I will suddenly speak against a nation, and against a kingdom, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy it.
רֶ֣גַע אֲדַבֵּ֔ר עַל־גּ֖וֹי וְעַל־מַמְלָכָ֑ה לִנְת֥וֹשׁ וְלִנְת֖וֹץ וּֽלְהַאֲבִֽיד׃
4 Church Fathers comment on this verse
In conclusion, I declare. Will it come to pass if I have spoken even once? There is assurance of redemption for you, provided you recognize your state and make a turn toward change. Consequently, do not place your trust in the blessings promised to your ancestors, nor should you succumb to hopelessness because of the trials foretold to you. For what purpose do I create otherwise?
Just as a potter shapes clay into a vessel according to his desire, similarly, God can easily transform circumstances, turning despair into joy.
At last, I will raise my voice against the tongue and the realm, intending to eradicate them, to bring them to ruin, and to leave them desolate. (Jer. 18:8). ‘And if that tongue forsakes all its wickedness, I will reconsider the evils I had intended to bring upon them.’ Do not lose hope in salvation, declares the Lord; for when I declare judgment upon the people and threaten them with severe consequences, if I observe their turning back, I will withhold the punishment and extend grace. Similarly, if I offer an abundance of blessings, but they disregard it and embrace falsehood, I will not fulfill my promise to grant them those blessings. Therefore, in light of these truths, says the Lord, do not despair of a more favorable outcome; instead, repent and you will receive salvation.
Should anyone claim that God, who foresaw their repentance, threatened them with the destruction of their city to motivate them toward saving repentance, it logically follows that the spiritual leaders can justly warn those requiring correction with a threat more severe than they intend to enact if the situation demands it. However, if one asserts that God has altered that serious judgment for the sake of their repentance, it is important to recall what He conveys through the prophet Ezekiel: “But when I say to the lawless one, ‘You shall die by death,’ and he turns from his sins and practices justice and righteousness, he shall live; he shall not die” (Ezekiel 33:14-15).
These instances illustrate that we should not cling stubbornly to our judgments; rather, we should temper the necessity expressed in our warnings with the grace afforded to us. Furthermore, to counter the notion that such mercy was exclusive to the Ninevites, God affirms through the prophet Jeremiah that He is willing to do the same for all, promising to adjust His declared intentions immediately in accordance with our actions: “At times I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will uproot, break down, and destroy it; but if that nation, which I have spoken against, repents of its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to bring upon it. And at other times I declare concerning a nation and kingdom that I will build and plant it; but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, I will reconsider the good that I intended to do for it” (Jeremiah 18:7-10). To Ezekiel, He commands, “Say... do not hold back. Perhaps they will heed and turn from their wicked ways; then I will withdraw the calamity that I intended for them because of their iniquities” (Jeremiah 26:2-3). These affirmations clearly illustrate that we should not adhere rigidly to our determinations but should approach them with reason and wisdom, always opting for the most beneficial course of action without delay.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS