God expresses deep frustration with His children for forsaking Him and rebelling against Him in both physical and spiritual ways, as seen in Isaiah 1. He declares that due to their mounting sins and defiance, He will hide His eyes from them and not hear their prayers, even when they spread out their hands to pray, because their hands are full of blood. Their rebellion, murders, and trampling of His laws, Sabbaths, and holy days have wearied Him, leading Him to turn away from them. Yet, He offers a path to correction, instructing them to wash themselves, make themselves clean, put away evil, cease to do wrong, learn to do good, seek justice, help the oppressed, defend the fatherless, and plead for the widow. If they are willing and obedient, He promises they shall eat the good of the land; but if they refuse and rebel, they shall be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

God, in His judgment, may turn away from His people when they stray from His path. As prosperity increased among the Israelites, they turned away from Him, subtly submitting to a second master. This turning away led to God's declaration that He would abandon them if they persisted in such ways, withholding His help. Despite His patience and respect for human weaknesses, God's response to disobedience can be severe, as He seeks to guide His people back through the challenges they face. Affluence, while not inherently evil, often distracts and fosters resistance to the sacrifice and perseverance needed to remain faithful to Him.

God's judgment on sin is severe, and His stance against defilement is clear. When a man commits a sin worthy of death and is executed, then hung on a tree as a public display, His law in Deuteronomy 21:22-23 commands that the body must not remain overnight but be buried that day, so as not to defile the land He has given as an inheritance. He declares that the one who is hanged is accursed, bearing the curse of sin that brings death, and lingering exposure of such a curse pollutes His holy land. His desire is for His people to move beyond the reminder of sin, to bury the condemned and maintain the purity of the land He entrusted to them. In the case of Moab, as recorded in Amos 2:1-3, God condemns the king for burning the bones of the king of Edom, a desecration of the dead that He abhors. He pronounces judgment, refusing to turn away punishment for such a transgression, sending fire to devour their palaces. This reflects His deep displeasure with disrespect toward the dead, even of enemies, as it violates the reverence due to those made in His image. When sin reaches an overwhelming magnitude, as seen in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, God's response is to turn away. Laden with the sins of all humanity, Jesus became a curse, bearing such abhorrent iniquity that even the Father could not abide His presence, leading to the cry, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" This turning away was necessary, for He cannot dwell with sin, as evidenced throughout Scripture where He separates Himself from wickedness. His turning away ensured that the penalty for all human sin was paid through Christ's death, satisfying the law that demands death for sin, and opening the way for salvation.