10 They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. 11 They will come from Egypt, trembling like sparrows, from Assyria, fluttering like doves. I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord. 12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, Israel with deceit. And Judah is unruly against God, even against the faithful Holy One.
In the last passage of Hosea, God said that, whatever Israel had done, he loved them too much to punish them. Now he says he will bring them back from exile. Note in verse ten how God will roar like a lion to announce their return. The prophets often use this image of God as a lion, and his roaring is heard by everyone, calling all to hear his judgment. Note how C.S. Lewis patterns the great lion, Aslan, in The Chronicles of Narnia, on this prophetic image. In verse eleven, when the people hear his roar, they will not tremble with fear but return quickly. They will move as swiftly as birds who also have a remarkable ability to navigate and find their way home.
Israel will not be destroyed as a people but as a nation it will never be the same again. Its history enters a second stage where most of the time it will be occupied by foreigners. Notice how the southern kingdom of Judah is mentioned in the last verse here as still being faithful. Of course, we know this will not always be the case and that Judah will fall too
We too may feel hopeless and crushed by life and feel like God has abandoned us. But God never gives up on us because he loves us. Things will get better. As Paula Gooder puts it: “God’s overwhelming love and care for each one of us defines who he is.” And, of course, as Christians we believe that their restoration only truly occurred with Jesus. God so wanted to save us that he sent his son to pay the price. Through him we are restored to a right relationship with God through the new covenant.
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