Village Schools of the Bible

A Devotional Study of Hosea
by Max Frazier, Jr

THE CASE AGAINST ISRAEL: CLOSING ARGUMENTS: Hosea 8

Instead of repenting from their sins, Israel has sought to become more religious and to continue in their sinful ways. God states very forcefully in verse 1, An eagle is over the house of the Lord because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law. He restates the charge in verse 14, Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; Judah has fortified many towns.

The emphasis has been upon what the people have desired to do and not what God had desired for them to do. Theirs was a sin of self-centeredness. God's plan was certainly no match for their own plans for their lives. God's desire was no where even close to being as good as their own desires. Problems in life? No big deal, we can handle them without God! There is hardly a problem that either more money or more weapons can't handle.

Does this attitude sound strangely familiar today? The emphasis of our society is centered around the person of "me" or "I". We hear it in phrases such as: Don't violate my right! Don't get into my space. I can do whatever I want to do.

God is now concluding his case against Israel. And His closing arguments can be summed up with His statement in verse 7, They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. It was the Apostle Paul years later who wrote very similar words to the Galatian Christians, Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life (Galatians 6:7-8).

This whole idea of "sowing and reaping" is one of the most difficult lessons to learn in life. The reason for this is our failure today to acknowledge that there are consequences for every action. If I am stopped by a policeman for traveling too fast, then I must face the consequences of paying a ticket. If I am obsessed with hatred toward another, then I will surely pay the consequences of a ruined relationship and probably some poor health as well. The Bible is quick to affirm the consequences of sin. That familiar verse in Romans 6 perhaps states it best: For the wages (might we say, consequences) of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The consequences for sin. Israel was soon to discover that the penalty for choosing to walk in a pathway of sin rather than in communion with God was a serious one. It might be called one of the laws of life.

The other day a boy refused to obey his mother. Angrily, he ran to a ravine and cried, "I hate you!" Suddenly the words came echoing back, "I hate you!" Frightened, he ran to his mother and said, "There's a bad man in the woods. I heard him say, 'I hate you.'" Knowing what had happened, she said, "Go back and say, 'I love you.'" He called out, "I love you.'" And the same words came back to him."Son," she said, "this is a law of life. What you give, you get. What you say, you hear."

May our great God help us to always remember this lesson. Such a remembrance will surely save us from reaping a harvest of consequences we had not intended.

Further Thoughts from Hosea 8:

KEY WORDS: Lovers; Idols; Sow...Reap; Has forgotten

KEY VERSE: Verse 7 states the theme, while verses 1 and 14 state the reasons for the theme.

PURPOSE STATEMENT: This chapter contains a beautiful illustration of that biblical principle of reaping what you sow.

OUTLINE: SOWING WILD OATS, REAPING CHAFF

I. The folly of idolatry - verses 1-6

II. Reaping what was sown - verses 7-10

III. Israel has forgotten God - verses 11-14

Hosea 7 Return to the Table of Contents Hosea 9