Hosea 4:1-19 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Hosea 4:1-19. Let’s go!
Hosea 4:1-3 (NIV)
1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying.
On verses 1-3: Hosea speaks of rampant sin in the land (v1-2). As a result, the land and all who live in it – not only people but animals as well – suffer (v3). This suggests that sin has this way of not just separating human beings from God, but also of bringing destruction and death to all of creation.
Hosea 4:4-5 (NIV)
4 “But let no man bring a charge, let no man accuse another, for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest.
5 You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother—
On verses 4-5: I find that other translations of verse 4 are a little clearer than the NIV. The NLT translates verse 4 this way: “Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you.” In other words, God was displeased with the priests of the time (v4) as well as the prophets (v5). When verse 5 says “I will destroy your mother”, scholars see that as a reference to the nation of Israel that brought forth these priests and prophets.
What can we learn from this? Before we point the finger at others, we need to look at ourselves and ask, “Are we the problem? Are we guilty of the very thing we accuse others of?”
Hosea 4:6-9 (NIV)
6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.
7 The more the priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful.
8 They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness.
9 And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.
On verses 6-9: Here God promises to hold the priests accountable for their sins. Similarly, don’t think that because we are called priests in God’s kingdom (1 Peter 2:5) that we are somehow excused or exempt from accountability. In fact, God holds us to a higher standard (James 3:1).
Hosea 4:10-14 (NIV)
10 “They will eat but not have enough; they will engage in prostitution but not increase, because they have deserted the LORD to give themselves to prostitution,
11 to old wine and new, which take away the understanding of my people.
12 They consult a wooden idol and are answered by a stick of wood. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth, where the shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
14 “I will not punish your daughters when they turn to prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because the men themselves consort with harlots and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes– a people without understanding will come to ruin!
On verses 10-14: Here Hosea describes how the Israelites engaged in divination (v12) and prostitution (v12b-14). In particular, verses 13-14 are likely describing how the Israelites worshiped at Canaanite shrines located on mountaintops, hills, and oak, poplar and terebinth trees. Believing that the sexual union of the Canaanite gods of Baal and Asherah produced fertility and good harvests, worshipers of Baal and Asherah would practice “sympathetic magic”, engaging in sex with one another as a way to get their gods to have sex with one another. This became the basis for religious prostitution where male priests acting as Baal and female priestesses acting as Asherah would have sex with worshipers in the name of Asherah and Baal to produce a harvest. By engaging in these practices, the Israelite women and men took God’s wonderful gift of sex and twisted it into a religious form of prostitution and idolatry.
Hosea 4:15-19 (NIV)
15 “Though you commit adultery, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty. “Do not go to Gilgal; do not go up to Beth Aven. And do not swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
16 The Israelites are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. How then can the LORD pasture them like lambs in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!
18 Even when their drinks are gone, they continue their prostitution; their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
19 A whirlwind will sweep them away, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.
On verses 15-19: Here Hosea warns the nation of Judah not to follow in Israel’s footsteps of adultery and idolatry. They were to leave Ephraim (a nickname for Israel) alone (v17).
What can we learn from this? When you see those close to you sinning, don’t follow in their footsteps. Resolve to obey and honour God regardless of what else is going on around you.
Father, You alone are holy and blameless. May I be careful not to point the finger at others when I do the same things. May I be humble to repent of those ways that I have been unfaithful to You and turned from You to worship idols. Regardless of what else is going on around me, may I be faithful to obey and honour You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
