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As a father, I can understand these same feelings. I can’t imagine the grief of watching my daughter run off and leave me after I had raised and taken care of her. The verses here talk of how this child worshiped others, played with toy gods, and then refused to give credit to the one who had brought him up. This is absolutely heart-wrenching, and any parent knows this would be unbearable.
There is a time and place for letting go and for true discipline to take place. It is such a hard thing, but there is truth in allowing others to experience the world and come running back. Even though Israel deserved this punishment, we know that God’s letting go is a path to redemption because He promises to make everything right in the end.
I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.
Hosea 11:9 ESV
“How shall I deliver thee, Israel?” My friend, God has no other way to save you except by the death of Christ. You may think you have two or three different ways yourself, but God has but one way. Since He says, “There is no Saviour beside me” (Hos 13:4), you had better listen to Him. You and I are not in the saving business, but He is.”
J. Vernon McGee
How can God choose to forgive?
“The longsuffering, forgiveness, and compassion of the Lord toward His people seems unbelievable until we recognize that He is not man, but God. His love and forgiveness are of a different order. There are many differences between God and man in the matter of forgiveness.”
David Guzik