“At the right time he sent a servant to the workers to obtain from them a share of the grapes from the vineyard. But the workers beat the servant and sent him back with nothing.
The Lord had warned Israel and Judah through every kind of prophet and seer, “Turn from your evil ways, and obey my commands and decrees as I commanded your ancestors in all my teachings, the commands I sent to you through my servants the prophets.”
Asa was furious at the seer. He was so angry with Hanani that he put Hanani in prison. Asa also oppressed some of the people at that time in his reign.
But they were defiant and rebelled against you. They threw your teachings over their shoulders and killed your prophets who warned them to turn back to you. They committed outrageous sins.
You were patient with them for many years. You warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. However, they wouldn’t listen. So you handed them over to the people in the surrounding nations.
I have sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again. They said, “Turn from your evil ways, do what is right, and don’t follow other gods in order to serve them. Then you will live in the land that I gave you and your ancestors.” However, you refused to listen to me or obey me.
They don’t say to themselves, ‘We should fear the Lord our God. He sends rain at the right time, the autumn rain and the spring rain. He makes sure that we have harvest seasons.’
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone to death those sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings! But you were not willing!
You didn’t choose me, but I chose you. I have appointed you to go, to produce fruit that will last, and to ask the Father in my name to give you whatever you ask for.
In the same way, brothers and sisters, you have died to the laws in Moses’ Teachings through Christ’s body. You belong to someone else, the one who was brought back to life. As a result, we can do what God wants.