God speaks through the prophet Hosea to address the idolatry of the powerful northern kingdom of Samaria. The image of the calf (with its strong resonances with the calf worship in Exodus) grossly fell short of truly presenting almighty God to worshippers in the northern kingdom. The inhabitants of Samaria were not the first, nor would they be the last, to engage in this kind of idolatry, so wounding to the divine heart.
The meek God of Israel forbids such idolatry. Such paltry attempts to depict (and manipulate) divine power completely miss the mark. Those who seek to manipulate the divine then fail to recognize God who comes to us. This inability to recognize God who comes humbly among us is heard in the Gospel today as well, when some misjudge Our Lord and say, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons” (Matt 9:34). The God who chooses a humble people does not choose them for the sake of building a worldly kingdom, such as that which the inhabitants of Samaria or any number of ancient and modern empires have sought. Our meek God chose this people because He loves the humble. Our Lord most powerfully chooses the weak and humble to be the signs of His love in this world. Such is the humble Christ who labors in the towns and villages. This is how He calls us to follow Him and to labor with Him in His harvest: meekly, humbly.