Anyone who has ever lived in a house with a small child can picture the opening scene of Hosea 11. A father or mother bends over to pick up a little one whose arms are upraised. The room fills with laughter as a toddler takes those exciting first steps. A parent leans over the highchair to shovel food into the mouth of a hungry son or daughter. And with any sadness or sickness, mom or dad will bring comfort, wiping away tears or administering medicine. God says this is what He has been doing for Israel ever since He adopted them as His own. He cared for them in the days of their spiritual infancy as a father cares for his son. He taught them to walk when they could only crawl. He fed them, healed them, and guided them with tender compassion. Yet in spite of His abundant grace, Israel turned away from God as she grew older. It is not only the story of Israel, it is the story of humanity—my story and yours (v 1-4). So will Israel repent of her rebellion? No, they refuse to return to God. They are “bent on turning away” from Him. Therefore, the happy days of early childhood will give way to the harsh and dreadful experience of judgment. God’s people will be carried off to Assyria and ruled by their king (v 5-7). It sounds as if the story is over, but it’s not. Surprisingly, just then God steps forward to disclose the conflict in His own heart over the discipline He will soon impose on His children. “Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go?... My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows” (NLT). God cannot bear the thought of swiftly annihilating them like “Admah” or “Zeboiim,” two cities destroyed with Sodom and Gomorrah (Deut 29:23). Israel’s iniquity has brought her to the brink of destruction, but God hesitates, as His wrath against sin and love for people do battle within Him (v 8). The tension is almost unbearable, but the resolution lies in the very character of God. “For I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.” God goes on to clarify: though the people will go into captivity, when He roars like a lion, they will return from distant lands to settle again in their own homes (v 9-12). Sin must and will be punished. But the God of perfect justice and wrath is also a God of infinite love and mercy. Hosea’s words point forward to the cross, where God’s wrath and love rushed together to save us. As God’s dearly loved Son, Jesus is the perfect Israel, called “out of Egypt” (v 1) to offer His life for sinners, quenching God’s wrath for all who would receive Him by faith. For further meditation: