Review
Last week in chapters 9 and the first few verses of chapter 10.
Hosea prophesied the end of the good life in Israel.
Hosea 9:1-4 (HCSB)1 Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly as the nations do, for you have acted promiscuously, leaving your God. You have loved the wages of a prostitute on every grain-threshing floor.2 Threshing floor and wine vat will not sustain them, and the new wine will fail them.3 They will not stay in the land of the LORD. Instead, Ephraim will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.4 They will not pour out their wine offerings to the LORD, and their sacrifices will not please Him. Their ⌊food⌋ will be like the bread of mourners; all who eat it become defiled. For their bread will be for their appetites ⌊alone⌋; it will not enter the house of the LORD.
What would eventually happen to Israel's worship?
When they went into exile they wouldn’t have anything to sacrifice to God or to their idols either.
Not only would God curse their grain and grape harvest, but He would also cast them out of the land in exile to both Egypt and Assyria. In the lands of exile there would be no bread or food for sacrifice to the LORD, only for survival.
The nation would, during their exile become barren and there would be sorrow the direct opposite of what they were experiencing which was prosperity, while playing the harlot with insincere worship of God while worshiping the fertility idols.
Chapter 9 Verse 11 - no birth, no gestation, no conception.
Verse 12 - Even if they raise children, I will bereave them of each one.
Verse 13 - Ephraim will bring out his children to the executioner.
Verse 14 - Hosea prays Give them a womb that miscarries and breasts that are dry!
Verse 16 - their roots are withered; they cannot bear fruit. Even if they bear children, I will kill the precious offspring of their wombs.
God had blessed Israel with material abundance, but they spent it on themselves and their own idolatrous desires . Israel enjoyed the blessing of God, but used those blessings in ungodly ways.
Hosea 10:1-2 (HCSB)1 Israel is a lush vine; it yields fruit for itself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better they made the sacred pillars.2 Their hearts are devious; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and demolish their sacred pillars.
This week continuing our study of Chapter 10
The Empty Throne
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| Deportation of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrian Empire. |
Hosea 10:3-8 (KJV)3 For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us?4 They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.5 The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.6 It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.7 As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water.8 The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.
Hosea predicted in that Israel would be taken into exile in Assyria and that Samaria and its king will vanish.
Under the judgment of the LORD, foreign powers dominated Israel so they no longer had their own king. Even the idols they honored and trusted so much will be taken to foreign lands as treasure for foreign kings.
Israel's kings were not able to stop what was going on with the nation and they would not be able to stop the invading armies.
They would see their precious idols destroyed and even taken as spoils of war to Assyria. When it says that the priests rejoiced on it, it probably refers to a ritual dance performed by the idolatrous priests, during which they implored their idol to save them and himself.
The calf would be taken from Bethel unto Assyria, where it would be presented to king Jareb, or "the fighting king." Remember Beth-aven is what God and Hosea now called Bethel. That’s the place where Jacob had the dream with the ladder going to heaven and he call it the house of God or Bethel. Beth-aven is house of iniquity.
When they come back from exile, the once-busy pagan altars of Israel are now overgrown with thorns and thistles. This is the result of Israel's rejection of the LORD and embrace of pagan gods.
Here is what happened at the end of the Northern Kingdom.
2 Kings 17:1-6 (HCSB)1 In the twelfth year of Judah’s King Ahaz, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria ⌊and reigned⌋ nine years.2 He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute money.4 But the king of Assyria discovered Hoshea’s conspiracy. He had sent envoys to So king of Egypt and had not paid tribute money to the king of Assyria as in previous years. Therefore the king of Assyria arrested him and put him in prison.5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He deported the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah and by the Habor, Gozan’s river, and in the cities of the Medes.
Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked Israel during the reign of its last king, Hoshea. Shalmaneser deported the Israelites and imported his own people. The Bible is clear that this happened because of Israel's idolatry.
If you read through verse 20 it tells you why this happens and it reads just like the things that we have been reading in Hosea about Israel's idolatry.
2 Kings 17:7-20 (HCSB)7 ⌊This disaster⌋ happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt and because they had worshiped other gods.8 They had lived according to the customs of the nations that the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites and the customs the kings of Israel had introduced.9 The Israelites secretly did what was not right against the LORD their God. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower to fortified city.10 They set up for themselves sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.11 They burned incense on all the high places just like those nations that the LORD had driven out before them. They did evil things, provoking the LORD.12 They served idols, although the LORD had told them, “You must not do this.”13 Still, the LORD warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commands and statutes according to all the law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through My servants the prophets.”14 But they would not listen. Instead they became obstinate like their ancestors who did not believe the LORD their God.15 They rejected His statutes and His covenant He had made with their ancestors and the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, following the surrounding nations the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.16 They abandoned all the commands of the LORD their God. They made cast images for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole. They worshiped the whole heavenly host and served Baal.17 They made their sons and daughters pass through the fire and practiced divination and interpreted omens. They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the LORD’s sight and provoked Him.18 Therefore, the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained.19 Even Judah did not keep the commands of the LORD their God but lived according to the customs Israel had introduced.20 So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and handed them over to plunderers until He had banished them from His presence.
God's counsel to sinful Israel.
Hosea 10:9-11 (HCSB)9 Israel, you have sinned since the days of Gibeah; they have taken their stand there. Will not war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah?10 I will discipline them at My discretion; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bondage for their two crimes.11 Ephraim is a well-trained calf that loves to thresh, but I will place a yoke on her fine neck. I will harness Ephraim; Judah will plow; Jacob will do the final plowing.
Israel's sin at Gibeah found many echoes in subsequent history. Israel had taken vengeance on the Benjamites for the outrage at Gibeah, but the wickedness perpetrated there entered the life of all Israel. - The Wycliffe Bible Commentary.
Judgement would come when and how God decided. The two crimes, is difficult to explain, it may just mean their rejection of the Lord and the Davidic line, when the kingdom split.
Like unruly cattle, God will control and guide Israel and Jacob, even if they kick against Him.
The Assyrians will carry them captive, and use them to hard service and bondage, as a heifer being driven hard. Judah won't escape either, although not as tough as Israel. Judah would go into exile but the promise that they would be delivered after 70 years, Israel had no promise of return just that they would be reunited with Judah. As we discussed earlier in the study it appears that will not happen until Jesus' Second Advent when the church which includes all people will be a part of that reunion.
God tells Israel to break up the hard ground of their heart.
Hosea 10:12 (HCSB)12 Sow righteousness for yourselves and reap faithful love; break up your unplowed ground. It is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness on you like the rain.
Israel had sown the seed of sin, and they would soon reap judgment from God. But if they would sow righteousness, they would reap in mercy at the next harvest.
Galatians 6:7-9 (HCSB)7 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap,8 because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.9 So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.
God builds on the picture of sowing and reaping by telling Israel to break up your fallow ground - ground that hasn't been plowed for more than a year. It is ground that is hard and stubborn, resistant to the seed. It does little good to sow seed on fallow ground; it must be broken up first.
Sometimes when the word of God goes forth and seems to have little effect, it is because it falls on the hard ground that will not allow the seed of the word to penetrate and become fruitful.
Matthew 13:3, 5-6 (HCSB)3 Then He told them many things in parables, saying: “Consider the sower who went out to sow.5 Others fell on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil, and they sprang up quickly since the soil wasn’t deep.6 But when the sun came up they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered.
We break up the fallow ground by seeking the LORD, not our self or idols. We should continue to break up the fallow ground and sow seeds of righteousness until the harvest comes.
Israel had abandoned her early love for the Lord. How do you perceive that abandonment of God has affected our nation and culture?
Crime, violence, homosexuality, sexual immorality, fraud, on and on.
God tells Israel the terrible result of resisting Him.
Hosea 10:13-15 (HCSB)13 You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in your large number of soldiers,14 the roar of battle will rise against your people, and all your fortifications will be demolished in a day of war, like Shalman’s destruction of Beth-arbel. Mothers will be dashed to pieces along with ⌊their⌋ children.15 So it will be done to you, Bethel, because of your extreme evil. At dawn the king of Israel will be totally destroyed.
How is Israel's purpose as a people contrasted with the way they lived?
God’s purpose in choosing Israel was for them to be a model nation to other nations and that through them “all the families of the earth” would be blessed
Genesis 12:1-3 (HCSB)1 The LORD said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
He wanted Israel to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”
Exodus 19:6 (HCSB)6 and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”
But because of the way they lived, Israel had sown the seed of sin, and they would soon reap judgment from God.
What did God challenge Israel to do, and what did he promise them?
He challenged them to seek Him (Sow righteousness) and He promised that if they would but turn to God, they would find him merciful.
This is the essence of all sin. We trust in our own way instead of in God's way. Ruin always comes when we trust in our own way instead of God's way, and that ruin was about to come upon Israel.
Hosea 10:12 (HCSB)12 Sow righteousness for yourselves and reap faithful love; break up your unplowed ground. It is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness on you like the rain.
On a more personal level, what are some areas where you have some divided loyalties between the Lord and other things?
Chapter 11
In chapter 11 we are going to learn about the character of God as He related to Israel and how He relates to us today.
In this passage God speaks some of the tenderest "human" language in the book of Hosea. These images reveal God's heart and his attitude toward humanity just as much as the images of judgment we have talked about in the earlier chapters, where He would remove them from the land and take away their grain, livestock, their piece, where there would be bareness. .
Israel: Called by God and called by the Baals and God's tender love for an unseeing Israel.
Hosea 11:1-4 (HCSB)1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.2 ⌊The more⌋ they called them, ⌊the more⌋ they departed from Me. They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them in My arms, but they never knew that I healed them.4 I led them with human cords, with ropes of love. To them I was like one who eases the yoke from their jaws; I bent down to give them food.
Centuries earlier that the time that Hosea was prophesying, Israel had followed God out of Egypt in the exodus. How does God describe his care for the Israelites during that time ?
God remembers His tender love for Israel, when more than 500 years before the time of Hosea He brought them out of Egypt.
The picture is of a parent teaching a child how to walk by holding the child's arms and supporting the child as they make their awkward steps.
Even when God draws His people, it is with gentle cords of love, not with harsh manipulation or coercion. God wants to win us over, but not will brute force.
God does so much for His people that they are unaware of. Often we attribute some blessing directly from the hand of God to some other source; our own intellect, luck, being in the right place at the right time, etc.
God humbled Himself to minister to His needy people. One might almost think it is beneath the dignity and honor of God to stoop so for His people, but He never thinks so. This is the heart reflected in the servant nature of Jesus
Philippians 2:5-11 (HCSB)5 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus,6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage.
7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form,8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross.9 For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name,10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth—11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
By the way the words “out of Egypt” were used in Matthew as fulfillment of Jesus’ return from Egypt after escaping Herod's massacre of the innocents.
Matthew 2:13-15 (HCSB)13 After they were gone, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy Him.”14 So he got up, took the child and His mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt.15 He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called My Son.
God's strict hand towards Israel.
Hosea 11:5-7 (HCSB)5 Israel will not return to the land of Egypt and Assyria will be his king, because they refused to repent.6 A sword will whirl through his cities; it will destroy and devour the bars of his gates, because of their schemes.7 My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call to Him on high, He will not exalt them at all.
What had the nation of Israel forgotten (or neglected? As the Lord had stated repeatedly through Hosea, what would be the consequences of Israel's rebellion?
In this sense, it wasn't so much the sin of Israel that got them into trouble. It was their stubborn refusal to repent after their sin. For that, God would make sure that destruction and exile waited for them.
At one time, Israel had a closer and more real walk with God. Now that is in the past, and their profession is simply empty. They call to the Most High in a formal sort of way, but they do not exalt Him with their lives.
Yet God still had sympathy in the midst of chastening.
Hosea 11:8-9 (HCSB)8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I surrender you, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart; My compassion is stirred!9 I will not vent the full fury of My anger; I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim. For I am God and not man, the Holy One among you; I will not come in rage.
What pain and longing did God express even in the midst of righteous anger?
"The cry is heart-rending. God had loved his people, yet justice demanded that they be punished. Since God could not lightly forget the earlier days of Israel's faithfulness, he decreed judgment with great reluctance. Admah . . . Zeboim were cities of the plain which were overthrown with Sodom and Gomorrah
Genesis 14:1-2, 8 (HCSB)1 In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim2 waged war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, as well as the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and lined up for battle in the Valley of Siddim
Although judgment would fall upon Israel, in wrath God would remember mercy. Israel was not to be forever cast off, although she would be sorely chastised" (Pfeiffer, "Hosea," p. 814).
Think of occasions when you want to blow up at somebody, but change your mind. What makes you relax? How do you discern when to be tough and when to be merciful?
What assurance do you draw from the statement "I am God, and not man"?
The long suffering, forgiveness, and compassion of the Lord toward His people seems unbelievable until we recognize that He's Not man, but God. There are many differences between God and man in the matter of forgiveness.
- Man cannot hold back his anger very long
- Man cannot bear with others when he is tired, stressed, or annoyed
- Man is often only willing to be reconciled if the offending party craves forgiveness and makes the first move
- Man is often only willing to be reconciled if the offending party will never again do wrong
- Man, when he does reconcile, does not lift the former offender to place of high status and partnership
- Man, when he attempts reconciliation, will not continue if he is rejected
- Man will not restore an offender without a period of probation
- Man will not love, adopt, honor, and associate with one who has wronged him
- Man will not trust someone who has formerly wronged them
What passes for forgiveness among men is nothing like the amazing forgiveness of God. "Suppose that someone had grievously offended one of you, and that he asked your forgiveness, do you not think that you would probably say to him, 'Well, yes, I forgive you; but I - I - I - cannot forget it'? Ah! dear friends, that is a sort of forgiveness with one leg chopped off, it is a lame forgiveness, and is not worth much." (Spurgeon)
Ultimately, all human love is fickle and imperfect; only the character of God is constant and unchanging.
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