Hosea 5:12-15 (NKJV)

“Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth,
And to the house of Judah like rottenness.

“When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah saw his wound,
Then Ephraim went to Assyria
And sent to King Jareb;
Yet he cannot cure you,
Nor heal you of your wound.
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear them and go away;
I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
I will return again to My place
Till they acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”

God has abandoned Israel (Ephraim) and Judah to their own secular ways. Without Him, everything starts to decay, like rottenness and being moth eaten. So when they see themselves wasting away, what do they do?

Resort to a secular remedy of course. They appeal to a neighboring king for help.

Seriously? The King in Assyria? Since when is he interested in helping you? Since when is he capable?

Yet he cannot cure you,
Nor heal you of your wound.

God’s going to wait this one out. Eventually, they’ll come to their senses.

Because of our sinful nature, people are incredibly slow to come around, even when the evidence is clear. This is illustrated perfectly in a disturbing cliché:

“I was taught in science class that fields don’t evolve because people change their minds; fields evolve because people die.”

Radical changes in perspective often take generations. That’s not a problem for the LORD.

One of the great truths of scripture is that God is patient. He has all the time in the world.

Time is just another one of His creations.

All the weekly study guides, which include all five devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

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https://www.amazon.com/Higher-Purposes-Lesson-God-Job/dp/1684719534