NOTES for Hos 12:1-14

Speaking through the prophet Hosea, God sets His own faithfulness against the people's self-reliance and unfaithfulness on the paths by which He delivers Israel. A person (or an entire people) thinks in vain that he has achieved everything himself. No, it was the Lord who saved him from slavery and led him into the festive booths; it is the Lord who sends teachers and protectors. To see this, one must turn back, turn toward God, and encounter His mercy and judgment—and then a new hope will flare up in the heart.