25 Nov. Hosea 9:1-9

25 Nov. Hosea laments the unfaithfulness of Israel

“Israel, do not rejoice; don’t shout for joy as the other nations do. You have been like a prostitute against your God. You love the pay of prostitutes on every threshing floor. But the threshing floor and the winepress will not feed the people, and there won’t be enough new wine.”

“The people will not stay in the LORD’s land. Israel will return to being captives as they were in Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat food that they are not allowed to eat.”

“The Israelites will not give offerings of wine to the LORD; they will not give him sacrifices. Their sacrifices will be like food that is eaten at a funeral; it is unclean, and everyone who eats it becomes unclean.”

“Their food will only satisfy their hunger; they cannot sacrifice it in the Temple. What will you do then on the day of feasts and on the day of the LORD’s festival?”

“Even if the people are not destroyed, Egypt will capture them; Memphis will bury them. Weeds will grow over their silver treasures, and thorns will drive them out of their tents.”

“The time of punishment has come, the time to pay for sins. Let Israel know this: you think the prophet is a fool, and you say the spiritual person is mad. You have sinned very much, and your hatred is great.”

“Is Israel a watchman? Are God’s people prophets? Everywhere Israel goes, traps are set for him. He is an enemy in God’s house. The people of Israel have gone deep into sin as the people of Gibeah did. The Lord will remember the evil things they have done and he will punish their sins.”

(Hosea 9:1-9)

As he developed his prophesy, Hosea continued to berate the people of Israel for following false gods. In Chapter 4, Hosea gave an amusing description of Asherah and Baal worship. The LORD told them that wine, both old and new, had robbed them of their senses: "My people ask wooden idols for advice; they ask those sticks of wood" [i.e. Asherah poles] "to advise them!" (Hosea 4:12)

"Like prostitutes, they have chased after other gods and have left their own God. They make sacrifices on the tops of the mountains. They burn offerings on the hills, under oaks, poplars and other trees, because their shade is nice." (Hosea 4:13)

In Chapter 5, Hosea described the war between King Amaziah of Judah and King Jehoash of Israel (c.795-783BC) (see 2 Kings 14:8-14), and the intervention of Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria against Israel in 733BC (see 2 Kings 15:19-22).

In Chapter 8, the LORD condemned Israel for rejecting him and worshiping the gods of Assyria. “Israel is like a wild donkey all by itself. They have run to Assyria; they have hired other nations to protect them. .” (see 2 Kings 16:7-9 & 17:3-6)

In today’s passage, in Chapter 9, Hosea told the people that God would punish them for their sin: “The time of punishment has come, the time to pay for sins.” (Hosea 9:7)

Hosea ended his prophetic writing by pleading for Israel to return to the LORD and to receive his forgiveness: "Assyria cannot save us, nor will we trust in our horses. The LORD says, 'I will forgive them for leaving me and will love them freely, because I am not angry with them any more. I will be like the dew to Israel, and they will blossom like a lily.'" (Hosea 14:3-5)

The photo shows Assyrian archers carved on a stone frieze (at the British Museum in London).