Hosea 12:1-14
1 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.
2 The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punisha Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.
3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;
5 Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.
6 Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.
7 He is a merchant,b the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.
8 And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.
9 And I that am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.
10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministryc of the prophets.
11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.
12 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.
13 And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
14 Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.
Contents: Jehovah's response, continued. Further reproof of Israel's sins.
Characters: God.
Conclusion: Those who make creatures and things their confidence, put a cheat upon their own souls, and prepare vexation for themselves. God has His eye even upon the merchant weighing his goods, and knows his methods and the idols of his heart. If men put contempt upon God, God will let their neighbors look with contempt upon them.
Key Word: Recompense, Hosea 12:2; Hosea 12:14.
Strong Verses: Hosea 12:6.
Striking Facts: Hosea 12:9-10. As great an offense as Israel has been to God throughout the centuries, God's Word assures us that the prophecies regarding their restoration to glory in the earth will be certainly fulfilled in His own time. That time is connected with the time of Christ's Second Coming.