17 Thus says the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.“
The content of this is almost the same as what God said previously (v12&13) but the tone is so much gentler! A parent, who disciplines a child, the next moment is hugging and assuring the child of their love! God disciplines but His love is steadfast!
18 Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
19 your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.”
God lists different aspects of what occurs when we disobey Him. a) peace is surrendered b) righteousness is dashed! c) future generations are led astray and messed up!
20 Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea,
declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it out to the end of the earth;
say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
God gives an order, ‘The past is the past! Go from here with appropriate joyous witness about Me to everyone!’
21 They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock and the water gushed out.
22 “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”
A quick reminder of the past and a kick in the pants, as the prophecy ends!
Proverbs 17: 22 – A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Prayer: Please keep me singing
“1 am Loved with everlasting love,
led by grace that love to know;
gracious Spirit from above,
Thou dost taught me it is so!
O this full and precious peace!
O this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His and He is mine.
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His and He is mine.“