Before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River to enter the promised land, they received a grim warning and the consequences if they chose to follow another God (Deut 4:25-31). God knew out of his infinite wisdom that one day, the nation of Israel would forget the slavery they endured in Egypt and the redemption He had provided. As the generation passed on, their memory of their hardship in Egypt faded, and they started aligning themselves with foreign Gods in the land of Canaan.
The act of disobedience invoked God’s anger and judgment. But God gave a promise. If the nation of Israel seeks His mercy and chooses to return to God at any point in their sinful life, he promises to restore them. (Deut 4:31)
Many Old Testament stalwarts, such as Nehemiah, Samuel, King Hezekiah, Hosea, Amos, and Zechariah, reminded the nation of Israel and Judah of this promise when they went through a lean spiritual patch. They called on the people to return to their God and escape from his judgment.
Our God is a righteous judge, compassionate father, and God of Covenant. When the people of Israel continuously sinned against God, he gave them to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser in BC 722. The last king of Israel was Hosea. The kingdom of Israel was completely dismantled, and the people were relocated to the land of Assyria (2 Kings 17:1-6). After their 700 years of stay in the promised land, they were deported as slaves and refugees to an unknown foreign land.
The land of Judah followed the same fate in BC 605 during Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest. The righteous judge provided his judgment for their continuous disobedience. At the same time, the compassionate God’s heart was aroused when he saw the suffering His own people went through. The status of His heart was well documented by prophet Hosea (11:8).
“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.
This is a beautiful example of God’s immutability. God does not change; in other words, he is immutable in his attributes. Heaven and earth may pass away, but his words will never pass away (Mat 24:35). His promises, laws, and covenants are unchanging. But his heart moves when the people change and ask for forgiveness. His heart changed when he saw the people of Nineveh asking for forgiveness. When the worst kings in the history of Judah and Israelites, such as Manasseh and Ahab, asked for forgiveness and humbled their hearts, God changed his hearts. But the change in God’s heart in all the above cases originated from a change in men and not from God.
The echo of God’s call to “return to me” resounds many times all through the books of Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah (44:22), Jeremiah (4:1), Joel (2:12), and Zachariah (1:3). The only way the men can escape God’s judgment is by returning to him and taking shelter under his wings. God is unchanging and righteous, and he cannot reverse his judgment unless there is a change in the hearts of men. Hence, God, out of his infinite love, wooed us to return to him so that our hearts would change.
The call he gave through his prophets remains real and open to every one of us. A call to return to him, so that he will return to us.
This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the LORD Almighty. – Zechariah 1:3
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