Ahaz was king of Judah from around 735 BCE to 715 BCE, and while Hosea’s messages were primarily to Israel, Hosea does address problems in Judah at certain places. In verses 1-4, God is sounding the alarm to Israel that their time as a nation is about to expire. “They are coming! Like a vulture, the enemy descends upon the people of God because they have broken My treaty and revolted against My laws.”
Israel does not want to hear this so they “plead with Me and say, ‘Help us, for You are our God!’ But it is too late? Israel has thrown away her chance with contempt, and now her enemies will chase her. She has appointed kings and princes, but not with My consent.” God is referring to the fact that after Jeroboam II there was a succession of traitorous assassinations of kings of Israel ending with the death of Pekah by Hoshea. (2 Kings 15:8-31).
We don’t find much information about Hoshea’s reign from 732 – 722 BCE. According to historical records, Assyrian king, Tiglath-Pileser III recognized Hoshea as king of Israel and forced him to pay tribute. When Tiglath-Pileser died around 728 BCE, Hoshea decided to stop paying tribute to Shalmaneser V and that caused an invasion by the Assyrians around 725 BCE. It may be that Hoshea, expecting help from the Egyptians, went out to battle until he realized the Egyptians had retreated. Hoshea surrendered and was put in prison, and the Assyrians attacked Samaria for three years until the city was conquered in 722 BCE and the people of Israel were carried off into captivity. (2 Kings 17).
Before the conquest of Israel, Hosea proclaimed, “But though she (Israel) hires ‘friends’ from many lands, I will send her off to exile. Then for a while at least she will be free of the burden of her wonderful King!” (Verse 10). We would call this verse “tongue in cheek” because God is referring to Himself as their “wonderful King”. On Mt Sinai, He had given the moral law (the Ten Commandments), the religious law (the Tabernacle and sacrifices), and the civil law. But He said the people didn’t believe these laws were for them. They made their own laws: i.e. everyone did what was right in their own eyes.