Hosea 5 Study Notes: Judgment on Israel's Leaders
The LORD calls Israel's priests, people and royal house to account for trapping the nation in idolatry. Their own deeds keep them from returning to God, Ephraim seeks help from Assyria in vain, and the LORD withdraws like a lion until they confess their guilt and turn to Him.
General
According to 5:4, why are the people unable to come back to God?
Answer: Their own deeds bind them, and they lack knowledge of Him
Verse 4 gives a sobering reason Israel does not come back to God: their own deeds will not let them. A spirit of unfaithfulness, described as prostitution, lives in them, and they lack any real knowledge of the LORD. Sin is not just a bad choice they could easily undo; it holds them captive. The Bible teaches this throughout. Jeremiah asks whether a leopard can change its spots, and says people trained in evil cannot do good (Jeremiah 13:23). Jesus says that anyone who sins becomes sin's slave (John 8:34) and that only those the Father draws are able to come to Him (John 6:44). Paul adds that the sinful mind is an enemy of God and unable to obey Him (Romans 8:7-8). This is what total depravity means: sin affects the whole person, so turning to God requires God's own work. Yet Israel remains fully responsible, for these are their own deeds.
- Hosea 5:4 (BSB)“Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God, for a spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the LORD.”Israel's own deeds keep them from returning, because an unfaithful spirit is within them and they do not know the LORD.
- Jeremiah 13:23 (BSB)“Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Neither are you able to do good—you who are accustomed to doing evil.”Jeremiah says those trained in evil can no more do good than a leopard can change its spots, the same inability Hosea describes.
- John 8:34 (BSB)“Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”Jesus teaches that sin enslaves the one who practices it, explaining why Israel's deeds hold them fast.
- John 6:44 (BSB)““No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”Jesus says only those the Father draws can come to Him, showing that true return depends on God's work.
- Romans 8:7-8 (BSB)“because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.”Paul says the fleshly mind is at enmity with God and unable to obey Him, the same bondage seen in 5:4.
Theological
What reason does 5:4 give for Israel's failure to come back to God?
Answer: Their own deeds bind them, and they lack knowledge of Him
Verse 4 locates Israel's failure to repent in moral inability: their practices do not allow them to return, because an unfaithful spirit, pictured as prostitution, dwells in them, and they lack the knowledge of the LORD. The inability is not an excuse but an aggravation of guilt, since the bondage is to their own deeds. Scripture consistently teaches this: the one habituated to evil can no more do good than a leopard can change its spots (Jeremiah 13:23); the fleshly mind is at enmity with God, neither yielding to His law nor able to (Romans 8:7-8); the one who sins is enslaved by sin (John 8:34); and coming to Christ requires the Father's drawing (John 6:44). Hosea's diagnosis is the doctrine of total depravity, and it shows why any true return to God depends on effectual grace.
- Hosea 5:4 (BSB)“Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God, for a spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the LORD.”Israel's own deeds keep them from returning, because an unfaithful spirit is within them and they do not know the LORD.
- Jeremiah 13:23 (BSB)“Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Neither are you able to do good—you who are accustomed to doing evil.”Jeremiah says those trained in evil can no more do good than a leopard can change its spots, the same inability Hosea describes.
- John 8:34 (BSB)“Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”Jesus teaches that sin enslaves the one who practices it, explaining why Israel's deeds hold them fast.
- John 6:44 (BSB)““No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”Jesus says only those the Father draws can come to Him, showing that true return depends on God's work.
- Romans 8:7-8 (BSB)“because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.”Paul says the fleshly mind is at enmity with God and unable to obey Him, the same bondage seen in 5:4.
General
In 5:10, what does the LORD compare Judah's princes to?
Answer: Men who shift the markers between fields
Chapter 5 sounds an alarm: horns and trumpets are to be blown in the towns of Benjamin, and Ephraim, the northern kingdom, is told it will be left desolate when the LORD rebukes it (5:8-9). Then the LORD turns to Judah, the southern kingdom. Its princes are like men who move the stones that mark where one family's land ends and another's begins, so the LORD will pour out His fury on them like water (5:10). God's law forbade moving a neighbor's marker, the stone that marked the inheritance each family received in the land the LORD gave (Deuteronomy 19:14), and it pronounced a curse on anyone who did it (Deuteronomy 27:17). Ephraim, too, is crushed in judgment because he is set on following worthless idols, and the LORD says He is like a moth and like rot to both kingdoms (5:11-12).
- Hosea 5:10 (BSB)“The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary stones; I will pour out My fury upon them like water.”The LORD likens Judah's princes to men who shift boundary markers and says He will pour out His fury on them.
- Hosea 5:8-9 (BSB)“Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; raise the battle cry in Beth-aven: Lead on, O Benjamin! Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of rebuke. Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain.”The alarm is sounded in Benjamin's towns, and Ephraim is told it will be laid waste on the day of rebuke.
- Hosea 5:11-12 (BSB)“Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow worthless idols. So I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like decay to the house of Judah.”Ephraim is crushed because he is set on following worthless idols, and the LORD is like a moth and decay to both kingdoms.
- Deuteronomy 27:17 (BSB)“‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’”The law pronounced a curse on anyone who moves a neighbor's marker, the very wrong charged against Judah's princes.
- Deuteronomy 19:14 (BSB)“You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, which was set up by your ancestors to mark the inheritance you shall receive in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.”The law forbade shifting a neighbor's marker, which guarded the inheritance the LORD gave each family.
Theological
To whom does the LORD liken Judah's leaders in 5:10?
Answer: Men who shift the markers between fields
The alarm of 5:8-9 summons Benjamin's towns to battle and declares that Ephraim will be made desolate in the time of the LORD's reproof. The indictment then reaches Judah: its princes behave like those who remove boundary markers, and the LORD will pour out His wrath on them like water (5:10). The charge is grave, for the law protected each family's God-given inheritance by forbidding the removal of a neighbor's marker (Deuteronomy 19:14) and placed a covenant curse on whoever did so (Deuteronomy 27:17). Ephraim is likewise broken under judgment because of his resolve to pursue worthless idols, and the LORD is to both kingdoms like a moth and like decay, a slow and inward ruin (5:11-12).
- Hosea 5:10 (BSB)“The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary stones; I will pour out My fury upon them like water.”The LORD likens Judah's princes to men who shift boundary markers and says He will pour out His fury on them.
- Hosea 5:8-9 (BSB)“Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; raise the battle cry in Beth-aven: Lead on, O Benjamin! Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of rebuke. Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain.”The alarm is sounded in Benjamin's towns, and Ephraim is told it will be laid waste on the day of rebuke.
- Hosea 5:11-12 (BSB)“Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow worthless idols. So I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like decay to the house of Judah.”Ephraim is crushed because he is set on following worthless idols, and the LORD is like a moth and decay to both kingdoms.
- Deuteronomy 27:17 (BSB)“‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’”The law pronounced a curse on anyone who moves a neighbor's marker, the very wrong charged against Judah's princes.
- Deuteronomy 19:14 (BSB)“You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, which was set up by your ancestors to mark the inheritance you shall receive in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.”The law forbade shifting a neighbor's marker, which guarded the inheritance the LORD gave each family.
General
Which three groups does the LORD call to listen in 5:1?
Answer: The priests, the house of Israel, and the royal house
Chapter 5 opens with the LORD summoning the priests, the whole house of Israel, and the king's household (5:1). Judgment is aimed at them because, instead of guiding the people, they had become like a trap at Mizpah and a hunter's net on Mount Tabor, catching others in sin. Leaders who should have cared for God's people had harmed them. Ezekiel later condemns Israel's leaders as shepherds who fed only themselves (Ezekiel 34:2), Jeremiah pronounces woe on those who scatter the LORD's flock (Jeremiah 23:1), and Malachi says the priests' teaching made many stumble (Malachi 2:7-8). The rebels have gone far in bloodshed, but the LORD says He will discipline them all (5:2).
- Hosea 5:1 (BSB)““Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.”The LORD summons the priests, the nation, and the king's household, who have trapped others in sin.
- Hosea 5:2 (BSB)“The rebels are deep in slaughter; but I will chastise them all.”The rebels have gone far in bloodshed, but the LORD will discipline them all.
- Ezekiel 34:2 (BSB)““Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?”Ezekiel condemns Israel's leaders as shepherds who served themselves instead of the flock, the same failure charged in 5:1.
- Malachi 2:7-8 (BSB)“For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts. But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts.”Malachi says priests whose teaching made many stumble broke their covenant duty, as Hosea's priests became a trap.
- Jeremiah 23:1 (BSB)““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.”Jeremiah pronounces woe on leaders who scatter and destroy God's flock instead of guarding it.
Theological
Which three parties are summoned to hear the LORD's judgment in 5:1?
Answer: The priests, the house of Israel, and the royal house
The oracle of 5:1 summons the priests, the house of Israel, and the royal house, the religious and political leadership together with the nation. The charge is that they have become a trap at Mizpah and a net on Tabor, entrapping the people instead of shepherding them. This is the failure of leadership Ezekiel denounces in self-serving shepherds (Ezekiel 34:2), Jeremiah in shepherds who scatter the flock (Jeremiah 23:1), and Malachi in priests whose instruction made many fall (Malachi 2:7-8). Though the rebels have gone far in bloodshed, the LORD will discipline every one of them (5:2).
- Hosea 5:1 (BSB)““Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.”The LORD summons the priests, the nation, and the king's household, who have trapped others in sin.
- Hosea 5:2 (BSB)“The rebels are deep in slaughter; but I will chastise them all.”The rebels have gone far in bloodshed, but the LORD will discipline them all.
- Ezekiel 34:2 (BSB)““Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?”Ezekiel condemns Israel's leaders as shepherds who served themselves instead of the flock, the same failure charged in 5:1.
- Malachi 2:7-8 (BSB)“For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts. But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts.”Malachi says priests whose teaching made many stumble broke their covenant duty, as Hosea's priests became a trap.
- Jeremiah 23:1 (BSB)““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.”Jeremiah pronounces woe on leaders who scatter and destroy God's flock instead of guarding it.
General
True or False: In 5:3 the LORD says that Ephraim's sin has escaped His notice because it was done in secret.
Answer: False
This is false. The LORD says the opposite: He knows Ephraim through and through, and Israel cannot hide from Him (5:3). He sees that Ephraim has turned to prostitution, here meaning unfaithfulness to God through idol worship, and that Israel is defiled. No created thing can be concealed from God (Hebrews 4:13), and even hidden sins stand exposed before Him (Psalm 90:8).
- Hosea 5:3 (BSB)“I know all about Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me. For now, O Ephraim, you have turned to prostitution; Israel is defiled.”The LORD says He knows Ephraim fully and Israel cannot hide from Him.
- Hebrews 4:13 (BSB)“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”No created thing can be concealed from God, which is why Ephraim's sin is fully known to Him.
- Psalm 90:8 (BSB)“You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.”Even sins done in secret stand exposed before God, as Ephraim's do.
Theological
True or False: According to 5:3, Ephraim's unfaithfulness has gone unnoticed by the LORD because it was secret.
Answer: False
This is false. The LORD declares His complete knowledge of Ephraim; Israel is not concealed from Him (5:3). He sees Ephraim's spiritual prostitution and Israel's defilement. God's omniscience leaves no sinner hidden: no created thing is concealed from His sight (Hebrews 4:13), and secret sins stand exposed before Him (Psalm 90:8).
- Hosea 5:3 (BSB)“I know all about Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me. For now, O Ephraim, you have turned to prostitution; Israel is defiled.”The LORD says He knows Ephraim fully and Israel cannot hide from Him.
- Hebrews 4:13 (BSB)“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”No created thing can be concealed from God, which is why Ephraim's sin is fully known to Him.
- Psalm 90:8 (BSB)“You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.”Even sins done in secret stand exposed before God, as Ephraim's do.
General
In 5:6, what happens when the people bring their animals to look for the LORD?
Answer: They cannot find Him, for He has pulled back from them
In 5:6 the people bring sheep and cattle, animals for sacrifice, to look for the LORD, but He is nowhere to be found, because He has drawn back from them. Offerings without a faithful heart could not win God's favor. Isaiah describes God taking no pleasure in a flood of sacrifices (Isaiah 1:11) and hiding His eyes from the prayers of people whose hands were stained with blood (Isaiah 1:15). Amos says God hated Israel's feasts and would not accept their offerings (Amos 5:21-22). Verse 7 gives the reason: they have broken faith with Him.
- Hosea 5:6 (BSB)“They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, but they do not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.”The people bring animals to seek the LORD, but He has withdrawn from them.
- Hosea 5:7 (BSB)“They have been unfaithful to the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land.”The reason for His withdrawal: they have been unfaithful to the LORD.
- Isaiah 1:11 (BSB)““What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.”Isaiah shows God taking no delight in a multitude of sacrifices from an unfaithful people.
- Isaiah 1:15 (BSB)“When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”God hides His eyes from the prayers of those whose hands are bloodstained, as He withdraws in 5:6.
- Amos 5:21-22 (BSB)““I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard.”Amos records God refusing Israel's feasts and offerings, the same rejection of ritual without faithfulness.
Theological
What is the outcome in 5:6 when the people come with sacrificial animals in search of the LORD?
Answer: They cannot find Him, for He has pulled back from them
The people approach with flocks and herds, sacrificial animals, in search of the LORD, yet He is not found, for He has pulled away from them (5:6). Ritual offered by the unfaithful does not secure God's presence. Isaiah portrays God sated with and displeased by multiplied sacrifices (Isaiah 1:11) and hiding His eyes from bloodstained hands raised in prayer (Isaiah 1:15), and Amos records His refusal of Israel's feasts and offerings (Amos 5:21-22). The ground of the withdrawal is stated in 5:7: they have dealt treacherously with the LORD.
- Hosea 5:6 (BSB)“They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, but they do not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.”The people bring animals to seek the LORD, but He has withdrawn from them.
- Hosea 5:7 (BSB)“They have been unfaithful to the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land.”The reason for His withdrawal: they have been unfaithful to the LORD.
- Isaiah 1:11 (BSB)““What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.”Isaiah shows God taking no delight in a multitude of sacrifices from an unfaithful people.
- Isaiah 1:15 (BSB)“When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”God hides His eyes from the prayers of those whose hands are bloodstained, as He withdraws in 5:6.
- Amos 5:21-22 (BSB)““I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard.”Amos records God refusing Israel's feasts and offerings, the same rejection of ritual without faithfulness.
General
In 5:13, when Ephraim recognized how sick he was, where did he turn for help?
Answer: To Assyria and its great king
When Ephraim saw how sick he was and Judah saw its wound, Ephraim sent for help to Assyria and its great king (5:13). But that king could not heal them, because their real trouble came from God Himself. The LORD says He is like a moth and like rot to them (5:12), and like a lion that tears its prey and carries it off beyond anyone's rescue (5:14). Trusting in human power instead of God brings a curse (Jeremiah 17:5), and human rulers cannot save (Psalm 146:3). Later in the book, the people's words of repentance include the confession that Assyria cannot rescue them (14:3).
- Hosea 5:13 (BSB)“When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.”Seeing their sickness and wound, Ephraim sends to Assyria, whose king cannot heal them.
- Hosea 5:14 (BSB)“For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away. I will carry them off where no one can rescue them.”The LORD Himself is the lion who tears and carries off, so no human help can save them.
- Jeremiah 17:5 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.”Jeremiah pronounces a curse on those who trust human strength and turn from the LORD, as Ephraim did.
- Psalm 146:3 (BSB)“Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.”The psalm warns that human rulers cannot save, the lesson of Ephraim's appeal to Assyria.
- Hosea 14:3 (BSB)“Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.””In the people's later words of repentance they renounce trust in Assyria, reversing the move of 5:13.
Theological
To whom does Ephraim appeal in 5:13 upon recognizing his sickness?
Answer: To Assyria and its great king
Confronted with their sickness and wound, Ephraim turns to Assyria and appeals to its great king (5:13), but no foreign power can heal a wound the LORD Himself has inflicted. God is moth and rot to them (5:12) and a lion who tears and carries off beyond anyone's rescue (5:14). Reliance on human strength in place of the LORD is cursed (Jeremiah 17:5), for rulers cannot save (Psalm 146:3). The book's closing call to repentance puts on the people's lips an explicit renunciation of trust in Assyria (14:3).
- Hosea 5:13 (BSB)“When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.”Seeing their sickness and wound, Ephraim sends to Assyria, whose king cannot heal them.
- Hosea 5:14 (BSB)“For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away. I will carry them off where no one can rescue them.”The LORD Himself is the lion who tears and carries off, so no human help can save them.
- Jeremiah 17:5 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.”Jeremiah pronounces a curse on those who trust human strength and turn from the LORD, as Ephraim did.
- Psalm 146:3 (BSB)“Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.”The psalm warns that human rulers cannot save, the lesson of Ephraim's appeal to Assyria.
- Hosea 14:3 (BSB)“Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.””In the people's later words of repentance they renounce trust in Assyria, reversing the move of 5:13.
General
In 5:15, how long does the LORD say He will stay away from His people?
Answer: Until they confess their guilt and look for Him
After tearing like a lion, the LORD says He will go back to His place and wait until His people own up to their guilt and come looking for Him (5:15). In their distress they will look for Him eagerly. God's withdrawal is meant to bring them back. The law had already promised that if Israel sought the LORD wholeheartedly from exile, they would find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29-30), and that if they confessed their sin, God would remember His covenant, His binding promise to their fathers (Leviticus 26:40-42). The next verses (6:1-3) give the people's words of return, though the LORD's reply in 6:4 shows how shallow they were.
- Hosea 5:15 (BSB)“Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.””The LORD withdraws until His people own their guilt and seek Him in their distress.
- Deuteronomy 4:29-30 (BSB)“But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.”Moses promised that Israel, seeking the LORD with all their heart in distress, would find Him, the return God waits for in 5:15.
- Leviticus 26:40-42 (BSB)“But if they will confess their iniquity and that of their fathers in the unfaithfulness that they practiced against Me, by which they have also walked in hostility toward Me— and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.”The law promised that if Israel confessed their guilt in exile, God would remember His covenant.
Theological
According to 5:15, what condition marks the end of the LORD's withdrawal from His people?
Answer: Until they confess their guilt and look for Him
Having torn like a lion, the LORD returns to His place until the people acknowledge their guilt and look for His face; in affliction they will seek Him earnestly (5:15). The withdrawal is remedial, aimed at repentance. It follows the covenant pattern of the law, which promised that Israel, seeking the LORD wholeheartedly from exile, would find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29-30), and that confession of iniquity would be met by God's remembering His covenant with the patriarchs (Leviticus 26:40-42). The people's words in 6:1-3 follow at once, though the divine reply in 6:4 exposes their shallowness.
- Hosea 5:15 (BSB)“Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.””The LORD withdraws until His people own their guilt and seek Him in their distress.
- Deuteronomy 4:29-30 (BSB)“But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.”Moses promised that Israel, seeking the LORD with all their heart in distress, would find Him, the return God waits for in 5:15.
- Leviticus 26:40-42 (BSB)“But if they will confess their iniquity and that of their fathers in the unfaithfulness that they practiced against Me, by which they have also walked in hostility toward Me— and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.”The law promised that if Israel confessed their guilt in exile, God would remember His covenant.