Hosea 8:1-14 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Hosea 8:1-14. Let’s go!
Hosea 8:1-14 (NIV)
1 “Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the LORD because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law.
2 Israel cries out to me, ‘O our God, we acknowledge you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him.
4 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.
5 Throw out your calf-idol, O Samaria! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity?
6 They are from Israel! This calf–a craftsman has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.
7 “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up.
8 Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like a worthless thing.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.
10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations, I will now gather them together. They will begin to waste away under the oppression of the mighty king.
11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning.
12 I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something alien.
13 They offer sacrifices given to me and they eat the meat, but the LORD is not pleased with them. Now he will remember their wickedness and punish their sins: They will return to Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; Judah has fortified many towns. But I will send fire upon their cities that will consume their fortresses.”
On verses 1-14: In these verses, Hosea gives his people a word of warning for breaking their covenant with God and rebelling against His law (v1). The images in verse 1 of sounding a trumpet and an eagle hovering over the house of the Lord are meant to communicate a sense of urgency and warning.
What does it mean when verse 7 says, “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind”? In this case “the wind” represents vain pursuits, anything that doesn’t have any eternal value. When I sow the wind, it means I’m chasing after vain things that don’t last. Are you sowing the wind?
How do you know if you’re sowing the wind? Hosea 8 identifies a number of ways that people can sow the wind:
1. We sow the wind when we give God lip service (v2-3).
Hosea 8:2-3 (NIV)
2 Israel cries out to me, ‘O our God, we acknowledge you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him.
Lip service to God (i.e. giving praise to God with your mouth but not your heart) won’t do you any good. An enemy will still pursue you even if you pay lip service to God.
2. We sow the wind when allow someone other than God to control us and rule over us (v4). That won’t do us any good either.
Hosea 8:4 (NIV)
4 They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval…
3. We sow the wind when we worship an idol (v4-6). Idol worship only leads to destruction — both for the idol and the idol worshiper.
Hosea 8:4-6 (NIV)
4 …With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction.
5 Throw out your calf-idol, O Samaria! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity?
6 They are from Israel! This calf–a craftsman has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.
4. We sow the wind when we take what belongs to God and use it for other purposes (v11).
Hosea 8:11 (NIV)
11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning.
5. We sow the wind when we try to build a kingdom for ourselves while forgetting about God’s kingdom (v14).
Hosea 8:14 (NIV)
14 Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces…
What happens when we sow the wind in any of these ways? We reap a whirlwind. That is, we reap destruction, chaos, confusion and other problems, much like the problems a hurricane brings. In particular, when we sow the wind, we reap:
– Fruitlessness (“The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up.” – v7)
– Hopelessness (“Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like a worthless thing.” – v8)
– Isolation (“For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey wandering alone.” – v9a)
– Selling yourself out to something or someone who is much less than the God you belong to (“Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.” – v9b)
– Destruction (“…They will begin to waste away under the oppression of the mighty king.” – v10; ” …Judah has fortified many towns. But I will send fire upon their cities that will consume their fortresses.” – v14b) In fact the sounding of the trumpet and the eagle hovering in verse 1 are both pictures of impending destruction.
– God’s Word will seem increasingly foreign to you (“I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something alien.” – v12)
– God is not pleased with the worship of those who sow the wind (v13).
What’s the lesson here? Be careful what you sow because what you sow and how you sow it will determine what you reap. Sow the wind, reap a whirlwind.
Father, I pray that I would not sow the wind, lest I reap a whirlwind. Instead, I pray that I would sow faith and reap maturity. I pray that I would sow into my relationship with You, and reap peace, purpose and wisdom. I pray that I would sow the Gospel into the lives of people around me and reap new believers. I pray that I would sow perseverance and reap the crown God has waiting for me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
