Hosea 13:7

My Notes

What Does Hosea 13:7 Mean?

"Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them." God becomes the predator. Not a foreign army. God himself. He will be a lion to Israel — attacking with overwhelming power. A leopard by the way — lying in ambush along the path they travel, observing, waiting, and then striking. The most terrifying enemies in the animal kingdom become metaphors for God's posture toward his own people.

The shift from shepherd to predator is the consequence of Israel's unfaithfulness (v. 4-6). The same God who fed them in the wilderness, who was their shepherd, becomes their lion because they "forgot" him (v. 6). The forgetting transforms the shepherd into the attacker.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Where has prosperity caused you to forget God — and what 'leopard' might be observing you along the path?
• 2.How does the transformation from shepherd to lion reflect what happens when we forget God in abundance?
• 3.What does God becoming the predator (rather than sending one) reveal about the seriousness of forgetting him?
• 4.Where might God be 'observing' your path right now — and what would getting his attention back before the strike look like?

Devotional

I will be a lion. I will be a leopard in ambush. God becomes the predator hunting his own people. The shepherd picks up the teeth.

This is the most terrifying metaphor God uses for himself in the prophets. Not: I'll send a lion. I will BE the lion. The attacker isn't a foreign agent operating on God's behalf. It's God himself assuming the posture of the deadliest predators — the lion that overwhelms and the leopard that waits in ambush.

As a leopard by the way will I observe them. The leopard lies along the path — camouflaged, patient, watching. It doesn't chase. It waits. It observes every movement. And when the prey passes within range, the strike is instantaneous. God positions himself along the path Israel travels and observes. The watching is the prelude to the attack. And the attack comes from the one they least expect — the God they assumed was on their side.

The transformation from shepherd to lion is the consequence of being forgotten (v. 6): "According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me." The prosperity God provided produced the pride that forgot the provider. And the forgotten shepherd becomes the ambushing leopard.

This is what happens when you forget God in your prosperity. The same God who fed you becomes the one who hunts you. The protector becomes the pursuer. Not because God changed his nature. Because you changed the relationship. You forgot. And the forgotten God doesn't stay forgotten quietly. He makes his presence known — through the teeth of the lion and the patience of the leopard.

The verse that should terrify every prosperous person who's stopped thinking about God: I will be a lion to them. The attack comes from the shepherd. And the shepherd becomes a predator because the sheep forgot who was feeding them.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture