Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

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Hosea 11

• A Loving Parent’s “tough love”.

God’s Continuing Love for Israel

Hosea 11:¹ “When Israel was a child (Or youth), I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son.

• In this verse the name Israel is used for all the Jews in the united kingdom under the Kings Saul and David, when they were of one family. However; the nation split after the death of King David to become the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom called Israel and Judah respectively.
• God promised David there would always be a king from his family line on his throne; meaning two things: one, the Southern Kingdom would not be conquered by a foreigner but would continue on through David’s family line, and two that the Messiah would come through his lineage as the King of Judah. Both prophecies have been fulfilled and will continue to be fulfilled when Jesus sits on the Davidic throne during the millennium.

Hosea 11:² As they called them (OR: Just as I called them) (ALSO: I sent prophets to a thousand of them.),
So they went from them (from My face) ;
They sacrificed to the Baals,
And burned incense to carved images.

Hosea 11:³ “I taught Ephraim (Israel) to walk,
Taking them by their arms (My arms);
But they did not know that I healed them.

Hosea 11:⁴ I drew them with gentle cords (Lit. cords of a man),
With bands of love,
And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck (Lit. jaws).
I stooped and fed them.

Hosea 11:⁵ “He shall not return to the land of Egypt;
But the Assyrian shall be his king,
Because they refused to repent.

• Captivity in Egypt was bad, but not as bad as the cruelty of Assyria.
• It was the Assyrians who conquered the Northern Kingdom.

Hosea 11:⁶ And the sword shall slash in his cities,
Devour his districts,
And consume them,
Because of their own counsels.

Hosea 11:⁷ My people are bent on backsliding from Me.
Though they (The prophets) call to the Most High (Or upward),
None at all exalt Him.

Hosea 11:⁸ “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 (Lit. turns over) within Me;
My sympathy is stirred.

• Ephraim was one of the 12 tribes of Israel which comprised the people of Israel who later became the Jewish people. The tribe was named after one of the younger sons of Joseph, himself a son of Jacob.
• Ephraim is used to denote the northern kingdom, Israel.

Hosea 11:⁹ I will not execute the fierceness of My anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim.
For I am God (‘ēl), and not man,
The Holy One in your midst;
And I will not come (Or enter a city) with terror.

• ‘ēl, the name of God, is spelled with two ancient Hebrew letters; the “e” (same as “a” then), and the “i”. These two were written as an “ox head” and a “yoke”. The concept and description of God as being a “burden bearer” who yokes Himself to man in order to carry man’s burdens.
• In ancient times cherubim were depicted as oxen with wings.

Hosea 11:¹⁰ “They shall walk after the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ).
He will roar like a lion.
When He roars,
Then His sons shall come trembling from the west;

Hosea 11:¹¹ They shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt,
Like a dove from the land of Assyria.
And I will let them dwell in their houses,”
Says the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ).

God’s Charge Against Ephraim

Hosea 11:¹² “Ephraim has encircled Me with lies,
And the house of Israel with deceit;
But Judah still walks with God (‘ēl),
Even with the Holy One (Or: holy ones) who is faithful.

• The timing of this prophecy must be just before God sent the Northern Kingdom, Israel, into captivity. He is telling the prophet Hosea that Judah will be spared, at least until she sins, and then, just like Israel, she also will be sent into captivity; However, it will turn out to be Babylonian captivity under Nebuchadnezzar.

• The Southern Kingdom of Judah, until the time of their captivity, had never been conquered or ruled by a foreign king outside the line of David.