It’s easy to read this as simply, "They got too much good stuff and forgot God." But Hosea's wording implies a deeper twist: it wasn't just the amount of blessing, but the way they received it – according to what they longed for – that led to pride and forgetfulness. Their desires, once met, became their own pasture, blinding them to the true Shepherd.
but when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me. So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk beside the way. I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open.
English Standard Version (ESV)
God speaks to Israel using the metaphor of a shepherd caring for his flock, providing them with rich pastures in the promised land. But instead of gratitude, this abundance led them to become complacent, proud, and ultimately to forget the very God who so generously supplied their needs. This verse highlights how prosperity, if not rightly handled, can lead to a dangerous spiritual blindness and a turning away from the divine provider.
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to forget God when things are going too well? This verse warns us about that very trap.
Hosea uses a powerful image: livestock in a lush pasture. When these animals have more than enough, they become full, satisfied, and even a bit arrogant. They don't need the shepherd anymore, at least not in their own minds.
This is exactly what Israel did. God gave them a rich land, a land flowing with milk and honey. They ate, they were filled, and their hearts grew 'exalted' – they became proud and self-sufficient.
This isn't just about physical food. It's about anything that makes us feel secure and independent of God. When we have comfort, success, and abundance, it's easy to stop looking to the Source of those blessings and start trusting in the blessings themselves.
Forgetting God isn't just a passive lapse; it's an active betrayal of the One who gave us everything.
The word 'forgotten' here isn't about misplacing your keys. It's a deliberate turning away, a conscious neglect of the One who sustained them.
Israel's forgetting meant more than just not remembering God's name. It meant abandoning His worship, ignoring His commands, and ceasing to trust in His provision. They replaced their reliance on the Divine Shepherd with confidence in their own resources and achievements.
This is a profound betrayal. God's goodness to them was meant to draw them closer, to remind them of their dependence. Instead, their prosperity became a tool for their own self-exaltation and subsequent abandonment of Him. It’s a tragic irony: the very blessings meant to reveal God became the means by which He was hidden from them.
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Understand the original words
lebab · Hebrew Noun
In Scripture, the heart is considered the center of human personality, encompassing the intellect, will, emotions, and moral character. It is the seat of a person's inner life and the primary organ of faith or rebellion toward God.
shakach · Hebrew Verb
To forget God in the biblical sense is not a mere lapse of memory, but a willful abandonment of His covenant, laws, and authority. It signifies a shift in allegiance from the Creator to idols or self-sufficiency.
ari · Hebrew Noun
A predator known in the Bible for its strength, majesty, and fierceness. When applied to God's judgment, it signifies His righteous, irresistible, and terrifying power against those who persist in rebellion.
arab · Hebrew Verb
A verb describing an animal waiting in ambush, used figuratively to describe divine judgment that is patient, strategic, and inescapable. It highlights that God's discipline is not random but deliberate.
This verse highlights a timeless human tendency: when life is good and comfortable, it's easy to forget the One who provided that comfort. The historical context of Israel's settlement in the rich land of Canaan, a blessing from God, powerfully illustrates how abundance can breed arrogance and lead people away from their Creator.
c. 1406 BC
Israel Enters the Promised Land
After forty years in the wilderness, the Israelites, led by Joshua, cross the Jordan River and begin conquering Canaan. This land is fertile and promised to be a land of abundance.
c. 1400 BC - 722 BC
Period of the Judges and United/Divided Monarchy
Israel experiences cycles of faithfulness and unfaithfulness to God, often marked by prosperity leading to pride and forgetfulness of God, followed by judgment.
c. 8th century BC— this verse
Hosea's Ministry
Hosea prophesies to the Northern Kingdom of Israel during a time of outward prosperity but deep spiritual decay and idolatry, particularly during the reigns of Jeroboam II and afterwards.
722 BC
Fall of Samaria and Assyrian Exile
The Northern Kingdom of Israel is conquered by the Assyrian Empire, its people are exiled, and the kingdom ceases to exist as a distinct entity.
This passage directly warns Israel not to forget God when they are full and prosperous in the promised land, mirroring the exact consequence Hosea describes.
Deuteronomy 32:15This song describes Jeshurun (Israel) waxing fat and kicking, abandoning God as a result of their prosperity, which is a strong parallel to the 'heart lifted up' leading to forgetting God in Hosea.
Psalm 106:13-15This psalm recounts Israel's impatience and desire for Egypt's provisions, leading to God giving them their desire but sending leanness to their souls, showing how satisfied desires can lead to forgetting God.
John 6:26-27Jesus rebukes the crowds for seeking Him only because they were filled with bread, warning them not to labor for food that perishes but for the food that endures, highlighting the danger of seeking God for temporal fulfillment rather than Himself.
Proverbs 30:8-9Agur prays for neither poverty nor riches, fearing he would be full and deny God or be poor and steal, illustrating the inherent spiritual danger of abundance that Hosea points out.
pulpitHosea 13:6: "According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me."
Verse 6. - According to their pasture so were they filled. The literal rendering is, according to their pasturing so were they filled. The reference is rather to the care in pasturing than to the pasture-ground. By God's care to the sheep of his pasture they waxed full. They were filled, and their heart was exalted. Two consequences followed from God's…
pooleHosea 13:6: "According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me."
According to their pasture, so were they filled; when they were come into Canaan, that land of springs, brooks, and rivers, that land of wheat, barley, vines, olives, and figs, as Deu 8:7-9 ; when they had abundance of all things for delight, as well as for necessary sustenance; when I had, like a good, careful, and wise shepherd, brought them into this…
It’s easy to read this as simply, "They got too much good stuff and forgot God." But Hosea's wording implies a deeper twist: it wasn't just the amount of blessing, but the way they received it – according to what they longed for – that led to pride and forgetfulness. Their desires, once met, became their own pasture, blinding them to the true Shepherd.
God speaks to Israel using the metaphor of a shepherd caring for his flock, providing them with rich pastures in the promised land. But instead of gratitude, this abundance led them to become complacent, proud, and ultimately to forget the very God who so generously supplied their needs. This verse highlights how prosperity, if not rightly handled, can lead to a dangerous spiritual blindness and a turning away from the divine provider.
God speaks to Israel using the metaphor of a shepherd caring for his flock, providing them with rich pastures in the promised land. But instead of gratitude, this abundance led them to become complacent, proud, and ultimately to forget the very God who so generously supplied their needs. This verse highlights how prosperity, if not rightly handled, can lead to a dangerous spiritual blindness and a turning away from the divine provider.
"but when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me. So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk beside the way. I will fall upon them li…" — It’s easy to read this as simply, "They got too much good stuff and forgot God." But Hosea's wording implies a deeper twist: it wasn't just the amount of blessing, but the way they received it –…
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Last reviewed October 2026
