The earth mourns and dries up,
and the land wastes away and withers.
Even the greatest people on earth waste away.
—Isaiah 24: 4, NLT
Upon further reflection, the very few who actually reflected learned the ugly truth about themselves: it was their own desires, their selfish impetuousness, that brought the m to this mess! The land they cheated from others, the land they destroyed with their words, the gift from God above their hearts rejected, was claiming its vengeance. Of course these men knew the stipulations of their contract! They were to care for their land as a tender newborn. Pick the first-fruits and offer them to the Giver of land. Leave it rested every seven years, as so not to grow fallow and sterile. Allow widows and beggars and foreigners to pick up what little they could find, more so in times of extreme hunger like these. The instructions were as clear as they could be, and they heard them over and over again!
Who would they run to for comfort? Who would give them the water they need in order to live--without pay? Who would listen to their pleas of repentance and come swiftly to their aid? They were despised by the nations; of course all of them would rejoice at their misery!
Now, they would have to wait for God in the heavens to open up the floodgates and send some water...if He ever wanted to.