The scripture for today, August 8, is Zechariah 8:8 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:
“I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.”
The Jews had done terrible things against God. They had worshiped terrible idols that required ghastly things be done in their honor such as setting up brothels with so-called “priestesses” and sacrificing their children on an altar of fire. They had nailed the doors of the Temple closed. They had broken every one of God’s rules. They had sworn at him, rejected him, hated him.
So God punished them with 70 years of exile in Babylon. It was the boomerang effect. They had rejected God, so God rejected them.
But it was not permanent. God is love and has no choice but to love and give people a second chance. Isn’t He amazing? The God of Second Chances?