Hosea 13:2

And now. These words meaningfully mark the transition from the time of the introduction of Baal worship (see on v. 1) to the conditions of Hosea’s day. It was a heinous thing to make and worship a graven image as a material representation of the true God, as did Jeroboam I (see 1 Kings 12:25-33), thus violating the second commandment and neglecting the solemn instruction that the worship of God must be spiritual, not material (see Ex. 20:4-6; John 4:24). But it was doubly heinous to introduce other gods, such as the Phoenician Baal, in direct violation of the first commandment, which requires the exclusive worship of the Lord (see Ex. 20:3). And now, in Hosea’s day, all forms of idolatry had continued “more and more,” until the nation was fairly saturated with these false religions.

Work of the craftsmen. Being the work of men’s hands, these images and idols had no spiritual or physical power (see Isa. 44:9-20; Hab. 2:18, 19).

Kiss the calves. It was the custom of idol worshipers to kiss the object of their worship (see 1 Kings 19:18). If the image could not be approached (as the moon), the kiss was sent to it by the worshiper’s kissing his own hand (see on Job 31:27).