Verse 8
The Lord asked four rhetorical questions that reveal how hard it was for Him to turn Israel over to an enemy for punishment. They are strong expressions of divine emotion, specifically, love for His chosen people. Admah and Zeboiim were cities that God annihilated along with Sodom and Gomorrah (cf. Genesis 10:19; Genesis 14:2; Genesis 14:8; Deuteronomy 29:23). God could not bring Himself to deal with the cities of Israel as He had with those towns. He would not totally destroy them. His heart of judgment was turned upside down into a heart of compassion. All His compassion flamed up in Him as judgment emotions had done before.
"Israel will not be completely ’overturned’ as the cities mentioned here; rather, there will be an ’overturning,’ that is, a change, in Yahweh’s heart." [Note: Wolff, p. 201.]
Be the first to react on this!
