In verses 1-5, God explained in human terms how He cared for Israel as a nation. Israel became a nation when God led them out of Egypt; they had gone into Egypt as a large family. As a young nation, they needed guidance to govern themselves so on Mt. Sinai, God gave them a moral law, the Ten Commandments, a religious law, the priesthood and sacrifices, and a civil law, detailed instruction on how to deal with common everyday issues.
How did Isael respond to God’s fatherly care? “But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who raised him.” And the end result was, “But My people shall return to Egypt and Assyria because they won’t return to Me.” Why Assyria? Because that was the general area that Abraham originally came from, Present day Iraq.
In verses 8-9, God spoke of how His “heart cries out within Me; how I long to help you.” God mentioned the cities of Admah and Zeboiim, cities destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah. (Deut. 29:23). They were destroyed by God’s anger, but God said He would not be as harsh with Ephraim (Israel). “I am the Holy One living among you, and I did not come to destroy you.
”Finally, in verses 10-11, God talked about the return of Israel to the Promise Land; there may have been people of Israel who returned between 536 BCE and 73CE and again after 1948 CE; we don’t know because we generally refer to those people as Jews (i.e. Judah). In Romans 11, we are reminded that when the age of the Gentiles is completed, God will save Israel. (Romans 11:25-27).