Judgment Pronounced

You might notice the disconnect between faith and practice in public interactions, especially in the workplace, where integrity is often compromised. Reflecting on Hosea’s messages about authenticity, consider how your actions mirror your faith. This week, commit to complete honesty in your work dealings, resisting the urge to cut corners or embellish truths for convenience. Share openly about your faith when opportunities arise, offering to pray for colleagues facing challenges. Living out your faith authentically will witness the reality of God’s work in your life.

Adultery in High Places.

5 ¹ “Hear this, cohanim! Pay attention, house of Isra’el! Listen, house of the king! For judgment is coming to you. You have become a snare for Mitzpah and a net spread on Tavor. ² The rebels have deepened their slaughter, and I am rejected by all of them. ³ “I know Efrayim; Isra’el is not hidden from me; for now, Efrayim, you are a whore; Isra’el is defiled.” ⁴ Their deeds will not allow them to return to their God, for the spirit of whoring is in them, and they don’t know Adonai. ⁵ Isra’el’s arrogance will testify in his face; Isra’el and Efrayim will stumble in their crimes; Y’hudah too will stumble with them. ⁶ With their flocks and herds they will go in search of Adonai. But they won’t find him; he has withdrawn from them. ⁷ They have betrayed Adonai by fathering foreign children. Now, within the month, the invaders will devour their lands.

The Cohanim, the people, and the king are guilty of idolatry, and Isra’el is defiled. Efrayim has become a whore. Both Isra’el and Y’hudah shall be punished for their guilt because they have dealt treacherously with the Lord; they will take flocks and herds as offerings for the Lord, but will be unable to find Him.

⁸ “Blow the shofar in Giv‘ah, a trumpet at Ramah; sound an alarm at Beit-Aven: ‘Behind you, Binyamin!’ ⁹ Efrayim will be laid waste when the day for punishment comes; I am announcing to the tribes of Isra’el what will surely happen. ¹⁰ The leaders of Y’hudah are like men who move boundary stones; I will pour my fury out upon them like water. ¹¹ Efrayim is oppressed, crushed by the judgment, because he deliberately sought out futility. ¹² Therefore, I am like a moth to Efrayim and like rottenness to the house of Y’hudah.

The historical background for this section is found in 2 Kings 16. Isra’el (Efraim) and Syria had invaded Y’hudah. With the help of Assyria, Y’hudah had counterattacked and captured territory. Three cities of Binyamin are warned to prepare for punishment with the words: Blow the shofar in Giv‘ah, the trumpet at Ramah! Cry aloud at Beit-Aven (v. 8).

¹³ When Efrayim saw his sickness and Y’hudah his wound, Efrayim went to Ashur and sent envoys to a warring king; but he can’t heal you or cure your wound. ¹⁴ For to Efrayim I will be like a lion, and like a young lion to the house of Y’hudah – I will tear them up and go away; I will carry them off, and no one will rescue. ¹⁵ I will go and return to my place, still they admit their guilt and search for me, seeking me eagerly in their distress.”

When Ephraim saw his sickness, he sought help from Assyria. But he was not cured because Assyria was hired by Y’hudah (and utilized by God) to fight against him. God determined to return to His place and wait for Isra’el and Y’hudah to confess their sins and seek His face.

Isra’el Expresses Repentance

6 ¹ Come, let us return to Adonai; for he has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck, and he will bind our wounds. ² After two days, he will revive us; on the third day, he will raise us up; and we will live in his presence. ³ Let us know, let us strive to know Adonai. That he will come is as certain as morning; he will come to us like the rain, like the spring rains that water the earth.

Verses 1–3 are Isra’el’s response to God’s call to repentance (5:15). At first, it seems genuine and heartfelt, but upon closer examination, we see that no sin is specifically confessed. The repentance is shallow and insincere. This is apparent from God’s continued remonstrance with the nation in the rest of the chapter. True repentance does not come until the last chapter. The nation repudiates its idolatry and acknowledges its need for God’s grace there. Verse 2 may contain an allusion to the resurrection of Yeshua, which took place after two days and on the third day. If so, the national restoration of Isra’el is founded on and foreshadowed by the resurrection of Yeshua. Or the reference may be to the last three “days” of the Tribulation Period. Isra’el’s repentance and mourning extended over the first two days. Then the nation is reborn on the third day, and the Messiah appears.

Repentance Short-Lived

⁴ “Efrayim, what should I do to you? Y’hudah, what should I do to you? For your ‘faithful love’ is like a morning cloud, like dew that disappears quickly. ⁵ This is why I have cut them to pieces by the prophets, slaughtered them with the words from my mouth – the judgment on you shines out like light. ⁶ For what I desire is mercy, not sacrifices, knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Because Isra’el and Y’hudah have been faithless, God has condemned them by the prophets. He wanted love more than sacrifices, and knowledge of Himself more than burnt offerings.

⁷ “But they, just like men, have broken the covenant, they have been faithless in dealing with me. ⁸ Gil‘ad is a city of criminals, covered with bloody footprints; ⁹ just as bands of robbers wait to ambush someone, so does a gang of cohanim. They commit murder on the road to Sh’khem! Their conduct is an outrage! ¹⁰ In the house of Isra’el I have seen a horrible thing; whoring is found there in Efrayim, Isra’el is defiled. ¹¹ For you, too, Y’hudah, a harvest will come! “When I restore the fortunes of my people, ^[1]

“But they, just like men, have broken the covenant. The wickedness of Isra’el is pictured in verses 7–10 as a city of criminals, bands of robbers, and a gang of cohanim. Y’hudah, too, is appointed to a harvest of suffering (v. 11) before God restores the fortunes of His people.

Next, we will continue to explore Hosea.

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^[1] Hosea 5:1-6:11.