Hosea 8 - Reaping the Whirlwind
by Lance Ponder(94)http://fkiprofessor.xanga.com
Vultures and Eagles
Hos 8:1 Set the trumpet to your lips! One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law . The trumpet warns that someone is watching and waiting to devour. The word translated “vulture” in ESV is translated “eagle” in KJV. Since the meaning is uncertain, there are at least two ways of viewing this passage. Vultures are scavengers. When an animal dies, such as when a lion makes a kill, the vultures come and pick clean whatever is left. Assyria attacked much like a lion, but a bit more than a century later Babylon would strike down Jerusalem and take what it desired from the countryside of Israel much like a vulture picking over century old remnants. Nebuchadnezzar is also referred to as an eagle (cf Eze 17). A reference to Babylon may also make sense in context because a few verses later we see that Judah receives some degree of judgment in the failures for which Israel is being judged. It could also mean that like an eagle, Assyria is watching Israel closely and waiting for the right time to swoop down upon its prey. Regardless of the correct interpretation, the reason for the danger is Israel’s own sin. Transgression against the covenant and the law (literally “Torah”), both great gifts given by YHWH, is essentially the same thing as open rebellion against God Himself.
I Never Knew You
Hos 8:2-3 To me they cry, “My God, we—Israel—know you.” Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him. Taken together this passage sounds very much like a practical application of Jesus’ words to the crowds in Mt 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then I will declare to them ‘I never knew you; depart from me you workers of lawlessness.’” Jesus quoted the prophets, directly or indirectly, dozens of times in the Gospels. In this case he may well have had Hosea’s prophecy in mind. Human pride puffs us up and makes us believe in our own worthiness. God does not judge us as we judge ourselves. He sees through our façade to the foundation of our souls. We are either built on the rock or sinking sand. Those who claim to know the Lord will be held most accountable. Ancient Israel was a nation comprised of 10 of the 12 tribes who worshipped YHWH in the wilderness. They were once united under Saul, David, and Solomon. By the mid-eighth century BC, however, the security and prosperity won by God’s hand was now being taken for granted. Political correctness and tolerance replaced purity of faith, righteousness of action, and holiness of character. Frighteningly, the same assessment could be made of America and much of the rest of western civilization today.
Politically Incorrect
Hos 8:4-6 They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction. I have spurned your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces. In the decades leading up to the collapse of Samaria a whole string of kings ruled the Northern Kingdom. 2 Ki 15 records these kings in Israel following the death of Jeroboam (second) who ruled from Samaria for 41 years. Zechariah, son of Jeroboam, ruled 6 months and was murdered by Shallum. Shallum ruled 1 month and was murdered by Menahem. Menahem ruled 10 years and started paying tributes to Assyria. He died and was succeeded by Pekahiah who ruled for two years. Pekah murdered Pekahiah and ruled for 20 years. Hoshea, the last king of Israel, murdered Pekah and ruled 9 years. Samaria fell in 722 BC. A total of seven kings ruled Israel within a span of less than 50 years. All this king making was not what God wanted for Israel nor was it by God’s hand. Each king was more evil than the one before, all the way back to the first illegitimate king of Israel (Jeroboam, first) who began the practice of accepting foreign gods out of spite, greed and pride (1 Ki 12). Hosea expresses God’s frustration when he asks the rhetorical question, “How long will they be incapable of innocence?” The reference to the “calf of Samaria” is a direct reference to the initiation of the practice of idol worship by Jeroboam (first) when he led the Northern tribes away from Jerusalem’s king, Rehoboam, the son of Solomon (1 Ki 12:28). God had spared Israel many times, but enough was enough and the sin of Israel was about to reap its punishment.
Reap What You Sow
Hos 8:7 For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no flour; if it were to yield, strangers would devour it. Wind has properties that make for an interesting allegory to the “reap what you sow” moral. You cannot see wind, but you can feel it. It doesn’t have any sort of solid form. To say Israel sowed wind was to say they did nothing tangible, nothing useful. What they did do was a waste, like chaff blown away in the wind. A breeze has very little power, but a whirlwind – a great torrent of wind like a tornado – has incredible destructive power. Plainly interpreted, Israel’s useless worship was to be repaid with wrath. Their worship of YHWH was corrupted by worship of false gods to the point that whatever worship given to YHWH could bear no good fruit. This is the meaning of grain without head that could produce no flour. Hosea goes on to say if there were any yield, strangers would devour it. In other words, any efforts made to strengthen YHWH worship would be rendered useless by the corruption introduced by the foreigners in the land who brought their false gods with them into Israel. In modern application we see heresy in many parts of the church. Bad doctrine corrupts the church from within and the pull of the world, the pace of modern living and the illusion of happiness through materialism seek to destroy the church from without. We are given confidence through the Apostles that Christ will not allow his church to be destroyed. We are also given confidence that those in our midst who are like tares among the wheat will be separated out and destroyed (Mt 13:24-30). This should be a sobering reality (fear of the Lord e.g. 2 Cor 5:11) that drives us to self-examination. If we are not bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), we have good reason to be concerned. Jesus came to call us to repentance for salvation (Mt 4:17). Israel received fair warning to repent, but did not. Will America hear the call to repent?
Gathering
Hos 8:8-10 Israel is swallowed up; already they are among the nations as a useless vessel. For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey wandering alone; Ephraim has hired lovers. Though they hire allies among the nations, I will soon gather them up. And the king and princes shall soon writhe because of the tribute. God equated the uselessness of Israel’s worship with that its pagan neighbors. For their evil they were given over to their neighbors, the Assyrians. Assyria took what they wanted of Israel’s human wealth to relocate (exile) in service to their own empire. Israel is identified as a “wild donkey wandering alone.” Such an animal is easily captured and put into the service to its master. The latter part of 8:9 begins the thought carried on by 8:10, namely the attempted hiring of Egypt in order to deceive and try to get out of paying taxes to Assyria. This was ultimately the mistake that caused the fall of King Hoshea and Israel. The king was imprisoned for three years while Assyria waged war over Israel until they people submitted and went into exile. The Assyrians were a very violent people who visited the more horrible forms of torture on their victims. To say Hoshea and his court writhed was probably an understatement. If the glory of Israel at its height under David and Solomon pales in comparison to the glory of heaven, it stands to reason the writhing agony experienced during Assyria’s conquest must pale in comparison to hell.
Multiplication
Hos 8:11 Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they have become to him altars for sinning. My mother used say, “you are what you eat.” Business philosophers would say, “what you do defines who you are.” While neither of these axioms can be found word for word in scripture, Hos 8:11 comes pretty close as a practical example. Israel allowed altars to foreign gods to flourish. This was a policy of tolerance. As the pagan culture entered Israel, Israel began to adopt their altars. By adopting false gods, the moral absolutes of YHWH lost their hold and allowed them to slip into moral relevance and equivocation. All sorts of evil can be justified if you can set your own standards instead of applying moral absolutes based on holiness. Such shifts within our own culture should be both evident and frightening to us.
Estrangement
Hos 8:12 Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing. The heirs of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were chosen by God to receive the covenant promise. God chose Moses to be the prophet through which He would reveal His divine nature. The Torah, which means “the teaching” and is generally referred to as “the law,” was given through Moses as an important part of the inheritance of the Abrahamic covenant. In the Torah God laid out his commandments for moral behavior, social justice, prophetic insight, health and welfare, instructions for sacrifice, acceptable ceremony and the proper manifestation of holy worship. Sin existed before the Law was given to codify it. Death reigned before the Law was given to justify it. The plan of salvation was prepared before the Law was given to reveal it. No matter how many commandments God could give, these people were determined to ignore them.
Unacceptable
Hos 8:13 As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the Lord does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt. Although Israel adopted the idolatry of its neighbors, they carried out at least some of the YHWH worship rituals of their own culture. They made sacrifices, observed Sabbath and kept at least some of the holy days prescribed by Moses. These acts were in vain, however, because through their idolatry they broke the Law and their relationship with God. The Lord’s plan was mercy and redemption, but Israel deliberately chose to turn its back on the Lord, holiness, and the promises made by their fathers. God wants to forgive sin, but when the sinner chooses their sin over God’s mercy the Lord is honor bound to remember iniquity and give punishment instead of grace. The reference to Israel returning to Egypt is figurative. As in their days in Egypt, Jacob’s children would be taken into slavery far from their promised land.
Judah Is Not Blameless
Hos 8:14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; so I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour her strongholds. Israel was not alone in its guilt. Israel forgot their maker, but Judah was not much better. Israel staked their hope in false gods through their commercial idol trade. Idolatry was an increasing problem in Judah as well, but the Southern Kingdom also invested more in its military-industrial complex. They fortified numerous cities with high walls, conscripted more men into service, and made or purchased more weapons and chariots. In addition to being worthy of exclusive worship, YHWH was also the protector of His people. Taking their military strength into their own hands was essentially the same as taking worship from God and giving it to things made with their own hands. Samaria fell in 722 BC, but Assyria continued its attacks in the region of Canaan over the next several years culminating in a great siege on Jerusalem which ended in 701 BC, not by King Hezekiah’s military power, but by the hand of God. This, in turn, can be attributed to Hezekiah leading his people in repentance to the Lord.
Majoring in the Minors
Hosea Chapters:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Article submitted Monday, March 15, 2010 & read 214 times.
Leave Your Comments:
» left by Teresa (135 days 13 hours ago.)
Thank you Lance. I think that if everyone who read this - myself included, stopped to look within, we would each find a place where we need to repent and regroup. I do appreciate the two thoughts on the eagle vs the vulture - great points, I didn't know some translations say vulture, but wow, like you said in either case, the bottom line is their rebellion - our own rebellion.Respond to this comment
» left by Lance Ponder(94) (133 days 19 hours ago.)
Thanks. I didn't emphasize that both eagles and vultures are birds of prey and non-kosher carrian eaters, so it is completely understandable that the original Hebrew word could be translated either way. We assign certain attributes based on our perception of the two creatures - perhaps too much - when the common characteristic is closer to the point at hand. Thanks so much for the feedback. I always enjoy your positive feedback. You bless me so much.
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