The Lord's Relentless Judgment on Israel
Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them: Hos. 13:7
Therefore I will... The 20th prophecy in Hosea (Hos. 13:7-8, fulfilled). Next, Hos. 13:10.
Six Predictions—Fulfilled:
1. I will be unto them as a lion (Hos. 13:7).
2. I will observe them as a leopard in the way.
3. I will meet them as a bear bereaved of her whelps (Hos. 13:8).
4. I will rend the caul of their heart.
5. I will devour them like a lion.
6. The wild beasts will tear them (Hos. 13:9).
be unto them... They had waxen fat, were full; yet it was, to become themselves a prey. Their wealth which they were proud of, which they abused, allured their enemies. To cut off all hopes of God's mercy, He says that he will be to them, as those creatures of His, which never spare. The fierceness of the lion, and the swiftness of the leopard, together portrays a speedy inexorable chastisement.
as a leopard... A very fierce, swift, sly, and watchful creature (Jer. 5:6; Hab. 1:8).
I observe them... Watch for them, that I may be sure to take them.
The end of all their sin is destruction. The lion or leopard stalks its prey, and then at a convenient time, pounces on them. The destruction that comes on them for their unfaithfulness to God will be sudden.
So that I must be to them like a lion, like a leopard in the way I must leap. I will fall on them like a bear robbed of its young, and will tear the caul of their hearts, and will devour them like a lion-wild beasts shall rend them.
Like a vicious and powerful wild beast lion… leopard, or bear the Lord would attack His people still viewed here as a helpless flock or herd, Hos. 13:7-8; cf. Hos. 5:14)
The moth (Hos. 5:12) is transformed into a raging lion which violently kills its prey. The use of six first-person forms (I) in the Hebrew emphasizes God’s role in this judgment. In the final analysis the Lord Himself would be the attacker and destroyer, even though He would use foreign armies as His instruments.
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