Guilt and Punishment - Part 2 (ch. 10)

Introduction

As we continue in our study of the Old Testament book of Hosea, we learned last week in part 1 of Israel’s guilt and subsequent punishment from chapter 9, how that Yahweh would punish Israel by removing then from his holy land, and causing their former glory to fade, and he himself would leave them to experience life apart from his sustaining grace. Now as we come to part 2 from chapter 10 this morning, we will see how deep Israel’s guilt really is. They are arrogant and do not fear God, much like we see in our contemporary 2023 world.

There is no fear of God today, people live life as if no one is watching and no one even cares, because most people think that life is about me and my happiness. It is rather fascinating to me that in all recorded history, man and his ways are always the same. Mankind wants to do what he wants to do, and no one has a right to put boundaries on his life, so he thinks. Such arrogance and rebellion against God didn’t work in Israel’s day, as we shall soon see, and it will not work today. With that in mind turn to Hosea 10.

Text: Hosea 10

Hosea 10 ESV

1 Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars. 2 Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their pillars. 3 For now they will say: “We have no king, for we do not fear the Lord; and a king—what could he do for us?” 4 They utter mere words; with empty oaths they make covenants; so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field. 5 The inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced over it and over its glory— for it has departed from them. 6 The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim shall be put to shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol. 7 Samaria’s king shall perish like a twig on the face of the waters. 8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,” and to the hills, “Fall on us.” 9 From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel; there they have continued. Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah? 10 When I please, I will discipline them, and nations shall be gathered against them when they are bound up for their double iniquity. 11 Ephraim was a trained calf that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck; but I will put Ephraim to the yoke; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for himself. 12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. 13 You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors, 14 therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle; mothers were dashed in pieces with their children. 15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great evil. At dawn the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off.

Main Idea: Because God is Sovereign, Holy, and Immutable, he will bring upon the guilty his just judgment, while maintaining his covenant of redemption.

I. Israel’s Guilt Brought On By Prosperity (1-8)

A. Prosperity brought pride (1-2)

(1) Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars.

For the image of Israel as a vine, cf. Ps. 80:8–16; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 15:1–8; 17:1–10. This example suits Hosea’s repeated pattern that Israel got off to a good start but then went wrong. The vine’s fruit increased, and the country improved. However, the more Israel prospered, the more Israel sinned. the more altars he built … he improved his pillars.

It was just as Moses had warned (Deut. 8:11–14).

Deuteronomy 8:11–14 ESV

11 “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,

Abundance is risky; God’s people could not handle it (cf. Prov. 30:7–9).

Proverbs 30:7–9 ESV

7 Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: 8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, 9 lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

(2) Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their pillars.

heart is false - The covenant required single-minded devotion to the Lord (Deut. 6:5);

Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV

5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Israel’s divided loyalties called forth the judgment predicted in the covenant curses pronounced by Moses (Deut. 29:14–29).

B. Prosperity brought arrogance (3-4)

What’s the difference you say between pride and arrogance...Pride, is, unreasonable or inordinate self-esteem. Arrogance, implies, taking much upon ourselves, and, is pride attended with insolence and contempt.

(3) For now they will say: “We have no king, for we do not fear the Lord; and a king—what could he do for us?”

We have no king - The prophet foretells the end of the northern monarchy due to the people’s unfaithfulness.

for we do not fear the Lord - this is Israel’s sole problem, they are living as if there is no God. The Psalmist declares his issue with how the wicked seem to prosper though they distance themselves from God:

Psalm 10:3–4 ESV

3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord. 4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

Psalm 14:1 ESV

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.

what could he do for us? - an arrogant statement declaring their independence from God.

(4) They utter mere words; with empty oaths they make covenants; so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds (wormwood) in the furrows of the field.

utter mere words -I believe that in the context, this refers to the words of kings, their covenants/promises do not stem from integrity but are untrustworthy.

empty oaths - More likely, the broken obligations in view are those of the king to his people, in particular, to maintain justice. Very similar to empty campaign promises we hear uttered today by our political candidates.

C. Prosperity brought idolatry (5-8)

(5) The inhabitants of Samaria (capitol city of the 10 northern tribes) tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced over it and over its glory— for it has departed from them.

Note that Israel did not fear Yahweh, but they did tremble (revere, hollow, exalt, be in awe of) for the idolatrous calf of Beth-aven (house of evil).

This calf was more then likely one of the calf idols that Jeroboam set up for the 10 northern tribes so they would not be tempted to go south to Jerusalem to worship.

(6) The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim shall be put to shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol. - The idol they worshiped becomes tribute for the great king of Assyria (see 5:13).

(7) Samaria’s king shall perish like a twig on the face of the waters - The imagery of a stick tossed in the water, being tossed about every which way and then swept away, illustrates the helplessness and weakness of the kings that Israel trusted.

(8) The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,” and to the hills, “Fall on us.” - though God has clearly shown the way back to him, Israel chooses death rather then face God’s judgment, or so they think. This sounds very similar to what Jesus said in:

Luke 23:30 ESV

30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’

And what the apostle John said in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 6:16 ESV

16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,

The hearts of man are so hardened that they will not repent but choose to be crushed by the mountains.

Again, all of this did not happen over night, but we see next that:

II. Israel’s Guilt Continues from their Past (9-12)

A. Past war with the tribe of Benjamin (9-10)

(9) From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel; there they have continued. Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah? - refers to the events in Judges 19–21, where God brings judgment on Gibeah and the tribe of Benjamin (Judg. 20:35) for their cruel violence (sodomy and rape) (Judg. 19:22–26; cf. Hos. 10:9). The idea is that if disaster overtook the Benjaminites at Gibeah, how much more is Israel now in trouble.

(10) When I please, I will discipline them, and nations shall be gathered against them when they are bound up for their double iniquity.

When I please, I will discipline them - While the primary source of Israel’s discipline and downfall is the Lord himself, the agency of discipline will be through the nations that shall be gathered against them (cf. Isa. 10:5). OT prophets frequently linked the first cause (the Lord) with secondary causes (here, the nations).

double iniquity - In the context of this verse, this most likely refers to the past sin at Gibeah and the present sin of Israel, in order to simply highlight Israel’s repeated and unyielding transgressions.

B. Past grace shown to Israel by God (11-12)

(11) Ephraim was a trained calf that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck; but I will put Ephraim to the yoke; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for himself.

Ephraim … Judah - Both kingdoms are in view.

trained calf … loved to thresh - A positive image of Israel’s original calling as a teachable, unmuzzled animal threshing the harvested grain and free to eat as it worked (cf. 11:4; Deut. 25:4; Prov. 12:10; Jer. 50:11). Jesus also offers an easy yoke to His disciples in Matt. 11:28–30 “28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””

fair neck - That is, a strong neck capable of arduous work. Israel had not fulfilled the Lord’s expectations. The easy yoke of covenant blessings would be replaced by the hard yoke of covenant curses in order to teach them obedience. But there is still hope...

(12) Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

steadfast love (hesed) - Sowing that which is right and good brings a harvest of blessing from the Lord.

break up your fallow ground - When fallow ground is plowed, it produces a particularly abundant harvest.

rain righteousness - God must give the harvest (1 Cor. 3:6, 7). BTW, we know that full righteousness comes in Christ (Rom. 3:23–26; 8:1–4).

It has always been God’s plan that his people bear fruit, showing they are God’s people. This is exactly what Jesus was telling us in John 15:8

John 15:8 ESV

8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

This also is the meaning of the parable of the sower in Luke 8:5-8

Luke 8:5–8 ESV

5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

In the end, those who are truly God’s covenant people will be those who show that they are through obedience and faith. For Israel, they were content to be called God’s people, and receive his blessings, but wanted nothing to do with his rule over them. As a result,...

III. Israel’s Guilt Breeds God’s Just Judgment (13-15)

A. Cause and Effect of God’s just judgment (13-14)

(13) You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors,

plowed iniquity - Instead of cultivating a fruitful relationship with God, Israel has planted, reaped, and eaten wickedness and dishonesty (8:7; Gal. 6:7–9 “7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” )

Because you have trusted in … your warriors - The punishment God will bring (a military defeat) is directly related to Israel’s sin of depending on its own military power and not on the Lord (Jer. 9:23, 24).

(14) therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle; mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.

Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel - Hosea’s audience must have remembered this now unknown event as particularly brutal. Shalman has been identified variously as Shalmaneser III of Assyria (859–824 b.c.), Shalmaneser V (727–722 b.c.), and Salamanu, a contemporary Moabite king. Beth-arbel is usually identified with the site in Gilead. The violence described suits Assyrian barbarity, and the degree of punishment is equal to the size of the offenses.

B. Surety of God’s just judgment (15)

(15) Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great evil. At dawn the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off.

Bethel - Often ironically called “Beth-aven” (house of evil) by Hosea

These ominous words and the twice used word, shall, mean one thing, that Israel knows in no uncertain terms that it is over, the verdict is in and judgment will happen…there is no turning back.

So What?

If you have been blessed by God with prosperity, are you able to still put God first in everything?

Remember, as a child of God, we are blessed to be a blessing, therefore we know that everything we have comes from God, is owned by God, and is to bear fruit for the glory of God.

Have you forsaken your sins of the past, or are they a constant menace to your progress in the present?

Our only hope against the sins of the past and their spillover into the present is a life of repentance and faith, apart from which we will not succeed.

Are you seeking to obey God in all things by having Christ’s righteousness be your guide?

Remember, we reap what we sow, so without Christ’s righteousness as our guide, the cause and effect of life will destroy our witness for him