Friday, December 13 – Hosea 11, 12

1. What human relationship does the Lord compare to His relationship with Israel? (Hosea 11:1-4)

2. What disconnect existed between Israel’s words and their actions? (Hosea 11:7)

3. How does Hosea highlight the importance of the prophetic ministry? (Hosea 12:13)

Commentary and Reflection:

Up to this point, the prophet Hosea has vividly described Israel’s spiritual condition. The northern kingdom openly and defiantly rebelled against God and His covenant. Yet, God’s love for His people is evident in His constant call to repentance through the prophets. Hosea appeals to the people using his personal experience with Gomer, assuring them that God will forgive and welcome them back into His fold.

Chapter 11 begins with recounting God’s blessings upon Israel from the time He brought them out of Egypt. He reminds them that He treated them like a young child, nurturing and guiding them tenderly. However, Israel responded with ingratitude. Instead of worshiping their Deliverer, they offered sacrifices to Baal. In verse 3, God compares Himself to a parent teaching their child to walk, taking them by the hand. He tenderly cared for Israel during their early years of immaturity. It is tragic that, as Israel grew, they replaced God with Baal in their worship and affection.

The northern kingdom’s apostasy resulted in its fall, which occurred 200 years after its establishment. Hosea prophesied this downfall, fulfilled during the reigns of the Assyrian kings Shalmaneser V and Sargon II in 722 B.C. God’s love for His people is expressed in His heartfelt question, “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred” (Hosea 11:8). Admah and Zeboiim were cities destroyed alongside Sodom and Gomorrah, serving as a warning to Israel to avoid the same fate.

The chapter concludes by reiterating Ephraim’s unfaithfulness and its impending ruin. A contrast is drawn between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah: “Ephraim has encircled Me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still walks with God, even with the Holy One who is faithful” (Hosea 11:12).

Hosea 12:1 describes Ephraim as feeding on the wind or the east wind, symbolizing the futility of Israel’s alliances with Assyria and Egypt. Instead of seeking the Lord as their security source, they relied on foreign powers to sustain their waning strength. Seeking help from Assyria and Egypt was as fruitless as trying to live off the wind.

Deception and destruction grew in Israel as they embraced false worship and its harmful effects. Their behavior led to cruelty, violence against their brothers, and theft. Hosea reminds them of their ancestor Jacob, who grasped his brother’s heel in the womb. He also references Jacob’s encounter with the Angel of the Lord at Peniel. By holding fast to God’s mercy, Jacob prevailed, and the Lord changed his name to Israel so he would never forget that encounter. The name’s meaning could not be more significant: “You have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:28). Just as Jacob triumphed in that spiritual struggle, Hosea appeals to Israel to return to God so they may prosper.

Speaking from experience, Hosea encourages Israel to return to God after the disciplinary process they would endure. He reminds them of the sacrifices Moses, God’s prophet, made to lead them from Egypt to Canaan. Yet with sorrow, Hosea declares, “Ephraim has provoked Him to anger most bitterly; therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him, and return his reproach upon him” (Hosea 12:14).

As someone once said, we learn from Israel’s experience that “there is a point beyond which patience ceases to be a virtue.” God’s patience has limits. He gave His people countless opportunities to abandon their apostasy, but they refused His divine offer.

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Will we accept His invitation so that, like Paul, we can say: “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14)?

Blessings to all this weekend.