Hosea 4

October 5, 2025

FBC Baxley

Pm svc

Hosea 4

1 Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,

for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.

There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,

and no knowledge of God in the land;

2 there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;

they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

3 Therefore the land mourns,

and all who dwell in it languish,

and also the beasts of the field

and the birds of the heavens,

and even the fish of the sea are taken away.

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, wine, and new wine,

which take away the understanding.

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.

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.

-Pray

“When People Forget God”

Hosea 4

Introduction:

In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space.

When asked about what he saw, it was widely reported that he said, “I looked and looked, but I didn’t see God.”

Whether or not he said it exactly, the statement reflected a society that had tried to push God out of public life and private consciousness.

But history teaches that when people forget God, consequences follow: morality collapses, justice is twisted, families disintegrate, and communities rot from within.

-”We are one generation away from a Godless society!”

-Universities blinding the eyes of students and reprogramming their minds...

BPCU...in our back door, we should be sending students, supporting financially, etc. Steve Echols will be here Oct. 26 am svc

-Turning Point USA/Charlie Kirk...

**Students is equipping the next generation with the tools and knowledge to defend and promote conservative values on campuses across the country. We are challenging the narrative and stopping the brainwashing through open dialogue and thought provoking discussion. Our campus events and Prove Me Wrong debates shift perspectives and might encompass opinions that hurt your feelings.

With an established presence on over 3,500 college & high school campuses, we are changing the culture and saving America one Student at a time.

-Universities blinding the eyes of students and reprogramming their minds...

BPCU...in our back door, we should be sending students, supporting financially, etc. Steve Echols will be here Oct. 26 am svc

Hosea 4 is God’s courtroom scene, calling Israel to account.

He does not come as a silent observer—He indicts, He laments, He warns.

And in that, He provides timeless lessons for us today.

Background

Hosea 4 begins the second major section of the book.

Chapters 1–3 use Hosea’s marriage to Gomer as a living metaphor of Israel’s unfaithfulness and God’s covenant love.

Chapter 4 shifts from metaphor to direct accusation.

Hosea 4 is essentially a covenant lawsuit (rîb in Hebrew), a legal term used throughout the Hebrew Scriptures when God brings His people to trial.

The NICNT commentary notes that Hosea’s language here is judicial and forensic, as if God is standing in the heavenly court, accusing Israel before all creation.

1. The Charge Announced (v.1)

“Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land.”

God calls the nation to listen. The word hear (shama‘) implies both attention and obedience.

The Hebrew rîb (“controversy”) is a courtroom term: God is acting as the Judge bringing formal charges.

Three things missing in Israel:

Faithfulness (ʾĕmet): truth and reliability in covenant relationships.

Steadfast love (ḥesed): covenant loyalty, mercy, and love rooted in relationship.

Knowledge of God (daʿat ʾĕlōhîm): experiential understanding, not just intellectual awareness.

Illustration:

A marriage cannot survive without trust, love, and personal knowledge of one another.

Israel’s relationship with God had collapsed in all three dimensions.

Quote: Leonard Ravenhill warned, “The church has many organizers, but few agonizers;

many who pay, but few who pray;

many who are enterprising, but few who are interceding.”

2. The Symptoms of Decay (v.2–3)

“There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish…”

Hosea groups or catalogs the sins that violate God’s law, echoing the Ten Commandments.

“Break all bounds” (pāra‘) literally means to break through limits, like a flood breaking its levees.

Sin affects not only humans but creation itself: beasts, birds, and fish suffer from human lawlessness.

Illustration:

The Dust Bowl of the 1930s shows what happens when human greed and disregard for the land collide with natural forces—entire communities suffered.

The Dust Bowl was caused by a combination of environmental factors and human error: a period of severe drought and strong winds, combined with farming practices that stripped the land of its natural grasses and left the topsoil vulnerable to erosion. The removal of native prairie grasses by farmers and ranchers, driven by increased demand for crops like wheat and land speculation, exposed vast amounts of loose soil. When a prolonged drought hit in the 1930s, high winds then picked up this dry, exposed dirt, creating massive dust storms known as "black blizzards" that devastated the Great Plains

Israel’s sin had similarly catastrophic consequences.

Quote: A.W. Tozer: “When the church is at ease in Zion, the Lord is not at ease with Zion.”

3. The Failure of Leadership (v.4–6)

“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.”

God blames priests and spiritual leaders for Israel’s failure.

Daʿat (“knowledge”) here implies relational, covenantal understanding. Knowledge without obedience is meaningless.

Priests were supposed to teach, guide, and restrain sin, but they became complicit in corruption.

Illustration:

A doctor who refuses to treat patients who trust him will see lives destroyed.

Likewise, the priesthood’s failure endangered the spiritual health of the nation.

Quote: Charles Spurgeon: “A church full of professors is no church at all unless they are professors indeed.”

4. Corruption of the Priesthood (v.7–10)

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

Instead of leading people to God, the priests exploited the people for gain.

Verse 8: “They feed on the sin of my people” – they profited from sacrificial offerings while ignoring God’s covenant.

Verse 9: “Like people, like priest”—leaders mirror the sinfulness of the people.

Illustration:

Modern scandals in institutions—political, corporate, or religious—show the ripple effect of corrupt leadership.

One person’s failure can poison an entire organization.

5. The People’s Idolatry (v.11–14)

“Whoredom, wine, and new wine take away the understanding…”

Verse 12: “My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles.”

Israel worshiped wooden idols, trusting them for wisdom.

The phrase “spirit of whoredom” (rûaḥ zĕnûnîm) indicates spiritual adultery—a turning from covenant faithfulness to God.

Illustration:

It’s like asking an AI or social media for ultimate wisdom on life decisions—something created cannot truly guide humanity.

Quote: A.W. Tozer: “An idol of the mind is as offensive to God as an idol of the hand.”

6. Warning Against Stubbornness (v.15–19)

“Though you play the whore, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty; do not go to Gilgal, or go up to Beth-aven…”

Hosea warns Judah not to follow Israel’s example.

Verse 16: “Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn.”

A heifer refuses to be guided; Israel refuses repentance.

Verse 19: Judgment is coming: “A wind has wrapped them in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.”

Illustration:

Just as a tornado sweeps everything indiscriminately, God’s judgment would remove all unfaithfulness if they did not return to Him.

Life Applications

Guard Your Knowledge of God

True knowledge is relational, experiential, and lived, not just intellectual. Daily cultivate intimacy with God.

Pray for and Hold Accountable Spiritual Leaders

Leadership failures ripple through communities. Support, pray for, and encourage integrity in your leaders.

Beware of Idols That Numb Your Heart

Israel’s wooden idols were obvious; ours are subtle—success, comfort, technology, approval.

Ask: What do I turn to for guidance besides God?

Conclusion: Heart-Touching Story

In 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

People wept openly, recognizing the fragility of life without God.

Edwards’ intent was not mere terror but to call people to return to God while mercy was still available.

Hosea 4 is a similar call.

It shows the consequences of forgetting God but also urges repentance and renewed devotion.

As Spurgeon said, “If you will not have God, you can go on without Him—but you cannot go on happily, nor safely, nor eternally.”

I pray we follow God’s warning: return to Him, seek knowledge and intimacy with Him, honor His Word, and resist the idols of our age.

-Pray

-Invitation