His hand is still stretched out.

Isaiah 9:18-10:4, For wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briars and thorns; it even sets the thickets of the forest aflame, and they roll upward in a column of smoke. By the fury of the LORD of hosts the land is burned up, and the people are like fuel for the fire; no man spares his brother. And they slice off what is on the right hand but still are hungry, and they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied; each of them eats the flesh of his own arm. Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, and together they are against Judah. In spite of all this His anger does not turn away, and His hand is still stretched out. Woe to those who enact evil statutes, and to those who constantly record unjust decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice, and rob the poor of My people of their rights, in order that widows may be their spoil, and that they may plunder the orphans. Now what will you do in the day of punishment, and in the devastation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth? Nothing remains but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. In spite of all this His anger does not turn away, and His hand is still stretched out.

The nation, split in two, fights its own brothers; Assyria is brought to bring destruction upon both the Northern and Southern kingdoms. And all of this comes from the fury of the Lord. This gruesome devastation has a purpose; to draw the nation away from idolatry and turn them back to the one true God. Are we willing to lay aside our pride and our idolatry to draw near to Him? For we know that He is not very far from every one of us. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Open our eyes to those things that we have placed before You; thank You for the gift of faith and the strength to diligently seek You!