Israel Will Reap the Whirlwind
Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law. Israel cries out to Me, “O our God, we know You!” But Israel has rejected good; an enemy will pursue him. They set up kings, but not by Me. They make princes, but without My approval. With their silver and gold they make themselves idols, to their own destruction. He has rejected your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence? For this thing is from Israel—a craftsman made it, and it is not God. It will be broken to pieces, that calf of Samaria. Indeed, they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up. Israel is swallowed up! Now they are among the nations like a worthless vessel. For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey on its own.
Ephraim has hired lovers. Though they hire allies among the nations, I will now round them up, and they will begin to diminish under the oppression of the king of princes. Though Ephraim multiplied the altars for sin, they became his altars for sinning. Though I wrote for them the great things of My law, they regarded them as something strange. Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to Egypt. Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; Judah has multiplied its fortified cities. But I will send fire upon their cities, and it will consume their citadels.”
“Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.” God is warning the Israelites that the day of reckoning is arriving. In the Bible, “Eagles” frequently refer to vultures. The birds of prey are looming over the house of the Lord, waiting to consume all those who have habitually sinned against the Lord. Belatedly, the Israelites have suddenly remembered that there is a God in Israel and are calling on Him; however, they have already rejected everything good.
“How long will they be incapable of innocence? For this thing is from Israel—a craftsman made it, and it is not God. It will be broken to pieces, that calf of Samaria. Indeed, they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” People do not simply wake up one morning and decide to be evil; they slide into evil gradually, one idol at a time. The “calf of Samaria” is the huge statue of a calf that Jeroboam set up in Dan and in Bethel when he was creating his own religion to avoid having his people travel to Jerusalem. Rather than continuing to follow the God of Israel, the people of the Northern Kingdom eagerly accepted all kinds of idolatry.
“Though Ephraim multiplied the altars for sin, they became his altars for sinning. Though I wrote for them the great things of My law, they regarded them as something strange. Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to Egypt. Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; Judah has multiplied its fortified cities. But I will send fire upon their cities, and it will consume their citadels.” Both kingdoms have persisted in sin and are fated to go into exile as a result. Now that the allies of Israel seem to be deserting them, the Israelites are suddenly offering the sacrifices to God that they have refused to do through the years. But all these sacrifices and ceremonies are simply for show and God knows the details of the hearts of His worshipers.
APPLICATION: As we read the Book of Hosea, we have the advantage of hindsight. We know that the Northern Kingdom fell to the Assyrians and that the Southern Kingdom of Judah eventually fell to the Babylonians. We know that the people who were mocking Hosea suffered the results of their sins in horrible ways and that eventually only some of the descendants of the citizens from the Southern Kingdom of Judah made it back to resettle Jerusalem and to rebuilt the temple. Those Israelites coming from the Northern Kingdom never returned as a group and were considered “the lost tribes of Israel.”
Frankly, reading Hosea’s prophecies in the light of history is a lot like watching a violent horror movie; you know terrible things are going to happen, but you’re still fascinated and you can’t look away. But if we find this horrifying, think about Hosea. These prophecies concern Hosea’s friends, his neighbors and his relatives. How frustrated Hosea must have been and how desperate to try to get people to change when they had no desire to do so.
Many of us are horrified by what is happening in our societies and we may be able to identify with Hosea. For those of us in professional circles, being a person of faith may make us a big target and the subject of intense scrutiny. We are held to a different standard of behavior; while others may cheat or lie, we dare not even give the appearance of such things. Innocent behaviors on our part may still be misinterpreted by those who have an agenda to pursue. As an example, brave indeed are those who work in the entertainment industry and who succeed in maintaining a righteous stance. Sometimes we might wonder if it’s really worth it.
But God sees. God knows. God is not mocked, and God will eventually settle all scores. May God help us, so that we stand against opposition, knowing that if our God is for us, nobody can stand against us.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, there are many of us who may be under attack because of our faith in You. Help us to realize that following You is worth more than anything someone can pay us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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