The prophet plainly points to a time when, because of continued disobedience, it would be too late for the Israelites to turn to God’s Word in an attempt to avoid the divine judgments. Deep sorrow sometimes stimulates men to heed the Holy Scriptures. Unfortunately, such sorrow often comes too late to produce any beneficial result. This is so, not because God’s love is withdrawn from the sinner, but because the sinner has become so hardened in his iniquities that he wishes only to escape the consequence of his transgressions, and not to forsake his evil ways. He has grieved the Holy Spirit beyond all hope of true repentance and reformation of character (see Gen. 6:3, 5, 6; see on 1 Sam. 28:6).

In the final “day of the Lord,” just before the second advent of Christ, this experience of ancient Israel will be repeated, when the impenitent of the whole earth, suffering under the seven last plagues, will seek relief from calamity by any means possible, even turning to the Word of God, which they had formerly neglected to study and obey (see GC 629).