God did not want perfection just loving obedience.  God did not want sacrifice just brokenness (Psalm 51:17). God wanted Judah to return to him—to repent or turn from sin and turn to him again. To plow up the filthy field and put down new soil. He wanted them to repent and change. God continually punished the Israelites and said in essence, “Hey repent and we’re all good. Turn back to me and I will return to you.”

Perhaps the greater the man the deeper and more frequent the repentance.  I love what the old hymn says, “Prone to wander Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.”  And David’s greatest strength was his humility (Psalm 51).  Paul’s greatest strength was his greatest weakness, which led to his dependence on God (2 Cor 12:7-10).  Repentance not only turns from evil or omits evil it turns to God and commits to God in complete humility and dependence. When we sin we’re turning our back on our daddy and like a 3 year old running across the highway without his help. I’m afraid if we don’t repent, God will bring us to our knees like He did Israel.  Of course this is His grace and love to.  He opposed to woo us back not to just jack us up. Yes there were consequences of devastation for sin, and there still are today, but God desires to bless us and bring us back to him, not merely put us in an infinite time-out (Gen 28-30).  God disciplines us to restore us because He loves us (Heb 12:4-11).  If you know the Lord, ask Him to show you what areas in your life need plowing up and ripping up through repentance.  If you don’t know Jesus turn from your sins for the first time by confessing your sins and confessing Him as Lord (1 John 1:9; Romans 10:9-10).