Hosea Chapter 11
Drawn with Gentle Cords
A. God’s tender love for Israel.
1. Hosea 11:1–2
“When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
As they called them, so they went from them, they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.”
a. I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
The Lord deliberately looks back to Israel’s earliest national memory, when the nation was still young, vulnerable, and dependent. Israel is described as a child, emphasizing both weakness and affection. God’s love preceded Israel’s obedience, maturity, or faithfulness. His deliverance from Egypt was not merely a political liberation but an act of covenantal love. The Exodus was God claiming Israel as His son, rescuing them from bondage and bringing them into a relationship marked by care, provision, and protection. This reminds us that Israel’s identity was established by divine initiative, not by merit.
This statement also carries a deeper prophetic dimension that unfolds later in Scripture. Matthew explicitly applies this passage to Jesus Christ, showing how Israel’s national history prefigured the life of the true Son.
Matthew 2:15
“And was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.”
Jesus recapitulates Israel’s story, going down into Egypt and being called out again, but unlike Israel, He remains faithful. Hosea spoke of Israel historically, yet the Holy Spirit intended a fuller fulfillment in Christ. This is not prediction in the narrow sense but typology, where Israel as God’s son foreshadows Christ, the perfect Son.
b. As they called them, so they went from them.
The tragedy of Israel’s history is captured in this short line. As God called Israel through His prophets, priests, and covenant warnings, Israel responded by withdrawing further from Him. The calling voices of the Lord were met with competing voices, the Baals of Canaan, local fertility deities that promised prosperity without holiness. Instead of drawing near to the Lord, Israel moved away from Him, sacrificing to Baalim and burning incense to carved images. The problem was not ignorance but divided loyalty. Israel chose familiar pagan worship over covenant faithfulness, exchanging the living God for lifeless idols.
2. Hosea 11:3–4
“I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms, but they knew not that I healed them.
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.”
a. I taught Ephraim to walk, but they knew not that I healed them.
Ephraim, representing the northern kingdom, is portrayed as a child learning to walk. The imagery is intimate and personal. God did not merely command Israel to walk, He supported them, steadied them, and bore their weight. The phrase taking them by their arms pictures a parent patiently guiding a child’s first steps. Yet Israel failed to recognize the source of their healing and preservation. God’s unseen mercies were either ignored or credited to other causes. This reveals a persistent human tendency to benefit from God’s grace while remaining unaware of His hand.
b. I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love.
God’s method of drawing His people is profoundly gentle. The cords He uses are not chains of force but cords suited to human nature, appealing to the heart, conscience, and will. These are bands of love, not instruments of coercion. The Lord does not treat His people as objects to be dragged but as persons to be won. His drawing respects the moral constitution of man while persistently calling him back to covenant faithfulness.
This principle highlights the difference between God’s kingdom and worldly power. Earthly empires compel obedience through fear, punishment, and violence. God builds allegiance through love, patience, and truth. His people are called to serve Him freely, not as slaves driven by terror but as sons responding to grace.
c. As they that take off the yoke on their jaws.
The image shifts to that of a working animal whose yoke is loosened. God is portrayed as a compassionate master who relieves pressure, allowing rest and ease. Rather than increasing burdens, the Lord eases them. This reflects His covenant character, not exploiting His people but caring for their limitations and weariness.
d. I laid meat unto them.
The Lord not only removes burdens but personally provides nourishment. The phrase conveys stooping down to feed, an act of humility and attentiveness. God lowers Himself to meet the needs of His people, supplying sustenance and care. This anticipates the servant heart revealed most clearly in Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:5–8
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men,
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
What Hosea describes poetically, the New Testament reveals fully in Christ. God does not hesitate to humble Himself for the sake of His people. Feeding, healing, guiding, and relieving burdens all flow from His covenant love.
B. God’s strict hand toward Israel.
1. Hosea 11:5–7
“He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.
And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.
And my people are bent to backsliding from me, though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.”
a. Because they refused to repent.
The judgment pronounced here is not arbitrary or impulsive. Israel’s punishment flows directly from a settled refusal to return to the Lord. Egypt is mentioned symbolically as a place of former bondage, yet God clarifies that Assyria will be the instrument of discipline. Israel longed for political alliances and human solutions rather than covenant repentance. Their captivity is not the result of a single failure but of persistent rebellion hardened into policy. The phrase because they refused to return highlights that judgment follows rejected mercy. God had repeatedly called Israel back, yet they would not respond.
b. The sword shall abide on his cities.
This is not momentary violence but sustained devastation. The sword abiding in their cities speaks of prolonged warfare, instability, and national collapse. Their branches, meaning their leaders, cities, and sources of strength, will be devoured. Hosea emphasizes that this destruction comes because of their own counsels. Israel trusted its own strategies, alliances, and wisdom rather than the word of the Lord. Self reliance replaced obedience, and human counsel displaced divine instruction.
c. My people are bent on backsliding from Me.
Backsliding implies prior nearness. Israel once walked closely with the Lord, but now their posture is fixed in turning away. This is not accidental drift but deliberate inclination. Though they maintain outward religious language and call upon the Most High, their worship is empty. Their lips speak God’s name, yet their lives refuse to exalt Him. This is the danger of religious form without repentance, devotion without obedience, and profession without submission.
2. Hosea 11:8–9
“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.
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.”
a. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?
Here the heart of God is laid bare. Though judgment is deserved and imminent, the Lord expresses deep internal anguish. These rhetorical questions reveal divine compassion struggling with divine justice. God does not delight in punishment. His heart recoils at the thought of abandoning His covenant people. The phrase my repentings are kindled together does not suggest moral change in God, but the intensity of His compassion as He restrains total destruction.
This tension finds its ultimate resolution in the gospel. Justice demands judgment, yet love seeks redemption.
Romans 8:32
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
Israel deserved to be given up, yet God would instead give up His Son in the fullness of time.
b. Admah and Zeboim.
These cities were destroyed alongside 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.”
God declares that Israel will not be utterly erased like those cities. Though chastened, they will not be annihilated. Judgment will be severe but not final.
c. I will not again destroy Ephraim.
God promises restraint. Ephraim will be disciplined, scattered, and humbled, but not wiped out. A remnant will remain. This preserves God’s covenant promises and anticipates future restoration. Divine judgment always serves redemptive purposes for God’s people.
d. For I am God, and not man.
Here lies the ultimate explanation. God’s forgiveness, patience, and mercy transcend human limits. Man’s forgiveness is conditional, fragile, and easily withdrawn. God’s forgiveness flows from His holy nature. He does not forgive because He ignores sin, but because He provides atonement and restoration on His own terms.
Human forgiveness often fails because it demands guarantees, apologies, probation, or repayment. God absorbs the cost Himself. This truth reaches its highest expression at the cross, where God bears the full penalty of sin rather than demanding it from the sinner.
3. Hosea 11:10–12
“They shall walk after the LORD, he shall roar like a lion, when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.
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.
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.”
a. He will roar like a lion.
The roar of the Lord is authoritative, irresistible, and commanding. This is not a roar of destruction but of summons. The same God who once roared in judgment will roar in restoration. When He speaks, His sons will respond. The trembling described here is reverent fear, not terror. It reflects awe, submission, and repentance.
b. From Egypt and Assyria.
These nations represent both past bondage and present exile. God promises a regathering of His people from every place of dispersion. Like birds startled into flight, Israel will respond quickly and instinctively to the voice of the Lord. He will restore them to stability, security, and covenant blessing.
c. I will place them in their houses.
This is language of peace, permanence, and settled life. God’s discipline ends in restoration. Judgment does not have the final word. Mercy does.
d. Ephraim compasseth Me about with lies.
God concludes with a sober assessment of present reality. Israel remains deceitful, surrounding God with false worship and insincere devotion. Yet Judah, though not sinless, still retains a measure of covenant faithfulness at this time. God acknowledges degrees of faithfulness while maintaining His sovereign plan of restoration for all His people.
