Oséias 4
David Guzik · Citado em PreceptAustin
Oséias 4
Guzik comments "When man will not or can not restrain himself, bloodshed and destruction follow. Our modern age is completely set against the idea of restraint.You see it in modern advertising slogans: “To know no boundaries” “No rules, just right” “Just do it” “Break all the rules” “Peel off inhibitions.Find your own road” “Living without boundaries” The message is the same: You make your own rules.You answer to no one.You are the one that matters.Your universe revolves around you.You should only restrain yourself if you want to. The ultimate result is bloodshed after bloodshed.In the ancient Hebrew, this is literally “bloody deed touches bloody deed.”“Apparently violent crimes had become so common that one seemed immediately to follow another, as if touching it.” (Wood) (Enduring Word Bible Commentary – Hosea) NET Note on they employ (parats) - “they break out and bloodshed touches bloodshed.” The Hebrew term פָּרַץ (parats, “to break out”) refers to violent and wicked actions (BDB 829 s.v. פָּרַץ 7; HALOT 972 s.v. פרץ 6.c). It is used elsewhere in a concrete sense to describe breaking through physical barriers. Here it is used figuratively to describe breaking moral barriers and restraints (cf. TEV “Crimes increase, and there is one murder after another”). Life Application Study Bible - This verse may allude to the assassinations of kings during Hosea's lifetime. Shallum killed Zechariah (the king, not the prophet) and took the throne. Then Menahem killed Shallum and destroyed an entire city because it refused to accept him as king (2 Kings 15:8-16). God pointed out that even murder was being taken casually in Israel. Hosea 4:3 Therefore the land mourns, And everyone who lives in it languishes Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky, And also the fish of the sea disappear. KJV Hosea 4:3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. NET Hosea 4:3 Therefore the land will mourn, and all its inhabitants will perish. The wild animals, the birds of the sky, and even the fish in the sea will perish. LXE Hosea 4:3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and shall be diminished with all that dwell in it, with the wild beasts of the field, and the reptiles of the earth, and with the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea shall fail: NLT Hosea 4:3 That is why your land is in mourning, and everyone is wasting away. Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing. ESV Hosea 4:3 Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away. CSB Hosea 4:3 For this reason the land mourns, and everyone who lives in it languishes, along with the wild animals and the birds of the sky; even the fish of the sea disappear. NIV Hosea 4:3 Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying. NAB Hosea 4:3 Therefore the land mourns, and everything that dwells in it languishes: The beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and even the fish of the sea perish. NKJ Hosea 4:3 Therefore the land will mourn; And everyone who dwells there will waste away With the beasts of the field And the birds of the air; Even the fish of the sea will be taken away. NJB Hosea 4:3 This is why the country is in mourning and all its citizens pining away, the wild animals also and birds of the sky, even the fish in the sea will disappear. GWN Hosea 4:3 That is why the land is drying up, and everyone who lives in it is passing away. Wild animals, birds, and fish are dying. NRS Hosea 4:3 Therefore the land mourns, and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing. YLT Hosea 4:3 Therefore mourn doth the land, And weak is every dweller in it, With the beast of the field, And with the fowl of the heavens, And the fishes of the sea -- they are removed. the land mourns: Isa 24:4-12 Jer 4:27 Joe 1:10-13 Am 1:2 5:16 8:8 Na 1:4 Along with the beasts of the field: Jer 4:25 12:4 Eze 38:20 Zep 1:3 Hosea 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries GOD'S JUDGMENT ON THE LAND Jehovah denies fertility to the earth either through natural causes or by bringing military ruin (Assyria would take the Northern 10 tribes into exile in 722 BC) to an area as a result of improper relationship of an area with Him. Israel is judged for breaking the ("marriage") covenant, while surrounding nations are found wanting for their disregard for Jehovah and mistreatment of His people (cf Jer 25:9 with Jer 25:12). Therefore - Term of conclusion. God says in view of the preceding sins, this the reason I am not blessing you in your land. David Thompson - In verse 3 God says this is the reason I am not blessing you in your land. This is the reason why your life and land is not flourishing. This is why your existence is one big drought. No one in My family is interested in God and His Word. No one was interested in doing God’s will. This was God’s own family and they were pathetic. Now carefully observe the chronology of these verses. No knowledge of God (Hos 4:1 "no...knowledge of God in the land") leads people to do horrible things. The cause is “no knowledge of God” and the effects are the things in the list. We live in a country where politicians are groping for answers as to how to lower crime and promote decency. The answer is simple–give people the true knowledge of God and it will have a tremendous effect on the nation. (Sermon) The land mourns - This is the rotten fruit that a nation reaps when they reject the knowledge of the living God (America, listen up!) And everyone who lives in it languishes - The Septuagint (Lxx) translates languishes ('amal) with pentheo which is used in the NT to denote loud mourning such as the lament for the dead or for a severe, painful loss. It is grief and sorrow caused by profound loss, especially death. Mourning can reflect an outward expression of sorrow. It is to experience sadness or grief as the result of depressing circumstances or the condition of persons and so to be sad, to grieve, to bewail or to lament. Pentheō refers to "manifested grief"severe enough to take possession of a person and hence cannot be hid. This is the same meaning of penthéō throughout antiquity and gives a horrible picture of the state of the people of the Northern Kingdom. To reiterate, this is the picture of the dead, rotten fruit that is reaped by a nation that rejects the living God. Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky, And also the fish of the sea disappear - It is sad when sins of man affect the state of the animals! Mourns (verb) (056)(abal) primarily means "to mourn" or "to lament." It employs this sense in 39 passages in the OT, the vast majority of which are of the prophetic-poetic genre. Mourns ('abal) can describe mourning rites for the dead, but is used figuratively here of the land as in Isa 24:4 "The earth mourns ('abal) and withers, the world fades and withers, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away." Languishes (0535)('amal) describes a state of exhaustion or extremity. It means properly to grow feeble, worn down; to succumb, languishing from weariness; overcome with something burdensome; feeble, withering. 'Amal is used to express the state into which the objects of God's punishment and discipline come: the proud mother who boasts over her barren rival (1 Sa 2:5); Moab (Isa 16:8); Egypt (Isa 19:8); the whole world (Isa 24:4). Words associated with it are "wither," "mourn," and "lament" (Isa 24:4; Isa 33:9; Jer 14:2). Most particularly, 'amal describes the state of Israel and its people after the punishment of God has fallen (Isa 33:9; Jer 14:2), so also, Jerusalem after the fall (Lam 2:8). Clearly, God's objective in such discipline was to bring his people to their knees as a warning and to humble them (Hos 4:3; Joel 1:10, 12). 'Amal is also used in Hosea 10:5 ("its people will mourn for it"). Gilbrant on 'amal - It is usually translated "to languish." The state of languishing is the result of Yahweh's activity. In most cases this activity is direct. The unrighteous bearers of many children will themselves languish as the barren they snub (Song of Hannah--1 Sam. 2:5; Jer. 15:9). Other fertile sources will be denied productivity by Yahweh's hand in righteous indignation, as the vines of Heshbon (Isa. 16:8), the fish of the Nile (Isa. 19:8), the oil of Israel (Joel 1:10), the agricultural produce of Bashan, Carmel and Lebanon (Nah. 1:4), the fig trees of Israel (Joel 1:12) and the vines of Israel (Isa. 24:7) all will languish. Yahweh will deny fertility to the earth either through natural causes or by bringing military ruin to an area as a result of improper relationship of an area with him. Israel is judged for breaking the covenant, while surrounding nations are found wanting for their disregard for Yahweh and his people. Metaphorically, the walls and ramparts of the city of Jerusalem likewise languish, or be made unproductive in Lam. 2:8. The people of the land languish from this judgment (Isa. 33:9; Jer. 14:2; Hos. 4:3). Indeed, the entire earth feels the force of Yahweh's wrath (Isa. 24:4). Yahweh's punishment to peoples is mediated by other agents on occasion. The Assyrians are used to devastate the land in some cases (Joel 1:10, 12; Lam 2:8). The injustices flowing from disregard for the covenant causes distress as well (Isa. 24:4, 7; Hos. 4:3). This state provides the basis for Yahweh to directly intervene in Isa. 33:9ff. In essence, the verb conveys the concept of infertility upon the population as the result of God's judgment. BDB 51, KB 1:63, Strong <H535>, TWOT 1:50. (Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary) The Septuagint (Lxx) translates 'amal here with the verb smikruno (no NT uses) which means to reduce, to diminish in number, to lessen, to be treated as insignificant. 'Amal - 14v - decays(1), fade away(1), fades(1), fails(2), languish(1), languished(1), languishes(2), languishing(1), pine away(1), pines away(2), wither(2), withered(1). 1 Sam. 2:5; Isa. 16:8; Isa. 19:8; Isa. 24:4; Isa. 24:7; Isa. 33:9; Jer. 14:2; Jer. 15:9; Lam. 2:8; Ezek. 16:30; Hos. 4:3; Joel 1:10; Joel 1:12; Nah. 1:4 Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky, And also the fish of the sea disappear - God's punishment would not just impact Israel but all the natural surroundings in Israel! Sin is a destructive "beast!" Are you making provision for some sin? Stop! Do not do it! Walk by the Spirit Who Alone can enable you to jettison the lusts of the flesh (Gal 5:16+). Hosea 4:4 Yet let no one find fault, and let none offer reproof; For your people are like those who contend with the priest. KJV Hosea 4:4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. NET Hosea 4:4 Do not let anyone accuse or contend against anyone else: for my case is against you priests! LXE Hosea 4:4 that neither any one may plead, nor any one reprove another; but my people are as a priest spoken against. NLT Hosea 4:4 "Don't point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you. ESV Hosea 4:4 Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest. CSB Hosea 4:4 But let no one dispute; let no one argue, for My case is against you priests. NIV Hosea 4:4 "But let no man bring a charge, let no man accuse another, for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest. NAB Hosea 4:4 But let no one protest, let no one complain; with you is my grievance, O priests! NKJ Hosea 4:4 "Now let no man contend, or rebuke another; For your people are like those who contend with the priest. NJB Hosea 4:4 But let no one denounce, no one rebuke; it is you, priest, that I denounce. GWN Hosea 4:4 "No one should accuse other people or bring charges against them. My case is against you priests. NRS Hosea 4:4 Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest. YLT Hosea 4:4 Only, let no one strive, nor reprove a man, And thy people are as those striving with a priest. let no one find fault: Ho 4:17 Am 5:13 6:10 Mt 7:3-6 your people are like those who contend with the priest.: De 17:12 Jer 18:18 Hosea 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries GOD'S CASE AGAINST THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS Yet let no one find fault - “Let no one contend or accuse.” I agree with Thompson's comment that "verse 4 is tricky, but it seems to me the primary point of it is in view of how corrupt and sinful things are, don’t blame the people because the people aren’t the real problem; the real problem is the leadership. In other words, even though this nation is filled with all of these evil sins, don’t spend your life finding fault with the people, because the real problem lies with the religious leaders. Your real point of contention lies with the priests and prophets who are not doing their job." (Sermon) NET Note - The MT reads וְעַמְּךָ כִּמְרִיבֵי כֹהֵן (vé’ammékha kimrive khohen): “And your people [are] like those who contend against the priest.” This is reflected in the LXX and the versions; however, it is syntactically awkward and makes little sense in context. Several textual critics suggest emending the text to read וְעִמְּךָ רִיבִי כֹהֵן (vé’immékha rivi khohen): “My contention is with/against you, O priest!” This involves (1) the revocalization of עַמְּךָ (“your people”) to עִמְּךָ (“with/against you”) and (2) positing dittography (a letter written twice instead of once) of ךְּ (kaf) between original וְעַמְּךָ רִיבִי to create וְעַמְּךָ כִּרִיבִי (MT). The BHS editors suggest that the MT is corrupt and should be emended. However, the editors of the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project retain the MT reading with a “B” rating. Likewise, the English translations are split: (1) KJV “for thy people are as they that strive with the priest”; NASB “for your people are like those who contend with the priest”; NIV “for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest”; (2) RSV “for with you is my contention, O priest”; NJPS “for this your people has a grievance against [you], O priest!”; TEV “my complaint is against you priests”; CEV “My case is against you, the priests!” And let none offer reproof - NLT says "Don't point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you." Life Application Study Bible - We often blame others if we fear punishment for wrongdoing. Hosea warned the priests not to blame anyone else; the nation's sins were largely their fault. Israel's priests pointed out the people's sins, but God would not allow them to overlook their own irresponsible actions. Instead of instructing the nation in religion (ED: I WOULD SUGGEST THEY TAUGHT THEM "RELIGION" BUT NOT OF THE IMPORTANCE OF RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LIVING GOD - THUS THEY RAN TO DEAD IDOLS) and morality, they had led the way toward idolatry and immorality. Their failure to lead the people in God's ways placed most of the blame for Israel's destruction on them. Knowing that God will not allow us to blame others for our sinfulness should cause us to admit our own sins. We are responsible for our own sinful actions. Beware of the tendency to blame others because it can keep you from feeling the need to repent. For your people are like those who contend with the priest - "for My case is against you priests!" The role of the priests had been clearly stipulated... So Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 Then Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of remission of debts, at the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place which He will choose, you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing. 12 “Assemble the people, the men and the women and children and the alien who is in your town, so that they may hear and learn and fear the LORD your God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law. 13 “Their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live on the land which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.” (Deut. 31:9–13). “They shall teach Your ordinances to Jacob, And Your law to Israel. They shall put incense before You, And whole burnt offerings on Your altar. (Deut. 33:10). Robert Chisholm - These priests and prophets (in Hos 4:5) were attached to the official sanctuaries and royal court. Their allegiance was to their human king, not God (cf. 1 Kings 22:6-8; Amos 7:10-17), and they were characterized by self-gratification (cf. Isa. 28:7; Jer. 23:11) and greed (Jer. 6:13; Micah 3:11). (Bible Knowledge Commentary) NET Note on the priest - The singular noun כֹּהֵן (cohen, “priest”) may be understood as a singular of number (so KJV, NASB, NRSV), referring to a singular individual (perhaps the high priest); however, it is more likely that it functions as a collective singular, referring to the priesthood as a whole (e.g., 4:7–10, so NAB, NCV, TEV, NLT, CEV). Collective singular forms alternate with plural forms throughout the oracle against the priests in 4:4–10. Hosea 4:5 So you will stumble by day, And the prophet also will stumble with you by night; And I will destroy your mother. KJV Hosea 4:5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. NET Hosea 4:5 You stumble day and night, and the false prophets stumble with you; You have destroyed your own people! LXE Hosea 4:5 Therefore they shall fall by day, and the prophet with thee shall fall: I have compared thy mother unto night. NLT Hosea 4:5 So you will stumble in broad daylight, and your false prophets will fall with you in the night. And I will destroy Israel, your mother. ESV Hosea 4:5 You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night; and I will destroy your mother. CSB Hosea 4:5 You will stumble by day; the prophet will also stumble with you by night. And I will destroy your mother. NIV Hosea 4:5 You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother-- NAB Hosea 4:5 You shall stumble in the day, and the prophets shall stumble with you at night; I will destroy your mother. NKJ Hosea 4:5 Therefore you shall stumble in the day; The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; And I will destroy your mother. NJB Hosea 4:5 Priest, you will stumble in broad daylight, and the prophet will stumble with you in the dark, and I will make your mother perish. GWN Hosea 4:5 During the day you stumble, and during the night the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother, the nation of Israel. NRS Hosea 4:5 You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night, and I will destroy your mother. YLT Hosea 4:5 And thou hast stumbled in the day, And stumbled hath also a prophet with thee in the night, And I have cut off thy mother. And the prophet also will stumble with you by night: Ho 9:7,8 Isa 9:13-17 Jer 6:4,5,12-15 8:10-12 14:15,16 Jer 15:8 23:9 Eze 13:9-16 14:8-10 Mic 3:5-7 Zec 11:8 13:2 I will destroy: Heb. cut off your mother.: Ho 2:2 Isa 50:1 Jer 15:8 50:12 Eze 16:44,45 Ga 4:26 Hosea 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries STUMBLING IN THE LIGHT BECAUSE OF SPIRITUAL DARKNESS So you will stumble by day - This speaks of their moral "stumbling" as in the use of the same verb (kashal) in Hos 14:1 "Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity." As Thompson says "When leaders are not interested in the Word and will of God, the people stumble. They stumble during the day. They don’t even walk through a day right with God, because they don’t know the Word of God." (Ibid) Stumble (03782)(kashal) means to stagger, totter. The verb may imply not only the action of falling but also the action leading up to the fall, i.e., "stumbling" or "staggering." Kāshal in the present use is figurative, as it is in Jeremiah prophecy that Israel would stumble over stumbling blocks as punishment for their oppressing of the economically weak (Jer. 6:21; cf. Isa. 8:15). In Isaiah 3:8 we read "For Jerusalem has stumbled (kashal) and Judah has fallen, (WHY HAVE THEY STUMBLED?) Because their speech and their actions are against the LORD, To rebel against His glorious presence." (Woe!) Jeremiah quoted God lamenting that "My people have forgotten Me, They burn incense to worthless gods And they have stumbled (kashal) from their ways, From the ancient paths, To walk in bypaths, Not on a highway." (Jer 18:15). (Woe!) And even in the last OT book the Lord says to the priests "But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble (kashal) by the instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of hosts." Hosea uses kashal in the next chapter - "Moreover, the pride of Israel testifies against him, And Israel and Ephraim stumble (kashal) in their iniquity; Judah also has stumbled with them." (Hos 5:5) Kashal is used 4x in Hosea - Hos. 4:5; Hos. 5:5; Hos. 14:1; Hos. 14:9; Nah. 2:5; Nah. 3:3; Zech. 12:8; Mal. 2:8 And the prophet also will stumble with you by night - Those who should have had the "antidote" for stumbling will also stumble. Clearly he is using the term prophet to describe those who prophesied falsehood and denied the possibility that God would ever judge them! Hosea is a true prophet and he did not stumble by night but in fact sought to bring spiritual light to the Northern Kingdom, but it would be to no avail! And I will destroy your mother - Where mother stand for the nation Israel (See Hos 2:2+). Chisholm has a different interpretation of mother - Because of their part in the people's moral ruin mothers would be destroyed. This judgment, though unusual, appears elsewhere (cf. Jer. 22:26). In this way the source of the priestly line would be eliminated. As punishment for their rejection of knowledge, the priests themselves would be removed from their office by the Lord.(Ibid) Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children KJV Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. NET Hosea 4:6 You have destroyed my people by failing to acknowledge me! Because you refuse to acknowledge me, I will reject you as my priests. Because you reject the law of your God, I will reject your descendants. LXE Hosea 4:6 My people are like as if they had no knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt not minister as priest to me: and as thou has forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children. NLT Hosea 4:6 My people are being destroyed because they don't know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children. ESV Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. CSB Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons. NIV Hosea 4:6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children. NAB Hosea 4:6 My people perish for want of knowledge! Since you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from my priesthood; Since you have ignored the law of your God, I will also ignore your sons. NKJ Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. NJB Hosea 4:6 My people perish for want of knowledge. Since you yourself have rejected knowledge, so I shall reject you from my priesthood; since you have forgotten the teaching of your God, I in my turn shall forget your children. GWN Hosea 4:6 I will destroy my people because they are ignorant. You have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be my priests. You have forgotten the teachings of your God, so I will forget your children. NRS Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. YLT Hosea 4:6 Cut off have been My people for lack of knowledge, Because thou knowledge hast rejected, I reject thee from being priest to Me, And thou forgettest the law of thy God, I forget thy sons, I also! My people: Ho 4:12 Isa 1:3 3:12 5:13 Jer 4:22 8:7 destroyed: Heb. cut off for: Ho 4:1 6:6 2Ch 15:3 Job 36:12 Pr 19:2 Isa 27:11 45:20 Jer 5:3,4,21 Mt 15:14 2Co 4:3-6 because: 1Sa 2:12 Pr 1:30-32 Isa 28:7 56:10-12 Jer 2:8 8:8,9 Mal 2:7,8 Mt 23:16-26 I will also reject: Zec 11:8,9,15-17 Mal 2:1-3,9 Mt 21:41-45 Mk 12:8,9 Lu 20:16-18 Since you have forgotten: Ho 8:14 13:6 2Ki 17:16-20 Ps 119:61,139 Isa 17:10 Mt 15:3-6 I will also forget: Ho 1:6 1Sa 2:28-36 3:12-15 Hosea 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries NOT IGNORANCE BUT WILLFUL REJECTION The NET translation has "You (PRIEST) have destroyed my people by failing to acknowledge me! Because you refuse to acknowledge me, I will reject you as my priests. Because you reject the law of your God, I will reject your descendants." My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge - Lack of knowledge implies they did have some knowledge. But who should have given them full knowledge of God (cf Hos 4:1 where Hosea says "there is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the land.") Their leaders, especially the religious leaders. Can you see how this applies to America where expositional preaching is on the decline and is being replaced by sermonettes for Christianettes and things like "social justice?" God's people need God's Word to enable them to be godly! America is in trouble because the pulpits are in trouble! You may have heard this quote before, but it bears repeating... “I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers – and it was not there . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there . . . in her rich mines and her vast world commerce – and it was not there . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution – and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness (READ THAT STATEMENT AGAIN!) did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.” -- Alexis de Tocqueville Today in the Word - Ignorance is not bliss—it is destruction. Israel was unraveling because they willfully rejected the knowledge of God in favor of the foolishness of the world. Hosea’s point for us is crucial: the way we think is vital to the way we live. Israel’s hearts wandered to other gods after their minds ceased to be filled by the wisdom of the Word of God. Likewise, if we fail to center our minds on the Lord, how can we ever hope to love and follow Him as we should? We need to ask ourselves whether we are representing God as a royal priesthood to a society lost in wickedness, or if we are being pulled along by the tides of popular thought. You are currently engaged in one definite positive step: studying the Word of God! As you read, watch, and listen to other media, use God’s truth to guard your mind. And in your conversations, don’t be afraid to challenge worldly ideas with the Word you know to be true. Encourage others to think biblically! My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Isa 5:13): The Lxx adds an interesting nuance here by using the verb homoioo. It is interesting that this is one of the best known and most frequently quoted passages in Hosea and yet it seems the church in America has forgotten that this same Word is to be not just to make us smarter sinners but is to be used as a "mirror" to allow self-examination (Jas 1:24, 25) so that we become more like the Savior. Lack of knowledge: "Knowledge'' is not just information but is experiential knowledge of the living God. Knowledge of His written Word cannot be separated from personal knowledge of God. To know God is to live in harmony with His will (OBEDIENCE), and to live in harmony with His will we must know His will. Loss of the knowledge of God leaves a destructive vacuum in personal and national life. Jesus warned "Take care (blepo in present imperative) what you listen to. By your standard of measure it shall be measured to you; and more shall be given you besides." (Mk 4:24) Comment - The people were listening to the priests who were not listening to God and so because of their godless standard, God would measure out to them destruction. We are on "thin ice" when we refuse to listen to the clear words and warnings of the loving but holy God Who does have a righteous anger against sin! Dear reader, if you are reading but not heeding the Word, beware lest you incur the chastising hand of the Almighty! Confess. Repent. Turn around. Call out. Return. Be revived! Now! Not later! "For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You." (Ps 86:5) Henry
Oséias 4
Guzik - It should not surprise us that there is a connection between knowing God and knowing His Word.Some people think that Bible knowledge is boring and brainy and not necessary for a real walk with God.But God and His Word are vitally connected.Psalm 138:2 says, You have magnified Your word above all Your name.When God sought for a term to express His nature, He calls Himself “The Word” (John 1:1). When we know God for who He really is, it affects our conduct.“Where there is no knowledge of God, no conviction of his omnipresence and omniscience, private offences, such as stealing, adulteries, and so forth, will prevail.” (Clarke) (Ibid) Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest - Note once again the spiritual axiom of sowing and reaping. They rejected knowing God through His Word and so they will reap His rejection of them! Note the possessive pronoun "My" in "My priest," the point being that the priests were not only to serve the people but were to serve the Lord as His representative to the people. And by his preaching of the Word to the people he presented God to the people. These priest were "zero" on both accounts! They were in it for themselves as the following verses illustrate. I also will reject you - The nation will be rejected from her priestly position before God (Ex. 19:6). Why? Because they rejected knowledge of God. Guzik adds "Teaching was an important duty of the priests (Deuteronomy 33:10, Ezekiel 44:23, Malachi 2:7).Their neglect of this demonstrates what an important place the minister, the pastor, the preacher has in presenting God and His Word to the people.If he neglects his duty to preach the word (2 Timothy 4:2), then he can’t lead the people into the true knowledge of God, and will lead them into destruction. (ED: A FRIGHTENING THOUGHT GIVEN THE DECLINE IN VERSE BY VERSE EXPOSITORY PREACHING IN AMERICAN PULPITS!) (Ibid) Guzik's comments remind me of the warning in Proverb 29:18 which says Where there is no vision (NO WORD OF GOD), the people are unrestrained (RUN WILD), But happy (BLESSED) is he who keeps the law (BUT HE HAS TO HAVE THE WORD PREACHED AND NEEDS TO READ IT TO KEEP IT). (Pr 29:18+) Reject, (cast off, despise) (03988)(ma'as) means to reject, to despise, to abhor, to refuse. The primary idea is to treat as loathsome (that which is repulsive, detestable, causing disgust). Think of what Israel was doing - despising, refusing the Word of God, treating it as loathsome! This is what Israel sowed, but she reaped the same from God! (Gal 6:7-8+ "the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption") This same word is used by Jeremiah - They call them rejected silver, Because the LORD has rejected them. (Jer 6:30). Ma'as is used again in Hosea 9:17 in an almost identical scenario as here in Hos 4:6 "My God will cast them away (ma'as) (WHY?) Because they have not listened to Him; And they will be wanderers among the nations. Comment: The Septuagint (Lxx) translates cast away with apotheo/apotheomai the same verb Stephen used in his sermon in Acts 7 when he declared "“Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to Him, but repudiated (literally "pushed him aside," "thrust Him off from themselves," "drove Him away," by refusing to listen to) Him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, (Acts 7:39+) The first use of ma'as in Lev 26:15+ (cf similar use in Lev 26:43) (reject in the Lxx = prosochthizo = to be offended, very upset over something someone has done, used in Heb 3:10, 17+) is of Israel who is warned not to "reject My statutes" which is what Hosea 4:6 describes. And yet later because of His unbreakable covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God says "when (not "if" but "when" - God foretold they would be defeated and exiled) they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God." (Lev 26:44+) Since you have forgotten the law of your God - Aka the Word of God. Now Hosea says they had forgotten the Law, implying at one time they had known it at some time in the past and to some degree. I also will forget your children - The sins of parents would impact their offspring. This is a good reminder to all us fathers of children - they are watching us; they are learning from us; they will imitate us. Be careful to give them a good example to follow, for if they see you forget God in your everyday life, don't be surprised if they follow suit in their life! You have forgotten...I will forget (07911)(shakach/shakah) means to forget, ignore, to cease to care, (Niphal) to be forgotten, (Piel) to cause to forget, (Hiphil) to make or cause to forget, (Hithpael) to be forgotten. Those who forget God wither away (Job 8:13), as well as all the nations who forget Him. Shakach/shakah "indicates that something has been lost to memory, or a period of time has softened the memory of it. John
Oséias 4
Guzik - Cattle can safely feed out on the open range, because they are not easy prey for predators.But a lamb in open country has strayed from the shepherd and is vulnerable.Hosea’s point is plain: if you act like a stubborn cow, don’t expect to be protected like an obedient sheep.(Ibid) John
Oséias 4
Guzik writes "We don’t want God to leave us alone because we need Him to protect us against ourselves.Left to ourselves, with our own sinful hearts, we will surely drift away from the Lord.All God must do to make certain a man goes to hell is simply let him alone. Our prayer should always be, “Lord, don’t leave me alone.Keep working on me.” (AMEN AND AMEN!) (Ibid) John MacArthur calls let him alone "an expression of God’s wrath of abandonment. When sinners reject Him and are bent on fulfilling their wicked purposes, God removes restraining grace and turns them over to the results of their own perverse choices. This kind of wrath is that in Ro 1:18–32 (cf. Jdg 10:13; 2Ch 15:2; 24:20; Ps 81:11, 12)." (MacArthur Study Bible) THOUGHT - Dear reader, beware! If you want idols, God may just give you over to those idols which is exactly what He did in Romans 1 where three times Paul uses the verb paradidomi meaning to give one over to the power of another! Notice how idolatry is closely linked with immorality. Beloved "Idolatry is always demoralizing." (Phillips) We see America rejecting God and what is the rotten fruit - sexual immorality and perversion out in the open to a degree we would have never dreamed possible! (2019) And as they say unless America experiences true revival "You ain't see nothing yet!" Therefore God gave them over (paradidomi) in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them... 26 For this reason God gave them over (paradidomi) to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural... 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over (paradidomi) to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, (Ro 1:24,26,28+) John Butler writes "That which will destroy a land and a people is ignorance of Jesus Christ. This ignorance is intentional, it is not accidental. Most people do not want to know anything about Christ. But their willful ignorance will curse them eternally. Stubbornness “She is so determined to get her own way, she writes her diary in advance.” “The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.” (Henry Ward Beecher) “God's will is hard only when it comes up against our stubbornness, then it is as cruel as a ploughshare and as devastating as an earthquake.” [Oswald Chambers] None so deaf as those who will not hear. [Matthew Henry] G Campbell