"The prophet is a fool, The man that hath the spirit is mad Because of the abundance of thine iniquity. They shall cry unto me, 'My God, we Israel know Thee.' (But) Israel hath cast off that which is good; Israel hath forgotten his Maker. And now they go on sinning, They make for themselves molten gods, From their silver, idols according to their own model, Smith's work, all of it! To such they speak! Men who sacrifice, kiss calves! They sow the wind and shall reap the whirlwind!" After that Hosea followed up his rebuke and denunciation with most pathetic entreaties: "Sow to yourselves righteousness, So shall ye reap loving-kindness. Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, That the fruit of righteousness may come upon you. But ye have plowed wickedness, Ye have reaped disaster, Ye have eaten the fruit of lies. It is love I delight in, and not sacrifice, Knowledge of God and not burnt-offering." When the time came for Menahem to send the tribute to Tiglath-Pileser, Hosea discovered that even here the king and his advisers were double-dealing with Assyria. The sending of the money to the great emperor was only a blind on the part of Menahem. Secretly he was in communication with the King of Egypt, sending precious gifts to him. Menahem wanted to create an alliance between Israel and Egypt against Tiglath-Pileser. Hosea saw the folly of it all. He knew that neither the tribute to Assyria nor the proposed alliance with Egypt could help the corrupt, degraded people. He compares Menahem's double-dealing to the action of a silly dove, and concludes: "Samaria shall bear her guilt, For she has rebelled against her God. Shall I deliver them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? Come, on with thy plagues, O Death! On with thy pestilence, O Sheol! Repentance is forever hid from mine eyes." This terrible pronouncement, almost a curse, brought Hosea back to his home all wrought up. Never had he spoken so harshly. Never had he felt so deeply the doom of Israel. He found his children in the playroom, playing an old game called "Mother." After watching them for a moment in silence and in thought, his heart was almost crushed by a question his little girl put to him: "When is our real mother coming home?" For answer he drew Lo-ruhamah close to his heart--and wept. Hosea did not know; only God knew. All the love he bore for Gomer came back in an overwhelming flood. She had strayed from him, but his love had never lessened. Would that he could find her! With all her faults he would forgive her, if she would repent and return. And yet, that morning, he had been so harsh. He preached that Israel must bear its guilt and that God had forever hid repentance from before Him.