BOOK OF HOSEA PART 4

J. Israel’s idolatry and wicked alliances 8.4-14 They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction…My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like something no one wants…“Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning.
I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something foreign. Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me, and though they eat the meat, the Lord is not pleased with them. Now he will remember their wickedness and punish their sins…Israel has forgotten their Maker…I will send fire on their cities that will consume their fortresses.”

Every man is doing what is right in his own eyes. The people vote without understanding who they are voting for. They go to church but live in sin. God is going to send fire on their cities to chastise them. Assyria will be the attacker.

K. The exile of Israel foretold 9.1-9 Do not rejoice, Israel; do not be jubilant like the other nations. For you have been unfaithful to your God; you love the wages of a prostitute…They will not remain in the Lord’s land…they will eat unclean food in Assyria…They will not pour out wine offerings to the Lord, nor will their sacrifices please him.
What will you do on the day of your appointed festivals, on the feast days of the Lord?…The days of punishment are coming, the days of reckoning are at hand. Let Israel know this. Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired person a maniac. The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim…God will remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins.

What was once considered good is now thought of as evil--and what was considered evil is now considered as good! The nation is close to judgment…the prophets and God are watching.

L. Israel’s ancient apostasy at Baal-peor 9.10-14 “When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal-peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved. Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird—no birth, no pregnancy, no conception…Woe to them when I turn away from them!

God loves his people and looks with love upon us. If we turn away it is like Israel sinning at Baal-peor when they turned to idols. God will turn away from us for awhile until we come to our senses. He will always reach out his hands to us if we return. The nation will choose--blessing or curse.

M. Israel’s apostasy at Gilgal 9.15-17 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal, I hated them there. Because of their sinful deeds, I will drive them out of my house. I will no longer love them; Ephraim is blightedall their leaders are rebellious…My God will reject them because they have not obeyed him; they will be wanderers among the nations.

This word, “…they will be wanderers among the nations” is still true to this very day! Ephraim/Israel lost his identity when dispersed and is only now being re-gathered by the Spirit of God. They are beginning to return to their Hebrew roots! These nations today have lost their way and are moving quickly towards apostasy.

N. Destruction of Baal cult prophesied 10.1-8 Israel is a ravaged vine; he produces fruit for himself. The more his fruit, the more altars he made; the richer his land, the better he made the sacred pillars. Their heart is faithless; now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their sacred pillars. Surely now they will say, “We have no king, for we do not revere the Lord. As for the king, what can he do for us?”…With worthless oaths they make covenants; and judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field. The inhabitants of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven…and its idolatrous priests will cry out over it…The thing itself will be carried to Assyria s tribute to King Jareb; Ephraim will be seized with shame and Israel will be ashamed of its own counsel…Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”

The more the nation prospered the further they turned away from God. They are apostate and vile. God is going to allow Assyria to carry them away. Note the crying out for the mountains to fall on us. Sounds like the book of Revelation. God is very patient but at some point His patience runs thin and judgment begins through foreign nations used as the instrument of chastisement. The attack on the World Trade Center was a warning from God to America. Our hedge of safety was breeched on that day. God is allowing our safety hedge to be broken as a warning to the nation. God is raising up a people who will understand and will be prepared to share God’s mercy with those who turn back to Him.

O. The sin at Gibeah 10.9-10 From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel; there they have continued. Shall not war overtake them in Gibeah? I will come against the wayward people to chastise them; and nations shall be gathered against them when they are chastised for their double iniquity.

The days of Gibeah refer to Judges 19-20 and the war with Benjamin. The nation experienced a civil war as God chastised them for the sins of the priests. God tells Israel that they are going to be chastised by a foreign nation for their sins just as in the days of the civil war detailed in Judges 19 - 20.

P. The ruin of Israel 10.11-15 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh grain; but I harnessed her fair neck, I will make Ephraim pull a plow…Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you. You have plowed wickedness; you have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, because you trusted in your own way, in the multitude of your mighty men. Therefore tumult shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be plundered…Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great wickedness. At dawn the king of Israel shall be cut off utterly.

Instead of plowing correctly, Israel the trained heifer, plows wickedness. Plowing is necessary for preparing the ground and planting the seed. The Lord is telling Israel to break up their hard ground--the hard ground in their hearts--but they refuse. You can see the Lord pleading with the nation--but to no avail. Chastisement/judgment is at the door! The ethical and moral code of the nation is deteriorating and God is warning them to turn from their ways to His.


NEXT: HOSEA PART 5