ISRAEL HAS FORGOTTEN HIS MAKER

Passage: Hosea 8:1-14

Key verse: 14a

NIV

Israel to Reap the Whirlwind

8 “Put the trumpet(A) to your lips!
    An eagle(B) is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant(C)
    and rebelled against my law.(D)
2 Israel cries out to me,
    ‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good;
    an enemy will pursue him.(E)
4 They set up kings without my consent;
    they choose princes without my approval.(F)
With their silver and gold
    they make idols(G) for themselves
    to their own destruction.
5 Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!(H)
    My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?(I)
6     They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
    it is not God.(J)
It will be broken in pieces,
    that calf(K) of Samaria.(L)

7 “They sow the wind
    and reap the whirlwind.(M)
The stalk has no head;
    it will produce no flour.(N)
Were it to yield grain,
    foreigners would swallow it up.(O)
8 Israel is swallowed up;(P)
    now she is among the nations
    like something no one wants.(Q)
9 For they have gone up to Assyria(R)
    like a wild donkey(S) wandering alone.
    Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.(T)
10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
    I will now gather them together.(U)
They will begin to waste away(V)
    under the oppression of the mighty king.

11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
    these have become altars for sinning.(W)
12 I wrote for them the many things of my law,
    but they regarded them as something foreign.(X)
13 Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me,
    and though they eat(Y) the meat,
    the Lord is not pleased with them.(Z)
Now he will remember(AA) their wickedness
    and punish their sins:(AB)
    They will return to Egypt.(AC)
14 Israel has forgotten(AD) their Maker(AE)
    and built palaces;
    Judah has fortified many towns.
But I will send fire on their cities
    that will consume their fortresses.”(AF)

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Israel Will Reap the Whirlwind

8 Set (A)the trumpet to your lips!
    One (B)like a vulture is over the house of the Lord,
because (C)they have transgressed my covenant
    and rebelled against my law.
2 To me they cry,
    (D)“My God, we—Israel—know you.”
3 Israel has spurned the good;
    the enemy shall pursue him.

4 (E)They made kings, (F)but not through me.
    They set up princes, but I knew it not.
With their silver and gold they made idols
    for their own destruction.
5 (G)I have[a] spurned your calf, O Samaria.
    My anger burns against them.
(H)How long will they be incapable of innocence?
6 For it is from Israel;
a craftsman made it;
    it is not God.
(I)The calf of Samaria
    (J)shall be broken to pieces.[b]

7 For (K)they sow the wind,
    and they shall reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no heads;
    it shall yield no flour;
if it were to yield,
    (L)strangers would devour it.
8 (M)Israel is swallowed up;
    already they are among the nations
    as (N)a useless vessel.
9 For (O)they have gone up to Assyria,
    (P)a wild donkey wandering alone;
    Ephraim has hired lovers.
10 Though they hire allies among the nations,
    I will soon gather them up.
And (Q)the king and princes (R)shall soon writhe
    because of the tribute.

11 Because Ephraim (S)has multiplied altars for sinning,
    they have become to him altars for sinning.
12 (T)Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands,
    they would be regarded as a strange thing.
13 As for my sacrificial offerings,
    (U)they sacrifice meat and eat it,
    but the Lord does not accept them.
(V)Now he will remember their iniquity
    and punish their sins;
    (W)they shall return to Egypt.
14 For (X)Israel has forgotten (Y)his Maker
    and (Z)built palaces,
and (AA)Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
    so (AB)I will send a fire upon his cities,
    and it shall devour her strongholds.

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Footnotes
  1. Hosea 8:5 Hebrew He has
  2. Hosea 8:6 Or shall go up in flames
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. An eagle is over the house of the Lord (1-6)

The eagle stands for Assyria. The Assyrian invasion was imminent. This was God's hand of judgment on those who broke his covenant. Israel cried out to God for help too late. Jeroboam I had set up two calf idols and said, 'Here are your gods!' Every king who followed him continued this idolatry. Israel's history was a series of bloody coups d'etat (4).

2. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind (7-1

)

In time of crisis, Israel did not seek God's help, but sought the help of the super-power Assyria. They would be soon swallowed up in the Assyrian invasion.

3. Altars for sacrifice or for sinning? (11-14)

God is not pleased when his people worship him in their own way. He has taught us how to serve him in the Bible. We must remember our Maker, read his Book, and do what is right according to his standards. Doing it 'my way' leads to death.

Prayer: Lord, take the root of pride and the idol of selfishness from my heart and life.

One Word: Remember your Maker