Hosea 5:1-9:9
In Hosea we have heard that Israel is guilty of great sin. Not only have they turned to other gods, they even turn to other nations for their rescue:
13 “When Ephraim saw his sickness,
and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,
and sent to the great king for help.
But he is not able to cure you,
not able to heal your sores.
Israel have failed to respond to God. They have fails in many different ways that the Lord says of them:
13 Woe to them,
because they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them,
because they have rebelled against me!
I long to redeem them
but they speak lies against me.
The future of Israel is heard in this chilling prediction:
3 They will not remain in the LORD’s land;
Ephraim will return to Egypt
and eat unclean [y] food in Assyria.
Israel is headed for slavery once again. Off to Assyria, never to return.
Israel would never return to the land until many centuries later a man would enter the Jordan, face great temptation in the wilderness yet would remain obedient.
Jesus would not walk away from the love of the father, but in love would die to bring the unfaithful back to the father:
8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
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