Hosea 1:6-7 (KJV)
6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
God removed his hand from the house of Israel and removed them from the land. This was done by the Assyrians and is chronicled in the book of kings. The entire land was devastated yet the house of Judah was spared.
The house of Judah was not able to defend itself from the Assyrians. As chronicled in 2 Kings 19:35:Â “And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. The Lord had spared the house of Judah by using one angel to defeat the entire army. Such is the greatness of the one true God.”
The Lord our God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow his greatness has not changed in all of history. As his people today we need to realize he can remove his hand of mercy or save as he wishes. If as a people we continue to walk away from the one true God how can God not punish the nation as he punished Israel.
Dear Lord: I know you are a patient and loving God. How long can you continue to hold your hand of mercy on this country? Continuing to protect a stiff necked people who no longer believe in or respect you. I just pray that you protect the true believers in you as you protected the house of Judah.
In Jesus name I pray amen