Jonah 1: the disobedient prophet

A prophet is one who announces the message of the Lord. We are used to read messages from prophets, but in the book of Jonah we read about the life of the prophet.
In first chapter, the prophet should fear the Lord, but it seems that pagans fear the Lord more:


11 They said to him, “What are we going to do with you—to get rid of this storm?” By this time the sea was wild, totally out of control.
12 Jonah said, “Throw me overboard, into the sea. Then the storm will stop. It’s all my fault. I’m the cause of the storm. Get rid of me and you’ll get rid of the storm.”
13 But no. The men tried rowing back to shore. They made no headway. The storm only got worse and worse, wild and raging.
14 Then they prayed to God, “O God! Don’t let us drown because of this man’s life, and don’t blame us for his death. You are God. Do what you think is best.”
15 They took Jonah and threw him overboard. Immediately the sea was quieted down.
16 The sailors were impressed, no longer terrified by the sea, but in awe of God. They worshiped God, offered a sacrifice, and made vows.

Here the pagan sailors are in awe of God because the storm was over as soon as they throw Jonah in sea. They realized that the Lord is really the One who commands heaven and earth. They worshiped the Lord.
It is very common to read prophecies against pagan nations, but in the book of Jonah, it becomes clearer and clearer that the Lord loves humans in general.

Obadiah 1: Esau/Edom should love his brother Jacob/Israel

 Obadiah must have been written when Judah was invaded by Babylon, thus he should be alive in times of Jeremiah. Edom (descendants of Esau) became glad when Babylon invaded Judah. We read:

10-14
Because of the murderous history compiled
    against your brother Jacob,
You will be looked down on by everyone.
    You’ll lose your place in history.
On that day you stood there and didn’t do anything.
    Strangers took your brother’s army into exile.
Godless foreigners invaded and pillaged Jerusalem.
    You stood there and watched.
    You were as bad as they were.
You shouldn’t have gloated over your brother
    when he was down-and-out.
You shouldn’t have laughed and joked at Judah’s sons
    when they were facedown in the mud.
You shouldn’t have talked so big
    when everything was so bad.
You shouldn’t have taken advantage of my people
    when their lives had fallen apart.
You of all people should not have been amused
    by their troubles, their wrecked nation.
You shouldn’t have taken the shirt off their back
    when they were knocked flat, defenseless.
And you shouldn’t have stood waiting at the outskirts
    and cut off refugees,
And traitorously turned in helpless survivors
    who had lost everything.

Edom is similar to the ones who became glad when the Jews were persecuted and killed by the Nazis. Edom took advantage of this situation. Edom thought of themself as a much more valued people than the Jews that were being despised at that moment. Edom became proud and arrogant. In a similar situation, it is very easy to despise the poor today as if they just have what they deserve (judging that they are lazy, for instance). Even though it may be true, it was also true that the Lord was punishing Judah for their sins but no one should be glad about it.

Amos 9: don´t count on "the Lord is good, therefore He will nor harm us".

In the last chapter of Amos, we read:

7-8 “Do you Israelites think you’re any better than the far-off Cushites?” God’s Decree.
“Am I not involved with all nations? Didn’t I bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, the Arameans from Qir? But you can be sure that I, God, the Master, have my eye on the Kingdom of Sin. I’m going to wipe it off the face of the earth. Still, I won’t totally destroy the family of Jacob.” God’s Decree.

The Lord is calling Israel as the "Kingdom of Sin". He is wiping Israel off the face of the earth but He won't totally destroy the family of Jacob. Nowadays, it is very clear that it happened. Where is the 10 tribes of Israel? However, at Amos times, it was not so clear it would happen, by contrary, it was common to think that the Lord is good and therefore He would not harm his people.

10
All the sinners of My people will die by the sword,
Those who say, ‘The catastrophe will not overtake or confront us.’

Very interestingly, the sinners of Israel think that the catastrophe will not overtake them, but they are very wrong. Wouldn't this message be to me as a Christian who think of myself as a chosen of the Lord? The chosen is led to obey the Lord. However, the Lord will restore Israel:

11
“On that day I will raise up the fallen shelter of David,
And wall up its gaps;
I will also raise up its ruins
And rebuild it as in the days of old;

And that's how Amos finishes.

Amos 8: love instead of sacrifices.

We read a message:

4 Hear this, you who trample the needy, to put an end to the humble of the land, 5 saying,
“When will the new moon be over,
So that we may sell grain;
And the Sabbath, so that we may open the wheat market,
To make the ephah smaller and the shekel bigger,
And to cheat with dishonest scales,
6
So as to buy the helpless for money,
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”

It is addressed to those who oppress the needy. They are religious: they respect the Sabbath saying: "when will it be over, so that we may open the wheat market?". That is, their hearts are not in obeying the Lord. It is very likely that they feel secure in their religiosity, however:

7-8
God swears against the arrogance of Jacob:
    “I’m keeping track of their every last sin.”
God’s oath will shake earth’s foundations,
    dissolve the whole world into tears.
God’s oath will sweep in like a river that rises,
    flooding houses and lands,
And then recedes,
    leaving behind a sea of mud.

Amos 7: A stranger in the nest

In Amos 7, it becomes clearer that the prophet was not from Israel. Amos was a stranger in the nest. We read:

10 Amaziah, priest at the shrine at Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel:
“Amos is plotting to get rid of you; and he’s doing it as an insider, working from within Israel. His talk will destroy the country. He’s got to be silenced. Do you know what Amos is saying?
11    ‘Jeroboam will be killed.
    Israel is headed for exile.’”

Amaziah was a priest aligned with the king of Israel. He spoke in the name of the Lord and, as priest, he did sacrifices. For him, Amos was a rebel against the king Jeroboam and against Israel. Was the message of Amos, a message of love from the Lord? In a way, yes; however, it was calling to change, to repentance; thus it was a confrontation message.


12-13 Then Amaziah confronted Amos: “Seer, be on your way! Get out of here and go back to Judah where you came from! Hang out there. Do your preaching there. But no more preaching at Bethel! Don’t show your face here again. This is the king’s chapel. This is a royal shrine.”

Here it is very clear that Amos came from Judah ("go back to Judah where you came from"). It is easy to understand that the priest Amaziah had a lot of privileges as being priest, but Amos had only problems.


14-15 But Amos stood up to Amaziah: “I never set up to be a preacher, never had plans to be a preacher. I raised cattle and I pruned trees. Then God took me off the farm and said, ‘Go preach to my people Israel.’

16-17 “So listen to God’s Word. You tell me, ‘Don’t preach to Israel. Don’t say anything against the family of Isaac.’ But here’s what God is telling you:
    Your wife will become a whore in town.
    Your children will get killed.
    Your land will be auctioned off.
    You will die homeless and friendless.
    And Israel will be hauled off to exile, far from home.”

    
Amos forsees a lot of problems to Amaziah. In a way, the Lord will make clear that Amos is right and Amaziah wrong.

Amos 6: Live as there is no resurrection and no justice

Amos was prophet who spoke to Samaria and Judah/Zion:

1-2 Woe to you who think you live on easy street in Zion,
    who think Mount Samaria is the good life.
You assume you’re at the top of the heap,
    voted the number-one best place to live. (...)
3-6 (...)
Woe to those who live in luxury
    and expect everyone else to serve them!
Woe to those who live only for today,
    indifferent to the fate of others!
Woe to the playboys, the playgirls,
    who think life is a party held just for them!
Woe to those addicted to feeling good—life without pain!
    those obsessed with looking good—life without wrinkles!
They could not care less
    about their country going to ruin.

Amos is almost saying: "Woe to those who laugh because they will cry". The problem is not being happy, it is to be indifferent to others. I am afraid I am living this good life now. Am I indifferent to the fate of others?

12-13
Do you hold a horse race in a field of rocks?
    Do you plow the sea with oxen?
You’d cripple the horses
    and drown the oxen.
And yet you’ve made a shambles of justice,
    a bloated corpse of righteousness,
Bragging of your trivial pursuits,
    beating up on the weak and crowing, “Look what I’ve done!”

The verses 12-13 are translated very differently, but let us take what the MSG says. It is addressed to those who think of themselves as righteous due to religious practices (not in text, inferred), but are not righteous at all; in fact, they addressed to be punished (by the Assyrians). It seems not so different from our days.

Amos 5: the day of the Lord and the return of Jesus

Today, we Christians long for the return of Jesus: it will be a day of victory, where the King will establish the kingdom of the Lord here on earth.  It will be a bad day for non Christians, but Christians will celebrate on this future day.
Reading Amos 5, it seems to me that "God's Judgement Day" is very similar, if not equal to the return of Jesus. We read:

18-20
Woe to all of you who want God’s Judgment Day!
    Why would you want to see God, want him to come?
When God comes, it will be bad news before it’s good news,
    the worst of times, not the best of times.
Here’s what it’s like: A man runs from a lion
    right into the jaws of a bear.
A woman goes home after a hard day’s work
    and is raped by a neighbor.
At God’s coming we face hard reality, not fantasy—
    a black cloud with no silver lining.

In Amos 5, the prophet warns that Israel is not prepared to Judgement Day.

4-5 God’s Message to the family of Israel:
“Seek me and live.
    Don’t fool around at those shrines of Bethel,
Don’t waste time taking trips to Gilgal,
    and don’t bother going down to Beer-sheba.
Gilgal is here today and gone tomorrow
    and Bethel is all show, no substance.”


The Lord wants that his people seek him, but where? In Bethel, Gilgal or Beer-sheeba? No.
Does it have to do with sacrifices? or attending religious meetings?


21-24
“I can’t stand your religious meetings.
    I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects,
    your pretentious slogans and goals.
I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,
    your public relations and image making.
I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.
    When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want?
    I want justice—oceans of it.
I want fairness—rivers of it.
    That’s what I want. That’s all I want.

"Seek the Lord" has much more to do God's will:

14
Seek good and not evil—
    and live!
You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    being your best friend.
Well, live like it,
    and maybe it will happen (that the God-of-the-Angel-Armies becomes your best friend indeed).

Certainly Jesus want his people doing his will when He returns, as the Lord wants his people doing his will in Judgement Day.

Amos 4: You Never Got Hungry for God

People were living as if there is no God and no Judgement Day. We read:

1 Listen to this, you cows of Bashan
    grazing on the slopes of Samaria.
You women! Mean to the poor,
    cruel to the down-and-out!
Indolent and pampered, you demand of your husbands,
    ‘Bring us a tall, cool drink!’

The prophet addresses women from a higher class that are centered on themselves. They want to be served by others.

2-3
“This is serious — I, God, have sworn by my holiness!
    Be well warned: Judgment Day is coming!
They’re going to rope you up and haul you off,
    keep the stragglers in line with cattle prods.
They’ll drag you through the ruined city walls,
    forcing you out single file,
And kick you to kingdom come.”

These women will be treated as cattle or fishes that are conducted by hooks to be killed or punished in Judgement day. Thus the prophet is speaking in the name of the Lord so that they repent.
The Lord wants that Israel comes to Him:

6
“You know, don’t you, that I’m the One
    who emptied your pantries and cleaned out your cupboards,
Who left you hungry and standing in bread lines?
    But you never got hungry for me. You continued to ignore me.”

The text goes on like:

"I am the One who made you such harm  and such harm but
    But you never got hungry for me. You continued to ignore me.

The Lord sent troubles for his people to seek Him.
Am I hungry for the Lord?

Amos 3: the chosen people of the Lord will face consequences of their idolatry

Amos argues that something happens in response to another action. For instance:

3-7
Do two people walk hand in hand
    if they aren’t going to the same place?
Does a lion roar in the forest
    if there’s no carcass to devour?
Does a young lion growl with pleasure
    if he hasn’t caught his supper?
Does a bird fall to the ground
    if it hasn’t been hit with a stone?
Does a trap spring shut
    if nothing trips it? (...)

In particular we read:

(...)-7 And when disaster strikes the city,
    doesn’t God stand behind it?
The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing
    without first telling his prophets the whole story.

Amos is a prophet. Israel/Samaria is doing economically fine - it seem that there is nothing to worry; however, the prophet Amos is warning Israel about a disaster that the Lord will send to them.

9-11
Announce to the forts of Assyria,
    announce to the forts of Egypt—
Tell them, “Gather on the Samaritan mountains, take a good, hard look:
    what a snake pit of brutality and terror!
They can’t—or won’t—do one thing right.” God said so.
    “They stockpile violence and blight.
Therefore”—this is God’s Word—“an enemy will surround the country.
    He’ll strip you of your power and plunder your forts.”

The Lord is calling pagan countries to witness how the Lord will deal with his people (that can't and won't do anything right). An enemy (Assyria) will strip Israel of his power.    
The Lord wants that his people behaves accordingly to their calling:

2
“Out of all the families on earth,
    I picked you.
Therefore, because of your special calling,
    I’m holding you responsible for all your sins.”

This calling is to love the Lord and not false gods:

13-15
“Listen and bring witness against Jacob’s family”—
    this is God’s Word, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
“Note well! The day I make Israel pay for its sins,
    pay for the sin-altars of worship at Bethel,
The horned altars will all be dehorned
    and scattered around.
I’ll tear down the winter palace,
    smash the summer palace—all your fancy buildings.
The luxury homes will be demolished,
    all those pretentious houses.”
        God’s Decree.
    

Amos 2: Judgment on Israel

In Amos 2 we read judgements against Moab, Judah and Israel, but the text focus on Israel.
The Lord is upset with the response that Israel gave to His love, instead of one loving another, people were greedy:

6-8 (...)
They buy and sell upstanding people.
    People for them are only things — ways of making money.
They’d sell a poor man for a pair of shoes.
    They’d sell their own grandmother!
They grind the penniless into the dirt,
    shove the luckless into the ditch.
Everyone and his brother sleeps with the ‘sacred whore’—
    a sacrilege against my Holy Name.
Stuff they’ve extorted from the poor
    is piled up at the shrine of their god,
While they sit around drinking wine
    they’ve conned from their victims.

Our world is not so different: "people are only things - ways of making money". The great problem is that the Lord showed love to Israel:
    

9-11
“In contrast, I was always on your side.
    I destroyed the Amorites who confronted you,
Amorites with the stature of great cedars,
    tough as thick oaks.
I destroyed them from the top branches down.
    I destroyed them from the roots up.
And yes, I’m the One who delivered you from Egypt,
    led you safely through the wilderness for forty years
And then handed you the country of the Amorites
    like a piece of cake on a platter.
I raised up some of your young men to be prophets,
    set aside your best youth for training in holiness.
Isn’t this so, Israel?”

Thus, the Lord expected love from His people.
So I ask myself: the Lord showed love to me. Am I showing love to others? I am afraid the answer is "not so much".

Amos 1: the Lord is against nations around Israel/Judah.

Amos was a sheepherd in Takoa, Judah. He received a message from the Lord concerning Israel when Israel was doing fine economically in times of Jeroboam II. Reading the Old Testament, we see that the Lord loved Israel despite its idolatry.
We read:

2 The Message:
God roars from Zion,
    shouts from Jerusalem!
The thunderclap voice withers the pastures tended by shepherds,
    shrivels Mount Carmel’s proud peak.

The temple is in Jerusalem, Judah and the Lord shouts from there. His voice can be heard in distant places such as Mount Carmel in Israel.
The Lord is against Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom and Ammon. They mistreated the people of the Lord. For instance Gaza turned Israelites as slaves and sold them to Edom:

6-8 God’s Message:
“Because of the three great sins of Gaza
    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.
She deported whole towns
    and then sold the people to Edom.
For that, I’m burning down the walls of Gaza,
    burning up all her forts.
    (...)

One application of this text is that the Lord knows I belong to his people. Although I may be mistreated by others (because I belong to Him), I believe that the Lord is taking care of me. Eventually, He will deal with those that mistreated me.    

Joel 3: Judgement day

The book o Joel finishes saying:

1-3 “In those days, yes, at that very time
    when I put life back together again for Judah and Jerusalem,
I’ll assemble all the godless nations.
    I’ll lead them down into Judgment Valley
And put them all on trial, and judge them one and all
    because of their treatment of my own people Israel.
They scattered my people all over the pagan world
    and grabbed my land for themselves.
They threw dice for my people
    and used them for barter.
They would trade a boy for a whore,
    sell a girl for a bottle of wine when they wanted a drink.

Jerusalem is not alive as in older days. The Lord will renew Jerusalem in the last days. The Lord will assemble all the godless nations against Israel (are we in the last days?), but the Lord will defend His people:

15-17
“The sky turns black,
    sun and moon go dark, stars burn out.
God roars from Zion, shouts from Jerusalem.
    Earth and sky quake in terror.
But God is a safe hiding place,
    a granite safe house for the children of Israel.
Then you’ll know for sure
    that I’m your God,
Living in Zion,
    my sacred mountain.
Jerusalem will be a sacred city,
    posted: ‘no trespassing.’
Milk Rivering out of the Hills

It is difficult to understand with our heart that "God is a safe hiding place", but it will become very clear in the last days. Besides, the Lord is gracious:


18-21
(...) Meanwhile, Judah will be filled with people,
    Jerusalem inhabited forever.
The sins I haven’t already forgiven, I’ll forgive.”
    God has moved into Zion for good.
    

Joel 2: Repent before Judgement Day!

Joel 2 calls Israel to repent before Judgement Day. The Lord is preparing an army of locusts that will devour everything:

3 Before it arrives, the country is like the Garden of Eden.
    When it leaves, it is Death Valley.
    Nothing escapes unscathed.

11 God’s Judgment Day — great and terrible.
    Who can possibly survive this?

The Lord calls Israel to repentance before Judgement Day:

13-14
Change your life, not just your clothes.
    Come back to God, your God.
And here’s why: God is kind and merciful.
    He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot,
This most patient God, extravagant in love,
    always ready to cancel catastrophe.
Who knows? Maybe he’ll do it now,
    maybe he’ll turn around and show pity.
Maybe, when all’s said and done,
    there’ll be blessings full and robust for your God!

The Lord will not only save his people from the locust but He will also pour His Spirit on his people:

25-27
“I’ll make up for the years of the locust,
    the great locust devastation—
Locusts savage, locusts deadly,
    fierce locusts, locusts of doom,
That great locust invasion
    I sent your way.
You’ll eat your fill of good food.
    You’ll be full of praises to your God,
The God who has set you back on your heels in wonder.
    Never again will my people be despised.
You’ll know without question
    that I’m in the thick of life with Israel,
That I’m your God, yes, your God,
    the one and only real God.
Never again will my people be despised.

28-32 “And that’s just the beginning: After that—
“I will pour out my Spirit
    on every kind of people:
Your sons will prophesy,
    also your daughters.
Your old men will dream,
    your young men will see visions.
I’ll even pour out my Spirit on the servants,
    men and women both.
I’ll set wonders in the sky above
    and signs on the earth below:
Blood and fire and billowing smoke,
    the sun turning black and the moon blood-red,
Before the Judgment Day of God,
    the Day tremendous and awesome.
Whoever calls, ‘Help, God!’
    gets help.
On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
    there will be a great rescue—just as God said.
Included in the survivors
    are those that God calls.”

It is very interesting that Joel 2:28-32 is referenced in Acts 2:17-21. It is also interesting that the Lord will pour His Spirit before Judgement Day, in the last days; so we are living in the last days before Judgement Day.

Joel 1: We live in chaos.

Due to the consequences of sin, we live in a chaos, in a world that doesn't properly support life.
The locusts eat our food:

4
What the chewing locust left,
    the gobbling locust ate;
What the gobbling locust left,
    the munching locust ate;
What the munching locust left,
    the chomping locust ate.

The invader, our enemy, has eliminated the wine:

5-7
Sober up, you drunks!
    Get in touch with reality—and weep!
Your supply of booze is cut off.
    You’re on the wagon, like it or not.
My country’s being invaded
    by an army invincible, past numbering,
Teeth like those of a lion,
    fangs like those of a tiger.
It has ruined my vineyards,
    stripped my orchards,
And clear-cut the country.
    The landscape’s a moonscape.

There is no food in the sanctuary of the Lord:

8-10
Weep like a young virgin dressed in black,
    mourning the loss of her fiancé.
Without grain and grapes,
    worship has been brought to a standstill
    in the Sanctuary of God.
The priests are at a loss.
    God’s ministers don’t know what to do.
The fields are sterile.
    The very ground grieves.
The wheat fields are lifeless,
    vineyards dried up, olive oil gone.

God's judgment day has come:
    
15-18
What a day! Doomsday!
    God’s Judgment Day has come.
The Strong God has arrived.
    This is serious business!
Food is just a memory at our tables,
    as are joy and singing from God’s Sanctuary.
The seeds in the field are dead,
    barns deserted,
Grain silos abandoned.
    Who needs them? The crops have failed!
The farm animals groan—oh, how they groan!
    The cattle mill around.
There’s nothing for them to eat.
    Not even the sheep find anything.    

Hosea 14: The Lord heals the apostasy

The Lord is good, we are not. He wants Israel despite her apostasy. He calls Israel to repent, He teaches Israel what to say when repented.

1-3 O Israel, come back! Return to your God!
    You’re down but you’re not out.
Prepare your confession
    and come back to God.
Pray to him, “Take away our sin,
    accept our confession.
Receive as restitution
    our repentant prayers.
Assyria won’t save us;
    horses won’t get us where we want to go.
We’ll never again say ‘our god’
    to something we’ve made or made up.
You’re our last hope. Is it not true
    that in you the orphan finds mercy?”

The Lord is the One who heals, apostasy included:    
    
4-8
“I will heal their waywardness.
    I will love them lavishly. My anger is played out.
I will make a fresh start with Israel.
    He’ll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring. (...)


What will be the response of Israel to the One who heals? Will Israel turn to the Lord? The following verses appeals Israel to choose to live well. The Father wants us to live by his side, and have a meaningful life.

9
If you want to live well,
    make sure you understand all of this.
If you know what’s good for you,
    you’ll learn this inside and out.
God’s paths get you where you want to go.
    Right-living people walk them easily;
    wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.

Hosea 13: life or death to Ephraim?

Most churches nowadays invite others to "accept Jesus" as his saviour. Hosea 13 goes in a different way to Ephraim. The Lord declares that He is the Lord of Ephraim, despite Ephraim sins of idolatry:

4-6
“I’m still your God,
    the God who saved you out of Egypt.
I’m the only real God you’ve ever known.
    I’m the one and only God who delivers.
I took care of you during the wilderness hard times,
    those years when you had nothing.
I took care of you, took care of all your needs,
    gave you everything you needed.
You were spoiled. You thought you didn’t need me.
    You forgot me.

It is very likely that a preacher would say something like to Ephraim: "as you worshiped false gods and made terrible things, you show by your acts that you are not from the Lord."; however it is very interesting that the Lord says: "I am still your God who made this and this to you, remember it". This approach is much more affirmative - it makes the person look to the Lord and not to himself.
The Lord reminds idolatrous Ephraim that He loves Ephraim, but He also punishes:

7-12
“I’ll charge them like a lion,
    like a leopard stalking in the brush.
I’ll jump them like a sow grizzly robbed of her cubs.
    I’ll rip out their guts.
Coyotes will make a meal of them.
    Crows will clean their bones.
I’m going to destroy you, Israel.
    Who is going to stop me?
Where is your trusty king you thought would save you?
    Where are all the local leaders you wanted so badly?
All these rulers you insisted on having,
    demanding, ‘Give me a king! Give me leaders!’?
Well, long ago I gave you a king, but I wasn’t happy about it.
    Now, fed up, I’ve gotten rid of him.
I have a detailed record of your infidelities—
    Ephraim’s sin documented and stored in a safe-deposit box.

The Lord is the One who gives life and death as He pleases. Salvation comes from the Lord and not from a human king. The Lord wants Eprhaim to repent and seek the Lord because He is the source of life.

13-15
“When birth pangs signaled it was time to be born,
    Ephraim was too stupid to come out of the womb.
When the passage into life opened up,
    he didn’t show.
Shall I intervene and pull them into life?
    Shall I snatch them from a certain death?
Who is afraid of you, Death?
    Who cares about your threats, Tomb?
In the end I’m abolishing regret,
    banishing sorrow,
Even though Ephraim ran wild,
    the black sheep of the family.

    
Theses verses appear in 1 Cor 15, when Paul speaks about ressurrection: "Who is afraid of you, Death?". Here, the Lord may bring life to Ephraim. But in the next verses we read:

15-16
“God’s tornado is on its way,
    roaring out of the desert.
It will devastate the country,
    leaving a trail of ruin and wreckage.
The cities will be gutted,
    dear possessions gone for good.
Now Samaria has to face the charges
    because she has rebelled against her God:
Her people will be killed, babies smashed on the rocks,
    pregnant women ripped open.”

The Lord is the One who brings death too.
So, we ask: "life of death to Ephraim?"

Hosea 12: The Lord wants Israel, although Israel doesn't want the Lord.

Israel is doing good in her own eyes, saying "I am rich", although far from the Lord.

7-8
The businessmen engage in wholesale fraud.
    They love to rip people off!
Ephraim boasted, “Look, I’m rich!
    I’ve made it big!
And look how well I’ve covered my tracks:
    not a hint of fraud, not a sign of sin!”

The Lord wants Israel back to Him:
    
9-11
“But not so fast! I’m God, your God!
    Your God from the days in Egypt!
I’m going to put you back to living in tents,
    as in the old days when you worshiped in the wilderness.
I speak through the prophets
    to give clear pictures of the way things are.
    Using prophets, I tell revealing stories.
I show Gilead rampant with religious scandal
    and Gilgal teeming with empty-headed religion.
I expose their worship centers as
    stinking piles of garbage in their gardens.”
    
In a similar way, the Lord is the One who came in my life. May the Lord destroy my false gods and make me live depending on Him as a poor lives in tents.

Hosea 11: Israel can trust on the Lord's love despite her infidelity

The Lord loved Israel and  set him free when in Egypt, worshiping sex gods. Although the Lord was good, Israel wanted to go back to Egypt or even go over to Assyria. What will the Lord do?

1-9 “When Israel was only a child, I loved him.
    I called out, ‘My son!’—called him out of Egypt.
But when others called him,
    he ran off and left me.
He worshiped the popular sex gods,
    he played at religion with toy gods.
Still, I stuck with him. I led Ephraim.
    I rescued him from human bondage,
But he never acknowledged my help,
    never admitted that I was the one pulling his wagon,
That I lifted him, like a baby, to my cheek,
    that I bent down to feed him.
Now he wants to go back to Egypt or go over to Assyria—
    anything but return to me!
That’s why his cities are unsafe—the murder rate skyrockets
    and every plan to improve things falls to pieces.
My people are hell-bent on leaving me.
    They pray to god Baal for help.
    He doesn’t lift a finger to help them.
But how can I give up on you, Ephraim?
    How can I turn you loose, Israel?
How can I leave you to be ruined like Admah,
    devastated like luckless Zeboim?
I can’t bear to even think such thoughts.
    My insides churn in protest.
And so I’m not going to act on my anger.
    I’m not going to destroy Ephraim.
And why? Because I am God and not a human.
    I’m The Holy One and I’m here—in your very midst.


The Lord decided not to give up on Israel/Eprhaim. He could destroy Ephraim but He is Holy and decided to be in the midst of His people. We are unfaithful, but we stay with the Lord because He loves us and insist on being in our midst.