Isaiah invites the people of Israel not to hide from the Lord who allowed them to be sent into exile, but to “seek the Lord while he may be found.” The people are to call upon God so that God might have mercy. People who sometimes lived in fear of God were reassured that God would “abundantly pardon.”

The same prophets who called the people away from their evil ways, the same prophets who condemned them for their actions, called them back to a God who would offer them forgiveness beyond measure. God’s mercy, the prophet assures us, is greater than our sins.

Though our enemies on earth might not be so forgiving, God’s way of thinking is not our way of thinking, nor are God’s ways our ways. God’s thoughts are full of forgiveness. God’s way is always a way of mercy.