Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 3:22
Return, ye backsliding children, [and] I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou [art] the LORD our God.
22. God’s reply to the lamentation and expressions of repentance. The Hebrew is striking in its play on the word turn, Turn, ye turned children; I will heal your turnings. Cp. Jer 3:6; Hos 14:4.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Yahwehs answer to their prayer in Jer 3:21 is immediately followed by their acceptance of the offer of divine mercy.
For – Rather, because … This profession of faith gives the reason why they return to Yahweh. The whole description is most graphically conceived. The people weeping upon the hills: Gods gracious voice bidding them return: the glad cry of the penitents exclaiming that they come: the profession of faith won from them by the divine love; these form altogether a most touching picture of a national repentance.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 22. Return, ye backsliding children] This they gladly receive, and with one voice make their confession to him: “Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art Jehovah our God;” and thence to the end of the chapter, show the reasons why they return unto God.
1. Because he is the true God.
2. Because the idols did not profit them: they could give no help in time of trouble.
3. Because it is the prerogative of God alone to give salvation.
4. Because they had no kind of prosperity since they had abandoned the worship of their Maker. And this was not only their case, but it was the case of their forefathers, who all suffered in consequence of their idolatry and disobedience.
5. These reasons are concluded with a hearty confession of sin, at the thought of which they are confounded; for the remembrance of their sin was grievous to them, and the burden was intolerable. This confession ended, God appears in the next chapter with gracious promises, and proper directions how they are to return, and how to conduct themselves in future.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Return, viz. repent for sin and from sin. Here God calls upon them, and invites them to consider whither they are going, and to hearken unto the voice of his ministers, Hos 14:1; Act 3:19. See Jer 3:12. God doth as it were bid them hearken to his messengers, and then he will heal their backsliding.
I will heal your backslidings, i.e. idolatries, whereby you turned from me, and rebelled against me; I will take you into that state, as if you had never turned from me; I will make all whole again among you, and reconcile you to myself, Isa 57:18; Jer 32:40. See Zec 10:6; 13:9. I will not only remove your judgments, but your sins also shall be forgiven.
Behold, we come unto thee. This is either Gods framing their answer for them, prescribing the manner and form of their repentance, by a figure called mimesis, Hos 14:2,3; or it is their reply to God by way of promise, which they performed under Josiah, 2Ki 22; 2Ki 23, which with their confession reacheth to the end of the chapter.
For thou art the Lord our God; words expressing the strongest inducements to it imaginable, because God hath right to them, is willing to accept them, and able to save them, Isa 55:7; Jer 14:22.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. Jehovah’s renewed invitation(Jer 3:12; Jer 3:14)and their immediate response.
healforgive (2Ch 30:18;2Ch 30:20; Hos 14:4).
unto theerather, “inobedience to thee”; literally, “for thee”[ROSENMULLER].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Return, ye backsliding children,…. This is the call of the Jews to repentance in the latter day; [See comments on Jer 3:14].
and I will heal your backslidings; that is, I will forgive your sins. Sins are the diseases of the soul, and the wounds made in it; and pardoning them is healing them. So the Targum,
“I will forgive you when ye return;”
see Ps 103:3, this is done by the application of the blood of Christ, the only physician, and whose blood is the balm that heals every wound; and this springs from the love of God, and his free favour to his people, even the riches of his grace and abounding mercy through Christ; and is the great motive and inducement, and what gives the greatest encouragement to return unto the Lord, Ho 14:1.
Behold, we come unto thee; the Targum represents this as what the Jews pretended always to say, and did say, in a hypocritical manner, with which they are upbraided,
“lo, at all times ye say, we return to thy worship, save us;”
and Jarchi is of opinion that these are words the prophet put into their mouths, and taught them to say, and to confess in this manner: but they are rather their own words, arising from a true sense of sin, under the influence of divine grace, and encouraged with the hope and assurance of pardon; declaring that as they were called upon to return, so they did return, and now were come to God by repentance, with confession and acknowledgment of sin, and by prayer and supplication for pardon and by the exercise of faith upon him for it; and also were come into his house to wait upon him, and worship him in his ordinances:
for thou art the Lord our God; not merely as the God of nature and providence, or in a natural way, but in a way of special grace, of which they now will have an application by the Spirit of God.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
God here exhorts the Israelites to repent, that by their example he might move the Jews. The benefit of what is here taught might indeed have reached to the miserable captives and exiles; but as Jeremiah was especially the teacher of his own nation, he labored chiefly no doubt for their advantage, as we have before stated. God then here declares, that he would be reconcilable to the Israelites, how grievously soever they had sinned, he afterwards introduces them as answering, Behold, we return, or we shall come to thee: for the Prophet speaks here of the future conversion of the ten tribes.
It is then a dialogue between God and the Israelites. God himself freely invites them to repent: Return, he says, ye rebellious children; and then he promises to be a physician to heal their diseases: I will heal thy transgressions; that is, I will blot out thy sins, and absolve thee from guilt. God then undertakes to do these things; first, to stimulate the Israelites to repentance, and then to give them the hope of pardon: and he says that a remedy was provided for them, except they hardened themselves. Now, the Israelites, on the other hand, make this answer, Behold, we shall come to thee Here Jeremiah condemns the obstinacy of his own nation, by saying, that the Israelites, when thus kindly invited by God, would not be perverse, but would, on the contrary, be tractable and obedient. This indeed was not fulfilled, when a liberty to return was given to the people, except in the case of a few, who had a right feeling, and preferred the glory of God to their temporal advantages. But the number was small; nor was it a matter of surprise; for God had not previously said, without reason, that if one came from a city, and two from a tribe, he would be received, though others continued fixed in their perverseness. However this may have been, God here intimates that the Israelites would not be so refractory as not to obey his admonition when the hope of pardon and salvation would be presented to them: and this is mentioned, that the perverseness of the Jews might appear more detestable.
But some think that the Israelites are here upbraided, because they hypocritically pretended that they always sought God. Hence they elicit this meaning, “Ye indeed say, Behold, we return to thee, thou art our God; ” as though he condemned their hypocrisy, because they falsely alleged that they always sought him. But this view seems to me foreign to the intention of the Prophet. Hence I doubt not but that Jeremiah sets before the Jews, as in a picture, what ought to have constrained them not to persist so obstinately in their sinful courses: “Behold,” he says, “God is prepared to receive into favor your brethren, who are undone and past all hope; and when they shall hear God’s voice kindly and graciously inviting them to himself, they will doubtless return: why then do not ye obey?”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
E. The Prayer of Repentance Jer. 3:22 b25
TRANSLATION
(22b) Here we are, we have come to you because you are the LORD our God. (23) Truly the hills are a swindle, the tumult of the mountains; Truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. (24) But shame has devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. (25) Let us lie down in our shame and let our reproach cover us, for against the LORD our God we have sinned, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day; we have not hearkened to the voice of the LORD our God.
COMMENTS
The exact nature of the verses in this section has puzzled commentators. Does this forthright confession represent the longing of the Lord? Do these verses indicate the wishful thinking on the part of the prophet? Are these words the confession of a few converted people within the nation? Is this confession predictive of a time when men would realize the folly of idolatry and turn in true allegiance to God? This much is certain! The confession gives all the appearances of being sincere and honest. The present writer feels that the prophet intended these verses to be an ideal prayer of repentance, the kind of prayer that God expected and demanded of those who would truly return to Him. It is, to use the words of Laetsch, a future ideal still far removed from the present reality.[153]
[153] Laetsch, op. cit., p. 64.
The last part of Jer. 3:22 depicts the eager response of the people to the gracious invitation which the Lord has just offered in the first half of the verse. The people confess that the pagan worship conducted on the hills has proved to be vain. They admit that they had been spiritually swindled by the tumult of the mountains, i.e., the wild orgies[154] which accompanied idol-worship (Jer. 3:23). True spiritual power is not always proportionate to the boisterousness of the religious observance. The Hebrew word translated shame in Jer. 3:24 is the word bosheth which often serves in the Old Testament as a euphemism for Baal.[155] For as long as these folks can remember Baal worship has devoured the resources of the nation. Their flocks and herds and even their sons and daughters had been offered as sacrifices to the pagan deities (Jer. 3:24). Then, too, because of their idolatry divine punishment came upon them which destroyed the labor of their hands, their animals and children. Thus the foolish people had to pay double for the worship of Baal: The initial sacrifice which the Baal demanded and the subsequent punishment which the Lord exacted. The repentant sinners are so ashamed that they resolve to prostrate themselves, an expression of the deepest sorrow. Their guilt is so intense that it seems to enshroud them. In bitter tears of shame and remorse they cry out, We have sinned against the Lord our God! This is the godly sorrow that leads to repentance (2Co. 7:9-11). When one realizes the true nature of sin and the true nature of the God against who he has sinned, he cannot help but feel the agonizing shame depicted so vividly in Jer. 3:25.
[154] For an example of tumultuous Baal worship see 1 Kings 18. Others take the tumult of the mountains to refer to the multitudes who gathered on the mountains to worship Baal. Still others feel the word refers to the idols themselves.
[155] For examples where bosheth is substituted for Baal, see Jer. 11:13; Hos. 9:10; 2Sa. 11:21; Jdg. 6:32; 2Sa. 2:8 and 1Ch. 8:33.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(22) Return, ye backsliding children . . .We lose, as before, the force of the Hebrew repetition of the same root, Turn, ye children that have turned, I will heal your turnings. As so often in Hebrew poetry, we have the answer to the invitation given in dramatic form, and hear the crywe might almost call it the litanyof the suppliants, Behold, we come unto thee. They at last own Jehovah as their one true God.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. Answering to this penitence is God’s gracious willingness to receive and pardon. The prophet echoes the divine invitation and promise.
Return, ye backsliding children I will heal your backslidings Literally, Turn, ye turned children, I will heal your turnings. To this promise they answer, Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 1035
INVITATION TO BACKSLIDERS
Jer 3:22. Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God.
THOUGH the conversion of men is the result of Gods purpose, and solely the effect of his grace, yet it is wrought by rational means. He calls upon them as free agents, and enforces his exhortations with the most cogent motives. By these means he convinces their judgment, and makes them willing to comply with his solicitations. In the preceding context he had determined to effect his purpose by the constraining influence of his grace; nevertheless he does not omit the use of means, but repeats his former invitations with still stronger arguments than before. In this way he produces the change upon the reluctant soul, and makes it thankfully to embrace his proffered mercy.
In discoursing on the words before us, we shall consider,
I.
The Lords address to the backsliders
The persons addressed are either mere nominal Christians, or real Christians in a declining state
[The term backsliding refers to an unruly heifer that either will not at all draw in its masters yoke, or that performs its work unsteadily [Note: Hos 4:16.]. In the former view, it comprehends all those who in name and profession are his, but in reality are altogether regardless of his will. Alas! How many are there of this description in every place! Who amongst us may not consider the text as addressed to himself in particular? Who has not cast off the yoke of God, and said, like Pharaoh, I know not the Lord, neither will I obey his voice? In the latter view, it may describe those who, having begun to serve the Lord, turn back again in some measure to the world and to sin. And where is there a child of God who must not acknowledge himself to have been, at some time, of this number, however diligently he be serving God at this moment? Who can say that he has invariably, from the very first, pursued the path of duty in one uniform tenour of conduct? Who has not often been conscious of secret declensions, and backslidings of heart?]
To both these descriptions of people does God address an earnest and impressive exhortation
[God well knows the danger to which all are exposed when they have turned aside from him. Nor does he will, in any instance, the death of a sinner, but rather that he should return and live. Hence, instead of saying, as we might well expect, Depart from me, he invites us to return. He would have us not only to take his yoke upon us, but to draw in it with pleasure and delight. To enforce his exhortation, he adds a most encouraging promise. Well might he threaten us with the dreadful consequences of our transgression, and address himself only to our fears. But he is a God of infinite compassion, and would rather win us by love. Our backslidings have made a deadly wound in our souls, a wound which if not speedily closed, will destroy us for ever. Behold, what astonishing mercy! He promises to heal us: to heal the guilt of our sin by the blood of Jesus, and the power of it by his good Spirit! Such is his gracious declaration to us at this instant; and such is the encouragement which he affords to all who have departed from him.]
Having seen the condescension of God, we can be at no loss to determine,
II.
The effect it should produce upon us
If we have the smallest spark of ingenuousness within us, his goodness must of necessity produce,
1.
A ready compliance with his will
Such was the effect upon those addressed in the text. And, whenever the word is applied with power to our souls, the same effect will be visible on us. We shall no longer keep at a distance from God, but return to him with our whole hearts. Filled with astonishment at his forbearance towards us, and solicitous to experience the renewed expressions of his favour, we shall say, Behold we come unto thee. No pleasures of sin will be suffered to detain us from him. Having tasted the gall and wormwood of a backslidden state, our souls will have them still in remembrance. We shall determine with the Church of old, I will return unto my first husband, for then it was better with me than now [Note: Hos 2:7.].
I call then on this whole assembly now to unite as with the voice of one man, saying, Thou Lord art our God; and we come to thee according to thy commandment; yea, behold, and bear witness to us this day, We come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God.]
2.
An unreserved surrender of ourselves to his service
[The love of Christ has a constraining power, which, if not irresistibly, yet invincibly, impels us to live unto him. Let it once be shed abroad in our hearts, and we shall instantly exclaim with rapture, My Lord, and my God. What have I to do any more with idols, will be the natural effusion of our souls [Note: Hos 14:8.]. We shall feel a holy indignation at the thought of having so long provoked the Lord to jealousy; and shall address him in the language of his repenting people, Other lords besides thee have had dominion over us, but by thee only will we make mention of thy name [Note: Isa 26:13.].]
Application
1.
To those who are deliberately resisting the will of God
[While casting off the restraints of Gods law, and following the dictates of your own will, you conceive yourselves to be enjoying perfect liberty. But such liberty is the sorest bondage [Note: 2Pe 2:19.]. A subjection to sin is a vassalage most abject in its nature, and most fatal in its consequences [Note: Rom 6:16.]. Would to God that the slaves of sin would reflect a moment what master they are serving, and what wages they are likely to receive! Soon would they then cast off the yoke which their own lusts have imposed, and seek for freedom in the service of their God. Awake, ye deluded sinners, and return to him, whose yoke is easy, and whose burthen is light.]
2.
To those who, having begun to serve God, are drawing back from him
[Who hath bewitched, who hath infatuated, your depraved hearts? Hath God been a wilderness to you, that you are tired of his service [Note: Jer 2:5; Jer 2:31.]? Is there indeed no profit in serving him? We will venture to put the matter to this issue. Are you as happy now in your departure from God, as you were when you were endeavouring to walk with him? Has your return to secret neglects and sinful indulgences been attended with a proportionate increase of peace and comfort? Sure we are, that none can truly affirm this to have been their experience. If your consciences be not altogether seared, your wounds are festering at this instant. Beware then lest God leave you to be filled with your own ways [Note: Pro 14:14.]. That would be the greatest curse that can be inflicted on you. O return immediately to God i and he will heal your backslidings and love you freely [Note: Hos 14:4.].]
3.
To those who are maintaining a steadfast walk with God
[Thrice happy souls! ye are highly favoured of the Lord. Say, Have ye not already the recompence in your own bosoms? Is not his service perfect freedom? Be thankful then to God who enables you so to live, Be fearful of any thing which may grieve that Holy Spirit, by whom ye are sealed. Watch against secret backslidings in their very first beginnings. Be more and more diligent in every good word and work. Be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; and be assured that your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
The Lord still causeth his grace to triumph over the unworthiness of his Israel, until at length, the heart is subdued and overcome. What a sweet and blessed conclusion is made to the subject, and to the chapter together! And what it was with Israel then, so is it with all the praying seed of Israel now when Christ is seen, and known, and felt by his Holy Spirit in the heart, such will be the language of every child of God: truly in vain is salvation looked for elsewhere: in the Lord shall one say, have I righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come, and all that believe in him shall not be ashamed nor confounded, world without end. Isa 45:24 ; Act 4:12 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 3:22 Return, ye backsliding children, [and] I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou [art] the LORD our God.
Ver. 22. Return, ye backsliding children. ] Give the whole turn, and not the half turn only. So Act 2:38 , Peter said to them that were already pricked at heart, “Repent ye,” even to a transmentation; and Jer 3:19 , “Repent ye, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.” Repent not only for sin, but from sin too; be thorough in your repentance; let it be such as shall never be repented of. 2Co 7:10 It is not a slight sorrow that will serve apostates’ turn; it must be deep and downright.
And I will heal your backslidings.
Behold, we come to thee.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos, to mark the confession that will be made “in those days”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 3:22-25
Jer 3:22-25
“Behold, we are come unto thee; for thou art Jehovah our God. Truly in vain is the help that is looked for from the hills, the tumult on the mountains; truly in our Jehovah our God is the salvation of Israel. But the shameful thing hath devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned against Jehovah our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day; and we have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God.”
The significant thing in Jer 3:23-24 is that idolatry is described as unprofitable in Jer 3:23, and as ruinous in Jer 3:24. It was not merely worthless but harmful.
“The shameful thing hath devoured …” (Jer 3:24). “This is a reference to Baal.” “Bosheth” is a word that means “shame”; and it became the pattern in Israel to change names that once ended in “Baal” by rendering that syllable “bosheth.” On this procedure Esh-Baal became Ish-bosheth! (See 2Sa 2:8).
The heartfelt confession of these last verses, evidently suggested by Jeremiah, but with no certainty that either one of God’s children, either Judah or Israel, ever made it stresses a number of the elements of sin: “The folly of it (Jer 3:24), the hopelessness of it (Jer 3:25 a), the ingratitude of it (Jer 3:25 b), the ingrained nature of it (Jer 3:25 c), and the disobedience of it (Jer 3:25 d).”
The overwhelming sorrow, both of the great prophet, and of the apostate people suffering the consequences of their transgression is the emotion that surfaces here at the end of the chapter. In all the history of mankind, there is hardly any greater tragedy than that which befell the disobedient people of God.
The Prayer of Repentance Jer 3:22-25
The exact nature of the verses in this section has puzzled commentators. Does this forthright confession represent the longing of the Lord? Do these verses indicate the wishful thinking on the part of the prophet? Are these words the confession of a few converted people within the nation? Is this confession predictive of a time when men would realize the folly of idolatry and turn in true allegiance to God? This much is certain! The confession gives all the appearances of being sincere and honest. The present writer feels that the prophet intended these verses to be an ideal prayer of repentance, the kind of prayer that God expected and demanded of those who would truly return to Him. It is, to use the words of Laetsch, a future ideal still far removed from the present reality.
The last part of Jer 3:22 depicts the eager response of the people to the gracious invitation which the Lord has just offered in the first half of the verse. The people confess that the pagan worship conducted on the hills has proved to be vain. They admit that they had been spiritually swindled by the tumult of the mountains, i.e., the wild orgies which accompanied idol-worship (Jer 3:23). For an example of tumultuous Baal worship see 1 Kings 18. Others take the tumult of the mountains to refer to the multitudes who gathered on the mountains to worship Baal. Still others feel the word refers to the idols themselves. True spiritual power is not always proportionate to the boisterousness of the religious observance. The Hebrew word translated shame in Jer 3:24 is the word bosheth which often serves in the Old Testament as a euphemism for Baal. For examples where bosheth is substituted for Baal, see Jer 11:13; Hos 9:10; 2Sa 11:21; Jdg 6:32; 2Sa 2:8 and 1Ch 8:33. For as long as these folks can remember Baal worship has devoured the resources of the nation. Their flocks and herds and even their sons and daughters had been offered as sacrifices to the pagan deities (Jer 3:24). Then, too, because of their idolatry divine punishment came upon them which destroyed the labor of their hands, their animals and children. Thus the foolish people had to pay double for the worship of Baal: The initial sacrifice which the Baal demanded and the subsequent punishment which the Lord exacted. The repentant sinners are so ashamed that they resolve to prostrate themselves, an expression of the deepest sorrow. Their guilt is so intense that it seems to enshroud them. In bitter tears of shame and remorse they cry out, We have sinned against the Lord our God! This is the godly sorrow that leads to repentance (2Co 7:9-11). When one realizes the true nature of sin and the true nature of the God against who he has sinned, he cannot help but feel the agonizing shame depicted so vividly in Jer 3:25.
Unfaithful Israel – Jer 3:6 to Jer 4:4
Open It
1. Why is it often difficult for us to admit that were wrong?
2. What have you learned from other peoples mistakes?
3. What is one thing you have learned from experience?
Explore It
4. What did God tell Jeremiah that Israel had done, with Judah looking on? (Jer 3:6-7)
5. Despite witnessing Gods “divorcing” Israel, what did Judah go ahead and do? (Jer 3:8-9)
6. What was the nature of Judahs “return” to God? (Jer 3:10)
7. How did Israel and Judah compare in Gods estimation? (Jer 3:11)
8. What did God promise to Israel if they would acknowledge their guilt before Him? (Jer 3:12-13)
9. Whom did God promise to choose and bring to Jerusalem? (Jer 3:14)
10. What kind of leaders did God intend to give to His faithful remnant? (Jer 3:15)
11. What striking differences did God predict between the day of His salvation and Jeremiahs day? (Jer 3:17-18)
12. What kind of relationship did God originally intend to have with Israel and Judah? (Jer 3:19)
13. To what did God compare Israels unfaithfulness? (Jer 3:20)
14. What “cry” did Jeremiah foresee from the people of Israel? (Jer 3:21)
15. In Jeremiahs vision, what do the people come to confess and acknowledge about themselves? (Jer 3:22-25)
16. What did God require of Israel in order to bless them and, through them, all the nations? (Jer 4:1-2)
17. What did Jeremiah say the people could do to avert Gods wrath? (Jer 4:3-4)
Get It
18. What kind of loyalty does God want from us?
19. How does God want us to repent of our sin?
20. How does God view sin when people are duly warned and choose to sin anyway?
21. Why do you suppose God chose an analogy from marriage to portray Israels wanderings?
22. What did it mean for God to predict a day when the ark of the covenant would never enter peoples minds?
23. What spiritual “disease” did God offer to cure if His people would come to Him?
Apply It
24. In what practical way can you evaluate your loyalty to the Lord this week?
25. What is one step you can take to seek out new areas of your life that God may want to change?
Questions on Jeremiah Chapter Three
By Brent Kercheville
1. What is Gods message to Israel in Jer 3:1? What do we learn about God and ourselves?
2. What has God done because of their sins (Jer 3:2-5)? What is the sinful thinking of the people?
3. What sins have the people committed (Jer 3:6-10)?
4. What is Gods call (Jer 3:11-13)? What must the people do?
5. What will God do if the people return (Jer 3:14-20)? What is God promising?
6. What will Gods people do (Jer 3:21-25)?
TRANSFORMATION:
1. How does this relationship change your relationship with God?
2. What did you learn about him?
3. What will you do differently in your life?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Return: Hos 6:1, Hos 14:1, Hos 14:4
we: Jer 31:18, Isa 27:8, Son 1:4, Hos 3:5, Hos 6:1, Hos 6:2, Hos 13:4, Hos 14:8, Zec 13:9
Reciprocal: 1Sa 7:2 – lamented Psa 80:19 – Turn us Son 6:13 – return Isa 30:15 – in returning Isa 31:6 – Turn Isa 57:18 – will heal Jer 3:1 – yet return Jer 3:11 – The backsliding Jer 3:12 – Return Jer 4:1 – wilt return Jer 8:4 – turn Jer 18:11 – return Jer 30:17 – For I Jer 31:22 – backsliding Jer 51:51 – are confounded Eze 20:19 – the Lord Eze 33:11 – turn ye Eze 36:25 – from all your idols Hos 2:7 – I will Zec 1:3 – Turn Mal 3:7 – Return unto me Mat 13:15 – and I Joh 12:40 – heal Rom 2:4 – goodness Heb 7:25 – come 1Pe 2:4 – To
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 3:22. In some of the passages containing admonitions to reform, the dates are applicable to the conditions in force before the captivity. In such cases the subject should be considered in the light, of the comments at 2Ki 22:17 in Vol. 2 of this Commentary. But the present verse is a prediction of conditions that are to he true at the conclusion of the captivity, for Israel is represented as saying we come unto thee. This predicts the actual state of mind of that people after they have had the chastisement of the captivity. They will then have repented of their backsliding, which includes their complete cure from idolatry. The historical confirmation of this prediction Is quoted in connection with Isa 1:25, vol. 3 of this Commentary.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 3:22. Here begins a dialogue between God and his people, wherein he offers gracious terms of pardon to them, and they make sincere professions of obedience to him. Return, ye backsliding Or revolted, children Return to me, and to my worship and service; return to your duty. God is introduced as saying this upon hearing the weeping and supplications of the Israelites, acknowledging their sin, and humbling themselves for it. And I will heal your backslidings Your revolts, or apostacies: I will take away the guilt of them, and save you from a refractory and revolting disposition. God heals our backslidings by his pardoning mercy, his composing peace, and his renewing grace. Behold, we come unto thee We readily and cheerfully obey thy command, and comply with thy invitation. It is an echo to Gods call; an immediate, speedy answer, without delay; not we will come hereafter, but we do come now; we need not take time to consider of it. For thou art the Lord our God Words expressing the strongest inducements to return to God imaginable, because God had an undoubted right to them and their services, was willing to accept them, and able to save them, Isa 55:7; chap. Jer 14:22. Not only this latter part of the verse, but what follows, to the end of the chapter, is spoken of in the name of the Israelites, accepting the divine invitation, acknowledging the vanity of their misplaced trust, and professing the deepest contrition and shame for their misconduct. It is a description, not of what was really done by the Israelites in general, but of what was necessary to be done in order to their regaining Gods favour; and of what he foresaw would actually be done by such of them as should believe on the Messiah, when he came, and receive the privileges and blessings of the new covenant.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
3:22 Return, ye backsliding children, [and] I will heal your backslidings. {x} Behold, we come to thee; for thou [art] the LORD our God.
(x) This is spoken in the person of Israel to the shame of Judah, who stayed so long to turn to God.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
This anticipation drew from Him an invitation to His faithless people to return to Him immediately. He promised to heal their faithless addiction to wandering from Him. He also anticipated Israel’s response of acceptance. Israel would return and once again acknowledge Yahweh as her God.
"This simple statement was crucial, for the root of past errors lay in their failure to recognize the Lord as their one and true God, and their consequent resort to the false gods of the fertility cults. Having declared their recognition of God, they would immediately pass on to a denunciation of the false gods to whom they had resorted." [Note: Ibid., p. 65.]