Author: Lamar Austin

We are all influenced by someone, whether for good or for bad.  We have a had time going against the grain, swimming upstream against our culture.  Our teenagers have difficulty breaking from the pack.  We want to be liked; we want to be popular; we want to be in the “in” group.

But Scripture wisely reminds us that “bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33) and Proverbs is full of warnings against blindly following the crowd or caving in to peer pressure.

Hosea is here encouraging Judah to learn from, not follow, the mistakes that Israel was making.

God’s people were dividing into two kingdoms at this point in history.  Ten tribes, called Israel or Ephraim, broke off under Jeroboam.  Hosea is addressing most of his charges against Israel.  Ultimately, they were taken into captivity in 722 B.C.

In the south were two tribes, Judah and Benjamin.  They had a few bad kings, but stayed faithful to Yahweh longer than their brothers to the north.  However, they were susceptible to idolatry as well, especially since their brothers had been practicing it.  This is why Hosea says, in Hosea 4:15-19…

15 Though you play the whore, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty. Enter not into Gilgal, nor go up to Beth-aven, and swear not, “As the LORD lives.” 16 Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn; can the LORD now feed them like a lamb in a broad pasture? 17 Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone. 18 When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring; their rulers dearly love shame. 19 A wind has wrapped them in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Yahweh has just about given up on Israel, but did not want Judah to follow in their footsteps.  Israel was involved in spiritual prostitution, worshiping other gods.  But if Judah follows in their footsteps, they too will become guilty.

So Yahweh tells Judah to (1) stay away from tempting situations, (2) leave them alone and (3) learn from their fate.

Judah was not to worship at the places that Israel had defiled with false gods.  Gilgal was the first important campsite after Israel crossed the Jordan as they entered the promised land (Joshua 5:9).  This camp served as their base of operations during the initial conquest of the Holy Land under Joshua.

Interestingly, the word gilgal means “to roll.”  God instructed Joshua to have a man from each tribe pick up a stone from the middle of the Jordan in order to build a monument at Gilgal. This Hebrew name stands for “circle of standing stones.”

This directive is accompanied by a very important explanation of its purpose: “When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD.  When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.  So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever” (Joshua 4:6-7).

When the Israelites camped there, the new generation was circumcised there and because of their obedience God said to them

“Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.”  And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. (Joshua 5:9)

Recent archaeological discoveries in the Jordan Valley and the adjoining hills of Samaria appear to indicate that as Israel took possession of the land, they marked ownership of the land by building several structures that resemble a large foot print or sandal.

These unusual structures, studied extensively by Professors Adam Zertal and Dror Ben-Yosef of the University of Haifa, date to the Iron Age I period, based on pottery and animal bones found on-site.  They consist of two enclosed circles of stones that share a common border and, therefore, are joined together forming the shape of a foot print.

“The ‘foot’ structures that we found in the Jordan Valley are the first sites the people of Israel built upon entering Canaan and they testify to the biblical concept of ownership of the land with the foot.”

In Deuteronomy 11:22-32, God promises the Israelites that if they obey his commandments, “Every place on which you set foot shall be yours.”  Also in Joshua 1:3 Yahweh said to Joshua…

3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.

There are five such structures like this in the Jordan Valley.  So Gilgal was a sacred place for Israel.  It is where Samuel judged (1 Sam. 7:16).  It was the city where Saul’s kingship was affirmed (1 Samuel 11:14-15; 10:1, 8).  It was also the place to which David returned after Absalom’s attempted coup (2 Samuel 19:9-15, 40).  They were the first to reaffirm his rightful status as king.  Gilgal was also the place where Elijah was transported to heaven (2 Kings 2:1-14; 4:38-41).

But, when the kingdom split due to Solomon’s sin and Jeroboam took over the northern territories, Gilgal became a place of idol worship.  Thus both Hosea and Amos speak of its wickedness and corrupt worship (Hosea 9:15-17; 12:11-14; Amos 4:4-6; 5:1-6).

Finally, in the course of calling the people of Israel to account for their abandonment of the Lord, the prophet Micah reminded them of God’s care for them in their early days in Gilgal and elsewhere—thus bringing the story of Gigal full circle (Micah 6:1-5).

Bethel had an even richer history.  Abraham built one of his first altars there upon entering the land (Genesis 12:8).  It was the place where Jacob (Israel) received his dream of a stairway to heaven (Genesis 28:10-22).  It was commonly a place where Abraham and Jacob worshiped God (Genesis 12:8; 13:1-4; 28:10-22; 35:1-15).  Bethel was one of the first places in the Holy Land where the ark of the covenant of God was set up, and where the priests offered sacrifices and inquired of God (Judges 20:18, 26-28; 21:2).

But, when the northern kingdom seceded from the southern kingdom of Judah, its first king, Jereboam, set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan (the southern and northernmost locations in Israel).  The golden calf at Bethel made it more convenient for people to worship.  They would no longer be required to go all the way to Jerusalem to worship (1 Kings 12:25-33).

Bethel was located in the hill country, near the town of Ai, only 12 miles from Jerusalem.

So Yahweh is pleading with Judah not to make the same mistakes Israel made.  They were not to make pilgrimages to these sites, no matter how significant they had been in Israel’s history.  If they did, they would become guilty, just like Israel.  The word for “guilty” in verse 15 is guilt in relation to God.

Yahweh calls Bethel (“house of God”) Beth-Aven here.  Beth-aven means “house of iniquity” because they were persistently breaking the 2^nd commandment, which prohibited worshiping God with idols at all.  Amos had changed this name back in Amos 5:5, saying “Bethel shall become Awen.  It had been transformed from a place of true devotion to Yahweh (back when Abraham and Jacob worshiped there) to a major center for the kind of worship which the prophet disapproved (Amos 3:14; 4:4; 5:5, 6, 7:10, 13).  Hosea shares Amos’ outrage at what has happened to this place, calling it Bethel twice (10:15, 12:5), and Beth Awen three times (4:15; 5:8; 10:5).

Kidner notes…

Amos, a lover of surprise, had ironically invited his readers to both these famous shrines to deepen their—guilt! ‘Come to Bethel and transgress…” (Amos 4:4).  Join our pilgrimage and earn a black mark!

Hosea’s variation on the theme gets under the skin at two fresh points.  It makes a wounding comparison, presenting Israel as no fit company for her smaller sister [the southern kingdom]; and it invents a nickname for the royal shrine: no longer Bethel, ‘house of God,’ but Beth-Aven, “house of evil”—for God cannot own such a place, or have His name bandied about by those who think of Him as Baal.

The remainder of verse 15 reveals that they were breaking the 3^rd commandment as well.  They were treating God’s name profanely by making an oath they did not intend to keep and using the formula “as Yahweh lives” to bolster their credibility.

The right use of the name of Yahweh in making legitimate and honest oaths is nowhere condemned.  It was one of the privileges of the faithful Israelite (Deut. 6:13; 10:20).

But the false use of an oath was often used to avoid repentance.  It reveals stubbornness.  As Coffman says, it “was a device for lulling the conscience to sleep.”  You cannot keep the third commandment while breaking the first two!

Ronald Vandermey notes that “swearing by the Lord falsely in a place of idolatry was a sin because it associated the living God with idols (Lev. 19:12; Zeph. 1:1-5).

The fundamental charge in vv. 16-18 is that Israel had become incorrigible in its evil, shameful ways.  This is shown (1) in the simile of the stubborn heifer, (2) in their unbreakable attachment to idols, and (3) in their habitual debauchery of drunkenness and promiscuity.

Verse 16 pictures Ephraim as a heifer, which is ironic because Jeroboam erected golden calves for Israel to worship.  Thus, these calves were pictures of themselves.

They are a “stubborn heifer,” which cannot be treated in the same way as a lamb in a broad pasture.  You simply cannot lead them.

Because of their stubbornness Israel would have to be confined soon (“now), in captivity.  Not only would they be confined, but Yahweh could not minister to them (at least as a nation) as a shepherd normally would.

Hubbard says…

However much God would like to shepherd Israel with his wisdom, it seems he must, because of her continual intransigence, treat her as those dumb animals who will not respond to their master.

This reminds us of Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!  How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!

I would have, but you would not, Jesus says.  You’ve made the fateful decision to reject Me and now I must reject you.

Since they willed not to follow their master, Yahweh would grant them their wish.  But their freedom would turn to ruin.  They would go unprotected and eventually be destroyed.  Thus Albert Barnes says…

Woe is it to that man, whom, when he withdraws from Christ‘s easy yoke, God permits to take unhindered the broad road which leadeth to destruction.

Sheep are gregarious creatures and do not do well when they are alone.  To be alone is a very precarious situation.  Soon, judgment would come and the land would be depopulated.  Only a very few would remain behind.

Ephraim–another name for Israel because it was the largest of the ten northern tribes—is captivated by the idols.  Remember the “spirit of whoredom” back up in verse 12 and their consulting of poles and sticks?  It is likely that along with their worship of false gods and involvement in sexual immorality was also attended by some attempted magic.

Those who meddle with this magic become trapped by it.  All of these complex of sins—idolatry, sexual immorality and magic, are powerful, powerful magnets, drawing devotees to want more and more and more.

When it says “Ephraim is joined to idols” it suggests a total merging, a strong bond.  It is similar to the idea in Genesis 2 (v. 24) where God says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife.”  God is communicating there that the union between a husband and wife is to be permanent and indissoluble.

Likewise, nothing seemed to be able to break the bond between Ephraim and the Baalim.

Yahweh’s response to Ephraim is “leave him alone.”  This is a logical response to their enchantment and stubbornness.  Jamieson’s comment on this is:

“Leave him to himself.  Let him reap the fruits of his own perverse choice.  He is bent on his own ruin; leave him to his fate, lest instead of saving him thou shalt fall thyself.”

Let him go, like the father allowed his prodigal son to leave.

David Garland says

The greatest tragedy of all resulting from the failure of Israel’s leadership was, no doubt, that of the prophet’s being instructed to cease to minister to Israel (Ephraim).  Those unable to give up their idols deserved no less (4:17).  After all, the prophet’s words would only be wasted because they would fall upon deaf ears.  There appeared to be little likelihood now, that Israel would heed the prophet’s call.  Therefore, he was instructed to leave them alone, to leave them to their own choices. (Hosea, p. 43)

Paul says something very similar in Romans 1, indicating how a culture can devolve because God “gives them up” to their own desires—first to sexual immorality, then to homosexuality and ultimately to a depraved mind (Romans 1:18-32).

Listen, the worst thing God can do is to let you have your own wishes.  He knows what is best for you and has laid down guidelines on how to use your freedom within His Word and His law.  Listen to God.  Choose to obey Him and you will choose the path to greatest joy, both now and forever.

But there is a word of hope from Albert Barnes…

God will not, while there is hope, leave a man to sleep in sin; for so the numbness of the soul increases, until, like those who fall asleep amid extreme cold of the body, it never awakes

We should want and desire God’s disciplining hand upon us, while there is still time.

To whom is God through Hosea addressing the command “leave him alone?”  As I have mentioned, it most likely was the prophet himself.  Another possibility is that it is the priests who are being addressed—to stop misleading the people.

The final two verses in Hosea 4 seem to bring it back to the priests, and maybe in particular the high priest and transition us to chapter 5, which again picks up a charge against the priests.

The NASB has captured the first half of verse 18: “Their liquor gone, they play the harlot continually.”  Fueled and dazed by drink, they turned to idolatry, but they came up empty.  It did not fulfilled.  Possibly the draught had already made liquor scarce, and they, of course, turn to the false gods in another request for blessing.

Their rulers (lit. “shields”) dearly love shame.  How ironic!  Who would love shame except those intoxicated and enchanted by sin!  Judgment comes sweeping in in the final verse of Hosea 4…

19 A wind has wrapped them in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices

Wind is a perfect figure for describing the sudden and violent nature of the judgment that will sweep helpless Israel into captivity before the Assyrians.  The use of the past tense is prophetic and shows that the judgment was as certain as if it had already occurred.

When God brought them out of captivity to Egypt, God “bore them on eagle’s wings” (Exodus 19:4), but now that they have abandoned him, he would abandon them as chaff before the wind.  They will be driven away into captivity, dispersed here and there.

Finally, while in captivity, they “shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices” and will turn away from idolatry.  Unfortunately, it would take captivity and ruin in order to learn this lesson well.

Shame when it comes prior to judgment can lead to renewal that effects new life and hope.  But shame after the fact of judgment leads only to regret.  Hosea’s advice to Judah remains sound:  seeing the destruction and shame wrought by apostasy and immorality, avoid such a way of life.

Unfortunately, Judah would eventually fall to their own shame and judgment.

I welcome you to turn with me to Hosea 4.  We’ve been studying this book for the past several months, going verse-by-verse to mine the riches of God’s Word.  This morning we’re going to look at vv. 10-14, which describe what happens to people who turn away from the knowledge of God.

10 They shall eat, but not be satisfied; they shall play the whore, but not multiply, because they have forsaken the LORD to cherish 11 whoredom, wine, and new wine, which take away the understanding. 12 My people inquire of a piece of wood [wooden idols], and their walking staff [divining rod] gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore. 13 They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good.  Therefore your daughters play the whore, and your brides commit adultery. 14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore, nor your brides when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes and sacrifice with cult prostitutes, and a people without understanding shall come to ruin. 15 Though you play the whore, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty. Enter not into Gilgal, nor go up to Beth-aven, and swear not, “As the LORD lives.” 16 Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn; can the LORD now feed them like a lamb in a broad pasture? 17 Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone. 18 When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring; their rulers dearly love shame. 19 A wind has wrapped them in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Although we talked about v. 10 last week, I want you to notice how its message of judgment matches that of verse 18.  Verse 10 said…

10 They shall eat, but not be satisfied; they shall play the whore, but not multiply, because they have forsaken the LORD to cherish 11 whoredom

While verse 18 says…

18 When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring; their rulers dearly love shame.

So Israel’s judgment has to do with being unsatisfied, even with the basics of life, and prostituting themselves to other gods.

In these verses Yahweh gives three illustrations of Israel’s dementedness: (1) consulting wooden omens for guidance; (2) being engrossed in idolatry; and (3) engaging in sexual immorality.  In both Old and New Testaments, one of the chief characteristics of false teachers is sexual immorality.

Now, moving on to verse 11.  There Hosea gives a proverbial type statement: “Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away the heart” as the King James and NASB says.  It reflects back to the issue of the priests and prophets “stumbling” back up in verse 5 and anticipates the next section in which the prophet mourns the degenerate state of the people.

It reminds me of Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 5:18, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit…”  We can choose to “lose ourselves” to wine, or to the Spirit.

The heart, of course, is our control center—our reasoning ability, our affections and our strength of will to choose.  Debauchery, whether spiritually through idolatry or physically through strong drink, ruins the heart.

As Derek Kidner notes:

In itself, the proverb about whoredom and wine makes the point that what unbridled drinking does to blur the mind, unbridled sex will also do in a more subtle way.

Of course, all sin openly practiced and indulged results in the same destruction of the sinner; but Hosea probably focused upon this because, “It describes the excesses which were committed by the people on the festival days at the Baal shrines” (John Mauchline)

So, they lacked discernment because they gave themselves to intoxication, then they turned to omens for direction.

One aspect of their idolatry is mentioned in vv. 12-13a—they were consulting superstitions for guidance.  It begins with people consulting a “tree” and ends with them offering sacrifices underneath the trees because the shade “is good.”

12 My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore. 13 They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good.

Instead of consulting God for direction, they were consulting pieces of wood.  The terms used here are representative; they stand for the many types of omen taking employed in the ancient world.  Casting arrows into the air and observing the pattern formed when they fell to earth, examining the liver of an animal, observing the flight of birds, and many other means were also used to determine the future and the will of a god.

Keil explains the ancient practice:

“Two rods were held upright, and then allowed to fall while incantations were uttered; and the oracle was inferred from the way in which they fell, whether backwards or forward, to the right or to the left.”

People today use Tarot cards, Ouiji boards and horoscopes.

By contrast, David would often “inquire of the Lord” and use the authorized Urim and Thummim to discern God’s will.  Although God did allow the casting of lots.

In essence, they were abandoning normative revelation for the passing fad of the day.  They were trading the living God for a divining stick.  Habakkuk’s comment on this absurdity is quite appropriate: “Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’” (Hab. 2:19)  It is foolish.

The trees here are likely the Asherah pole.  The Canaanite goddess Asherah, functioned as El’s consort as the mother of the gods.

God had promised, back in Deuteronomy 18:14-15:

14 for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this. 15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers–it is to him you shall listen–

Hosea focuses on taking omens from a tree and sticks because it links to another lamentation in this poem—going to sacred groves.  He sees this omen seeking as foolish and as debasing for a human.

How blind to the loving providence of God are those who could seriously resort to such pagan devices as those mentioned here.  The immoralities of their idolatrous worship had closed the windows of their minds, and they groped about in darkness.

The “spirit of prostitution” in verse 12 is both literal—in acts of sacred prostitution, and metaphorical—in acts of giving love to other gods.  Consorting with temple prostitutes would take people further away from God, not bring them closer.

By the way, I don’t think the phrase “spirit of prostitution” is naming for us a particular kind of demon.  Some believe that there is a “lying spirit,” an “unclean spirit,” a “spirit of jealousy,” a “Jezebel spirit,” different demons behind different sins.  I think this phrase is merely telling us that behind sin, in general, are often demonic forces.

Israel’s idolatry was metaphorically like adultery, literally “against” the LORD.  Every sacrifice made to a pagan god was like an act of brazen adultery.  The picture is striking when we consider what a faithful and good husband the LORD is to His people.  Adultery is never excusable, but is even more heinous against a good, faithful, loving spouse.

The picture is striking when we consider how Israel wanted to add pagan gods to their worship of the LORD.  It isn’t as if Israel officially said, “We want to leave the LORD, and now serve only pagan gods.”  Instead, Israel wanted to add the worship of pagan gods to their worship of the LORD.  God received this the same way a husband would if his wife said, “I want you to still be my husband, I just want to take on a few more lovers also.” (David Guzik)

Interestingly, the characteristic act for the priests is “stumbling,” a reference to their downfall (v. 5), but the characteristic act of the laity is passive—that they are led astray.

Duane Garrett explains…

The closing of the poem, that the shade is “good” where they worship, is not an accidental comment but implies that the cults were in some ways truly appealing to the average person. (Hosea-Joel, p. 123).

He goes on to explain that these would be idyllic places, away from the restraints of temple morality, but rather “getting back to nature” and engaging in sexual relations.  In words open to no reason for misunderstanding, Hosea characterized the men as having sexual relations with both common harlots and cult prostitutes associated with their compromised worship.

This is why Josiah found it necessary to close down all rural shrines in 2 Kings 23:8-9.  It is why God established a place of worship—Jerusalem—in an attempt to keep worship from becoming profaned.

This, combined with a belief that these gods and their rites had the power to insure good crops and healthy births in their flocks and herds, made for a religion as irresistible as it was corrupting.  The real tragedy, however, was not merely that these rites led to various kinds of immorality; it was that people went to the shrines and consulted trees and stones with a sense of piety and reverence. (Duane Garrett, Hosea-Joel, p. 123).

Worshiping on hill tops made people feel like they were “closer to their gods” and worshiping under the “shade” shows they worshiped at their convenience.  Hubbard believes that Hosea might be jeering at religious activities in sites whose only benefit is the relief they offer from the sun.

God had specifically commanded that upon their entry into Canaan, the Israelites should “utterly destroy” all of the places of pagan worship on the mountaintops and high hills and under every green tree (Deut. 12:2); but instead of obeying God, they set up their own pagan idol worship in exactly the same places (2 Kings 17:10-11).

Going back for a moment to the phrase “spirit of prostitution,” we can see that the driving force behind all this is Satan himself.  When we leave God’s leading in the Word of God, we subject ourselves to Satan’s leading.

Thus Kidner declares…

Whatever excuse there might be for these other nations, for Israel there was none.  Their infatuation was deliberate, a surrender to a ‘spirit of harlotry’ that had all the excitement of an elopement or an orgy.  This, they felt, was freedom!  Instead of high demands on mind and will there were the myths and magic of the corn god.  Instead of the remoteness of the temple, so unfairly situated in the rival capital, Jerusalem, there was the appeal of hilltop sanctuaries to local pride and superstition.

Not only are the men involved, but the remainder of verse 13 makes it clear that…

Therefore your daughters play the whore, and your brides commit adultery.

Seldom does one find a more depressing portrait of depraved life than this father-daughter-wife scene in which all are involved in immoral sexual behavior.

By allowing their daughters to play the harlot, the Israelites willfully sinned against the Mosaic law that forbade the daughters of Israel from participating in the cult prostitution (Deut. 23:17) (H. Ronald Vandermey, Hosea, p. 40).

This society has gone as sex-mad as our own, with promiscuous adolescents and with marriages violated from the start.  And who has set the example?  Who is ultimately to blame?  Not the women, but the men.

Several years ago I watched a very disturbing documentary about sex trafficking called Nefarious.  It talked about sex trafficking in Europe, Southeast Asia and in the United States.  As I watched this it was driven home to me more and more that the reason we have prostitution, the reason we have strip clubs, the reason we have pornography is because of the lust and greed of men.  Not women, but men.

It is time for us men to repent, because we are the nexus, we are the turning point.  When we men repent and say “no” to our lusts and greed, then things will begin to change.  Then marriages will be stronger and society will become stronger.  Then all these sexually based sins will lose their power.

Hosea then says…

14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore, nor your brides when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes and sacrifice with cult prostitutes, and a people without understanding shall come to ruin.

This does not mean that God would allow such conduct, justifying it upon the basis of their husbands and fathers also being sinners; but it has the effect of saying, “I will not punish them apart from you, but I will overthrow all of you in total destruction.” This clause should therefore be read in conjunction with the last, “a people without understanding shall come to ruin.”

As Eugene Peterson puts it…

But I’m not going after your whoring daughters
or the adulterous wives of your sons.
It’s the men who pick up the whores that I’m after,
the men who worship at the holy whorehouses—

They were merely following the example left by the men in their lives.

Verse 14 is in fact a landmark in moral history, says Derek Kidner, by its refusal to treat a man’s sexual sins more leniently than a woman’s.

That double standard had been brutally taken for granted, long before, by Jacob’s fourth son Judah, who thought nothing of visiting a prostitute but reacted to his daughter-in-law’s apparent unchastity with “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” (Gen. 38:24) (Kidner, The Message of Hosea, p. 53).

Here is the only place in Hosea where “cult prostitutes” are mentioned.  Some argue that this is not literally the case, but that the word is being used as a pun to strengthen the idea of Israel as a wayward woman.

The actual word here is a “holy one.”  Obviously these people have turned upside down what it meant to be holy!

Here is their root problem, they are “a people without understanding.”  The idea of Hosea 4:6 is repeated here, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” because they rejected knowledge.  The priests rejected knowledge, the people reject knowledge.

Without understanding they could not perceive the real issues of their day or the root causes for their destruction.  Thus, they were doomed.  Without understanding God and His word, God’s people are destined for destruction.

God had revealed Himself to them, and had given to them His law, and was still sending to them His prophets, so that they could have known and understood God‘s will, had they willed.

E.B. Pusey notes…

“It is the last punishment of persevering sinners, that God leaves them to prosper in their sins and in those things which help them to sin [cf. Rom. 1]” (1:53)

Hence, we are taught to pray, “Correct me, O LORD, but in justice; not in anger…” (Jere. 10:24).

The priests had influenced the people, but they had chosen this immoral direction.  All the while, it is leading them to ruin.

This poetic piece is found several places on the internet, with some adaptations:

He is God, and I am His

He is the First and Last, the Beginning and the End!
He is the keeper of Creation and the Creator of all!
He is the Architect of the universe and the Manager of all times.

He always was, He always is, and He always will be…
Unmoved, Unchanged, Undefeated, and never Undone!

He was bruised and brought healing!
He was pierced and eased pain!
He was persecuted and brought freedom!
He was dead and brought life!
He is risen and brings power!
He reigns and brings Peace!

The world can’t understand him,
The armies can’t defeat Him,
The schools can’t explain Him,
and the leaders can’t ignore Him.

Herod couldn’t kill Him,
The Pharisees couldn’t confuse Him,
and the people couldn’t hold Him!
Nero couldn’t crush Him,
Hitler couldn’t silence Him,
The New Age can’t replace Him,
and Oprah can’t explain Him away!

He is light, love, longevity, and Lord.
He is goodness, Kindness, Gentleness, and God.
He is Holy, Righteous, mighty, powerful, and pure.

His ways are right, His word is eternal,
His will is unchanging, and His mind is on me.

He is my Redeemer, He is my Savior,
He is my guide, and He is my peace!
He is my Joy, He is my comfort,
He is my Lord, and He rules my life!

I serve Him because His bond is love,
His burden is light, and His goal for me is abundant life.

I follow Him because He is the wisdom of the wise,
the power of the powerful, the ancient of days,
the ruler of rulers, the leader of leaders,
the overseer of the overcomers, and the sovereign Lord
of all that was and is and is to come.
And if that seems impressive to you, try this for size.

His goal is a relationship with ME!
He will never leave me, never forsake me,
Never mislead me, never forget me, never overlook me,
and never cancel my appointment in His appointment book!

When I fall, He lifts me up!
When I fail, He forgives!
When I am weak, He is strong!
When I am lost, He is the way!
When I am afraid, He is my courage!
When I stumble, He steadies me!
When I am hurt, He heals me!
When I am broken, He mends me!
When I am blind, He leads me!
When I am hungry, He feeds me!

When I face trials, He is with me!
When I face persecution, He shields me!
When I face problems, He comforts me!
When I face loss, He provides for me!
When I face Death, He carries me Home!

He is everything for everybody, everywhere,
every time, and every way.

He is God,
He is faithful.
I am His, and He is mine!

This is from Dr. James Merritt’s blog:

The Bible, from cover to cover, answers the question, “Who is this Jesus?”
In the Old Testament:
In Genesis, He is the Creator God.
In Exodus, He is the Redeemer.
In Leviticus, He is your sanctification.
In Numbers, He is your guide.
In Deuteronomy, He is your teacher.
In Joshua, He is the mighty conqueror.
In Judges, He gives victory over enemies.
In Ruth, He is your kinsman, your lover, your redeemer.
In I Samuel, He is the root of Jesse.
In 2 Samuel, He is the Son of David.
In 1 Kings and 2 Kings, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
In 1st and 2nd Chronicles, He is your intercessor and High Priest.
In Ezra, He is your temple, your house of worship.
In Nehemiah, He is your mighty wall, protecting you from your enemies.
In Esther, He stands in the gap to deliver you from your enemies.
In Job, He is the arbitrator who not only understands your struggles, but has the power to do something about them.
In Psalms, He is your song–and your reason to sing.
In Proverbs, He is your wisdom, helping you make sense of life and live it successfully.
In Ecclesiastes, He is your purpose, delivering you from vanity..
In the Song of Solomon, He is your lover, your Rose of Sharon.
In Isaiah, He is the mighty counselor, the prince of peace, the everlasting father, and more. He’s everything you need.
In Jeremiah, He is your balm of Gilead, the soothing salve for your sin-sick soul.
In Lamentations, He is the ever-faithful one upon whom you can depend.
In Ezekiel, He is your wheel in the middle of a wheel–the one who assures that dry, dead bones will come alive again.
In Daniel, He is the ancient of days, the ever- lasting God who never runs out of time.
In Hosea, He is your faithful lover, always beckoning you to come back–even when you have abandoned Him.
In Joel, He is your refuge, keeping you safe in times of trouble.
In Amos, He is the husbandman, the one you can depend on to stay by your side.
In Obadiah, He is Lord of the Kingdom.
In Jonah, He is your salvation, bringing you back within His will.
In Micah, He is judge of the nation.
In Nahum, He is the jealous God.
In Habakkuk, He is the Holy One.
In Zephaniah, He is the witness.
In Haggai, He overthrows the enemies.
In Zechariah, He is Lord of Hosts.
In Malachi, He is the messenger of the covenant.

In the New Testament:
In Matthew, He is king of the Jews.
In Mark, He is the servant.
In Luke, He is the Son of Man, feeling what you feel.
In John, He is the Son of God.
In Acts, He is Savior of the world.
In Romans, He is the righteousness of God.
In I Corinthians, He is the rock that followed Israel.
In II Corinthians, He the triumphant one, giving victory.
In Galatians, He is your liberty; He sets you free.
In Ephesians, He is head of the Church.
In Philippians, He is your joy.
In Colossians, He is your completeness.
In I Thessalonians, He is your hope.
In II Thessalonians, He is your glory.
In I Timothy, He is your faith.
In II Timothy, He is your stability.
In Titus He is your reason for serving.
In Philemon, He is your benefactor.
In Hebrews, He is your perfection.
In James, He is the power behind your faith.
In I Peter, He is your example.
In II Peter, He is your purity.
In I John, He is your life.
In II John, He is your pattern.
In III John, He is your motivation.
In Jude, He is the foundation of your faith.
In Revelation, He is your coming King.

We are in Hosea 4 today.  God is indicting Israel for their unfaithfulness to the covenant—playing the harlot with other gods and depending upon foreign nations for their protection.  What upsets Yahweh the most is that the very people that He called and depended upon to teach the people to worship Him alone and obey Him—the priests—were the very ones who were misleading the people.

So this next section in Hosea 4 is especially directed at us in ministry, we pastors who have the responsibility to teach our congregations God’s truth.  Listen to Hosea’s indictment against the priests…

4 Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest. 5 You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night; and I will destroy your mother. 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. 7 The more they increased, the more they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame. 8 They feed on the sin of my people; they are greedy for their iniquity.  9 And it shall be like people, like priest; I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. 10 They shall eat, but not be satisfied; they shall play the whore, but not multiply, because they have forsaken the LORD to cherish 11 whoredom

Hosea 4:4-5:7 is God’s indictment against the priests.  The crimes mentioned here are (1) failure to teach the law (4:6); (2) use of the sacrificial system to feed their own appetites (4:7-10); the practice of divination (v. 4:12); (4) offering sacrifices in the high places (4:13a); (5) participation in ritual sex orgies (4:13b-14); (6) encouraging drunken lewdness in connection with idol worship (4:17-19); (7) false trust in the sacrifices at the shrines (5:6); and (8) bearing of illegitimate children as the fruit of the pagan orgies (5:7).  That is quite a failure on the part of those who were supposed to teach Israel to be faithful to Yahweh!

This passage we’re beginning today has two sections—vv. 4-6 and vv. 7-10.  Both are judgment speeches in which accusations are interwoven with announcements of judgment.  In the first section, the indictment is failure to teach and keep the law; the punishment is rejection of the priestly status.  In the second section, the crime is hedonistic greed in the celebration of the sacrifices; the judgment, accordingly, is deprivation of any source of joy.

Israel’s guilt was so clear that the Lord forbade the people from denying His charge against them.  The charges Yahweh brings against the priests are undeniable and no one can rightly accuse Yahweh of being unfair in His judgments.

Yahweh’s contention is with the priests.  He will mention the prophets in v. 5 but this indictment is primarily laid at the feet of the priests.

In passages like Deuteronomy 17:9-12, Yahweh clearly commanded His people to listen to and submit to the priests, who would lead and help the people with the Word of God.  But in this case, it was the priests who were leading the people astray.

Therefore, the condition of the people in itself is evidence against the priests.  Thus Duane Garrett paraphrases…

“Even though this nation is full of blasphemers, liars, murderers, thieves, and adulterers (v. 2) there is no point in one person accusing or pointing the finger of blame at another.  When they accuse one another, your people are really bringing charges against the priest–they are evidence for what a poor job the priests have done.” (Garrett, Hosea-Joel, p. 116)

Ultimately, responsibility for the condition of the flock lays in the hands of the priest, or the pastor.

Malachi also brings a charge against the priests, comparing the calling Yahweh gave to Levi with the current negligence of the priests in his day:

5 My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. 7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

8 But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts, 9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”

Tom Constable does remind us that King Jeroboam I had appointed as priests people from any tribe and all walks of life in Israel (1 Kings 12:31; 13:33).  Thus, these priests may not even be from the lineage of Levi.  They certainly weren’t acting like it!

The New Testament also speaks of how God will hold leaders in the church responsible for the condition of the flock.  In Hebrews 13:17 we read

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.  Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Paul even warns that in the last days preachers will fail to teach the truth, but rather teach people what they want to hear, affirming their life choices instead of challenging them:

1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

The consequence of the lack of biblical teaching from the priests is that they, the prophets, and we assume the people as well, will all “stumble” (v. 5).  The priests may have thought themselves immune because of their spiritual calling and reputation, but they are not.  When the truth is not taught, everyone suffers.

This stumbling makes them ineffective and it happens “day and night,” in other words, “all the time.”  Stumbling at night is understandable, but stumbling in the day speaks of God’s judgment.  In essence, the blind are leading the blind (Matthew 15:14).

It may literally be the result of being drunk with wine and alludes to the image of Yahweh making his enemies drink wine on the day of his wrath.  In Jeremiah 25:15-28 for example, the nations must drink the cup of God’s wrath, get drunk and stagger, and fall to rise no more.  Thus, this seems very final.

Both types of spiritual leaders fail the people, so that ultimately the “mother,” that is, the nation, will be destroyed.  All the key institutions in Israel’s life—spiritual and political—will fail.

The key reason for national destruction is communicated in verse 6:

6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge,” particularly their failure to know God.  This was mentioned back in v. 1 in the first indictment against Israel, that there was “no knowledge of God in the land.”  They failed to acknowledge Him as their God, instead turning to the Baals.  They forgot Him and all His blessings throughout their history, preferring to worship other gods.

This did not happen unconsciously, but was a conscious decision on their part—the priests “rejected knowledge” and “have forgotten the law of your God.”  Failure to teach the people rightly is always a serious offense to God (Matthew 18:6; James 3:1).  The preacher or teacher who sins in this way is not only responsible for his own misdeeds, but also of those whom he misled.

Pastors, this is our primary mission—to teach the Word so our people know and love and obey the true God.  If we fail in that, no matter what else we do well, we fail them and we fail God.

The since of the priests is primarily a sin of omission, but it is a disastrous omission that gives birth to every sin of commission and leads to the collapse of the priesthood and the destruction of the nation.  Their primary calling, in this passage, was to teach, not make sacrifices.  But they had failed to do that.

Priests, prophets and people stumble together, even in the daylight, because they cast off the knowledge of God and the restraint and guidance of God’s law.

It should be no surprise that there is a strong connection between knowing God and knowing His Word.  There is no knowledge of God without knowing the Word.  The better we know the Word, the better we know God.  The better we know God, the more our lives will be transformed towards righteousness and goodness and beauty.

So get into the Word of God!

We have time to watch television, to mindlessly surf the internet, to read novels, to go to movies, to go out for dinner, to spend evenings in conversations with friends, to shop for a long list of Christmas presents, to attend sports events, to take a weekend get away vacation and so on and so on — but oh, my, we are too busy to teach a Sunday School class!  We are too busy to participate in a weekly Bible Study!  We are too busy to spend 15 minutes each day in Bible reading and prayer!  Thus we are well-versed in temporal things, but suffering terribly from a lack of godly, holy, transforming knowledge that comes from God’s Word as the Holy Spirit points us to Jesus Christ.

Get into the Word of God and let it shape your understanding of God accurately so that you begin to reflect His glory.

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3)

God’s response of judgment is to reject the priests and forget their children (v. 6).  To our western minds it always seems a bit unfair for the children to have to pay for the sins of their parents, but the solidarity of the family and the idea of corporate guilt and punishment was common in ancient Near East cultures.

Also, since the priesthood is inherited through one family, these children would grow up to be priests, and likely bad ones as well.

One would think that the increasing of the priesthood would be a good thing.  We bemoan the fact seminaries aren’t graduating as many preachers as is needed.  However, in Hosea 4:7 the multiplication of priests turned out to be a bad thing…

7 The more they increased, the more they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame.

God had blessed the priests with increase (likely referring to children, but it could have broader reference to other kinds of blessing), but they took that blessing for granted and sinned all the more.

Doesn’t that sound familiar?  We live in what could be arguably called the most blessed nation on earth.  But what have we done with those blessings?  We have turned them around and used them to eliminate God from our lives, both politically and personally.

David Guzik reminds us

Blessing is a two-edged gift; it is obviously wonderful to be blessed, but it also brings more accountability and more opportunity for sin.

It would have been quite natural to think that the multiplication of priests, their increased influence, and the increased interest in worship would be signs of spiritual vitality.  But to the contrary, Hosea retorts that the more religious leadership the nation hand, the worse they became.

Their glory, their status and privileges, was about to be put to shame.  “The judgment is that someday God will bring the priests into disgrace in that he will cause the people to recognize them for the frauds they are and to despise them” (Garrett, Hosea-Joel, p. 119).

Another charge against these priests is that they were exploiting their worshipers.  The priest’s complicity in Israel’s sin is nowhere stated more forcefully than in verse 8.  There was an eagerness to get people to sin.  Hosea 4:8 says…

8 They feed on the sin of my people; they are greedy for their iniquity.

The priests were relishing the people’s wickedness in two ways.  First, they were making these offerings predominately to idols.  Second, the priests were benefiting from the sin offerings made.

In the religious system in which God established, the priests received their livelihood from portions of sacrificial offerings, whether animal or cereal and so they were encouraging the people to sin so that they would need to bring more offerings!

Contemporary charlatans who exploit the religious or emotional or physical needs of people for their own gain are as immoral and as responsible for the demise of genuine religious experience as were the corrupt priests before them.

Instead of the sacrifices being a means of repentance and grace, it had become a tool for permissiveness of the people and the gluttony of the priests.

The word “sin” in verse 8 could just as well refer to the “sin offering,” but in parallel with “iniquity” it is more likely referring to the act of sinning.

The last phrase is literally “they lift up their soul to their iniquity.”  Several times in the Psalms, to “lift up the soul” means to pray.  Thus, it is quite possible that this means that the priests were praying (if you could call it that) for the people to sin.

Thus it was all very shameful.

Hosea goes on to say…

9 And it shall be like people, like priest; I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.

I think what Hosea means is that even though the priests were more culpable before God, they would be treated equally.  There will be coming a day of judgment and none shall be spared.  That general judgment is made more specific in v. 10…

10 They shall eat, but not be satisfied; they shall play the whore, but not multiply, because they have forsaken the LORD to cherish

The theme is frustration almost to the point of annihilation.  Their bodily appetites will no longer be satisfied.  Like addicts, they will experience the law of diminishing returns.  The land will not produce crops.

They will enact sexual worship with the prostitutes of Baal, but bear no children.  This fulfills the grave promise of v. 6, “I will forget your children.”  They just won’t be born.

Ironically worship of Baal was supposed to insure abundance of resources and fertile wombs.  But they would reap what they had sown.  Now they will always be hungry and childless.

Yahweh will do this because they had stopped listening to and obeying Him by observing His law.  And the object if “to cherish” is found in verse 11.  They cherished harlotry.  Instead of loving God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, they cherished the false gods.

Like we saw last week, when you break the first commandment to “have no other gods before me” you will soon be breaking them all.

David makes this contrast in Psalm 16.  Verse 4 says…

The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply

But in v. 16 he says…

in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Do you want increasing sorrows, or ever-increasing joy?

Don’t forfeit the true and lasting joy for the fleeting pleasures given by the false gods of this age.