Jehovah’s Complaint Against Israel: Their Departure From Himself
Hosea 4
Hosea 4
Hosea 4-13. The second half of the book consists of successive moral appeals to Israel to repent. Hosea examines every class of the people, the royalty, and the priesthood, showing the ruined condition of each, and how they had robbed Jehovah of His rights. But though He must judge, it is His strange work, and His broken heart is clearly seen. Further, the Lord remembers mercy and promises future restoration, not on the basis of the people’s obedience, but His own goodness. There are five main things we see in Hosea 4-13:1
- God’s Moral Dealings Don’t Frustrate His Purposes – God must deal with Israel’s sin, yet His ultimate purposes of blessing remain unchanged.
- Man’s Ingratitude Toward God’s Love – Israel responded to Jehovah’s goodness and affection with unfaithfulness and betrayal.
- The Longsuffering of God’s Love – Jehovah patiently bears with His ungrateful people, repeatedly appealing to them before judgment falls.
- God’s Governmental Withdrawal – When His appeals are persistently refused, God withdraws and allows Israel to experience the consequences of sin and the power of the enemy.
- God’s Counsels Flow from His Affections – His purposes toward Israel are carried out according to His deep love for His people, and He always remembers mercy.
Hosea 4. The fourth chapter lays out Jehovah’s complaint against the people viewed together until v.15, where Judah is distinguished. Jehovah’s controversy with Israel was that truth, goodness, and the knowledge of God had disappeared from the land. The people’s sin had corrupted even the creation, and the priests encouraged and profited from it. Fleshly indulgence led to idolatry, spiritual darkness, and moral corruption. Ephraim had become stubborn and beyond correction, so Judah was warned not to follow her example. Having refused Jehovah’s restraint, Israel would be scattered by Assyria and ashamed of the idols that could not save her.
His Complaint Against the People (4:1-5)
CHAPTER 4
1 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye children of Israel; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land; for there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2 Swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, — they break out; and blood toucheth blood. DARBY
vv.1-2 A Controversy with the People. The first appeal centers around the general moral decline of the people: “there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land”. Their departure from God was reflected in their moral behaviors: they had broken the 4th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th commandments. We have the root in v.1 and the fruit in v.2.
3 For this shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. DARBY
v.3 The Result in Creation. The consequence of Israel’s sin was seen in the creation: the people, beasts, birds, and fish all suffered and diminished.
4 Yet let no man strive, and let no man reprove; for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. 5 And thou shalt stumble by day; and the prophet also shall stumble with thee by night: and I will destroy thy mother. DARBY
vv.4-5 An Unreachable People. It was pointless to try to reach a people that were so entrenched in self-will as to strive with the priest. They would “stumble by day”, or fall under judgment even in broad daylight, when the way should have been clear. Not only the people, but “the prophet also shall stumble with thee by night”, those who should have guided the people were themselves spiritually blind. Then, “I will destroy thy mother”, referring to Israel corporately. Judgment would reach beyond individuals and result in the downfall of the nation.
His Complaint Against the Priests (4:6-14)
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; for thou hast rejected knowledge, and I will reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me; seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children. DARBY
v.6 Total Failure As A Nation of Priests. Israel had been ruined from their calling by “lack of knowledge”. They had rejected the knowledge of Jehovah, and as a result God had rejected them as the bearers of that knowledge to the world. God’s purpose for Israel as stated in Ex. 19 was that they might be a special possession for Himself out of all nations, to be “to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation”. A kingdom of priests would mean that Israel would represent and pattern the knowledge of Jehovah and teach the other nations His ways, and then as the nations came up to worship Jehovah, Israel would conduct their worship as priests. Sadly, the Lord must say to Israel, “thou shalt be no priest to me”. This leads into the subject of the actual priests of the family of Aaron.
7 As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame. 8 They eat the sin of my people, and their soul longeth for their iniquity. 9 And it shall be as the people so the priest; and I will visit their ways upon them, and recompense to them their doings; 10 and they shall eat, and not have enough; they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: for they have left off taking heed to Jehovah. DARBY
vv.7-10 The Priests Profited from Israel’s Sin. This section begins with the people and transitions to the priests (v.9). Instead of sorrowing over their sin and bringing sin offerings to Jehovah, the people ate the sin offerings. The priests did the same, getting rich from the sacrifices that belonged to Jehovah. We find that the spiritual leaders of Israel matched the moral condition of the people.
11 Fornication, and wine, and new wine take away the heart. 12 My people ask counsel of their stock, and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of whoredoms causeth them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God: 13 they sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oak and poplar and terebinth, because the shade thereof is good; therefore your daughters play the harlot and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. 14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your daughters-in-law for their committing adultery; for they themselves go aside with harlots, and they sacrifice with prostitutes: and the people that doth not understand shall come to ruin. DARBY
vv.11-14 Indulgence Lead to Idolatry, to Loss of Understanding, to Moral Corruption. The corruption of the priesthood led to idolatry. The indulgences of the flesh turned their hearts to false gods. This is a warning to us; “Fornication, and wine, and new wine take away the heart.” But with their heart taken away, and in the pursuit of false gods, their understanding was darkened. Rather than asking counsel of Jehovah, “ask counsel of their stock” a piece of wood, perhaps carved, “and their staff declareth unto them” perhaps cast on the ground as a divination rod. They completely turned against God’s order and the Divine order of Levitical worship. They offered sacrifices in every place that suited their fancy, including under certain trees “because their shade is good”. Then we have the other half of the circle: idolatry resulted in moral perversion: “therefore your daughters commit lewdness, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery”. The Lord would not punish the daughters because their father’s were doing worse: going aside with harlots and sacrifice with prostitutes, which was common in paganism. Judgment would fall on the people in general who were without discernment: “the people that doth not understand shall come to ruin.”
Ephraim’s Irremediable Condition, Appeal to Judah (4:15-19)
15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, let not Judah trespass; and come ye not unto Gilgal, neither go up to Beth-aven, nor swear As Jehovah liveth! 16 For Israel is refractory as an untractable heifer; now will Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a wide pasture. DARBY
vv.15-16 Appeal to Judah. For the first time we have Judah distinguished from Israel. The example of Israel having played the harlot is given to warn Judah not to follow those footsteps, though we can see that Judah too was guilty. Judah is warned not to go to:
- Gilgal, which was formerly the place of great scenes of Jehovah’s deliverance, but was now overrun with idolatry.
- Bethel, called here, Beth-aven in contempt, which means ‘house of vanity” instead of “house of God”.
They were not to swear by the name of the Lord: “nor swear As Jehovah liveth”. It was adding insult to injury to to attempt to bring the Lord’s name into what was repugnant to Him. Israel was about to come under judgment because of their stubbornness. She is pictured as a heifer that refuses to move. Refractory means ‘stubborn’, picturing Israel’s refusal to listen, and continued deflecting the Lord’s discipline. “Untractable” means unable to accept correction. As a consequence, Jehovah would “feed them as a lamb in a wide pasture.” Israel wanted to be free from Jehovah’s restraint, like the stubborn heifer that would not be controlled. Jehovah would therefore give them that “freedom”: they would be like a little lamb turned loose in a vast open place. This may be a picture of them being scattered in the Assyrian captivity, yet preserved by God.
17 — Ephraim is joined to idols: leave him alone. 18 Their drink is sour; they give themselves up to whoredom; her great men passionately love their shame. 19 The wind hath wrapped her up in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices. DARBY
vv.17-19 Ephraim’s Irremediable Condition. The northern kingdom, called Ephraim, was beyond the point of no return. The Lord had now given them up, and Hosea was not to even try to help them. This is one of the saddest verses in the Bible (v.17)… God had ceased to strive with them. He would now allow the evil to run its course. The evidence of their degradation is in v.18. The wind – destructive, scattering influences (Assyrian captivity) – had wrapped Israel in its wings. They would be humbled by their sacrificed to false gods, because those idols would not save them from the judgment of God that was coming against them!