Hosea 11:8

"How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I cast thee off, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboiim? my heart is turned within me, my compassions are kindled together."

"Admah ... Zeboiim ..." "The cities of the plain included these, as well as Sodom and Gomorrah; all were overthrown for their wickedness."[11] See Deuteronomy 29:23.

"How shall I give thee up ..." In this passage, God is represented as having human emotions about the overthrow of his once "chosen people"; but the reason behind this type of passage is profound. Under the utmost necessity, God would have to preserve a portion of the old secular Israel to keep from thwarting his holy purpose of bringing in the Redeemer to provide salvation for the lost myriads of humanity; but the problem was just this: how could God be just and continue to spare Israel? This is exactly the problem mentioned in Romans 3:25, which found its ultimate solution in the coming of Christ into the world. To make the problem even more acute, Israel had fallen into a state of sinful debauchery which actually exceeded the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah (Ezekiel 16), which places God had summarily destroyed for their sins; how then could God Almighty retain any inherent justice in himself, unless he should also exterminate Israel? That was what brought about the "tension" as one writer calls it, in the heart of God! It was not God's mere reluctance to destroy wicked sinners who richly deserved his wrath, simply because God had fallen in love with them! Such views are unworthy. And the real problem with God in this and the following verses was the necessity of refraining from the extermination of Israel, who deserved it every whit as much as had Sodom and Gomorrah; but there was the larger purpose of redemption to be made available for all mankind; and that was the consideration that overrode the immediate consideration of justice on God's part toward Israel. The vast majority of Israel was exterminated; it was the remnant which was preserved to keep alive the hope of salvation for the world.

As Butler said, "This is the very essence of the gospel! The good news is that God is both just and the Justifier" (Romans 3:21-26).[12] "It was on the Cross that God paid the penalty of sin and satisfied his own justice."[13]