SCRIPTURE: HOSEA 4
THE CHARGE AGAINST ISRAEL (VS. 1-19)
THE SINS OF ISRAEL:
- There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. (v. 1)
- There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery and bloodshed. (v. 2)
- The prophets and the people stumble together for lack of knowledge. (v. 3)
- They rejected knowledge and ignored the law of God. (vv. 7)
- The prophets feed on the sins of the people and relish their wickedness. (v. 8)
- They will eat but not have enough. (v. 10)
- They have deserted the Lord and give themselves to prostitution. (v. 11)
- They consult a wooden idol and are answered by a stick of wood. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they are unfaithful tot their God. (v. 12)
- They are led astray by a spirit of prostitution and are unfaithful to their God. (v. 13)
- The men consorts with harlots and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes. (v. 14)
- They are stubborn like a stubborn heifer. (v. 16)
- They are joined to idols continuing their prostitution. They love shameful ways. (v. 18)
THOUGHTS:
Disobedience was the cause for Israel’s suffering. Jeroboam, the king of Northern Kingdom set up his own religious system by making two gold calves for people to worship. He appointed his own priests who were not the descendants of Aaron and began to worship Canaanite gods. Later, they had substituted Baal for God.
The religious leaders had become leaders of wrong doings. The priests relished the people’s sin. Every time a person brought a sin offering, the priest received a portion of it. Because they could not eat all of the offering themselves, they sold them to gain money. That was why they encouraged more people to sin to increase their profit.
The Canaanite gods Baal and Asherah represent the power of fertility and sexual reproduction. So their worship include rituals with vile sexual practices. No wonder they were so many men committing adultery with the prostitutes.