God had blessed Israel with an abundance of wealth and prosperity but they had squandered His blessing on themselves. But the LOrd desired to draw Israel back to Himself with His love for them. The Lord was like a parent to Israel who lovingly draws a child in their first uneasy steps. Israel however did not want this and kept willfully backsliding away from God, they refused to repent of the sin they were now openly comitting before Him. But despite this the Lord would not give up on them, He allowed them to go their own way but all the time was patient and longsuffering towards the nation. This is a great illustration of the mercy and forgiveness of the Lord a thing we should be ever thankful for as He has also shown His great love for us in the death of His Son the Lord Jesus.
