1 I love you, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. Psalms 18:1-3 (NIV)
Our passage today begins with the command for Israel not to rejoice in expectation of a fruitful harvest as her unfaithfulness had precluded any further blessing from the Lord. At every threshing floor Israel had erroneously attributed her prosperity to Baal becoming a spiritual adulteress. Israel wrongly believed that by prostituting herself in the worship of idols that Baal would in turn bless her crops and provide for her other necessities of life. How foolish. And God says: “But Me they forgot”. Isaiah tells us:
10 You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. Therefore, though you set out the finest plants and plant imported vines, 11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow, and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud, yet the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain. Isaiah 17:10-11 (NIV)
The Israelites had been unfaithful and punishment was looming. The plentiful harvests were about to end. In fulfillment of several covenant curses, the Lord would take away her grain and wine. Indeed, a very bleak picture was emerging from God’s righteous hand. While God is long suffering to be sure there is a line where His patience ceases and His justice rightfully acts. Deuteronomy states the prior warnings given by God:
9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. 10 But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him. Deuteronomy 7:9-10 (NIV)
38 You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. 39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. 40 You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. 41 You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity. 42 Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land. 43 The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. 44 He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail. Deuteronomy 28:38-44 (NIV)
49 The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. 51 They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined. Deuteronomy 28:49-51 (NIV)
You well may remember from Ruth, that the threshing floors were flat area’s built on a hilltops where the wind would allow harvesters to separate the chaff from the wheat when beaten. Often the men would stay there overnight to protect their grain and prostitutes would visit there. This gave place to sacrificing to false gods and here God charges them with spiritual adultery. God states the land belonged to Him Who alone was responsible for the land’s fertility – not Baal. Again in Deuteronomy we see:
10 The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. 12 It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end. Deuteronomy 11:10-12 (NIV)
God was about to turn His land of milk and honey into barrenness for the wickedness of those who dwelled there. The threshing floors and winepresses would no longer feed them much less feast them. When the Israelites attributed the produce of the land to Baal, they forfeited the blessing of living on it in peace and prosperity. Who do we give credit and thanks to? Our own arms of flesh? God is the Giver of all things. There is nothing we have that we did not receive? Paul tells us:
7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? 1 Corinthians 4:7 (NIV)
Egypt is again mentioned as a symbol of exile and bondage. Assyria would be the actual location. There, in an unclean land Israel would be forced to eat ceremonially unclean food rather than the fruits of God’s blessing. Remember ladies, His way is always the best way for our lives. Appropriately, she would eat defiled food in a defiled land. Also, in exile the opportunity for legitimate worship to the Lord would end. Again the punishment was highly appropriate. It was a sad and severe judgment to be driven out from such a land as this – it was like driving our first parents out of the Garden of Eden yet those cannot expect to dwell in the Lord’s land who will not be subject to the Lord’s laws. Accordingly, those who refuse to walk in God’s will and way will not experience the abundant life in the here and now this side of the cross. The Israelites would have no lasting rest nor satisfaction in any other land and neither will we.
In the land of their enemies they shall have no opportunity either of giving honor to God or obtaining favor with God by offering any acceptable sacrifice to Him. They shall have no sacrifices to offer, nor any altar. Israel’s Levitical worship had been corrupted by hypocrisy. A nation that refused to conduct its formal worship in the proper spirit would be denied its privilege of worship. There offerings would have the same effect on a worshiper as bread eaten by mourners, who made everything they touched ceremonially unclean because they had contacted a dead body. Such bread was not fit for use in worship. The sacrifices God is looking for is a broken and contrite heart. King David states:
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalms 51:16-17 (NIV)
Their hypocritical worship would gain them nothing. Jeremiah tells us:
9 “Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, ‘We are safe--safe to do all these detestable things?’ 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! Declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 7:9-11 (NIV)
21 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! 22 For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.” Jeremiah 7:21-24 (NIV)
Ritual religiosity as penitence is repugnant to the Lord. That thinking is totally eschewed. What God is looking for is worshippers with a changed heart – broken over their sin – and a desire to break free from it. Repentance is the willingness to turn in the other direction – from sin to Him. We may fall again yet as we keep our accounts short the falls should be less and less. It is agreeing with Him over our sin – which is devastating for us and we have a resolute mindset that we don’t want to go there. Remember, sin always harms and always carries with it a death sentence. Their treasures of sliver and gold would now be taken over by briars and thorns.
The day of punishment was at hand for Israel because her sins were so many and her hostility so great. It was crouching at the door and it would come speedily – divine patience had expired. Scripture states that they considered the prophet a fool and the inspired man a maniac. They would soon be ashamed of their sentiments concerning God’s prophets. They would soon realize that the pretenders to prophecy – those who flattered them in their sins and rocked them asleep in their confidence were the actual fools and maniacs – godless men who ridiculed true prophets. God’s prophets were to be the watchmen warning the people of coming judgment on sin yet they refused to listen and were even hostile towards those giving the warnings about what was soon to happen. Sounds a bit familiar in our day as well does it not? We, too, often listen and read selectively – focusing on what seems to support our present lifestyle or bias’s ignoring what demands a radical reordering of our priorities – likely to miss the warnings we need most. I am reminded of Paul’s words to Timothy:
3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 2 Timothy 4:3-5 (NIV)
Beware ladies, people are always available to tell you what you want to hear rather than lovingly speak the Truth. Rebukes may actually be the more genuine expression of friendship. Proverbs tells us:
6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. Proverbs 27:6 (NIV)
King David also states:
4 Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies. 5 Let a righteous man strike me--it is a kindness; let him rebuke me--it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers. Psalms 141:4-5 (NIV)
Some of the greatest things I have learned in my life have come from the hard words of a friend. Weigh words against the Truth of God’s Word and see if they are wanting or not. Be like the Bereans and test what you hear against the Scriptures before you build your life on it.
The depth of the people’s sin against God is emphasized by Hosea’s reference to the days of Gibeah. The disturbing story presents in Judges 19 and describes the despicable immorality and the brutal rape and murder of a Levites concubine. In a polygamous society, a concubine would be one a several wives but not the principal wife. Scripture tells us this couple had stopped overnight in Gibeah when some of the wicked men of the city gathered around the house and demanded that the man come out so they could have sex with him. Instead, the traveler gave them his concubine raping and abusing her all night and leaving her for dead on the doorstep. That horrible act revealed the depth to which the people of God had sunk. Because of this evil Gibeah was destroyed and Hosea states in verse 9 the whole nation was now as evil as that city. Just as the city did not escape punishment, neither would the nation. Lewdness and wickedness were as impudent and daring in Hosea’s time as in the days of Gibeah therefore what could the Israelites expect but to receive the same vengeance taken on them? Interestingly, the word translated “corruption” is the Hebrew word “Sabat” meaning to decay, destroy, mar, devastate, pull down, used in Genesis to describe the corruption which prompted the devastating flood.
Verse 10 reflects back to a sweeter time in the Israelites relationship with God. He took such great delight in them that God likens them to grapes in the desert which of course would be an unexpected source of surprise and delight as well as the early fruit of the fig tree which was irresistible. Isaiah states:
“A fig ripe before harvest-- as soon as someone sees it and takes it in his hand, he swallows it.” Isaiah 28:4 (NIV)
God had set them apart for Himself as a unique people but they chose to join the Moabites in Baal Peor “consecrating themselves to that shameful idol” and they sacrificed to that dirty dunghill deity becoming as vile as the thing they loved. They engaged in sexual immorality with Moabite and Midianite women as part of the fertility rites associated with the worship pf Baal Peor. This was the way of their fathers. It became a pattern of their history always characterized by unfaithfulness. Is that like us? Lord keep us from that. God had done well for them yet they had acted ungratefully towards Him. In like manner this present generation of Israelites deeply corrupted themselves and defiled themselves by making Baal their lover.
Verses 11-17 describes their coming punishment which would be severe. Remember ladies, we get to choose to sin but God chooses the punishment and timing of it. Since Baal was associated with fertility rites the Lord would bring the covenant curses of infertility, death and exile on the nation. In those days it was a great tragedy when women were unable to have children and Ephraim’s glory was once associated with numerous offspring yet that would depart as swiftly as a bird in flight. Appropriately many of those who had tried to secure fertility through Baal worship would become sterile and barren. This would be the fruit of His displeasure. Contrast to Deuteronomy 7 which stated the exact opposite. Had they paid attention to His commands the promise was clear:
11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today. 12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers. 13 He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land--your grain, new wine and oil--the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you. 14 You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young. Deuteronomy 7:11-14 (NIV)
Now the verdict would be that they would miscarry or watch their children die in the forthcoming invasion. Their prosperous past would give way to a humiliating future. They would be a withered plant incapable of bearing fruit. Ephraim is blighted, their root is withered, they yield no fruit, and they become exiled by God - wanderers among the nations - yet even at this it is better to fall in the hands of the Lord, whose mercies are very great rather than the hands of men as King David stated. It is never too late to turn back to Him with a broken and repentant heart. Broken over the sin and not merely the consequences of it. God is the Master of making beauty from our ashes.
Chapter ten begins by again employing a botanical metaphor in referring to Israel’s earlier history. The Lord had planted Israel like a vine in the land of Canaan and blessed her with fruit (prosperity) however she attributed her success to false gods rather than the Lord while all the while maintaining a semblance of devotion to God which was merely lip service. A hypocritical formalism which we have already discussed. The sacred stones mentioned here alluded to her idolatry. The more bountiful God’s providence was to them, the more wayward they became. God would soon destroy her sites of hypocritical and false worship. The King would provide no remedy. Yet those who keep themselves in the fear and favor of God may say “What can the greatest man do against us?” If God is on our side who can be against us? Their hearts were so divided wavering between God and Baal. Divided hearts will not stand. Jesus stated in Matthew:
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” Matthew 12:25 (NIV)
They had no scruples about what they said and what they did in the most solemn matter – taking false oaths and agreements. God is greatly offended with corruptions, not only in His own worship, but in the administration of justice between man and man. Their attitude toward fellow Israelites (including frequently taking each other to court) simply reflected their lack of loyalty to God. There was no fear of God before their eyes and they rejected all authority. They were not found fruitful in the fruits of righteousness. A vine is useless if it does not provide fruit. Isaiah states:
1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 3 "Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it." 7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. Isaiah 5:1-7 (NIV)
Sadly, Henry Blackaby stated that God had given him this passage regarding America. Jesus also states:
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:1-5 (NIV)
Trust me girlfriends, it matters how we live our lives. Don’t be foolish with this one life you have been given. Israel’s unfaithfulness established her guilt and necessitated her punishment. Her heart was deceitful and found wanting in the eyes of the Lord.
They were so lost, that they feared for the calf-idol of Beth Aven mourning over it together with its idolatrous priests because it had been taken from them into exile. They concerned themselves over the fate of their gods. How foolish! If indeed this calf-idol was a god it could certainly defend itself. Both Israel’s King and the calf-idol would be destroyed – float away like a twig on the waters. The nation would be swept away by the current and brought to ruin. And all the high places would be destroyed, the ruins being overthrown by thorns and thistles covering their worthless altars. God had commanded Israel to destroy the high places when they entered the Promised Land. Because of the dismal failure in Israel carrying out this charge, the Lord chose to use a foreign army to accomplish His purpose. In utter desperation the people would beg the mountains to fall on them. A similar plea will be made by unbelievers in the Tribulation in response to the terror of God’s wrath is the seal judgments:
15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Revelation 6:15-17 (NIV)
Only those in Christ and His righteousness will be able to stand. Psalms 1 states:
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalms 1:1-6 (NIV)
Hosea referred again to the shameful incident at Gibeah (Verse 9) stating since that time Israel has persisted in sin. The wickedness that was committed in that age is revived in this and reacted. How appropriate that judgment should “overtake” the city that had served as a pattern for Israel’s sinful history! Think Sodom and Gomorrah as well. There is nothing new under the sun.
At the time of God’s choosing He would discipline Israel by gathering the nations against her. God had thus far pitied and spared them because He does not desire the death and ruin of sinners rather repentance. Yet they turned not. Israel is pictured as being taken in bonds as reference to captivity and the approaching exile. She is also pictured as being yoked to her sins as a heifer. Those who would not be God’s freeman shall be their enemy’s slaves.
A trained heifer loves to thresh as they are not muzzled and was a comparatively light task made pleasant as they were free to eat at pleasure yet they refused obedience and started to stray therefore He would place the yoke around her fair neck and force her to engage in the extremely arduous work of plowing. Even Judah was included in this judgment.
Verse 12 is like a breath of fresh air in the midst of judgment. A brief call to covenant loyalty is included here. Even in the midst of a message of condemnation God held out the possibility of repentance and blessing. I am reminded of Isaiah’s words:
18 “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Isaiah 1:18-20 (NIV)
He desires for all to turn in repentance. He is ever inviting and encouraging us to return to Him by prayer, repentance and reformation. He urges Israel to seek the Lord and cultivate righteousness. Let them cleanse their hearts from all corrupt thoughts and lusts, which are but weeds and thorns in one’s life and let them be of a broken and contrite spirit. Let them sow righteousness and return to the practice of good works and pleasing the Spirit as Paul states in Galatians which is a timely and good word for us as well:
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:7-10 (NIV)
If we sow for ourselves righteousness – if we are careful and diligent to do our duty in a dependence upon His power – He will shower down His grace and righteousness upon us. Yet they had labored very greatly in the service of sin and grudged to bear the burden and heat of God’s service. They did much to damn their souls yet nothing to save them. Their hopes had deceived them. They had not responded properly to God’s warnings and calls rather instead produced wickedness, evil and deception. Rather than relying on the power of God, they had chosen to lean on their weak arms of flesh and their flimsy fortresses. In response to Israel’s pride the Lord said He would destroy the source of her false confidence. Whatever harm is done to us it is sin that does it.
So then how shall we live? Certainly not without hope.
“Sometimes in this life God humbles and brings us low so that we will look to Him. When we think about it, we are dependent upon Him for every thing, every heartbeat, every breath and every bite of food that sustains our lives. When we are dependent and lowly in spirit we realize that only God can help us and that only by obeying Him and trusting Him can we accomplish anything. When we are hard pressed on every side and can do nothing but call out to God, He does not let us be crushed. When we are bewildered and have nowhere to turn except to God, He does not let us despair. He makes His Presence known. If we are ridiculed and persecuted, He will not abandon us. He will be with us and lift us up in the toughest trials and the darkest of hours. And if we are knocked down, it is He who gives us strength to get up. His Spirit Who lives in us encourages us. We are God’s and He is our God. He will not permit us to be destroyed. (2 Cor. 4:8-9) When we are brought low and look to Him, He gives us power to press on. During the hard times, He makes our spirits are teachable and we more readily discern the call of His Spirit. So we are a blessed people and precious to God. He has His Hand upon us and no one or nothing can snatch us away from Him. We are very important to God and deeply loved by Him. He supplies our every need and welcomes us into His Wonderful, Holy Presence. When we were dead in our sins, He sent His Son to be our Savior. His is our Mediator and our Advocate. God gives us faith in Jesus which leads to Eternal Life with Him. We are His children. How could we be more blessed?” Roger Killian
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 (NIV)
"I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. 13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.” 2 Chronicles 7:12-16 (NIV)
Key – Key - Key
We are God’s Temple and His ears are attentive to our prayers when we humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, He will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our land.
6 With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:6-8 (NIV)
“If you love someone, will you want to make him miserable? Will you go out of your way to punish him if he doesn’t do exactly what you tell him to? No, of course not – not if you really love him. The same is true with God. God loves you, and because He loves you, He cares what happens to you. He loves you too much to let you wander aimlessly through life, without meaning or purpose. The Bible says, ‘You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy’ (Psalms 16:11). Covet God’s will for your life more than anything else. To know God’s will – and to do it – is life’s greatest joy.” Billy Graham
11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalms 16:11 (NIV)
These are Beth’s personal notes, due to this fact sources are not often stated.