Jeremiah 4:1-6: a reflection

1“If you will return, Israel,” says the LORD, “if you will return to me, and if you will put away your abominations out of my sight; then you will not be removed; 2and you will swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness. The nations will bless themselves in him, and they will glory in him.” 3For the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, “Break up your fallow ground, and don’t sow among thorns. 4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. 5Declare in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, ‘Blow the trumpet in the land!’ Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble yourselves! Let’s go into the fortified cities!’ 6Set up a standard toward Zion. Flee for safety! Don’t wait; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.”

God calls his people to return, but he makes clear it must be a real return, one that reaches the heart. If you return, O Israel, return to me, he says, and put away your detestable things. And then he uses two striking images: Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns; circumcise yourselves to the LORD, remove the foreskin of your hearts. True return is not surface reform but a breaking up of the hard, unplowed ground of the heart, a dealing with the inner self, not merely the outward acts.

Notice the depth of the return God calls for: to the heart, not merely the surface. Fallow ground is ground that has grown hard and overgrown from neglect; to break it up is hard, deep work, reaching beneath the surface. And to circumcise the heart is to deal with the inner self, not merely outward behavior. God is not content with a surface reform that leaves the heart hard and unchanged; he calls for the breaking up of the hard ground within, a return that reaches the heart itself.

That is a searching call, for we often prefer a surface repentance to the deep work of the heart. We can change some outward behaviors while leaving the hard, unplowed ground of the heart untouched; but God calls for more, for the breaking up of the fallow ground within, for a return that reaches the heart. When you turn to God, do not settle for a surface reform that leaves your heart hard and unchanged. Let God break up the fallow ground within you, the hard, neglected places of the heart; do not sow the seeds of a new start among the thorns of an unchanged inner life. True return reaches the heart; ask God to break up the hard ground within you, and to circumcise your heart, so that your turning to him is not merely on the surface, but reaches the inner self where real change begins.

Lord, you call your people to return, but to a real return that reaches the heart: break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns; circumcise the foreskin of your hearts. Show me the depth of the return you call for, to the heart, not merely the surface. Fallow ground is ground grown hard and overgrown from neglect; to break it up is hard, deep work, reaching beneath the surface. And to circumcise the heart is to deal with the inner self, not merely outward behavior. You are not content with a surface reform that leaves the heart hard and unchanged; you call for the breaking up of the hard ground within. I often prefer a surface repentance to the deep work of the heart, changing some outward behaviors while leaving the hard, unplowed ground of my heart untouched. When I turn to you, keep me from settling for a surface reform that leaves my heart hard and unchanged. Break up the fallow ground within me, the hard, neglected places of my heart; do not let me sow the seeds of a new start among the thorns of an unchanged inner life. True return reaches the heart; break up the hard ground within me, Lord, and circumcise my heart, so that my turning to you reaches the inner self where real change begins.