Rebels Purged from Israel

Isaiah 65: 11-12. But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget My holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number. Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before Mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.”

There are some believers, even today, who think that they can live any way they want to, and that God has to forgive them if/when they decide to stop their sin and say “Sorry, Lord.”

While I understand that today’s passage is spoken to Israel, and has to do with their idolatry and forsaking of God, it is very clear that where there is no true repentance, there is no forgiveness. God is not required to just shrug His shoulders at sin, and to concede to a mumbled, insincere “apology.”

Not only did Israel participate in idolatry; they provided the wine and the banquets to honor the false gods. Prov.1: 24-27 says, ” Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded;

²⁵ But ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof:

²⁶ I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

²⁷ When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.”

We need to remember that God’s primary attribute is His holiness. In His holiness, He cannot tolerate any form of sin. We tend to look at our sins lightly, whether they be sins of immorality, greed, pride, whatever. “Oh, God loves me, and He understands, so I’ll be okay,” we flippantly say. We have no understanding of the wrath of God against sin. We will be called to account for our sin, unless we have truly confessed and repented. We should not be so sanguine about the lasting results of unconfessed, ongoing sin in our lives.