For I will be to Ephraim like a lion, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I myself will tear in pieces and go away. I will carry off, and there will be no one to deliver.
Looking to the arm of flesh, looking to the abilities of the flesh to do the work of the Spirit. This was the sin of Ephraim. Looking to the arm of flesh, looking to Assyria for help when ultimately Assyria would be the rod that God would use to punish Ephraim. Now, in verse Hosea 5:15 the Lord said that He was going to go and return to His place. You're not gonna find me, I'm just gonna leave them until they acknowledge their offense. Until they actually acknowledge, "We are wrong. We have turned our backs against God. We have broken the covenant of God. We've transgressed His law." God said, "I'm not... I'm just gonna return to My place until they come to this acknowledgment and they begin to seek My face. In their affliction they will seek Me early." Talking really of the Great Tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble, when they will be afflicted they will then seek the Lord. "In their affliction they will seek Me early."