Bible Commentaries
Hosea 7

Verses 1-7

Hos 7:1-7

ISRAEL’S INGRATITUDE—LOVE OF SIN

TEXT: Hosea 7:1-7

The moral depravity of Israel which is leading her inevitably in a headlong plunge into anarchy is pictured by the prophet. The hearts of the people are so passionate for evil they are insensible to it all!

Hosea 7:1 When I would have healed^H7495 Israel,^H3478 then the iniquity^H5771 of Ephraim^H669 was discovered,^H1540 and the wickedness^H7451 of Samaria:^H8111 for^H3588 they commit^H6466 falsehood;^H8267 and the thief^H1590 cometh in,^H935 and the troop of robbers^H1416 spoileth^H6584 without.^H2351

Hosea 7:1 WHEN I WOULD HEAL ISRAEL . . . Like the surgeon who begins to dress a wound often exposes hidden contamination, so God as He began to heal Israel by sending the prophets to preach and by sending upon Israel certain providential, natural calamities, to call them to repentance, exposed the full content of the corruption of the nation. Especially was corruption rampant in Israel’s capital city, Samaria, We are reminded of Micah’s searing accusations against the capital cities of both Israel and Judah. Crime and corruption most often germinates in the urban societies. And, just as in the days of the prophets, so now, very often people blind themselves to their own condition.

Zerr: Hosea 7:1. Iniquity of Ephraim was discovered. God does not have to discover a fact, as we commonly use that word, in order to learn of it. He knows all about everything even before it happens. The word is from GAUAH, which Strong defines, "A primitive root; to denude (especially in a disgraceful sense); by implication to exile (captives being usually stripped); figuratively to reveal,” The term as used in this passage means that God would have been inclined to heal or approve Israel as being acceptable, but the iniquity of the nation was so evident or hare that He could only condemn her. Ephraim was one of the tribes, and Samaria, the capital city, was situated in the possession of that tribe.

Hosea 7:2 And they consider^H559 not^H1077 in their hearts^H3824 that I remember^H2142 all^H3605 their wickedness:^H7451 now^H6258 their own doings^H4611 have beset them about;^H5437 they are^H1961 before^H5048 my face.^H6440

Hosea 7:2 AND THEY CONSIDER NOT IN THEIR HEARTS . . . One cannot help but notice in this chapter how often the phrase “knoweth it not” recurs. Israel persistently ignored their own condition and persistently ignored God. It is dangerous for a nation to sin. But the most perilous condition possible is to sin and “know it not.” We shall have more to say about this condition in the next section. But here the prophet depicts the people as blissfully ignorant of God. They refuse to accept the fact that God is aware of their wickedness and that He will judge them for it. Their sin is apparent to everyone but themselves. They have became so captivated, enslaved in evil ways, it is their way of life—they are beset about with it.

Zerr: Hosea 7:2. In spite of all the experiences that Israel had known directly, and the record of God’s dealing with unrighteous persons in the past, they seemed to feel as if He did not know what was going on. And even if the Lord had been unable to see the future or to know about facts that were invisible, He would have known all about the iniquity of Israel for it was before his face.

Hosea 7:3 They make the king glad^{H8055 H4428} with their wickedness,^H7451 and the princes^H8269 with their lies.^H3585

Hosea 7:3 THEY MAKE THE KING GLAD WITH THEIR WICKEDNESS . . . Pusey writes, “Wicked sovereigns and a wicked people are a curse to each other, each encouraging the other in sin.” There are at least two reasons rulers are made happy by the sins of the people: (a) In most cases the rulers profit in a monetary way through the indulgence and excesses of the populace. For this reason evil rulers do all within their power to legalize crime and evil; (b) and furthermore good and serious people would be a reproach to the consciences of the rulers—if therefore the people condone and practice the evil the rulers practice, they are an encouragement to evil to one another. It goes without saying that this is true of every form of government devised by man, including democracy. The only nation where this is not so is the chosen nation of God, the kingdom ruled over by the Holy and Righteous King, Jesus Christ, the church of the living God! The citizens of this nation have been reborn and are being transformed into the image of their King—loving, righteous, holy, pure and just. Their King hates sin and is made to grieve when it occurs and so do His subjects, (cf. Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 11:1-10; Isaiah 35:5-10).

Zerr: Hosea 7:3. The pronoun they refers to the people in general, and their conduct was agreeable to the king and princes, because all classes had conspired to corrupt the law of the Lord. (See Jeremiah 5; Jeremiah 31.)

Hosea 7:4 They are all^H3605 adulterers,^H5003 as^H3644 an oven^H8574 heated^H1197 by^H4480 the baker,^H644 who ceaseth^H7673 from raising^{H4480 H5782} after he hath kneaded^{H4480 H3888} the dough,^H1217 until^H5704 it be leavened.^H2556

Hosea 7:4 . . . THEY ARE AS AN OVEN HEATED BY THE BAKER . . . The people allow their hearts to smolder and simmer with evil thoughts and imaginations and plans, like the smoldering fire built by the baker near which he places his kneaded dough ready to bake in the morning when he will fan the coals into a roaring fire. The people go to bed at night with their evil plans smoldering in their hearts to awake in the morning and fan the coals into roaring deeds of evil.

Zerr: Hosea 7:4. This is an unusual and highly figurative passage, intended to illustrate the intensity of Israel’s lusts. While the baker is mixing the dough, he is also applying the fuel to the oven. After the mixing is done it will not require very long for it to rise or become leavened. And it is only during that short space that he does not apply any more fuel to the oven, which indicates that it is hot enough to bake the dough, and hence a fitting comparison for the heat to their corruptions.

Hosea 7:5 In the day^H3117 of our king^H4428 the princes^H8269 have made him sick^H2470 with bottles^H2534 of wine;^{H4480 H3196} he stretched out^H4900 his hand^H3027 with^H854 scorners.^H3945

Hosea 7:5 ON THE DAY OF OUR KING . . . Just what this “day of our king” was we do not know. It was probably either the king’s birthday or the anniversary of his coronation. It was a holiday of some significance devoted to much excess in feasting and drinking. The leaders of the nation spent the day in revelry and carousel over indulging themselves to the point of nausea. The king, drunken with wine, let down his royal dignity and joined the crude, boisterous, sacrilegious scoffers (or blasphemers). “Wine is a mocker (or scoffer)” (Proverbs 20:1) and drunkenness removes all restraint revealing the evil which is in the man. The king, rather than stretching out his hand to protect the few in Israel who were being exploited and persecuted for their righteousness, stretched out his hand (or welcomed) to join with these profane, degraded men. How can any society survive when its leaders become examples of corruption and excess? How can any nation hope to be a master of its destiny when it enslaves itself to indulgence and excess? May God raise up prophets of righteous indignation and fearless courage to pronounce the judgments of God upon the leaders of nations today who enjoy wickedness and indulge in excesses because of the profit they make.

Zerr: Hosea 7:5. The people of Israel were corrupt both fleshly and morally. They were guilty of unfaithfulness both literally and figuratively, and all classes conspired together in the iniquity. (Jeremiah 5:31.) Day of our king probably refers to one of his birthday anniversaries. It was celebrated in drunkenness and association with evil characters like the heathen nations around them.

Hosea 7:6 For^H3588 they have made ready^H7126 their heart^H3820 like an oven,^H8574 whiles they lie in wait:^H693 their baker^H644 sleepeth^H3463 all^H3605 the night;^H3915 in the morning^H1242 it^H1931 burneth^H1197 as a flaming^H3852 fire.^H784

Hosea 7:7 They are all hot^{H2552 H3605} as an oven,^H8574 and have devoured^{H398 (H853)} their judges;^H8199 all^H3605 their kings^H4428 are fallen:^H5307 there is none^H369 among them that calleth^H7121 unto^H413 me.

Hosea 7:6-7 . . . THEY HAVE MADE READY THEIR HEART LIKE AN OVEN . . . THEY . . . DEVOUR THEIR JUDGES; ALL THEIR KINGS ARE FALLEN . . . Now Hosea looks to the consequences of Israel’s moral depravity. Perhaps such consequences are already beginning to take place. The leaders and the people are so saturated with sin they do not even let their hearts rest from devising new wickedness. The prophet is probably describing a scene of revelry, debauchery and scoffing which preceded the murder of Zechariah, king of Israel (became king in 753 B.C. upon the death of Jeroboam II). Zechariah was slain through conspiracy publicly in the open face of day, “before all the people” (2 Kings 15:9), no one heeding, no one resisting, about 10 years after his coronation by Shallum. From then on it was almost complete anarchy with one king after another being slain in Israel. We quote from Pusey:

“The kingdom of Israel, having been set up in sin, was, throughout its whole course, unstable and unsettled. Jeroboam’s house ended in his son; that of Baasha, who killed Jeroboam’s son, Nadab, ended in his own son, Elah; Omri’s ended in his son’s son, God having delayed the punisment on Ahab’s sins for one generation, on account of his partial repentance; then followed Jehu’s to whose house God, for his obedience in some things, continued the kingdom to the fourth generation. With these two exceptions, in the houses of Omri and Jehu, the kings of Israel either left no sons, or left them to be slain. Nadab, Elah, Zimri, Tibni, Jehoram, Zechariah, Shallum, Pekahiah, Pekah, were put to death by those who succeeded them. Of all the kings of Israel, Jeroboam, Baasha, Omri, Menahem, alone, in addition to Jehu and the three next of his house, died natural deaths. So was it written, by God’s hand on the house of Israel, all their kings have fallen. The captivity was the tenth change after they had deserted the house of David. Yet such was the stupidity and obstinacy both of kinds and people, that, amid all these chastisements, none, either people or king, turned to God and prayed Him to deliver them. Not even distress, amid which almost all betake themselves to God, awakened any sense of religion in them. There is none among them, that calleth unto Me.”

Zerr: Hosea 7:6. The prophet continues the figure of a baker and his oven, and the thought is the same that was contained In the illustration before. While the people were waiting for the opportunity to practice their wickedness, they were stirring up the fierce anger in their hearts. Baker sleepeth all the night is a figure of speech, referring to the periods of inactivity during which the people were awaiting an opportunity of doing some mischief, at the same time working up their wicked hearts to the point of a blaze. In th& morning (the moment at the end of the period of waiting) the pent up heat bursts out into a flaming fire. Hosea 7:7. They had not literally devoured their Judges, but the conspiracy was so strong that it engulfed even the rulers and other leading men. This is evidently the meaning, for the result of the heat is directly expressed by the closing words none among them that calleth unto me.

Questions

1. Why was the iniquity of Israel uncovered when God set out to “heal” them?

2. Why was their wickedness so staggering or unnatural?

3. Why were the kings and princes glad at the wickedness of the people?

4. What is the “day of the king?” How did the king behave?

5. How did the people “devour” their judges and kings?

Verses 8-16

Hos 7:8-16

ISRAEL’S INGRATITUDE—LOVE OF SIN

TEXT: Hosea 7:8-16

The moral depravity of Israel is exposed by citing various examples of it and picturing the passion with which the people love their sin.

Hosea 7:8 Ephraim,^H669 he^H1931 hath mixed himself^H1101 among the people;^H5971 Ephraim^H669 is^H1961 a cake^H5692 not^H1097 turned.^H2015

Hosea 7:9 Strangers^H2114 have devoured^H398 his strength,^H3581 and he^H1931 knoweth^H3045 it not:^H3808 yea,^H1571 gray hairs^H7872 are here and there^H2236 upon him, yet he^H1931 knoweth^H3045 not.^H3808

Hosea 7:8-9 . . . EPHRAIM IS A CAKE NOT TURNED . . . GRAY HAIRS ARE HERE AND THERE UPON HIM, AND HE KNOWETH IT NOT . . . In these two verses the prophet shows, by vivid figures of speech, the extent of the moral decadence in Israel. The “cake” here mentioned is in Hebrew, uggah, literally, “circular,” was a thin pancake, to which a scorching heat was applied on one side. Israel had been separated from the nations by the Lord (Leviticus 20:24-26), to be a people dwelling alone (Numbers 23:9), in order that it might be a holy nation to serve Him. But Israel thought itself wiser than the Lord and mingled with the nations through intermarriage (Ahab and Jezebel), through cultural and economic exchanges, through political alliances, and most disastrous of all through adoption of heathen religions of idolatry. A cake not turned is burned to a crisp on one side and uncooked, putrid, on the other side—it is worse than useless, it is nauseating. This is the first figure to describe Israel’s moral decadence. The second figure of speech used by Hosea pictures Israel as a man whose hair is beginning to show signs of physical decadence by the sprinkling of gray hairs appearing. The phrase, “and he knoweth it not” is interesting. As G. Campbell Morgan asks, “Now I ask you, if any of you were unconscious when gray hairs began to appear!” Such behavior is quite unnatural. Men discover gray in their hair and laugh at them, try to pull them out or dye them—but they do not ignore them for they are signs of declining strength. As tragic and stupid as this might be in the physical realm it is even more tragic and stupid in the spiritual and moral realm.

Zerr: Hosea 7:8. Mixing with the (heathen) people agrees with the figure that follows, a cake not turned. Such a mixture would bring in some ingredients that would render a cake unsuitable for food. Likewise, a cake not turned would be raw on one side and burnt on the other, hence unfit to eat. The two figures in the verse are unrelated except at the point common to each, namely, both are unfit to be eaten. Hosea 7:9. Strangers means people of outside nations who had brought in their heathenish practices. A man cannot see the hairs of gray sprinkled here and there upon his head, neither did these Jews realize the evil that had crept into their national life.

Yet it is continually true that signs of spiritual decadence, which are so patent to others, are undiscovered by ourselves. We go on, and on, and on, the victims of ebbing strength, spiritually and morally becoming degenerate, without recognizing it! We are too often blind to the signs which are self-evident to onlookers. And there is no condition more perilous to our highest well-being than being unaware of spiritual degeneration. Malachi writes of this attitude among the people even after they had suffered the captivities and been restored to the land by God, The refrain of the people in Malachi’s day is “Where in . . .” They were spiritually blind to their spiritual decadence. How do men so blind themselves? By setting up false standards—by refusing to admit the validity of God’s standards.

How may we overcome spiritual decay? First, of course, we must recognize it, admit it, confess it. But mere recognition and admission that “gray hairs” are present will not remove them. Dyeing the “gray hairs” of sin with a false veneer of respectability will not hide them. We must turn to God in faith and obedience—He will remove them. He will renew our spiritual life, He will give us new birth (cf. Psalms 103:1-5; Isaiah 40:29-31); John 3:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:17, etc.). God alone is able to remove gray hairs from our spiritual and moral nature by taking away the destructive forces which are producing the moral degeneracy.

Hosea 7:10 And the pride^H1347 of Israel^H3478 testifieth^H6030 to his face:^H6440 and they do not^H3808 return^H7725 to^H413 the LORD^H3068 their God,^H430 nor^H3808 seek^H1245 him for all^H3605 this.^H2063

Hosea 7:10 . . . THE PRIDE OF ISRAEL DOTH TESTIFY TO HIS FACE . . . How often the pride of Israel, had testified to the face of Israel. One prophet after another declared Israel’s sin and God’s judgment. One natural calamity after another (locust plagues, earthquakes, droughts, diseases, etc.) testified to the wrath of God upon Israel’s sin. Yet for all of this they would not turn and seek the forgiveness of God (cf. Hosea 4:6 ff).

Zerr: Hosea 7:10. Pride of Israel testifieth, etc., is explained at Hosea 5:5. The folly of their conduct was made clear by this “testimony,” yet they were not induced thereby to seek the Lord for help.

Hosea 7:11 Ephraim^H669 also is^H1961 like a silly^H6601 dove^H3123 without^H369 heart:^H3820 they call^H7121 to Egypt,^H4714 they go^H1980 to Assyria.^H804

Hosea 7:12 When^H834 they shall go,^H1980 I will spread^H6566 my net^H7568 upon^H5921 them; I will bring them down^H3381 as the fowls^H5775 of the heaven;^H8064 I will chastise^H3256 them, as their congregation^H5712 hath heard.^H8088

Hosea 7:11-12 . . . EPHRAIM IS LIKE A SILLY DOVE . . . I WILL SPREAD MY NET UPON THEM . . . There is an Eastern proverb, according to Pusey, which says, “There is nothing more simple than a dove.” Jesus used the dove as a symbol of simplicity (Matthew 10:16), in a good sense. Hosea’s figure of speech refers to Israel as having a stupid or ignorant simplicity—silly, foolish. Israel is like a silly or dumb creature distressed not knowing where to turn for relief. Israel does not know enough to turn to its God (cf. Isaiah 1:3). Israel has turned to its enemies for help! She is so silly that she turns for help to those whose sole purpose is to do her harm! Israel, flitting here and there for succor, is oblivious that she is flying right into the trap God has set for a disobedient people. God has announced before hand that He will chasten Israel by the hand of Assyria (cf. Isaiah 10:5 ff). The very nation Israel considers a source of strength will become her trap, (cf. Hosea 11:5).

Zerr: Hosea 7:11. Without heart means without a good mind or judgment. A silly dove would flit about from one place to another without any fixed purpose. The people of Israel looked to such unworthy sources as Egypt and Assyria for help instead of relying wholly upon the Lord who had always done them good. Hosea 7:12. Continuing the figure of a bird in flight, the Lord threatens to capture the silly dove with a net. The instrument to be used as a net was to the Assyrians, the very people to whom the bird was seeking to fly. Congregation hath heard refers to the warnings that had been given the nation in such passages as Leviticus 26; Leviticus 14-19; Deuteronomy 28:15-68.

Hosea 7:13 Woe^H188 unto them! for^H3588 they have fled^H5074 from^H4480 me: destruction^H7701 unto them! because^H3588 they have transgressed^H6586 against me: though I^H595 have redeemed^H6299 them, yet they^H1992 have spoken^H1696 lies^H3577 against^H5921 me.

Hosea 7:13 WOE TO THEM . . . THOUGH I WOULD REDEEM THEM . . . THEY HAVE SPOKEN LIES AGAINST ME . . . How often God would have redeemed them (cf. Isaiah 49:16; Hosea 11:1-9)! How often He did redeem them! But they continually wandered (cf. Hebrews 3:7-19). They continually lied to themselves and to one another about the nature of Jehovah. They lied to themselves by refusing to believe Jehovah would bless them in spite of their extremities. They refused to trust in the faithfulness of Jehovah toward His people, even in the face of past experience of history. So their turning to idols was living the lie that was in their hearts.

Zerr: Hosea 7:13. We note that the woe and destruction were decreed upon the people after or because they had fled from the Lord and transgressed his law. God never causes a good man to become a bad one, but if he chooses the life of sin, then the Lord will treat him as an evil person. Have redeemed them refers to past favors that God had bestowed upon the nation of the Jews, such as the deliverance from Egypt, and the many rescues that are recorded in the book of Judges. But all of these favors had been forgotten and they became guilty of one of the greatest faults, that of ingratitude.

Hosea 7:14 And they have not^H3808 cried^H2199 unto^H413 me with their heart,^H3820 when^H3588 they howled^H3213 upon^H5921 their beds:^H4904 they assemble themselves^H1481 for^H5921 corn^H1715 and wine,^H8492 and they rebel^H5493 against me.

Hosea 7:15 Though I^H589 have bound^H3256 and strengthened^H2388 their arms,^H2220 yet do they imagine^H2803 mischief^H7451 against^H413 me.

Hosea 7:14-15 . . . THEY HOWL UPON THEIR BEDS . . . THEY REBEL AGAINST ME . . . THEY DEVISE MISCHIEF AGAINST ME . . . Instead of turning to Jehovah who proved Himself true and faithful and willing to save and bless, time after time, they lied to themselves and in the midst of certain distressing periods they cried and howled upon their beds in unbelieving despair. They howled to their dumb idols which could neither speak nor hear (cf. Isaiah 41:21-29; Isaiah 44:1-22). They rebelled against Jehovah by devising human or pagan ways and means of supplying the corn and wine which God had withheld from them to bring them back to Him. What they were doing, in reality, turned out to be declaring war on God’s ways. The writer of Hebrews (Hebrews 3:10) attributes the failures of their ancestors to “not knowing the ways” of God. These Israelites of Hosea’s day refused to recognize that drought, famine, etc. were God’s ways of calling them back to Him. They literally assembled themselves together to devise rebellious ways to fight against the judgments of God. How presumptuous! How useless! God was trying to teach them and strengthen them morally through chastening. This is the end of all righteous discipline—moral growth. But he who rebels against moral growth through discipline only destroys himself.

Zerr: Hosea 7:14. The people howled upon their beds because they were suffering from the evil effects of their sinful deeds. They did not cry to the Lord with a pure heart, but only out of a selfish desire for their own indulgences. They would clique together to obtain the luxuries of life, at the same time rebelling against divine law. Hosea 7:15. The Lord had bestowed upon his people an abundance of good things. He had strengthened them when they were weak, and had defended them when they were unjustly attacked. In turn for these great favors, the people would imagine mischief against the Lord. That word is from CITASHAB and Strong defines it, "To plait or interpenetrate, i. e. (literally) to weave or (generally) to fabricate: figuratively to plot or contrive (usually in a malicious sense) ; to think, regard, value, compute." Thus the word the Lord had the prophet to write a stronger one than we ordinarily think it to be. It has the meaning of a malicious scheming against the good Lord who had done so much for them since their beginning as a nation.

Hosea 7:16 They return,^H7725 but not^H3808 to the most High:^H5920 they are^H1961 like a deceitful^H7423 bow:^H7198 their princes^H8269 shall fall^H5307 by the sword^H2719 for the rage^{H4480 H2195} of their tongue:^H3956 this^H2097 shall be their derision^H3933 in the land^H776 of Egypt.^H4714

Hosea 7:16 . . . THEY ARE LIKE A DECEITFUL BOW . . . Israel was changing and turning constantly but not in the right direction! She was missing the mark. She was not headed toward the goal God had set for her. She turned here and there and everywhere but not to the King of the Universe. Like a crooked bow; no matter where it is aimed the arrow flies away from the target. No matter which way Israel turned she missed the target God had set for her, because she always turned away from God’s word, Because their princes have lied about God and blasphemed His name they shall die violently, God will have them in derision because they have blasphemously placed their trust in Egypt and not in Him. Any person or people who trusts in their own might or wisdom will be defeated, shamed and confused. “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision” (cf. Psalms 2:1-11).

Zerr: Hosea 7:16. The land of Egypt is used figuratively to indicate the evil character of their plans. Not all bows are deceitful but some are, and such a bow will fail to cast the dart in the direction indicated by is position. The people of Israel professed to be looking or be aiming toward the Lord, but they swerved and became interested in idols and their service with the heathen nations.

Questions

1. How dangerous is moral decadence when we are unaware of it?

2. How can moral decadence be cured?

3. Why was Israel like a “silly dove?”

4. How did God trap Israel?

5. How did they devise mischief against God?

6. How was Israel like “a deceitful bow?”