Chapter 11
This verse, a prophecy applied to Jesus returning from Egypt with his family after going there to escape Herod's murder of young boys, would be hard to recognize except in hindsight. It seems more to fit into the context of the chapter, and to pick it out as a near/far would still be a little difficult. However, I think it is specifically referred to as a prophecy of Jesus in the NT, in Mt 2:15. MSB calls it an analogical reference. Meaning is comparable as I read it. But the language Matthew uses makes it sound more like a direct prophecy. I like analogical better, it makes more sense to me. After all, God is referring to Israel as a child, whom He loves greatly, and He brought that loved child, that "son", out of Egyptian captivity. Verse 2 certainly has nothing to do with Jesus return from Egypt with his family.
5 They shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me. [Hos 11:5 ESV]
This is really getting specific about the fate that awaits Israel. Goes on to say that once this all starts, and they begin to cry out to God - to the real God - it will be too late. God will not hear them at that point. He is a God for all time, not just a God for crisis.
Good verse for FB would be:
7 My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all. [Hos 11:7 ESV]
2024 - Vs 5 above shows that Hosea is speaking about the nearer term. The hills may not be begged for relief until the Sixth Seal, but the conquest in view in these verses is Assyria itself, specifically named. It was pronounced Assur in the Hebrew, according to the text. Egypt is Misrayim. These words place us squarely in Hosea's time. It was still future, but it was not Millennia away.
Then vs 9 shows up, and seems to contradict what has been said to this point:
9 I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. [Hos 11:9 ESV]
MSB says that primarily this prophecy- this book-is about the destruction that would come from Tiglath-Pilesar. But this promise refers to the time when God will bring all his people home - the Millennial perhaps - and never destroy them again. Never disperse them again. This is pretty well confirmed as the rest of the chapter unfolds (vss 10-12).
Note also that at this time, in vs 12, God still considers Judah to be faithful to Him.
Also, here is another place that addresses the error of Mormonism directly. God is not a man, nor was He ever a man.
20222 - Here is vs 12:
" Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit, but Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One." [Hos 11:12 ESV]
We know that even at this time, Judah was pretty corrupt. We also know that since the time of Manasseh, Judah's fate was sealed. And yet here in this verse, God tells us why he still waits. God is able to weigh whole nations and know whether that nation "still walks with God". There is some tipping point, that only God Himself can determine, where whole nations become unfaithful. It must also be remembered, that this was about God's covenant with Israel, and is a very different thing than how he deals with men under the New Covenant.