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Commentary on the Book of Hosea, Chapter 12: 

The northern kingdom was officially named Israel, but Hosea often calls her Ephraim as well as Jacob. Hosea now associates the nation’s situation with that of the person Jacob, the Jewish ancestor who wrestled with God and received the name Israel (see Gen 32:24-32). Just as God had accompanied the person Jacob/Israel, He now sends prophets to the nation Jacob/Israel. The people should follow their ancestor Jacob’s example and turn to God, hold fast to love and justice, and wait for God.

The Book of Hosea, Chapter 12: 

The Long History of Israel’s Rebellion

1 Ephraim herds the wind, and pursues the east
wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
they make a bargain with Assyria,
and oil is carried to Egypt.
2 The Lord has an indictment against Judah,
and will punish Jacob according to his ways,
and repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
and in his manhood he strove with God.
4 He strove with the angel and
prevailed,
he wept and sought his favor.
He met God at Bethel,
and there God spoke with him—
5 the Lord the God of hosts, the Lord is his name:
6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
7 A trader, in whose hands are false balances,
he loves to oppress.
8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich,
I have gained wealth for myself”;
but all his riches can never offset
the guilt he has incurred.
9 I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt;
I will again make you dwell in tents,
as in the days of the appointed feast.
10 I spoke to the prophets;
it was I who multiplied visions,
and through the prophets gave parables.
11 If there is iniquity in Gilead they shall surely come to
nothing;
if in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
their altars also shall be like stone heaps
on the furrows of the field.
12 (Jacob fled to the land of
Aram,
there Israel did service for a wife,
and for a wife he herded sheep.)
13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet he was preserved.
14 Ephraim has given bitter provocation;
so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt upon him,
and will turn back upon him his reproaches.

*Daily Lectio Divina Question:

God is reminding his people of their history and of the word He spoke to them: "So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God." (v.6) From the beginning He has always been calling them back to Himself and promising to be with them to help them. In what areas of my life is God calling me to return to Him, or to wait for Him?

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.
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