Out of Egypt=Exodus. God loved, Israel rebelled. God continued to offer teaching and guidance. Israel/Ephraim is determined to turn away. God will not allow them to return to Egypt in their rebellion, so they will stray to Assyria. There they will face the sword of judgement. God mourns the thought of losing Ephraim. Admah and Zeboiim are two cities that were destroyed with Sodom and Gomorrah. (Deuteronomy 29:23) God becomes emotional 
God will call the children to return.
God will call the children to return.
God is reliving His past with His beloved child, Israel. He rescued them from slavery in Egypt. He teaches, guides, comforts, and provides for them with kindness and love. But they are so intent on rebellion, they fail to see and trust God. Assyria will rule over them, which will be the opposite of the loving guidance they’ve had. He will watch Israel reap the consequences of their rebellion, which causes a great sadness to rise up in God’s heart, full of warmth, tenderness, and compassion for the child He loves. God will call them back with the voice of a lion, and there will be those who return. There will be new ones come, too. (Gentiles!! That’s us!! 
) Israel will continue with lies and deceit, but Judah is faithful. (Side note that got me— at the same time Hosea is writing this warning to Israel, God is sending His prophet, Jonah, to Nineveh, which is in ASSYRIA! Even in their rebellion, God is always planning ahead, giving Israel a chance to return to Him )
) Israel will continue with lies and deceit, but Judah is faithful. (Side note that got me— at the same time Hosea is writing this warning to Israel, God is sending His prophet, Jonah, to Nineveh, which is in ASSYRIA! Even in their rebellion, God is always planning ahead, giving Israel a chance to return to Him )
This chapter changes me because I see God with the heart of a loving Father, truly hurt by the rebellion of His child. 
But it also changes me because there’s a foreshadowing of His call to us, the Gentiles, coming from “the West” in answer to His voice. As we follow Christ Jesus, the Lion of Judah, we become children of the same compassionate, loving, kind God. It’s His kindness that leads us to repentance. “I know that You are good. I know that You are kind. I know that You are so much more than what I leave behind.”
But it also changes me because there’s a foreshadowing of His call to us, the Gentiles, coming from “the West” in answer to His voice. As we follow Christ Jesus, the Lion of Judah, we become children of the same compassionate, loving, kind God. It’s His kindness that leads us to repentance. “I know that You are good. I know that You are kind. I know that You are so much more than what I leave behind.”
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