The opening verses of Hosea include a scathing rebuke of the wickedness of Israel: “…the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD…I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel” (Hos. 1:2,4).
Israel’s sins detailed
In many cases, the Israelites had sunk to the same level or even lower than the heathen surrounding her.
She attributed the material blessings showered upon her by God to the work of pagan gods and then offered a portion of them to the dumb idols: “For she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink…which they prepared for Baal” (2:5,8). Israel was idolatrous and thankless.
“By swearing, and lying and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out and blood toucheth blood” (4:2). She was selfish, violent and lascivious.
When threats arose from her hostile neighbors, she turned to Assyria for help (5:13). She was faithless.
“…As troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness” (7:10). She was arrogant in spite of her pathetic weakness.
“Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself” (10:1). She was without profit to God.
“Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit (1:12). She was hypocritical in worship.
“He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress” (12:7). She was dishonest in business.
The sum of the matter was that as far as loyalty to God was concerned, she was a whorish nation.
What was the cause?
Here was a nation greatly privileged in the matters of God. She had the lessons of her own history, the instruction of divine law, a system of worship that taught the principles of redemption and a continual provision of prophets from the LORD. How could she have sunk to such spiritual depths? She forgot!
“Israel hath forgotten his Maker” (8:14).
How could a people forget its God? How could a nation whose very existence depended on His bringing them out of Egypt, giving them their land and providing them with good and just laws forget the One who had done all this? “According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me” (13:6).
God had warned them about this very thing: “And it shall be when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers…when thou shalt have eaten and be full; then beware lest thou forget the LORD…” (Deut. 6:10,12).
In Hosea’s day, the northern kingdom had prospered during the reign of Jeroboam II and here was the result. Instead of being thankful to God, concentrating on a knowledge of His word and right worship to Him, they had sunk deeper into the ways of sin.
Ignorance leads to ignorance
Of course, the more they forgot God, the more ignorant they became of His statutes and testimonies. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (4:6).
An understanding of what God wants is not inherent to man. Thus, even when they tried to be religious, they utterly failed: “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings” (6:6). Their burnt offerings may have required some knowledge about building an altar, slaying an animal and burning it up, but this is not the kind of knowledge God is looking for. He wants a consistent life of obedience to His spiritual principles in thought and conduct.
The point is well summarized in the following quote from Bro. Fred Pearce: “Knowledge is not just an acquaintance with the historical facts of (God’s) revelation. There can be no true knowledge of God without first a reverent acceptance of what He has revealed about Himself and His will, an appreciation of His truly divine qualities, a humble submission to what He requires, and an endeavor to live in the very spirit of His word.”
There is only one place we can obtain such knowledge and that is in the scriptures of Truth. “Thy word I have hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psa. 119:11).
Our human tendencies are precisely like Israel’s. When our lives are under control and proceeding in a reasonably normal pattern, we forget from whence our blessings flow. We ease up in our consideration of His word and the cycle begins: neglect begets ignorance which begets sin. That is why it is critical that we force ourselves to a regular reading of and meditation upon His word no matter what our daily circumstances may be.
God’s love for His people
In contrast to the people’s neglect of God was God’s love for His people. This divine love was portrayed in the actions of His prophet Hosea.
Hosea was commanded to take an adulterous woman as his wife. Gomer had a total of three children: Jezreel (“God scatters”), Lo-ruhamah (“not having obtained mercy”) and Lo-ammi (“not my people”).
Hosea’s family and step-family formed a parable of God’s impending judgments on Israel. Hosea represented Yahweh, Gomer spoke of Israel and the names of the children indicated what would happen to the nation: They would be scattered, would not obtain mercy and would not be God’s people.
There does not appear to be much love in such a prospect of chastisement. But our stubborn hearts frequently require calamity to bring us around to right thinking and right conduct. That was God’s object. “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God” (1:10).
Notice that in 2:1, the negative prefix is removed from the names of Gomer’s children: “Ammi” means “my people” and “Ruhamah” means “Having obtained mercy.”
There is much encouragement to us in these verses, for if the LORD could still love Israel after all her sins, then surely He can love us if we respond to the chastisement that comes into our lives.
A bride restored
Chapter 2 continues with the language of matrimony as the LORD talks of bringing His bride back to Him: “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her…I will betroth thee unto me for ever” (2:14,19).
The enacted parable of Hosea is continued in chapter 3. Hosea was commanded to take an adulteress, undoubtedly Gomer, Hosea’s unfaithful wife of chapter 1. The prophet bought her back for the price of a slave (v.2). She was to undergo a period of abstinence and seclusion as part of her punishment which would result in sincere commitment to her Lord (vs. 3-5).
The pattern fits with what God will do with the nation of Israel. They must endure a period of chastisement, but their end will be joyous when they finally acknowledge their God and their Messiah.
The same pattern may prevail in our own lives. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Heb. 12:6). We may have to endure a period of chastisement in our lives. In some cases it may be our only hope of being pulled back from the ways of sin. But God does it out of love that we may enjoy the happiness of eternal life in the kingdom.
So if chastisement does come into our lives, let us be properly exercised by it so that it can develop our character and lead us to participate in the coming joyous order of things.
Hosea 11 makes it clear that God does not enjoy chastening His people. He loved them when He chose them (vs. 1-4). He took them out of the land of sin and healed them. Yet they did not appreciate His love and it anguished God’s heart to punish His people (v.8). But it was the only way He could bring them back from the way of death.
Heed the appeal of God
The final chapter of Hosea is probably one of the most beautiful in all of Scripture.
Verses 1-3 are an eloquent appeal for the people of Israel to return to their Lord. Let them rely on Him and not on the arm of flesh; let them repent of their iniquity and forsake all worship of false gods.
If they would do that then, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely” saith the LORD.
If God would do that for a people who had sunk so deep into sin, think of what He will do for us. We all have sins to confess. We may even on occasion have sinned after the manner of Israel’s iniquities enumerated throughout the prophecy. But we have the same recourse to God’s mercy that they did.
No greater reminder of that could be given us than in the events that are memorialized in the breaking of bread and drinking of wine. If we will have repentant hearts committed to walking in His way, He loves us freely and we will rejoice in the forgiveness of our sins.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One