When God Withdraws Mercy: The Consequence of Abuse

"I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel." There exists a time when Elohim will not extend mercy upon a kingdom or particular people. There is a time for the divine decree to be issued against a nation; a time when, though Noah, Job, and Daniel should stand before Him, yet He will not be entreated; though they cry early, cry aloud, cry with tears, cry with fasting, yet Adonai will not be entreated.

God's mercy is precious, and He will not squander it. There comes a moment when God declares: "Now I have done with this people; mercy has had her turn." Men best comprehend the worth of mercy only when mercy is taken from them. When divine compassion departs, people recognize its value—but then no addition comes.

Elohim typically does not withdraw His mercy fully from a people or soul until after much mercy has been received and abused. It is just with God that when mercy is misused, we should never know further what mercy meant. Mercy, being precious, is also tender and dangerous to abuse. Nothing works the ruin of a people more swiftly than abused mercy.

Historically, when God withheld mercy from Israel, national ruin followed. Yet simultaneously, "I will have mercy upon the house of Judah." When Assyrian armies destroyed Samaria and the Ten Tribes entered captivity, God extended mercy to Judah and Jerusalem, saving them not by sword or bow, but by the direct intervention of Adonai their God.