Here it is again, one of those things I just don't understand, that offends my sensibilities. I think though, I am beginning to understand at least a little. God is punishing Israel, or foretelling their punishment at least (I'm not quite sure which it is!). Because even though He loves His children, and is faithful to forgive when we truly repent, punishment of some kind is still needed. A child will never learn if their parents never let them know the consequences of their actions, at least to an extent.
Here's what got me again though: vs. 6 - "They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but they shall not find Him, He hath withdrawn Himself from them."
I asked God, how could the never-changing God that promises to never leave or forsake us do just that? Miraculously He's answered me! Because didn't He do just that to His own Son, Yeshua, who lived a sinless life while he was dying on the cross for all humanity? Didn't Christ cry out "Why have You forsaken me?"
It's because at that moment, he had all the sin of the world on him and God could not look at that sin. (Now, God does not see our sin He sees Christ, and before Christ, the sacrifices made, etc.) Now, Israel has committed so much sin that maybe God can't look at them?
Maybe the reason God will not be found at first in these troubling times is because Israel's not truly repenting, they just want His help. Because He does promise that He will be found when they "acknowledge their offense" (vs. 15) And when they realize that God is the one that was punishing them, but He'd also be their healer (6:1).
And lastly, maybe, just maybe, though these were God's chosen people, they didn't actually belong to Him because they weren't following Him? Maybe they were not "saved" at the time He turned away, and that's why He was able to. If you think about it, His promise that He'll never leave or forsake us, is to His followers, those that are "saved."
Maybe I have no clue what I'm talking about, but that all makes sense to me.
* I put the word saved in parenthesis because when people talk about salvation, they usually think of when Christ died on the cross. However, this had not taken place at this time. The Bible does make it clear though, that people were "saved" before Yeshua even took his first breath on earth though.
