The Gospel of Hosea, Ch. 10: Sowing and Reaping

The Gospel of Hosea, Ch. 10: Sowing and Reaping.

“Israel was once a lush, luxuriant grapevine that bore a bounty of grapes as it spread out, but then it emptied itself as it brought forth fruit for himself and has become barren. The more his fruit increased, the more pagan altars he built. The more abundantly his land flourished, the more beautiful he made his sacred fertility pillars.” (Hosea 10:1).

Not Exactly an Attitude of Gratitude. Once full of spiritual fruit as God’s chosen people, Israel was now marked by spiritual barrenness. In their material prosperity, they forgot the Source of their abundance. It seems a general rule in our fallen world: prosperity produces short memories. Abundance is risky. Material success develops in us the fatal delusion of self-sufficiency, bringing with it a deadly spiritual complacency and an unholy forgetfulness. Instead of remembering to be grateful to Yahweh for all they were able to enjoy, the people of Israel decided to nurture a divided heart. They blended Yahweh-worship with Baal-worship, and soon were awash with divided loyalties and misdirected gratitude toward a pagan god. The Israelites could no longer distinguish between the true and the false because of their divided hearts. These sacred pillars that Hosea referred to were actually tall ornamental columns shaped into a phallic symbol to represent the fertility that Baal provided when one worshipped it. Naturally, Yahweh found that to be disgusting and abominable. It wasn’t that long ago, though, that none other than the great prophet Moses gave Israel a fair warning at the entrance to the Promised Land… “Take care lest you forget Yahweh your God… lest when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your hearts be lifted up in pride, and you forget Yahweh your God… Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that you may confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers, as it is to this day. And if you forget Yahweh your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that Yahweh makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of Yahweh your God.” (Deuteronomy 8:11-20).

Another Golden Calf. “Destruction will come to the high places of Aven (Bethel), that is, to the sin of Israel. All the altars will be removed and permanently destroyed. Thorns and thistles shall grow over their altars.” (Hosea 10:8). Hosea’s prophecy about Bethel was more than fulfilled in spades about 140 years later by a young king named Josiah who was zealous in his religious reforms for Israel. This famous holy site which means “House of God” was used as an important place of worship since the days of Abraham and Jacob.  God’s covenant with Jacob was established at Bethel (Genesis 28:15), and God even asked Jacob to live there for a time (Gen. 35:1). Bethel was also the sacred place where Yahweh changed Jacob’s name to Israel (Gen. 35:9-15). Since Bethel, earlier known as Luz, was one of the highest places in Israel, with an elevation of almost 3,000 feet, it was very busy in Hebrew history as a common worship site for followers of Yahweh. Bethel is mentioned 60 times in the Hebrew Bible, with only Jerusalem mentioned more. During the time of the Judges, the Ark of the Covenant was housed there, which made it an important worship center for faithful Jews. Most biblical archeologists now believe that Bethel was about 10 miles north of Jerusalem, in the hill country of Samaria. But it didn’t take long for Bethel to take a drastic turn from being famous to infamous, from being a time-honored thin place to a spiritual death trap. Soon after Solomon, Jeroboam foolishly decided to establish Bethel as a pagan worship site, even going so far as to set up a golden bull there (1 Kings 12:28), a pagan temple for incense and sacrifices, and establishing Bethel as a residence for a host of Baal priests. Jeroboam even went so far as to establish his own holy festival to be celebrated in Bethel, making a pagan mockery of Yahweh’s holy festivals established in the Law of Moses. Tragically, Bethel remained a pagan site for a long time, and was denounced by one prophet after another, such as Amos, Hosea and Jeremiah. Eventually, the heroic reformer King Josiah destroyed that pagan site literally and completely. Josiah left no doubt as to what he thought of Bethel’s turn to paganism… He executed all the pagan priests there, exhumed the bodies of the dead priests and burned their bones to ash on their altars, broke the stones of the pagan altars into pieces, and had those very pieces ground into dust! (2 Kings 23).  Bethel became nothing but a memory, faded away in biblical history, and is not even mentioned in the New Testament. Hosea mocked what Bethel had turned into by nicknaming it Beth-Aven, which means “House of Evil and Wickedness.” In other words, Hosea is chastising the Israelites by telling them they have turned the sacred “House of God” into a “House of Evil.” At that time, Bethel was seemingly a permanent fixture in Israel as the national center of the bull-cult and pagan idolatry, harkening back to Mt. Sinai and Moses. But here is Hosea exclaiming to the Israelites that Bethel’s days as an active symbol for unfaithfulness and covenant-breaking are numbered.

Hosea offers Another Poetic Turn. “Ephraim (Israel) was once a trained cow that loved to thresh. Passing by and seeing her strong, sleek neck, I wanted to harness Epraim and put her at work in the fields.” (Hosea 10:11). Here’s one more word-picture that Hosea used to get Yahweh’s point across. The nation of Israel was once obedient to the Lord’s instructions like a well-trained heifer who delights in doing what it was told to do by its master. After all, the threshing cow knew that on the threshing floor it would be able to eat heartily of the corn or grain being harvested during the threshing. The more the cow threshed, the more it was able to enjoy some munchies! But those days are gone. The master’s training brought much pleasure to it, until Yahweh had to put a yoke on the cow because of its disobedience. So Hosea issues another powerful call for repentance…

Repent! Please, if You Know What’s Good for You! “Sow for yourselves righteousness and right standing with your God, and you will surely reap mercy for yourselves instead of judgment at the next harvest! Break up the hard, fallow ground of your heart, for it is time to seek Yahweh’s favor until He comes to rain down righteousness upon you and water your field with justice!” (Hosea 10:12). Yes, cries out Hosea, for too long you have plowed wickedness in your hearts and thus reaped injustice. You have been busy cultivating lawlessness and then reaped a harvest of evil. For too long you have eaten the fruit of all this deception and falsehood. So it’s high time you choose to sow what is good so you can reap what is righteous. You do want God to offer you mercy, do you not? Well, that doesn’t come by accident. Change your ways, obey Yahweh, and you will reap His mercy. But listen to me, yells out Hosea, don’t wait on this! The time is now! Quit depending on your warriors to provide Israel’s safety and protection, and you’ve got stop looking to Baal for your prosperity and abundance! Please!

Reaping the Fruit of the Spirit. “What happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard – things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely… Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Holy Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.” (Galatians 5:22-23, 25, MSG).