As we start Hosea 5 this week, let's make another Old Testament connection point. The prophet Isaiah was in the northern kingdom of Israel during this time, and Hosea was also warning the people in this similar season. Both were prophets to speak God's truth to the people. Like Hosea, Isaiah opened his book with a series of sermons denouncing sin.
I point this out simply because we see that which is familiar to us. Sin is all around us — north, south, east, west. We see various forms in one another and we must continue to serve as godly guardrails to each other.
Court is still in session this week, so here we will continue hearing God's Words about priests, rulers, and the people of Israel. Toward the end, God will declare the verdict of this trial!
Hear this, O priests!
Pay attention, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For the judgment is for you;
for you have been a snare at Mizpah
and a net spread upon Tabor.
The leaders of the nation were not leading in a godly manner. Maybe it looked like they had it all together on the outside, but they were not influencing the people toward righteousness. This situation reminds me of the church of Sardis in Revelation 3, which we’re studying on Tuesday nights. Here is the warning God's messenger gave to this specific church (and to us as modern-day believers)
"I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God." Revelation 3:1-2
That's what God was saying to these priests. "Wake up! Pay attention! Hear what I'm saying!" We all need to hear and heed these words. I talk at times about sacred echos. Sacred echos are repeat messages the Lord speaks to you. Through a Bible verse, then a friend, then a random text message. Know what I mean?
These sacred echo moments should give us pause and cause us to listen. This approach is one of God's many ways to shower His Word upon your heart, and also warn you if you're wandering off the path.
2 And the revolters have gone deep into slaughter,
but I will discipline all of them.
3 I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;
Israel is defiled.
It wasn't so much that the Israelites stumbled; it was that they didn't allow God to correct them when they did. If you're stumbling—as long as we're making progress by listening and course-correcting—there’s space for grace. Righteousness wasn't the heart of these people, and, specifically, it wasn’t the heart of the tribe of Ephraim (who was called out specifically for their idolatry).
"You have played the whore." These words were not new to the Israelites. Ezekiel communicated a similar statement in his writings in Ezekial 16:28. The three primary sins of the Israelites were idolatry, adultery, and hypocrisy. The Israelites were assuming the role of an adulterer, instead of identifying with God. Speaking of identity, 1 Peter 2:9 grants us our true identity in Christ:
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
4 Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
and they know not the Lord.
5 The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt;
Judah also shall stumble with them.
6 With their flocks and herds they shall go
to seek the Lord,
but they will not find him;
he has withdrawn from them.
7 They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord;
for they have borne alien children.
Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.
Notice the descriptors in these verses: the spirit of whoredom, pride, guilt, and faithless. We're each familiar with these sins, friends. They weren't uncommon in this age, and James 4:4 tells us they aren't uncommon today: "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."
As we start into verses 8-15, this is where the sentence is pronounced. Sorry for the #spoileralert…they’ll be found guilty. Daniel 5:27 says, "...You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting," and there's a similar verdict in this court scene. I'll let you read through what was said, and then we'll close with a couple of thoughts.
8 Blow the horn in Gibeah,
the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound the alarm at Beth-aven;
we follow you, O Benjamin!
9 Ephraim shall become a desolation
in the day of punishment;
among the tribes of Israel
I make known what is sure.
10 The princes of Judah have become
like those who move the landmark;
upon them I will pour out
my wrath like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,
because he was determined to go after filth.
12 But I am like a moth to Ephraim,
and like dry rot to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness,
and Judah his wound,
then Ephraim went to Assyria,
and sent to the great king.
But he is not able to cure you
or heal your wound.
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear and go away;
I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.
15 I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.
Notice this last verse. The goal of God's verdict was not to destroy. So often, we hear that the Old Testament contains too much war and destruction. Friends, that is not God's heart; His grace and mercy are never-ending (Lamentations 3:22-23). However, when people are repeatedly rebellious and do not desire to turn from wickedness, He will give them over to their sin for a season. Sadly, it typically takes an affliction for us to turn to God. It's not His desire to punish, but when our hearts are repeatedly stumbling and not turning toward repentance, how else can He awaken His child?
"So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices." Psalm 81:12