In the previous verses it says "be never understanding". Now thankfully there will come a time when they do perceive. So we must beware of reading these verses with excessive literalness. God is describing there current state, not their permanent state.
Isaiah asks how long, and who can blame him! It is not much fun preaching a message and no one understanding what you are saying.
God's answer is not too comforting. "Until the cities lie ruined ..." Israel was truly hard-hearted. Exile was inevitable. Israel is in a sense representative of all mankind. God could have chosen any nation, any individual out which to make His nation. The result would have been the same because of the root of sin in all mankind.
It would look as though all was lost, but a stump would be left and the nation of God would arise from this stump. There is no easy way forward, but there is a way forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment