Hosea 12:1

Hosea 12:1 sats, Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.  God was again reminding His chosen people that they could only find security and satisfaction thorough following Him.  When they looked to the world powers for security, they would find themselves feeding on nothing but their own vanity, which would be as fulfilling as eating air.  If we are not following God's will for our lives, we are filling our lives with empty accomplishments.  Verse two adds, The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.  The people of Judah were also beginning to turn away from God, and they were dealing deceitfully with Him.  They were descendants of Jacob, who had dealt in deceit with those around him until he turned to God in faith.  We likewise deal with God in deceit until we come to Him by faith through Christ.  We need to be thankful that God deals with us through mercy instead of through justice, because justice can only bring punishment.  God calls on us as His followers, His people, to treat the people of the world the same way.  We are to approach them with mercy, not hatred or contempt.  If we are no different than the rest of the world, then that says that God does not change people into a new creation.  Verse three continues, He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:  This is still referring to Jacob.  Jacob is said to have been fighting to claim the birthright of the first born even in the womb but was unsuccessful.  No matter how early in life we may attempt to claim God's blessings of our own ability, we will fail.  Jacob was able to claim the birthright by deceit, but we can never claim a right relationship with God through deceit, but only through the truth of Christ.  Verse four states, Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;  This could be interpreted as Jacob defeating the angel and enforcing his will on God, but I believe it really says that until Jacob stopped wrestling with God and instead submitted to Him he never received the blessing of God.  We cannot come to God through our own strength and will but can only come to Him by asking His forgiveness through Christ.  Verse five adds, Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial. This tells us Who it was that sought Jacob and entered into a covenant relationship with him.  It was the Lord of hosts, the only true God.  Jacob's relationship with God was to be a memorial to God and not a memorial to Jacob. When God seeks us out and calls us into a relationship with Him, it is for our benefit but for His glory.  Verse six continues, Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.  The same call applies to us today.  We are to turn to God for direction in life.  God calls us to have mercy and use His judgment, not our own, to relate to the world.  Jacob was impatient to claim an earthly birthright, but he learned to wait on God for an everlasting birthright.  We must learn to likewise wait on God's direction continually.