Hosea 13:6

"I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought."

Key Reflection

In the historical and literary context of Hosea 13:6, the people of Israel would have vividly remembered their journey through the wilderness after fleeing slavery in Egypt. The prophet is invoking a significant period in Israel’s history when they were deeply reliant on God for survival in an unforgiving environment marked by scarcity and hardship. This verse recalls God's intimate knowledge and care during that challenging time, setting up a powerful contrast with their subsequent idolatry and abandonment of Him.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

According to their pasture, so were they filled -o: “He implies that their way of being ‘filled’ was neither good nor praiseworthy, in that he says, ‘they were filled according to their pastures.’ What or of what kind were these “their pastures?” What they longed for, what they murmured for, and spoke evil of God. For instance, when they said, ‘who wil give us flesh to eat? We remember the flesh which we did eat in Egypt freely. Our soul is dried up, because our eyes see nothing but this manna’Numbers 11:4-6.

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