Isaiah prophesied in the following parable about the northern kingdom of Israel: "Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say. When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil? When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? Does he not plant wheat in its place, barley in its plot, and spelt in its field? His God instructs him and teaches him the right way. Caraway is not threshed with a sledge, nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin; caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a stick. Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. The wheels of a threshing cart may be rolled over it, but one does not use horses to grind grain. All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent." (Isaiah 28:23–29).
A farmer's work goes in stages. So is also the work of judgement. It comes in stages. There is a time when God warns through the prophets. There is a time when he allows certain things to happen, such as crop failure, lack of rain, to get their attention. There is a time when the final stage is reached, and that's the final stage of judgement. These things will happen. We shouldn't say that it has always been this way. That's not an acceptable excuse. If the people don't listen, the judgement comes in stages, see The Book of Judges.
The Israelites were defeated and carried away to Assyria, see Hoshea of Israel in
Kings of Judah and Israel. This happened because they had sinned against the Lord, feared other gods, and walked in the customs of the peoples whom the Lord had driven out before them. They didn't listen to God's prophets and didn't repent.
For information on other parables, see Jesus' Parables.
