Hosea 2:6

Hedge up thy way. God now pronounces judgment upon Israel in His determination to thwart her course of sin and shame. He will obstruct her purpose. How true is the statement of Thomas a Kempis in his Imitation of Christ that “man proposes, but God disposes.” It is the mercy of God that this is so, for He knows best what is for our ultimate good. Martin Luther is said to have declared, “O unhappy men, when God leaves them to themselves and does not resist them in their lusts! You bless yourselves many times that in the way of sin you find no difficulty. Bless thyself! Thou hast cause to howl and wring thy hands; thou hast the curse of God on thee. A dreadful curse to make pleasant the way of sin.”

No; God does not let the sinner go unrestrained. Repeatedly this principle is affirmed in the Bible (see Job 19:8; Prov. 16:1,9; 19:21; Jer. 10:23; Lam. 3:7, 9). For their own spiritual benefit Israel would soon experience the “hedge” and the “wall” of the Assyrian captivity. The remnant of the exiles who held to the worship of Jehovah (see on 2 Kings 17:23) were forever rescued from the evils of idol worship.