 Rejoice not, O Israel! Exult not like the peoples; for you have played the whore, forsaking your God. You have loved a prostitute's wages on all threshing floors.
2 Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail them. 3 They shall not remain in the land of the Lord, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria. 4 They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord, and their sacrifices shall not please him. It shall be like mourners' bread to them; all who eat of it shall be defiled; for their bread shall be for their hunger only; it shall not come to the house of the Lord. 5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festival, and on the day of the feast of the Lord? 6 For behold, they are going away from destruction; but Egypt shall gather them; Memphis shall bury them. Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver; thorns shall be in their tents. 7 The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad because of your great iniquity and great hatred. 8 The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God, yet a fowler's snare is on all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God. 9 They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah: he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins. 10 Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved. 11 Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird— no birth, no pregnancy, no conception! 12 Even if they bring up children, will bereave them till none is left. Woe to them when I depart from them! 13 Ephraim, as I have seen, was like a young palm planted in a meadow; but Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter. 14 Give them, O Lord— what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. 15 Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal; there I began to hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels. 16 Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, I will put their beloved children to death. 17 My God will reject them because they have not listened to him; they shall be wanderers among the nations. Meditation The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to transform the children of God more into the image of God (Colossians 3:10). The spirit of idolatry de-creates people to become like what we worship (Psalm 115:8). Stated simply, “We resemble what we revere either for our ruin or restoration.” (Greg Beal, We become what we Worship) Embedded in Hosea’s detailed judgement oracle is a terrible diagnosis, specifically that Israel “became detestable like the thing they loved” (10). Hosea called God’s people to repent, to turn from their false worship and return to the love of their Heavenly Husband. His words were pointed- They had become corrupt like the rebellion of old that lead to the judgment of the flood (9, see Genesis 6:11-13). Like their forefathers in Gibeah, the rebellion and injustice in the land was a total atrocity (9- see Judges 19). Ruin is always the result when we revere anything other than our Redeemer. Israel did not repent- Israel mocked Hosea, calling him foolish (7). Like the flood that came upon the corrupt earth and the civil war that followed Gibeah’s rebellion, so exile was coming to rebellious Israel (1-3). A holy and just God will not tolerate rebellion and injustice. The love of God revealed in the work of Jesus Christ is for all who believe. Jesus was ruined, taking the judgment sinners deserve, so believers can be restored by His redeeming love. Jesus was exiled so God’s children can be brought home, treated as a rebel so believers can return to our Father's love. United with Christ, believers experience restoration to walk in a newness of life (Romans 6:1-6)! Richly Dwelling -What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially the terrible diagnosis Hosea delivers in the context of this judgement oracle? -Where do you identify with Israel, giving your heart to another god? -How does the finished work of Jesus invite you to repent and return home and the promised Spirit strengthen your steps to trust His word to become more like Him? Take a moment to name a specific area to do this, asking God’s Spirit to restore you through God’s word. Key Verse 10 (Israel)… became detestable like the thing they loved.
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