10:12 - The old, "you reap what you sow" adage is used throughout the scriptures (It probably originated in the Bible). Hosea is very clear that if you "sow" the righteousness of God...if you live out your faith and strive to walk in God's truth, you will "reap" love, creation, redemption, joy, etc. When you "sow" selfishness and rebellion against God, you "reap" destruction and heap guilt on your head.
11:1 - In this passage, this verse is used to reference God's calling of the Israelite people out of Egypt during the exodus...but it is also a prophetic reference given to Hosea that speaks of the coming of Jesus Christ. Matthew 2:15 tells us that this prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus because Mary, Joseph and Jesus escaped to Egypt to avoid the infanticide that was taking place in Israel around the time of his birth. Later, God called his son back from Egypt to begin his ministry to the Jews.
11:8 - Even though God knows that His people deserve harsh judgment for what they have done, He loves them too much...He cannot destroy them...He shows compassion to them. God's compassion and love are always there in His character...they always offer us a glimmer of hope in spite of our sinfulness. It was that loving compassion that drove God to give himself as a sacrifice for our sins. To take our judgment so that we might be spared.
13:4 - This passage is very clear...there is only one entity in existence who can save - God. Salvation can only possibly come through God...so based on what we know about the NT - Jesus is God in the flesh. If salvation came through Jesus and salvation can only come through God, than Jesus is God. This is just another passage that supports a trinitarian understanding of the nature of God.
13:14 - This verse is basically a hope filled taunt that God throws in the face of sin and death. Death as inevitable and powerful as it is, cannot overcome the love of God. Death will never overcome God's mercy. Death has no power in the face of God, and so God says, "Where o death is your sting?" Where is your strength...where is your power, because it does not exist before me. In the end...love wins.
14:3 - This is another heartbreaking example of the rejection of God that is still so prevalent in believers lives today. The men and women of Israel began to cry out to and worship idols they had created with their own hands...that sounds so absurd doesn't it? But how many of us bow down and worship our jobs, our hobbies, our possessions...things that are meaningless on an eternal scale. Be careful where you use your worship.
14:4-7 - What a way to end the book of Hosea! Future hope. Promises of healing. No matter how far we have fallen God is strong enough and loving enough to handle our sins and bring redemption to our lives. The only place we will ever truly flourish is in the presence of our awesome God.
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