As they were learning to walk, He often held them in His arms to protect them from dangers they were not yet ready to face. For example, the shortest land route from Egypt to Canaan would have been along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and then north to Beersheba through Philistia. But Israel was not yet ready to stand against the aggressive Philistine army, so God took care of His people by leading them along a circuitous route (Exodus 13:17–18). Each step of the way, God nurtured Israel and kept them from injury as they slowly matured as a nation of God.

Like a father, He carried them when they stumbled and fed them manna from heaven when they were hungry.

In Hosea’s day, Israel knew the fatherly love of God—but only as a nation. The idea that each individual could have a personal relationship with a heavenly Father was yet years to come. It may surprise you to know that the Old Testament never refers to God as the personal father of individuals. Not until the coming of Jesus did any individual Jew ever think of God as his or her personal father, which was something they learned from Jesus, who continually called God “My Father.”

He Loves as a Husband

I drew them with gentle cords,

With bands of love.

—HOSEA 11:4A

The husbandly dimension of God’s love is the primary analogy in the book of Hosea. It’s a dimension that Hosea learned firsthand, having become a living illustration of God’s steadfast love. Just as he had drawn his unfaithful wife, Gomer, back with gentle cords of love, so God had entreated His people to come back to Him.

He Loves as a Shepherd

And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck.

I stooped and fed them.

—HOSEA 11:4B

The agricultural people of Hosea’s time clearly understood the kind of love a shepherd shows to his flocks. We recognize the caring, provident nature of a shepherd’s love from Psalm 23, and it’s a theme that runs throughout the entire Bible. It is yet another way of looking at the singular love God has for us.

Old Testament professor Gary V. Smith explains Hosea’s depiction of God as a shepherd: “[This verse] describes God’s tender care and provisions for his people. He ‘bent down’ gently to feed them by graciously providing manna and quail for the forty years of wandering in the Sinai desert (see Exodus 16; Numbers 11).”9

The Contempt for God’s Love

But the more I called Israel,

the further they went from me.

They sacrificed to the Baals

and they burned incense to images.

It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,

taking them by the arms;

but they did not realize

it was I who healed them.

—HOSEA 11:2–3 (NIV)