In The Word
Read: Hosea 4:1-5:14
God’s Controversy with Israel
4 Listen to the word of the Lord, you sons of Israel,
Because the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land,
For there is no faithfulness, nor loyalty,
Nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 There is oath-taking, denial, murder, stealing, and adultery.
They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns,
And everyone who lives in it languishes
Along with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky,
And even the fish of the sea disappear.
4 Yet let no one find fault, and let no one rebuke;
For your people are like those who contend with a priest.
5 So you will stumble by day,
And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;
And I will destroy your mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Since you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being My priest.
Since you have forgotten the Law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me;
I will change their glory into shame.
8 They feed on the sin of My people,
And long for their wrongdoing.
9 And it will be, like people, like priest;
So I will punish them for their ways
And repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat, but not have enough;
They will play the prostitute, but not increase,
Because they gave up devoting themselves to the Lord.
11 Infidelity, wine, and new wine take away the understanding.
12 My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them;
For a spirit of infidelity has led them astray,
And they have been unfaithful, departing from their God.
13 They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains
And burn incense on the hills,
Under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
Because their shade is pleasant.
Therefore your daughters play the prostitute,
And your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute,
Or your brides when they commit adultery,
Because the men themselves slip away with the prostitutes
And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes;
So the people without understanding are ruined.
15 Though you, Israel, play the prostitute,
Judah must not become guilty;
Also you are not to go to Gilgal,
Nor go up to Beth-aven
And take the oath:
“As the Lord lives!”
16 Since Israel is stubborn
Like a stubborn cow,
Will the Lord now pasture them
Like a lamb in a large field?
17 Ephraim is allied with idols;
Leave him alone.
18 Their liquor is gone,
They prostitute themselves continually;
Their rulers dearly love shame.
19 The wind wraps them in its wings,
And they will be put to shame because of their sacrifices.
The People’s Apostasy Rebuked
5 Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, house of Israel!
Listen, you of the house of the king!
For the judgment applies to you,
Because you have been a trap at Mizpah,
And a net spread out on Tabor.
2 And the rebels have gone deep in depravity,
But I will discipline all of them.
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me;
Because now, Ephraim, you have been unfaithful,
Israel has defiled itself.
4 Their deeds will not allow them
To return to their God.
For a spirit of infidelity is within them,
And they do not know the Lord.
5 Moreover, the pride of Israel testifies against him,
And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their wrongdoing;
Judah also has stumbled with them.
6 They will go with their flocks and herds
To seek the Lord, but they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn from them.
7 They have dealt treacherously with the Lord,
For they have given birth to illegitimate children.
Now the new moon will devour them with their land.
8 Blow the horn in Gibeah,
And the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound an alarm at Beth-aven:
“Behind you, Benjamin!”
9 Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke;
Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is trustworthy.
10 The leaders of Judah have become like those who displace a boundary marker;
On them I will pour out My anger like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed, broken by judgment,
Because he was determined to follow man’s command.
12 Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim,
And like rottenness to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah his sore,
Ephraim then went to Assyria
And sent word to King Jareb.
But he is unable to heal you,
Or to cure you of your sore.
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, yes I, will tear to pieces and go away,
I will carry away, and there will be no one to rescue.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Listen to the words of the Lord: instead of faithfulness, kindness, and knowledge of Me, there is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery. Since you have rejected Me, I will have to reject you. Your glory will be turned to shame. You have stopped listening to Me. You have been led astray, and you are listening to lies. You don’t understand how much I love you. How can I lead you and protect you if you won’t listen to Me to know My heart and understand My love for you?
How did this happen? We see the nation’s unfaithfulness in the lives of the priests, the people, and the government. The priests were supposed to guide the people and lead them in the knowledge of God, but instead they rejected His ways. They did not speak the truth in love or warn the people about their sin and its consequences, so the people multiplied their sin. Their leaders determined to follow man’s ways instead of the ways of the Lord. They will be destroyed because of their lack of understanding and their stubbornness; they will be ruined for walking away and staying away from God. Don’t let that happen to you. God pleads with us to listen to Him, but, if we continually reject Him and live in stubborn rebellion, He will give us over to the lusts of our hearts and the corruption of our minds. Stop and examine yourself today. Have you been led astray? Don’t listen to the lies of the enemy. Instead, listen to the words of the Lord.