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N Isaiah 1 we find that God views the Jews as His children. But, they were very bad children. They were exceedingly rebellious. They ignored God and lived as far from Him as they possibly could. He had disciplined them repeatedly, to no avail. And, they had continued certain ritualistic religious liturgies for centuries, assuming that God could be placated, controlled and used. Yet, the crux of the matter was that the people were very sinful, and God was very weary of their sin.
So, God gave His people an ultimatum of sorts. They could either repent, or be rejected. And, by rejected, I mean destroyed. The land would be emptied of them altogether. Which is indeed what ended up happening. But, before we rush off discussing the great wrath of God against sin, let's notice the great mercy of God which He offered freely to those who would be willing to repent and turn to Him in sincerity and humility. If they would repent (Isaiah 1:16-17 & 19-20), the offer of an extravagantly magnanimous salvation was presented clearly in Isaiah 1:18.
What does this tell us about God? He is loving, merciful, kind and compassionate. He wants to give us good things. He is also holy and therefore He cannot overlook our trespasses as long as we hold on to them, but He is willing to forgive and redeem us if we will simply come to Him on His terms. What glorious news! Our God is truly amazing and wonderful! Amen?
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