Session 9 Hosea 10:5-15
HOSEA 10:5-15
MEMORY VERSE: HOSEA 10:10
Breakups are painful. They rarely happen suddenly or for one single act but usually are an accumulation of missteps and breaches of trust. Each misstep carries a consequence that eventually adds up. Couples cannot neglect their relationship and hope everything will turn out good. Israel disregarded the consequences for neglecting their relationship with God, and the result was disastrous. Their rejection of God did not happen overnight, but each step away from God led them closer to the “breakup.”
(In PSG, p. 82)
In chapter 9, Hosea used a failed harvest to make three points regarding Israel. First, the failed harvest was a sign of God’s displeasure. The Lord would cause them to suffer a devastating military defeat and then to be led into captivity (9:1-3). Second, the failed harvest pointed to an impending famine that would cause the shutdown of sacrifices because of the lack of needed resources (9:4-6). Third, the people rejected the prophets sent by God to warn of His impending judgment (9:7-9).
The second half of Hosea 9 contains a discussion that took place between God and Hosea. God spoke of what it was like when He first called Israel to Himself. He likened the freshness of their relationship to unexpectedly finding grapes in the wilderness or enjoying the first fruit of a fig tree. Nevertheless, Israel turned away from God and turned to Baal. They became abhorrent like the god they worshiped (9:10). As their ancestors before them, the people of Israel in Hosea’s day had turned to Baal. The consequences of their defection from the Lord would be awful. They would face invasion, exile, and the bereavement of their children. In chapter 10, Hosea continued with more indictments and promises of judgment against Israel, as will be discussed in this study.
5 The residents of Samaria will have anxiety over the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its idolatrous priests rejoiced over it; the people will mourn over it, over its glory. It will certainly go into exile. 6 The calf itself will be taken to Assyria as an offering to the great king. Ephraim will experience shame; Israel will be ashamed of its counsel.
Hosea described the anxious and mournful emotions the residents of Samaria would experience concerning their calf-idol in Beth-aven. Though Samaria was the capital city of the Northern Kingdom, Israel, here Hosea used the term to represent the entire nation. Beth-aven, “house of wickedness/iniquity,” was a derogatory expression Hosea used for Bethel. Amos, a contemporary of Hosea, also prophesied against Bethel (Amos 4:4; 5:5; 7:10,13). Abraham had built an altar at Bethel, and since that time it had been a sacred place for his descendants (Gen. 12:8). The sacred place where Abraham once called on the name of the Lord had now become a place where his descendants cried out to Baal. Just as Bethel was part of Israel’s identity in connection to the faith of their forefathers, Beth-aven, had become central to their identity with their attachment to its calf-idol.
Hosea declared that the glory of this calf-idol was threatened. The idolatrous priests who rejoiced over it and attended to it were going to mourn over the loss of its glory since it would certainly go into exile. The loss of its glory may mean that they would lose the image that represented the presence of their gods in their midst. Or it could be a reference to plated gold and silver that most likely covered it. If so, then its glory would have been referring to its splendor and worth.
Ironically, the calf-idol of Beth-aven the Israelites so deeply revered was to be taken into captivity by the Assyrians, with whom they had sought an alliance when they rejected the Lord (Hos. 5:13; 8:9). Israel sought help from the great king of Assyria. But instead of helping them, the king took from them what had become most precious to them. Their idol-calf became a gift to the Assyrian king. It is unclear which Assyrian king this was. It could have been Tiglath-pileser III in 732 BC when the Assyrians first invaded Israel, or it could have been his son, Shalmaneser V, who took Israel’s king Hoshea captive and lead the Northern Kingdom into exile. This would coincide with Hosea 10:3 where the people declared: “We have no king!”
It would not be until their calf-idol was carried away into captivity that the people of Israel would experience feelings of shame. They were not ashamed of their rejection of the Lord, their worship of false gods, or their promiscuity, deceit, and violence.
7 Samaria’s king will disappear like foam on the surface of the water. 8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Is-rael, will be destroyed; thorns and thistles will grow over their altars. They will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
The three centers of authority in the Northern Kingdom were the king, the capital city, and the religious estab-lishment. In verse 7, Hosea mentioned two of the three, declaring that Israel’s capital, Samaria, would be de-stroyed and her king would be like foam or a twig on the surface of the waters. Like the foam or a twig in a stream is carried away by the currents of the water, so Samaria’s king, along with his capital city, would be powerless in the wake of a power outside of their control. Their resistance would be futile. That power would be the Assyrians. But in a greater way that power would be God, who would use this foreign power to do with Israel whatever was His will.
These were the consequences of Israel’s foolishness in thinking they could choose their own kings without consulting the Lord (8:4). According to their covenant with the Lord, He was to be their real national leader, not the king the people chose (1 Sam. 12:12). Therefore, their hope for security had been misplaced, and they would suffer the consequences of their folly. Hosea’s prophecy was fulfilled in 722 BC, when Israel’s king Hoshea was taken into Assyrian captivity (2 Kings 17:4).
Hosea’s declarations of God’s judgment on Israel ended with a description of the total devastation the na-tion would experience. It was a picture of destroyed shrines and altars, with people begging for an end to their lives. Almost every city, town, or village had a designated high place with shrines set on hills or in groves with sacrificial altars. Aven means wickedness, and Hosea called these shrines that dotted Israel’s landscape the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel. Their sacred shrines to their false gods at these high places were at the heart of Israel’s sin against the Lord.
The high places were a testimony of Israel’s infidelity to God, and He was going to destroy them. The devastation would be so thorough that the high places would become uninhabited wastelands of thorns and thistles growing over their altars. This catastrophic event would be accompanied by the cries of a miserable people. They would cry out to the mountains and hills for a sudden earthquake to take their lives and end their suffering and shame.
9 Israel, you have sinned since the days of Gibeah; they have taken their stand there. Will not war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah? 10 I will discipline them at my discretion; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bondage for their double iniquity.
Hosea used the expression the days of Gibeah to serve as a paradigm of Israel’s religious and moral decay (see Hos. 9:9). It is a reference to the events recorded in Judges 19–20. During the days of the judges, a Levite was traveling with his concubine. They needed to find a place to stop for the night and bypassed a Jebusite village to find an Israelite town where they thought it would be safer. When they reached Gibeah, an old man invited them to spend the night in his home. That evening, wicked men in the city surrounded the house and beat on the door, demanding to have sex with the Levite. The old man offered them his virgin daughter and the concubine, but the men would not have it. The Levite shoved his concubine out the door to them, and they sexually abused her until morning. When the Levite went to leave, he discovered his concubine lying at the doorstep.
He callously told her to get up, then realized she was dead. The Levite cut her body into twelve pieces and sent a piece to each of the twelve tribes of Israel. The tribes of Israel demanded Gibeah to hand over the wicked men. When Gibeah refused, the men of Israel and of Benjamin, Gibeah’s tribe, fought. Thousands on both sides were killed, and only six hundred men from the tribe of Benjamin survived.
Calling attention to the Levite’s sordid actions and the wickedness of the men of Gibeah, Hosea declared that Israel had continued to be spiritually bankrupt and morally corrupt. This is where they had taken their stand. What’s more, God’s judgment on all of Israel would be like what happened to the tribe of Benjamin at Gibeah when it was nearly obliterated.
Since the time of King Saul, Gibeah had been one of Israel’s major fortresses. Its demise would represent the truth that Israel mistakenly trusted in their fortified cities and military for their security instead of the Lord (Hos. 8:14).
God would teach Israel a lesson concerning the consequences of their trust in their military might. While God may use the vast armies of nations to bring about His justice on Israel, Israel needed to realize that He would act as He chose and when he chose, at His own discretion.
The spirit of Gibeah had lasted long enough. God’s patience with Israel had come to an end. His sovereignty was indisputable, and Israel’s judgment was certain. The nature of God’s judgment on Israel called to mind what happened at Gibeah. In Gibeah, the tribes of Israel gathered against Benjamin. Now the nations would gather against Israel. In Gibeah, it was a national conflict; the attack on Israel would be an international event.
Hosea concluded verse 10 by explaining the result of this invasion of foreign armies and the reason it would happen. First, the result would be bondage. The Northern Kingdom of Israel would be carried off into exile. This happened in 722 BC, when after a three-year siege Samaria surrendered to Shalmaneser V. Second, the reason God sent Israel into foreign captivity was because of their double iniquity—their foolish apostasy and smug trust in their military establishment instead of in the Lord.
(In PSG, p. 87)
11 Ephraim is a well-trained calf that loves to thresh, but I will place a yoke on her fine neck. I will harness Ephraim; Judah will plow; Jacob will do the final plowing.
In this verse, Hosea called Israel a well-trained calf, a strong heifer capable and willing to thresh. This likely refers to a heifer walking around the threshing floor, separating the grain from the ears. These cows were allowed the freedom of eating while they worked (Deut. 25:4). This is a picture of the liberty Israel enjoyed before being taken into captivity.
The problem with Israel was that the threshing they loved to do produced wickedness and reaped injustice (Hos. 10:13). For the second time, Hosea used the metaphor of the threshing floor to describe Israel’s unbridled unfaithfulness to the Lord. (See 9:1-2.)
The days of unrestrained disloyalty would come to an end as the Lord declared He would place a yoke on the fine neck of His people. They would lose their liberty and experience the oppressive yoke of exile. Ultimately, both the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim and the Southern Kingdom of Judah would experience the burden of captivity since they would both tread the same path.
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves and reap faithful love; break up your unplowed ground. It is time to seek the LORD until he comes and sends righteousness on you like the rain.
Nevertheless, God mercifully implored the strong heifer, Israel, to sow righteousness and reap faithful love. Faithful love means covenant loyalty to the Lord. This is all tied to the idea of consequence and reaping what one sows. The command to break up your unplowed ground meant they needed to renounce their false gods and the way that they had been living. They needed to start afresh by seeking the Lord.
To seek the LORD meant they needed to be completely devoted to Him while forsaking all of their false gods. Seeking the Lord also meant they needed to look to Him for provision and security in times of crisis instead of depending on themselves or some foreign power. If His people would do this, then the Lord would send His righteousness on them like the rain. God would save them from their enemies and renew His blessings upon them as was always His desire.
13 You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in your large number of soldiers, 14 the roar of battle will rise against your people, and all your fortifications will be demolished in a day of war, like Shalman’s destruction of Beth-arbel. Mothers will be dashed to pieces along with their children.
Hosea continued with his farming metaphor. Instead of sowing righteousness, Israel had plowed wickedness. Instead of reaping faithful love, Israel reaped injustice. Instead of eating the fruit of lies, the nation needed to break up the hard ground of their hearts and seek the Lord. They were promiscuous, disloyal to their covenant with the Lord, and dependent on false sources of security—their idols, political alliances, and military fortifications.
The second part of verse 13 moves away from the farming metaphor and is more explicit. God declared that He was going to bring about their destruction because they had trusted in their own way. What was their own way? It was everything their society was built upon. It was their syncretistic worship of calling out to the Lord while worshiping false gods, their disloyalty to their covenant with Him, their installation of kings without any consideration of God’s will in the matter, their seeking foreign alliances instead of seeking the Lord, their trust in their own military fortifications instead of in the Lord, their promiscuity, injustice, and violence.
Of note was Israel’s trust in its army, which was as impressive as it had been since the days of David. However, their army would be helpless in the face of the onslaught that would come against them. Their soldiers would be unable to defend themselves as their massive fortifications would crumble before their invaders. Further, since the military would not be able to defend itself, it certainly would not be able to defend their wives and children. It is difficult to know who Shalman was or where Beth-arbel was located. It’s possible that Shalman is a reference to Shalmaneser, the Assyrian king who invaded Israel and captured Samaria in 722 BC.
15 So it will be done to you, Bethel, because of your extreme evil. At dawn the king of Israel will be totally destroyed.
Bethel was the center of Israel’s apostasy, promiscuity, false piety, and hostility to God. It was the location of the calf-idol mentioned in verses 5-8. Therefore, it is fitting that Hosea concluded this passage by emphasizing Bethel would receive the full measure of God’s judgment because of its extreme evil. What’s more, the king of Israel, the symbol of the nation’s power and autonomy, would be totally destroyed.
Sanctification
Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life. (See Psalm 92:12-14; 2 Peter 3:18.)
Use other Scripture to help understand a Bible passage.
Read Judges 19–20 and take note of what the passage reveals about the spiritual condition of the religious leadership and about the wickedness of the people during the time of the judges. How do the events that hap-pened in Gibeah at that time connect to the Lord’s indictment of Israel in Hosea’s day (see Hosea 10:9)? What was God’s message to Israel in light of the events that took place in Judges 19–20?