadow or just a product of imagination. So man, rejecting the care of God, surrenders all his inner energies and his centers of power; to seek, not what would be for his benefit, but what would be for his harm ! 4- They have not even followed the example of the Gentiles: Having rejected Him as her Bridegroom, He brought her over, from the marital home which she defiled, to the court of justice; saying: “‘Therefore I will yet bring charges against you’, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 2: 9) The whole chapter is like a memorandum of a plea raised on account of marital treason. “Cross over to the coasts of Kittim and look; send to Kedar and observe closely. Has a nation ever changed its gods? Which are not gods at all. But My people have exchanged their glory for worthless idols” (Jeremiah 2: 10, 11) Kittim is the island of Crete; and Kedar is in the eastern desert. It is as though God requests from His people to look east and west, to see for themselves how the pagan nations hold fast to their gods; that are not gods at all; while His people disregard their https://coptic-treasures.com/ 75 relationship to the true God; exchange his glory with vain and worthless things; and resort to idol worship. Thus the children of the Kingdom, may get ashamed, when they see others strive in what would not benefit them; although they do not enjoy what they personally enjoy, of the promises, gifts, and exalted divine graces! He admonishes and rebukes His people; Yet, as St. John Chrysostom says: [Even in His reproach, for the sake of edifying His people] 1, He compares Himself to the pagan idols, to reveal the fact that His people do not dignify Him, the way the pagans dignify the idol. 5- The secret of her weakness: After such a gentle admonition, in which He proclaimed that, although he was not slothful to care for them or for their fathers, yet they exchanged Him for foreign gods; He revealed to them the following aspects of their weakness: (1) She had forsaken the spring of life, and leaned upon herself: God asks heaven to testify against His people, who exchanged his glory for vain things; rejected God, the spring of living water, and dug for themselves cisterns, the work of their own hands: “‘Be appalled at this, O heaven, and shudder with horror’, declares the Lord, ‘My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken Me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jeremiah 2: 12, 13) It is difficult to imagine that someone would prefer the water of cisterns to that of springs; Yet for the sake of his own body comfort, he chooses to drink the water of cisterns which he dug for himself in his own backyard, instead of walking a long distances to drink of the water of a natural spring. This is typical of man who prefers the wide and easy way over the narrow way of the cross. From another aspect, the prophet clarifies that whoever seeks the water of cisterns which he dug for himself, instead of that of a natural spring, will eventually end up empty-handed; as those cisterns will eventually crack up, and their water will disappear through the rocks. God admonishes His people, saying: You have rejected me, and rejected my work in your spirits and bodies, to do according to your own wishes and wills; you have turned physical and carnal, instead of spiritual. We know that the apostle Paul classified humans into three categories: spirituals, physical, and carnal. The spiritual man is he, who receives the Spirit of God in him, the spring of living water; working in both his spirit and body; sanctifying him completely. The physical man is he, who rejects the living spring, to dig for himself self cisterns, the work of his own will, and walks according to the pride of his heart, even in spiritual things. The carnal man; rejecting the work of the Spirit in him, he surrenders to his body lusts. God probably said the word ‘cisterns’ twice; because they dug for themselves, cisterns according to their own will; and dug as well cisterns according to their body lusts; Thus they fell into both pride and lusts. The Church fathers believe that man drinks from the spring of living water, granted by the Lord Christ to His holy Church. So whoever forsakes her and receives 1 In Til. Hom. 3. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 76 (baptism) from another or teachings foreign to her, drinks from cisterns that cannot hold water! St. Erinaos says: [Those who do not have the fellowship with Him, do not enjoy nourishment from the mother’s breast, nor pure spring water from the body of Christ; but dig for themselves broken cisterns, and drink water polluted with mud; They flee away from the Church’s faith, so as not to be judged; and despise the Spirit, so as not to learn] 1. St. Cyprian says: [Although there is no other baptism; as it is but one Baptism; yet they assume they are capable of baptizing others. They forsook the spring of life; and yet they promise to offer the grace of the living water. People for them, do not get cleansed (from sin), but they just get together. Such birth (baptism) does not beget children for God, but for the devil. Their birth is vain, and so are the promises they receive] 2. And, [Once more, the Holy Book warns, saying: Keep yourself away from the foreign water, and do not drink from a foreign spring (Proverb 9: 19 - the Septuagint version) ... How can someone who is outside the Church, and not capable of uprooting his own sins, be able to baptize another, and to grant him the remission of his sins] 3. So, the Lord presented to His Church, Himself as the spring of living water; outside which man does not enjoy except broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the living Spring that flows over the Church, to bring forth from her children living springs; and to turn them into rivers; That is why the Psalmist says: “The rivers clap their hands” (Psalm 98: 8); and St. Jerome comments, saying: [The rivers draw their water from the Spring of Jesus ... He is the Spring and we are the rivers - if we are worthy to be so called. Jesus is the Spring, and the saints are rivers; Those less holy are canals; and still others are just drains that dry up with temptation] 4. St. Ambrose believes that, when the Jews rejected the Lord Christ, the living Spring, became like the fleece put by Gideon; that was alone dry, while on all the surrounding ground there was dew (Judges 6: 39); The Jews fell into renouncing faith in Christ; while the Gentiles believed in Him5. From another aspect, St. Ambrose believes that God, is both the “consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4: 24), and the Spring of living water: [Our Lord Jesus Christ, like fire, ignites the hearts of those who hear him; and he is also the spring of living water who grants coolness. He “came to send fire on the earth” (Luke 12: 49); and to grant living water to the thirsty (John 7: 37, 38) 6. The book of Jeremiah testifies to God the Father as ‘A Spring’:” They have forsaken Me, the Spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jeremiah 2: 13).. And in another location we read that they have forsaken the Son, the Spring of wisdom ; And concerning the Holy Spirit, we read: “Whoever drinks the water I give him ...It will become in him a spring of water willing up to eternal life” (John 4: 14). (St. Jerome) 7 1 Adv. Haer., 3: 24: 1. 2 Unuty of the Church, 11. 3 Ep 69: 1 (Oxford 70:1). 4 On Ps. Hom. 25. 5 Of the Holy Spirit, 1: 7. 6 Duties of the Clergy, 3: 18. 7 In Ps. Hom., 92. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 77 God truly is the Spring; I wish that he, who longs for this spring, would not let anything in him be the possession of the body; but would let his soul flow with love everywhere. (St. Amrose) 1 Many are thirsty: Both the righteous and the sinners. The first thirst for the truth; and the others for the pleasures. The righteous thirst for God; And the sinners for the gold. (Caeserius, Bishop of Arl) 2 To that spring, Rebecca came with her pitcher to fill it with water. The Book says: “She went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up” (Genesis 24: 16). So did the Church (or the soul); She went down to the well of wisdom to fill her pitcher, and to raise the teachings of pure wisdom, that the Jews did not wish to raise from the flowing spring. Listen to Him - the Spring Himself saying: “They have forsaken Me, the Spring of living water” (Jeremiah 2: 13). The souls of the prophets thirst for this spring; David says: “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42: 2); to quench his thirst with the riches of God’s knowledge; and to wash away the blood of foolishness by the waters of the spiritual rivers. (St, Ambrose) 3 The believer does not take a drop from the knowledge of the devil: astrology, magic, etc. and other knowledge that oppose deity in God; for he has his own wells; He drinks from the wells of Israel, the wells of salvation, and not from the well of Sihon. He would not forsake the spring of life and drink from the broken cisterns (Jeremiah 2: 13); He proclaims that he walks along the royal way; the way of Him who says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14: 6). It is the royal way about which the prophet says: “Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness to the king’s Son” (Psalm 72: 1). It is fitting for us to walk along the way of the King, without turning into any other way; neither into a field, nor to the works and thoughts of the devil. (The scholar Origen) 4 In the days of Jeremiah, the people forsook God the Spring of living water, and dug for themselves cisterns that hold no water. The Pharaoh of Egypt pretended to be a friend, and proclaimed his desire to protect them against Assyria; Yet, in truth, he intended to snatch and swallow them himself; like his master the devil, who presents ways that seem as though for salvation, while they are leading to perdition. That is why He says: “The young lions roared at him and growled; they made his land waste; His cities are burned without inhabitant. Also the people of Noph and Taphanhes, have broken the crown of your head” (Jeremiah 2: 15, 16) ‘Noph’ and ‘Taphhanhes’ were two Egyptian cities that represented the whole kingdom of Pharaoh; on which Israel leaned to rescue them against Assyria; but they roared at him like young lions, and made his land waste and without inhabitants. 1 Ambrose: Flight from the word, 9: 52. 2 Sermon 103: 2. 3 Isaac or the soul, 1:1. 4 In Num. hom. 12. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 78 Saying the word ‘cistern’ twice, may also refer to their faltering between leaning upon the king of Babylon against the Pharaoh of Egypt, and the other way round; wishing for human protection; for quenching their thirst from the water of the Nile or of the Euphrates, instead of the living water of God; He says: “Have you not brought this on yourself, In that you have forsaken the Lord your God, when He led you in the way ? And now why take the road to Egypt to drink the waters of Sihor ? Or why take the road to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River? (Jeremiah 2: 17, 18) By the water of ‘Sihor’ he means that of the Nile; As it came in Isaiah: “On the great waters came the grain of the Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre, and she became the marketplace of the nations” (Isaiah 23: 3) St. Jerome1 believes that the word ‘Sihor’ means the muddy River; The River Nile was probably so called because of the silt it carries in the period of flood. If Egypt refers to the love of the world, because of its abundant wealth; and Babylon refers to the pride, because of its worldly greatness; the believer may often has his heart deviate from leaning on the work of God, to fulfill the lusts of his body, and to realize his love for the earthlies, or to satisfy the spirit of pride that arises in him; and in all cases he deprives himself of being fulfilled by the truth. In his Easter sermon of 335 BC, Pope Athanasius looks at two categories of his listeners celebrating Easter: A category who, like the old people, wished to get fulfilled by the water of the Nile of Egypt, or by that of the Euphrates of Assyria, instead of by the living water of the divine springs, to end up with greater thirst; And another category who saw in the crucified Christ risen from the dead, all their fulfillment. He says: [You know that sin also has its own bread - that of its death - That is why it invites the pleasure lovers, saying: “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant” (Proverb 9: 17); whoever touches it, does not realize that those who are bound to earthly things will perish with the sin. Unfortunately, even when man expects fulfillment, he finds the fruit of sin unpleasant; and as said by the divine wisdom: “Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man; But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel” (Proverb 20: 17); And, “For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey; and her mouth is smoother than oil; But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword” (Proverb 5: 3, 4). He would eat with pleasure for a certain time; yet, later, as he gets severed from God, he perishes. That is why the prophet warns the sinners against straying away from God, saying: “Now why take the road to Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor (the Nile)? Or why take the road to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River? “(Jeremiah 2: 18) 2]. (2) Binding herself with vain gods made her vain: She has not only forsaken God, the Spring of living water, to seek what is for herself; the cisterns, the work of her own hands; or to resort, according to her human mind, to the protection by the king of Babylon or the Pharaoh of Egypt; But the secret of her weakness is that she replaced the living God with the vain pagan gods; Instead of uniting with the living God, to become herself living, she united with vain to become herself vain; saying: “They followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves” (Jeremiah 2: 5) ... 1 Ep. 108: 14. 2 Paschal Letter 7. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 79 And in admonition He says: “Where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble” (Jeremiah 2: 28) That is the secret of her weakness: She rejected God, to receive those who are not gods, as gods for her. God says about her forsaking Him: “ ‘Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you, when you forsake the Lord your God, and have no awe of Me’, says the Lord God of hosts” (Jeremiah 2: 19). If we look more closely, we shall see that God in this phrase, reveals for us a fact that often escape our attention; that, it is the wickedness of man that rebukes him, and his backsliding that punishes him ... Indeed God may rebuke, and in His love may firmly and sometimes very harshly punish; Yet we cannot blame God, but ourselves; as the rebuke and punishment that befall us, is a natural fruit of our wickedness and backsliding. But God allows us to reap just a very little of the fruit of the work of our own hands, and of what we did with our full freedom; in order to rid us of evil, and to forsake backsliding, so that the rebuke would stop, and the punishment would no longer be necessary. Man reaps the fruit of what he sows; And as St. Theonas says: [Whoever kindles evil will perish by its fire] 1. As, “His own iniquities entrap the wicked man; and he is cought in the cords of his own of his sin” (Proverb 5: 22); and the Lord says: “Look, all you who kindle a fire, who girdle yourselves with sparks; Walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks you have kindled” (Isaiah 50: 11). The work of that fire kindled by the wicked, is to deprive them of God; to draw their hearts away from Him, to uproot from them the fear of God; and to fill their life with bitterness; So He says: “‘Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you, when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of Me’, declare the Lord of hosts” (Jeremiah 2: 19). The prophet David used the expression “The Lord of hosts”, in his dialogue with the mighty ‘Goliath’ (1 Samuel 17: 45), to confirm that it is the Lord who leads the battle, who protects His people. And in the psalm it came: “The Lord of hosts is with us; The Lord of Jacob is our refuge” (Psalm 46: 7). The prophet Jeremiah, now, also uses this expression to proclaim that God is the leader of the battle to protect His people; yet, if His people reject Him, God will destroy them. He revealed her weakness by three analogies he took from animals, humans, and plants: a- He described her as a wild animal that refuse to return to its owner (Jeremiah 2: 20). b- A harlot who practices corruption openly and shamelessly, on every high hill and under every green tree; namely where she worships the Baal; as though her worship is mixed with abominations. c- A noble vine, a seed of highest quality; yet it produced useless grapes (Jeremiah 2: 20; Isaiah 5). In the Holy Book, the people of God are referred to as four kinds of trees: the vine, the olive tree, the fig tree, and a thorny tree. We have already dealt with the vine and the fig tree in our study of the book of Hosea. If the vine and the wine (the juice of grape) refer in the Holy Book to spiritual rejoice; fruitlessness, or the production of sour grapes, on the other hand, means that the Church (or the people) have 1 Cassian: conf. 23: 9. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 80 lost the spirit of joy by the Lord; have been stamped with sadness and permanent murmur. Our Christ came as a Vine, to turn us into branches (John 15) that testify to His heavenly joy, and his exalted divine peace. His bride refused to unite with Him, and replaced Him by the Baal; as,“Long ago you broke your off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, ‘I will not serve you ! When on every hill and under every green tree you lay down, playing the harlot” (Jeremiah 2: 20) She received the Baal as her bridegroom instead of her Man, to turn into a harlot. Why was it said that Israel lay down as a harlot on every high hill and under every green tree (Jeremiah 2: 20; 3: 6)? The scholar Origen says: [Because they talk with haughtiness, and use adorned eloquence; Anyhow, they do not do according to what they say] 1. Intending to confirm her responsibility for what she does; He says to her: “I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality; How then have you turned before Me into the degenerate plant of an alien vine?(Jeremiah 2: 21) As though He is saying to her: I have created you all truth, with no vanity nor corruption; I have sown you a choice vine of choice seeds; Why have you turned into a lowly alien vine ? ! The scholar Origen comments on this by saying that God made for us all that could be enjoyable; yet we created evil and iniquities for ourselves; That is why the prophet seems as though, he is asking those whose souls are filled with bitterness instead of meekness and gentility that were placed in us by God, saying: How then has it turned into the degenerate plant of an alien vine? [“Death is not of God’s doing, nor the perdition of the living pleases Him. He has created all for persistence. The world’s newborns are created healthy with no deadl poison; and no dominion for hell is on the earth”] (Wisdom 1: 13 - 14). From where then has death come ? “Through the jealousy of the devil death came to the world” (Wisdom 2: 24). God made every thing that could be beautiful for us; and we created evil and wickedness for ourselves. The prophet puts forth an inquiry, before those whose souls were filled with bitterness instead of the sweetness put in them by God, saying: “ How was it turned into the degenerate plant of an alien vine “ ? He says that God did not create lameness; but, on the contrary He gave all, active and agile limbs; then something happened that made them lame! So it is the case with all body members. The soul likewise, is created in the image of God; not only of the first man, but of every one; as the words, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness” (Genesis 1: 26), extends to all mankind. What is said about Adam extends to all mankind. Adam, originally, has borne the “image of God”, then, through his iniquities, he added to it the “image of the man of dust” (1 Corinthians 15: 49). That happened with all mankind; the image of God preceded that of man. “We have borne” as sinners the “image of the man of dust” ; Let us, through repentance bear the “image of the heavenly”, knowing in spite of every thing else, that creation was made in the heavenly image. 1 In Gen. hom 2: 6. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 81 The words of the Holy Book puts forth this inquiry before sinners; God admonishes them saying: “I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality, How then have you turned before Me into the degenerate plant of an alien vine ?” We have already said that God had planted the soul of man “a noble vine”; Yet through diversion, he turned into the contrary of what God intended1. God created it a vine holy to Him; But choosing to reject Him, it turned into “a degenerate plant of an alien vine”. That is why He does not call it “My vine”, but just “a vine”. She has rejected His reference to her as God; and now He is rejecting her reference to Him, until she return to Him, holy in Him. St Augustine says: [He did not say ‘My vine’; for if it is His vine, it has to be good; But being degenerate, it is not His, but an alien vine] 2. In the Old Testament, it came that God ‘Planted it with the choicest vine” (Isaiah 5; 2); namely, of the highest quality; as an elect people who gained a covenant with God, to bear “the truth” in him. As far as the Church of the New Testament is concerned, the “Truth” Himself, the incarnate Word of God, came to present Himself a Vine, to bear us in Him as living branches that ”bear much fruit” (John 15: 5). When he says “I am the true Vine” (John 15: 1), He undoubtedly distinguishes Himself from that, He addressed by the words “How have you turned into ... an alien vine”? (Jeremiah 2: 21); as how is it possible for a true vine, expected to produce grapes, to produce thorns instead?! (St. Augustine) 3 ‘I longed for the vine to produce wine, but it produced thorns instead. Here you see the crown with which I am adorned! (St. Cyril of Jerusalem) 4 It did not stop at corrupting herself through forsaking her God and rejecting her reference to Him and His reference to her; but, even as she tried to correct her ways, she leans upon her human arm, instead of returning to Him as her Savior. It is as though, even in her regret, she increases her dissension from the true God; for, instead of confessing her sins, she tries tojustify herself; That is why He says to her: “‘For though you wash yourself with lye (soda) and use an abundance of soap, yet your iniquity is marked before Me’, says the Lord God” (Jeremiah 2: 22) As the souls become too stubborn, God threatens punishment without opening a door for hope; not to let them fall into despair, but to keep them from turning that hope into slothfulness. When He sent the prophet Jonah to the people of Nineveh, He started His talk as though they have no chance of salvation; Yet when they repented He forgave them and defended them before His prophet. When He says to the city: “For though you wash yourself with lye, and use an abundance of soap, yet your iniquity is marked before Me” (Jeremiah 2: 22); He did not say that, to cast them to despair, but to provoke them to repentance5. 1 In Jer. Hom., 2: 1. 2 On Ps. 56. 3 On John, tr 80: 1; in Ps. 80 4 Cat. Lect. 13: 29. 5 In Rom. Hom. 14. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 82 (St. John Chrysostom) She assumed that, by herself, she is capable of cleansing her iniquities by soda and soap; and did not realize that this is the work of the Creator Himself; He alone can cleanse the soul and sanctify the body! And as the scholar Origen says: [Let us again contemplate in that phrase uttered by God. Does this mean that the sinner soul assumes that, by washing herself with the material soda, she can put an end to her iniquity and sin? No, but we should know that the word of God, the Omnipotent, is capable of curing all; “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword” (Hebrew 4: 12). Hence, there is a talk of lye (soda), and another of soap; by their mere utterance, it is assumed that sins of a certain kind can be cleansed. But, as these two are not capable of curing all kinds of sins; for there are sins that require other treatments; it is said to the soul that presumed that its sins could be cleansed by lye and soap: “For though you wash ... , says the Lord God”. Look at the wounds: There are wounds that can be healed by ointments; and others that can be healed by oil; and others that need to be bandaged ... But there are still other wounds about which it is said :”There is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment. Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire” (Isaiah 1: 6, 7). The same thing with sins: Some of them can lead to dirtying the soul; These need ‘lye’ or soap to cleanse them; Yet others could not be cured that way, as they imply much more than mere dirtiness. Behold, how God, who knows how to discern between sins; proclaims in Isaiah, saying: “When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the sspirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning” (Isaiah 4: 4). Filth and blood: the filth to be washed away by “the spirit of judgment”; and the blood by “the spirit of burning”. So if you commit a sin, even if it is not leading to death (1 John 5: 16); you are dirtied, and the Lord “will wash away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and will purge the blood of Jerusalem from her midst”. What we need, when we commit a more serious sin, is not lye or soap, but we will need “the spirit of burning”. I probably know now the reason why the Lord Christ “baptized with the Holy Spirit, and with fire” (Luke 3: 16). Not that he baptized the same man with both; but He baptized the righteous man with the Holy Spirit; whereas, the other man, who after believing, and becoming worthy of the Holy Spirit, would sin anew, the Lord cleanses with fire. Blessed is he who is baptized with the Holy Spirit, and in no need to be baptized with fire; and very miserable is he who needs to be baptized with fire. However, the Lord Christ is capable of baptizing in both cases. It is written: “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots” (Isaiah 11: 1). The Rod for those to be punished, and the Branch for the righteous. God is also “a consuming fire” (Hebrew 12: 29); and “is light” (1 John 1: 5); A consuming fire for the sinners, and light for the righteous and the saints1. 1 In Jer. Hom. 2. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 83 As she tried to cover up her sins by justifying herself, God exposed her before herself; saying to her: “See your ways in the valley” (Jeremiah 2: 23). Here he means “the valley of the son of Hinnom” (2 Kings 23: 10; Jeremiah 7: 31, 32; 19: 5, 6), where they used to offer their children as burnt offerings to the idols. That reveals how the worship of idols had so much authority on their hearts and life; They did not practice it for worldly benefits; but ended up burning their own children as human sacrifices, while they danced and rejoiced before the idols. Once again He rebukes her for forsaking Him and for following the foreign Baal; confirming to her that she sold Him; yet, for no price; for all she has acquired from the Baal was falling down from the high holy mountains to the valley (Jeremiah 2: 23); saying: “See your way in the valley” (Jeremiah 2: 23). The Baal pulled you down from the high heavenly life to the earthlies. By saying that, he is probably reminding her of what she does in the valley of Hinnum, where she offers her little children as human sacrifices and victims to the Baal (Jeremiah 7: 31) to lose them forever! With bitterness He says to her: “See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving - in her heat, who can restrain her” (Jeremiah 3: 23, 24). She became like a she-camel that runs incessantly and aimlessly here and there; and like a wild donkey, accustomed to life in the wilderness, that sniff the wind, and all the time chases the males here and there; driven by its sexual desire! What did she benefit from forsaking her God and going after the Baal, but the loss of her humanity, her children, her reasoning, and all blessings, to live aimlessly as though in the wilderness. She became in danger, as though walking bare-footed on rough ground, and drymouthed with thirst; yet is not ready to wear a sandal, nor to drink some water! “Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst. But you said, ‘there is no hope. No ! For I have loved aliens, and after them I will go”(Jeremiah 2: 25) He begs her to return to Him, to spare her feet from stumbling, and her throat from thirst; but she adamantly refuses; assuming that chasing aliens, even if subjected to danger and thirst, is better for her than enjoying the bosom of her divine Bridegroom and gaining His fulfilling blessings. That is why He starts to threaten her, saying: “As the thief is ashamed when he is found out, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their prophets” (Jeremiah 2: 26). A thief keeps thrilled by his thefts, even if he does not put what he stole to use; and keeps boasting that he can steal unnoticed; but once he gets caught, he becomes ashamed when it is too late. So did the house of Israel on the highest levels: their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets; they will one day stand before God like thieves in court, with nobody to intercede for them, or to cover their shame; for they have chosen the tree (the wooden idols) as their father, and the stone (the stone idols) as their mother (Jeremiah 2: 27), and rejected God their true Father! They forsook Him, who can save them on the Day of Judgment, and attached themselves to those who bring them to perdition and perish together with them! He bitterly says: “For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face” (Jeremiah 2: 7) https://coptic-treasures.com/ 84 They have rejected My fatherhood, and acquired for themselves fathers and mothers of wood and stone; They forsook Me, the philanthropic Creator, and resorted to the bosoms of irrational defiled creation ! The scholar Origen believes that wicked men disappear before the face of the Lord; as it is said: “They have turned their back to Me, and not their face” (Jeremiah 2: 27); Whereas the righteous men stand in confidence before Him, to be granted by Him the holy life (John 3: 21); to say with the prophet Elisha: “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand …..” (2 Kings 5: 16). It is fitting for him who carries the divine throne, having entered into the perfection of glory, to have no back, but to be all faces, and all eyes, in order to behold God permanently and without obstruction. That is why when the people sinned to God, He admonished them, saying that: “They have turned their back to Me, and not their face” (Jeremiah 2: 27); an expression used often by the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7: 24; 18: 17; 32: 33). (3) Faltering between two ways: We said that the secret of their weakness is forsaking the spring of living water, to dig for themselves cistern of their own. On another aspect, they forsook their living Father to accept the wooden Ashtoreth - the female goddess of fertility - as their (father); and the male stone god as their (mother); ”Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father’, and to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me’ “ (Jeremiah 2: 27). This is a form of ridicule; as the prophet proclaims to them, that they have lost every natural comprehension and every human logic; making the female a father, and the male a mother who gave birth to them ! They did not only lose the ability to distinguish between the true God and the vain ones, but they became unable to destinguish between the male and the female; between the father and the mother! And finally, even in the time of affliction, they do not return to God with their whole heart, but they falter between the two ways: They seek God to save them; while their hearts are still attached to the Baal. He says: “But in the time of their trouble, they will say, ‘Arise and save us’. But where are your gods, that you have made for yourselves ? Let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble” (Jeremiah 2: 27, 28) These are the same words He used to rebuke their fathers in the days of the judges, saying: “You have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; Let them deliver you in the time of your distress” (Judges 10: 13, 14). He said that out of love; for when they realized their faults and returned to him, the Scripture says: “His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel” (Judges 10: 16) ... He waits for our return, and does not endure our tears. 6- The fruits of her sin: Having revealed to her some aspects of the secret of her weakness, He spoke of the fruits of her sins; which are: (1) The Lord became to them a wilderness or a land of darkness: The Lord says: “Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of darkness? Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam; We shall come to You no more’” (Jeremiah 2: 31) https://coptic-treasures.com/ 85 It is as though God is admonishing His people, saying: ‘Why do you forsake Me; Have you seen Me a wilderness from which to flee, or a land of darkness that you fear’?! The scholar Origen1 comments on this phrase, clarifying that God grants two kinds of gifts: general and personal gifts. He grants the sunlight, the air, and all the earthly goods to the entire world. He is no barren wilderness, but the Beneficent who “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good; and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5: 45). He is no land of darkness; but “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1: 5). As for the general gifts, God appears as the One who Gives His goodness to all, and the One who shines His light on all. But, as far as the personal gifts are concerned, like the gift of enlightenment, of the sonhood, etc., These are given to believers; whereas the non-believers are deprived of them; God becomes to them a barren wilderness and a land of darkness. When Israel rejected the belief in the Lord Christ, God became to them as such; As the apostle Paul says: “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death to death, and to the other we are the aroma of life to life” (2 Corinthians 2: 15, 16). The scholar Origen says: [“Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of darkness? “ (Jeremiah 2: 31). In the beginning of this text, the Lord says that He has never been a wilderness to Israel, nor a land of darkness ... So, has he become as such today? Or what? And when He has not been as such to Israel; has He ever been to the Gentiles? If God was not, and would never be to anyone a wilderness or a land of darkness, why then, is He saying that to Israel? Let us now recall the good works of God: both the general and the personal. God would never be a ‘wilderness’ to anyone; He who “makes His sun rises on the evil and on the good”; and would never be a land of darkness; He who “sends His rain on the just and on the unjust”. How could He be a land of darkness, He who created the day, and also created the night for rest ? ! How could He be a wilderness; He who gives fertility to the land?! How could He be a wilderness; He who sustains every one; and grants man the ability, the wisdom, and the good thinking; and who gives him in his body, “the senses, trained to discern between good and evil”? Therefore, from the general aspect, God could never be a wilderness to anyone; Yet from the personal aspect, I shall go back to the subject of Israel, and say: that God was not to them a wilderness nor a land of darkness, when they were in the land of Egypt. There, He did miracles and signs for their sake. Yet every time they went astray, He became, in their own minds, a wilderness and a land of darkness; although God could never be as such. Nevertheless, When God was not a wilderness nor a land of darkness to Israel, He was as such to the Gentiles. Then, when God gave Israel His back, and became, in their minds, a wilderness and a land of darkness, the grace increased for the Gentiles, and the Lord Christ became to us, not a wilderness, but fulfillment; He became, not a land of darkness, but a fertile land. “For more are the children of the desolate” (Isaiah 54: 1). 1 Ibid 3 (modified). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 86 God admonishes those, to whom He had never been a wilderness nor a land of darkness, saying to them: ‘I had never been as such to you; but it is you who said: “We are free to roam; we will come to you no more” (Jeremiah 2: 31). Did Israel say that out of despair? 1 The scholar Origen believes that we should distinguish between the general good works of God and His personal good works. There are good gifts, that God forever grants to all men , like sunshine, rain, and the fertile land; From this point of view, we cannot say that God could ever be a ‘wilderness’. But as far as His personal gifts, which He gave to, andthen took away from Israel; In this case, He became according to them, a ‘wilderness’. Yet, He never was as such; as what He took away from Israel, He gave to the Christians2. That is the most horrible of the fruits of sin; that God, the source of life and light, is counted by the wicked, as a barren wilderness and a land of darkness; He flees from God as though from the source of his perdition ! God for him becomes a burden, that he wishes to get rid of; the same way, He is counted by some of the contemporary existentialists; namely as a nightmare from which man should free himself! The phrase “We are free to roam” (Jeremiah 2: 31) came in certain versions, as (We became free of God), or (We became lords ourselves)! God is astonished by His people’s desire to free them of Him; although He is the secret of their life, their enlightenment, their fulfillment, and their adornment. That is why He admonishes them, saying: “Can a virgin forget her ornament?” [Her chastity that she should always keep, according to Fr. Methodius] 3; “Or a bride her attire?, Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number” (Jeremiah 2: 32) He presents to them the virgin and the bride as examples; because He looks at His people as a chaste virgin offered to Him; who should keep her chastity and virginity against the deceit of the enemy and the world; and as a bride sanctified to Him, who finds in God, her Groom, the secret of her splendor and glory, proclaimed in her wedding attire! He says: “Why do you beautify your way (your attire) to seek love? Therefore you have also taught the wicked women your ways” (Jeremiah 2: 33) Instead of accepting me as the secret of your heavenly adornment, you stretch your hand toward external adornment; and instead of accepting My divine love, you seek the love of the wicked; and teach the evil to your daughters ! “Also on your skirts is found the blood of the lives of the poor innocents. I have not found it by secret search; but plainly on all these things” (Jeremiah 2: 34). While adorning yourself by external ornaments, to seek lovers to do evil with you; the crime attach to the tails of your clothes. And as the clothes symbolize the body, it is as though He is saying, that the crime attaches to all your body, even to its tails; Every member of your body is defiled, and is covered by the blood of the poor innocents whom you oppress. This thing needs no effort to search, as it is proclaimed on the tails of your skirt, is connected to your body; and is obvious in the life of all. (2) Justifying herself: The impacts of sin do not stop at fleeing from God, as though from a wilderness and a land of darkness; to connect to evil and iniquity, as external ornament; but while 1 In Jer. Hom. 3. 2 Source Christienne. 3 Banquet of 10 Virgins 4: 6. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 87 covered with the blood of wickedness, she justifies herself, and does not realize her fault:“Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent, Surely His anger shall turn from me’; Behold I will plead My case against you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned’ “(Jeremiah 2: 35). That is the worst of what man could reach: to drink iniquity as water, and does not realize it; to commit evil, and does not recognize it as such! By that, man shuts himself in sin; and repentance would never find a place in him. (3) He destroys her evil gains: Casting himself on evil, man assumes that he gains something, that he did not gain through walking in righteousness. God’s love allows for destroying what we gained, so as to realize that evil can offer nothing. As the people have sometimes leaned on the king of Babylon; and other times on the Pharaoh of Egypt; God led them to shame in both places; to realize that they should lean on the bosom of the eternal God, who is capable of granting comfort. “Why do you gad about so much to change your way ? Also you shall be ashamed of Egypt as you were ashamed of Assyria. Indeed you will go forth from him with your hands on your head; For the Lord has rejected your trusted allies, and you will not prosper by them” (Jeremiah 2: 36, 37) She changed her trust and replaced Assyria by Egypt for protection; But, like a woman who mourns her man, puts her hand on her head, for all her human plans were destroyed (Putting the hands on the head refers to captivity; as the captives were usually led to the land of captivity, this way). Summary of the plea: God’s plea against His people Israel could be summarized as follows: 1- They became like the idols they worship; namely, they became as vain (Jerem. 2: 5). 2- They became deniers; denying the works of God, their Redeemer and Savior (Jerem. 6, 7). 3- They defiled God’s land and heritage (Jerem. 2: 7). 4- They surpassed the nation’s evil; having exchanged Him for vain gods (Jerem. 2: 10, 11 5- Even nature testifies against them (Jerem. 2: 12). 6- They forsook the living spring, and drank from the cisterns of the Pharaoh of Egypt and the king of Babylon (Jerem. 2: 13 - 19). 7- They became like a wild animal (Jerem. 2: 20). 8- They became like a rude harlot (Jerem. 2: 20). 9- They became a fruitless vine (Jerem. 2: 20). 10- The kingdom of Judah justified herself instead of admitting her fault (Jerem. 2: 21). 11- They became like a she-camel running here and there without a leader (Jerem. 2: 23). 12- They became like a wild she-donkey, whose desire for mating made her lose her balance (Jerem. 2: 24). 13- They became like a thief who is caught while stealing (Jerem. 2: 26). 14- They became irrational; seeing the female as a father, and the male as a mother (Jerem. 2: 27). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 88 15- They became like a bride who forgot her ornaments (Jerem. 2: 32). 16- They became an instructor of evi to othersl (Jerem. 2: 33). 17- They shed the blood of the poor innocent (Jerem. 2: 34). 18- Finally, They became like a captive, who puts her hands on her head (Jerem. 2: 37). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 89 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH YOU ARE AMAZING, EVEN IN YOUR PLEA! How sweet is your admonition! You give it in my hearing, because I am Your Jerusalem! You whisper it in my ear, so as not to disgrace me! You want me dignified before all; even before Your angels and all the heavenlies ! You begin Your admonition by sweet words of encouragement. To support me, You recall for me, my old works of love; You count me as a girl who sought you as her Groom! You disregard my faults to lift up my soul! Amazing You are in Your compassion and the wisdom of Your fatherhood! I confess to you that I was not ear-circumcised. I could not listen to Your loving whispers You admonished me once and again; And in my foolishness, I could not hear Your sweet voice How amazing you are, O my Savior! You write the plea against me; to expose me before my betrayer soul, to realize my faults; And in all that, You anticipate my return, You forgive me, and do not address me with a wounding word! My soul became like a wild ox; Like a harlot who openly commit evil; Like a vine that produces sour grapes ! I confess to You that I forsook You; O the eternal Truth. I adhered to the vain lusts, to become myself vain. I defiled my body, which is your earth; And abused Your talents to me. I disregarded my sonhhod to You; and forgot my ornaments as a bride sanctified to You ! Because I justified my faults, it got multiplied! I became aimlessly gadding about; You are amazing in Your plea; You are both my Prosecutor and counsel! How can I repay Your amazing love? !
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