Hosea 8

CHAPTER 8THEME: Israel turns to golden calves and altars of sinAll of the prophets had not only a local message but also one that reaches into the future even beyond us today. However, their message does have an application for us. There are no prophecies more applicable to us than those of Hosea and Jeremiah. Each of these prophets prophesied right at the time of the downfall of this nation. Their messages ought to alarm us as a nation today, but I do not have the faith that they will. I am afraid that we may have stepped over the line and that judgment is inevitable, just as it was for Israel.

Hosea 8:1

ISRAEL TURNS TO GOLDEN CALVES AND ALTARS OF SINAs Israel turned from God, they looked to their king and their wealth to deliver them “Because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law"God is explaining why He is going to send them into captivity. Previously He spelled out their sins and showed that they had broken His commandments, but their sins had also resulted in their breaking the covenant which God had made with them. God had made a covenant with Abraham which was applicable to them, and He had made a covenant with Moses which was applicable to them, especially as it pertained to that land and how He would bless them in the land; but if they did not serve Him He would put them out of the land. And then God also made a covenant with David. Now the people had broken these covenants, but God will never break them. The covenant which God made with Abraham and the covenant which He made with David were both unconditional (the Mosaic covenant was conditional).

The people could transgress the covenant, and when they did they were judged. They were put out of the land, but that has never altered the fact that God will give them that land for an eternal possession. It simply means that that generation was put out of the land, but another generation will be brought back. That is what happened when they came out of Egypt. Since the people would not enter the land because of their unbelief, God said they would never enter the land but that their children would inhabit it. “They have set up kings, but not by me.” God had said that the line of David was to rule over Israel. Jeroboam led a rebellion, and the line of kings which he set up did not include men who turned to the living God. These kings never attempted in any way to bring the people into the worship of God. Instead, they all went into idolatry. Jeroboam, at the very beginning, put up those two golden calvesone in Samaria and one in Betheland he did that to keep the people from returning to Jerusalem in the south to worship in the temple. God judged them because they had set up kings of whom He did not approve.

Hosea 8:5

“How long will it be ere they attain to innocency?” They were guilty, they were sinful, they were not innocent at all. “Thy calf, O Samaria.” Samaria had become the capital of Israel under Omri, the father of Ahab. Ahab married Jezebel whose father was a priest in Sidon among the Phoenicians, worshipers of Baal. Jezebel had transported to Israel several hundred prophets of Baal, and many Israelites became worshipers of Baal. “Mine anger is kindled against them"God intended to judge them. Samaria is a desolate place even today. I insisted on taking our tour group to see it. Though it is a beautiful spot, the desolation there is appalling; you cannot help but be overwhelmed by it. But there were once palaces of ivory in Samaria. The archaeologists say that they have found very lovely ivory perfume bottles and all kinds of beautiful ivory bric-a-brac in the ruins there. I noticed that the people on our tour were depressed after viewing the ruins, and rightly so. God has judged Samaria. It was a beautiful spot with lovely buildings, but God’s judgment came upon it because the people had turned from Him and were worshiping the calf there.

Hosea 8:6

I do not know where you would find that golden calf today. The archaeologists certainly have not found any piece of it there. It was probably taken somewhere and broken to pieces, maybe even melted down. God says to these people, “You have turned from Me to worship this, but it is not God and it is not able to help you.”

Hosea 8:7

This verse speaks of the judgment both of famine and of the enemy who was to come into that land.

Hosea 8:8

“Israel is swallowed up.” Do you know where the ten tribes are today? So many people have the idea that the United States is the tribe of EphraimI cannot think of anything more absurd. If you think that is true, read these chapters here about God’s judgment on Ephraim; nothing but judgment is mentioned of Ephraim. “Now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.” We are not able to locate or identify the tribes of Israel today. I am confident that the people of Israel mixed with the tribe of Judah when they returned to the land after their captivity, and there has been no way to separate them since that time. They are scattered throughout the world today. Actually, there are more Jews in New York City than there are in the whole nation of Israel; there are at least four times as many outside of the land than are in Israel today.

Hosea 8:9

Here is another specific action which brought God’s judgment upon Israel. What a condemnation this is! They are like one of these long-eared donkeys. Israel went up to Assyria for help and tried to buy off Assyria"Ephraim hath hired lovers.” However, they found they could not buy off Assyria. Instead God would use Assyria to judge them

Hosea 8:10

An altar is a place of worship, and God had given Israel an altar. We see in the Book of Hebrews that the church has a heavenly altar; the throne of God is today a throne of grace to us, and the Lord Jesus is our Great High Priest at that altar making intercession for us. An altar is to be a place of worship, but here God says, “Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.” Israel had turned to religion, to the worship of idols. It did not help them and only brought judgment upon them. My friend, religion has been the most damning thing this world has ever experienced. Religion has damned the world. Look at India today where they cannot eat steak because the cows are sacred; there are multitudes starving to death, and yet they will not use cattle for food. Look at the conditions of China today or at our ancestors yonder in the wilderness of England. Throughout history religion has not helped us but has crippled and damned the human race. Only the Lord Jesus can deliver us.

Hosea 8:12

“But they were counted as a strange thing"that is, the people did not know anything about God’s law. I say this often because there are so few who are saying it at all. God is saying here, “I have given them my written Word, and to them it is a strange thingthey are ignorant of it.” That was the condemnation of Israel and, my friend, that is the condemnation of our nation today. We try to pass as a civilized, Christian nation, and we are anything but that. The ignorance of the Word of God is to me one of the most amazing things in this land. That is the reason we are committed to teaching the Bible.

The most important business the church has is to get out the Word of God. I do not think your pastor is to be a business administrator. I do not think he is called to be a social lion who mixes and mingles with people. The important thing is whether he gives out the Word of God when he stands in that pulpit. If he does, then you should stand behind him. But I do not ask you to support a man who is playing around and riding the fence in liberalism.

Across this land there are many men who are teaching the Word of God, and they are the ones who are getting a hearing today. However, their ministries and the ministry of a Bible teaching radio program like ours are just a drop in the bucketthis nation is ignorant of the Word of God.

Hosea 8:13

They go through the ceremony, they’ve got the ritual, and they know the vocabulary, but that is all it is. The Lord knows them and He doesn’t accept them. I discovered as a pastor that you have a few people who learn the vocabulary of fundamentalism; they know when to say, “Praise the Lord” and “the Lord bless you.” Those are wonderful expressions, but in the mouths of some people they are meaningless. “The Lord accepteth them not.” “Now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.” It is evident that when Babylon destroyed Assyria, many from the ten tribes joined with the ones who were taken into Babylonian captivity from Judah and returned to the land. Also, we know from the Book of Jeremiah that at the time of the Babylonian captivity many of the people went into Egypt. I believe that that is what Hosea is speaking of here, but there are many fine Bible expositors who would not agree with me.

Hosea 8:14

“For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples.” They had tried to build substitutes for the temple in Jerusalem. It was in that temple and in that temple only that God had said sacrifices were to be made to Him. “And Judah hath multiplied fenced cities"Judah had sinned also, and God will judge them later. The thing that is going to happen first is that these temples in Israel are to be destroyed. It is interesting that the northern section of Israel seems to be more desolate than any other section of that land. Way down in the Negeb where they don’t get any rain, you expect it to be that way, but up in the northern sectionespecially in the valley of Esdraelon, which is one of the richest valleys in the worldyou do not expect the desolation which is there. Yet all around, even to this day, you see evidences of the judgment of God which came upon that land.