24 Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you,
27 when terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices.
32 For the simple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
We see in these verses the reason for the note of urgency, which we commented on in Wednesday's Note; for the appeal of wisdom goes unheeded. But this is to misunder- stand them, for precisely the same emphasis is seen in the New Testament itself, as for example in Romans 1:24, 26, 28, where God is said to give up to a reprobate mind those who do not like to retain Him in their knowledge. This is exactly what is being said in these verses, it is not to be construed as arbitrary vengeance on God's part; it is some- thing that is inevitable. For this kind of refusal does something to a man: it shrivels his soul and renders him lost in the end.
And he says, 'Look well, my son: I set before you life and death, therefore choose life!'