The LORD is Just

Hos 12:1 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.

Lies and desolation. Desolation meaning: havoc, violence, destruction. Lies and irresponsible violence a sign of the absence of righteous judgment. Righteous judgment is what God wants for his people.

Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Ephraim feeds on the east wind, they followed wrong spirits, empty vane things that do not satisfy.

Jer 18:17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.

Ephraim made a covenant, perhaps a peace treaty with Assyria, the enemy that would take them captive. They paid tribute of olive oil to Egypt. Bribing our enemies never brings favor.

Hos 12:2 The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.

They should have been seeking the LORD for protection. If the LORD was against them, then there was no security. We must learn to trust the LORD instead of seeking the world for security and blessings. Jacob was under the covenant of the law which required obedience and blessings or curses and punishment for disobedience.

Historical incites concerning Jacob

Hos 12:3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
Hos 12:4 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;

Hosea makes clever use of the Hebrew names for Jacob and Israel. The root name for Jacob is: heel." The root name for Israel is "struggled." Jacob,( heal holder or supplanter) from the womb grabbed his brothers heel and would also grab his birthright by deception.

Gen 25:26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

Jacob received the name Israel, (God prevailed) by wrestling with an angel until he was given a blessing.

Gen 32:26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

Hos 12:5 Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.
Hos 12:6 Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.

Jesus would seek mercy and judgment

Mat 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Jacob returned to Bethel where he met God. Israel needed to repent and return to the LORD as well.

Gen 35:1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother

Hos 12:7 He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.
Hos 12:8 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.

Using a balance that was not a true measurement of weight oppressing people when they bought and sold. Israel was proud of their riches received by deceit. Because of their prosperity they thought they were without sin. Doesn't the LORD bless those who do well?

Pro 11:1 A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.

Eze 22:12 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.

Is not the church in error if they seek prosperity apart from a prosperous soul?

3Jn 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

A pink Cadillac is just a pink Cadillac, and not the measure of true prosperity. The soul prospers by doing the will of God, doing good, studying his word and by prayer.

Hos 12:9 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.

The feast of tabernacles recalls the time that Israel fleeing Egypt, journeyed in the wilderness living in tents and make shift shelters.

Lev 23:42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
Lev 23:43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Mar 9:5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
Mar 9:6 For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
Mar 9:7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

Hos 12:10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.

Hosea's marriage to a harlot was a similitude or metaphor of Israel's harlotry to the LORD of Israel.

Hos 12:11 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.

Hosea again uses the Hebrew words to make a play on words. Gilead sounded like the word gallim, which meant a pile of stones. The altars would be pulled down into heaps of stones by the invading Assyrians. Both Gilead and Gilgal were places of sacrifices to false idols.

Hos 12:12 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.
Hos 12:13 And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.

The LORD reminds Israel that even though they would be slaves tending sheep and living in tents, that Jacob also worked tending sheep to earn his bride(s). The LORD also provided a prophet and deliverer in Moses. They too would someday be delivered by their Messiah.

Hos 12:14 Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.

Ephraim must face the anger of God because of their turning away from him into idolatry. His blood shall remain on him and the results of his sin would return upon him. Not a pleasant thing but our Loving God is also a God of holy righteousness. Sins must be paid for.

Jer 18:20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.
Jer 18:21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.

It used to be said in movies and in books "crime does not pay." This may not seem to be true, when so much evil seems to get by and prosper. But God is the final judge.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Come to Jesus and be forgiven now. Turn from wickedness and live for God. You will receive a peaceful and prosperous soul. Turn again to your LORD and repent.

Tit 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.