Hosea 4:16

‘For Israel has behaved himself stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer. Will YHWH then feed them as a lamb in a large place?'

In vivid terms Hosea then points out that Israel was like a stubborn heifer which digs its feet in and refuses to follow its owners, even when dragged with ropes. In the same way Israel has, as it were, dug in its feet firmly against YHWH and the requirements of His covenant. It refuses to respond to His call. And Hosea points out that this being so, they cannot expect YHWH to feed them like a lamb in an expansive pasture. This latter picture may well have been one popularly taught at the sanctuaries mentioned with the idea that YHWH would do precisely that. So Judah is being warned not to be deceived by the claims made by the sanctuaries.

Alternately we may translate as ‘YHWH will feed them as a lamb in a large place', the idea being that YHWH will break their stubbornness by sending them like unresisting lambs to Sheol (the underworld), for who can resist death? Compare in this regard Psalms 49:14, ‘like sheep they are laid in Sheol, death will pasture them --.'