God forces Israel to confront the perverse logic of their irreverence. His silence, meant to invite repentance, has instead emboldened their sin. By asking rather than declaring, He makes them acknowledge that His forbearance has been misread as impotence, and that their fearlessness toward Him is both ungrateful and suicidal.

The text provides no recorded answer, as the question is prophetic indictment not inviting dialogue. The historical record shows Judah’s continued impenitence through the Babylonian exile, demonstrating that God’s silence indeed failed to produce the fear it should have cultivated.

God’s second question pivots from exposing Israel’s misplaced fear to examining their lack of proper fear. The rhetorical question expects affirmation, yes, God has been silent long, but uses that agreement to indict their response. Instead of interpreting His silence as patience inviting repentance, Israel read it as divine indifference permitting continued rebellion. The interrogative structure creates devastating irony: the very forbearance meant to woo them has emboldened their apostasy. God’s question forces them to connect two facts they’ve kept separate, His long silence and their fearlessness, and to see the causal perversity: they don’t fear Him because He’s been patient. This prepares for imminent judgment by removing their excuse. His patience has run its course not because He’s changed but because they’ve exhausted it.