Listen, Jack, this is Hosea 12, it's all about Jacob! See here, Jack, my father used to say that Jacob was a bit of a troublemaker. No malarkey! Or uh, you know, it starts off with the Lord punishing him for his sins and stuff, but then you get to verse 13 and he starts to show mercy. But then it's back to the tough love in verse 14 when he tells Jacob that he'll have to work hard to make it right. C'mon, man! Then he gets to verse 15 and he's literally saying that Jacob needs to give up on his idols and cling to God. What was that? Then you get to verse 16 and he's talking about how Jacob had a long road to get there, and he's giving him some advice about how to stay on the right path.

But then you get to verse 17 and it's like he's really getting angry! I tell you what, he's saying that Jacob needs to stop trying to deceive the Lord, 'cause that's just not gonna happen! Excuse me, folks, but I'm not joking here - it's like the Lord is saying that Jacob needs to stop with the empty promises. And then he closes it off with a reminder to keep trusting in the Lord, and that will bring Jacob peace.