Resource Detail

2026 Hosea Lesson 7

HOW CAN I GIVE YOU UP?

Hosea 11:1-11

Key Verse: 11:8

1. How does God describe His relationship with Israel (1-4)? What do the images of a father teaching a child to walk and lifting a child to the cheek reveal about God’s character and His love? What contrast do you see between God’s love and Israel’s response?
2. What consequences will Israel face because of their refusal to return to God (5-7)? What does this passage teach about the relationship between persistent rebellion and God’s discipline?
3. What emotions of God are revealed (8)? What decision does God make about His judgment (9)? How can understanding God’s compassionate heart encourage us to return to Him when we struggle spiritually?
4. What future hope does God describe for His people (10-11)? What does the image of the Lord roaring like a lion suggest about God’s authority and power to call His people back? How does this promise of restoration encourage us to return to God and trust His unfailing love today?

2026 Hosea Message Juan Seo (March 15, 2026)

HOW CAN I GIVE YOU UP?

Hosea 11:1-11

Key Verse 11:8

“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.”

I would like to begin today’s message with a story from the book What’s So Amazing About Grace? by the American Christian writer Philip Yancey. There was a young girl who grew up on a farm in Michigan. As she became a teenager, she began to feel that her parents were too strict. She wanted freedom and excitement, so one day, she ran away from home and went to Detroit. In the city, she met a man who offered her a ride, bought her lunch, and arranged a place for her to stay. He gave her some pills that made her feel better than she had ever felt before. Later, he taught her a few things that men liked. Because she was underage, men were willing to pay more for her. Before long, she was living in a penthouse and ordering room service whenever she wanted.

But after about a year, things began to change. She became sick. Her health started to decline, and suddenly, the men who had used her no longer wanted her. They threw her out onto the street without a penny. Now she was alone, sick, and desperate. At that moment, she began thinking about home. She wanted to go back, but she felt ashamed. She wondered if her parents would even accept her after everything she had done. Finally, she gathered the courage to call home. No one answered, so she left a message: “Dad, Mom, it’s me. I was wondering about maybe coming home. I’m catching a bus up your way, and it’ll get there about midnight tomorrow. If you’re not there, well, I guess I’ll just stay on the bus until it hits Canada.”

As the bus traveled toward her hometown, her heart was pounding. She kept thinking, “What if my parents are out of town and missed the message? Even if they are home, they probably wrote me off as dead long ago.” The bus finally arrived. The door opened, and she stepped off, not knowing what to expect. Inside the small bus terminal—with its concrete walls and plastic chairs—she saw a large crowd waiting. There were brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins, and a grandmother, and even a great-grandmother—about forty people in all. They were wearing funny party hats and blowing noise-makers. Across the wall was a big banner that said, “Welcome home!” Then she saw her father. With tears in her eyes, she tried to speak, “Dad, I’m sorry. I know …” But her father interrupted her and said, “Hush, child. We don’t have time for that. No time for apologies. You’ll be late for the party. A banquet is waiting for you at home.”

Today’s passage is one of the most beautiful pictures of God’s love—not only in the book of Hosea, but in the entire Old Testament. I pray that through today’s message, we may deeply experience God’s unfailing love and receive his grace.

The relationship between God and Israel is beautifully described as the relationship between a father and his son. Verse 1 says, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” This verse looks back to the past, remembering the time when God first called Israel his son. At that time, the Israelites were suffering under slavery in Egypt. In their misery, they cried out to God, and God heard their cries. He decided to rescue them. Through Moses, God spoke to Pharaoh saying, “Israel is my firstborn son… Let my son go, so he may worship me” (Exodus 4:22–23). Here God calls Israel his firstborn son. God becomes the Father, and Israel becomes his son. God says, “When Israel was a child, I loved him.”

Many parents are here today. Think about how much parents love their children. Do you remember the moment when your child was born? How did you feel? Some fathers are so overwhelmed with joy that they even shed tears. Others are so moved that they don’t even know how to express their feelings—they just stand there, almost in shock. And some fathers feel great joy, but at the same time, they feel the weight of responsibility, realizing they now need to provide for their child and their family. When children are small, they are so precious and adorable. Parents often say, “My child is the apple of my eye.” Because parents love their children so much, they do their very best to raise them well.

God describes how he raised Israel. Verse 3 says, “It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms.” Learning to walk is a very important moment for a child. At first, a baby learns to stand up by holding on to something, like a couch or a table. Then the child begins to move little by little, holding on and stepping sideways. Of course, children fall many times as they learn to walk. At that point, parents often hold the child’s hands—sometimes both hands, sometimes one hand—and gently help the child take steps. And whenever the child takes even a few small steps, the parents clap, smile, and encourage them, saying, “Good job!” “You can do it!” For many parents, these moments become very precious memories. In the same way, God says He held Israel by the arms, taught them to walk, and encouraged them, as if saying, “That’s it—you’re doing great!”

Verse 4 says that God led them “with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.” In other words, God did not force them. He guided them gently, with kindness and love. The verse also says that God lifted them to his cheek, like a parent lifting up a little child. Parents often pick up their children and kiss them on the cheek. It is a very tender and affectionate moment. God also says, “I bent down to feed them.” Feeding a child is also a beautiful expression of love. When a child happily opens their mouth to receive food and smiles while eating, how adorable that is! In those moments, a parent’s heart is filled with love. Parents also care for their children when they are sick. They take them to the doctor. Sometimes they stay by their child’s side through the night—giving them water, giving them medicine, covering them with a blanket, and providing whatever they need. That is the kind of love God is describing here. He cared for Israel with the tender love of a parent caring for a small child.

While preparing this message, I tried to find some photos that captured good memories with my children. To be honest, I realized that I don’t have many. When my children were growing up, I was very busy. During the day, I worked hard in my business to provide for my family. In the evenings, I was usually at church serving the work of God. By the time I came home late at night, my children were already asleep. And early in the morning, I would leave again to go to church to pray. Because of that, I don’t have many memories of spending time with my children. When I think about it now, I feel sorry for them. So I want to encourage those of you who are raising children now: try to make many good memories with your kids.

I was still able to find a few photos, and I’d like to show them to you. This is a picture of my son, Samuel, and my daughter, Ana, when they were babies. Aren’t they cute? And these are photos of me carrying Samuel and Ana on my back. When I found these photos, it made me really happy. I thought, “Oh, there really was a time when I carried my son and daughter like this.” This picture was taken when I was teaching them how to ride bicycles. And this one is from when I was teaching my daughter how to drive. This photo was taken when we were building a church in Venezuela. It looks like Sam was working very hard, doesn’t it? He is now serving as a college ministry leader at Boston UBF. Children often learn by watching the faith of their parents and then follow that example. So when parents love God, love their neighbors, love their children, and serve God faithfully, I believe their children can also grow up spiritually, knowing and experiencing God’s love. Looking at these old photos brought me a lot of joy. At the same time, I thought, “I’m getting older now.” People say that as we grow older, we begin to live more in our memories. I think that’s true.

God deeply loved Israel and raised them with great care. But Israel forgot the love of God, their Father, and went far away from him. Verse 2 says, “But the more they were called, the more they went away from me.” Sometimes we see something similar in our own lives. When children enter their teenage years, they may begin to push their parents away and become more distant. At those moments, parents feel deeply hurt. But Israel did more than simply drift away from God. They “sacrificed to the Baals and burned incense to images.” They actively turned against God and worshiped idols. They believed those idols had more power than God. They believed those idols loved them more. They believed those idols could make them happy. How do you think God felt when he saw this? Imagine if your own children left home and began following strangers, believing that those strangers could help them better than their parents and make them happier. As parents, our hearts would break. It would feel as if our hearts were being torn apart.

Because of their sin, Israel would face God’s discipline. They would return to Egypt. It means they would fall again into a condition of slavery like the one they experienced there. They would live under the power of sin and suffering because of it. Also, Assyria would rule over them. Israel would come under the control of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian army would invade their land, their cities would fall by the sword, and even their false prophets would be devoured. In the end, all their plans would collapse. Why would this happen? The word of God tells us clearly: “because they refused to repent.” They were determined to turn away from God. Even though they called on the Most High with their lips, their hearts were far from him. As a result, God could not accept them. These were the consequences of Israel’s sin.

But God’s heart is not at ease. He is filled with deep anguish; a great struggle rages within him. Let’s read verse 8 together: “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim?” These words sound like a cry from God’s heart. It is as if God is crying out in pain, “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?” This is the voice of God’s heart that cannot abandon his people. Then God asks, “How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim?” Admah and Zeboyim were cities that were destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah because of their great sin. They were completely wiped out by God’s judgment. But here God is saying that he cannot treat Israel the same way. Why is there such a struggle in God’s heart? On the one hand, Israel deserved judgment because of their sin. That is God’s justice. God is holy and righteous, and sin cannot simply be ignored. But on the other hand, God’s love would not allow him to give them up. His unfailing love would not let him abandon Ephraim. Even when judgment seemed necessary, God’s heart continued to move toward restoring them and giving them life again. Here we see the tension within God’s heart, where justice and love meet. It reveals the depth of God’s love—a love that refuses to give up on his people.

“My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.” Because of his unfailing love, God’s heart turns. Deep within him, compassion rises up so powerfully that he cannot hold it back. His heart is deeply moved. What is compassion? Compassion is the deep mercy we feel when we see someone suffering. When we see our children or someone in pain or facing great difficulty, our hearts are stirred. We cannot simply stand by and watch. Something inside us urges us to help. When my daughter Ana was in elementary school, she was trying out the bars at a private gym. As she came down, her arm tore open, and blood started pouring out. The moment I saw that, my heart just sank. As we rode in the ambulance to the hospital, looking at Ana, my heart felt like it was being torn apart. That is what God’s heart is like. God looks at Israel, his son, and he sees the suffering—their pain they are already experiencing and the greater suffering that will come because of their sin. When God sees this, compassion rises up within him. His heart cannot bear it. His love will not allow him to remain distant. So, God cries out in pain, “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?” That is God’s heart. That is God’s unfailing love.

So what decision does God make? Verse 9 says, “I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man—the Holy One among you. I will not come against their cities.” Even though Israel deserved judgment, God declares that he will not pour out his fierce anger. He says he will not destroy Ephraim again. Instead of abandoning them, God chooses compassion. Why does he say this? “For I am God, and not a man.” Because that is who God is! Because God is different from human beings. As human beings, we are unfaithful. We break our promises. When someone hurts us deeply, it is easy for us to turn away or give up on that person. Our love can grow cold, and our patience can run out. But God is not like us. God is faithful. He keeps his promises. Even when his people fail, God does not abandon his covenant. He remains the Holy One among us—righteous, just, holy, and full of love.

The Bible clearly tells us, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). This means that love is not just something God does. Love is God’s very nature. Love is who God is. The Bible also tells us that we did not love God first; rather, God loved us first. As 1 John 4:10 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Before we ever thought about loving God, God had already loved us. Because of that love, God sent his Son, Jesus, into this world. Jesus came to reveal the heart of the Father. Throughout his life on earth, Jesus showed us what God’s love looks like. He welcomed sinners, healed the sick, comforted the brokenhearted, and had compassion on those who were lost. In the end, Jesus willingly suffered and died on the cross for our sins. He willingly suffered and died for our sins. As the apostle Paul says in Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That is a love that reaches out to us even when we have turned away from God—a love that does not give up on us.

Therefore, I want us to take a moment to remember how much God has loved us. How many times have we sinned and drifted away from God? How many times have we ignored his voice and chosen to live according to our own desires? And yet, every time God looked at us, his heart was filled with compassion. Instead of turning away from us, his heart was moved toward us. Again and again, he forgave us. Again and again, he welcomed us back. He restored us when we were broken and healed us when we were wounded. If we look back on our lives, we can see that we are standing here today because God’s love never gave up on us.

Verses 10–11 reveal God’s hope. He sees a day when his people will return to him from every direction. In the same way, God is waiting for us to return to him. Do you remember God’s unfailing love? As we remember that love, may we turn back to God. Let’s return to our God. Remembering his unfailing love and trusting in his grace, may we turn back to him. Let us repent of our sins and come back to our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.