The Gospel of Hosea, Ch. 7: On Israel as an Oven, a Pancake, a Dove and a Bow
The Gospel of Hosea, Ch. 7: On Israel as an Oven, a Pancake, a Dove and a Bow.
“Whenever I long to make my people prosperous again, whenever I desire to heal Israel, I am confronted by Ephraim’s guilt, and all I can see is Samaria’s sin.” (Hosea 7:1; Ephraim and Samaria represent Israel because Ephraim is Israel’s largest and most powerful tribe, and Samaria is the capitol city of Israel).
Word-Pictures Galore. Prophet Hosea went full steam ahead in following his poetic instincts in this chapter. It’s almost like he couldn’t help himself as he tried to describe Israel’s unfaithfulness and the depths to which Israel had fallen… an overheated oven; a half-baked cake; a foolish dove; an unreliable bow. Inspired by Yahweh, Hosea does not hold back as he continues to indict Israel for its spiritual idolatry and the breaking of the holy covenant with Yahweh. Because of their arrogance and rebellion, Israel is filled with moral anarchy, political instability, inner corruption, international weakness, and spiritual blindness. Israel is spiraling downward, and Hosea continues to warn Israel that they are doomed if they stay on this spiritual track.
A Short Memory. “They never pause to consider, somehow it never occurs to Israel, that I remember all their wicked deeds; and now their own sins surround them and stare me in the face.” (Hosea 7:2). Israel’s foolishness even blinded them to the obvious fact that God has a flawless memory and perfect eyesight. Israel forgot that God is the ultimate Watchman and remembers everything he sees. The writers of Scripture repeat this theme frequently… God keeps watch over the whole world of mankind, over the righteous and the unrighteous, the good and the bad (Prov. 15:3). Our Creator is not one who sits passively on His throne as a distant or uninterested observer of His creation. God’s eyes are observant like any good watchman, only He is watching over the whole universe and every person on earth (Jer. 32:19). His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth (2 Chron. 16:9), acutely aware of every deed, every step. God’s ears are attentive to prayers (1 Peter 3:12), to the cries of the brokenhearted. Creator God keeps watch over each of us, from the moment we are conceived (Ps. 139:16) to our dying breath. God is the perfect watchman who neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps. 121:3), always looking out over His creation. “Not a creature exists that is concealed from God’s sight, nothing is hidden. Everything is naked, uncovered, stretched fully open to the eyes of the One to whom we must give account of ourselves.” (Hebrews 4:13). Our God is the best kind of watchman, a Good Shepherd who is able to keep His eye on everything and everybody as He remains the Guardian of our souls and of nature. Oh, and one more important point about God’s character… God remembers the sins that are not confessed, but He forgets the sins that are. “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” (Isaiah 43:25). “Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives the rebellious crimes of His precious people? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; You will trample our sins underfoot and cast all our wrongdoings into the bottom of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19).
An Overheated Oven. “You are like an oven that burns so hot it doesn’t need to be stoked… Like an oven that burns all night long… You are all as hot as an oven, ready to consume…” (Hosea 7:4-7). Could Hosea have been any clearer? As he states in this chapter, between Israel’s lust for sex-worship, lust for power, lust for international protection, lust for political intrigue, lust for wine, they have all but lost any semblance of self-control. And as history has shown, when a nation loses God, they also lose control of themselves. By the end of Hosea’s prophetic ministry, Israel had murdered seven different kings, and the royal courts were filled with blood and instability. Israel’s overheated wood stoves had indeed consumed their government. They had developed a national habit of adultery, drunkenness, and spiritual compromise through pagan idolatry and blending Yahweh-Worship with Baal-worship. Self-control is a basic quality of a follower of God, and Proverbs has some interesting ways of putting that…
- An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.” (Proverbs 5:22-23, NLT).
- “Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.” (Proverbs 16:32, NLT).
- “A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out.” (Proverbs 25:28, MSG).