Please read the passage before reading the commentary
Hosea was a prophet with a broken history. He had married a woman with a bad reputation and suffered the consequences of that marriage. His people were also a people of broken history. The marriage relationship with their God was sometimes faithful and often unfaithful. Just as Hoea seemed to love his wife and family, so God definitely loved the people God had married in the many covenants God had ratified with the people.
Now, the people must return to the Lord. They must no longer trust in their limousines, tanks, fighter planes, foreign alliances, bank accounts, and prestige. They must approach the Lord and ask forgiveness, express sincere sorry, and accept the Lord’s covenant of peace. They must acknowledge that they can do nothing of value by themselves without God. They must be ready to experience the love of the Lord that has always been with them.
If the people do all these things, they shall experience healing from their defection, have fruitful lives, and enjoy an abundant and beautiful life.
If we have heard Hosea carefully and sincerely, then we must know that what he said to the people of Israel long ago, he is saying to us now. Our world is in serious trouble because our personal lives are not in order. We have our own fancy horses and our own weapons, our own allegiances in our personal lives and in our local, national and international lives. In other we must go before the Lord as people and as nation, taking with us words of humility, gentleness and patience. Then we can experience the genuine love that God has for us. This applies to each of us whether we be Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or other religious background. Straight are the paths of the Lord.