The Lord pronounced judgement against the nation of Isral and against it's capital city Samaria. Hosea likened the nation to an unturned pancake, burnt on one side towards the world and undone or unprepared toward the Lord, hence they were good for nothing neither hot nor cold like the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3. By this time in their history Israel had become established in their sin and had set up their own ungodly rulers. Even though they continued to sacrifice to the Lord the Lord no longer accepted the sacrifices as they were given from an unrepentant heart. The southern nation of Judah now tursted in their fortified cities but these cities could not save them from the judgement of God. These prophecies were given at a time of great material prosperity in the nation of Israel when the people must have thought that the Lord was blessing them but didn't care that their hearts were foul towards Him.
