And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. Pulpit Commentary Verse 13. - As he cried. As the Lord called to them by the prophets. Just retribution fell upon them ( Proverbs 1:24, etc.; Isaiah 65:12, 13; Isaiah 66:4). So they cried, and I would not hear; rather, so they shall cry, and I will not hear. God will be deaf to their cry, and will give them up to their own ways ( Jeremiah 2:28). In the protasis Jehovah is spoken of in the third person, in the apodosis he speaks in the first. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return to Me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it.

I firmly believe that Babe Ruth had it right. When Ruth was dying, baseball honored him by giving him a day, and in his speech at Yankee Stadium he remarked, “The only real game in the world, I think, is baseball. You’ve got to start way down at the bottom, when you’re six or seven, and if you’re successful and you try hard enough, you’re bound to come out on top.” So My people are hung up on turning from Me. Though they call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. Since they refused to listen when I called to them, I would not listen when they called to me, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. When he calls out to me, I will answer him. I will be with him when he is in trouble; I will rescue him and bring him honor.

Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them. Therefore, just as when I cried out and they would not listen, so also they will cry out, and I will not listen,' says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me, And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them. But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, And He that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art Mine.

Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. Hold it, Shag,” I said. “It doesn’t make any difference whether I’m sitting in a waiting room at the hospital or umpiring baseball. I’d prefer umpiring baseball.” My people are determined to turn away from me. Even if they call to the Most High, he will not pardon them. Pulpit Commentary Verse 21. - Because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful (rather, gave thanks); but became vain in their imaginations ( διαλογισμοῖς, elsewhere more correctly rendered "thoughts" or "reasonings;" cf. 1 Corinthians 3:20, "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain" - μάταιοι, as here, ἐματαιώθησαν), and their foolish heart was darkened.Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and malicious talk, And it comes to pass, as He called, | And they have not listened, | So they call, and I do not listen,” said YHWH of Hosts. And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer, And while they are yet speaking, I will hear. for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened.

Similarly, spiritual salvation means being rescued or saved from eternal death. The difference is that spiritual death is a death from which there is no return, literally ceasing to exist. Christians who are saved, even if they experience physical death before Christ’s return, will be changed to spirit and live forever when He comes. if my people, who belong to me, humble themselves, pray, seek to please me, and repudiate their sinful practices, then I will respond from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. Doug Harvey is a Hall of Fame umpire whose career total of 4,673 games—including five World Series—ranks third in major league history. And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel…

Most Relevant Verses

My people are bent on turning from Me; Though the prophets call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, … No,” said the catcher, who stood up and took off his mask, and the batter slugged him. Before I knew it, both teams were mixing it up on the field. All because there were no umpires. Baseball, you see, isn’t a game you play on the honor system.Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, said the LORD of hosts: Jesus told another parable about God’s calling—the parable of the sower. “Behold, a sower [a farmer] went out to sow [plant seed]. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.