Isaiah 1:18 “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”
This passage is startlingly clear, “the LORD” makes it plain that He will bless His “people” (Isaiah 1:2-3) when they are “willing and obedient” to serve and obey Him; but, He will also severely chasten His “people” when they “refuse” to obey Him and “rebel” against Him. Remember, He is addressing the rebellious “nation” (Isaiah 1:4). The sad truth is that “the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes” (Psalms 36:1) which was true in Old Testament times and Paul makes it clear that it is still true in New Testament times, telling us that “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:18). People so soon forget such warnings as this: “And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: 16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy. 17 Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.” (II Chronicles 36:15-17). Again, the Lord Himself told Judah, “verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2)! Over and over again there are those “that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near” (Amos 6:3); that is, they don’t believe that God means what He says!