MidnightCall Magazine
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News From Israel MagazineHosea 4:1
“Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land” (Hosea 4:1).
The word “controversy” stands out in this verse. What is controversy? The answer is found in 1 Timothy 3:16: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” That is the answer to the great controversy: God manifested Himself in the flesh. That is how God settled the controversy between His holiness and man’s sinfulness. Why didn’t He just destroy mankind and hand us over to the prince of darkness? John 3:16 answers: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
When we read the fourth chapter of Hosea, we understand that God was not asking Israel to repent, but He was making an arbitrary statement about their lost condition: “There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.” The text does not say there was a lack of these traits in the people, or that the majority of the Jews were Godless, but this verse describes the general attitude of the entire nation.
God is addressing Israel in this passage of Scripture; particularly the ten-tribe Israel, but Judah was not excluded, as we will see later. How does this warning relate to the Church today? Here we must read 2 Timo-thy 3:16: “All scripture is given by inspira-tion of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” “All” Scripture means all 66 books of the Bible. The Church of Jesus Christ has a foundation: “The apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20).
We would be guilty of disregarding God’s Word if we categorized this Scripture as ap-plying only to Israel. For example, when we read 1 Corinthians 10:2-4 in the New Testa-ment, we notice that the apostle specifically emphasized that we should remember the positive and the negative history of the chil-dren of Israel: “And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” Then he revealed the sins: “Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, the peo-ple sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of ser-pents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were de-stroyed of the destroyer” (verses 7-10).
We are to take careful notice of this event because verse 11 says: “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”
We are guilty, particularly within Christianity, of dissecting the Bible and forcing it to fit our own understanding, and of not allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us and to consider each Scripture as being written to us personally.
Let’s now read the accusation against Israel: “By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away” (Hosea 4:2-3). This account exposes complete disregard for God’s law; subsequently, the land will suffer as well. Note, however, that this prophecy reaches far into the future be-cause this suffering will not only affect the beast in the field and the fowl in the air, but it will also affect the fish in the sea. The land suffered after Israel was expelled from their territory, which would have affected the birds, but not the fish. Therefore, we must assume that this pronunciation of prophecy reaches directly into the Tribulation Period, when a third of the sea will turn to blood. As a result, we read: “And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed” (Revelation 8:9).
But the hearts of the people remained unaffected by any form of judgment. Even the priests had become common: “Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest” (verses 3-4). We must remember that the priests were segregated from the people of Israel; they were set apart, sanctified for the Lord’s service. But that special position has also been lost. Worse yet, the phrase, “I will destroy thy mother” means there will be no descendants. Take away the mother and there will not be another generation.
Verse 6 is often misused by nationalistic Christians: “My people are de-stroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” This verse is addressed to Israel, yet spiritually, it also applies to the Church because there is a lack of knowledge regarding the Word of God among Christians today. This re-minds us of the words of Jesus, “Without me, ye can do nothing.” If we don’t hold to the Head, then our service, dedication, and even our sacrifice, will be in vain.
The pronouncement of judgment continues: “As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, The pronouncement of judgment continues: “As they were and reward them their doings. For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD. Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart” (verses 7-11).
We know that Israel was destined to become the glory of all na-tions, a light unto the Gentiles, but instead of glory they demon-strated shame. Actually, Israel is still despised today. Although modern Israel has made many great advances in science and technol-ogy, the Jews have remained segregated to a certain degree by most na-tions. Here we have the fulfillment: “like people, like priest.” Incidentally, Israel still desires to forfeit their special calling to be just like all the other nations.
This desire is evident in the Church as well. The general attitude is: “How close can I get to the world and still be a Christian?” instead of, “How far away from the world can I get to draw closer to Jesus?”
The Bible does not spare the truth no matter how negative it may be. Not only had Israel forsaken the law and forgotten His instruction, but now they have indulged in full-fledged idolatry: “My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery” (verses 12-13). The result? “I will not punish your daughters when they commit whore-dom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the peo-ple that doth not understand shall fall” (verse 14). In other words, God gave up His people.
Next, the prophet makes the distinction between the ten-tribe Israel and Judah: “Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah of-fend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth” (verse 15). Judah is warned not to participate in Israel’s idolatry.
The chapter concludes with these words: “For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place. Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye. The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices” (verses 16-19). This reminds us of Revelation 22:11: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be right-eous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.”
Our challenge and admonition in these times of turbulence, spiritual confusion and apostasy is to cling to the living Word and obey what it says. We must take special notice of the last sentence, which says: “he that is holy, let him be holy still.”