Hosea 13, No Savior But YHWH

Hosea continues to remind the northern kingdom, Israel, of their heritage in Jacob and of their stubborn disobedience.

Hosea 13:1-3, Like the morning mist

When Ephraim spoke, 

men trembled; 

he was exalted in Israel. 

But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.

Now they sin more and more; 

they make idols for themselves from their silver, 

cleverly fashioned images, 

all of them the work of craftsmen. 

It is said of these people, "They offer human sacrifice 

and kiss the calf-idols."

Therefore they will be like the morning mist, 

like the early dew that disappears, 

like chaff swirling from a threshing floor, 

like smoke escaping through a window.  

The absurdity and decadence of the people of Israel is captured in the fact that they offer human sacrifices and even kiss calf idols! Because the people of Ephraim (Israel) have put Baal as their god, they will evaporate like the morning mist, like the morning dew. (This verse reflects words of 6:4, in which the inconstant love, of Ephraim and Judah for YHWH, vanishes like the morning mist. 🌫 )

Hosea 13:4-6, I fed you and protected you

"But I am the LORD your God,

 [who brought you] out of Egypt. 

You shall acknowledge no God but me, 

no Savior except me.

I cared for you in the desert, 

in the land of burning heat.

When I fed them, 

they were satisfied; 

when they were satisfied, 

they became proud; 

then they forgot me.

YHWH has always been the God of Israel, feeding them, protecting them, caring for them in the desert. 

Hosea reminds the people again (both in 12:9 and 13:4, here) of God's extraordinary choice of their nation, repeating the sentence "But I am the LORD your God, [who brought you] out of Egypt." Verse 4 echoes the First Commandment, Exodus 20:2-3.

Hosea 13:7-8, Wild animals

So I will come upon them like a lion,

 like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

Like a bear robbed of her cubs, 

I will attack them and rip them open. 

Like a lion I will devour them; 

a wild animal will tear them apart.  

In the past, God protected the people from the attacks of wild animals. Now He will pounce on them like the leopards, lions and bears would have done in the absence of His protection. As in 8:7, the people have sowed the wind and will now reap the whirlwind.

Hosea 13:9-13, Kings are useless

"You are destroyed, O Israel,

 because you are against me,

 against your helper.

Where is your king, that he may save you? 

Where are your rulers in all your towns, 

of whom you said, `Give me a king and princes'?  

So in my anger I gave you a king, 

and in my wrath I took him away.

The guilt of Ephraim is stored up, 

his sins are kept on record.

Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him, 

but he is a child without wisdom; 

when the time arrives, 

he does not come to the opening of the womb.  

When stubborn Israel wanted a king, God gave them one. When they stayed disobedient, He took kings away. (During the last thirty years of Israel's existence, as Hosea prophesizes, the kingdom went through five kings!) Because of their unfaithfulness, YHWH will remove their protections from them; they will suffer like a woman in childbirth; indeed, Israel is like a child that refuses to leave the womb!

Hosea 13:14a, Ransom

"I will ransom them from the power of the grave; 

I will redeem them from death. 

Where, O death, are your plagues? 

Where, O grave, is your destruction? 

An interlude looks to a future redemption from death. In the New Testament, the apostle Paul quotes verse 14 in 1 Corinthians 15:55, along with a similar passage from Isaiah 25:8, to argue that this "redemption from death" points to a future resurrection.

Hosea 13:14b-16, No compassion

"I will have no compassion,  

even though he thrives among his brothers. 

An east wind from the LORD will come, 

blowing in from the desert; 

his spring will fail 

and his well dry up. 

His storehouse will be plundered of all its treasures.

The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, 

because they have rebelled against their God. 

They will fall by the sword; 

their little ones will be dashed to the ground, 

their pregnant women ripped open." 

          

The passage began with an interlude, the promise of forgiveness, but then ends with a reminder of horrors to come. The soldiers of Assyria were notoriously brutal and this is judgment in coming.

First published June 20, 2025; updated June 20, 2025

Hosea 12, Israel, a Wandering Aramean

Hosea continues describing the unfaithfulness of Israel and Judah and God's desire to bring them back to Him.

Hosea 11:12-12:2, Pursuing Egypt and Assyria

Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, 

the house of Israel with deceit. 

And Judah is unruly against God, 

even against the faithful Holy One.    

 Ephraim feeds on the wind; 

he pursues the east wind all day 

and multiplies lies and violence. 

He makes a treaty with Assyria 

and sends olive oil to Egypt.  

The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah; 

he will punish Jacob according to his ways 

and repay him according to his deeds.

The Masoretic text begins this chapter with the last verse of chapter 11. Ephraim/Israel and Judah, despite all God has done, are rebellious, dealing in lies and deceit. They rely on ill-advised diplomacy with their two powerful neighbors, Egypt on the west and Assyria on the east. (This comes to a head a few decades later when King Hoshea's alliance with Egypt draws the attention of Assyria; see 2 Kings 17:3-4.)

Hosea 12:3-7, Jacob wrestled with God

In the womb he grasped his brother's heel; 

as a man he struggled with God.  

He struggled with the angel

and overcame him; 

he wept and begged for his favor.

He found him at Bethel 

and talked with him there

--the LORD God Almighty, 

the LORD is his name of renown!

 

But you must return to your God; 

maintain love and justice, 

and wait for your God always.

The merchant uses dishonest scales; 

he loves to defraud. 

The people of Israel have inherited the stubbornness of their forefather Jacob. Hosea describes major events from Jacob's life, from his birth (Genesis 25:26) to wrestling with the angel of God (Genesis 32:24-29.)  Jacob's descendants, in their stubbornness, act dishonestly and do not return to YHWH.

Hosea 12:8, Ephraim's boast

Ephraim boasts, "I am very rich; 

I have become wealthy. 

With all my wealth 

they will not find in me any iniquity or sin."  

Israel relies on its wealth, not it righteousness. Such an arrogant boast will always be called by the prophets of God. (Wood suggests that Hosea is alluding to the great wealth of Israel during the long reign of Jeroboam II.)

Hosea 12:9-10, Back to tents? 

"I am the LORD your God,

 [who brought you] out of Egypt; 

I will make you live in tents again, 

as in the days of your appointed feasts.

I spoke to the prophets, 

gave them many visions 

and told parables through them."

YHWH reminds the people of Israel that it was He who brought them out of Egypt and gave them real homes in Palestine. But if they ignore Him, He can return them to the tent life of the nomadic tribes. (Wood suggests that there is an allusion to the Feast of Tabernacles, during which time the Israelites remembered their travels during the Exodus.)

Hosea 12:11, Gilead

Is Gilead wicked? 

Its people are worthless! 

Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? 

Their altars will be like piles of stones

on a plowed field.

The questions are rhetorical; Gilead has been wicked, as they offer to other gods. (Gilead, east of the Jordan and Gilgal, on the west, represent all of Israel/Samaria.)

Hosea 12:12-14, A wandering Aramean

Jacob fled to the country of Aram;

Israel served to get a wife,

and to pay for her he tended sheep.

The LORD used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,

by a prophet he cared for him.

But Ephraim has bitterly provoked him to anger; 

his Lord will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed 

and will repay him for his contempt.    

          

The Israelites have long been identified as wandering Arameans. Jacob fled to Aram and then served Laban for Rachel. Moses then brought the people out of Egypt -- all these actions are indications of God's guiding love for Jacob and his descendants. Yet Ephraim (Israel) turns his back on God's goodness. 

A shepherd image runs throughout this passage. Jacob, out of love for Rachel, "tended sheep." YHWH, out of love for the Israelites, set up Moses to "care for" them.

First published June 19, 2025; updated June 19, 2025

Hosea 11, "How Can I Give You Up?"

Hosea continues his prophecies about the northern kingdom, Israel/Ephraim. There is also a warning to Judah and, some tender hints of a future hope.

Hosea 11:1-2, Out of Egypt

 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, 

and out of Egypt I called my son.  

But the more I called Israel, 

the further they went from me. 

They sacrificed to the Baals 

and they burned incense to images.  

God looks back on Israel like a parent recalling a child's early days. In Exodus 4:22-23, God tells Pharaoh to release his firstborn son, Israel. In the New Testament, Matthew will quote this verse (Matthew 2:13-15) identifying Jesus as this son.

Hosea 11:3-4, Teaching him, holding him

It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, 

taking them by the arms; 

but they did not realize it was I who healed them. 

I led them with cords of human kindness, 

with ties of love; 

I lifted the yoke from their neck 

and bent down to feed them.  

God called Israel out of Egypt in the Exodus; He taught them to walk, fed them and held them in His arms. This kindness and love had nothing to do with some intrinsic value in Israel but simply dependent on God's choice. (See Deuteronomy 7:7-8.) But despite all that love and tenderness, Israel has ignored YHWH.

Hosea 11:5-7, Return to Egypt? Or Assyria?

"Will they not return to Egypt 

and will not Assyria rule over them 

because they refuse to repent?

Swords will flash in their cities, 

will destroy the bars of their gates 

and put an end to their plans. 

My people are determined to turn from me. 

Even if they call to the Most High, 

he will by no means exalt them.  

Egypt on the west, Assyria on the east -- Israel is threatened on both sides. It has flitted back and forth between those two kingdoms (Hosea 7:11) and yet received no benefit from it dalliances.

Hosea 11:8-9, Compassion aroused

"How can I give you up, Ephraim? 

How can I hand you over, Israel? 

How can I treat you like Admah? 

How can I make you like Zeboiim? 

My heart is changed within me; 

all my compassion is aroused.   

I will not carry out my fierce anger, 

nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. 

For I am God, and not man

-- the Holy One among you. 

I will not come in wrath.

Still, despite Israel's unfaithfulness, YHWH focuses on compassion.

Admah and Zeboiim were towns close to Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 14: 8) and were presumably part of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19.) Those additional towns are only mentioned in Genesis, here, and in Deuteronomy 29: 23, always in relation to Sodom and Gomorrah.

Hosea 11:10-11, Trembling back to Zion

They will follow the LORD;

he will roar like a lion. 

When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. 

They will come trembling like birds from Egypt, 

like doves from Assyria. 

I will settle them in their homes," declares the LORD.  

As emphasized by Isaiah and other prophets, there is a remnant that will follow YHWH and come back to him, from Egypt in the west and Assyria in the east (and presumably from even further away.)

Hosea 11:12, Judah and Israel against the Holy One

Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, 

the house of Israel with deceit. 

And Judah is unruly against God, 

even against the faithful Holy One.    

Yet despite all He has done, His children are rebellious, dealing in lies and deceit. This verse goes best with the next chapter; the Hebrew manuscript chapter division has this verse as part of chapter 12.

First published June 18, 2025; updated June 18, 2025

Hosea 10, A House of Wickedness

Hosea continues to point out the "adultery" of Israel in worshiping other gods.

Hosea 10:1-2, A deceitful vine

Israel was a spreading vine; 

he brought forth fruit for himself. 

As his fruit increased, 

he built more altars; 

as his land prospered, 

he adorned his sacred stones.

Their heart is deceitful, 

and now they must bear their guilt. 

The LORD will demolish their altars 

and destroy their sacred stones.   

As Israel grew rich, it turned away from God. Israel, God's fruitful fine, has turned to idolatry (putting up "sacred stones" for altars) even as she has prospered. The deceitfulness of the nation will be confronted and their sacred stones pulled down.

Israel is often described as a vine that God has cultivated. See Ezekiel 15, for example. Isaiah sings of God's vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-7 and Asaph sings of it in Psalm 80. Israel is described as a vine here and in Jeremiah 2:21. Joseph is described as a fruitful vine in Genesis 49:22. Messiah Yeshuah, eight centuries later, will use the vine metaphor in John 15:1-8.

Hosea 10:3-4, What good is a king?

Then they will say, "We have no king

 because we did not revere the LORD. 

But even if we had a king, 

what could he do for us?"

 

They make many promises, 

take false oaths and make agreements; 

therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.

The Nrthern kingdom had a poor history of kings. And the corruption of royalty, their false promises, led to laws being subverted and used against the weak.

Hosea 10:5-6a, The calf-idol of Beth Aven

The people who live in Samaria 

fear for the calf-idol of Beth Aven.

Its people will mourn over it, 

and so will its idolatrous priests,

 those who had rejoiced over its splendor, 

because it is taken from them into exile.  

It will be carried to Assyria as tribute for the great king. 

"Beth Aven" means "house of wickedness" (a new name for Bethel, which means house of God). 

The calf idol was part of the Samarian culture (1 Kings 12:26-30.) There was one at Bethel, which explains the new name Hosea gives for the town. The idol, once an elegant object, will be carried away by Assyria.

The phrase translated "great king" in verse 6 is literally "King Yareb." The Hebrew word "yareb" means "to strive" or "to contend." Kidner says that here it is a scornful term and quotes another commentator who translates the phrase as "King Pick-Quarrel."

Hosea 10:6b-8, Carried downstream like a twig

Ephraim will be disgraced; 

Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.

Samaria and its king will float away

 like a twig on the surface of the waters.  

The high places of wickedness will be destroyed

-- it is the sin of Israel. 

Thorns and thistles will grow up

 and cover their altars. 

Then they will say to the mountains, "Cover us!" 

and to the hills, "Fall on us!"  

The royalty of Samaria/Israel will float away, like a twig on a stream, controlled by the current.

The curse of "thorns and thistles" covering the altar echoes Genesis 3:18, where the Fall leads to painful subsistence farming. 

In this future judgment, the people will wish for death, asking for the mountains and hills to cover them. In the New Testament, Jesus quotes this passage in Luke 23:30 and the same phrase appears in a similar passage in Revelation 6:15-17.

Hosea 10:9-11, Remember Gibeah

"Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel, 

and there you have remained.

Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?  

When I please, I will punish them; 

nations will be gathered against them 

to put them in bonds for their double sin.  

Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; 

so I will put a yoke on her fair neck. 

I will drive Ephraim, 

Judah must plow, 

and Jacob must break up the ground.  

Gibeah was a place of horrible violence in the days of the judges. See Judges 19-21, where a massacre of Benjamin occurs at Gibeah, after the rape and murder of a Levite's concubine.

A cow or ox would be trained to stamp on grain while walking around the threshing floor. Some cattle ate the grain as they threshed; God will take Ephraim, put a yoke on her, and move her into the fields to pull a plow.

Hosea 10:12, Seek YHWH

Sow for yourselves righteousness, 

reap the fruit of unfailing love, 

and break up your unplowed ground;

 for it is time to seek the LORD, 

until he comes and showers righteousness on you.

Hosea pauses to make his point. The northern kingdom is called to righteousness, to return and seek YHWH.

Hosea 10:13-15, Planting wickedness

But you have planted wickedness, 

you have reaped evil, 

you have eaten the fruit of deception. 

Because you have depended on your own strength 

and on your many warriors,

the roar of battle will rise against your people,

 so that all your fortresses will be devastated

-- as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, 

when mothers were dashed to the ground 

with their children.  

Thus will it happen to you, O Bethel, 

because your wickedness is great. 

When that day dawns, 

the king of Israel will be completely destroyed. 

Unfortunately, instead of turning back to God, the people of Israel have "planted" wickedness. The image is that of laying out a garden of evil, growing the "fruit of deception."  

The identity of Shalman is unclear, as is the battlefield Beth Arbel. Shalman could be Shalmaneser IV. Hosea is reminding the people of a slaughter that has now been lost to history.

First published June 17, 2025; updated June 17, 2025

Hosea 9, Days of Reckoning

Hosea continues his warnings to the northern kingdom.

Hosea 9:1-2, Do not rejoice

 Do not rejoice, O Israel; 

do not be jubilant like the other nations. 

For you have been unfaithful to your God; 

you love the wages of a prostitute at every threshing floor.

Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people; 

the new wine will fail them.  

The prostitution metaphor continues -- Israel is like the prostitute at the end-of-harvest parties on the threshing floor but neither that income nor the wine will take care of the people.

Hosea 9:3-6, Returning to Egypt and Assyria

They will not remain in the LORD's land; 

Ephraim will return to Egypt 

and eat unclean food in Assyria.

They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, 

nor will their sacrifices please him. 

Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners; 

all who eat them will be unclean. 

This food will be for themselves; 

it will not come into the temple of the LORD.  

What will you do on the day of your appointed feasts, 

on the festival days of the LORD?  

Even if they escape from destruction, 

Egypt will gather them,

 and Memphis will bury them. 

Their treasures of silver will be taken over by briers, 

and thorns will overrun their tents.  

On the east and the west, Israel is threatened. It does Israel no good to turn to those countries for alliances.

Hosea 9:7-9, Days of punishment

The days of punishment are coming, 

the days of reckoning are at hand. 

Let Israel know this.

Because your sins are so many 

and your hostility so great,

 the prophet is considered a fool, 

the inspired man a maniac.

The prophet, along with my God, 

is the watchman over Ephraim,

yet snares await him on all his paths, 

and hostility in the house of his God.  

They have sunk deep into corruption, 

as in the days of Gibeah. 

God will remember their wickedness 

and punish them for their sins.  

The prophet and the "inspired man" are ignored by Israel, indeed, the people are hostile to them. (A century later, the prophet Jeremiah was hounded and persecuted and, at one point, described as a "maniac" by a court official in Jeremiah 29:24-27.)

Gibeah is probably Gibeah of Benjamin, the site of the horrors of Judges 19-20.

A future day comes in which the last two lines of verse 9, above, are reversed by the last two lines of Jeremiah 31:34.

Hosea 9:10-14, Empty wombs and dry breasts

"When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; 

when I saw your fathers, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. 

But when they came to Baal Peor, 

they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol 

and became as vile as the thing they loved.  

Ephraim's glory will fly away like a bird-- 

no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.

Even if they rear children, 

I will bereave them of every one. 

Woe to them when I turn away from them!  

 I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place. 

But Ephraim will bring out their children to the slayer."  

Give them, O LORD-- 

what will you give them? 

Give them wombs that miscarry 

and breasts that are dry.  

God's love for Israel is first described as "finding grapes in the desert", finding juicy fruit in a wilderness. But the idolatry of Baal Peor (Numbers 25:1-3) -- and repeated idolatry over the centuries since -- has turned YHWH away from them. Their glory and pride will leave them as if they had no children, could not conceive, or even had their children killed. (In the culture of the ANE, the future hung on one's ability to have many children, so a womb that miscarries and breasts that are dry represents disaster.)

Hosea 9:15-17, Wanderers among the nations

"Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal, 

I hated them there. 

Because of their sinful deeds, 

I will drive them out of my house. 

I will no longer love them; 

all their leaders are rebellious.

Ephraim is blighted, 

their root is withered, 

they yield no fruit. 

Even if they bear children, 

I will slay their cherished offspring."

My God will reject them 

because they have not obeyed him; 

they will be wanderers among the nations.       

       

There seems to be no hope for Israel/Ephraim, as their wickedness has led to God rejecting them.

The sacrifices at Gilgal are also mentioned in 12:11 and in Amos 4:4.

First published June 16, 2025; updated June 16, 2025

Hosea 8, Calf Idols Invite a Predator

Hosea continues his prophecies about the northern kingdom, a kingdom confident in its power.

Hosea 8:1, An eagle appears

"Put the trumpet to your lips! 

An eagle is over the house of the LORD 

because the people have broken my covenant 

and rebelled against my law.  

An eagle, a predator, appears over the house of God, ready to strike down the nation because the religious rites ignore God.

Hosea 8:2-3, Ignoring God

Israel cries out to me,

`O our God, we acknowledge you!'

But Israel has rejected what is good;

an enemy will pursue him.

They set up kings without my consent;

they choose princes without my approval.

With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves

to their own destruction.

Israel says that it acknowledges God -- but in reality it does not. It makes grand decisions without a thought to God; the people use their precious silver and gold to build idols.

Kidner argues that Samaria is confident in its belief that its descent from Jacob/Israel is sufficient for the nation's safety. In the New Testament, Jesus confronts this attitude in John 8:31-47.

Hosea 8:5-6, Calf idol

Throw out your calf-idol, O Samaria!

My anger burns against them.

How long will they be incapable of purity?

They are from Israel!

This calf--a craftsman has made it;

it is not God.

It will be broken in pieces,

that calf of Samaria.

A calf idol represented the worship of Samaria. In 1 Kings 12:26-30, at the very beginning of the divided kingdoms, Jeroboam set up calf idols at the northern and southern extremities of Israel. That worshiped then continued throughout the two centuries of the divided kingdoms.

Hosea 8:7-10, Sold, swallowed up

"They sow the wind 

and reap the whirlwind. 

The stalk has no head; 

it will produce no flour. 

Were it to yield grain, 

foreigners would swallow it up.  

Israel is swallowed up; 

now she is among the nations like a worthless thing.

For they have gone up to Assyria 

like a wild donkey wandering alone. 

Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.

Although they have sold themselves among the nations, 

I will now gather them together. 

They will begin to waste away 

under the oppression of the mighty king.  

A sequence of metaphors describes Israel's impotence. They "sow the wind" but instead grow a whirlwind; their stalks cannot produce grain and even if they did, enemies would steal it. Israel is a wild donkey, wandering without purpose. And, as always, the prostitution metaphor arises -- Israel has sold herself to enemy lovers who will set up oppressive kingdoms.

"Sow the wind; reap the whirlwind" has become a proverb, predicting impending destruction. (A Wikipedia site on Reap the whirlwind catalogues some of the uses of this term. See also Galatians 6:7-8 in the New Testament.)

Hosea 8:11-13, Altars for sinning

"Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, 

these have become altars for sinning.  

I wrote for them the many things of my law, 

but they regarded them as something alien.

They offer sacrifices given to me 

and they eat the meat, 

but the LORD is not pleased with them. 

Now he will remember their wickedness

and punish their sins:

They will return to Egypt. 

The religious rituals of Israel are the opposite of God's expectations -- the sin offerings become offering for sinning, they make sacrifices so they can eat the meat, but serve no other purpose. As warned long ago, in the Exodus. they are headed back to Egypt.

Hosea 8:14, Fire on Israel and Judah

 Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; 

Judah has fortified many towns. 

But I will send fire upon their cities 

that will consume their fortresses."    

The palaces and fortifications of Israel and Judah will do no good when fire appears. Here even the southern kingdom is mentioned. 

A generation later, when Assyria overwhelms Samaria/Israel (2 Kings 17-18), they will destroy many of Judah's fortified towns, eventually stopping outside Jerusalem. A century later, the prophet Jeremiah will warn Judean King Jehoiakim of the futility of building a beautiful palace while oppressing the people (Jeremiah 22:13-17.)

First published June 14, 2025; updated June 14, 2025

Hosea 7, Half-burned Cakes in a Hot Oven

Hosea continues his chastisement of the northern kingdom.

Hosea 7:1-2, Engulfed in sin

"Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people, 

whenever I would heal Israel, 

the sins of Ephraim are exposed 

and the crimes of Samaria revealed. 

They practice deceit, 

thieves break into houses, 

bandits rob in the streets;

but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. 

Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.  

Israel (the northern kingdom, also called Ephraim, with capital Samaria) is pervasive in its deceit and lawlessness. Even when God restores the fortunes of the nation, deceit overwhelms them.

Hosea 7:3-7, Like an oven

"They delight the king with their wickedness, 

the princes with their lies.

They are all adulterers, 

burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir

from the kneading of the dough till it rises.  

On the day of the festival of our king

 the princes become inflamed with wine,

 and he joins hands with the mockers.  

Their hearts are like an oven; 

they approach him with intrigue.

 Their passion smolders all night;

 in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.  

All of them are hot as an oven; 

they devour their rulers. 

All their kings fall, 

and none of them calls on me.  

The festival of the king (a"royal anniversary", says Kidner) should be a day to rejoice in his righteousness (see Psalm 72, especially verses 1-2) but here the king is focused on debauchery.The king and princes get drunk and together hatch evil schemes. The greedy and power-hungry are like an oven on fire, smoldering, blazing, in their lies and adultery. 

Hosea 7:8-10, Arrogance and diplomacy

"Ephraim mixes with the nations; 

Ephraim is a flat cake not turned over.

Foreigners sap his strength, 

but he does not realize it. 

His hair is sprinkled with gray, 

but he does not notice.

Israel's arrogance testifies against him, 

but despite all this he does not return to the LORD his God 

or search for him.  

"A flat cake not turned over" describes a meal that is burnt on one side and not cooked on the other. Israel believes it is succeeding with its diplomacy and connections with foreign governments, but it is overconfident and arrogant, burnt on one side and cold on the other. This summarizes the attitudes in the northern kingdom (Israel/Ephraim) across the three decades described in 2 Kings 15:8-17:41, in which evil king overthrew evil king, until Assyria finally ended the drama.

Kidner suggests that the burnt cake metaphor might have been stimulated by a memory from Hosea's stormy marriage!

Hosea 7:11-14, Calling to Egypt, then Assyria

"Ephraim is like a dove, 

easily deceived and senseless-- 

now calling to Egypt, 

now turning to Assyria.  

When they go, I will throw my net over them; 

I will pull them down like birds of the air.

When I hear them flocking together, 

I will catch them.  

Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! 

Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! 

I long to redeem them but they speak lies against me.  

They do not cry out to me from their hearts 

but wail upon their beds. 

They gather together for grain and new wine 

but turn away from me.  

A dove is a dumb beast, easily misled. So is Israel. On the east is Assyria, the west, Egypt, and Israel calls to Egypt. As with a mindless dove, God can throw His net over them and catch them.

Hosea 7:15-16, Ridiculed

I trained them and strengthened them, 

but they plot evil against me.

They do not turn to the Most High; 

they are like a faulty bow. 

Their leaders will fall by the sword 

because of their insolent words.

For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.    

God has prepared Israel for success but they ignore Him and plot against Him. This will lead to ruin. Their old enemy, Egypt, will laugh at them. 

First published June 13, 2025; updated June 13, 2025

Hosea 6, Love Like Morning Mist

Hosea calls the people of Israel away from reliance on diplomatic maneuvers with powerful kingdoms and calls them back to reliance on YHWH. The end of the last chapter suggested that a remnant would return to YHWH. That suggestion expands into this chapter.

Hosea 6:1-3, "Let us return"

"Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.  

Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."  

Hosea calls for a return of the people to YHWH. God will take care of them, if they acknowledge Him.

The "days" in verse 2 build, in emphatic Hebrew style, from two to three. Those days are metaphorical, indeterminate periods of time, emphasizing a belief that restoration will occur if the people simply return to YHWH.

Hosea 6:4-7, Disappearing like the morning mist

"What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.  

Like Adam, they have broken the covenant-- they were unfaithful to me there.  

The love of Israel for God is ephemeral, there one moment, gone, like mist, in the next.

Throughout the Old Testament, the sacrificial system was to represent an attitude of genuine worship. One was not to mindlessly act out the religious rituals. In the New Testament times, Messiah Jesus quotes verse 6 in Matthew 9:12-13. Similar messages, on the importance of thought and action over religious ritual are given in Psalm 51:15-17, Isaiah 1:11-17, Amos 5:21-24 and Micah 6:6-8.

The phrase "Like Adam" can be translated "like men." The Hebrew word adam need not be a personal name.

Hosea 6:8-11a, Gilead and Shechem

Gilead is a city of wicked men, stained with footprints of blood. As marauders lie in ambush for a man, so do bands of priests; they murder on the road to Shechem, committing shameful crimes. I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel. There Ephraim is given to prostitution and Israel is defiled.  

"Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed.   

The country of Ephraim is defiled by violence and prostitution, literally and figuratively.

Hosea 6:11b-7:1a, Restore fortunes

"Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people, 

whenever I would heal Israel, 

the sins of Ephraim are exposed 

and the crimes of Samaria revealed. 

    

The Hebrew text makes a chapter break right after the first line of this phrase, but that line is more naturally read as the beginning of a new sentence that continues into chapter 7.

First published June 12, 2025; updated June 12, 2025

Hosea 5, Unfaithfulness in Ephraim and Judah

God, through Hosea, chastises Israel for its abandonment of Him, and their infidelity.

Hosea 5:1-3, Priests and royal house visible to God

"Hear this, you priests! 

Pay attention, you Israelites! 

Listen, O royal house! 

This judgment is against you: 

You have been a snare at Mizpah,

 a net spread out on Tabor.  

The rebels are deep in slaughter. 

I will discipline all of them. 

I know all about Ephraim; 

Israel is not hidden from me. 

Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution; 

Israel is corrupt.  

The chapter begins with a three-fold command for attention -- to priests, regular Israelites and royalty. Ephraim, that is, the Northern Kingdom, is visible to God, as are all of its sins. The royal house is called out especially on this.  Mizpah and Tabor represent examples of past idolatry and possibly (says Wood) common places for hunting, fitting with the "snare" and "net" images. (Tabor was where Deborah had victory over Sisera in Judges 4. There were a number of place in Israel called Mizpah, which means "watch tower." Mizpah might be Mizpah in Gilead or Mizpah in Benjamin.)

When the northern tribes rebelled against Rehoboam, they set up a competing altar at Bethel. (See 1 Kings 12:25-33.)

Hosea 5:4-7, A spirit of prostitution

"Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. 

A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; 

they do not acknowledge the LORD.  

Israel's arrogance testifies against them;

 the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin; 

Judah also stumbles with them.  

When they go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, 

they will not find him; 

he has withdrawn himself from them.  

They are unfaithful to the LORD; 

they give birth to illegitimate children. 

Now their New Moon festivals will devour them 

and their fields.  

The infidelity of the northern kingdom means that the people are separated from YHWH and even when they decide to seek Him, they are unable.

Hosea 5:8-12, Corruption, oppression, rot

"Sound the trumpet in Gibeah, 

the horn in Ramah. 

Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven; 

lead on, O Benjamin.  

Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of reckoning. 

Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain.  

Judah's leaders are like those who move boundary stones. 

I will pour out my wrath on them like a flood of water.  

Ephraim is oppressed, 

trampled in judgment, 

intent on pursuing idols. 

I am like a moth to Ephraim,

 like rot to the people of Judah.  

Gibeah and Ramah were towns in Benjamin, on Judah's northern border. The call to sounds trumpets in these towns (and also Bethel/Beth Aven) is probably a warning is aimed at Judah, corrupted now by Israel.

In the ancient Near East, moving a boundary stone was an indication of deliberate corruption. It is specifically prohibited in Deuteronomy 19:14 and Deuteronomy 27:17, for example. Kidner notes that a metaphor may be suggested here: not only have physical boundaries been moved, but Ephraim and Judah have moved moral boundary stones.

Hosea 5:13-14, Don't turn to Assyria!

"When Ephraim saw his sickness, 

and Judah his sores, 

then Ephraim turned to Assyria, 

and sent to the great king for help. 

But he is not able to cure you, 

not able to heal your sores. 

For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,

like a great lion to Judah. 

I will tear them to pieces and go away; 

I will carry them off, 

with no one to rescue them.  

Assyria is not the solution for either Israel or Judah. The people need to seek the face of God. 

Kidner sees hints of Menahem's brutal and foolish reign, see 2 Kings 15:17-22.

Hosea 5:15, They will seek my face

Then I will go back to my place

 until they admit their guilt. 

And they will seek my face;

 in their misery they will earnestly seek me."  

       

As with all prophetic announcements of judgment, there are hints of a remnant returning to see YHWH. That hope is expanded a bit at the beginning of chapter 6.

First published June 11, 2025; updated June 11, 2025