Hosea 8
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Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.
2 Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.
3 Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.
4 They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.
5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
6 For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.
8 Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.
9 For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.
10 Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes.
11 Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.
12 I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.
13 They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the Lord accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.
14 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
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Commentary
Hosea 8:1-3 describes the sin of northern Israel and the nearness of invasion from the outside. It would happen because Israel broke their covenant with God and acted against His teachings (8:1).Therefore God would not protect them from their enemies’ invasion (8:3).
Now there were several good kings in the southern kingdom of Judah, but there was no good king in the northern kingdom of Israel who walked with God. Instead, all the kings of Israel supported the golden calf worship. The two tablets of the Ten Commandments forbidding idol worship had been inscribed by God, but making the calf of Samaria was done by rebellious human artisans against what God had said (8:6).
God provided many written instructions to guide them, but for them God’s teachings were strange (8:12). They liked their sacrificial offerings because they loved to feast on the meat and eat all they wanted. God desired their repentance and obedience to His teachings rather than abundance of sacrifices (8:13).
Why did Israel and Judah fail to recognize God as their Creator and Sustainer? Do we remember God as our Creator, Savior, and Redeemer every day? Are our deeds contrary to the profession of our faith?
Yoshitaka Kobayashi
Japan
