God gives people time to repent, but the carnal mind turns that time into license to carry on, and His generosity can drug our sense of urgency and zeal. He therefore warns His people against settling on their lees, against complacency and feeling secure in the world, and against putting off needed changes until the end is closer. As the famine of hearing God's Word deepens, people lose the ability to connect spiritual cause with physical effect. Even in the church, the scattering is rarely recognized as God's judgment, so we should ask whether He is giving time to repent in other areas we have pushed out of our minds. Paul teaches in Romans 2:4-11 that God's goodness, chrestotes, leads to repentance. This goodness is what is suitable or fitting to a need, and it is never indulgence or enabling. God supplies our spiritual needs, such as the sacrifice for sin and the faith to begin salvation. When we need a different perspective, an upgrade in character, or a better appreciation of sin's seriousness, He kindly provides a trying circumstance. Sometimes He sends calamities to get our attention, but usually He gives gentle taps on the shoulder or speaks in a still, small voice. These nudges encourage us to consider our ways and adjust our path, so that we may have a better, more spiritually abundant life.

Jotham became mighty because he prepared, or established, his ways before the LORD his God (II Chronicles 27:6; cf. Proverbs 4:26; 16:3; 24:3). He was well aware of his father Uzziah's presumptuous mistake, and it must have weighed on him as he contemplated the direction of his own life. God prospered him because he examined his ways to ensure they conformed to God's standard. God was never a stranger in his thoughts. The phrase "the LORD his God" shows a personal relationship, not secondhand knowledge, and Jotham stayed committed to God throughout his life. Unlike Jehoash, Amaziah, and Uzziah, who began righteously but regressed through neglect, pride, and idolatry, Jotham held steady and did not personally fall away. Yet considering one's ways must reach beyond personal conduct. Jotham tolerated the high places and made little effort to improve the people's spiritual condition, and that toleration likely contributed to his son Ahaz's slide into idolatry and child sacrifice. Right living requires both removing the evil and embracing the good. Ignoring evil rather than excising it lets it grow and fester like a cancer, ready to break out and cause harm.