The Nature of God: The almost hidden note of hope with which chapter 10 ended is here sounded at full volume: God cannot give up this people! (Cf. my son v. 1; my people v. 7.)

The principal theological question that this passage raises is, What finally will be the factor that determines the outcome of human history? And certainly the prophetic answer to that is “God.” As the Lord of all history, God will make the final decision as to what the recompense of human action and attitude will be. But then the question presses deeper: What will be the nature of God’s recompense? In response to the corruption and faithlessness of human beings, will God’s wrath finally burn up the world? Will God abandon the goal of making the earth once again “very good,” as it was in the beginning? Will God consi…