Hosea Chapter 10
Commentary by Ron Beckham
Verse 1. "Israel is a luxuriant vine; he produces fruit for
himself. The more his fruit, the more altars he made; the richer his
land, the better he made the sacred pillars."
There is an impressive difference between
Israel in the south, and Israel to the north. The south tends to be VERY
barren, whereas the north is often lush and green. The Israel of the
time (the ten northern tribes) had the best of the land, and the place
was very beautiful. But then the people and the nation – made a grave,
and as it turned out, a fatal mistake. The more they were blessed, the
more they turned to idolatry and away from God. They became very adept
at empty religion, done for themselves.
There is a God, and they knew that, but
the more He blessed them, the more they turned to "gods" made by human
hands. We can’t make ourselves right with Him through our intense
activities, even when they are religious in nature. Just like Israel,
people today often prefer "gods" of their choosing, rather than the
giving of praise to Him. The "gods" of our land are hobbies, the
work-ethic, etc. – all sorts of activities that become sin, when we look
to them and ignore the Lord. When you look around, it seems like
the more He gives to us, the less we (as a nation) trust in Him.
Verse 2. "Their heart is faithless; now they must bear their
guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their sacred
pillars."
It was both sad and fascinating to see
the ruins of ancient Israel. The remains of the temple at Dan are
especially interesting, because much of the false religion of the time,
was centered within that place. It was not truly the Assyrians who
destroyed that temple and land, though they were the outward mechanism
God used in their destruction. It was the LORD who would "break down
their altars" and destroy their "sacred pillars." Another way to look at
those events is that the people destroyed themselves by their
sin.
The Lord God has given much to us and we
are responsible for what has been given. Your ability to move, breathe,
eat, earn income – all has been given by God. When we discover this, as
Israel should have known it, it is reasonable to give praise to the God
who has given all to you and to me. By not giving Him the praise for
what He has done (a gratitude based in love), we bring judgment on
ourselves and upon our land.
Verse 3. "Surely now they will say, ‘We have no king, for we
do not revere the Lord. As for the king, what can he do for us?’"
In Chapter 8 of the Book of 1st
Samuel, the people were reasonably displeased with Samuel the Prophet’s
sons- unlike their father, they were sinners who did not judge the
nation properly. The people should have cried out in prayer to God, but
instead they told Samuel, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk
in your ways. Now make for us a king to judge us like all the nations"
(1 Samuel 8:5). It should speak to us all, that we often have reasonable
concerns, but make bad judgements in dealing with them.
Here was the nation Israel, some three
hundred years later, about to be destroyed because of their sin. They
had their kings, 300-years of them, and ALL the kings of the northern
kingdom had been unrepentant sinners. Their solution to have kings,
seemed to work for awhile, but they needed to seek the Lord, just like
you and me. The phrase "We have no king" had always been true of them,
because the true definition of an earthly leader, is someone who will
lead the people to God. Israel had some bad Judges, so they chose kings,
and got something worse. When trouble came (and it does come to every
nation), they needed to trust in the Lord and turn to Him.
Verse 4. "They speak mere words, with worthless oaths they
make covenants; and judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows
of the field."
God, by the Prophet Hosea, was charging
the nation Israel with fruitlessness (they brought forth "weeds" instead
of "fruit" for God); with perverting all He gave them into idolatry and
faithlessness. Verses 4-8 should now speak personally to us, both as
individuals and as a nation, because He (God, through the prophet)
points out that moral corruption has a consequence. We will not be
allowed to go on forever in our sin.
I worked in Courtrooms for many years and
gave the oath to many witnesses. Everybody in the Courtroom understood
that "you do solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth" meant little to the "witness" when his/her money
or freedom was at stake. Our "covenants" (contracts) and oaths have
become worthless. Our laws and judgments have become "like poisonous
weeds in the furrows of the field." What do we do with poisonous weeds
in our garden? Why, we remove them! – and we should not be surprised
that God will JUDGE the nation that falls into sin.
Verse 5. "The inhabitants of Samaria will fear for the calf of
Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn for it, and its idolatrous
priests will cry out over it, over its glory, since it has departed from
it."
"Beth-el" means "house of God", and was a
place associated with the history of the patriarch Jacob. Bethel gained
another kind of history, when it became one of the two places in the
northern nation of Israel, especially devoted to the worship of a golden
calf (the other calf was at Dan). "Beth-aven" is a play on words,
translated as "house of vanity". We need to look at the intense
activities of our lives – if our works do not bring glory to God, they
are vain, and subject to judgment. Our citizenry and leaders will soon
cry out, because false religion and false people will be uprooted from a
land.
The word "calf" is in the feminine tense,
which expresses contempt for the masculine calves set up as idols by
their (first) king, Jeroboam. Israel, much like the Church, had
originally been created as a place that was to bring glory to God. This
world is a war zone, containing an enemy who fires "bullets" of unbelief
whenever he can. The calves of Israel are typical of religious acts done
outside of the will of God (they demonstrate a lack of trust in Him).
The glory had departed from Israel (called the "people of the calf" by
their neighbors) and God was bringing this deficiency to their
attention.
Verse 6. "The thing itself will be carried to Assyria as
tribute to King Jareb; Ephraim will be seized with shame and Israel will
be ashamed of its own counsel."
God had foreseen that Israel would make
treaties with the very king of Assyria (Jareb) who would ultimately
destroy them (Hosea 5:13). The golden calves ("the thing itself"),
including the one under discussion at Bethel (Beth-"Aven") would be
carried off as tribute (booty) to the land of the Assyrians. We need to
think about what we do. What is the central "love" of your life - is it
something that can be carried off by circumstances or by your enemy?
My Dad loved hobbies. Even today, "his"
garage is full of outmoded camera equipment, rock cutting and
polishing materials, fishing gear, and so on. He is gone from this place
and no longer has control over the items he was once passionately
devoted to. At some point, the materials will simply be carried off by
someone he did not know. Jesus Christ wants to fill your heart and life
with that which will LAST – forever! Loss becomes VICTORY, and there is
no shame in Him.
Verse 7. "Samaria will be cut off with her king like a stick
on the surface of the water."
Samaria (used here as a euphemism for the
nation Israel) had essentially made themselves into something like a
broken "stick" floating down a stream. The word for "stick" can also be
translated as "chip" or "foam". The idea is the same, for this nation
Israel, which God had originally raised to evangelize the world for His
Name, had become like the froth on the waters, which is seen one moment,
and in the next, it is gone.
A "stick" is a portion of the branch of a
tree. Paul, in Romans 11:17 and context, refers to the Gentile converts
to Christ, as "wild olive branches" grafted into the good things of God.
Israel, as we see here in Hosea, had become branches that were "cut off"
because of unbelief and "do-it-yourself" religion. We should be warned.
Our relationship with God is this – We trust in Christ, the Messiah of
God. To make it complicated is to miss the point. We are simply to abide
and trust in Him.
Verse 8. "Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
will be destroyed; thorn and thistle will grow on their altars; then
they will say to the mountains, ‘Cover us!’ And to the hills, ‘Fall on
us!’"
The word "Aven" is "vanity", actually
referring to Bethel (see commentary on verse 5). The high places where
they practiced idolatry (vain practices) would be destroyed (and it
happened; you can visit the ruins today) - thorn bushes grow where
altars used to be. We have pictures of such ruins. Scattered blocks of
altar stones are everywhere, and between the stones, thorns and thistles
grow, just as it was prophesied in this verse.
Jesus quoted this verse in Luke 23:30,
referring to the (then future) fall of Jerusalem, in 70 AD. It also is
quoted in Revelation 6:16, as to the time when all humanity will want to
have such a covering, because judgment will be falling on the world. The
Lamb of God will be opening a scroll, one seal at a time, as earthquakes
and destruction rock the earth. I think people will want to be covered
partly out of fear, but also out of shame at their sin.
Verse 9. "From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel;
there they stand! Will not the battle against the sons of iniquity
overtake them in Gibeah?"
Gibeah was discussed in the commentary on
Hosea 9:9, and it was a place of great sin. Because of that sin (which
became public), the whole of Israel was outraged against them, and
marched in war on the little tribe of Benjamin, which was nearly
destroyed. The imagery here is clear – there is a judgment which will
come upon the person, the city, the state or nation – that sins! The
battle will overtake those who sin. The Living Bible presents "there
they stand" as: "You have made no progress whatever."
We should be ALERTED by such verses as
this. As nations, we are marching ever deeper into sin. We are like
children who run out into the street, when we should heed our parents
and remain on the sidewalk. The call of our parents is not to imprison
us – they instead want to PROTECT us from harm. And so with God. He
longs for your safety, and you will never be safe, until you trust in
Him.
Verse 10. "When it is My desire, I will chastise them; and the
peoples will be gathered against them when they are bound for their
double guilt."
There is a time for the chastisement of a
people. God takes no delight in our ruin, and we should not be misled by
the phrase "When it is My desire…" The purpose in judgment is corrective
in nature. We are judged so that we will at last discover faith in God,
and be rescued from our sin. I was talking with a Pastor the
other day, who has been paralyzed (a quadriplegic) since 1976. He was
reminiscing about his "grandma" who "always knew when (he) was up to
something." The very things she told him not to do, were what he wanted
to do.
He still wonders (70-years later), just
HOW she knew what he had done (she loved him and made it her business to
know). And when he would run away from her, she would chase him and
catch him – and he still wonders how she "could be so old and yet catch
(him) every time." She caught him and corrected him, because she loved
him. He knows it now, and longs for the time (in eternity) when they
will be together again. So it is with God, who corrects and judges, out
of love for you and me. These double sinners (Israel) would receive
precisely the double judgment needed to rescue the people and nation.
Verse 11. "Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh,
but I will come over her fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim,
Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself."
The ten "missing" tribes of Israel (those
taken and scattered by Assyria) are not missing at all, for God knows
precisely who and where they are. "Ephraim" is a euphemism for those of
Israel who are being brought to a place where they LOVE to do the work
and will of God. They are being placed back into a state of mind (a
"trained heifer") where they will want to bear the "yoke" and "plow"
(work) in His service. Judah also (those of the southern kingdom) will
serve the Lord.
So it is with you and me. We may stray
from him, but He will bring us home. As Jesus asked, in Luke 15:4-5, and
context, "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of
them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the
one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays
it on his shoulders, rejoicing." Israel (and Judah) will find they are
pleased to be in the service of our Lord (and so will you).
Verse 12. "Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in
accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to
seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you."
We "sow" in the lives of people, not
because of some religious duty, but because we think kindly toward them
in Christ and long to bring them to the righteousness of God. We join
Jabez, in 1st Chronicles 4:10, who cried "Oh, that You (God) would bless
me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me,
and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain." We end
our pain, by coming to the Lord, and end our neighbor’s pain, by
bringing them with us.
"Break up your fallow ground" and "seek
the Lord", and He will come to "rain righteousness – on you." This was
what happened to Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:10) – "God granted him what he
requested" because he had come to a place where he trusted in God. He
sought Him – and God answered this man. "Sow" the righteousness of God
into your life and the lives of others. Deal kindly with those around,
let God plant his Son within you - His righteousness will be like rain
on the thirsty ground of your life.
Verse 13. "You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped
injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in
your way, in your numerous warriors,"
Taking this verse from the second
sentence to the first, we see that trusting in ourselves is a mistake,
along with thinking our own strength will sustain us. These people built
a religion of their own and a political-defense system that was
outwardly quite adequate. But they left out God. This is "wickedness" in
the sight of God, who created you for fellowship with Him. By not
trusting in Him, you negate the very purpose for which you exist.
It’s like you plant seeds of wickedness
within yourself, and then you find injustice grows in your life, and you
wonder – why? Why is this happening to me? Dishonesty will have its
outcome, and self-reliance is actually a lie, because we are eternally
dependent on the One who made you and me. Trust in HIS way, and you will
find the joy of the Lord.
Verse 14. "Therefore a tumult will arise among your people,
And all your fortresses will be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel
on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed in pieces with their
children."
"Shalman" is a contraction of the name "Shalmaneser",
an Assyrian king seen in 2 Kings 17:3 & context. "Beth-arbel" (perhaps a
euphemism for Bethel) is "the house of God’s ambush" and it would be
destroyed by the armies of this man. What happened to them is especially
horrible, because of the harm to the mothers and little children. This
sort of slaughter has unfortunately been common in history, as in the
United States, where settlers from Europe and the native peoples all too
often killed the women and children of the men they fought.
Israel should have gotten the message.
God, in these verses, is giving them example after historical example,
showing them that they needed to TURN from their sins, because something
AWFUL was about to happen. He wanted to RESCUE them but they would not
be saved. And all this applies to you and to me – The person, the
people, the nation; all who reject the Lord will find destruction. The
whole Bible points to this truth – It is indeed His way or the highway.
It sounds cold, but look at the other side - He longs to deliver you
from sin and death, and will do so, if you turn to the Son.
Verse 15. "Thus it will be done to you at Bethel because of
your great wickedness. At dawn the king of Israel will be completely cut
off."
Some morning, not too different from any
other morning, a car goes off the freeway, a lump appears in the chest,
or the boss unexpectedly hands you the final check. That was the way it
was with one of the men down at the Spinal Unit in the VA Hospital - he
was sliding into base and suddenly he was paralyzed for life. Disaster
often comes when least expected, and if we don’t have the Lord, we lose
– everything!
To be a king sounds pretty good, but what
if you are the king when your nation is destroyed? It is better to be
small and trust in God, than it is to be something "great" and lose it
all. "Wickedness" is always accompanied by unbelief, because if you
trusted in God, you would not behave in such a manner. The whole human
race has been subjected to vanity, and all shall be "cut-off" in some
manner or another. Trust in Him, trust in the Lord, and He SHALL bring
you through. Though you seem to lose it all, you have EVERYTHING in our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Ron Beckham
Pastor
Friday Study Ministries (The First Church on the Internet)
www.fridaystudy.org
Ron@fridaystudy.org
