Scroll to the bottom for thoughts/discussion questions!
One-sentence summary: The Lord vows to punish His people for their rebellion and unfaithfulness, but declares His undying love for them and promises to restore them if they will only walk in His ways; He also promises them a Savior.
The Lord tells Hosea to set a trumpet against his mouth. The Lord will come against His people like an eagle, because they have rebelled against Him and transgressed His law. They will cry out and say they know God, but in reality, they have rejected the good. The enemy will pursue them. They have set up kings but not those God chose. They made idols. The Lord asks, "How long until they attain innocence?" Therefore, the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces. They have made it with their own hands, and they know that right well. The Lord says, "They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind." Israel is swallowed up and are among the Gentiles. They are like a wild donkey alone by itself. The Lord will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. They will return to Egypt, since they have forgotten the Lord. He will send fire upon their cities and burn their palaces.
The Lord tells Israel not to rejoice like other people, because they have "played the harlot" against Him, "making love for hire" on all their high places of worship to other gods. Therefore, they will not dwell in the Lord's land; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean things in Assyria. Their prophets are fools because of the greatness of their iniquity. They are deeply corrupted. The Lord will remember their iniquity and punish their sin. The Lord says He found Israel like grapes in the wilderness and saw their fathers as the first fruits on the fig tree in its first season. However, they went after Baal and became an abomination just like it. Ephraim's glory will fly away like a bird- "no birth, no pregnancy, and no conception." They will be bereaved of their children. The Lord says woe to them when He departs from them. Hosea asks Him to give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. The Lord says He will love them no more, as they are all rebellious. They will bear no fruit. Even if they bore children, He would kill them. The Lord says He will cast them away because they did not obey, and they will be wanderers among the nations.
As Israel prospered, they made more high places. Their hearts are divided. The Lord will break down their altars. They now say, "We have no king, because we did not fear the Lord, and... what would he [a king] do for us [anyway]?" They will ask the mountains to cover them and the hills fall on them. When the Lord punishes them, nations will be gathered against them. Hosea tells them to "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy. Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord 'til He comes and rains righteousness on you."
The Lord laments: "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son." But they sacrificed to Baal and worshipped carved idols. The Lord drew them with chords of love, and He bent down to feed them and remove the yoke from their necks. Although they will not return to Egypt, yet the king of Assyria will capture them, because they refused to repent. They are bent on backsliding. They call out to God but do not exalt Him. Yet, the Lord says, "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?" He declares that His heart churns within Him, and His sympathy is stirred. Therefore, He will not execute the fierceness of His anger and destroy Israel, because, He says, "I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst. And I will not come with terror." Hosea says, "They will walk after the Lord. He will roar like a lion; when He roars, then His sons will come trembling from the west." The Lord says He will let them dwell in their houses, though Ephraim lied to Him and Israel was deceitful. Yet Judah still walks with God. Ephraim feeds on the wind and increases his lies, and he makes a covenant with the Assyrians and trades with Egypt. There is a charge against Judah, and Jacob will be punished. Hosea admonishes them to "Observe mercy and justice, and wait on your God continually." The Lord says they will again dwell in tents. He says He has spoken to them by the prophets and given them signs. He brought them out of Egypt and preserved them both by a prophet.
The Lord says Ephraim died through Baal worship, yet now they sin "more and more." They will be like the morning cloud and early dew that passes away, like chaff blown from a threshing floor and smoke from a chimney. The Lord says He is the Lord, that they will know no God but Him, because He is the only Savior. When they were satisfied, their hearts were exalted, and they forgot Him. So the Lord will meet them like a lion, a leopard, and a bear, and He will stalk and devour them. They are destroyed, but their help will still come from Him. He will be their king. The Lord says He gave them a king in His anger and took him away in His wrath. The Lord will ransom them from the power of the grave and redeem them from death.
Hosea say, "Oh Israel! Return to the Lord your God! For you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you, and return to the Lord. Say to Him, 'Take away all iniquity. Receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips. Assyria will not save us. We will not ride on horses. Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, 'You are our gods.' For in You the fatherless finds mercy.'" The Lord responds, "I will heal their backsliding. I will love them freely. For My anger has turned away from him. I will be like the dew to Israel. He will grow like the lily and lengthen his roots like Lebanon. His branches will spread. His beauty will be like an olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon. Those that dwell under His shadows will return. They will be revived like grain and grow like a vine. Their scent will be like the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim will say, 'What have I to do anymore with idols?... I am like a green Cypress tree. Your fruit is found in me.' Who is wise? Let him understand these things? Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right. The righteous walk in them. But transgressors stumble in them."
Thoughts/discussion questions:
People wonder at the seeming "schizophrenic" nature of God's emotions in many Biblical passages. The only thing I can compare it to are the emotions of a husband with an unfaithful wife. Yes, He is angry and even loathes her, but he is only angry because he loves her so much. If this is how humans feel, we can only imagine how God feels.
The One who remembers everything will never forget you. He is your Father, and He will carry you.