Rush City Baptist Church

Hosea – The Adulterous Nation

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Text: Hosea

INTRODUCTION: According to Hosea 1:1, Hosea prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah in the southern kingdom of Judah and during the reign of Jeroboam II in the northern kingdom of Israel.  Since Jeroboam died in 753 B.C. Hosea must have begun his ministry sometime before this. Most scholars place the core of Hosea’s ministry in the years between 752 and 724 B.C. and spanning at three decades. This time period of the divided kingdom is chronicled in 2 Kings 14-17.  The first part of this period was a time of unprecedented prosperity for the kingdoms of Judah and Israel.  On the international scene there was a vacuum of power since Assyria was in a period of decline due to inner turmoil.  This time of prosperity was prophesied by Jonah in 2 Kings 14:25.  “He (Jeroboam) was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.” It was a time of military success and territorial expansion.  In fact during this time the territories of Judah and Israel expanded to encompass the size of the territory controlled by David and Solomon.  Because of their military success Israel was also enjoying economic prosperity, which coincided with its spiritual poverty.

This was also a time of great spiritual complacency. Because of the economic prosperity there was very little genuine interest in God.  There are indications in Hosea that the time of peace and prosperity was coming to an end.  It was a time when the influence of foreign powers (primarily Assyria) was beginning to be felt once more.  In the northern kingdom of Israel, following the lengthy reign of Jeroboam, the last days of Israel’s existence was marked by a series of short reigns brought to an end by assassinations and intrigue.  Assyria began to flex its military muscle by invading the land of Israel.  We are told in 2 Kings 15:19-20, “Then Pul (another name for Tiglath-Pileser) king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and strengthen his own hold on the kingdom.  Menahem exacted this money from Israel.  Every wealthy man had to contribute fifty shekels of silver to be given to the king of Assyria.  So the king of Assyria withdrew and stayed in the land no longer.” Assyria was bought off for a while, but it eventually returned to Palestine when it was hired by Ahaz, king of Judah to protect the southern kingdom from the military advances of Syria and Israel.  “Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, ‘I am your servant and vassal.  Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.’  And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.  The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus and capturing it” (2 Kings 16:7-9).  Hosea 5:8-14 alludes to this international conflict between the divided kingdoms and Assyria. References to Egypt (7:11; 9:6; 12:2) and her relationship to Israel fit the period late in Israel’s existence. 

The book of Hosea may be divided up into two major sections.  First, Hosea’s marital experience which pictured God’s relationship with Israel in chapters 1-3.  Then, chapters 4-14 include prophetic messages dealing with Israel’s sin, judgment and eventual restoration. Another way to view the book is to divide it into five major sections, each one of which moves from judgment to salvation.

                                Judgment                   Salvation

                Section 1   1:2-9                         1:10-21

                Section 2   2:2-13                       2:14-3:5

                Section 3   4:1-5:15a                   5:15b-6:3

                Section 4   6:4-11:7                    11:8-11

                Section 5   11:12-13:16               14:1-9

BODY: Think of the book of Hosea as a series of sermons that were preached by the prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel over a period of many years as the prophet saw his nation go from great political prosperity to the brink of national extinction because of its spiritual poverty.  We are going to look at four categories of Hosea’s prophecies, namely, Israel’s sin, the coming suffering, the future salvation, and the prophet’s repeated pleas to the nation that chose to disregard his warnings.

Sin – Hosea brings the following charges against Israel:

Apostasy from the top on down.  The religious leaders, the priests, were guilty of leading the people away from God.  “The more the priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful.  They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness.  And it will be: Like people, like priests” (4:7-9a).  The political leaders were guilty of encouraging corruption in the nation. “They delight the king with their wickedness, the princes with their lies.  They are all adulterers, burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it rises.  On the day of the festival of our king the princes become inflamed with wine, and he joins hands with the mockers” (7:3-5).  When Israel no longer treated God with reverence, that affected their morals and how they treated one another.  “There is no faithfulness, no love, and no acknowledgment of God in the land.  There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.” (4:1b-2)

Idolatry.  They were guilty of engaging in the immoral idolatry practiced by the surrounding nations. “They consult a wooden idol and are answered by a stick of wood.  A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.  They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth, where the shade is pleasant.” (4:12-13)

Dead Orthodoxy.  They were guilty of a dead orthodoxy where they went through the motions of worshiping God while they harbored sin in their hearts.  “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings” (6:6).  “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning.  I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something alien. They offer sacrifices given to me and they eat the meat, but the Lord is not pleased with them.” (8:11-13)

Infidelity.  They were guilty of making political treaties instead of relying on God.  “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his sores, then Ephraim turned to Assyria, and sent to the great king for help.  But he is not able to cure you, not able to heal your sores.” (5:13)

Hostility.  The nation was guilty of neglecting the warnings of the prophets and abusing them. “The days of punishment are coming, the days of reckoning are at hand.  Let Israel know this.  Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac.  The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim, yet snares await him on all his paths, and hostility in the house of his God.” (9:7-8)

Notice the different metaphors used throughout the book to describe Israel’s sin: “The Israelites are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer.” (4:16); “Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is a flat cake not turned over” (7:8); “Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless—now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria.” (7:11); “They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow” (7:16).  Notice also the references to the southern kingdom of Judah. Hosea pleaded for Judah not to follow in the idolatrous footsteps of Israel.  “Though you commit adultery, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty” (4:15).  Judah was showing the same arrogance toward God that led to Israel’s downfall.  “Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin; Judah also stumbles with them” (5:5).  Judah was guilty of a shallow love of God. “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears” (6:4).  Hosea once again warns Judah of coming judgment.  “Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed” (6:11). 

Suffering – Throughout his prophecies Hosea warned of God’s coming wrath on Israel.  The first form of punishment was going to be exile.  “Do not rejoice, O Israel; do not be jubilant like the other nations.  For you have been unfaithful to your God; you love the wages of a prostitute at every threshing floor.  Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people; the new wine will fail them. They will not remain in the Lord’s land; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria” (9:1-3).  And then at the end of the chapter he writes, “My God will reject them because they have not obeyed him; they will be wanderers among the nations” (9:17).  The second form of punishment was that God was going to eliminate the reason for Israel’s existence.  That is, because of Israel’s sin, the nation forfeited the purpose for its existence.  “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.  Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children” (4:6).  God spelled out for Israel his purpose for their existence when he brought them up out of Egypt.  “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.  Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5-6)

Salvation. Very early on in the book Hosea prophesied of a future prosperous and unified nation of Israel living under the leadership of one ruler and occupying the Promised Land once again.  “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted.  In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’  The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.” (1:10-11)

Solution. As I read through the prophecy of Hosea I saw an expression reappear over and over.  “She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold—which they used for Baal” (2:8).  “Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: ‘There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land’” (4:1).  “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God.  A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord” (5:4).  “What can I do with you, Ephraim?  What can I do with you, Judah?  Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.  Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings” (6:4-6).  “I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.  I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord” (2:19-20).  “But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.  You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.” (13:4)

BecauseIsrael failed to acknowledge God, God refused to acknowledge the nation any longer.  Even though God is a loving and merciful God, he will not be treated with disrespect by his people.  God wants to be acknowledged in every aspect of our lives.  How we treat God will determine how he treats us.