Hosea · chapter 11 of 14
Updated on
Hosea 11 presents God as a father who loved Israel when he was a child, brought him out of Egypt, taught him to walk and held him in his arms, though the more he called him, the further he went away. Although Israel deserves the judgment of Assyria, God's heart recoils and he declares that he will not execute his burning anger, for he is God and not man. Matthew applies Hosea 11:1 to Jesus.
Hosea 11 is probably the most tender chapter of the book and one of the most moving texts about the heart of God. After chapters of accusation, the prophet changes the image: from husband to father. He speaks of a God who struggles within himself between the judgment Israel deserves and the love he cannot give up.
God remembers: when Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more the prophets called them, the more they went away; they sacrificed to the Baals and burned offerings to idols. Yet it was God who taught Ephraim to walk, and took them up by the arms, though they did not know that he healed them. He led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love; he was to them like those who lift the yoke from their cheeks, and he bent down to them and fed them.
Nevertheless, because they refuse to return to him, they shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be their king. The sword will rage against their cities and consume their bars, because of their own counsels. My people are bent on turning away from me; though they call out to the Most High, none rises up.
Then God asks himself: how can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. They shall go after the Lord, who will roar like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west. They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt and like doves from the land of Assyria, and God will return them to their homes. The closing verse notes that Ephraim surrounds him with lies and the house of Israel with deceit, but Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
When Israel was a child, God loved him, and out of Egypt he called his son. It refers to the exodus, and Matthew cites this verse for Jesus' return from Egypt, showing that Jesus sums up the history of Israel.
It was God who taught Ephraim to walk, took him in his arms, drew him with bands of love and bent down to feed him. The image of a father stooping to hold his child is one of the most beautiful in the Old Testament.
God asks how he can hand Ephraim over like Admah and Zeboiim, cities destroyed, and declares that his heart recoils and his compassion grows warm. The deserved judgment collides with a love that will not give up its people.
He will not execute his burning anger or again destroy Ephraim, because he is God and not man, the Holy One in their midst. The reason for his mercy is his own holiness, which is different from human vengeance.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: That he loved him and out of Egypt called his son. — Hosea 11:1
Answer: The more they called, the more Israel went away, sacrificing to the Baals. — Hosea 11:2
Answer: He taught him to walk, took him in his arms and healed him. — Hosea 11:3
Answer: With cords of human kindness and bands of love, lifting the yoke and feeding them. — Hosea 11:4
Answer: Admah and Zeboiim. — Hosea 11:8
Answer: Because he is God and not man, the Holy One in their midst. — Hosea 11:9
Hosea 11 teaches us to imagine God not as a distant judge but as a father who carries, teaches and heals. In a small group you can recall moments when we realized late that God had been holding us, just as Ephraim did not know that he healed them.
The chapter also shows that God's mercy is not weakness. It is the character of the one who is Holy and different from us. For the Christian, this text turns the gaze toward the cross, where God's love and his justice meet. It is a text for those who fear they have gone too far: God has not given them up, and his heart is still moved.
Hosea 11 is the heart of the book: a God who does not abandon. In Hosea 12 the prophet returns to accusation, with a look at the history of Jacob, and calls the people to return to their God and wait for him continually.
Matthew 2:15 applies this verse to Jesus' return from Egypt. In Hosea, the son is Israel, and Matthew sees in Jesus the true Israel, the Son of God, who retraces the history of his people. It is not a simple prediction but a reading that joins the people and the Messiah.
They were cities of the plain near Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed along with them according to Deuteronomy 29:23. God mentions them as an example of total destruction, and says he will not treat Ephraim that way.
No, because the exile is still announced in verses 5 to 7. The chapter shows that judgment is not the last word: God disciplines, but does not destroy his people completely, and promises to return them to their homes.