Tyndale Open Study NotesHosea 7

• When I heal Israel: God deeply desired to heal Israel's unfaithfulness (see Hosea 14:4) and restore her relationship with him. However, Israel was full of liars, thieves, and bandits.

• The Israelites might have believed that the Lord was unaware of their sins, but he was watching them and saw everything they did.

The northern kingdom of Israel had seven different kings during the last twenty-five years of its history. Four of these kings were killed by men who seized the throne. This passage refers to the violent and bloody political struggles that happened in those years.

The prophet did not record the king's name. Many people believe it was Hoshea, the last king of the northern kingdom.

adulterers: Hosea used this term earlier to describe spiritual betrayal (Hosea 3:1). Here, it refers to those who were unfaithful to the king.

A simile effectively compares the plots and political intrigue of this turbulent time to a red-hot oven that sets the entire land on fire.

All their kings fall: The people of Israel killed their kings one after another. They did this to try to save their nation and their lives from the Assyrian army. During these final years, they relied on their own plans and schemes. They never thought to ask the Lord for help, who was their only true source of help.

Israel ignored the Lord in both their international and domestic decisions. Like confused and helpless doves, they moved back and forth between Assyria and Egypt, trying in vain to make treaties that would save their land. Assyria and Egypt were the major powers of their time.

• Ephraim mixes with the nations: By trusting foreign nations instead of God for safety, the Israelites lost their purity and holiness, which set them apart for the Lord.

• Flatbread needs turning at the right time to bake evenly on both sides. Otherwise, it burns on one side and stays raw on the other. Israel was like a half-baked cake and thus became worthless.

Foreigners: Israel's political relationships with other nations had damaged their spiritual health.

When Assyria invaded, Israel asked Egypt for help. When Egypt could not help, Israel tried to please Assyria by becoming its vassal (a kingdom that serves a stronger power).

Like a hunter catching birds, the Lord would trap foolish Israel to punish them.

• Woe: The Hebrew word ’oy was used at funerals to mourn the dead. In God's eyes, Israel was as good as dead because they had rebelled against him. Rebelling against a human king was a capital crime. It was even more serious for God's people to rebel against their heavenly king.

• I would redeem them: This Hebrew word means paying a fee to bring back someone who has been enslaved. It is often linked to the exodus from Egypt. The Lord wanted to do for the Israelites what he did when he freed their ancestors from slavery to pagan gods, but they lied about him.

They slash themselves: Hurting their own bodies was a common part of Canaanite worship (see 1 Kings 18:28). This practice was forbidden in Israel (Deuteronomy 14:1).

A faulty or loose bow cannot shoot an arrow to the target. This represents Israel's failure without God (see Hosea 7:8, 11).