Hosea 7:15

I have bound. Literally, “I disciplined,” “I chastised,” or “I instructed.” This passage is another reference to the Lord’s goodness and Israel’s subsequent ingratitude.

In return for God’s kindness to His people, they devised mischief against Him. They stubbornly kept to their own evil ways.

This verse, incidentally, reveals the force and freedom of the human will. The will has the power to resist the influence of God, and to turn what He designs for good into ill, because it is morally and spiritually sovereign and independent.

Their arms. Or, “their forearms.” Arms are a symbol of strength (see Ps. 18:34; 144:1). So the Lord taught His people the source of strength and the secret of acquiring it. In spite of this they rebelled against Him.

Imagine mischief. The Hebrew word order gives the following emphasis: “Against me do they imagine mischief, against Me, their God!” Against the Lord, who had done so much for them, and for whose glory they were created, they turned their back to follow idols, to render glory to these vanities (see Isa. 42:8).