Hosea 11 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Hosea 11 Bible Study
HOSEA CHAPTER REVIEW:
Hosea 1 – God told Hosea to marry a wife of whoredom as a picture of Israel’s unfaithfulness to Him. Hosea married Gomer, and together they had 3 children together. Their names were “Jezreel,” “No Mercy,” and “Not My People.” Though Israel had acted very wickedly, God promised them hope for a positive future, but judgement was coming first.
Hosea 2 – Hosea’s wife returned to her sins and committed adultery, just as Israel had turned its back on God repeatedly. God warned Israel to repent or suffer severe consequences. Israel didn’t realize all of its blessings came from God and God could take them all away. God would punish Israel, but Hosea foretold a day when God would restore His wife (Israel) to Himself by grace.
Hosea 3 – God told Hosea to buy his wife back after she was unfaithful to him. This was a picture of God’s grace to Israel after their unfaithfulness. Israel’s immediate future was going to be spend enduring the consequences of their sins, but God promised He would show them grace in the “latter days” when they were reunited under “David their king.”
Hosea 4 – Hosea described the sorry sinful state of the people of Israel. They were decaying as a nation because they lacked knowledge of the law of God. The priests were piranhas that fed on the sins of the people. Hosea described their unfaithfulness to God as whoredom and adultery.
Hosea 5 – This chapter continues listing the sins of the people of Israel and includes the unfortunate prophecy that Judah would fall into the same sins. God was tearing down the power of Israel and Judah little by little. He would eventually pour out His wrath on them and withdraw from them for a time, leading them to repentance.
Hosea 6 – God was frustrated with the sacrifices of the people. Though they made sacrifices, they made them without truly loving God in their hearts. It was just an empty ritual, and God informed them of its meaninglessness. Judah and Israel’s love for God was like the morning dew. It would reappear for a short time only to quickly vanish away.
Hosea 7 – Israel looked to Egypt and Assyria for help, but no ally, no matter how strong, could save them because God was their enemy. God compared them to “silly doves” that He would catch in His net and destroy. God didn’t want that to be Israel’s fate, He wanted to redeem them, but they refused to repent of their rebellion against Him.
Hosea 8 – Israel forgot the God the Maker and put their trust in things they made (kingdoms, fortifications, idols, etc.). God was going to give them over to the consequences of their choices. He described Assyria as a vulture, flying overhead and waiting for its prey.
Hosea 9 – God had a bad taste in His mouth when it came to the nation of Israel. It hadn’t always been that way, in fact God had once looked at Israel the way a wanderer in the wilderness looks at a ripe cluster of grapes. But because of their sins, God was going to strip the people and their children of their national identity.
Hosea 10 – Israel was a flourishing vine that God cultivated, but the more God blessed them, the more they multiplied their idols. They sowed sin into their fields and would harvest poison. Hosea encouraged them to break up their fallow ground and sow works of righteousness.
TIMELINE:
The first verse of the book informs the reader that Hosea lived during the reigns of Uzziah (Azariah), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah in Judah, and the reign of Jeroboam II in Israel.
Uzziah’s (Azariah’s) reign began around 815 B.C.
Hezekiah’s reign ended sometimes around 695 B.C.
Jeroboam II reigned ended in the mid-700s B.C.
This puts Hosea’s prophetic work squarely in the 700s B.C. The text indicates he did most of his teaching prior to 721 B.C. That was the year God punished Israel by bringing the Assyrians against them and exiling them from the Promised Land.
OUTLINE:
ISRAEL, A CHILD RAISED BY GOD (11:1-7):
God spoke about Israel as a child He raised.
He called them out of Egypt (“out of Egypt I called my son”; 11:1).
He taught them to walk and healed them when they were sick.
He led them with kindness and love.
But the more He called them, the further they ran from Him.
They ignored His care and gave their attention to idols.
For this betrayal, God would send them to Assyria.
The sword would destroy their cities, their gates, and their misplaced devotions would be their downfall.
God would have no mercy on them, even if they called out to Him.
GOD’S AFFECTION FOR ISRAEL (11:8-12):
God was going to punish Israel, not because He wanted to, but because justice demanded it.
Though they had treated Him terribly, He still had warm affection for them.
He said, “My heart recoils within Me; My compassion grows warm and tender.”
He promised not to destroy Israel again (after Assyria had done its work), and of a day when Israel’s heart would return to Him.
Verse 10, speaking of Israel, reads, “They shall go after the Lord; He will roar like a lion; when He roars, His children shall come trembling from the west” (11:10).
It seems to me this was fulfilled in the days of Jesus and the Apostles, when a remnant of the people of Israel returned to the Lord by embracing His Messiah.
The final verse of the chapter compares the state of godliness in Israel (Ephraim) vs Judah. Ephraim was in a sorry state, full of lies and deceit, but Judah was still walking with God.
APPLICATION:
I really like the picture of God presented in Hosea 11.
He is a God of justice, but He hates to punish His people.
He has warm affection for those He created, and He wants the best for them.
Even in their sins, He loves them.
God will punish, but He doesn’t enjoy it.
Isn’t that the kind of God you want? Isn’t that the kind of father you want?
Don’t run from Him, run to Him!
