I will offer solace to their dwellings; I will love them unmistakably, for My anger has turned away from them; I will be as the dew. Israel shall thrive like the lily and put down her roots like Lebanon. Her branches will flourish, and she will be as a bountiful olive tree, with a scent comparable to Lebanon. They will return to sit under its shade; they shall feast on wheat, and Ephraim will blossom like a vine; his memory will resemble the wine of Lebanon. What concerns him about idols? I have brought him low, yet I will strengthen him. I will be like a resilient juniper tree; from Me, you will find fruit.
When they recognized their need for repentance and, like a forgotten child, acknowledged the Father they had abandoned, God responded, I will heal their brokenness and restore their villages, where they have suffered and languished in despair. I will love them according to the favor that is translated as explicitly and manifestly without doubt. The Lord loves those who love Him; as He stated elsewhere, I love those who love Me (Proverbs 8:17). I, who was once angered by their transgressions, will now show them mercy because of My goodness. I will be like dew to them, quenching the heat of Babylon's fires and the furnace of torment, as I also promised Jacob through Isaac: "By the dew of heaven your dwelling shall be" (Genesis 27:39). Just as He is to those who have faith in Him—light, way, truth, bread, vine, fire, shepherd, lamb, door, worm—so He transforms into dew for those who require His mercy to cool the burns of sin, as Isaiah declares, "The dew that comes from You is their healing" (Isaiah 26:19). Moses, in Deuteronomy’s song, states, "Let my words fall like dew" (Deuteronomy 32:2). When the Lord sprinkles us with His dew and His rains relieve our hardened hearts, we will not wither but will bloom like the lily, emulating the Saviour, who proclaims in the Song of Songs, "I am the flower of the field, and the thorn of the thorns" (Song of Songs 2:1). To His spotless bride, He says, "As the thorn among the thorns, so is My true one among the daughters" (Song of Songs 2:2).
When we mature in the Lord, we will put down roots like Lebanon's trees, whose roots reach as deep as their crowns rise above, making them steadfast in every storm. Their branches spread wide, providing shelter for the birds of the sky. However, let us not think that speaking of roots as in Lebanon's cedars refers only to barren trees; rather, the righteous man who turns to the Lord is likened to the fruitful olive tree, which states, "But I am like an olive tree that bears fruit in the house of God" (Psalm 51:10). With their fruit, the five wise virgins were nourished; it alleviates wounds, comforts the suffering, dispels darkness, and provides for those who strive. From this olive will arise fragrance, like Lebanon’s offerings—a term used to describe both the mountain and a type of incense. This especially fertile and verdant mountain is abundant in lush greenery, so that the olive tree might proclaim, "We carry the fragrance of Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:15). Those who turn to the Lord will reap the rewards of their repentance; they will sit under His shadow and say, "I will go sit under His shadow, and His fruit is sweet in my mouth" (Song of Songs 2:3).
In His shade, those who were once dead will come to life; or, as the Septuagint renders it, they shall feast on wheat, representing abundance in every aspect. The drunkenness mentioned here refers not to a loss of control but to overflowing abundance, as evident in the subsequent verse: "You have visited the earth and watered it" (Psalm 64:10). Joseph is said to have filled his brothers at a feast (Genesis 43). The Lord invites the apostles, “Eat, my friends, and drink and be filled, beloved” (Song 5:1). Our Lord Himself is the wheat and the vine, and everyone who believes in Him is considered a partaker; thus it continues that they shall blossom like the vine, their remembrance akin to the wine of Lebanon. This wine may imply a blend enhanced with incense for a pleasant aroma, or perhaps it refers to the wine offered in the Lord's temple, referenced by Zechariah in "Open, O Lebanon, your doors" (Zechariah 11:1). With such abundance, Ephraim, who repents and has begun to align with Me, forsake idols and cast down graven images; for I have humbled you but will now raise you up or, as the Psalm’s Hebrew text states, I will exalt you like a thriving fir tree (Psalm 103:17). Or I will be like a sturdy juniper tree, that you may find solace beneath my shade. Solomon, as the Septuagint indicates, crafted the temple doors from juniper wood because Christ, through whom we access the Father, is ever blossoming and bearing fruit that remains green. This juniper tree provides nourishment and refreshment, guarding those beneath it from this world's heat and shielding them from the sun's scorching rays, which once troubled Jonah (Jonah 4).
All that we have interpreted allegorically concerning the arrival of the Saviour and the conversion of true Israel may also apply to heretics, Jews, Gentiles, and all false teachings—indicating that upon repentance, they shall be forgiven. While the fullness of the promise was first fulfilled with the coming of the Saviour and is continually realized within the Church, we also believe it will be fulfilled in even greater abundance when perfection arrives, and that which is partial ceases (1 Corinthians 13:10). It should be noted, as frequently mentioned, that Israel's salvation, conversion to the Lord, and liberation from captivity are not to be interpreted in a physical sense, as the Jews assume, but in a spiritual sense, as has been conclusively demonstrated.
THEOSIS