THEOSISJerome of Stridon
Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they will no longer say, ‘The Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel up from the land of Egypt,’ but rather, ‘The Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the places where He had scattered them; for I will bring them back to their homeland, which I gave to their ancestors.’ This future restoration of Israel and the mercy following their exile is clearly foretold. This prophecy saw initial fulfillment under Zerubbabel, the high priest Joshua, and Ezra. Yet, in a deeper spiritual sense, it finds its more perfect realization in Christ.
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The time is coming when the people will recount not being liberated from Egypt by Moses and Aaron, but rather from the land of the north by Cyrus, king of Persia, who freed the captives. Moreover, He speaks of a restoration that will not be limited to the times of Cyrus but will be realized in the latter days, as the apostle notes, ‘For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and so all Israel will be saved’ (Rom. 11:25-26). Regarding the tribulations endured by our people from the reign of Nero—of whom the apostle wrote, ‘But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear’ (2 Tim. 4:17)—up to the era of Maximin, we may declare, ‘Look at how the Lord has shown mercy to His people and brought them back to His land!’ Undoubtedly, this refers to the Church that He entrusted to their forebears, the apostles, and the early servants of the Gospel.