Hosea 11
The Heart of a Holy Father
After ten chapters of talking about Israel’s unfaithfulness, we come to a point where God reminds us He is still a good father. Despite Israel’s rebellion towards Him.
God’s judgments are never far from His love, nor is His love indifferent to sin. God had every reason to abandon His people, yet His covenant love refuses to let His promises fail.
“When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. The more they called them, The more they went from them; They kept sacrificing to the Baals And burning incense to graven images. Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them in My arms; But they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them. ¶They will not return to the land of Egypt; But Assyria—he will be their king Because they refused to return to Me. And the sword will whirl against their cities And will consume their gate bars And devour them because of their counsels. So My people are hung up on turning from Me. Though they call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him. ¶How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I give you over to be like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned over within Me; All My compassions are stirred. I will not execute My burning anger; I will not make Ephraim a ruin again. For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, And I will not come in wrath. They will walk after Yahweh; He will roar like a lion; Indeed, He will roar, And His sons will come trembling from the west. They will come trembling like birds from Egypt And like doves from the land of Assyria; And I will settle them in their houses, declares Yahweh. ¶Ephraim surrounds Me with lies And the house of Israel with deceit; And Judah is also unruly against God, Even against the Holy One who is faithful.” Hosea 11:1-12
The Father’s Tender Love
“When Israel was a youth, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.” Hosea 11:1
Before mentioning anything else, the Lord reminds them of His grace. He remembers rescuing them from Egypt.
Liberating them and adopting them as His own. Israel was chosen because God loved them, not because they had earned His favor.
“The more they called them, The more they went from them; They kept sacrificing to the Baals And burning incense to graven images.” Hosea 11:2
Every invitation from God was answered with another step away from Him. Every act of grace was met with deeper rebellion.
The One who called them out of slavery watched them return to the idols that enslaved them, even though He had warned them many times.
God called them toward Himself through His Word, His Spirit, His kindness, and even His discipline, yet their hearts were prone to wander toward lesser loves. They had drifted far, far away.
“Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them in My arms; But they did not know that I healed them.” Hosea 11:3
A father stoops to hold the hands of his toddler. He patiently guides uncertain steps. He lifts the child when he falls. He feeds him when he cannot feed himself.
God taught Israel.
God carried Israel.
God healed Israel.
Yet Israel remained blind to all three.
Every breath, every meal, every sunrise, every answered prayer, every undeserved mercy ultimately comes from His hand. Yet, sinful humanity is often content to enjoy God’s blessings without acknowledging the God who provides them.
“I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them.” Hosea 11:4
God did not drive Israel like an ox. He led them in a way suited to people, with kindness, persuasion, and love.
These were cords appropriate to a loving father, as opposed to an owner of animals. He chose to draw rather than drag.
God is pictured as a parent bending down to feed a small child who cannot feed himself. Everything Israel possessed came from God’s hand.
God teaches the child to walk. God carries the child. God leads the child. God removes burdens from the child. God feeds the child.
The Cost of Refusing to Return
“¶They will not return to the land of Egypt; But Assyria—he will be their king Because they refused to return to Me.” Hosea 11:5
The Hebrew uses the verb return (shuv) twice, but with two different objectives.
Israel will not return to Egypt.
They refused to return to God.
Since they would not repent and return to Yahweh, they would instead come under the domination of Assyria.
Israel would not literally go back to Egypt, but they would experience a new Egypt under Assyrian oppression. Assyria would become their king because they had rejected Yahweh as their true King.
They would not submit to God’s easy yoke, therefore they must submit to Assyria’s heavy one.
“And the sword will whirl against their cities And will consume their gate bars And devour them because of their counsels.” Hosea 11:6
The sword will whirl, describes war as something relentless and inescapable. The image is of a sword sweeping through the land until nothing remains secure.
The gate bars refer to the fortifications of Israel’s cities. In the ancient Near East, the city gate was the center of defense and government. If the gate bars are consumed, the city’s last line of protection has failed.
“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12
Israel’s own decisions have led to this outcome. No fortress can protect a people who have abandoned the covenant.
“So My people are hung up on turning from Me. Though they call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him.” Hosea 11:7
The same people God lovingly called My people had become stubbornly devoted to leaving Him. But what I find most compelling is that He says My People. Even in their rebellion, they still belong to Him.
Some understand this verse as referring to God calling them upward, yet they refuse to exalt Him.
Others understand it as Israel calling upon God in distress while refusing true worship.
Either way, the point is the same. They wanted the benefits of God without giving God the glory.
“And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” John 3:19
This is the difference between turning to God and calling on God.
The Heart of God Revealed
“¶How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I give you over to be like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned over within Me; All My compassions are stirred.” Hosea 11:8
There is a tension between His righteous judgment and His steadfast covenant love.
How can I give you up? How can I surrender you? How can I hand you over?
They have broken covenant. They have worshiped idols. They have rejected their Father.
God’s compassion does not mean He ignores sin. Israel truly deserved judgment. The wonder is that His covenant mercy restrains the full measure of destruction.
The same God who judges sin is the God who grieves over the sinner. God’s holiness is filled with perfect compassion. His love for us is deeper than our rebellion.
“I will not execute My burning anger; I will not make Ephraim a ruin again. For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, And I will not come in wrath.” Hosea 11:9
This is a declaration that God will not give Israel the total destruction they deserve.
God had every right to treat Ephraim like Admah and Zeboiim, but He chooses not to.
He is faithful to His own nature and promises. He is not controlled by passions as humans are and His compassion is rooted in who He is.
The hope of sinners is that God is unlike man. Yet, He comes near to redeem them. He makes a way for mercy and justice to meet.
The Promise of Restoration
“They will walk after Yahweh; He will roar like a lion; Indeed, He will roar, And His sons will come trembling from the west.” Hosea 11:10
Now the promise is that they will walk after Yahweh. The same people who resisted God’s leading will one day follow Him.
Israel’s return does not begin with their ability to find their way back. It begins with God’s call. His voice is so powerful that those who were scattered hear Him and return.
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” John 12:32
“They will come trembling like birds from Egypt And like doves from the land of Assyria; And I will settle them in their houses, declares Yahweh.” Hosea 11:11
In Hosea 7, He refers to Isreal as Silly Doves.
The silly dove is no longer flying toward Egypt and Assyria for help. But it will one day be flying home to God. And the land, homes, and security that were lost because of rebellion will one day be restored.
God is the One who restores what sin destroyed.
“¶Ephraim surrounds Me with lies And the house of Israel with deceit; And Judah is also unruly against God, Even against the Holy One who is faithful.” Hosea 11:12
Many commentators see this verse as a transition into chapter 12, but it also serves as a reminder that restoration is needed because the problem is still sin.
The warning expands beyond the northern kingdom. The same covenant unfaithfulness exists also in Judah.
It is a human problem.
Israel failed to remain faithful, but God promised a Son who would perfectly obey where Israel failed.
Jesus Christ is that faithful Son.
He came not only to reveal the heart of the Father, but to accomplish the salvation that sinners could never achieve on their own. Though we have wandered from God, Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
He lived the perfect life we could not live, died the death our sins deserved, and rose from the grave defeating sin and death.
At the cross, God’s justice and mercy met. Jesus took the punishment of sinners so that all who repent and believe in Him can be forgiven and reconciled to God.
The same God who called His people home in Hosea is still calling sinners today.
Turn from your sin, trust in Jesus Christ, and find forgiveness, restoration, and eternal life in Him.
Ohhh what a Father!🥹 despite anything that we do He is still willing to wrap us in His loving arms. When I look at how Israel conducted themselves in every instances . I see how we sometimes as Believers commit the very actions that they did in someway or another. But thank God for His grace! That still calls us back home.🥹🏡
Thank you for writing this✨
Great reflection. Thank you for sharing! :)