Charles Spurgeon Commentary Hosea 13:6-8

"According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me. Therefore am I unto them as a lion; as a leopard will I watch by the way; I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart; and there will I devour them like a lioness; the wild beast shall tear them." — Hosea 13:6-8 (ASV)

According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.

Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them: I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.

When people forget God, they may expect to encounter some terrible judgments; and God's own people especially will find this to be true for them if they forget the Lord. Our God is a very jealous God; and when His children set their hearts on other objects instead of upon Himself, He will take care to embitter those objects of their affection to them. He will cause their idols to be loathed by them.

If God did not love us very much, He would think little of our faults; but precisely because He loves us so much, He cannot bear for any part of our heart's affection to turn away from Himself. So, if He sees that we deal unfaithfully with Him, He will make us realize that sin is an exceedingly evil and bitter thing.

His anger against us will be like that of a bear robbed of her whelps, or of a lion or leopard leaping upon its prey.