The Prophetic Wisdom Of HoseaSýnishorn

Second Call for Alarm: Hosea 8:1-14

Like other Old Testament prophets, Hosea focused on what we may call “temporary judgments.” Judgments such as economic hardship, famine, death, exile, and the like, in association with Assyria’s invasions of the northern kingdom. He did not refer to God’s everlasting judgments — the judgments that will come when history reaches its fulfillment in the latter days. 

As both the Old and New Testaments teach, when God pours out his temporary judgments, he has very different purposes in mind for unbelievers and true believers. For unbelievers who never repent and never exercise saving faith, God’s temporary judgments lead to everlasting judgments in the fullness of the latter days. But for true believers, God’s temporary judgments are his loving discipline, designed to ensure everlasting blessings in the fullness of the latter days. 

Consider the kinds of judgments related to the Assyrian invasion of 732 B.C. that appear in God’s lawsuits. Because this was early in Hosea’s ministry, these prophecies threatened relatively limited judgments. For instance, in God’s earlier lawsuit, chapter 4:3 predicts trouble in Israel’s economy and food supply with these words: “the land mourns ... the people languish … beasts … birds … and even the fish … are taken away.” In verses 4 and 5, God focused primarily on Israel’s leadership, rather than on the whole nation, addressing, “priest … prophet … your mother” — this last term referring to the nobility in Samaria. God addressed priests again in verse 6 saying, “I reject you from being a priest to me.” In verse 7 he declared, “I will change their glory” — meaning Israel’s prosperity — “into shame.” And he threatened to punish the priests once more in verse 10 when he said, “they shall eat, but not be satisfied.” Also at this early stage, in verse 14, God limited his judgment in a remarkable way. He said, “I will not punish your daughters … nor your brides” for their involvement in worship prostitution, because the fathers and husbands bore the primary responsibility for their misconduct. In verse 16, Hosea remarked that God would no longer feed Israel “like a lamb in a broad pasture.” Instead, according to verse 19, “they shall be ashamed.”

In much the same way, God’s later lawsuit addressed the leadership of Israel in chapter 5:2 saying, “I will discipline all of them.” And verse 5 indicates that more difficulties were coming to the northern kingdom. Here we read that, “Israel … shall stumble in his guilt.”