We Want a King!

Hosea 13: 11-12.

I gave thee a king in Mine anger, and took him away in My wrath.

The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.

It would be interesting, I think, to do a study of all the kings of Israel and Judah. However, it would take a lot of time and a great deal of research, so it’s going on the back burner for now.

To give you a little background to God’s statements in this passage: God had given Israel many prophets and judges, most of which they dismissed in their ignorance and determination to be just like all the surrounding nations. It wasn’t enough for them to have God in their very midst. They wanted a power figure that they could hold up as being, at the very least, equal to the kings of the surrounding nations. God warned them what would happen. The king would tax them to support his armies. He would take their sons and daughters as slaves. He would take their livestock to feed those in his great banqueting halls, and the kings would build extravagant palaces in which to house themselves and their courts. The daughters of the people would be examined for their beauty, and taken off to the king’s harem, never to be seen again by their families. You can read about it in I Samuel 8: 4-22.

Of course, God was right. It wasn’t long before the first king, Saul, began to hold himself as an authority higher than God. He came to a dreadful end, and God replaced him with David. David did have a heart to serve God, but he was weak in matters of the flesh and committed grave errors against the God he truly did love. He wasn’t a good father. His children suffered for his weakness. After he died, Jereboam and Rehoboam split the kingdom, northern and southern, and the deterioration continued. All of the things about which they had been warned came to pass.

Verse 13 describes Israel’s sin as being hidden, or, in the best usage I found, it was set aside and covered, waiting for the judgment of God to fall. The coming judgment would be severe, but when God chastises His children, whether then or now, it is always done for the purpose of bringing them back into the place of blessing. Sometimes it takes a while, and a lot of suffering, for us to see the love behind the chastisement. God wants to bless His people. Sadly, His people want to have that blessing not because of their obedience, but in spite of their disobedience.