What Are the Charges?

From this point on in Hosea, we have a condensed account of the burden of the prophet’s message. Hosea is very aware that he is speaking on behalf of the Lord. The reason I suggest that this is condensed is that Hosea had an actual ministry of proclaiming righteousness to Israel for about 70 years. Chapters 4-7 reveal God’s holiness. Chapters 8-10 reveals God’s justice. Finally, chapters 11-14 talk again about God’s love. In this chapter which we’ll be studying today, we’ll find a message to the entire nation.

We’ve seen a little bit of this in the first three chapters, but now , as in no other Old Testament book, we will see God’s outstanding characteristics shown with depth. In Hosea’s day, the people of Israel thought that God’s love would be shown to them without them personally knowing God by love and obedience. In Chapters 4-7, we’re going to see God correcting this thinking by showing that He is a Holy God.

As we look at chapter 4, we might wonder just how ignorant and dense a people could be. Sometimes, in our day and age, we look around us and when we see the blatant wickedness about us, we wonder how people can be so blinded to the truth. You will notice as we get into the message, that verses 6 and 14 reveal the real problem. The people seemed to be so totally ignorant as to God’s demands for holy living, that when confronted, it is as if they’re saying What are the charges? What are we doing that is so wrong?

Well, the Lord is now going to spell it out for them as to the charges He has against them. So for us, I want to challenge us with this thought.

We want to be a people who bring glory and honor and praise to our Lord.

Charge for Breaking the Commandments - 4:1-3

Israel had prided itself on being God’s chosen people. They were proud of the fact that God gave them, through Moses, the Law. They were overjoyed at all the special celebrations and feasts they could participate in throughout the years. But they were overlooking the fact that the very things of which they were proud, these were the things they were ignoring. The Lord had spelled out clearly how they were to live if they expected continued blessings as His chosen people. He had given them specific guidelines through the Law which would point them to Him. The celebrations were to be a reminder of God and His faithfulness. Yet, what do we see? It wasn’t a pleasing sight to the Lord.

Listen to the Word of the Lord, O sons of Israel . . . The nation had ignored the Word of the Lord for the past 200 years and are now going to be forced to listen to the charge that they had broken the covenant which was established at Mt. Sinai. Here we see that the Holy One of Israel would be acting, not only as the prosecuting attorney, but as the plaintiff, the witness, the judge, and the executioner. The last part of verse 1 speaks of the sins of omission, those things that were overlooked or absent-mindedly done. Verse 2 speaks of the sins of commission, those sins which were committed intentionally. God’s people were about to learn that nothing had escaped the watchful eye of the Lord.

Let’s look at the sins of omission. Israel had not developed within herself the three blessings that spoke of her unique covenant relationship to God. They were faithfulness, kindness, and the knowledge of God. Faithfulness was nowhere to be found because the people had not maintained their relationship with God. Kindness was not shown to their fellow man because they had not be faithful. This all was the result of Israel’s stubborn refusal to accept the knowledge of God that had been given to her.

In verse 2, we see the sins of commission. One commentator called this the black catalog of sins. Five of the commandments are quickly listed which Israel had broken: swearing, deception (or lying), murder, stealing, and adultery. In fact, this wasn’t just random sin; it was quite intentional. Hosea shows this by saying: They employ violence (or they break all bounds), so that bloodshed follows bloodshed. When a people or a nation smothers and tries to silence the knowledge of God, that nation becomes a lawbreaking people. Sadly, we see this too clearly even in our own nation.

We are so blessed to have the Word of God in our possession. We, who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, are children of God. Yet, we must be aware that we need to continue to maintain our relationship with God. If we keep developing and improving that relationship, then we’ll be able to show kindness to our fellow man and woman. We must be willing, however, to accept what the Word of God says. We have no business trying to reshape it to fit our particular preference or background. We do not try to get the Word of God to fit us. We are the ones who need to fit the Word of God. We must continually focus upon seeking the knowledge of God. If we don’t, we will also become a lawbreaking people—a people who claim to be God’s but are doing what would be done by Satan and his workers.

1 John 1:6 NASB95

If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;

John makes it very clear what a child of God should and should not do.

1 John 2:4 NASB95

The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

This makes it even clearer, as John spells out the warnings. May the Holy Spirit get ahold of any who are listening to this message today and change your heart if you find yourself trying to pretend to be a Christian while supporting and promoting that which is completely unbiblical.

Brothers and sisters, cling to God’s Word. Walk faithfully in obedience to Him. Seek ways in which you can show love to others because of Christ’s love for you.

Charge Against Leadership Misleading - 4:4-19

Just as a parent has a great responsibility to lead their children into paths of righteousness, God’s appointed leaders are also responsible to Him for the spiritual growth of those entrusted to them. In Israel’s case, the leadership is held responsible for the people being led toward destruction. I understand the old adage of You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. That is all very true. The problem is when leaders don’t even lead their people to the Living Water, or they try to substitute something else in its place.

The priests had failed to teach the people the life-giving Word of God. That’s why Hosea says in verse 6, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. The main purpose of the priests was to proclaim God’s Word; but not just for information. This phrase refers to knowing the facts of God’s Word, plus knowing God through personal experience. When one doesn’t have the factual knowledge and understanding of God’s Word, then you will not really get to know God, thus you won’t be living the way God wants you to live.

It is interesting to notice the snowball effect in verses 4-6. There was the sin offering which was supposed to be offered. Yet it seemed as if the priests were encouraging sin so that there would be more sin offerings. In this way, the priests found themselves becoming rich.

Galatians 6:7 NASB95

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

This principle is seen clearly in verse 9. Just because the priests occupied a sacred office did not mean they would escape God’s punishment for the whole nation of Israel.

Hosea 4:9 NASB95

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

The people were encouraging each other into lower and lower depths of sin. Obviously, when this takes place, there will be punishment for sin. As you look at verse 10, it is ironic that because they chose to forsake the Lord, there will be unquenchable hunger and sterile wombs. The reason I say that it is ironic is because the worship of Baal was supposed to ensure the fertility of the soil (for food) and the fertility of the womb.

What happens to people who are led by individuals who have rejected the knowledge of God? Verses 10-14 explains this further. One of the results is an addiction to prostitution and wine. Both preoccupy the mind and takes away the understanding. Even today, it is a known fact in counseling and psychological studies, that those caught up in alcoholism and sexual permissiveness, experience emotional and intellectual frustration and decline.

An evidence of the people’s foolhardiness is that they have replaced the only Living God with a wooden idol and a diviner’s wand. Obviously, neither the idol nor the wand has the ability to speak or to have any life within themselves. Superstition then begins to rule the way people live their lives.

Another evidence of this wicked spirit was the very act of sacrificing to the gods of wood and stone. Israel followed the pagan customs and rejected both God’s appointed place of worship (Jerusalem) and the proper object of that worship (the Lord God).

But that’s not all. There was the allowing and persuading the daughters and daughters-in-law to participate in cultic prostitution. This was the practice of allowing a man to have sexual intercourse with his daughter-in-law in order to guarantee the fertility of her marriage. It has been noted throughout history, the demise of multiple kingdoms has been seen after a period of sexual impurity. One writer states: Sexual impurity leads to national ruin.

It is as if God sighs and says that the people are ruined. This thought is also found in Proverbs 10, where the writer describes the unavoidable end of a fool who rejects God’s commandments.

My friends, we must not do as the nation of Israel did. We must not look at worship simply as a matter of convenience, a matter of identifying with the culture, or a matter of simply doing things our own way rather than God’s way. We dare not attempt to present God in our own image. My friends, the Jesus Christ whom you and I represent is the One who overthrew the temple tables; the One Who spoke out against hypocrisy; the One who will have nothing to do with false godliness and empty religion.

As we move on to verses 15-19, we see Hosea taking time to warn Judah not to follow the path and example of Israel. He warns them against idolatry or even going to Gilgal, which was a shrine for idols, located north of Jericho. He speaks about not going to Beth-aven. This is actually another name for Bethel. I want to take a little time to point out the significance of the play on words of this town. We remember that Bethel means house of God. Hosea speaks of it as Beth-aven, which means house of nothingness. How perfect for the renaming.

Hosea also warns them not to profane the Name of the Lord. Taking an oath by the Name of the Lord wasn’t forbidden at this time, but swearing by the Lord falsely in a place of idolatry was and is a sin. It would be like going to a satanic temple, participating in the evil activity, and then saying, Praise the Lord Jesus Christ.

Judah is warned to not be stubborn and obstinate like Israel. Israel was compared to a stubborn heifer. Those who work with these cattle can attest to the fact that some heifers just seem to be intent on their own plan. This was the picture of Israel. They would not do what God was telling them to do. Hosea was preaching his heart out, while Israel refused to change, just like stubborn heifers. And like a lamb out in the middle of a field, they would be open to attacks from their enemies with no protection.

Israel was basically married to their idols—a people who were supposed to be the Lord’s bride. The leadership should have been shielding God’s people from wickedness. Instead, they were also indulging in this evil.

Thus, because of all of this evil that had been sought after, the wind will wrap them in its wings. What a picture! A sudden and violent judgment will sweep the helpless nation into captivity. All that they had wasted their time and resources on with the false gods would be incapable of delivering the from their punishment.

Conclusion

As followers of Jesus Christ, we must avoid evil. We must not practice idolatry. Remember, an idolater is not someone who has walked away from religion or spirituality; they are still practicing it. We must not worship a false representation of God, whatever it may be in one’s personal life.

Instead, we must sound the clear message of Jesus Christ. We must follow Jesus Christ and Him only. We must continually seek the Lord and Him alone.

As we went through this chapter, you probably didn’t find much positive encouragement. However, it does show us quite clearly what we need to avoid. If we follow Jesus wholeheartedly, seeking after His wisdom, studying His Word so as to know how to love, there will be faithfulness. There will be love. There will be acknowledgement of God and His Word.

We want to be a people who bring glory and honor and praise to our Lord.