V.16-20 Wonderful verses. God pleads with them. No matter how bad they were, if they would only turn to God, He would cleanse them.
V.16-17 Notice the last 4 words of verse 16 and first 4 words of verse 17. We must act in this order. Are we?
V.18-20 The Lord was not overlooking their sins, but wanted them to know that if they would only realize the seriousness of their sins, He would gladly welcome them to come to Him and speak about them. We can use this verse in preaching the gospel today because really it is the same story, except that the blood of Christ has been shed. For them it was a national turning to the Lord.
V.21-23 But they would not listen. Just like the world today.
V.24-31 Nevertheless God is going to bring salvation to them in the end. This salvation is on the earth, and takes place after we believers are gone to be with the Lord Jesus. Look at your chart, if you take out the circle, the day of grace, the two gray sections come together. This will help you to understand Old Testament prophecy.