77
We are now given the picture of an agonizing God and Father. So often the judgments of the Lord are viewed as hard hearted and indifferent actions. Just the opposite is true. He does not enjoy punishing His people. His corrections are always just and well deserved. Through the prophecy of Hosea the Lord is about to expose the inner most feelings of His heart in such a situation. He delivered them from Egypt with great kindness and with the purpose of granting them an inheritance of the land unto which He would lead them. His love for them was His motivation and it was constantly seen in His care and supply for them during their sojourn in the wilderness. He gladly removed the yoke, the bondage’s of slavery of the Egyptians. He fed them throughout their wanderings with a constant supply of manna. Hos. 11:4.
The way of the transgressor is hard. Prov. 13:15 The heights of stupidity is to resist the Lord. There is no possibility of victory in such a battle. When the Lord lifts His hand of blessing there is nothing but emptiness and defeat. They would not be returned to Egypt but the king of Assyria would bring them into subjection. The cause, their refusal to repent and cease from their worship of idols and false gods. Man, is in deed, his own worst enemy. Hos. 11:5 Godly sorrow and repentance could have changed the history of the nation and of the world.
They refused to take guidance from the Lord but relied on their own thoughts and understanding. Their decisions were according to their own desires. Too often, advice is sought, but only accepted when it agrees with the will and desire of the individual. Anything which might be contrary to their personal preference is rejected. Hos. 11:6 Accordingly, the sword would not cease from being made manifest in their cities, causing them to be utterly consumed or removed from their land of inheritance.
They were a purposeful and stubborn people. Determined to persist in doing that which pleased themselves. They were set in their ways and strong mindedly resisted the wooing of the Lord through His prophets. With their mouths they called upon His name, but their hearts were far from Him. Prov. 14:14a The irony of the whole situation is that they well understood who the Lord was and continued to call Him the Most High, while bowing before their idols. To them, He had become just another name for the visible gods whom they were now worshipping. They maintained all their religious activities as usual but substituted their idols for the true and living God, the Lord, the Most High. Imagine the heartbreak of the Lord when He said that none exalted Him. After all that He had done for them, none of them were seeking after Him. He must have felt total rejection.