8 “How can I give you up,Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,
nor will I devastate
Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man-
the Holy One among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar like a lion.
When he roars,
his children will come trembling(L) from the west.(M)
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria,(N) fluttering like doves.
I will settle them in their homes,”
declares the Lord.
To be honest, Hosea is not easy or pleasant to read. Yet as I read, God is talking about the sun of Isreal and Ephraim and he is listing out all their sins.
I am getting tired, it is hard to stay focused reading. And in midst of talking of their sins, and their sins are many and wicked.
In midst of it, God asks
“How can I give you up,Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?”
“My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion”
We call God, the FATHER. He speaks as a FATHER full of compassion. Verse 8 is beautiful.
Thank you, God, You are slow to anger, You roar and oceans tremble and mountains flee. Yet You are mindful of me, Your compassion, and mercy new every day. Give me Your heart. Teach me I LORD the heart of FATHER. Thank you JESUS