The charge is that God’s people have been lying, deceiving and pursuing idolatry which was like the chasing after the wind.
“The Lord has a charge to bring against Judah; he will punish Jacobaccording to his ways and repay him according to his deeds. In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God. He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favour. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there. The Lord God Almighty, the Lord is his name! But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.” (Hosea 12 v 2-6)
God’s charge is that they haven’t learned from the mistakes of one of the founders of their faith, Jacob. He uses this name for both the northern and southern kingdom. But He is definitely reminding them of the real Jacob and the fact that they have not learnt anything. Nothing has changed. The present is no better than the past.
Just like Jacob in the womb (Genesis 25:23-26) grasping at his brother’s heel which he inherited by deception they could not be trusted, what you saw wasn’t the truth. This was the mark of the man. This birth story is what built the foundation of his life and how he was known as the ‘deceiver’ or the ‘supplanter’. On one hand his achievements could be celebrated but his ambitious achievements were duplicitous. Not every ‘blessing’ is a gracious gift from God. Some blessings are stolen. But God sees everything.
A discipleship check:
- Grabbing for what God wants to give reveals a damaged heart condition.
- Selfish ambition is not better than apathy.
- Blessings can blind.
We must learn from the past.
Missions Paul 