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Commentary on the Book of Hosea, Chapter 11: 

After hearing several chapters of God’s accusations against Israel, God reveals why He cares so passionately. In the opening verses, we hear God’s fatherly anguish as He relates to Israel as His son whom He loved and raised as a good Father, yet He was rejected when the people chose false gods over Him. We hear about the future of the nation and how, as a consequence for leaving God, she will be exiled to Assyria, losing her place in the Promised Land. But God’s love will not be lost forever; God will bring His people back home.

The Book of Hosea, Chapter 11:

God’s Compassion Despite Israel’s Unfaithfulness

1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more I called them, the more they went from
me;
they kept sacrificing to the
Baals,
and burning incense to idols.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I
healed them.
4 I led them with cords of compassion,
with the bands of love, and I became to them as one
who raises an infant to his cheeks,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
5 They shall return to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria shall be their king,
because they have refused to return to me.
6 The sword shall rage against their cities,
consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them in their fortresses.
7 My people are bent on turning away from me;
so they are appointed to the yoke,
and none shall remove it.
8 How can I give you up, O
Ephraim!
How can I hand you over, O
Israel!
How can I make you like
Admah!
How can I treat you like
Zeboiim!
My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm
and tender.
9 I will not execute my fierce
anger,
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come to destroy.
10 They shall go after the Lord, he will roar like a lion;
yes, he will roar,
and his sons shall come trembling from the west;
11 they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,
and like doves from the land of Assyria;
and I will return them to their homes, says the Lord.
12 Ephraim has encompassed me with lies,
and the house of Israel with deceit;
but Judah is still known by God,
and is faithful to the Holy
One.

*Daily Lectio Divina Question:

The imagery in this chapter is evocative of the parent child relationship. Imagine yourself as a player in this chapter. Do you identify with God who is angry with His children but Who's love overcomes His anger, or are you the disobedient children of Israel who come trembling back to God when they hear him "roar like a lion" (v.10)? What do you feel in whichever role your place yourself?

Biblical Commentary provided by the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan. Join a Catholic Biblical School of Michigan class this September at Holy Family in Grand Blanc, or online.

Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
Permission to use the RSV-2CE given for Bishop's Year of the Bible by Ignatius Press. Many thanks to Ignatius for this.
If you're looking for a good Catholic edition of the Bible, look no further.