Hosea 7:1-16 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Hosea 7:1-16. Let’s go!
Hosea 7:1-2 (NIV)
1 “Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed. They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets;
2 but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.
On verses 1-2: These verses describe how every time God would restore and heal Israel, Israel (also known as Ephraim) would take God’s mercy for granted and go back to its same old sins again. Examples of those sins include deceit, thievery, robbery (v1), lying (v3), adultery (v4), and one more sin we will describe below.
What can we learn from this? No matter how much God helps you, if you keep choosing to go back to old patterns of sin, your spiritual life will be an endless cycle of getting into trouble, asking God for help, receiving that help, and getting back into the same kind of trouble, and asking God for help again. God did not make you to go in circles, but to move forward, to go from strength to strength, and glory to glory.
Hosea 7:3-4 (NIV)
3 “They delight the king with their wickedness, the princes with their lies.
4 They are all adulterers, burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it rises.
On verses 3-4: In chapter 4, God went after corrupt priests. Now in chapter 7 He’s going after the corrupt king and princes. Whereas the king and his princes probably thought they were above any kind of accountability, God saw all their corruption and will call them on it. When God gives you any kind of power, be careful not to abuse it but to use it for God’s glory.
Hosea 7:5-9 (NIV)
5 On the day of the festival of our king the princes become inflamed with wine, and he joins hands with the mockers.
6 Their hearts are like an oven; they approach him with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven; they devour their rulers. All their kings fall, and none of them calls on me.
8 “Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is a flat cake not turned over.
9 Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice.
On verses 5-9: There is another sin that the Israelites kept falling back into and which these verses describe in great detail. It’s the sin of allowing the wrong crowd to influence them (v3-11). Hosea cites two examples of this. First, he saw that Israel’s kings were hanging out with clowns and eventually acting like them (v5-7). Second, he saw that the “easily distracted and senseless” Israelites were allowing other nations who did not worship the same God to influence their beliefs (v8-11).
What can we learn from this? Be careful who you allow to influence your life. When a Christian allows the wrong crowd to influence them, that Christian will go astray. The wrong crowd will “sap his strength, but he does not realize it.” (v9a) That Christian will lose their youthful vigor and innocence (“his hair is sprinkled with gray” -v9b) in the process.
Are you allowing the wrong crowd to influence you? In particular, there are two wrong crowds you should be careful not to be influenced by.
First, beware the influence of people who claim to be Christians but who are habitually unloving and disrespectful toward God and their church family. Hanging out too much with them or allowing them to influence you will only do you harm. It will cause you to become more and more of a cynic, a critic, a consumer (instead of a giver) and a hypocrite. Instead, be influenced by people who genuinely love Jesus and His church.
Second, beware being influenced too much by unbelievers. Don’t get me wrong. We are called to spend time with our unchurched friends. We are called to love them and to lead them to Jesus. But when you’re hanging out with your unchurched friends, be conscious of who is influencing who more.
By the way, when Hosea calls Israel “a flat cake not turned over” (v8), what does he mean? The image of a flat cake not turned over suggests any or all of the following:
– the Israelites Hosea is talking about are an unfinished product. hough they act as if they have it altogether, they are immature;
– the Israelites Hosea is talking about are neither here nor there. Instead of being either hot or cold, they are lukewarm in their commitment to the LORD;
– the leaders of Israel have not led well, thus leaving the people in their half-baked state.
Hosea 7:10-13 (NIV)
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this he does not return to the LORD his God or search for him.
11 “Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless– now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria.
12 When they go, I will throw my net over them; I will pull them down like birds of the air. When I hear them flocking together, I will catch them.
13 Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak lies against me.
On verses 10-13: Throughout his book Hosea uses many figures of speech to describe Israel. Earlier Hosea likened the Israelites’ love of God to a morning mist (Hosea 6:4). He called the Israelites a half-baked cake (Hosea 7:8). Now Hosea likens the Israelites to a deceived and senseless dove, easily distracted, fickle, never truly putting their hope in God and often changing loyalties from one foreign nation to another (v10). So God is going to call the Israelites to account (v12) for the way they have strayed from Him and rebelled against Him (v13).
What can we learn from this? God will call to account those who, after committing their lives to Him, go back to a life of persistent and intentional rebellion against Him. While a fresh batch of God’s grace is always waiting for us when we sin, those hard hearted ones who abuse that grace and who treat it as a licence to keep sinning will eventually face destruction. As verse 13b says, God longs to redeem us, but there’s nothing He can do if we ourselves persist in sin and refuse to turn back to Him.
Hosea 7:14-16 (NIV)
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail upon their beds. They gather together for grain and new wine but turn away from me.
15 I trained them and strengthened them, but they plot evil against me.
16 They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.
On verses 14-16: Here Hosea identifies 3 other mistakes the Israelites kept making that we must be careful not to keep making:
– Don’t play the victim by throwing pity parties for yourself. Instead, cry out to God and look to God for help (v14a).
– Beware gathering together with others just because you like the social aspect of meeting people, hanging out with people and eating with people. Everywhere you go, have a heart for God, to see Him glorified (v14b).
– Don’t repay God’s grace with rebellion, disrespect and rudeness (v15-16).
Father, thank You for how You have mercy on me time and again. May my life not be a boring cycle of sinning, asking for Your help and then falling back into the same sins again. May I be wiser and more interesting than that. Having received Your grace, may I move forward, grow spiritually, get stronger, and go from strength to strength. Please give me wisdom about who I allow to influence the direction of my life. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
