Hosea 11:1 ¶ When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
In speaking of Israel as a child, the Lord is referencing the young nation. God had set apart Abraham to father a nation that was to be God’s special possession among the nations—and He loved them from the very beginning. Though He allowed them to experience a time as slaves in the land of Egypt, He brought them out to bring them into the Promised Land with great strength and wealth.
It is interesting to note that reference is made to this scripture in the New Testament in connection with Jesus as the Messiah.
Matthew 2:13-15 “And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. ….that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.”
This is another example of how all of scripture speaks of Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus’ life exampled all that the nation of Israel was meant to example before the nations of the world; He was the true Israel. The prophet Isaiah talked about Jesus as Israel. Following is an excerpt from my journal in which I believe the context identifies Jesus as Israel, the very Son of God whom He named to Mary while the babe was still in her womb.
Isaiah 49:1-3 “Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
Jesus knew from the beginning that He would be a special instrument in the hand of His Father that would bring great glory to His Father. In fact, He would be the testimony to the nations of the power of God in the life of a person or a nation that was obedient to the commands of the Father. He represented the true Israel (one that prevails with God) that would follow God in faith and obedience. Jesus was the Father’s beautiful secret weapon brought forth at just the right moment in time to defeat the enemy. [end excerpt]
Hosea 11:2 As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
I think the NIV gives a better understanding of this verse: “But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.”
How did God reach out to His people? Through the judges and prophets. The whole book of Judges records Israel’s continuing propensity to turn away from keeping covenant with Almighty God to worship the gods of the heathen nations that were around them.
Judges 2:11–12 “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.”
They wanted the LORD’s blessing without any responsibility to serve and honor Him as LORD according to His revealed will, His desires. Sadly, I think this is true in much of Christendom today.
Hosea 11:3 I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.
Hosea 11:4 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
The beginning of verse three is stating that God didn’t leave His people to try and figure out where to go and how to get there on their own; He personally guided His people and provided for them to grow into a great nation with great wealth. Just like a child who learns from the guiding hand of his parents, Israel was taught by God.
Most of the translations reference healing in the last part of verse 3, but I think that the correct idea from the Hebrew is that of being made whole. From the very beginning it was God at work in and around the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to make them into a whole nation both physically and spiritually. He led them with the love of a father and provided for their every need as He rescued them from the bondage of Egypt. They lacked nothing they needed to mature both physically and spiritually as a nation.
I think it is also important to note that God declares that His people were unaware of much that He did to make them a great nation. I can certainly make application in my own life. I know that the Lord has been constantly at work on my behalf to encourage and enable me to grow to spiritual maturity. It is obviously an ongoing process that will never end until He takes me home, but I am trying to be more aware of His hand at work in my life in both the good times and the bad. My prayer is to be like Jesus—to have people observe my life and know that I love my Savior because I am living according to His example—but I am still far from reaching that goal.
Hosea 11:5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.
Hosea 11:6 And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.
The Lord is basically saying that though the people of Israel refuse to repent and turn back to Him in faith and obedience, He will not send His people back to Egypt in bondage; they will, however, experience bondage and servitude in Assyria. Because they chose to ignore God’s counsel and His revealed will for them and acted according to their own wisdom and purposes, the Northern Kingdom would be attacked and taken captive by Assyria.
Spurgeon: “It is always best to take with submission the sorrow that God appoints, lest, by fleeing from the bear the serpent bite us, and so we go from bad to worse.”
Hosea 11:7 And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.
God sees into the very hearts of men and knows even our thoughts.
1 Samuel 16:7 “…for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
Genesis 6:5 “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Psalms 94:11 “The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.”
God knew that though they gave lip service to Him, His people only wanted the benefits of His blessings. The nation as a whole (though I am sure there were some true followers of God among the people) dishonored God by their actions. Again, I am afraid this is descriptive of much of Christendom today.
I decided to look at the meaning of the word bent in the Hebrew and in Webster’s. Some of the other translations used the word “determined,” and I think it is true that their choice was deliberate to rebel against God. The definition from Webster gave a wonderful word picture: “To strain or move out of a straight line; to crook by straining; to make crooked....” Instead of staying in a straight line of fellowship with God by keeping covenant with Him, they exerted great effort to fit in with the surrounding nations and join them in serving the flesh and worshipping their false gods. This is really an amazing choice from a people that had experienced so much to affirm the sovereignty of Almighty God on their behalf, and He had warned them through Moses of the consequences of breaking covenant with Him.
Deuteronomy 28:15–25 “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field….The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it….The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.”
Hosea 11:8 ¶ How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, 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.
Hosea 11:9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.
Again, as He so often does, the Lord gives the prophet a message of hope to accompany the message of coming judgment. God is a loving Father, and He loves the people of Israel that He set apart as His chosen possession among the nations. Though He will continue to punish and purify them with the fires of judgment, He will eventually bring them to a point of repentance and restoration and establish them under the New Covenant as prophesied by Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 31:31–34 “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
I really like the wording of the NLT with respect to verse 9: “No, I will not punish you as much as my burning anger tells me to. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal.” Man is prone to be subject to his passions, while God is in total control of His passions. He will not allow His anger to cause Him to break covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I think that so much emphasis today is placed on the love of God and of His role as Father to the child of God that we have lost sight of the power and authority that He exercises in righteous judgment and that He is One for whom we should have a healthy fear.
Matthew 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Luke 12:4–5 “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.”
To have a healthy fear of God is a sign of wisdom and places us in a position to experience His blessings.
Psalms 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments….”
Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Psalms 34:7&9 “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them….O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.”
Psalms 103:11 “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.”
Psalms 145:19 “He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.”
Historical note: Admah and Zeboim were destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah.
Deuteronomy 29:23 “And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:”
Hosea 11:10 They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.
Hosea 11:11 They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the LORD.
These verses give emphasis to the promise of Jeremiah’s prophecy quoted above. The lion is known as the king of beasts and is used to paint a word picture of Almighty God determining when the time is right according to His plan to bring all of the children of Israel home in repentance that will result in their everlasting obedience. At that time they will come home trembling in light of the terrible refining fires of the tribulation that they will experience as prophesied by Daniel (see journal on Daniel 9:24-27).
I think that “the west,” Egypt and Assyria are representative of all the lands to which the people of Israel were dispersed throughout the nations as part of God’s judgment against them for rejecting Him in spite of the covenant they made with Him. The NIV Commentary made a significant observation: “The return of Judah from the Babylonian captivity was from the east. But this mention of ‘the west’ sets off the future return from the earlier one.”
In verse 11 the LORD is basically promising that He will personally see to it that the believing remnant who emerge from the purifying fires of the tribulation will each be placed in homes of their own.
I can’t help but think about how so many Israelites had to suffer because their spiritual leaders and their fathers chose to serve false gods rather than the God of Israel. Each individual is accountable before God, but it is also true that children usually example the leadership of their fathers, and in Israel’s case—their priests and kings. The child who is privileged to be raised by parents who love the LORD is truly blessed; and parents should never underestimate the influence of their example before their children.
Hosea 11:12 Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.
This verse is basically a statement of comparison between the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. At the time of Hosea’s ministry Ephraim was characterized by a false spirituality before the LORD, and Judah was still characterized as recognizing God as LORD and respectful of those who acted in obedience to Him.
It seems to me that America, a nation that I believe was founded on the principles of scripture and recognized as a Christian nation, is quickly moving from an identity with Judah to an identity that corresponds more closely with Ephraim. I believe that the coming judgment of our nation is just as sure as was Ephraim’s. I also believe that it will happen just preceding or as an actual part of the coming time of God’s wrath against the Gentile nations that will coincide with the purifying fires of judgment directed toward Israel during the time best known as the tribulation, the final seven years on earth preceding the return of Jesus to establish His Kingdom.
Hosea 12:1 ¶ Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.
I think the truth being conveyed in this verse is that Ephraim is rejecting God and pursuing status and security in relationships with other nations—i.e., Egypt and Assyria. In fact, they were courting the support of each using lies and deceit. While making a covenant with Assyria, they were currying the favor of Egypt with bribes. It is truly amazing that they would seek such alliances in light of a history of God’s proven power and authority on their behalf.
I almost missed the emphasis on the fact that Ephraim was “increasing” in lies and destruction. When I looked at the Hebrew, “abundance” and “be full of” stood out to me. I am reminded of how the scripture uses leaven as a type of sin and how just a little sin can multiply quickly.
1 Corinthians 5:6 “…. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”
I think it is interesting that specific reference is made to the “east wind,” which is often a reference to the desert siroccos that are usually quite destructive. In courting favor and protection with the heathen nations and their false gods, the people of Ephraim were asking for trouble. They were set apart as God’s chosen people, and such actions always result in His judgment.
Hosea 12:2 The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.
The prophet now also declares that the actions of the people of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, were positioning them for judgment as well. In referencing Jacob, I think the LORD is making reference to the whole nation—Ephraim and Judah. Point is made that the LORD will ensure that His punishment will fit the crime; the people will reap just judgment in accordance with their actions.
Hosea 12:3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
Hosea 12:4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;
Hosea 12:5 Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.
Jacob was the son through whom the LORD chose to birth the twelve tribes or families that formed the nation of Israel. Point is made that Jacob was a fighter from the very beginning. He grabbed the heel of his brother as he was being birthed giving evidence of a struggle between brothers that their progeny continue to this day. During his journey to return home with his family, he wrestled with a man that I believe the biblical record identifies as the pre-incarnate Jesus and showed great strength and tenacity in seeking His blessing.
Genesis 32:24–30 “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
Isn’t it sad that Jacob’s descendants didn’t treasure God’s blessing with as much strength and tenacity. I think it is important to note that Jacob did not force God to bless Him; God chose to reward his struggle. When I saw the statement that Jacob “wept and made supplication,” I couldn’t help but think of some verses in James.
James 4:-32 “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
The Lord never changes. This tells me that Jacob wanted God’s blessing, and his motives were judged righteous. It is God’s desire to bless those that choose to follow Him in faith and obedience.
Deuteronomy 5:29 “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!”
Psalms 103:17–18 “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.”
Luke 17:6 “And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.”
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
The prophet then references when Jacob took His family to Bethel to build an altar according to God’s direction. It was at this time that God gave Jacob the name of Israel and reiterated His promise to give His descendants the land of Israel. After reading several translations, I think the ASV gives the best understanding of verse 5: “even Jehovah, the God of hosts; Jehovah is his memorial name.”
Genesis 35:9–15 “And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.”
God’s promise still stands and will never be revoked.
Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
Psalm 89:34 “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”
Though the people of Israel have suffered His judgment, the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people and God will one day restore them to their land never to be uprooted again.
Hosea 12:6 Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.
The prophet now calls out for the people of Ephraim to follow the example of their father Jacob. This is emphasized by the Hebrew for the word “turn”; it makes reference to returning to your beginnings. To keep “mercy” is an encouragement to reverence God with obedience and devotion. To keep “judgment” is a reference to keeping His divine law—living according to His will as revealed in His word. To wait on God continually is to place all your hopes and expectations in Him. To place your hopes and expectations in anyone or anything other than Almighty God will always result in failure and disappointment.
Hosea 12:7 ¶ He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.
Hosea 12:8 And 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.
Verse 7 is a statement of Ephraim’s dishonest business practices as well as an indictment against them for taking pleasure in oppressing others to their own benefit. Isn’t it interesting that verse 8 reveals that the people do not acknowledge their sinful practices. The NIV Commentary concluded that “they had devised loopholes in the law to justify what they had been doing.” That makes sense to me as I look at the same tactics being used yet today in America—even in so-called “Christian” businesses.
People often mistake success and prosperity as a mark of God’s approval. Though God does indeed allow many of His children to prosper in this world, He also allows many of His children to suffer. Their circumstances provide a great opportunity to glorify God through their testimony. I am reminded of the words of Paul in his letter to the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
I think it is important to note that the people of Ephraim were just following the prevalent business culture of the times. The children of God, however, are supposed to live according to the morals established by their Father in heaven—not according to the Father of lies—the devil, the god of this world.
John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
Hosea 12:9 And I that am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.
I am sure that the introductory words of verse 9 were treasured by Hosea. God would never reject His people or break His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob even when the people rejected Him. He had brought them forth from Egypt as a great nation, and He will one day establish them in homes (from the Hebrew) in Israel in accordance with that covenant.
“as in the days of the solemn feast” – I think this is referencing that time in which the people actually participated in the feast, the Passover, with a desire to honor God in the process.
Hosea 12:10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.
The reading of this verse is hard in all of the translations I checked. I think the context of the passage positions this as a statement from God that He had raised up prophets to warn them to repent and to declare the consequences for refusing to do so. Some of the prophets ministered through an inspired message, others were given visions to reveal God’s word, and still others were used to act out object lessons. Point being made—you cannot claim ignorance of your sin or of knowing God’s will.
Hosea 12:11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.
Gilead to Gilgal would seem to be a reference to the whole of Ephraim from east to west (relative to the Jordan River). The introductory question is rhetorical—the obvious answer being “yes.” The fact that they were offering sacrifices on a multitude of altars in a place other than the temple at Jerusalem as instructed by God was proof of their sin.
Hosea 12:12 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.
Hosea 12:13 And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
I needed help on these verse; I just could not find the relevance to the context. JFB’s Commentary connected them to the previous verse as a reminder of their roots in Jacob—the deceiver. That made sense to me; the Lord usually uses the name of Jacob as a negative and the name of Israel as a positive connotation in referencing His people. Though he had to suffer for his deceit, he did not lose the blessing of God connected with the unconditional covenant made with his grandfather.
A similar comparison can be made regarding the suffering of the people in Egypt and God’s deliverance of them through the leadership of Moses. Though their circumstances were harsh and, from the human point of view, an indictment of God’s rejection of them, His deliverance was assured as promised to Abraham.
Genesis 15:13–14 “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”
Again, we see that God’s ways are not our ways. What seemed like a bad thing was, in fact, a part of God’s plan to bless His people.
We must also note, however, that the people who were delivered from Egypt also rebelled against God, and the nation was spared through the intercession of Moses; but they were judged for their unbelief and not allowed to enter the Promised Land.
Numbers 14:11–23 “And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they. And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;) And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness. And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word: But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:”
God’s judgment was righteous and just; the punishment fit the sin.
Hosea 12:14 Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.
It was the fact that Ephraim rejected God and the covenant they had made with Him that would result in their judgment. God always judges righteously in accordance with one’s sin—be it individual or nation.