The Procession
The book of Hosea in chapter 13 describes the stepping stones followed for millennia by humans and human societies whose ultimate end was destruction. These steps can be evident to outsiders looking in on the unfortunate procession. But the wayfarers on the path often seem oblivious to the course they are taking. Only a few committed to destruction are aware of the path they take; the Jews of Hosea's day may have been among those committed few.
Verses five and six of Hosea chapter 13 state, "I cared for them in the wilderness, in the land of burning heat. When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me." Through Hosea's writings, God is indicting Israel, His chosen people. God begins by pointing out what He had done for them in their time of need. The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua all show evidence of God's provision for the Jewish people. God had indeed cared for them, from their liberty out of Egypt to their sojourns in the wilderness to their eventual entry into the Promised Land.
Take care. Guard your heart. Do not let the blessing of God to lead you to the point of forgetting Him.
The result of God's provision was the jew's satisfaction. The blessing of God satisfied Israel's needs, as it rightly would. But instead of praising the One who blessed them, the people became proud of the blessing. It was the proverbial "went to their head" scenario. But in Israel's case, the result was catastrophic. The people's pride and enjoyment of the blessing led them away from God to the point of completely forgetting Him.
A more in-depth consideration of this verse's words "satisfied" and "forgot" is warranted. God's reference to Israel being satisfied by the care He gave them is not speaking of physical satisfaction. It's not like sitting down after a big meal and rubbing your tummy. The satisfaction referenced is a spiritual response that prevented the people from moving past the provision into what God truly desired - relationship. The blessing provided by God took center stage in the Jew's lives and replaced God. It is much like what we have seen in Europe and now in the United States and other developed countries. These nations are now called "post-Christian" societies. What that phrase means, in essence, is they are forgetting God. Like the Israelites who went through the wilderness and entered the Promised Land and then focused on the blessings instead of the Blesser, these modern-day societies are turning away from their Provider and focusing on the result of their providence.
The word "forgot" in this verse does not solely imply a lack of knowledge about God. It also involves a rebellion against God and His statutes. Although God had a significantly lower priority within the Jewish community in Hosea's day, He was not entirely absent. The people still had books about God; they had priests and even prophets to whom they did not listen. So, there was an awareness of God and likely a passing knowledge of what He had done for their ancestors. But, Israel now had the blessing and, therefore, had no need to follow the God who had provided it. Instead, they selected the foreigners' gods and made idols for themselves to worship. It is not that different from what we see today in our societies.
This brings us to the crux of the matter. Humans have not changed since Hosea's time. God's provision in our lives individually and as a nation still causes harm when we allow it to gain our focus and move us away from the Provider. God cares for us in our times of lack and intense trial. He helps us through to a place of provision. We are fed. We become satisfied and look at what we have. We feel protected, separated from the lack we experienced. Our satisfaction in the provision becomes pride in what we have. The blessing is now the focus, and the pride within our hearts leads to a sense of entitlement.
When blessing becomes an entitlement, gratitude is replaced by pride.
Our prideful hearts will lead us away from God. Unless we are vigilant, committed to putting God first, making His word the number one priority, and praising the Blesser instead of idolizing the blessing. Only when we determine in our hearts that our relationship with God is more important than anything that comes from God will we, individually and as a people, be able to step off the path of forgetting God and escape the resulting destruction.