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"So I will be to them like a lion"

Text: Hosea 13:7

POWERFUL IMAGERY EMPLOYED

Israel had sinned grievously against the Lord and had not repented of its wicked ways. The Lord warned that He would have to punish them for their wanton evilness.

“So I will be to them like a lion;
Like a leopard by the road I will lurk;
I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs;
I will tear open their rib cage,
And there I will devour them like a lion.
The wild beast shall tear them.”
Hosea 13:7-8

1. A series of powerful wild animals used as imagery

a) A lion

b) A leopard

c) A bear

d) A wild beast

2. “So I will be to them like a lion”

a) A lion is far more powerful than a man.

b) God was certainly more powerful than a feeble and frail man.

c) Israel had forgotten how powerful God was.

3. “Like a leopard by the road I will lurk”

a) A leopard was known by its stealth.

b) It was also feared for its swiftness in attack.

c) Israel had not realized that God could attack Israel and catch it unawares.

4. “I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs”

a) A bear so deprived is formidable in its fierceness.

b) Israel had not cultivated the fear of the Lord in its heart.

5. “I will tear open their rib cage”

a) An angry bear will tear apart its victim.

b) God could tear apart and destroy Israel too.

6. “And there I will devour them like a lion. The wild beast shall tear them”

a) God would be like a devouring lion.

b) He could bring about destruction and death to the nation as a wild beast could hurt and destroy.