Israel had sinned greatly against the Lord, they had forsaken the knowledge of God and thus truth and mercy had been lost from them, they thought they knew God and had becom familiar with him but they were wrong and had forgotten His laws and abandonded His ways and no longer submitted to Him. The priest, whose charge it was to instruct the people in the ways of the ways of the Lord, had neglected their duty and no longer taught the people, for this God held them accountable. The people of Israel had pushed God away so much that He would no longer warn them of their errors and He acctually departed from them in order to leave them their own devices. God's desire was that Israel would return to Him, and so Hosea wanted to lead the people in repentance towards the Lord for he knew that if the people would seek Him then He would be found of them.
