Hosea 11
11
Israel, God’s Wayward Son
1“I have deeply loved Israel from his very beginning.
From Egypt, I called my son. # 11:1 It was the love of a tender Father that called Israel out of Egyptian bondage (see
Ex. 4:22–23
). God set his love upon the people of Israel and chose them to demonstrate his love for them. He loved them when they were weak and helpless. He raised up Joseph to meet their needs during a famine. He loved them when they were outcasts and in slavery. However, these words find their fulfillment in Jesus, who also was brought out of Egypt. See
Matt. 2:14–15
.
2The more the people of Israel were invited to come to me,
the more they turned away from me.
They sacrificed to the Baal-idols
and burned incense to pagan images
3even though I was the one who taught Israel to walk.
I took them up in my arms and carried them,
yet they did not acknowledge that I was their healer. # 11:3 The Hebrew word rapaʾ can also mean “prosper,” “restore [favor],” “comfort,” “impart wholeness,” and “care for,” as well as “heal.”
4I gently pulled them to my heart
with the cords of affectionate love. # 11:4 Or literally “I led them with human cords.” God was showing Israel how tenderly he had dealt with them. What a beautiful picture of God’s care as he gently taught Israel, his “son,” to take his first steps. He would pick his people up and carry them when they were weak, and he repeatedly healed and restored them. He pulled them into his heart and lovingly fed them throughout their existence. He held them to his cheek in tender embrace to affirm them and comfort them. Hasn’t God done all these same things for you?
I stooped down to care for them and gently fed them.
I showed them the same kind of tender love
as one who picks up an infant and holds it to his cheek.” # 11:4 Or literally “I was to them like one who lifts a yoke from their jaws and gently fed them.” The imagery of this verse is not easily understood in Western culture. God compared himself to a farmer who will take the yoke from the shoulders of an ox so that it can freely eat. There is a clear wordplay in Hebrew that is lost in translation: the root word for “yoke” is the same as the root word for “infant.” The original readers of this would have understood the play on words; God was comparing himself to a caring Father and Israel to the child he loved.
Israel Returned to Slavery in Egypt and Assyria
5“Israel will return to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria will rule over them
because they refused to return to me.
6The whirlwind of war will break down the bars of their gates # 11:6 There is a play on words in the Hebrew that is lost in translation. The words for “bars of their gates” can also be translated “their oracle priests.” In other words, both their city gates and their false prophet-priests would be destroyed.
and ravage their cities # 11:6 The history of Israel is filled with warfare. It took many battles to secure the land. Afterward, the Israelites were besieged by the Assyrians and taken into captivity.
in return for all their schemes.
7My people are bent on turning away from me,
and together they call upon Baal,
who will not help them at all.” # 11:7 There are a number of difficulties to understanding the text of this verse, which is literally “And my people are hanging to turning away from me, and to a height they call to him. Altogether he will not exalt them.” The “height” (Hb. ʾel ʿal ) may be a reference to either God or to Baal or to a yoke.
Judgment or Mercy?
8“Ephraim, how could I ever give up on you?
Israel, how could I ever let you go?
How can I treat you like Admah
or deal with you like Zeboiim—cities I destroyed? # 11:8 Admah and Zeboiim were two cities near Sodom and Gomorrah that were once rescued by Abraham (see
Gen. 14
) but later destroyed for their blatant wickedness (see
Gen. 19
;
Deut. 29:23
).
My heart beats for you, # 11:8 Or “My heart is overturned within me” or possibly “I have had a change of heart.”
and my compassion rekindles a deep love for you within me. # 11:8 Or “all my tenderness is stirred within me.”
9I will certainly not punish you in my burning anger,
nor will I turn around and destroy Israel again,
for I am God and not a mere human being.
I am the Holy One in the midst of you;
I will not come to you in my wrath.”
God Summons the Exiles to Return to Him
10“When I, Yahweh, roar like a lion,
my people will march behind me.
Yes, I will roar like a lion to gather my own around me! # 11:10 The image of a male lion roaring to gather his pride around him points to God giving a summons (roar) to the exiles to gather around him and follow him once more.
Indeed, when I roar,
my children will come trembling from the west.
11They will return trembling like a bird from Egypt,
like a dove from Assyria,
and I will settle them in their homes.
I, Yahweh, have spoken.” # 11:11 The Hebrew Bible renders the verse most English Bibles set as
11:12
as v.
1
of ch.
12
. See the first footnote on
11:12
.
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Hosea 11: TPT
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