“Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land, because there is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the land.” (vs 1)
Up to this point there has been a strong focus on the relationship between Hosea and Gomer as a demonstration of the troubled relationship between God and His people. Of course, we have been able to make application with Christ’s church in general and even our own personal relationship with the Lord as we have gone through these early chapters.
There would not be much point in being here if we could not do that with any portion of scripture that we are studying. Without personal and significant application of God’s Word to our every day lives we would have before us nothing more than a history lesson; a very sketchy one at that.
For an example of what I’m saying, we take the things said in the verses we have just read, from the indictment in verse 2 that the land is filled with swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery, which, by the way, are in violation of five of the ten commandments given to Moses, and the added charge that bloodshed is the order of the day, and we only need to think about our own 21st century society to understand that there must indeed be something for us to consider very seriously in these verses before us.
I just did some quick browsing on the web and it didn’t take me long to find some information that drives this point home very graphically.
“With the end of World War II and the economic recovery in Europe in the 1950’s, crime rates and particularly rates of violent crime began to climb once again throughout the West. In England and Wales, murder and assault cases increased from 13 per 100,000 in 1950 to 144.3 per 100,000 in 1975, for an eleven-fold increase. During the same period the rate of larceny-theft rose from 847 per 100,000 to 3,659 per 100,000. In Scandinavia much the same pattern unfolded. Between 1960 and 1974-75, assaults and murders in Finland more than doubled from 127.9 to 282.0 per 100,000, and thefts more than tripled from 886 to 2,850 per 100,000. And in Stockholm between 1950 and 1971 the rates of thefts, assaults, and murders more than quadrupled.
These increases in Europe were recorded mainly in the cities, and a similar pattern prevailed in the United States. Between 1960 and 1997 violent crimes known to the police in the United States shot up from 160.9 to 610.8 per 100,000, and property complaints rose from 1,726.3 to 4,311.9 per 100,000.” THE POST-WORLD WAR CRIME WAVE Copyright 2007 Net Industries, law.jrank.org/pages/2159/statistics-historical-trends-in-western-society-post-world-war-ii-crime-wave.html
There is no question, and it hardly needs to be said at all in a time when the worst side of humanity is made clearly manifest on the news throughout the course of any given day, that we live in an increasingly violent world, where self is god, instant gratification is the altar society comes to worship at with dizzying frequency, and whatever goes wrong is someone else’s fault.
There is a song from the 1960s that expresses the mindset of modern society now even more clearly than when it was written. It is called “The Psychiatrist’s Folksong” by Anna Russell
“I went to my psychiatrist to be psychoanalyzed
To find out why I killed the cat and blacked my husband’s eyes.
He laid me on a downy couch to see what he could find,
And here is what he dredged up from my subconscious mind;
When I was one, my mommy hid my dolly in a trunk,
And so it follows naturally that I am always drunk.
When I was two, I saw my father kiss the maid one day,
And that is why I suffer now from kleptomania.
At three, I had the feeling of ambivalence toward my brothers,
And so it follows naturally I poison all my lovers.
But I am happy; now I’ve learned the lesson this has taught;
That everything I do that’s wrong is someone else’s fault.”
I don’t have to go farther on this path. Folks are generally in agreement these days with the assessment that society is in a downward spiral; they only differ on the reasons.
I would submit to you that those looking outside of the Bible are looking in the wrong place.
People were the same then as they are now. There is no fundamental difference between the Middle Eastern culture of the centuries before Christ and the centuries after; indeed, no real fundamental difference between that culture or any culture and ours. That is why Romans three can be read universally and applied universally.
“Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; 11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; 12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” 13 “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; 14 “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; 15 “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, 16 DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, 17 AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” 18 “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.” 19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;”
What we have here in our text is God’s indictment of his people. It reads like a courtroom scene where the defendants are sitting at the table, alone with no counsel to represent them, while the charges are being read.
I think we can spend the bulk of our time today in verse 1, because if we understand what is said there we will be greatly helped toward understanding the whole chapter.
HEAR YE, HEAR YE!
Hosea begins with a cry that is familiar to any reader of the prophets. It is said over and over again, as through His various heralds to both the northern and southern kingdoms He gives them opportunity after opportunity to hear and be changed.
“Listen to the word of the Lord…”
It is the neglect of response to this command that has been the downfall of humankind from the very first man. The admonition to listen to the word of the Lord implies a call to hear with intense interest and with a determination to obey.
When the preacher stands before a gathering of people, as a mere man he can only hope that he has prepared a clear and pertinent message of truth for them, and that they will listen with a desire to understand and learn. That’s on the human level, you understand…
But he must put his trust in the Holy Spirit to take that which is Godly and Biblical in his message to the mind and hearts of the people. Because when God speaks He speaks perfectly and with eternal significance and the hearer must become a true listener.
We ignore and neglect God’s word at our peril. And I might add here; the preacher preaches at his peril when he gets up to deliver some sloppy, thoughtless drivel that doesn’t have enough that is biblical in it for the Holy Spirit to use.
Jesus responded to the temptation of Satan with scripture, Deuteronomy 8:3, when he said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’ ” Matt 4:4
When the God/Man taught He wasn’t sloppy with His words as we so often are guilty of being. When He said ‘every word’ that is exactly what He meant.
THE LORD HAS A CASE
So the prophet stands like a bailiff calling the courtroom to attention. Have you ever been in a courtroom as a spectator? People are sitting around waiting for the trial to start. They are turned in their seats, chatting with the people behind them or beside them. Someone is reading a novel they brought, anticipating long waits and boring procedure. The attorneys are flipping pages of briefs and comparing notes. Deputies are standing at the side of the room and near the doorways, scanning the crowd with their eyes while thinking about lunch or a more comfortable pair of shoes.
Then the bailiff enters the courtroom by an office door near the bench and cries out, “Let the courtroom come to order!” In English courts, and maybe in some of our more formal courts in our country, he will yell, ‘Hear ye, Hear ye…” and announce the name of the Honorable judge presiding, as the judge himself enters and takes his place at the bench.
And the courtroom comes to order, because what is going to be said is important for all concerned and present to hear.
“Listen to the word of the Lord, O sons of Israel, for the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land.”
The problem was, they did not come to order. The sons of Israel did not listen to the word of the Lord. The inhabitants of the land did not care about the Lord’s case against them.
That is why in verse 4 he says, “Yet let no one find fault and let none offer reproof.” It is useless to point out their faults or to offer reproof. So contentious have they become, so presumptuous in their guilt that they even contend with the priests. There is no telling them anything.
And Christians, please let’s not pull the wool over our own eyes and fail to see how we as a society reflect as in a mirror these people before Hosea.
There was a time not so long ago when men and women would hear the word of the Lord spoken to them and repent with tears in large numbers, as the words of reproof touched their hearts and illuminated their need.
When Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, it is said that grown men were crawling to the altar on their hands and knees, and when interviewed later they said they were afraid that at any moment the ground was going to open and they were going to drop directly into hell.
Not so today. The word of God is openly scoffed at and trivialized. At the very best it is compared as equal only with any other religious tome.
And do not think for a moment that I am criticizing the unchurched masses here; this trivialization, this heresy, is going on in the church!
And people who would say, ‘we are called by His name’ have become so contentious and so presumptuous in their guilt that they are callous to reproof and do not hear when the cry goes out, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord!’
Well, as I said earlier, verse one contains the seed from which the rest of the chapter sprouts, so we come to look at the threefold indictment that makes the Lord’s case.
THERE IS NO FAITHFULNESS
Many translations render this word for faithfulness ‘truth’. The concordance uses the words, ‘firmness’, ‘stability’, and ‘steadfastness’.
It is worthy of note that the first thing God calls them into account for lacking is the very thing that He is perfectly and eternally toward us. Faithful. True. Steadfast.
We sing about it. Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God, my Father; There is no shadow of turning with Thee! That last phrase is taken from James 1:17 which in the King James says “with whom there is no shadow of turning”. ‘No variation or shifting shadow’, says the NASB
Listen to the beauty of Deuteronomy 32:1-4
“Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. 2 “Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, as the droplets on the fresh grass and as the showers on the herb. 3 “For I proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! 4 “The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.”
In sharp and infinite contrast is our sinful unfaithfulness, in our daily battle with the flesh struggling to maintain even the faintest glimmer of devotion to Him and to truth.
Leaning back once more on the symbolism of the marriage relationship that runs through this book, the sons of Israel had forsaken the God who purchased them for Himself for other gods of wood.
They were guilty of adultery in their unfaithfulness and we, as a nation, as a culture, as a church, are no less guilty, and in fact, I believe we resemble them more clearly today in the 21st century than in any previous century of the church of Jesus Christ.
THERE IS NO DEVOTION
Closely related to this word ‘faithless’ is the next charge; there is no kindness. There is no loyalty. I used another word a minute ago; ‘devotion’.
When a spouse goes after another for an illicit relationship they have deserted faithfulness and devotion. They have turned from truth – in the sense of the honesty of intimacy that exists between husband and wife – and they have turned from loyalty.
I say this, not in defense of divorce, which the Bible says God hates, but just to give food for thought; I wonder how many in the church who are vocal in their disdain for the divorcee in their midst are guilty of chasing the idols in their own life, thereby committing a much worse form of adultery, of which physical marriage and divorce are only symbols.
You know, we often talk of the word ‘religious’ as though it were an intrinsically bad word. But Boice makes a valid point when he says in reference to this second charge; this lack of kindness toward the Lord and the removal of our love from Him, “Devotion means religiosity or piety in the best sense. It is what man owes to God.” The Minor Prophets – Vol 1, Hosea-Jonah, J.M. Boice, Baker Books, 1983
We do owe to God a religious fervency, which in true religion is faithfulness to His calling and devotion to His word, and reciprocation for His love which, of course, is only generated in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Himself. It is God bringing forth from His regenerated child love and honor for Himself. When we rebel against that we rebel against the sanctification process, against the truth that He has given us by His Word and His Spirit, against His own declaration that we are holy and blameless before Him.
Like Gomer, we spit in the face of agape love and go a-whoring after dead idols; because Christians, when we turn our backs on God we will continue to worship – but we will worship something else.
THERE IS NO KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
Well, although on the same docket as the first two, this third charge is of the greatest significance because it is the root cause for the first two.
The commentators are careful to point out that this is not just a general knowledge of the existence of God, or simply an awareness of His presence.
In Wiersbe’s Bible Knowledge Commentary he gives this explanation in reference to Hosea 2:20…
“And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD.”
“In Hebrew thought, such recognition was not a mere mental exercise; it implied action (cf. Jer. 22:16). In Israel’s case it meant obedience to the Lord’s commandments (cf. Hosea 8:1-2). In the future all Israel will ”know“ the Lord because, as Jeremiah wrote, He will put His ”Law in their minds and write it on their hearts“ (Jer. 31:33).”
The Hebrew word used is an intimate one that, in connection with the marriage relationship is often employed in reference to sexual union. It goes far beyond a general awareness and denotes a knowledge that exhibits in practice.
So now that we have the word study out of the way we must consider what application this has for us in the modern church.
If we look down to verse 6 for a moment we’ll get some illumination that will help us on our way.
”My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
Note that the word ‘knowledge’ is used twice in this verse, and it is the exact same word used in verse 1. So God is holding the priests responsible for the people’s lack of a significant, intimate knowledge of Him that should exhibit in practice.
Can this be seen as an indictment against the leaders of today’s church who neglect the teaching of the whole counsel of God and simply tickle the ears of their congregations with fluff and extra-biblical tripe?
I’m afraid the answer would have to be ‘yes’, if we are to be helped by these words of the prophet at all.
God’s revelation is not murky and confusing. He speaks clearly when He reveals His plan and His will for His people. His people are therefore responsible to listen to the word of the Lord and thereby know Him.
How much greater the responsibility then, for His preachers – His shepherds – to lead the people into the green pastures of His Word so they might feed and be strengthened and matured?
The priests of Israel were leading the people into the worship of false gods and they were destroying them in the process. The priests, He charged, had rejected knowledge.
So God had His own sort of rejection in mind; He would reject them from the priesthood, and by virtue of the fact of their captivity and the cessation of temple worship their sons also would be cut off from being priests.
If you read down through verse 7 to 10 you can’t help seeing today’s culture and even the church today reflected in them.
The multiplication of the priesthood and the blessings that gave them increase did not result in faithfulness and devotion to God, but only greater sin.
They gloried in their position and in their status and grew fat by enticing the people into further adultery and sin.
Notice verse 9. “…it will be like people, like priest”. There was no difference. Those who had the responsibility as leaders to demonstrate Godliness had become just like the people; worldly, idolatrous, lustful, arrogant, ignorant of God.
So what is the sentence?
They will eat but not have enough; they will play the harlot but not increase.
Is this not a graphic picture of our world today?
People are absolute gluttons for any scratch of entertainment, comfort, convenience, instant gratification they can get their fingers on. But it’s never enough! They aren’t filled!
They play the harlot with the world and there is no fruit from their actions; only more harm, more emptiness, a renewed determination to run from God in their shame and gobble more poison.
This is not a happy chapter, Christians. This isn’t one of David’s psalms which end with words of encouragement and hope in the Lord. This is an indictment by a holy God against an adulterous people and there’s just nothing good in this picture.
There is, however, an underlying truth to this that should not be missed.
These charges that the Lord brings, and later in the chapter a warning that He gives, come from a caring heart. They come from a loving God; a faithful husband, who desires still an intimate knowledge with His people.
Look at verse 15 with me.
“Though you, Israel, play the harlot, do not let Judah become guilty; also do not go to Gilgal, or go up to Beth-aven And take the oath: “As the LORD lives!”
Remember, the nation was divided. Israel had filled her cup of iniquity and would soon go away in captivity, but Judah, the southern kingdom, still had an opportunity to listen to the word of the Lord and be saved from such a fate.
So He is pleading with them; do not go to Gilgal or up to Beth-aven. These were both places in the northern kingdom where people went to worship and sacrifice to false gods.
Now this doesn’t necessarily mean the people of Judah were not already guilty of going to these places; but God wanted Judah to turn away from the vain and false worship with which Israel had defiled herself.
So must we, people of the church of Jesus Christ, who are called His bride and are admonished to keep ourselves pure and our lamps trimmed, watching for His coming,… so must we avoid the false and fluffy feel-good stuff that so often in our world is passing for true religion.
We are called from out of the very mouth of our Lord as He walked this sod, to find our sustenance in every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
The preachers who reject knowledge and the teaching of the knowledge of God will give an account. Every believer will also give an accounting.
Just be assured today as we close here, that in the same way that the people of Judah had an opportunity to turn from false religion and exercise faithfulness and devotion and an intimate knowledge of God, even in the midst of the mourning of the land and the languishing of the people (vs 3), so all we who are of the true church, even as this world continues its downward spiral and the apostate church grows like a monster out of humanity’s sea, are being called by a caring and faithful God to avoid the high places of false worship and know Him with a faithful, devoted, intimate, everlasting love.
