Hosea 11:1-2 King James Version (KJV)
11 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
2 As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

Hosea 11:1-2 Expanded Bible (EXB)
God’s Love for Israel

11 “When Israel was a •child [youth], I loved him,
   and I called my son out of Egypt[C the Exodus; Ex. 4:22; Matt. 2:15].
2 But when I called •the people of Israel[L them],
   they went away from me.
They offered sacrifices to the Baals
   and burned incense to •the idols[images].

Expanded Bible (EXB) The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved

These are my thoughts, please share yours.

1 God refers to the nation as His child refers to them collectively much like Jesus does with the church in the New Testament. God brought Israel out of Egypt because He wanted better for them.

2 Israel would be blessed and then run to idols, have bad leadership then run to idols. We should run to God when times get hard.