Jeremiah 12:7 ends with, “I have given the beloved of my soul into the hands of her enemies.”

When you read prophecy after prophecy of God warning and telling all the bad things that are going to happen to Israel and about His anger being kindled and the wrath that will incur, don’t forget the heart of it. God is sad-mad.

He’s speaking of giving Israel over to their enemies, but He calls them His beloved, the beloved of my soul.

His heart goes after them even as they go off into the hands of invaders.

When God forsakes, a piece of His heart still goes with them. It is never God’s desire to afflict harm, to abandon, to reject, to send His wrath. God’s will, His heart desire, is to bring us to salvation. He wants everyone to be saved, which means He wants all to come to repentance. There is no salvation without righteousness. We have a just and holy God.

The Lord lays blame for the destruction of the vineyard on the “many shepherds” who have trampled down His “pleasant portion.” In Isaiah 5, the Lord calls Judah His pleasant plant. Leaders are leading God’s people astray. They are growing churches instead of growing God’s kingdom. They are teaching people to follow after other gods that look like success to the world, but they are not leading people to righteousness. They are bringing people into their church instead of into the kingdom.

But for all the warnings, there is also a promise. “If they will diligently learn the ways of my people…,” then He promises to build them up. God is for His people. All the warnings are only for their good. All the tearing down is only for their good. He is love and acts out of love. He is good and acts for our good.

He will be God. He is unchanging. He will be faithful to His children to the end. But His children and His shepherds have a choice to make. Will they be faithful to God?