9:10,11
The admittance of their guilt continues. They have not obeyed the Lord their God. The Lord had formed the nation from scratch, and had given it laws. These laws were given through the prophets. Moses counts as a prophet.
“All Israel has transgressed ..”. Leaders were particularly guilty, but all the people were guilty, no one was innocent. The law had warned the nation very clearly of the consequences of disobedience, along with the blessings of obedience (Lev 26; Deut 28). But the people had ignored them, and so they were now reaping the consequences.
9:12-14
Jerusalem had suffered a very severe destruction, with the temple being destroyed as well. All this was carried out at the command of the Lord. The Lord had deigned to dwell in Jerusalem, but even so He had ordained its destruction. As an aside, this should demonstrate that the temple and Jerusalem were but shadows of the true plans of God, and that trust and obedience are the qualities that God most desires in His people.
What should the reaction of the people have been? It should have been to seek the favour of the Lord. And how do we seek the favour of the Lord? We turn from our sins and give attention to His truth. Note that His laws are not random statements, but are the truth.
“The Lord did not hesitate to bring disaster”. He did this because He is righteous. He would also act righteously if a people repent and turn to Him.
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