God's relationship with Israel reveals a pattern of forsaking and restoration, driven by their actions and His enduring mercy. Though Israel and Judah have often forsaken Him, leading to His righteous wrath and punishment, He does not abandon them permanently. As seen in II Chronicles 15:2, the Lord is with them while they are with Him, but if they forsake Him, He will forsake them. This principle is evident in Jeremiah 7:28-31, where God rejects and forsakes a generation of His wrath due to their abominations, and in Jeremiah 12:7-9, where He expresses hatred and delivers His heritage to enemies. Further, in Jeremiah 23:33-40, He declares He will utterly forget and forsake them for perverting His words, casting them out of His presence with everlasting reproach. Yet, God's desire for repentance and restoration remains. Lamentations 5:19-21 captures the despair of being forsaken, yet holds a faint hope as the prophet pleads for God to turn them back and renew their days. This hope is grounded in God's character, as seen in Ezekiel 20:44, where He deals with Israel for His name's sake, not according to their wicked ways, to uphold His reputation and fulfill His plan. Prophecies like Ezekiel 36:23-24 promise a future gathering of Israel from among the nations, bringing them back to their land, showing that God will act to restore them, often independent of their righteousness or desire. The ultimate goal is repentance and salvation, as reflected in Luke 15:1-7, where heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents, foreshadowing the joy when millions of Israelites return to God. John 10:16 reinforces this, as Jesus speaks of other sheep He must bring into one flock under one shepherd, indicating His intent to reclaim lost Israel. Despite their scattering and being considered lost to the world, God knows their location and will fulfill His promises, ensuring that, as Romans 11:26 states, all Israel will be saved after enduring great trials. Through His mighty hand, as promised in Ezekiel 20:33-35, He will rule over them, plead His case, and bring them back to repentance and favor.

The nations of Israel have not been faithful to God, squandering their tremendous blessings and repudiating their Creator and Benefactor. Most no longer believe in His existence, attributing their achievements to chance rather than to Him. They have failed to be the model nation, the kingdom of priests they promised to be, instead heaping up sin until God is entirely sick of it. His justice will fall upon them with terrible wrath, and when it does, none will want to be near. They will pay the price for their unfaithfulness. The time of Jacob's Trouble, known as the Great Tribulation, is a necessary part of God's humbling of Israel to prepare them for their role in the Millennium. They are not fit to represent Him at this time and must endure intense punishment and humbling until a refined people emerges with the right attitude to fulfill their covenant promises. God will save a remnant of Israel, not making a complete end of them, and those saved will be restored as servants of God, with David as their king. God has warned Israel from the beginning, as seen in the covenant language of Exodus, where He cautioned them to obey the Angel of the Lord, for He would not pardon their transgressions. Throughout their history, through prophets and scriptures like Leviticus and Deuteronomy, God outlined the consequences of disobedience—terror, disease, defeat, famine, captivity, and scattering. These warnings have persisted, yet Israel has not returned to Him despite repeated crises and disasters meant to prompt repentance. In Ezekiel, God speaks of leaving a remnant who will escape among the nations, remembering Him in captivity. Crushed by their adulterous hearts and idolatrous eyes, they will loathe themselves for their evils and abominations, finally recognizing that He is the Lord who did not speak in vain about bringing calamity upon them. This small number, having endured the worst, will turn to Him in repentance. Amos describes God's patience, sending various calamities to urge Israel to return to Him, yet they fail to connect their sins with these disasters and do nothing. His wrathful punishment thus becomes inevitable. The weight of their sins burdens God, likened to a cart weighed down with sheaves, until He can bear it no longer and responds in fury to correct His people.