All of us must die. We are like water spilled on the ground. It can’t be put back into the jar. But that is not what God desires. Instead, he finds a way to bring back anyone who was driven away from him.
When their twigs are dry, they will be broken off. Then women will come and make fires with them. The people of Jacob don’t understand the Lord. So the God who made them won’t be concerned about them. Their Creator won’t be kind to them.
Why does my pain never end? Why is my wound so deep? Why can’t I ever get well? To me you are like a stream that runs dry. You are like a spring that doesn’t have any water.
For 40 years you will suffer for your sins. That is one year for each of the 40 days you checked out the land. You will know what it is like to have me against you.’
God isn’t a mere human. He can’t lie. He isn’t a human being. He doesn’t change his mind. He speaks, and then he acts. He makes a promise, and then he keeps it.
The Lord is not slow to keep his promise. He is not slow in the way some people understand it. Instead, he is patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed. Instead, he wants all people to turn away from their sins.