God’s Moral Government in Connection With the Restoration of a Remnant of the Ten Tribes of Israel
The book of Hosea has to do with the moral government of God in connection with Israel—the ten northern tribes who were removed from their land in 721 BC. Hosea’s prophecies do not focus on the timing and sequence of prophetic events, as some of the other prophets do, but on the various disciplines the Lord will use to produce repentance in them, which will lead to the restoration of a remnant of the people. The book essentially announces God’s rejection of Israel on account of their unfaithfulness, and then, their eventual reception and restoration through the grace and government of God.
As already mentioned, Hosea’s prophecies are predominantly concerned with the northern kingdom of Israel (the ten tribes), yet they can be applied broadly to the whole nation. At times, he distinguishes the two tribes from the ten with a special word to the two, but the general message of the book is in connection with the ten tribes. The term “Ephraim” is used throughout the book to denote the ten tribes—the northern kingdom of Israel. The tribe of Ephraim was the largest in Israel and when the great split in the nation occurred in Jeroboam’s day (1 Kings 11-12), it became the political center of the northern kingdom. It was where their kings reigned (in the city of Samaria), and over time, it became the name for the whole northern kingdom. “Egypt” and “Assyria” are also mentioned many times in the book. Israel had complicity with these two nations for protection and help, but the sad result of it was that judgment fell upon them through those very enemies that they had befriended!
There are three sections in the book of Hosea—each ending with Israel’s restoration and blessing in the future kingdom of Christ (the Millennium). They are:
• Chapters 1-3.
• Chapters 4–6:3.
• Chapters 6:4–14:9.
Each section focuses on a different aspect of the Lord’s disciplinary actions with His people in view of producing true repentance in a remnant that would lead to their restoration to Him.
SECTION I: FROM BEING “NOT MY PEOPLE” TO BEING “MY PEOPLE”
Chapters 1-3
The discipline that the Lord uses to restore His people in this series of chapters is the fruit of their own ways. The Lord will allow them to taste the frustration and the emptiness that results from pursuing idolatry. They will be left in a terribly empty and unsatisfied state, and that will work to cause them to consider their ways and eventually lead them to turn back to the Lord, whom they had forsaken.
Chapter 1
Hosea was called to act out a parable before his fellow countrymen in order to demonstrate to the people the nation’s unfaithfulness to the Lord. He was to take a wife (“Gomer”) who would prove to be unfaithful to him, illustrating what Israel was to the Lord. In these parabolic actions, Hosea represents the Lord and his unfaithful wife represents Israel. The children she bears represent the fruit of Israel’s sins, which would bring forth the nation’s judgment in being carried into captivity. The names of her three children symbolize Jehovah’s governmental dealings with the nation as a consequence:
• “Jezreel”—(means “God will scatter”). This signified that God’s judgment was about to fall on Israel and they would be scattered and sown among the nations.
• “Loruhamah”—(means “Not having obtained mercy”). This signified the withdrawal of God’s mercy that had been upon the nation.
• “Lo-ammi”—(means “Not My people”). This signified the breaking of the Lord’s relationship with the nation whereby they would no longer be owned as His people.
Chapter 2
The Lord promises to set the nation aside under the figure of a divorce (vss. 1-2). His judgment on Israel is depicted in five expressions (vss. 3-4):
1. “Strip her naked”—The land will be deprived of its wealth and population by the devastation of an invading army (the Assyrians).
2. “Set her as in the day that she was born”—They would be left in a condition similar to their slavery in Egypt.
3. “Make her a wilderness”—The people would be bereft of the favour and blessing of the Lord.
4. “Set her in a dry land”—They would be deported to a foreign land among the Gentiles where they could not bear fruit for God (2 Kings 15:29; 17:6).
5. “Not have mercy upon her children”—Their posterity would suffer in the foreign lands to which they had been dispersed from generation to generation.
Vss. 6-13
After being justly set aside for their unfaithfulness, the Lord’s disciplinary actions will work to frustrate Israel in the pursuit of her lovers (her idols) by allowing them to experience the futility of idolatry. It will leave them feeling empty and dissatisfied. “I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and will make a wall [fence] that she shall not find her paths. And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them” (vss. 6-7). The Lord will frustrate everything that they will pursue during the time of their estrangement from Him, and this will cause them to consider their ways and have them eventually retrace their footsteps. Finally, they will say, “I will go and return to my first husband: for then was it better with me than now” (vs. 7b).
Vss. 14-23
The Lord will work in the power of “grace” and “love” with a remnant of the people (Jer. 31:2-3), and they will feel their emptiness. He will speak to them tenderly and will draw them back to Himself. The result will be true repentance in the people and the Lord will consequently draw them back to their homeland (Jer. 31:18-21), at which time He will restore the nation and His relationship with them. Israel’s restoration in a coming day will all be the Lord’s doing. This is seen in the great number of times “I will” is stated by the Lord in the latter half of chapter 2:
• “I will allure her ... and speak to her heart”—The Lord will effect an awakening in His people by touching their hearts in grace in “the wilderness”—the foreign lands into which they have been scattered (vs. 14).
• “I will give her vineyards”—The Lord will effect a return to their land where they will possess their God-given inheritance (vs. 15).
• “I will give her ... the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there”—He will bring them to judge themselves (Josh. 7:24-26), and this will result in the joy of redemption from captivity and servitude (vs. 15).
• “Thou shalt call Me Ishi [my Husband]”—He will re-establish His ties with Israel under the figure of a marriage relationship, and they will no longer associate the name of the Lord with idolatry (“Baalim”) (vs. 16; Isa. 62:4-5).
• “I will make a covenant with the beasts”—He will lift the curse that covers the whole earth, “the bondage of corruption” (Rom. 8:20-22; Isa. 35:1-10).
• “I will break the bow and the sword”—He will grant His people peace and security in their land.
• “I will betroth thee unto Me”—He will cause His love to be enjoyed by His people as first love (Rev. 2:4).
• “I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens and they shall hear the earth”—He will cause an abundance of fruitfulness and prosperity in their land.
• “I will sow her unto Me in the earth”—Restored Israel will be rooted in their inheritance throughout the Millennium.
• “I will have mercy on her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not My people, Thou art My people; and they shall say, Thou art my God”—He will bring them into the new covenant relationship with Himself (Jer. 31:34).
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 summarizes this work of the Lord in His people. It gives a quick recap of His intentions to restore Israel to Himself and this is demonstrated in symbolic actions by Hosea. He is told to “love a woman beloved of her friend.” This woman was Gomer (chap. 1:3), but she is not called his wife here because she had been set aside on account of her adultery. “Her friend” is her adulterous lover. Hosea is instructed to purchase her to himself, depicting Jehovah’s intentions with unfaithful Israel. The price he pays is not a dowry, but the price of a female slave. After he “bought” her, Hosea was to put her in a position where she could not carry on her whoredom anymore. She was not to live with him as his wife, but to sit as a widow until her time of moral cleansing was complete (vss. 1-3). Thus, Israel will abide “many days” under the disciplinary dealings of the Lord in a state of widowhood—“without a king” and “without a sacrifice” (vs. 4). This refers to the present day when the nation has been set aside temporarily in the ways of God (Dan. 9:26b; Hos. 5:15; Micah 5:3; Zech. 11; Rom. 11:11-27), and God has turned His attention to the calling of the Gentiles by the gospel of His grace (Acts 15:14). This present-day work of God is an interposed, heavenly calling of the Church.
Then, “afterward,” when “the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25), the Lord will cause a “return” of the children of Israel to their land, and more importantly, to the Lord, whereupon they will experience “His goodness” in their “latter days” (vs. 5). Thus, in this 3rd chapter we have:
• What Israel was in the past—an unfaithful adulteress (vs. 1).
• What Israel is at the present—in a state of widowhood “without a king” and “without a sacrifice,” etc., during their time of dispersion among the nations (vs. 4).
• What Israel will be in the future when they return to their land and to the Lord (vs. 5).
Chapters 4–6:3
The discipline the Lord uses to restore His people, in chapters 1-3, is the fruit of their own ways. They will experience frustration and emptiness resulting from their own pursuit of idolatry, and it will work to turn them back to the Lord. But now, in this next series of chapters, the discipline the Lord uses is the withdrawal of the sense of His presence from them (chaps. 4:17; 5:6, 15). This will produce an awful sense of abandonment in their souls and it will work to produce repentance in a remnant of the people, as they return to the Lord and are restored to Him (chap. 6:1-3).
In these chapters, Israel’s unfaithfulness is exposed in all walks of life—from the common people, the priests, and even in the king.
Chapter 4:1-5
Hosea warns of the consequent chastisement that will be inflicted on the land and the Lord’s withdrawal from them. He presents the Lord’s case against the “inhabitants of the land.” The people had filled the land with violence and corruption. The Lord appointed a drought as a consequent punishment for this, according to the old Mosaic covenant judgments (Deut. 11:16-17).
Chapter 4:6-14
Next, Hosea presents the Lord’s case against “the priests.” They were responsible to teach the people the knowledge of the Lord (Deut. 31:9-13; Mal. 2:7), but they had failed in this. The Lord says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” The reason for it was that the priests had “rejected knowledge” themselves! They had “forgotten the Law of God,” and many other sins are laid to their charge—the crowning sin was that of the whoredom of idolatry which “takes away the heart” from the Lord (vs. 11).
Vss. 12-13
Under normal conditions, the people were to seek counsel at the priest’s mouth because they were the Lord’s messengers (Mal. 2:7), but because they had completely failed to represent the Lord, the people were turning to idols and were asking “counsel at their stocks and their staff.” This was the pitiful result of the breakdown among the priests of the Lord. They had turned the people away from the Lord, and He held them responsible for it (vss. 12-13).
Vs. 14
As a consequence, the Lord states that He “will not” immediately step in and “punish” His erring people, but rather, He would let them have their fling with it. He would withdraw from them and allow them to feel a sense of His abandonment (vs. 14). (See also chapters 4:17; 5:6, 15.)
Chapter 4:15-19
Hosea warns the southern kingdom of Judah to resist the temptation of visiting the two chief shrines of idolatry located in the south of the northern kingdom of Israel—“Gilgal” and “Bethaven.” Bethaven was a condemnatory name for Bethel, meaning, “house of wickedness,” because the idol-calf was there (chaps. 5:8; 10:5, 8, 14).
Chapter 5:1-15
Lastly, Hosea presents the Lord’s case against “the king,” the ruler of the people. Judgment was toward him because he had permitted shrines for idolatry in “Mizpah” and on mount “Tabor.” These were a “snare” to the people, and therefore, the Lord held him directly responsible (vs. 1).
Hosea tells the people that the Lord knew about their sin of idolatry; it was “not hid” from Him, and He would visit the land in judgment because of it. Again, the Lord’s disciplinary action on the people would be the withdrawal of His presence from them. The people would “go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find Him; He hath withdrawn Himself from them” (vss. 2-6).
The alarm of an invading army is portrayed by Hosea in his calling for “the cornet” and “the trumpet” to be blown and for the people to “cry aloud” (Num. 10:9). Judgment was coming upon the land and the northern kingdom (“Ephraim”) would be “desolate in the day of rebuke” (vss. 8-9). The southern kingdom (“Judah”) would be smitten too (vs. 10). Hosea doesn’t disclose who the invader will be but emphasizes that they would not have the Lord to protect them. (The next section of the book—chaps. 6:4–14:9—indicates that the invader will be the Assyrian.)
The Lord announces: “I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek My face: in their affliction they will seek Me early” (vs. 15). Having lost a sense of the Lord’s presence and feeling very much abandoned, will eventually work to reach the hearts of a remnant of the people and they will turn to Him and seek His face in reality, and this will lead to their restoration. This is seen in chapter 6.
Chapter 6:1-3
The prophet portrays the voice of the remnant of Israel in their repentant state, saying: “Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for He hath torn and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up.” Thus, there will be a return of a remnant of all twelve tribes to the Lord and they will be restored to Him. Verse 2 tells us when this will be: “After two days” (the present interval of the Day of Grace, which is about 2000 years – Psalm. 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8) “will He revive us: in the third day” (the millennial day) “He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.” This is quite remarkable; it indicates that the Lord will effect a national resurrection of Israel (which “the third day” also signifies), and that they will live in a happy relationship with the Lord in His 1000-year reign over the whole world (the Millennium). He will shower blessings (“the latter and former rain”) upon the nation until there won’t be “room enough to receive it” (Mal. 3:10).
Chapters 6:4–14:9
The discipline the Lord uses to humble His people (the ten tribes of Israel) in these chapters is the coming invasion of the Assyrians and their exile to Assyria. The Assyrian inroads in this section are not a picture of the King of the North, as elsewhere in the Prophets. The attack of the King of the North will be against the apostate Jews in the land of Israel who have received the Antichrist. The ten tribes will not be in the land at that time; they don’t return until after that attack. Thus, the Assyrian inroads alluded to in these chapters are seen as God’s instrument to judge the northern kingdom of Israel historically (721 B.C.) and to deport them as captives to a foreign land.
The various kinds of chastening taken up in these three sections of the book (coupled with the overtures of the Lord’s grace and love) will work together to humble a remnant of the ten tribes of Israel and to prepare them for restoration. The one determining factor that will bring restoration to the nation is the people’s genuine repentance as to idolatry, as described in chapter 14.
Causes For the Coming Judgment by the Assyrian
In this series of chapters, Hosea states the reasons for the Lord’s judgment on Israel in scattering them by the hand of the Assyrian. There were a number of evils that the people were involved in, and such evils justify this judgment from the Lord.
As stated in the Introduction, it is important to understand that these prophecies have a double application—a near fulfillment and also an end-time fulfillment. Hence, they are not recorded in Scripture merely for their historical value, but for having to do with the Lord’s people (the ten tribes) in a coming day. The despicable moral state of the people in Hosea’s day, which called for their judgment historically, depicts a similar state of things that will exist in the future among the ten tribes scattered over the world.
First—Chapter 6:4-6
The first reason for the impending judgment was the people’s departure in heart from the Lord. The Lord grieves and mourns over this. Their “goodness” (their love) was empty and insincere. As “a morning cloud” and “the early dew that goes away,” their love had evaporated (vs. 4). He wanted the affection of His people, not an outward performance of ritual: “I delight in loving-kindness, and not sacrifice.” But His warnings to their consciences (“I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth”) did not turn them back (vss. 5-6).
Second—Chapter 6:7-9
Secondly, they, like “Adam, transgressed the covenant” and turned the land into a place of violence. Cities of refuge (Josh. 20) which had been appointed for the safety of the manslayer had turned into places of murder! “Gilead,” wherein was Ramoth (a city of refuge), was “polluted with blood” (murder). Likewise, in “Shechem,” (another city of refuge) the priests lurked as a band of robbers and murdered travelers seeking asylum there!
Third—Chap. 6:10-11
Thirdly, the whole nation—north (“the house of Israel”) and south (“Judah”)—had defiled themselves by their involvement in idolatry (“whoredom”) (vss. 10-11a).
Fourth—Chapter 7:1-7
Fourthly, the people were guilty of conspiring against their kings and assassinating them. Of their 17 kings in total, only eight had died of a natural death! The books of the Kings record one conspiracy after another—especially in their later years.
Apparently, the last words of chapter 6 belong to chapter 7. “When I returned the captivity of My people; when I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria.” Thus, the Lord desired to restore and bless Israel, but all His gracious overtures toward them only resulted in a greater manifestation of their wickedness.
Israel’s kings were a reflection of the state of the people, and those leaders were immersed in debauchery, moral depravity, and idolatry. “Samaria” was the administrative center of the northern kingdom; it was where the king and his officials resided. But instead of ruling in righteousness, there was corruption in the royal court—with the “king” and the “princes” and the “judges” (vss. 3-7). The king (Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam II – 2 Kings 15:8-9; Hosea 1:1) had surrounded himself with unsavory characters who entertained him “with their wickedness.” The princes were liars (vs. 3). Hosea uses the imagery of a “baker” working with leaven (which is a symbol of evil in Scripture) to depict their complicity with various evils (vs. 4).
Verses 5-7 apparently refer to the courtiers’ plot of the king’s assassination. “The day of the king” was some celebration given in his honour. The assassins “made ready their heart” with a plan to kill him, like the heat in a baker’s oven billowing forth. They would make him drunk (“sick with bottles of wine”) and “lie in wait” for an opportunity to kill him. They killed off “their judges” in the same treacherous way. In fact, in a period of 20 years four of Israel’s kings were conspired against and killed by assassination (2 Kings 15). Thus, the prophet says: “All their kings have fallen.” The prophet records the Lord’s grief that none among them had faith—“There is none among them that calleth unto Me.”
Fifth—Chapter 7:8-12
Fifthly, Israel had made foreign alliances with the heathen nations for what they thought would be for their protection, instead of relying on the Lord (2 Kings 15:19-20; 17:4; Isa. 7:2; 30:1-2; 31:1-4). The Lord had stated that they were to remain separate from the Gentile nations, socially and politically, because those nations would corrupt them (Deut. 7:1-4; Judg. 2:2-3, etc.). Notwithstanding, Hosea reports: “Ephraim, he mixeth himself with the peoples.” “Peoples” (plural) is a word used in Scripture to denote the Gentiles. Such unholy links with the nations were disastrous. It stunted their spiritual growth as a half-cooked “cake” (vs. 8). It caused them to lose their moral power and discernment (vs. 9). It hardened them toward the Lord so that they would not seek His face (vs. 10). It also took their hearts away from the Lord, and consequently, they had become “like a silly dove without heart” (vs. 11). Such were the sad effects of their mixing with the world. As a governmental judgment on Israel, the Lord would allow them to be captured by the heathen nations with whom they flirted. The Assyrians would take them in the “net” that the Lord had spread for them and deport them from their land (vs. 12).
Sixth—Chapter 7:13-16
Sixthly, their cries to the Lord were empty and insincere. In having “wandered [strayed]” from the Lord, there would be “destruction unto them” by the Assyrians. In view of the approaching invasion, they called on the Lord for deliverance, as they did with all their other gods. He would “have redeemed them” from their enemy, but their cry to Him was sheer hypocrisy. He said, “They have not cried unto Me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds; they assemble [cut] themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against Me ... .they return, but not to the Most High.” They cried unto Him and worshipped Him as though they were approaching unto Baal! The Septuagint says that they “cut themselves” (rather than “assemble themselves” – KJV), which is a practice connected with Baal worship (1 Kings 18:28). This was something forbidden for Israelites (Deut. 14:1). They wailed on their beds, but it was not mixed with faith and repentance. It was really just faithless rebellion. Such were the unstable ways of those whose hearts were engulfed in idolatry. They were “like a deceitful bow” that would shoot unreliably in a wrong direction because it was warped and twisted. When the inevitable destruction by the Assyrians overflowed the northern kingdom of Israel, they would be mocked and derided by those “in the land of Egypt.”
The Approach of the Assyrian Invasion
Chapter 8
Then, in chapter 8, the prophet gives a graphic description of the coming Assyrian invasion. This is done to arrest the people as to the reality of the coming judgment and to turn them to the Lord while there was time to be delivered from it. Hence, we are now formally introduced to the Assyrian in the book of Hosea.
Historically, the Assyrian invasion from the north took some time to complete as they besieged and overthrew one city after another in the land of Israel. This was carried out by a succession of their kings. It began with Tiglath-pileser (Pul), and was continued by Shalmaneser V, and then Sargon II, and Sennacherib, and was completed by Esarhaddon who subjugated the land and deported the remaining tribes of Israel. This covered a period of years—from 743 B.C. to 668 B.C.
Chapter 8:1-4
Chap. 8:1-4—As a consequence of the people’s departure from God, the land would be devastated by the invading armies of the Assyrian. To portray this devastation, the prophet was commanded to sound an alarm with “the trumpet” because those armies were coming against the land to plunder it. They would come with the swiftness of “an eagle” (some translations say “vulture”) against “the house of the LORD.” The house of the Lord is not the actual temple in Jerusalem, but rather, a term that the prophet uses for the whole house of Israel—the people. Hosea proceeds to give another list of reasons for the judgment:
• They had transgressed the covenant (vs. 1a).
• They had rebelled against the Law (vs. 1b).
• They had cast off what is good (vs. 3).
• They had set up their own kings and princes (vs. 4a).
• They had wasted their wealth on idolatry (vs. 4b).
Chapter 8:5-8
Chap. 8:5-8—The prophet gives the Lord’s disgust with Samaria’s “calf.” This is a reference to their idolatrous system of worship established by Jeroboam I (1 Kings 12:28-33). As we know, he had made two calves and set them in Bethel and Dan, but Samaria was the administrative center of the northern kingdom of Israel, and thus, responsible for the idolatry. The prophet, therefore, refers to that whole system as Samaria’s calf. Speaking on behalf of the Lord, he says, “I have spurned thy calf, O Samaria” (RSV). The Lord’s “anger” was against that whole system of worship. The calf was “not God” because a “workman made it.” Therefore, “the calf of Samaria” would be broken in pieces by the Assyrians (vs. 6). Israel had sown a crop of all manner of sins to “the wind” and they would now “reap the whirlwind” (vs. 7)—an allusion to the Assyrian invasion. Israel was supposed to be a separated people among the nations, but they were “swallowed up” among the Gentiles and this mixture made them “as a vessel wherein is no pleasure” to the Lord (vs. 8).
Chapter 8:9-14
Chap. 8:9-14—Hosea restates the two outstanding sins of Israel:
1. They sought to effect their deliverance from the Assyrian through their own efforts instead of turning to the Lord (vss. 9-10).
2. Their worship of the Lord was mixed with idolatry—calf-worship (vss. 11-14).
As to the first thing, Israel’s foreign affairs were an offence to the Lord. They had “gone up to Assyria” like “a wild ass” (vs. 9). This is a reference to the gifts they had sent to the king of Assyria to appease him, in hopes of encouraging him to retreat from his inroads into the land. They had also “hired among the nations” military help for protection from the Assyrian invasion, which the prophet says is akin to having “hired lovers.” Thus, they were trying to deliver themselves from this invasion rather than by calling on the Lord for His help. They were leaning on the arm of the flesh which would be of no use (Jer. 17:5). The Lord would “gather” those nations against them and “in a little while” (the margin of KJV) they would be in “sorrow” under “the burden of the king of princes”—the Assyrian king (vs. 10).
As to the second thing, Israel had made “many altars” with the idea of worshipping the Lord, but the proliferation of altars only became the occasion “to sin” (idolatry). The Lord had promised them “great things” in the “Law,” but they disregarded the Law and treated it “as a strange thing” (vss. 11-12). On this ground, the Lord would not accept their sin offerings and trespass offerings and their sins and iniquities would be retained against them. The invasion would result in their being taken into captivity, as when the nation was in the land of “Egypt” in Moses’ day—only this time, their captivity would be in Assyria (vs. 13).
In verse 14, Hosea restates Israel’s two outstanding sins—“Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth (idolatrous) temples.” The consequence is also restated; the whole land—not just the northern kingdom but the southern kingdom in Judah also—would be devastated by “fire”—a symbol of judgment. This would come by the hand of the Assyrian armies.
The Blessings and Privileges Forfeited Through the Assyrian Invasion
Chapter 9
In chapter 9, Hosea turns to speak of the blessings and privileges that Israel would forfeit as a result of the coming judgment. By bringing this before the people, the Lord (through the prophet) was making a further attempt to lead them to repentance. Perhaps if they realized what they would lose they would turn to the Lord in sincerity and He would deliver them. The Spirit of God will work in a similar way with the ten scattered tribes in a coming day. They will review what they have lost through their pursuit of idolatry, and it, in the end, will produce a genuine work of repentance among them.
Hosea touches on a number of things that were about to be taken from them by the invasion of the Assyrians. For the ten tribes in the coming day, these things will be seen in retrospect.
1) Vss. 1-3—The privilege of living in their promised land would be forfeited. He says, “They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land.” Under the reign of Jeroboam II (one of their latter kings) Israel enjoyed great prosperity and the people felt quite secure in it—but it was temporary. Israel was told, “rejoice not” (vs. 1). Their unfaithfulness (spiritual adultery) was of such a magnitude that the land would be stripped (vs. 2) and the people would be deported to a foreign land (vs. 3). God was not going to allow impiety to continue in the land indefinitely. The prophet, therefore, announces: “They shall not dwell in the LORD’S land,” but would go into captivity, and thus, “return to Egypt” in the sense of being in bondage and in need of deliverance. They would literally be carried captive into “Assyria” where they would live an un-kosher lifestyle—eating “unclean things.”
2) Vss. 4-6—The privilege of being able to bring sacrifices to the Lord at their yearly feasts would be forfeited. The people neglected to do this when they had the opportunity, but being deported from their land, they would not be able to bring sacrifices to the Lord in that God-given way if they wanted to. All such attempts at sacrificing to the Lord would be defiled “as the bread of mourners.” Those who touched such sacrifices would be ceremonially unclean (“polluted”) and they would not be accepted by the Lord. The prophet reasons with the people, asking them what they would do when they were in captivity and when the time of their annual feasts of Jehovah came—they would not be able to keep them. “What will ye do in the day of assembly, and in the day of the feast of Jehovah?” The inhabitants would be “gone because of destruction.” The few survivors who would flee to “Egypt” and “Memphis” would die there. The land would be bereft of its spoils; instead of it producing its fruits, there would be “nettles” and “thorns.”
3) Vss. 7-9—The ministry of the prophets would be forfeited. In “the days of visitation” (the Assyrian inroads against the land), these men would be smitten with blindness and a loss of discernment. Consequently, they would speak as though they were “mad.” As watchmen over “Ephraim,” they were once “with my God,” but they would become “a fowler’s snare” to the people. As a result of the Assyrian inroads, the nation would be reduced to a remnant. The nation’s guilt was as “Gibeah”—the place where unbridled passion caused the tribe of Benjamin to be reduced to a handful of people (Judg. 19-20; Isa. 17:6).
4) Vs. 10—They would forfeit the sense of the Lord’s approval. At first, when the Lord picked up the nation of Israel, they were like moist “grapes” and “figs” to a traveler in the desert—they were a pleasure to the Lord. As Israel of old forfeited their relationship with the Lord by going after “Baal-Peor” (Num. 25), they were doing the same in Hosea’s day by going after vile abominations. He could no longer put His approbation upon them.
5) Vs. 11—Israel’s glory as a nation would be forfeited. “Ephraim,” at one time, had a certain respect and glory before the nations, but this would be taken away. “Their glory shall fly away like a bird.” Three stages of retrogression are mentioned to indicate the nation’s apostasy—“from the birth, and from the womb, and from conception”—they were going backwards (Isa. 28:13).
6) Vss. 12-13—The Lord’s divine protection would be forfeited. “Woe unto them when I depart from them.” The nation would be exposed to any and all who would attack them. Hence, they would bring forth their children to “the murderer” (the Assyrian).
7) Vss. 14-15—They would forfeit a sense of the Lord’s love. The Lord promises, “I will drive them out of Mine house, I will love them no more.”
8) Vs. 16—They would forfeit their ability to bear fruit for God. “Israel is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit” and become “wanderers among the nations.”
The remnant of the ten tribes of Israel in a coming day will consider how foolish the nation has been in pursuing its sinful course of idolatry, and it will kindle a desire in them to have those things again. It will cause them to reconsider their course, and “a tenth” will return to the Lord in genuine repentance (Isa. 6:13).
All That the Nation Had Built Up and Trusted in Would Be Taken Away
Chapter 10
Chapter 10 announces Israel’s end—the fall of the northern kingdom (2 Kings 17). It shows that not only would Israel forfeit many divine blessings and privileges through their disobedience, but all that the ten tribes (the northern kingdom) had built up in their alienation from the divine center at Jerusalem would also be taken away in the day of visitation.
Verses 1-8
Hosea mentions three evil things in particular that they took pride in that only perpetuated their separation from the house of David in Judah (the southern kingdom):
1) Vss. 1-3—They would lose their kingship dynasties. Through their pursuit of idolatry, the nation had become “an unpruned vine” that did not bring forth fruit to God. Instead, all its time and energy had been used to further the pursuit of idolatry. They used the prosperity in the land to “increase the altars” of idolatry, and this only “divided” their hearts from the Lord. The Assyrian inroads would put an end to their kingship, and they would be forced to say: “We have no king, because we feared not the LORD.”
2) Vss. 4-6—They would lose their idolatrous calf center. The corrupt religious “glory” connected with “the calf of Bethaven” would also be taken away. The calf would be carried into Assyria “for a present to king Jareb.” “Jareb” means ‘great,’ and could be translated, “the great king”—i.e. the king of Assyria.
3) Vss. 7-8—Samaria, the capital city of the northern kingdom, would be destroyed. The Assyrian armies would level Samaria and the high places in the land that the people wasted their energies to build. “Samaria” and its “king” would float away like “foam upon the water.” They would have great shame for trusting their idols and would ask “the mountains” to fall on them and hide them.
Verses 9-15
The remnant of Israel in their scattered state will weigh these things in their hearts. They will think of how the nation has wasted its money, its time, and its energy for things that have all come to naught. They will take account of the fact that their fleshly endeavours have produced nothing good, and it will cause much soul-searching.
Vs. 9—The Spirit of prophecy working in the remnant will have them consider that what has befallen the nation was a just judgment of God. Their history has been a course of self-will and disobedience from “the days of Gibeah” (Judg. 19-20). As mentioned earlier, “Gibeah” is significant in Israel’s history because it’s where a whole tribe (Benjamin) was essentially destroyed because it defended its sin rather than owning it. The end would be the same for the northern kingdom of Israel—and for the same reason—because they refused to own their guilt and turn from their sin.
Vs. 10—The Lord determined to “chastise” the nation by allowing the Assyrians (“the peoples”) to gather against them, and to “bind them” and lead them into captivity. This was a just judgment on account of their “two iniquities”—their having “forsaken the Lord” and having turned to the “broken cisterns” of idolatry (Jer. 2:13).
Vss. 11-12—Even though the Lord would have to do this, He would also produce repentance in a remnant of the people under the figure of plowing. He promises to make “Ephraim to ride” and “Judah” to “plow,” and “Jacob” to “break his clods.” Plowing denotes the exercise of soul-searching that leads to self-judgment. Consequently, the people are exhorted: “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: it is time to seek the LORD, till He come and rain righteousness upon you.” The remnant of the ten tribes of Israel will consider this exhortation, and in their dispersion, they will begin to seek the Lord.
Vss. 13-15—God will bring them back over the nation’s history and have them to judge its whole course of sin in connection with idolatry. They will consider that the nation had “plowed wickedness” and consequently, had “reaped iniquity.” They had trusted in “their way” and in the multitude of their “mighty men” (their army), but the roar of battle (“a tumult”) from the Assyrian destroyed “Bethel” (the calf-center), and their “king” was “cut off.”
The remnant in a coming day will be forced to own that the setting up of their kings, the appointing of idolatrous calf-centers, and the establishment of Samaria as their capital in separation from the divine center in Jerusalem was a sinful pursuit from the beginning. They will see that the Lord was just in what He brought upon the nation by the hand of the Assyrian, and they will justify God in allowing them to be scattered.
The Lord’s Love and Compassion on Erring Israel—Encouragement to the Remnant to Return
Chapter 11
Chapter 11— In a coming day, when the remnant of the ten tribes see that the historical judgments of the Lord on Israel were just and right, He will cause an overwhelming sense of His love to touch their hearts. It will be a further step in their softening in view of their restoration. They will be led to see that in spite of all their failure, the Lord still loves them (Jer. 31:3). This will come home to them with much gravity.
To depict this work of the Spirit in the remnant, Hosea turns to speak of the Lord’s love for Israel. Interspersed throughout the chapter, he mentions the sad response of Israel to the Lord’s love in their past history. When they review how they, as a nation, have responded to his love with indifference and rebellion, they will be greatly humbled.
Vss. 1-7
Vss. 1-7—Hosea traces the Lord’s love for Israel right back to their very beginning. “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called My son out of Egypt.” Israel’s sad response was to turn and sacrifice to “Baalim!” In spite of their unfaithfulness, the Lord graciously continued to show His love toward them. The picture of a father teaching his son to walk is used as a touching demonstration of the Lord’s tender love for Israel in the nation’s early days. He says, “I taught Ephraim also to walk, taking them by their arms.” And, “I drew them with the cords of a man, with bands of love.” As a result of their waywardness, the nation would need chastisement and correction. But the Lord promises that they would not go back to “Egypt,” but instead, they would have the “Assyrian” to reign over them, and “the sword” would abide on their cities because of their “bent to backsliding.”
Vss. 8-9
Vss. 8-9—Hosea continues to speak of the Lord’s compassion on His people. When they rebelled and the Lord should have destroyed them, His compassion overcame His wrath and He promised not to do it. “How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee up, Israel? How shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zeboim? Mine heart is turned within Me, My repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man.” Such is the love and compassion of the Lord. A sense of this will take hold of the remnant of the ten tribes of Israel in a coming day. They will begin to think of how good the Lord has been to them, in spite of how shamefully they have acted, and it will produce repentance in them, because “the goodness of God” leads people to “repentance” (Rom. 2:4). They will take account of the dealings of the Lord with them and will be amazed at the incredible patience He has had.
Vss. 10-11
Vss. 10-11—Not only does the Lord promise not to destroy the nation; He promises to restore them! Hosea says, “They shall walk after the LORD.” The Lord would “roar like a lion”—not in judgment, but to summon Israel to return to their homeland. “The children (of Israel) shall hasten from the west: they shall hasten as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria.” He promises to “place them in their houses”—a reference to their being brought back to dwell in their proper inheritance again. The remnant will understand this message and will be encouraged to think of returning to the land of Israel.
The Lord’s Reception of Wayward Jacob—Further Encouragement to the Remnant to Return
Chapter 12
Chapter 12—Another thing that the Spirit of God will press upon the remnant of Israel is the Lord’s willingness to receive and bless wayward sinners when they turn to Him. This is depicted in the Lord’s dealings with Jacob.
Vss. 1-2
Vss. 1-2—The last verse of chapter 11 properly belongs to the subject of chapter 12. Hosea does not minimize the seriousness of Israel’s sin by emphasizing that Ephraim had encompassed the Lord with “lies” and “deceit” (chap. 11:12). They were presently “feeding on the wind,” which depicts the emptiness of life without the Lord. They had also made alliances with the world (Assyria and Egypt) which God could not bless. Such was the state of the nation being far from God. The southern kingdom of “Judah” was no better; the Lord had a controversy with them too.
Vss. 3-5
Vss. 3-5—Hosea then brings before us the Lord’s dealings with Jacob in the past. Being the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, he is often used in Scripture as a representative of the nation. Seven instances are taken from Jacob’s life.
Seven Instances Taken From Jacob’s Life:
1. His actions in “the womb” (vs. 3).
2. His wrestling with “the Angel” (vs. 4a).
3. His being found of the Lord “in Bethel” (vs. 4a).
4. His communion with the Lord “there” (vs. 4b).
5. His commercial practices of “deceit” (vs. 7).
6. His flight to “the country of Syria” (vs. 12a).
7. His labour in that land for “a wife” (vs. 12b).
Jacob was a crooked man from his beginning. This is indicated by the fact that he took hold of his brother “by the heel in the womb” (Gen. 25:26). There is scarcely a person more wayward in Scripture than Jacob, yet through the humbling disciplines of the Lord, when he turned to the Lord, he got a blessing! (Gen. 32:24-32) There came a turning point in his life when he had it out with the Lord—he “wrestled with God” and “wept and made supplication unto Him” in sincerity, and the Lord received him and blessed him. He was “found” of the Lord “in Bethel” (Gen. 28:10-22), but it wasn’t until many years later (when he was restored to the Lord) that the Lord “spake” with him and his family (“us”) “there” in Bethel (Gen. 35:15). This speaks of renewed fellowship and communion.
Vs. 6
Vs. 6—The remnant of the ten tribes in a coming day will be led to consider this, and it will have a profound effect on them. The nation of Israel has been as crooked as their father Jacob, and if the Lord can receive and bless erring Jacob, He can do the same with them. As a result of such deliberations, an overwhelming sense of the Lord’s great forgiveness will impress them (Psa. 103:3; 130:4; Isa. 43:25; Mic. 7:18-19) and they will hear the voice of the Spirit, saying, “Turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God.”
Vss. 7-11
Vss. 7-11—Hosea continues to speak of Jacob. He points to the outstanding sin that marked his life—using deceit to amass wealth. “He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress [defraud].” Israel is guilty of the same sin. “Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.” They prided themselves in their success and refused to acknowledge that it was gotten by sinful practices.
In spite of this, the Lord’s ultimate restoration of a remnant of the ten tribes of Israel will not be frustrated (vs. 9). As with Jacob, the Lord is not going to allow Israel to continue in this course in a foreign land forever. He will restore them. As their Deliverer, He brought Israel “out from the land of Egypt” and made them to “dwell in tents” in journeying through the wilderness to the land of Canaan. He spoke to them by the mouth of “prophets” and with many “visions.” Such were His rich provisions bestowed upon them (vs. 10). The Lord promises to do the very same with the ten tribes of Israel by bringing them on their journey back to that land. But now, everything would be laid out in ruins on account of their idolatry. Their sacrifices in the false centers of “Gilead” (east of Jordan) and “Gilgal” (west of Jordan) were not acceptable, even if they were the largest expression of worship (“bullocks”) because they were not offered in the place the Lord had chosen (Jerusalem), and they were mixed with idolatry (vs. 11).
Vss. 12-14
Vss. 12-14—Consequently, like Jacob, the nation would become a fugitive in the land of “Syria” serving their captors with hard labour. Even though Jacob was in a foreign land, the Lord providentially watched over him until it was time to bring him home again. Similarly, the ten tribes would not remain scattered in the earth forever; He will bring them home again. “By a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt and by a prophet was he preserved” (Deut. 34:10). As the Lord guided and preserved Israel of old until they reached their promised land, He will providentially care for the tribes of Israel and bring them safely to their homeland. Matthew’s Gospel tells us that the Lord will send His “angels” to guide the tribes of Israel back (Matt. 24:31). Isaiah tells us that God will also stir up some of the Gentile nations, and they will help them to return to their land (Isa. 14:1-2; 49:22; 60:9).
The Spirit of God will use these things to impress upon the scattered ten tribes the greatness of the Lord’s grace to forgive and restore His people, and to safely bring them back to their land. It will be a strong encouragement for them to return and be restored to the Lord. But for the present, their guilt (“blood”) was still upon them (vs. 14).
The Lord’s Promises to Israel—Further Encouragement for the Remnant to Return to Him
Chapter 13
Chapter 13—The Lord promises to raise the nation of Israel “from death” and “the grave” (vs. 14). This is their national resurrection. Being scattered to the “four winds” (Matt. 24:31) the nation has lain dormant in the earth for many centuries, but the Lord will raise them up again (Isa. 26:19; Ezek. 37:1-14; Dan. 12:2; Hos. 6:2). This will be a further encouragement for the remnant to return to their homeland and be a part of this national resurrection.
Vss. 1-3
Vss. 1-3—The prophet begins by speaking of how the nation got into the condition of spiritual death in the first place. In fulfillment of Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 49, “Ephraim” became a powerful tribe with much influence in Israel. When they spoke on some matter in Israel, “there was trembling” among the rest of the tribes. But this led to a pride problem. He got carried away with his importance and “exalted himself in Israel.” Besides that, he offended by turning to idolatry (“Baal”). The result was that they “died” spiritually—hence, there was a total disconnection of fellowship with the Lord (vs. 1). This was not just the case in the tribe of Ephraim, but the whole ten tribes. Instead of turning to the Lord in their state of spiritual death, they sinned “more and more” by multiplying idols (vs. 2).
FOUR SIMILES—Describe the Dissolution of the Nation
The consequent judgment of the Lord meant that the northern kingdom of Israel would be dissolved and carried away (vs. 3). Four similes are used to describe the dissolution of the nation:
1. A “morning cloud” (mist) that vanishes in the heat.
2. An “early dew” that evaporates.
3. “Chaff” that is blown away in the wind.
4. “Smoke” that dissipates in the air.
THREE PROMISES of the Lord
Vss. 4-14
Vss. 4-14—In spite of the death and dissolution of the northern kingdom, the Lord makes three great promises to them. This activity of pure sovereign grace (Jer. 31:2) will come as a great encouragement to them:
1. The Lord would be their Saviour-God (vss. 4-8).
2. The Lord would be their King (vss. 9-11).
3. The Lord would be their Redeemer (vss. 12-14).
First Promise—Vss. 4-8
Vss. 4-8—Firstly, the Lord promises that there would be a day when they would know “no god” but Him—the Saviour-God. That is, they would be led to judge their idolatry once and for all. But for the time being, they had “forgotten” Him, even though He took them out of Egypt and preserved them in the wilderness and filled their pastures in the land of Canaan. The Lord wanted to be the great Protector of the nation of Israel, but their sin forced Him to be their Destroyer. He would have to meet them as a “lion,” a “leopard,” a “bear,” and a “lioness,” and would tear down the nation.
Second Promise—Vss. 9-11
Vss. 9-11—Secondly, the Lord promises: “I will be thy King.” The duty of the king was to go out and save the people from their enemies and to keep the nation in peace and safety (1 Sam. 8:20). But that was not the case in Israel. Hence, the Lord asks: “Where now is thy king?” (J. N. Darby Trans.) Embarrassing as it was, king Hoshea was in prison at that time, and could not help them (2 Kings 17:4). Even though the nation had “destroyed” itself with idolatry, the Lord promises, “In Me is thine help.” There was hope for the nation, but only in Him.
The people had asked for “kings and princes,” thinking that they would deliver them, but they were of no help—they only led the people away from the Lord! In His permissive will, the Lord “gave” the ten tribes of Israel “a king” (Jeroboam – 2 Kings 11:37), but He “took [him] away” in His “wrath”—Hoshea, whom the Assyrians removed. (“Him,” in the KJV, is in italics, denoting that the word is not in the text. Hence, it is referring to the kingship dynasties in the northern kingdom, which were removed in Hoshea, their last king.)
Third Promise—Vss. 12-14
Vss. 12-14—Thirdly, the Lord promised to be their Redeemer and to set them free from national death. Presently, their “iniquity is bound up” and their “sin is laid up in store.” Their “sorrows” are like a travailing woman, but because of their obstinacy there is no “breaking forth;” they remain in the birth canal, so to speak, until it is time for the re-birth of the nation (Isa. 66:8).
The Lord promises: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death.” This is a reference to the national resurrection of a remnant of Israel. “Thy dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise” (Isa. 26:19; Ezek. 37:1-14; Dan. 12:2; Hos. 6:2; Psa. 49:15). The condition of national death will not be able to hold them when the Lord exercises His power to redeem them. There will be a spiritual re-birth of the nation through the pains of repentance. They will pass out of the womb of the grave and enter into the promised kingdom blessings. The very thought of “repentance” is “hid” from the eyes of the Lord. He will not consider or look at the possibility of repenting from His purpose to redeem Israel from the grave, for “the gifts and calling” of God in connection with Israel are “without repentance” (Rom. 11:29).
Vss. 15-16
Vss. 15-16—Meanwhile the penalty of Israel’s impenitence was about to be executed by the Lord’s instrument of judgment (the Assyrians) coming in from the way of the Syrian wilderness, and the nation would be carried away. “Samaria,” the capital of the kingdom, would become “desolate.”
The Call to Return to the Lord in True Repentance
Chapter 14
Chapter 14—Hosea concludes his prophecies with a call to repentance and a re-statement of the Lord’s promise to restore the nation of Israel.
Vs. 1
Vs. 1—The great result of the Lord’s chastening, and His love and grace with His people, will result in them finally getting the message. They will hear the call of grace: “O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.” The prophet gives them the best reason that they should cease and desist from their course and turn to the Lord—it hasn’t profited them and has only caused them to fall.
Vss. 2-3
Vss. 2-3—The prophet puts the very words of confession into their mouths and tells them what to say and what to do—thus paving the way for their restoration. He says: “Say unto Him, Forgive all iniquity, and receive us graciously.” The Lord will surely forgive and receive the repentant remnant, for His Word says: “The LORD God is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Ex. 34:6-7). Solomon also prayed: “If they sin against Thee (for there is no man that sinneth not), and Thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto Thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; and so return unto Thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto Thee toward their land, which Thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which Thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for Thy name; then hear Thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, and forgive Thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgression wherein they have transgressed against Thee” (1 Kings 8:46-50). This will be a great encouragement for the remnant of the ten tribes of Israel to make their confession to the Lord and be restored.
The Proofs of True Restoration of Heart
The proofs of true restoration of heart will be seen in:
Worship—One who is truly restored will be at liberty in the presence of God and will sing His praises. Hence, Israel will say: “We will render the calves [fruit – Septuagint] of our lips” (vs. 2b).
Separation—One who is truly restored will make a clean break with the course of sin that he or she once pursued. Hence, Israel will say: “Asshur shall not save us (Assyria); we will not ride upon horses (a reference to Egypt): neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods”—which is their great sin of idolatry (vs. 3a).
Dependence—One who is truly restored will manifest a humble reliance on the Lord to keep him going rightly—“For in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy” (vs. 3b).
Thus, we have the three components in true restoration in these opening verses of chapter 14. They are:
1. The heart turned to the Lord (vs. 1)—Conversion.
2. The mouths opened in frank acknowledgement of their sin (vs. 2)—Confession.
3. The life turned away from one’s sinful course (vs. 3)—Repentance.
Three-Fold Promise
Vss. 4-7
Vss. 4-7—The Lord will respond to this by making a three-fold promise to the remnant of the ten tribes:
1. “I will heal their backsliding” (vs. 4a).
2. “I will love them freely” (vs. 4b).
3. “I will be as the dew unto Israel” (vs. 5).
The great result of all the Lord’s work in the remnant of Israel is that an actual journey to their homeland will finally occur, all under the guidance and help of the Lord. “They shall return and sit under His shadow.” The nation will “revive as corn, and blossom as the vine.”
SEVEN SIMILES of the Lord’s Blessing on Restored Israel
Vss. 5-8
The blessings of the Lord on the restored nation are stated in a number of similes:
• Fair as a lily—vs. 5.
• Firm as a cedar in Lebanon—vs. 5.
• Fat as an olive—vs. 6.
• Fragrant as Lebanon’s forest—vs. 6.
• Flourishing as corn—vs.7.
• Fruitful as a vine—vs. 7.
• Fresh as a green fir tree—vs. 8.
Vs. 8
Vs. 8—Ephraim (the ten tribes) will truly be restored to the Lord and will be totally done with their idols. They will say: “What have I to do any more with idols?” The Lord interrupts Ephraim in a parenthesis, indicating His eagerness to forgive and restore His repentant people, stating, “I have heard him, and observed him.” This means that the Lord will hear and accept the humble confession of the repentant remnant of Israel. Then Ephraim continues: “I am like a green fir-tree.” In reply, the Lord says: “From Me is thy fruit found.” Thus, Israel will at last bear fruit for God! This shows that the Lord’s work in His people will prevail in the end and they will be restored by His divine love and grace (Jer. 31:2-3).
Vs. 9
Vs. 9—The “wise” and the “intelligent” will understand that these moral “ways of the LORD” with the nation of Israel “are right.” He makes no mistakes in what He allows to come upon His people. It will end with His goodness leading them to repentance (Rom. 2:4).
Various Stages of Development in Israel’s Restoration
The various stages of development in Israel’s restoration can be seen in the following statements of Scripture:
“An empty vine” (Hos. 10:1)—Israel, as dispersed under the governmental judgment of the Lord by the hand of the Assyrians, will produce no fruit for God.
“Putteth forth leaves” (Matt. 24:32)—When the Jews (the two tribes) return to their land, but still in unbelief, there will be a profession of life there but still no fruit for God.
“When the bud is perfect” (Isa. 18:5)—When the Jews are in their land during the Great Tribulation, they will be ripe for pruning by the attack of the King of the North (Isa. 18:5-6; Dan. 11:40-42).
“Shall blossom ... and cast forth his roots ... his branches shall spread” (Hos. 14:5)—When the Lord appears and restores a remnant of all twelve tribes, they will take root again after being cut down by the Assyrian.
“From me Thy fruit is found” (Hos. 14:8)—When the remnant of Israel is found dwelling under the Lord’s blessing in the millennial kingdom, they will bear fruit for God.
Thus, the prophesies of Hosea show how the Lord will use various disciplines on the wayward people, the ten tribes (Ephraim), to bring them back to their land and to Himself. They will be brought to see the emptiness of idolatry (chaps. 1-3), to experience a sense of the Lord’s abandonment (chaps. 3-6), and to taste the bitterness of having forfeited the many blessings and privileges that were once theirs (chaps. 8-10). In spite of all their failure, the grace of God will sweep over their hearts and they will be led to think of His love (chap. 11) and His willingness to forgive His repentant people and guide them safely back to their homeland (chap. 12). They will also be led to consider the Lord’s immutable promise to be the nation’s Saviour and Redeemer and His promise to resurrect them nationally from the grave (chap. 13). The great result of these things will produce a genuine turning of a remnant of the people to the Lord, which will be followed by their full restoration and blessing in their promised land (chap. 14).