THEOSISJerome of Stridon
And communicate to the house of Israel that afflicts Me, thus declares the Lord God: You have reached a point of sufficiency with all your iniquities, O house of Israel, for you have allowed the children of foreigners, both uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to enter My sanctuary, thereby desecrating My temple. You have offered My bread, My flesh, and My blood, and have broken My covenant through your many wrongdoings. You have not upheld the statutes of My sanctuary, setting up your own guardians for your services within it. When He states, ‘You have had enough of your wickednesses,’ He urges us to repent from past sins, encouraging us not to multiply them and to avoid becoming fuel for future destruction.
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We should heed the warning of Isaiah: ‘Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords and sin as with a cart rope’ (Isaiah 5:18). The initial transgression was the introduction of foreign sons, uncircumcised in both heart and flesh, into God's sanctuary, consequently polluting His dwelling. For just as a little leaven affects the whole batch (1 Corinthians 5:6), it is stated in Proverbs, ‘Do not allow the wicked to enter the dwelling of the righteous.’
In relation to this matter, we face objections from Jews and Ebionites who uphold physical circumcision: how do we interpret the phrase regarding the uncircumcised of heart and flesh? How can we grasp the spiritual meaning of fleshly circumcision? We find Paul declaring, ‘I affirm to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace’ (Galatians 5:2-3), and following Jeremiah's words: ‘Behold, the ears of this people are uncircumcised, and they cannot listen’ (Jeremiah 6:10). Moses also spoke before the Lord regarding the Israelites: ‘The children of Israel have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me? For I am of uncircumcised lips’ (Exodus 6:12). The Septuagint translates this as ‘I am speechless,’ yet the Hebrew conveys a truer sense: ‘I am uncircumcised of lips.’ Thus, we ought to question them or rather compel them to have their ears circumcised and their lips cut off, fulfilling the Scriptures. If they understand the circumcision of the ears as refraining from hearing anything vile and the circumcision of the lips as not speaking anything disgraceful, we assert, ‘You must apply this same interpretation concerning the heart and flesh.’
We circumcise the heart by God’s knife when evil thoughts depart from it, thus maintaining that it is not said of us, ‘The heart of this people is dulled, and their ears are heavy of hearing’ (Isaiah 6:10; Acts 28:27). Likewise, the flesh is circumcised when we refrain from earthly actions driven by bodily demands—eating, drinking, sleeping, dressing—performing these acts due to necessity and the maintenance of life rather than pleasure or laxity. He who drinks a modest amount of wine for stomach issues (1 Timothy 5) and detests drunkenness circumcises his flesh. He who sleeps according to nature’s needs will find assurance in Solomon’s words: ‘When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet’ (Proverbs 3:24). Those who avoid immorality and fulfill their marital duties to not succumb to temptation (1 Corinthians 7) will hear the promise for Israel: ‘This day I will take away the reproach of Egypt from you’ (Numbers 5:9). They will wear garments that protect from cold, avoiding those that may expose their nakedness due to their thinness. The body, worn by fasting and purified through abstinence, avoids the reproach of the physically indulgent Egyptians, able to proclaim the sentiment expressed in many Septuagint translations: ‘My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land’ (Psalm 62:2-3).
Therefore, should we wish to bring outsiders into the temple of God, we must have their ears, lips, hearts, and all senses—eyes, taste, and smell—circumcised, so that all we do is infused with the fear of God and understanding. Let the bishops, presbyters, and all church authority heed this, ensuring that they do not allow uncircumcised in heart and flesh to enter God’s sanctuary and defile His house. Should they do so, the consequences will be significant: they bring My loaves, which represent the offerings shared among all congregations and across the earth, derived from one bread, including not just the loaves but also the sustenance described as ‘They shall be nourished by the fat of wheat’ (Psalms 80:17) and the blood shed in the suffering of Christ. The reading should be understood this way: When you introduce foreign children into My sanctuary, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, and pollute My house, you dare to present My sacred offerings and do not realize that you have transgressed My covenant through all your iniquities, failing to uphold the statutes of My sanctuary and establishing unworthy guardians for your services in My sanctuary, signifying that they serve not for Me but for your own purposes.