Hosea 4:17

"For Israel has behaved extremely stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer. Then how will the LORD feed them like a lamb in a meadow?"

Key Reflection

In Hosea 4:17, God describes Israel's behavior as that of a stubborn heifer, emphasizing their rebellious and unyielding nature. This imagery highlights the stark contrast between Israel’s willful disobedience and the tenderness with which God desires to care for them, comparing it to how He would gently feed a lamb in a meadow. This vivid metaphor underscores the frustration and challenge faced by God as He seeks to nurture His people despite their resistance.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Ephraim is joined to idols -that is, banded, bound up with them, “associated,” as the word means, with them so as to cleave to them, willing neither to part with nor to be parted from, them. The idols are called by a name, denoting toils; with toil they were fashioned, and, when fashioned, they were a toil and grief. Let him alone -Literally, give him rest, i. e., from all further expostulations, which he will not hear. It is an abandonment of Israel for the time, as in the prophet Ezekiel, “As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God, go ye, serve ye every one his idols”Ezekiel 20:39. Sinners often long not to be tormented by conscience or by God’s warnings.

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