Hosea 4:11-19

Israel suffers from a lack of knowledge of God in spite of the fact that she is deeply involved with gods/idols.  Here we have a description of her idolatry followed by a strong warning to Judah not to follow Israel’s path.

·        4:11-14: The idolatry of Israel.

o   It is powerful: their idolatry is as addictive (enslaving to the heart) as wine.  They have a spirit of harlotry so that wherever there is a mountaintop or special tree they carry out their worship.  And they worship their idols as if they were truly God, seeking counsel from them and accepting it.

o   Having said that, there were special places of worship in the NK referred to in 4:15.  Jeroboam had originally established altars for golden calves at Bethel and Dan, locations at each end of his kingdom (1 Kings 12:28-33).  He also erected shrines in various high places and established a feast that would counter the Passover in Jerusalem.  Thus the two cities in our passage were sites for shrines apparently but they were close to Judah, in the Southern part of the NK.  Gilgal was the location around Jericho where Israel camped when they first entered the Promised Land, and it was also the location of a school of the prophets in the time of Elijah (2 Ki. 2:1; 4:38).  Beth Aven is thought to be a city near Bethel; we say thought because it has not been found.  It is also possible it is what Hosea calls Bethel which means house of God.  Beth Aven means house of wickedness or vanity/idolatry and thus might be Hosea’s reference to what Bethel had become.

·        4:15-19: The warning to Judah. 

o   Judah was the kingdom with the Davidic King and was, at certain times, more faithful to the LORD. She is here warned about the idolatry of Ephraim (another name for the NT coming from the dominant tribe) and told to leave her alone.  There was a time of prosperity in the NK in the time of Hosea and this likely lured people from Judah to be more engaged in the business and culture of the NK.  Thus they are warned.  

o   The depth of enslavement as seen in this passage.  Hosea says the rulers of Israel love the dishonorable actions they are committed.  Israel is like a stubborn calf, one that digs in its heels and will not budge no matter how hard you try to get it to move.  Appropriately the judgment is that God will make them like a lamb in open country, one that is constantly wandering in order to find sufficient food to satisfies its desires.

This is the charge against Israel.  Let us learn from it.  If we allow ourselves to turn from the LORD and to seek after the gods of this world or of our own making we will find it to be a path to slavery.  Let us not stubbornly refuse God’s warnings and discipline by which He seeks to free us to follow Christ.