And so…God gave the Israelites another chance. Not just a second chance; they’d had those. But a third and fourth and fifth chance – maybe more like a hundredth or a thousandth chance. THAT’S why God sent the prophets – not to declare punishment…but to declare mercy and compassion. When God sent a prophet, God sent that prophet to tell God’s people they didn’t DESERVE another chance, but God was going to give them one…ANYWAY. The whole POINT of the prophets was to give people yet ANOTHER chance.