Into the Fire

This is what the Lord says—

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you what is best for you,

who directs you in the ways you should go.

If only you had paid attention to my commands,

your peace would have been like a river,

your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Your descendants would have been like the sand,

your children like its numberless grains;

their name would never be cut off

nor destroyed before me.”

. . .

“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”

Isaiah 48:17-19; 22