‘Son of man, the inhabitants of these devastated places are saying even concerning the soil of Israel, “Abraham happened to be just one and yet he took possession of the land. And we are many; to us the land has been given as something to possess.”

It mattered not with Jehovah that they were many as compared with their ancestor, the patriarch Abraham, to whom the land had been promised by Jehovah. (Gen. 12:1-7) Because of their not turning away repentantly from their wicked ways, they did not deserve to keep possessing the land. (Jer. 42:1–44:25) Mere numbers did not count with Jehovah; obedience to his Law did!