Isaiah 1:4 concludes with this statement regarding the people of Judah and Jerusalem, “they are gone away backward.” This is what happens to a nation that forgets God -- it goes backward. It goes backward spiritually, morally, politically, and economically.
A nation that forgets God goes away from God and follows vanity instead. Consider these words in Jeremiah 2:5 and 32, “5) Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? 32) Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.”
A nation that has turned away backward is in danger of experiencing God’s wrath “Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.” (Jeremiah 15:6) We read in Psalm 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
Is there a remedy for the nation that has forgotten God and turned away backward? Is there hope? Yes, there is a remedy, there is hope. Isaiah 30:15 describes the remedy, “For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” The only remedy is to return to the Lord GOD, rest in Him, and find in Him our quietness and confidence. Our own ways, the imaginations of our heart, the ways of vanity – these will lead only to destruction. The ways of God lead to rest and strength. Which one will we choose?