The people are urged to ask the Lord for rain, and implicitly not to seek idols. All peoples face difficult times at various stages in life, and all will look somewhere for help. What matters is where we look. We should look only to the Lord, even though there will be many temptations to look elsewhere. Those who seek after idols will wander around like sheep without a shepherd.
The leaders of Judah and Israel had been deceitful, seeking their own gain and not seeking the Lord. So the Lord was angry with them. He wanted to build up Judah, but this had not happened because of the corrupt leadership. So the Lord would care for them Himself. They will become powerful and effective because the Lord would be with them. This is yet to be fulfilled for Israel. We need to apply it to our own lives as well, and to see that the Lord’s plans for us are good. Moreover, where we are in positions of leadership we need to look to God, and to ensure that we work for the best interests of the people we lead.
So the Lord would strengthen Judah, restore them and have compassion on them. What do you expect God to do for your life? We need to know that the God we serve is one who will strengthen us, restore us and have compassion on us. No matter what we are going through just now, our God will have compassion on us.
Ephraim too, who was that troubled child, ever disobedient, would be included in the salvation. The people of Israel would be gathered from distant lands, for the Lord would call them.
“I will strengthen tme in the Lord, and in His name they will live securely”. Paul in several of his letters calls on us to be “strong in the Lord”. We are secure only when we bind ourselves to the Lord.
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