Hosea Chapters 8-11
This section includes several specific illustrations of the nation’s rebellious attitude and announces God’s coming judgment. “If there is one theme that unifies the diversity of this chapter, it is that of Israel’s dangerous self-reliance, with its self-appointed kings, its man-made calf, its expensive allies, its own version of religion, and its impressive fortresses” (Kidner p. 75). 8:1 The chapter begins with a note of alarm. A trumpet must be blown to signal an impending battle. The Assyrians are ready to swoop down on Israel like a powerful eagle. The reason for this judgment is the fact that Israel has transgressed His covenant, that is, they have rebelled against His laws. This book should serve as a warning in our own time, when we often hear people saying that obedience to the Scriptures is not a necessary requirement to end up saved (Matthew 7:21). 8:2 “We of Israel know Thee!”: In a time of desperation as the nation was facing destruction it appears that many Israelites will finally cry out to God and claim an intimate knowledge and association with God. Or, this maybe the type of thing that the unbelieving said during the time of Christ, “Abraham is our Father” (John 8:33; 9:28). “The divine reply is virtually the same in both instances: your actions drown your words. And in case we point the finger too easily at proud Israelites and Jews, the same test is applied to us: ‘He who says “I know Him” but disobeys His commandments is a liar’” (Kidner p. 76). 8:3 God has a sharp rebuke for such people. Israel only has a superficial knowledge of God and Israel cannot really know or love God because Israel has rejected what is good. The term good is everything that God stands for as well as God Himself. It isn’t enough to claim to know God, our lives, attitudes, words and deeds must prove that we really love Him (“They profess to know God, by their deeds they deny Him..” Titus 1:16). 1
8:4 “They have set up kings, but not by Me”: That is kings not ordained by prophets, or kings who gained the throne through violence. In these words God completely disassociates Himself from the political establishment in Israel. Such illegal dynasties in turn produced illegal worship practices. The Hebrew makes the “they” here emphatic, “They are doing everything for themselves, but not for God”, whether it is politics, religion, diplomacy or defense. Compare with Psalm 127:1. “That cry is echoed wherever the voice of the people (“Not this man, but Barabbas!” John 18:40), drowns out the voice of God; where we set up leaders and regimes supposedly answerable only to ourselves; where we treat even the moral law as subject to the vote or to the climate of opinion” (Kidner p. 77). 8:5 As Israel felt a disgust for the things of God, God was disgusted with what they valued, like their golden calves. Yet, in Israel the “golden calves” were without question, they were viewed as being beyond challenge—much like the modern theory of evolution. “How long will they be incapable of innocence?”: The expression How long indicates that these people could change, but they don’t want to change. “Purity and innocence before God can be obtained only from the Lord in answer to penitent prayer (Psalm 51; Isaiah 1:18). And they persistently refuse to turn to the Lord, but cling to their self-chosen worship” (Laestch p. 69). 8:6 Israel had cried out to God, “We know Thee”, and God has responded, that they don’t know Him, rather what they do know is evil, illegal dynasties and illegal worship. Notice the argument that the calf in Samaria cannot represent God seeing that a man made it. 8:7 “They sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind”: To sow to the wind is to be involved in endeavors that are completely useless. Their political policy (trust in human alliances rather than trust in God), their religion (idols, instead of the true God), was all sowing to the wind. They will reap a tornado, a cyclone of God’s judgment. “Who would ever try to sow wind? After carefully plowing the soil and harrowing it, here is a man trying to grasp wind and sow it” (Laetsch p. 69). All their efforts will produce no “head”, nothing that will stand the ravages of time. If there is an occasional bud or sprout, it will yield no grain, i.e., food worthy of the name. “Sow the wind…reap the whirlwind has become so much a part of our language that we may miss the surprise of it here. Hearing it for the first time, we should expect the reaping to be simply negative: ‘put nothing in, and you’ll get nothing out’. Instead, the harvest is positive disaster, as in Paul’s sequence: ‘he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap’— 2
not disappointment, but ‘corruption’ (Galatians 6:8)—for there are no halfmeasures in the end” (Kidner p. 79). False religious systems can often look very profitable and successful. Evidently the calf-worship in Israel was very successful and popular among the people. Yet eventually all such systems will be judged by God, and everything that people put into them will be found to be completely futile (Matthew 7:22-23). 8:8 “They are now among the nations”: Which could mean that at the time that Hosea spoke, Israel was frantically sending ambassadors to various nations in search of help. 8:9 God viewed the turning to nations for help as spiritual adultery. How about us? When we need help do we turn first to God or is God the last person to whom we turn? “Israel’s attempt to ally with Assyria could be compared to the wandering of a wild donkey, an animal well known for its desire to be independent of all restrictions (Job 39:5-8)” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1397). 8:10 Such alliances will not save them from God’s judgment. The irony is that Assyria, the nation they were bribing to help them, would be the nation that God used to punish them. The burden of the king of princes is probably the yearly tribute required by the Assyrian king. “Guile and duplicity in any field, political, commercial or personal, are equally perilous tactics to adopt. Dabbling in evil, we may be amateur; but we are playing with professionals who will make short work of us (Ephesians 6:12)” (Kidner p. 80). 8:11 Worshipping false gods only accomplishes the increase of sin. In addition, “the popular idea seems to have been that if the Lord was pleased with sacrifice from one altar, He would be even more pleased with multiple sacrifices” (Smith p. 251). If we refuse to repent, then every time we worship God under such pretense, we are only multiplying our sins. Doing religious things is not a substitute for changing our lives or forsaking things that are wrong. In addition, being enthusiastic in worship also does not make up for teaching false doctrine either. This is not simply worship that is pointless or valueless, rather it is positively insulting to God and is only “attracting the very judgment it is supposed to avert” (Kidner p. 81). 8:12 “Though I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My law”: The expression ten thousand probably stands for the fullness and completeness of God’s law. In addition, this statement reveals that Israel was in possession of God’s law and that law was written down and accessible. God had described in 3
great detail the manner, time, and place of His worship. In addition, such details were often repeated in many places in God’s law. Yet Israel regarded the Scriptures as something strange or foreign. “Thus God had given His law in abundant detail so that the people were wholly without excuse” (Gaebelein p. 202). Among congregations that have departed from the truth we see the same scenario unfolding. Today many professed believers are completely ignorant in reference to basic truths about baptism, the Lord’s Supper, assembling, the local church, her organizational structure, mission, and worship. The details in God’s law are there to be followed! “There is no meeting of minds, divine and human; still less of wills” (Kidner p. 81). In modern times this is seen in people who view Scripture as a kind of “incantation”, something to be recited, but not obeyed. 8:13 Their sacrifices served only to recall to God’s mind the wickedness and hypocrisy of an unfaithful people who were still claiming to be His people. “The people shall go to Egypt, here a symbol of captivity and exile, for the northern tribes actually ended up in Assyria (2 Kings 15:29; 17:6). What and end to their story! The story started with the Exodus—and it would end in another Exodus— in the opposite direction. 8:14 Israel and Judah are alike, in their base ingratitude, forgetting their Maker to whom they owed all they had. Instead of trusting in Him, they built great buildings, temples, palaces, fortresses. God will bring all such things to an end.
Chapter 9 9:1 The people were enjoying a period of temporary prosperity that had led them to premature rejoicing. “It is possible that for a moment the Assyrians had lifted their threat against Israel (2 Kings 15:19-20)” (Hailey p. 164). Like many people today, they assumed that material prosperity was proof that they were right with God. They were walking by sight and abundant harvests reinforced their belief that worshipping various fertility gods was a wise thing to do. “It seems that Israel had been granted a bountiful harvest (v. 2). This they regarded as a token of God’s favor; proof positive that the prophets of doom had been mistaken…we may conclude that the harvest festivals also were occasions for boisterous festivities in honor of the fertility deities and that they committed at the threshing floors and the wine presses the shameful immoralities against which Hosea and Amos so vehemently protest. The rich harvest does not change the fact that judgment is near. It is rather a call to repentance (Romans 2:4ff)” (Laestch p. 73). 4
9:2 Such prosperity is only temporary. God would take away the prosperity that they had attributed to Baal and other false gods. 9:3 As a result Israel would lose her freedom. God reminds them that the land they occupy belongs to Him! “Israel was merely a tenant permitted to dwell in that land on the condition of remaining faithful to the Lord” (Smith p. 254). In captivity they would be forced to eat unclean food. “The punishment fit the crime. Israel had become defiled by her sin, how appropriately, then, that she eat defiled food in a defiled land” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1398). 9:4 Since Israel had refused to worship God according to His will, they would be removed to a nation in which they couldn’t worship acceptably. There would be no temple in Assyria (Deut. 12:5-14). Therefore, if they tried to sacrifice, their sacrifices would be like the bread of mourners (Deut. 26:14), that is unclean and unacceptable, like food touched by a mourner defiled by a dead body (Numbers 19:22). 9:5 On the day designed in the Law for such festivals as Passover, they would be completely unable to observe such a festival. Do we take having the truth for granted? Do we take being able to worship God in the manner He prescribed as a burden? “To us in our secular age it may seem odd that God should expect ‘religious’ warnings to have much impact on a set of people as far gone in sin as Israel was…Religion, to them, penetrated everything except the conscience. It was a charm against trouble…It also gave you an identity: you, your people, your traditions, your native soil…all these were a close-knit structure whose disintegration would leave you totally adrift. The one thing missing was the very heart of true religion, the loyal love that alone could make God’s covenantpartner a true wife to Him. As it was, His will held not the slightest interest for her: her only loyalty was to her appetites. The harsh word ‘harlot’ was no exaggeration” (Kidner pp. 84-85). 9:6 Destruction would sweep over the land. “Memphis , about 20 miles south of modern Cario, was famous as a burial place. Here it symbolizes the ultimate destination of the exiles—a foreign graveyard. Few would ever return to their homeland (Jeremiah 44:1-14). Meanwhile back in Israel the exile’s possessions and homes would lie in ruins and would be overgrown by biers and thorns (Hosea 10:8)” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1399).
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9:7 “The prophet is a fool”: This could be what the common people thought of prophets like Hosea. Because of the depth of their sins, the Israelites were accusing inspired men of being crazy and insane. “Israel has sunk so deep into sin that the people considered the prophet who warned them a madman and a fool” (Gaebelein p. 204). Remember, Jesus told His disciples to expect a prophets persecution (Matthew 5:12). “While rejection is a prophet’s honor, it is a people’s doom” (Kidner p. 86). Compare with Acts 26:24; John 7:20; 8:48. 9:8-9 Apparently, the people were trying to entrap the prophets. Or, the nation of Israel had become a watchman or spy against God and His messengers. This statement reminds me of many religious teachers who instead of being friends of God and the Bible, they are enemies. Instead of helping people have confidence and trust in the Word of God, they do everything they can to undermine confidence in Scripture of the ability for any common man to interpret it. “When Hosea looked for an experience in the history of the people with which to compare the depth of their present corruption, he appealed to the conduct of their fathers in the days of Gibeah, when one of the tribes was all but exterminated because of its wickedness (Judges 19-20)” (Hailey p. 166). “As for the depth of Israel’s guilt, the mere mention of ‘Gibeah’ is measurement enough, for its story in Judges 19-21 leaves Sodom and Gomorrah with nothing they could teach this city, whose depravity at that period was only equaled by its arrogance” (Kidner p. 87). 9:10 God refers to the early days of Israel’s history as He does in 10:1 and 11:1. In the freshness of Israel’s youth God had found them. “And as one delights in the first ripe figs of the early summer after a long season of no fresh fruit, so Jehovah had looked upon His chosen ones” (Hailey p. 166). “Grapes, unusual in the desert, are a special delight” (Gaebelein p. 206). God had viewed Israel as a prized possession, but how had they treated Him? Things soon changed. Even before they entered the Promised Land, the people had gravitated towards the worship of Baal (Numbers 25:3-18). “Delight and anticipation could hardly be more vividly expressed than in this opening reminiscence of the Lord’s great early venture with His people…the Lord’s zest and enjoyment” (Kidner p. 88). God was truly excited about Israel’s potential. 9:10 “They became as detestable as that which they loved”: You will become like what you prize above everything else. Some people think they can dabble in sin and yet remain unaffected, but your object of worship will either make you better or worse (Matthew 6:21ff). “He points out that what you give yourself to, you not only come to resemble (Psalm 115:8), but you make common cause with 6
it. If it is an abomination to God, so, appallingly, are you; it its second name is ‘shame’, so is yours” (Kidner p. 88). 9:11-12 The glory that God had given to Israel, through making her a fine nation after He had found her in the wilderness, was to take wings like a bird. The phrase, No birth, no pregnancy, no conception is a terse way of saying Israel’s population would decrease. Even if children were born they would die before reaching adulthood (Deut. 32:25). The quickest thing to depart when one goes into sin is “glory”—“whether in the sense of self-respect, or of reputation, or, more profoundly, of the glory of God’s presence” (Kidner p. 88). 9:13-14 God had given Israel an advantageous and pleasant location in the world. “All caravan trade between Egypt and countries to the north had to pass through her land” (Gaebelein p. 206). Yet, she had been completely ungrateful, and such ingratitude deserves a severe judgment. The key as to why many people will end up lost, is that they were ungrateful concerning all that God had done for them (Romans 1:21 “or give thanks”). Consider the awful consequences of departing from God, both natural (like disease), and becoming truly friendless, but also, supernatural, that is, God sees the punishment all the way through to the end. 9:15-17 By persisting in sin, we can make ourselves the objects of God’s hatred rather than His love. The idea that God continues to view me as a faithful child no matter how I live isn’t true. Apparently, by this time Gilgal had become a major center of false and immoral worship. Every nation has its celebrated spots, but in Israel all these famous locations had become corrupted with idolatry. Clearly here we have the language of a “break-off” of relations between God and Israel, He is going to drive the unfaithful wife “out of the house”. Chapter 10 10:1 Like many people today, Israel spent her prosperity on herself. Prosperity was prostituted to the purposes of idolatry. The pillars were symbols of the goddess Asherah. “The more God caused Israel to prosper in Canaan, the more Israel fell into idolatry” (Smith p. 259). In studying the apostasies that happened in the church in this century, Ed Harrell noted that often division happened along socio-economic lines. That is, those who wanted to embrace unauthorized practices were often congregations in more prosperous regions of the country. See the booklet called “The Emergence of the Church of Christ Denomination”. The more God did for them the more they misapplied it, the more they 7
prospered, the more they merged with their environment. The same thing happens to churches today. 10:2 The cause of their apostasy was a heart that wasn’t right. The side reference notes that the term faithless means “smooth”. That is, a deceitful and hypocritical attitude. Paul noted that people will perish because they did not receive the love of the truth (2 Thess. 2:10-12), and Jesus noted that the reason people receive the gospel or don’t receive it is the condition of their heart (Luke 8). 10:3 “We might well wonder whether arrogance or apathy is the greater to two evils for a nation…When heaven is considered empty (‘we fear not the Lord’), words and promises soon follow suit, and justice, so-called, becomes a parody of its true self—no longer towering impartially above the strong and the weak, but earthbound and tortuous, springing from the thoughts and policies of the moment; no longer a force for good and for the nation’s health, but a source of poison” (Kidner p. 93). 10:4 Their lack of loyalty towards God flowed over into very little loyalty with each other. We cannot be faithful to our fellowman if we are faithless in reference to God. The people have very little respect for legal agreements, or any kind of covenant. In our own society we find people having very little respect for marriage vows, financial contracts and so on. 10:5-7 The calf-idol located at Beth-Aven (i.e. Bethel), would be carried away by the victorious Assyrian army, causing great consternation among its worshipers. “Like a twig floating on the waters the nation would be swept away by the current and brought to ruin” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1401). Apparently, the Israelites had placed a tremendous amount of confidence in the ability of the golden calf to deliver them. “But the last word on human arrogance and independence is reserved for the end of the verse” (Kidner p. 95). 10:8 “Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”: “The people of Israel would pray for swift death so as to avoid the pains and terrors of Assyrian conquest and captivity” (Smith p. 261). Instead of seeking God’s mercy, they simply want to die. Jesus said that the inhabitants of Jerusalem would say a similar thing when God brought judgment upon that city in A.D. 70 (Luke 23:30). Compare with Revelation 6:16. Obviously, hell is not annihilation, rather, it is so dreadful that the wicked will wish for a complete destruction.
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10:9-10 Once more Gibeah is mentioned, where the atrocious crime recorded in Judges 19 and 20 was committed. The thought seems to be that since the gang rape in this city the nation of Israel had defiantly continued in the same basic rebellion against God. 10:11 A trained heifer was treated with every kindness by its owner. “The only task required of her was the pleasant and easy one of walking round and round the threshing floor, a task which carried with it the privilege of eating as much as the animal wished” (Smith pp. 261-262). But all of this is going to change. God was about to place on the nation a very hard yoke (of captivity). 10:12 In view of such threats, the people should sow righteousness. “Just as plowing is hard work, so it would be hard for the people to change their lifestyle; but they must do so” (Gaebelein p. 211). Even in the midst of coming judgment, God is still holding out the chance to change. “Fallow ground is woodland that is to be plowed for the first time. Such land, usually overgrown with weeds and brambles, must not be seeded after the first plowing, but must be worked and reworked until all or most of the weeds have been killed” (Laestch p. 85). Like the Israelites, too many people today seem to be just waiting for some feeling to come and remove their sinful desires. But repentance is hard work, it demands strenuous, sacrificial, and painful efforts. The apostles spoke of repentance as putting to death the old man and crucifying self (Galatians 5:24). 10:13 Israel was trusting in the words spoken by her false prophets and national advisors and in her military strength. 10:14-15 The statement at dawn suggests that the last king of Israel will be cut off suddenly. The name Shalman is probably a contracted form of the name Shalmaneser. There were two Assyrian kings by this name. The city of Betharbel was located west of the Sea of Galilee. Evidently, at some time previous to chapter 10 the Assyrians had made a campaign and captured this city, which included intense cruelty. What happened here was a wakeup call, a warning, such would happen to Israel.
Chapter 11
11:1 “When Israel was a youth I loved him”: Once again, God recalls Israel’s early history. At the beginning, God had displayed His love for this nation by 9
delivering them from Egyptian bondage. God is not punishing this nation because He is mean or cruel, but because they have been so ungrateful and rebellious in spite of His many blessings. Here we see the heart of God. It must have caused Him tremendous pain to punish a nation which He had loved so much. This verse had its final fulfillment when God called Jesus out of Egypt (Matthew 2:15). 11:2 God continued to call this nation through many prophets, but the more He pleaded with them, exhorted them and encouraged them, the farther way they moved from Him. “They responded to God’s call for obedience by plunging all the more into idolatry” (Smith p. 264). 11:3 God had been to Israel a very loving and patient Father, like a father patiently teaching a young child to walk. He taught Israel right from wrong, helped the nation get on its feet and healed the nation after times of judgment. Yet, through all of this the people failed to recognized God’s kindness, mercy, and intervention. Compare this with what often happened in the book of Judges. In like manner, God has taught us how to walk. We were born into homes with faithful Christians or we were brought out of the world through patient and persistent teaching. People grounded us in the truth, strengthened us with their encouragement, time, patience, and Scripture. How would we look if we then turned from and departed from such a good solid biblical foundation? 11:4 God dealt gently with the nation. “The yoke was sometimes lifted away from the face of the ox so that it might eat more comfortably…Bent down to feed them presents a beautiful picture of God’s gracious condescension in His loving provision for His undeserving people” (Gaebelein pp. 212-213). 11:5-7 Israel had responded to the Lord’s kindness with ingratitude. And just as ungrateful is the person who was taught the truth but does not live the Christian life. The people had become bent on turning from God. God pleaded with them through the prophets, but nobody responded. 11:8 Here is a vivid picture of God’s grief. In view of such a passage I believe that God is greatly offended when people complain about rebellious people ending up in hell. God feels far more pain over the loss of a soul—then we do! Adman and Zeboiim were two cities in the plain overthrown with Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 14:2).
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11:9 Though Israel will be punished severely, the nation will not be destroyed completely. Oh, how often have we failed to see God’s mercy! The very fact that we are still alive after sinning is proof that God is merciful. Sadly, when some people talk about mercy or forgiveness, it seems they are demanding a forgiveness that removes every physical, emotion, mental, or social consequence of their sins. 11:9 “For I am God and not man”: Israel deserved complete destruction a thousand-fold. Man is often ruled by passion, or is too lenient or too strict. But God is the perfect blend of justice and mercy. 11:10-11 In the future His people would come trembling before Him seeking His mercy. It would appear that this reference applies to Jews and Gentiles who would come to Jesus Christ. 11:12 Yet, in the immediate present God is treated with extreme disrespect by His own professed people. “The reference is to the hypocrisy with which Israel still claimed to be the people of God in the midst of their idolatry” (Smith p. 269).
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