Tag: The Prophetic Wisdom Of Hosea

‘Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down. Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord . Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises. Assyria cannot save us, nor can our warhorses. Never again will we say to the idols we have made, ‘You are our gods.’ No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy.” The Lord says, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever. I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. Israel will blossom like the lily; it will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon. Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees, as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon. My people will again live under my shade. They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines. They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon. “O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me.” Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.’ Hosea 14:1-9(NLT)

Hosea’s prophecies of God’s unfolding hope are ultimately fulfilled in the consummation of Christ’s kingdom. Hosea offered Israel and Judah the hope of blessings in the latter days to those who would repent. And the New Testament offers the bride of Christ today hope for the glories of the latter days. Because of God’s love for us, he will one day completely cleanse from sin all those who have saving faith. And he’ll deliver them from all judgment as he brings them into the blessings of the new creation. 

In 1 Corinthians 15 verses 54 and 55], the apostle Paul referred to the consummation of the latter days in this way:

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written … “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

Here the apostle extolled the wonder of Christ’s return by referring to Hosea 13:14. There, God mocked the power of death despite the judgment of destruction and exile that had come upon Israel. Hope was not gone. The curse of death would cease to have any effect on Israel because, in the latter days, God would redeem them and reunify them with Judah in submission to the house of David.

As Christians, we know that this hope will one day be fulfilled in Christ, the great son of David. Despite the failures and hardships we still face in our day, we look forward with great expectation to the return of Christ. On that day, all who have put their hopes in the grace of God in Christ, and all who have repented of their sins, will receive the full blessings of the latter days. We will join Hosea in mocking the power of death and the grave, as the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead raises us up into everlasting life. 

The apostle John expressed this same hope in his vision of the consummation of Christ’s kingdom in the book of Revelation. Drawing from a number of themes in the book of Hosea, he described the New Jerusalem, the glorious city of David’s son and the dwelling place of God’s bride.

As we read in Revelation 21:2-3: 

I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband… “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

God’s revelations to Hosea provided wisdom to the people of God hundreds of years before Christ. And they still offer wisdom to us today. As the bride of Christ, we face the challenges of living in a world that still suffers under God’s judgments. But God has never given up on his church. He sent Christ to secure our salvation and begin the latter days. And Christ lives in us now through the Holy Spirit, to lead us into the blessings of the world to come. When we take to heart the wisdom that the book of Hosea offers, we will overcome this world and join with countless others in the glorious wedding feast of the Lamb. As Christ’s beloved bride, we will receive the blessing of sharing with Christ in the immeasurable joys of everlasting glory. 

from The Prophetic Wisdom Of Hosea

‘When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, the people shook with fear, for that tribe was important in Israel. But the people of Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal and thus sealed their destruction. Now they continue to sin by making silver idols, images shaped skillfully with human hands. “Sacrifice to these,” they cry, “and kiss the calf idols!” Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist, like dew in the morning sun, like chaff blown by the wind, like smoke from a chimney. “I have been the Lord your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior. I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. So now I will attack you like a lion, like a leopard that lurks along the road. Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away, I will tear out your heart. I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle you like a wild animal. “You are about to be destroyed, O Israel— yes, by me, your only helper. Now where is your king? Let him save you! Where are all the leaders of the land, the king and the officials you demanded of me? In my anger I gave you kings, and in my fury I took them away. “Ephraim’s guilt has been collected, and his sin has been stored up for punishment. Pain has come to the people like the pain of childbirth, but they are like a child who resists being born. The moment of birth has arrived, but they stay in the womb! “Should I ransom them from the grave ? Should I redeem them from death? O death, bring on your terrors! O grave, bring on your plagues! For I will not take pity on them. Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind—a blast from the Lord — will arise in the desert. All their flowing springs will run dry, and all their wells will disappear. Every precious thing they own will be plundered and carried away. The people of Samaria must bear the consequences of their guilt because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed by an invading army, their little ones dashed to death against the ground, their pregnant women ripped open by swords.”’ Hosea 13:1-16(NLT)

As much as Hosea pleaded for Judah’s repentance, he still knew that Judah’s leaders needed hope for the northern tribes in exile as well. Hosea had made it clear in the first division of his book that God’s blessings would come after Israel and Judah were reunited in submission to David’s house. So, Judah’s hope for latter day blessings could only come if Israel returned to the Lord. Because of this, Hosea closed this last section of his book with a lengthy call for Israel to repent in chapter 14:1-8. 

Consider chapter 14:1-3:

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.” 

In effect, Hosea called for northern Israelites, whether living with him in Judah or scattered in other regions, to “Return … to the Lord your God.” And to insure that they knew how to do this, he provided them with a liturgy of repentance. They were to say to the Lord, “Take away all iniquity.” They were to ask God to “accept what is good … the vows of our lips.” They were to reject any hope in Assyria and horses, or human military strength. They were to reject all idolatry, never saying, “Our God” to an idol. And what would be God’s response to their sincere repentance? 

In chapter 14:7, God said:

They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. 

When northern Israelites humbled themselves in this way, God promised to pour out blessings. 

from The Prophetic Wisdom Of Hosea

‘The people of Israel feed on the wind; they chase after the east wind all day long. They pile up lies and violence; they are making an alliance with Assyria while sending olive oil to buy support from Egypt. Now the Lord is bringing charges against Judah. He is about to punish Jacob for all his deceitful ways, and pay him back for all he has done. Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him — the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the Lord is his name! So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him. But no, the people are like crafty merchants selling from dishonest scales— they love to cheat. Israel boasts, “I am rich! I’ve made a fortune all by myself! No one has caught me cheating! My record is spotless!” “But I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. And I will make you live in tents again, as you do each year at the Festival of Shelters. I sent my prophets to warn you with many visions and parables.” But the people of Gilead are worthless because of their idol worship. And in Gilgal, too, they sacrifice bulls; their altars are lined up like the heaps of stone along the edges of a plowed field. Jacob fled to the land of Aram, and there he earned a wife by tending sheep. Then by a prophet the Lord brought Jacob’s descendants out of Egypt; and by that prophet they were protected. But the people of Israel have bitterly provoked the Lord , so their Lord will now sentence them to death in payment for their sins.’ Hosea 12:1-14(NLT)

The last and longest prophecy about Judah is in Hosea 12:2-6:

The Lord has an indictment against Judah and will punish Jacob according to his ways; he will repay him according to his deeds. In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God. He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us — the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial name: “So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.” 

In this passage, God called Judah to reflect on the story of Jacob’s life in Genesis 25-36. His prophecy noted how Jacob had sinned when he took his brother by the heel. But Jacob also strove with God and with the angel at Peniel. There Jacob wept and sought God’s favor, and he prevailed. By implication, Hosea called on Judah to weep over sin and seek God’s favor. And what was the result for Jacob? He met God at Bethel and learned anew that God is the Lord, the God of hosts, a divine title that referred to God as the head of angelic armies. Hosea applied the story of Jacob to Judah. Judah also could have the favor of the Lord, the God of the heavenly armies, as they faced their enemies, whether Assyria or Babylon. If “by the help of … God,” they would “return” — or repent — “hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for … God,” then they would see the Lord intervene on their behalf with his angelic army.

It’s not difficult to see why Hosea included these words about Judah toward the end of his book. He either composed his book as Judah faced the threat of Assyria, just before Sennacherib’s invasion in 701 B.C. Or, he wrote it as Judah faced the threat of Babylon, just after Sennacherib’s invasion in 701 B.C. — as we know from Isaiah 39:6. In either case, Judah desperately needed God’s help. If they wanted to see God lead his angelic army against their enemies, they needed to respond with humility and repentance. They needed to acknowledge that they had been like Jacob in his early years, and that they must become like Jacob in his later years. Then, and only then, could Judah be the channel of God’s latter day blessings to the northern kingdom of Israel.

from The Prophetic Wisdom Of Hosea

‘How prosperous Israel is— a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit. But the richer the people get, the more pagan altars they build. The more bountiful their harvests, the more beautiful their sacred pillars. The hearts of the people are fickle; they are guilty and must be punished. The Lord will break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars. Then they will say, “We have no king because we didn’t fear the Lord . But even if we had a king, what could he do for us anyway?” They spout empty words and make covenants they don’t intend to keep. So injustice springs up among them like poisonous weeds in a farmer’s field. The people of Samaria tremble in fear for their calf idol at Beth-aven, and they mourn for it. Though its priests rejoice over it, its glory will be stripped away. This idol will be carted away to Assyria, a gift to the great king there. Ephraim will be ridiculed and Israel will be shamed, because its people have trusted in this idol. Samaria and its king will be cut off; they will float away like driftwood on an ocean wave. And the pagan shrines of Aven, the place of Israel’s sin, will crumble. Thorns and thistles will grow up around their altars. They will beg the mountains, “Bury us!” and plead with the hills, “Fall on us!” The Lord says, “O Israel, ever since Gibeah, there has been only sin and more sin! You have made no progress whatsoever. Was it not right that the wicked men of Gibeah were attacked? Now whenever it fits my plan, I will attack you, too. I will call out the armies of the nations to punish you for your multiplied sins. “Israel is like a trained heifer treading out the grain— an easy job she loves. But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck. I will force Judah to pull the plow and Israel to break up the hard ground. I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord , that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’ “But you have cultivated wickedness and harvested a thriving crop of sins. You have eaten the fruit of lies— trusting in your military might, believing that great armies could make your nation safe. Now the terrors of war will rise among your people. All your fortifications will fall, just as when Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel. Even mothers and children were dashed to death there. You will share that fate, Bethel, because of your great wickedness. When the day of judgment dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.’ Hosea 10:1-15(NLT)

Hosea’s focus on God’s unfolding judgment, began with two of God’s lawsuits. God’s earlier lawsuit, concerning Assyria’s invasion in 732 B.C., took place when either Uzziah or Jotham ruled as righteous kings in Judah. So, in this opening section of the second division, we still find positive words about Judah. In fact, God revealed a striking contrast between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. In chapter 4:15 God said, “Though you play the whore, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty.” In this earlier lawsuit, God simply warned Judah not to become like the northern kingdom.

But the same cannot be said of God’s later lawsuit that was revealed to Hosea as the Assyrian invasion of 732 B.C. drew near. At this stage in Hosea’s ministry, Ahaz had begun to rule in Judah. Ahaz promoted idolatry and injustice and trusted in an alliance with Assyria and Assyria’s gods to gain protection from his enemies. So, in chapter 5:5, God announced his judgment that “Israel … shall stumble in his guilt; Judah also shall stumble with them.” And indeed, Judah suffered in many ways as the Syrian-Israelite coalition took place at this time. 

Hosea’s revelations concerning God’s calls for alarm also addressed conditions in Judah. In the first call for alarm, Hosea prophesied about Assyria’s invasion of Israel in 722 B.C. In all likelihood, Ahaz was still king in Judah at this time. And in chapter 5:10 we read, “The princes of Judah have become like those who move the landmark.” Many interpreters believe this passage refers to Ahaz’ attempt to annex territories in Benjamin in retaliation for Israel’s attacks during the Syrian-Israelite coalition. If this interpretation is correct, rather than seeking the healing of God’s people, Judah violated Israel’s land-inheritance rights. And in response, in verses 10-14, God threatened Judah saying, “I will pour out my wrath like [flood]water… I am … like dry rot to the house of Judah… like a young lion to the house of Judah. I … will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.” With these words, Hosea predicted the horrors of Sennacherib’s invasion that would come to Judah in 701 B.C. God also accused Judah of testing his patience at this stage by their hypocrisy when he asked Judah in chapter 6:4, “What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away.” And God threatened judgment against Judah in verse 11 when he said, “For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.” The “harvest” appointed for Judah was most likely Judah’s upcoming troubles at the hands of the Assyrians.

Now, consider what God said about Judah in his second call for alarm as the destruction of Samaria in 722 B.C. came even closer. This was probably while Ahaz and Hezekiah were co-regents in Judah. In chapter 8:14, God noted that “Judah has multiplied fortified cities,” a reference to Hezekiah’s efforts to fortify Judah against Assyria. Of course, building fortifications was not sinful in itself. But Hezekiah’s fortifications were a symbol of his rebellion against God because, in addition to his fortifications, he also sought protection from Assyria through an alliance with Egypt and Egypt’s gods. As a result, God threatened judgment in verse 14 saying, “I will send a fire upon his cities.” This threat was fulfilled when Sennacherib invaded Judah in 701 B.C.

from The Prophetic Wisdom Of Hosea

‘“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. But the more I called to him, the farther he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to idols. I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him. I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck, and I myself stooped to feed him. “But since my people refuse to return to me, they will return to Egypt and will be forced to serve Assyria. War will swirl through their cities; their enemies will crash through their gates. They will destroy them, trapping them in their own evil plans. For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor me. “Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows. No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you, and I will not come to destroy. For someday the people will follow me. I, the Lord , will roar like a lion. And when I roar, my people will return trembling from the west. Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt. Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria. And I will bring them home again,” says the Lord .
Charges against Israel and Judah
Israel surrounds me with lies and deceit, but Judah still obeys God and is faithful to the Holy One.’ Hosea 11:1-12(NLT)

Hosea highlighted God’s gracious responses to Israel’s sins as he reported God’s comparison of Israel with a beloved child or son in chapter 11:1- 14:8. We see God’s favor toward Israel in his reflections on the past. 

In chapter 11:1, God recalled that, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” Although God was about to destroy the northern kingdom through the Assyrians in 722 B.C., he still remembered his fatherly love for Israel. As he put it so tenderly in chapter 11:8: “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? … My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.”

We also find that God disclosed his patience toward Israel. In chapter 11:2 God complained that through the centuries “the more the Israelites were called, the more they went away.” And he reflected on how long he had shown forbearance toward the northern kingdom. 

The last division of the book of Hosea is arranged in a way that you can’t spot right at first unless you’re looking very carefully, but a number of interpreters have said that this is the best way to understand the arrangement: that they’re various snippets of prophecies that Hosea gave at different times in his ministry, but that they are arranged around these sort of controlling metaphors. And there are a number of those metaphors, but each one of them has this in common: they were things that were highly prized in the ancient world — finding figs out in the wilderness or finding a planted palm, or finding a vineyard that was spreading, those kinds of things, a trained heifer that could plow the fields, a son of a home. Those were highly prized items, and God compares the northern kingdom of Israel to those things. … Especially that last one, the son, where he says, “It was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I lifted him up.” And as a loving Father God had endeared himself to Israel, and they were dear to him, yet they kept rebelling. The more he gave them, the more he did for them, the more they rebelled against him. But then he says, “But then, how can I give you up, O Israel? How can I give you up, Ephraim? I can’t do it because you’re that precious to me.” So we miss the point of those metaphors unless we understand that, in his wisdom, yes, God disciplines his people, his covenant people, as a matter of fact, his precious covenant people, but he never gives up on his covenant people, that one day, somehow they will come to repentance and they will receive his blessings. – Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr. 

from The Prophetic Wisdom Of Hosea

‘O people of Israel, do not rejoice as other nations do. For you have been unfaithful to your God, hiring yourselves out like prostitutes, worshiping other gods on every threshing floor. So now your harvests will be too small to feed you. There will be no grapes for making new wine. You may no longer stay here in the Lord ’s land. Instead, you will return to Egypt, and in Assyria you will eat food that is ceremonially unclean. There you will make no offerings of wine to the Lord . None of your sacrifices there will please him. They will be unclean, like food touched by a person in mourning. All who present such sacrifices will be defiled. They may eat this food themselves, but they may not offer it to the Lord . What then will you do on festival days? How will you observe the Lord ’s festivals? Even if you escape destruction from Assyria, Egypt will conquer you, and Memphis will bury you. Nettles will take over your treasures of silver; thistles will invade your ruined homes. The time of Israel’s punishment has come; the day of payment is here. Soon Israel will know this all too well. Because of your great sin and hostility, you say, “The prophets are crazy and the inspired men are fools!” The prophet is a watchman over Israel for my God, yet traps are laid for him wherever he goes. He faces hostility even in the house of God. The things my people do are as depraved as what they did in Gibeah long ago. God will not forget. He will surely punish them for their sins. The Lord says, “O Israel, when I first found you, it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season. But then they deserted me for Baal-peor, giving themselves to that shameful idol. Soon they became vile, as vile as the god they worshiped. The glory of Israel will fly away like a bird, for your children will not be born or grow in the womb or even be conceived. Even if you do have children who grow up, I will take them from you. It will be a terrible day when I turn away and leave you alone. I have watched Israel become as beautiful as Tyre. But now Israel will bring out her children for slaughter.” O Lord , what should I request for your people? I will ask for wombs that don’t give birth and breasts that give no milk. The Lord says, “All their wickedness began at Gilgal; there I began to hate them. I will drive them from my land because of their evil actions. I will love them no more because all their leaders are rebels. The people of Israel are struck down. Their roots are dried up, and they will bear no more fruit. And if they give birth, I will slaughter their beloved children.” My God will reject the people of Israel because they will not listen or obey. They will be wanderers, homeless among the nations.’ Hosea 9:1-17(NLT)

God’s calls for alarm were revealed to Hosea later on as he predicted the Assyrian invasion of 722 B.C. — the invasion that led to the fall of Samaria. So, as we should expect, God’s judgments against Israel’s sins were much more severe in these prophecies. In the first call for alarm, chapter 5:9 declares that Israel “shall become a desolation.” In verse 11, Israel will be “oppressed, crushed in judgment.” According to verse 13, Israel’s alliance with Assyria “is not able to cure” their problems. And in verse 14, God warned of exile from the Promised Land, saying, “I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.” Now, even as God increased his threats of judgment against Israel, in chapter 7:1 God admitted that, even now, he would heal Israel. But Israel continued to rebel against him. As verse 10 puts it, “they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him, for all this.” So, in verse 13, God declared, “Woe to them … Destruction to them.” In this same verse, God reaffirmed, “I would redeem them,” but they continued in their sinful ways. And as a result, verse 16 tells us that “Their princes shall fall by the sword.”

God’s second call for alarm — originally received even closer to the invasion of 722 B.C. — announces in chapter 8:3 that “the enemy shall pursue” Israel. Verses 6 and 7 declare that “the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces… and Israel shall reap the whirlwind.” Then verse 8 says that “Israel is swallowed up” by Assyria. And verse 10 reveals that the leaders of Israel “shall soon writhe because of the tribute” owed to Assyria. And beyond this, Hosea referred to an upcoming Assyrian exile in verse 13 by saying that Israel “shall return to Egypt.” As God put it in chapter 9: 3, “They shall not remain in the land … Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and … eat unclean food in Assyria.” Israel’s defeat would be so severe that in verse 6 God said, “Egypt shall gather them … and bury them.” And as Hosea prophesied in verse 7, very near the fall of Samaria, “the days of punishment … and recompense have come.”

The Assyrian exile was a punishment from the Lord because of the sins of the people and because they had forsaken the Lord and the Lord’s laws.

In the book of Hosea, we see the prophet giving more explanation concerning the Assyrian exile. In chapter 9 verse 7 the prophet says, 

The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad, because of your great iniquity and great hatred.

He asserts here that “the days of punishment” and “the days of recompense” had come, which refers to the Assyrian exile. In the same chapter, chapter 9 verse 15, we read these words,

Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal; there I began to hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels.

Because of rebellion, disobedience, and evil, the exile came, or would come, to the people of Israel. Finally, in the same chapter, chapter 9 verse 17, it says,

My God will reject them because they have not listened to him; they shall be wanderers among the nations.

The exile was preceded by several invitations from prophets — Hosea being one of them — who were sent by the Lord to the people to call them to return and repent. But the people did not obey, and as a result, the exile was a punishment from the Lord to the people, because they insisted on their willful rebellion against the Lord. – Rev. Sherif Gendy 

from The Prophetic Wisdom Of Hosea

‘“Sound the alarm! The enemy descends like an eagle on the people of the Lord , for they have broken my covenant and revolted against my law. Now Israel pleads with me, ‘Help us, for you are our God!’ But it is too late. The people of Israel have rejected what is good, and now their enemies will chase after them. The people have appointed kings without my consent, and princes without my approval. By making idols for themselves from their silver and gold, they have brought about their own destruction. “O Samaria, I reject this calf— this idol you have made. My fury burns against you. How long will you be incapable of innocence? This calf you worship, O Israel, was crafted by your own hands! It is not God! Therefore, it must be smashed to bits. “They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind. The stalks of grain wither and produce nothing to eat. And even if there is any grain, foreigners will eat it. The people of Israel have been swallowed up; they lie among the nations like an old discarded pot. Like a wild donkey looking for a mate, they have gone up to Assyria. The people of Israel have sold themselves— sold themselves to many lovers. But though they have sold themselves to many allies, I will now gather them together for judgment. Then they will writhe under the burden of the great king. “Israel has built many altars to take away sin, but these very altars became places for sinning! Even though I gave them all my laws, they act as if those laws don’t apply to them. The people love to offer sacrifices to me, feasting on the meat, but I do not accept their sacrifices. I will hold my people accountable for their sins, and I will punish them. They will return to Egypt. Israel has forgotten its Maker and built great palaces, and Judah has fortified its cities. Therefore, I will send down fire on their cities and will burn up their fortresses.”’ Hosea 8:1-14(NLT)

Like other Old Testament prophets, Hosea focused on what we may call “temporary judgments.” Judgments such as economic hardship, famine, death, exile, and the like, in association with Assyria’s invasions of the northern kingdom. He did not refer to God’s everlasting judgments — the judgments that will come when history reaches its fulfillment in the latter days. 

As both the Old and New Testaments teach, when God pours out his temporary judgments, he has very different purposes in mind for unbelievers and true believers. For unbelievers who never repent and never exercise saving faith, God’s temporary judgments lead to everlasting judgments in the fullness of the latter days. But for true believers, God’s temporary judgments are his loving discipline, designed to ensure everlasting blessings in the fullness of the latter days. 

Consider the kinds of judgments related to the Assyrian invasion of 732 B.C. that appear in God’s lawsuits. Because this was early in Hosea’s ministry, these prophecies threatened relatively limited judgments. For instance, in God’s earlier lawsuit, chapter 4:3 predicts trouble in Israel’s economy and food supply with these words: “the land mourns … the people languish … beasts … birds … and even the fish … are taken away.” In verses 4 and 5, God focused primarily on Israel’s leadership, rather than on the whole nation, addressing, “priest … prophet … your mother” — this last term referring to the nobility in Samaria. God addressed priests again in verse 6 saying, “I reject you from being a priest to me.” In verse 7 he declared, “I will change their glory” — meaning Israel’s prosperity — “into shame.” And he threatened to punish the priests once more in verse 10 when he said, “they shall eat, but not be satisfied.” Also at this early stage, in verse 14, God limited his judgment in a remarkable way. He said, “I will not punish your daughters … nor your brides” for their involvement in worship prostitution, because the fathers and husbands bore the primary responsibility for their misconduct. In verse 16, Hosea remarked that God would no longer feed Israel “like a lamb in a broad pasture.” Instead, according to verse 19, “they shall be ashamed.”

In much the same way, God’s later lawsuit addressed the leadership of Israel in chapter 5:2 saying, “I will discipline all of them.” And verse 5 indicates that more difficulties were coming to the northern kingdom. Here we read that, “Israel … shall stumble in his guilt.” 

from The Prophetic Wisdom Of Hosea

‘“I want to heal Israel, but its sins are too great. Samaria is filled with liars. Thieves are on the inside and bandits on the outside! Its people don’t realize that I am watching them. Their sinful deeds are all around them, and I see them all. “The people entertain the king with their wickedness, and the princes laugh at their lies. They are all adulterers, always aflame with lust. They are like an oven that is kept hot while the baker is kneading the dough. On royal holidays, the princes get drunk with wine, carousing with those who mock them. Their hearts are like an oven blazing with intrigue. Their plot smolders through the night, and in the morning it breaks out like a raging fire. Burning like an oven, they consume their leaders. They kill their kings one after another, and no one cries to me for help. “The people of Israel mingle with godless foreigners, making themselves as worthless as a half-baked cake! Worshiping foreign gods has sapped their strength, but they don’t even know it. Their hair is gray, but they don’t realize they’re old and weak. Their arrogance testifies against them, yet they don’t return to the Lord their God or even try to find him. “The people of Israel have become like silly, witless doves, first calling to Egypt, then flying to Assyria for help. But as they fly about, I will throw my net over them and bring them down like a bird from the sky. I will punish them for all the evil they do. “What sorrow awaits those who have deserted me! Let them die, for they have rebelled against me. I wanted to redeem them, but they have told lies about me. They do not cry out to me with sincere hearts. Instead, they sit on their couches and wail. They cut themselves, begging foreign gods for grain and new wine, and they turn away from me. I trained them and made them strong, yet now they plot evil against me. They look everywhere except to the Most High. They are as useless as a crooked bow. Their leaders will be killed by their enemies because of their insolence toward me. Then the people of Egypt will laugh at them.’ Hosea 7:1-16(NLT)

Idolatry was a fundamental violation of the loyalty God required of his people because it represented Israel’s treasonous submission to the false gods of other nations. According to 1 Kings 12:28, Jeroboam I established the worship of a golden calf when he founded the kingdom of Israel. And Hosea knew that this rebellion against God had only increased as the Israelites continued to mix their own worship with the idolatry of Canaanite religions. Idolatry also increased every time Israel made an alliance with another nation because international alliances in the ancient world required acknowledging the gods of other nations.

When modern readers notice in the book of Hosea that he condemns the alliances that Israel made with other nations, we sort of scratch our head and wonder what is going on there. Because when we think of forming international alliances, we think that’s a good thing. I mean, that’s what one country does with another in order to establish peace and safety and power and all those kinds of things. So, we think of it as something good. But you have to understand that in the days of the Old Testament that when one nation formed an alliance with another nation, that also involved forming associations of their gods, so that one nation would accept gods from the other and the other nation would accept gods from the one. And so, when Israel, or Judah for that matter, made alliances with foreign kingdoms, then they were de facto accepting the gods of those kingdoms. And this was a great rebellion against the God of Israel, because God demanded loyalty only to himself from his people, and he required them to depend on him only. But as soon as they made alliances with other kingdoms, that meant that they had to at least give nominal acknowledgement to the other kingdom’s gods. And in addition to that, they actually began to depend on those gods and to pray to those gods. – Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr. 

from The Prophetic Wisdom Of Hosea

‘“Come, let us return to the Lord . He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds. In just a short time he will restore us, so that we may live in his presence. Oh, that we might know the Lord ! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” “O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?” asks the Lord . “For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight. I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces— to slaughter you with my words, with judgments as inescapable as light. I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust. “Gilead is a city of sinners, tracked with footprints of blood. Priests form bands of robbers, waiting in ambush for their victims. They murder travelers along the road to Shechem and practice every kind of sin. Yes, I have seen something horrible in Ephraim and Israel: My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods! “O Judah, a harvest of punishment is also waiting for you, though I wanted to restore the fortunes of my people.’ Hosea 6:1-11(NLT)

Hosea’s prophecies emphasized Israel’s rebellion so much and in so many different ways that it can seem overwhelming. So, it helps if we think in terms of two issues: God’s accusations and his judgments. 

On the one side, Hosea’s revelations drew attention to four types of accusations against Israel. First, he pointed out that Israel had violated the fundamental requirements of God’s covenant and law. In the section dealing with God’s lawsuits, God’s earlier lawsuit begins with categorical condemnations. In chapter 4:1, Hosea said that Israel had “no faithfulness or steadfast love” and “no knowledge of God.” In verse 2, Hosea alluded to the Ten Commandments when he said that Israel was full of “swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery.” And in this same verse, God stressed the particularly heinous sins of violence in Israel, saying, “bloodshed follows bloodshed.” Verse 6 sums up widespread conditions in Israel by explaining that the Israelites had “forgotten the law of … God.” In God’s later lawsuit, Hosea spoke again of widespread violence. In chapter 5:2 he declared, “the revolters have gone deep into slaughter.”

Then, in Hosea’s prophecies highlighting God’s calls for alarm, God’s first call for alarm repeats this focus on God’s covenant and law. In chapter 6:7, God said that “like Adam they transgressed the covenant.” Verses 8 and 9 mention violence again, saying that “Gilead is … tracked with blood… robbers lie in wait … and even the priests … murder.” Chapter 7:1 raises another accusation of widespread violence when it says, “the thief breaks in and the bandits raid outside.” God’s second call for alarm records God’s accusation in chapter 8:1, saying “Israel transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law.” And, in verse 12, God sarcastically concluded that Israel would ignore him, even if he wrote “laws by the ten thousands.” In fact, chapter 9:7 tells us that Israel viewed God’s covenant messengers, the prophets, with contempt, saying, “The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit” — the Holy Spirit — “is mad.” Hosea left no room for doubt. Israel had flagrantly violated God’s covenant and his law.  

from The Prophetic Wisdom Of Hosea

‘“Hear this, you priests. Pay attention, you leaders of Israel. Listen, you members of the royal family. Judgment has been handed down against you. For you have led the people into a snare by worshiping the idols at Mizpah and Tabor. You have dug a deep pit to trap them at Acacia Grove. But I will settle with you for what you have done. I know what you are like, O Ephraim. You cannot hide yourself from me, O Israel. You have left me as a prostitute leaves her husband; you are utterly defiled. Your deeds won’t let you return to your God. You are a prostitute through and through, and you do not know the Lord . “The arrogance of Israel testifies against her; Israel and Ephraim will stumble under their load of guilt. Judah, too, will fall with them. When they come with their flocks and herds to offer sacrifices to the Lord , they will not find him, because he has withdrawn from them. They have betrayed the honor of the Lord , bearing children that are not his. Now their false religion will devour them along with their wealth. “Sound the alarm in Gibeah! Blow the trumpet in Ramah! Raise the battle cry in Beth-aven ! Lead on into battle, O warriors of Benjamin! One thing is certain, Israel : On your day of punishment, you will become a heap of rubble. “The leaders of Judah have become like thieves. So I will pour my anger on them like a waterfall. The people of Israel will be crushed and broken by my judgment because they are determined to worship idols. I will destroy Israel as a moth consumes wool. I will make Judah as weak as rotten wood. “When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were, Israel turned to Assyria— to the great king there— but he could neither help nor cure them. I will be like a lion to Israel, like a strong young lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces! I will carry them off, and no one will be left to rescue them. Then I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and turn to me. For as soon as trouble comes, they will earnestly search for me.”’ Hosea 5:1-15(NLT)

In the first division of his book, Hosea affirmed the hope that after a period of judgment God would pour out great blessings on Israel and Judah. And he made it clear that this would occur “in the latter days.” But because God’s people continued to rebel, God’s judgment remained on them for more than 700 years. Still, despite God’s prolonged discipline, Jesus and his first century apostles and prophets never gave up on Hosea’s hopeful prophecies about the latter days. Rather, time and again, New Testament authors identified the entire New Testament age — the age of the Christian church — as “the latter days,” using the Greek term eschatos. This is the term from which we get our theological expression “eschatology.” Put simply, New Testament authors taught that Jesus is the great son of David who fulfills Hosea’s prophecies about the eschatological or latter days.

The New Testament also teaches that God’s latter day blessings for his bride are unfolding in three stages. The first stage was the inauguration of Christ’s kingdom when Jesus established the foundation of the church in his first advent and in the ministries of his apostles and prophets. The second stage is the continuation of Christ’s kingdom throughout church history. And the third stage will be the final consummation of the kingdom when Christ returns in glory and makes all things new. As followers of Christ, we must apply Hosea’s early prophecies of judgment and hope in the light of all three of these stages of Christ’s kingdom. 

The New Testament gospels emphasize that Jesus himself began to fulfill Hosea’s latter day hopes for God’s bride during his earthly ministry. Jesus called a remnant of followers for God’s kingdom out of Judah, but he also gathered followers from northern Israel, especially from around the Sea of Galilee. By creating his church out of faithful followers from both regions, Jesus began reunifying Israel and Judah under his rule as David’s son. 

And more than this, the mission Jesus established for his apostles and prophets in [Acts chapter 1 verse 8] also corresponds with Hosea’s latter day expectations. Christ’s reunification of Israel and Judah under the house of David was only part of God’s plan. To fulfill God’s grand goal for the latter days, Jesus’ apostles were to be his witnesses, not only in the territories of Israel and Judah, but also “to the end of the earth.”

from The Prophetic Wisdom Of Hosea