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. 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."
1 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;
he was exalted in Israel.
But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.
2 Now they sin more and more;
they make idols for themselves from their silver,
cleverly fashioned images,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
It is said of these people,
"They offer human sacrifices!
They kiss calf-idols!"
Idolatry was well-practiced. It may seem odd that figurines were crafted out of silver and then worshipped. However, to them, it wasn't just this small statue they thought was cute; it represented prosperity. The Israelites were an agricultural society, and Baal was thought to bring rains and bless the earth.
How easily America can relate to this prosperity attraction. We worship wealth, too, because it is prolific in this country. And with that false worship, we begin to lose sight of the Kingdom. James 4:2 says, "You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God." What are you asking God for in your prayer time? What are you currently seeking? May it be to have a heart that is holy and loves others!
Note in verse 2 it talks about human sacrifices. Yes, a form of idolatrous worship included sacrifices humans (mainly, babies). This is disgusting, yet still not unfamiliar to our modern society. According to 2014 data from the Guttmacher Institute, there were a total of 926,240 abortions in the United States. Think about that for a moment. You can view state-by-state stats here. This data should help provide a Christian perspective on the coronavirus.
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears,
like chaff swirling from a threshing floor,
like smoke escaping through a window.
Again, quoting the book of James, we're reminded of this in 4:14b: "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." We should read this verse each day and be anchored with a godly perspective of our life's true purpose and why we’re here on earth. I love what Andrew Murray says in The True Vine:
"Let us specially beware of one great mistake. Many Christians think their own salvation is the first thing; their temporal life and prosperity, with the care of their family, the second; and what of time and interest is left may be devoted to fruit-bearing, to the saving of men. No wonder that in most cases very little time or interest can be found. No, Christian, the one object with which you have been made a member of Christ's Body is that the Head may have you to carry out His saving work. The one object God had in making you a branch is that Christ may through you bring to life to men. Your personal salvation, your business and care for your family, are entirely subordinate to this. Your first aim in life, your first aim every day, should be to know how Christ desires to carry out His purpose in you."
4 "But I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.
You shall acknowledge no God but me,
no Savior except me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness,
in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;
then they forgot me.
God reminds the Israelites of their covenant relationship. Think about the first commandment that He gave His people on Mt. Sinai in Exodus 20:3: "You shall have no other gods before me." It was the first commandment because when you resolve in your heart to only serve the Lord, the rest of your life can then be ordered of Him. They had forgotten what was meant to be first. Matthew 6:33 puts it like this in saying, "But seek first his kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." We must prioritize rightly!
7 So I will be like a lion to them,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,
I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion I will devour them—
a wild animal will tear them apart.
9 "You are destroyed, Israel,
because you are against me, against your helper.
10 Where is your king, that he may save you?
Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
'Give me a king and princes'?
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,
and in my wrath I took him away.
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
his sins are kept on record.
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him,
but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time arrives,
he doesn't have the sense to come out of the womb.
14 "I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?
"I will have no compassion,
15 even though he thrives among his brothers.
An east wind from the Lord will come,
blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
and his well dry up.
His storehouse will be plundered
of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria must bear their guilt,
because they have rebelled against their God.
They will fall by the sword;
their little ones will be dashed to the ground,
their pregnant women ripped open."
These kinds of verses can be challenging to read. Even though Hosea is providing similes and metaphors to describe the trials, how can a loving Father inflict such cruelty on those He supposedly loves? I like how Jon Courson put it in a recent devotional, which I'll paraphrase:
The God of the universe could swallow us up in a moment! Yet, His mercy endures so that we might turn back to him. When there is a loss in your life, it is not for punishment. Punishment for our sin could never be severe enough. We all deserve to be totally consumed. God is not mad at you, angry with you, or disappointed in you. He simply wants to speak to you. He knows that sometimes the only time we will listen is when we are at a place of loss where we can do nothing else.
Let us heed these words wisely and walk in them each moment! Amen.