THEOSISJerome of Stridon
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled in your sins; bring words of prayer with you as you turn to Him, saying, "Remove all wrongdoing and accept the goodness we offer; we will bring forth the praise of our lips." Assyria will not deliver us; we will not ride on horses, nor will we ever again call the works of our hands our gods; for You show compassion to the orphan who places their trust in You. After the fall of Samaria and the devastation of her families, all Israel is summoned to repent, inviting those who are weary from their transgressions to seek the Great Healer and rise once more. The manner of this repentance is illustrated: Bring words, meaning prayers and an awareness of sins, and return to the Lord both through your speech and actions.
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Say to Him: "Take away all iniquity, so that nothing from our past weaknesses remains and no new offenses arise from the evil that has previously taken root; and accept, we pray, the good we offer." If You do not remove our wrongs, we have nothing good to present, as it is written: "Depart from evil and do good" (Ps. 36:27). Therefore, we shall bring forth the praises from our mouths.
The reference to "calves of the mouth" conveys our expressions of worship and gratitude to God; genuine sacrifice comes from a contrite spirit (Psalms 50:19). Even then, physical offerings were set aside; what is truly accepted by God is heartfelt confession. They vow to continually offer the fruits of their lips in praise to God and to place their hope neither in Assyria nor in Egyptian horses—recognizing that such reliance leads to disappointment (Ps. 32:17)—and they shall no longer yield to the idols crafted by their own hands, like the golden calves in Dan and Bethel. Thus they declare, "Let us not longer say to the creations of our hands, 'Our gods,' for You will extend Your mercy to the orphan and the people who trust in You," referring to Israel, of whom God has declared, "Israel is My firstborn son" (Ex. 4:22), and "I have raised sons and elevated them, but they have turned away from Me" (Is. 1:2). In another passage, it is noted that foreign nations have deceived God (Ps. 17:45). The term "orphan" signifies one who has lost their Father, God. Some commentators describe an orphan as one who has renounced the evil father, the devil, and thus is upheld by God's mercy.
This prophetic call targets every false teaching throughout history, urging its followers to repent: "Turn to the Lord your God if you are weary or have fallen, having lost the Lord's healing touch; bring words, a true declaration of faith, and say, 'Erase the iniquity within our hearts and accept the good that resides in our faith.'" For with the heart, one truly believes unto salvation, and with the mouth, one confesses it (Rom. 10:10). The calfs and sacrifices or the fruit of our lips are rooted in faith in the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Lord's suffering and resurrection. Those who present this faith will not depend on the king of Assyria, whom we have frequently mentioned. They will not rely on the horses the Lord warns against increasing (Deut. 17), the same horses that led Pharaoh to ruin with his army (Ex. 14). Every heretic, due to pride, rides on the horses crafted by their misbelief. They will no longer claim their crafted works as their deities; the greedy serve their appetites, the avaricious worship mammon, and the heretic follows their own invented doctrines. Yet, those who abandon such things—be it Assyria, the horses, or the devised idols—will turn to the Lord and perform good deeds towards the Father who was previously rejected.