Despite His people’s sinfulness, God would wait patiently for them to come to the end of themselves. God knew that at some point His people would come to the end of their resources. This is the patience of God. The prophet reiterated it in Isaiah 30:18 saying,
“Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.”
To those in Zion and Jerusalem who expectantly waited for God, He would not disappoint them. He promised not to hide Himself from them any longer. His promise to them was that He would hear and answer their cry so that they no longer had to be sad. More than that, He would become their teacher. They would be able to hear a clear direction and be guided in the right way. They would hear God telling them specifically, “This is the way, walk in it.” Hearing and heeding the word of the Lord would bring about some decisive actions of honouring Him. They would get rid of their idols and have nothing to do with them.
These few verses reveal how patient God truly had been with His people. While He had the power to bring everything to a swift end at the snap of His fingers, yet He chose to patiently wait. It takes great power to exercise such patience. God’s kindness and patience should lead us to repentance. While God is patient, it does not mean that we should test it. Testing the Lord’s patience is a reflection of doubt. In fact, it finds its root in unbelief. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Like Enoch, let us live to please Him by trusting Him absolutely and following Him wholeheartedly.
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