Looking at the experience of God’s OT as they approached and endured the Exile, I want us to see that sin always leads to ruin, but God is faithful to and with His Word. He calls to repentance in order that He might restore fully.

⁴ “In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the Lord their God. ⁵ They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lordin an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

⁶ “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. ⁷ All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the Lord, their habitation of righteousness, the Lord, the hope of their fathers.’

Jeremiah 50:4-7 English Standard Version (ESV)