Observation: this is a festival song, which was used for temple worship in Jerusalem. It recounts a story of how God freed the Israelites from slavery, but the people still didn't listen to or obey God. So God "gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsel."
Application: I don't believe God ''punishes" people in a direct way in their day to day lives. You shouldn't expect a lightning bolt after misbehaving, as though God were some glowering Zeus, frowning down at us from the sky.
What God does do, on occasion, is allow us to get what we want. We want to run our own show and be our own boss. We want to rely on our own strength and look out for ourselves, and that never, ever works out well for us. But sometimes, we need to learn that lesson first-hand... maybe a few times.
God doesn't force us to do what's best for us. But neither does God ever completely, permanently abandon us to the consequences of our choices. There's always mercy and grace.
Prayer: God, thank you for the lessons--even the hard ones. Amen.
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