“I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.”
The statement that God will not execute the fierceness of his anger and will not destroy Ephraim suggests that while judgment will come, it will not be total annihilation, that God's mercy will ultimately limit the extent of judgment. The assertion that the LORD is God and not man and the Holy One in the midst of them indicates that God's response is motivated by divine character (holy, transcendent, merciful) rather than human passion. This verse introduces a crucial reversal: despite the severity of judgment announced, God's character ensures that some remnant will be preserved.
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