A lot of the chapters I've read of late have been somewhat depressing and dark. An example of this is Isaiah 24:3 "The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word." Also in Jeremiah 8:13 God states, "I will take away their harvest, declares the Lord. There will be no grapes on the vine, there will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them." The pattern is consistent, God's people continually turn their back on Him, and God keeps telling them to repent through his prophets. Jeremiah in particular confronts the people for having false religions and as a result predicts the curses that will be put on them from breaking God's commandments.
Although a lot of the chapters have been gloomy and discouraging, the message of the Gospel should be the thing we are focusing on and we should be encouraged instead. God loved us so much that he already had a rescue plan in place for us in Jesus. Isaiah first prophesies of Jesus in chapter 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." His name means, God with us. How much more encouragement do we need to fix our eyes on God as He has sent His only son to save us? Instead of neglecting God's voice in our lives as the Israelites did, we should read the Word, learn from their mistakes and our own mistakes, and know that God is with us in everything we do. We don't need any more proof or assurances because we have the cross and we are already redeemed through it. I think reading about the failings and shortcomings of the Israelites through the major and minor prophets will be rough, but reading about Jesus and how he saved us in the new testament will be that much sweeter when I get to it.
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