July 2, 2023
Hosea 8
“Reaping the Whirlwind”
Service Overview: The Bible speaks often about sowing and reaping, and when it does, it often uses the metaphor to reflect the natural consequences of people’s behavior. In Israel’s case, what they had sewn was idolatry and immorality, and what they were reaping was the natural consequence of rejecting God and his covenant from the center of their society.
Memory Verse for the Week:
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.” Psalm 33:12 (NIV)
Background Insights:
- According to Numbers 10, the Jews used trumpets to announce special occasions, to sound alarms, to gather the people for assemblies, and to proclaim war. This call was a trumpet of alarm because the enemy was coming and God was giving His people opportunity to repent. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 1400)
- Ever since the day of Samuel, the people of God lived as a theocratic monarchy. Kings were selected and anointed by Yahweh through the prophets. Kings were responsible first to Yahweh. They called on His help in government and battles with enemies. Over the years, this balance of power was tipped and men usurped the monarchy without the call of Yahweh or any accountability to Him. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Hosea, 120)
- Political imagery is now pinned down with historical fact as Hos. 8:9 records an approach that Israel made to Assyria, bribe in hand. Most likely this refers to Ahaz’ offering of tribute to Tiglathpileser III in 733. The amount according to the Assyrian records was 1000 talents of silver. From Israel’s point of view this was a hardheaded, reasonable, perhaps even astute, move. Israel was joining a political club which would guarantee the nation’s security; naturally there was a price, and Israel was willing to pay it. Survival at that price was cheap. (H. D. Beeby, Grace abounding: A Commentary on the Book of Hosea, 106)
- Here is evidence of great religious enthusiasm. They have built many altars for sin offerings. The word is actually ‘sinning’ as at the end of the verse, but the same Hebrew consonants will give the NIV’s translation. If this is right, as seems likely, then there is a play on words: the altars intended to remove the results of sin and restore fellowship with God actually add to the sin. The people reject the many things written in the law of God, as if they were something foreign and peculiar. (D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary, 774)
- Hosea mentions Egypt thirteen times in his book, and these references fall into three distinct categories: past—the exodus of the Jews from Egypt (2:15; 11:1; 12:9, 13; 13:4); present—Israel’s unholy alliances with Egypt (7:11, 16; 12:1); future—Egypt as a symbol of their impending bondage to Assyria (8:13; 9:3, 6; 11:5, 11). (Warren Wiersbe, Be Amazed: Minor Prophets, 36)
When might a nation be ripe for ruin in light of Hosea 8?
- When it lacks, or rejects, a moral compass.
(vv. 1, 3, 11-12 | Prov. 11:3; 14:34; Is. 5:20; 60:12; Jer. 18:6-10; 1 Cor. 15:33; Rev. 21:8)
On what basis would judgment come upon Gods people? They broke his covenant, transgressed his law, and spurned the good (vv. 1-3). These were the root causes of the approaching disaster. (Billy K. Smith, Layman’s Bible Book Commentary, Vol. 13, 41)
Their compromise had so cheapened them that Israel was of no value to the community of nations. Nobody feared them, nobody courted them, nobody wanted them. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 1401)
Israel was too wrapped up in the ways of other nations. She looked at them and their beliefs and forgot about God. His teaching became strange and foreign. It was a case of, “When in Canaan, do as the Canaanites do.’ (Kevin Logan, What is Love? Hosea, 69)
- When it trusts in its own “wisdom” and strength to solve all its problems.
(vv. 4, 6, 9-10 | Proverbs 1:7; 3:7; 3:35 ; 11:2; 12:15; 14:16; 18:2; 28:26; Col. 2:8)
The crucial problem was that Israel no longer sought the guidance of God. This was a decisive step away from Him in the downward spiral of forgetting Him. He was no longer the source of wisdom for large or small decisions, but shelved as an anachronism. (Ogilvie, 120)
Israel’s foolish practice of depending on political alliances and pagan gods was sure to bring God’s judgment upon her (v. 7). (Billy K. Smith, Layman’s Bible Book Commentary, Vol. 13, 43)
- When it has forgotten or rejected God.
(vv. 4, 6, 12, 14 | Deut. 31:21; Judges 17:6; Ps. 9:17; Is. 17:10-11; Jer. 2:32; 3:21; John 3:18)
Do we understand what it means to forget God? I’m not sure we do. It does not mean that God was put into the realm of oblivion. You cannot forget God like that! Even in denying God you are remembering Him. Intellectually we do not forget God. The word “forgot” here means, ‘Israel hath mislaid his Maker.’ If you forget something, it is out of your memory altogether. If you mislay something you are completely aware of its existence, but as far as you are concerned, it is out of use, out of circulation. (Alan Redpath, Learning to Live, 1961)
What could be more outrageous than to demonstrate in every way possible that Israel had broken covenant and transgressed the law and then have the impertinence to make a show of virtue by pretending exactly the opposite? It was more than a lie, uttered away beyond insensitivity and hypocrisy; it was a Judas kiss and was recognized as such. (H. D. Beeby, Grace abounding: A Commentary on the Book of Hosea, 101)
Conclusion… What must happen for the tides to turn for a nation in this condition?
A. God must be remembered.
(Deut. 8:18; 2 Chr. 7:14; Psalm 22:27; 33:12; 119:160; Prov. 14:34; Jer. 18:8; Mat. 6:33)
Few of us set out to extricate God from our lives. We simply neglect to do what keeps alive a vital relationship with Him. (Ogilvie, 114)
Despite its foundational Christian heritage, America is rapidly degenerating into a godless society. The church in America, although highly visible and active, appears powerless to redirect the rushing secular currents. Mired in a moral and spiritual crisis, America’s only hope is a national revival, like God has graciously bestowed in the past. (Erwin Lutzer, America’s Spiritual Crisis, v. 1, n. 2, p. 12)
B. Morality, goodness, and truth must be defended.
(Pro. 12:22; 14:34; John 8:32; Ac. 5:29; 1 Cor. 13:4-6; Eph. 6:14; Col. 2:8; 1 Peter 3:15-16)
More law is not the answer when every piece of instruction is rejected (cf. on 4:6; 8:1). (David Allan Hubbard, Hosea, 152)
The gospel is a call for every one of us to die – to die to sin and to die to self – and to live with unshakable trust in Christ, choosing to follow His Word even when it brings us into clear confrontation with our culture. (David Platt, Counter Culture, 180)
The ancient, historical Jesus came full of grace and truth. The modern, mythological Jesus comes full of tolerance and relativism. Even in the church truth is sometimes buried under subjectivism and cowardice, while grace is lost in a sea of permissiveness and indifference. Without truth, we lack courage to speak and convictions to speak about. Without grace, we lack compassion to meet people’s deepest needs. The vast majority of colleges were built with the vision and funding of Christians. Why? To teach truth. Most American hospitals were built with the vision and funding of Christians. Why? To extend grace. We don’t have the luxury of choosing either grace or truth. Yet many believers habitually embrace one instead of the other, according to our temperament, background, church or family. We must learn to say yes to both grace and truth – and say no to whatever keeps us from them. (Randy Alcorn, The Grace and Truth Paradox, 72)
C. We must turn to, trust in, follow, and live for Jesus; the embodiment of truth and morality.
(Ps. 40:4; Is. 26:3-4; Eph. 5:15-17; James 3:13; 3:17; 1 Pet. 2:9; 1 John 2:15-17; 3:18)
Jesus Christ is not valued at all until He is valued above all. (Augustine)
This is the stunning message of Christianity; Jesus died for you so that He might live in you. Jesus doesn’t merely improve your old nature; He imparts to you and entirely new nature – one that is completely united with His. (David Platt, Follow Me, 65)
Gospel Connection…
Jesus came to redeem people and peoples who would but turn to and trust in him.
(Psalm 25:5; 145:18; Matthew 24:14; Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Revelation 7:9)
Saving faith may thus be defined as a voluntary turning from all hope and grounds based on self-merit, and assuming an attitude of expectancy toward God, trusting Him to do a perfect saving work based only on the merit of Christ. (Lewis Sperry Chafer, True Evangelism, 55)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- In what ways might our nation be similar to the nation of Israel in Hosea 8? In what ways are we different?
- What avenues do you have to point people to Jesus? In what ways can they be utilized to promote morality, goodness, and God’s unchanging truth?
- How can Jesus’ followers be faithful in standing up for truth and morality without compromising the charge we have to do so with gentleness and respect?
- Why is it so important to live the truth we promote, or to “practice what we preach”?
Quotes to note…
Their compromise had so cheapened them that Israel was of no value to the community of nations. Nobody feared them, nobody courted them, nobody wanted them. (Warren Wiersbe, Be Amazed: Minor Prophets, 35)
[God] has ordained that we should grow in Him through knowledge of and obedience to His Word. Discerning and doing His will is the secret of a deepening relationship with Him. We cannot know Him intimately if we give our allegiance to false gods. (Ogilvie, 114)
Good is the long way of spelling God. All that is good describes God. To reject good is to snub God. (Kevin Logan, What is Love? Hosea, 67)
Everyone wants leaders who understand their struggle for life and offer them hope for its enhancement. The surest way for a leader to understand his people’s sufferings and aspirations is to share them. A leader who has risen from the people or participated with them directly in the events which led to a new order in their lives has a bond with them which can survive all sorts of mistakes and weaknesses on the leader’s part. (James M. Ward, Amos, Hosea, 76)
Public-opinion research points to a deepening paradox in society: the combination of commitment to religion with a deepening moral relativism. For example, while 91 percent of the American people consider religion very important in their lives, 63 percent reject the concept of absolutes. (Don Eberly, Restoring the Good Society, 38)
In America, we have a long history of valuing the concept of the separation of church and state. This idea historically referred to a division of labors between the church and the civil magistrate. However, initially both the church and the state were seen as entities ordained by God and subject to His governance. In that sense, the state was considered to be an entity that was “under God.” What has happened in the past few decades is the obfuscation of this original distinction between church and state, so that today the language we hear of separation of church and state, when carefully exegeted, communicates the idea of the separation of the state from God. In this sense, it’s not merely that the state declares independence from the church, it also declares independence from God and presumes itself to rule with autonomy. (R.C. Sproul, Statism, September 2008, Tabletalk, p. 7)
Even when you include the amendments, the Constitution says only three things about religion. Here’s exactly what the Constitution says about the subject: Article VI: “No religious test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” Amendment 1: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In other words: 1. The government is not allowed to make people take a religious test in order to qualify for holding federal office; 2. Congress is not allowed to set up an official national church; and 3. Congress is not allowed to stop people from practicing their religions. These three rules are meant to protect your liberty to follow God, not to abolish it. That famous slogan about a “wall of separation” just isn’t there. (J. Budziszewski, How to Stay Christian in College, 116)