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Hosea 5:8-14

Again, we see God is patiently waiting for His people to return to Him.
The first step in God's strategy is that God will WITHDRAW His affection (Hosea 5:1-7) and in this passage we see the second step, God will APPLY discipline.

To help us understand what's going on, here is some historical context...
The nation of Assyria, under Tiglath Pileser III, was on the march.
By then, Menahem was ruling Israel. He decided to pass Assyria a large tribute of silver to withdraw.
Eventually, Pekah seized the throne and became king of Israel.
Fearing another Assyrian attack, he persuaded the king of Damascus to side with him, and also tried to get king Ahaz of Judah to join them. But when Ahaz refused, Pekah invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem.
That drove Judah to seek Assyrian help, and Tiglath Pileser III duly invaded Israel and conquered a lot of the territory.
A decade later, under Hoshea, Israel tried to regain her independence. This time, the Assyrians retaliated by completely destroying the kingdom and deporting the survivors and Israel was no more.

In verses 13-14, what does God say about all of this?

What does God promise to do to Israel in verses 8-14?

Sometimes God will allow us to reap the consequences of what we have sown.
How do you see this in this passage?
How do you see this in your own life?

In verse 13, how did Israel respond?
What does that reveal about us?
What might God be revealing about Himself and about your own character?

Look at the images used in this section...
What might stop Israel from seeing these events as discipline from God?

What is God waiting for in verse 15?

What do Israel's actions tell you about their way of seeing things?

What is this passage teaching us to do when we get things wrong?


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