NOTES for Hos 7:1-16
How much bitterness there is in the words of the prophet Hosea! Through him God denounces Israel for its sins, but what sounds is not so much condemnation as pain. God loved His people, created them, chose them, freed them from slavery, and gave them the opportunity to live under God's protection - and now, instead of love in return and love for one another, instead of gratitude and harmony, there are selfishness, lies, grumbling, unfaithfulness, and division. All this is incompatible with the life God created, and Hosea prophesies catastrophes and death because death reigns. But let us not forget his other prophecy either (Hos. 3:5).