Verse 9
"But I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt; I will yet again make thee to dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn feast."
"God from the land of Egypt ..." has the meaning of "thy God since the days when I brought thee up out of Egypt." It is a mistake to see in this the origin of the Covenant in Egypt or even in the wilderness. God brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt because of the Covenant already in existence and dating from the times of Abraham. The Exodus was a result of the Covenant, not the cause of it.
"I will yet again make thee to dwell in tents ..." This plain reference to the Feast of Tabernacles, during which the children of Israel lived in make-shift outdoor shelters as a reminder of their once great poverty, is another example of the way the Book of Genesis and the whole Pentateuch dominate every word of Hosea. Without that prior written Covenant in all its details, Hosea has no meaning whatever.
What is promised here is that Israel shall again dwell in tents, not for a few days, as in the feast, but permanently. God will again reduce the nation to poverty, slavery, and deprivation, because they forgot the Lord and walked in wicked ways.
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