Jeremiah
Chapter 3
Will You Return To Me?
If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her? Wouldn’t the land be completely polluted? But you, you are a harlot with many lovers, and you still have the nerve to come back to me?—it is the Lord who speaks.
Lift your eyes to the hills and see: Where haven’t you been violated? By the roadside, you sat waiting for your lovers like an Arab in the wilderness, and you have dishonored the land with your evil and harlotry!
The rain stopped, and there was no spring rain for you, yet you have a harlot’s brow and refuse to be ashamed!
Worse still, you called to me: ‘Father, guide of my youth!’
Will you always be angry? Will your wrath last forever?’ That is what you said and did evil as much as possible.
The Two Sisters
During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me: “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the harlot!
So I thought: After all this, she would return to me, but she did not. Her rebellious sister, Judah, saw
that for all the adulteries of that unfaithful Israel, I sent her away with a certificate of divorce. Yet I saw that the disloyal Judah had no fear and that she, too, went and played the harlot!
Because of her harlotry, she dishonored the land, sinning with stones and trees.
And even after that, her sister, the unfaithful Judah, did not come to me wholeheartedly; it was only a pretense. It is the Lord who speaks.”
And the Lord continued: “Rebellious Israel has been less guilty than false Judah.
Return, You Apostate Children
Go and deliver this message to the north: Return, unfaithful Israel —it is the Lord speaking— I will not let my anger fall on you, for I am merciful; I will not stay angry forever.
Just acknowledge your guilt; you have rebelled against the Lord your God and scattered your favors among strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed my voice —this is the word of the Lord.
Come back, faithless people —the Lord says— because I am your master. I will choose one from a city and two from a family and bring you to Zion.
Then I will give you shepherds who are after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
And when you increase and multiply in the land in those days —the Lord says— people will no longer speak of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord; it will no longer be remembered or missed, nor shall it be made again!
Then they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and they will no longer follow the stubbornness of their wicked hearts.
In those days, the people of Judah would unite with the people of Israel, and together, they would return from the north to the land I gave their ancestors as an inheritance.
And I thought:
But, like a woman unfaithful How gladly would I have placed you among my children and given you a beautiful land, the most splendid of all nations! I thought you would call me ‘my father’ and not turn away from following me! to her husband, you have been unfaithful to me, O people of Israel! —it is the Lord who speaks.” the weeping and pleading of the children of Israel, because they have strayed from their way and have forgotten the Lord their God! I will heal you of your rebellion!”
A cry is heard on the barren heights,
“Come back, unfaithful people,
Israel’s Response
‘Yes, we come to you, for you are the Lord our God!
Truly, the temples on the heights and the feasts on the hills are useless; only the Lord our God can save Israel.
The infamous god has devoured all the fruits of our ancestors’ labor since our youth, their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.
Let us lie down in our shame and let our confusion cover us, for it is against the Lord our God that we have sinned from our youth until today, we and our fathers, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God!’
Commentaries
Will You Return To Me?.
Here we revisit the theme of God’s marital relationship with His people. It is a love characterized by covenant, communion, and faithfulness. Referencing a legal case that would be difficult to establish in the Semitic mindset (cf. Dt 24:1-4), God would be willing to set aside that law if Israel changed from within, returning to its former ways and forgetting its past wanderings in pursuit of other gods. However, Israel persists in its cynicism, prostituting itself more and more each day.
The Two Sisters.
God accuses the northern kingdom (Israel) of apostasy but also expresses hope for its eventual return, which ultimately did not happen. The kingdom of Judah, having witnessed the sin of “its sister” and her exile, remains unresponsive and behaves even worse than Israel. Although it claims to have returned to God, its repentance is insincere. This allegorical oracle serves as a call to repentance for the people of Judah.
Return, You Apostate Children.
These oracles took place during the reign of King Josiah (v. 6), who had reclaimed much of the land that once belonged to the Northern Kingdom. The Word of God was aimed at the survivors of the northern tribes who had not been exiled after Samaria fell to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. These ancient oracles are now used to call for repentance and penance among the exiles who went to Babylon in 597 B.C. Against the backdrop of the earlier allegory of “the two sisters,” God’s judgment and His urgent plea for His people to return to Him become more deeply felt.
Israel’s Response.
Israel humbly admits its disobedience to the Lord. It is confirmed that the main obstacle to a healthy relationship between people and God is the worship of other deities.