In today's lesson (Hosea 8-10) the prophet speaks to the nation of Israel (also called Ephraim, its strongest tribe or Samaria, its capital) at the height of Israel’s power under King Jeroboam II (782-753 BC).

Even though they claimed to acknowledge the LORD (Hosea 8:2) by bringing sacrifices, their actions revealed the deceitfulness of their hearts.

• They set up kings and then assassinated them.
• They worshipped the calf-idols at Bethel and Dan.
• They trusted in their military power and their political alliances rather than in the LORD.
• They made promises and contracts only to break them.
• “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7).

Because of their sin, Judgment Day was coming: “Then they will say to the mountains, ‘Cover us!’ and to the hills, ‘Fall on us!’” (Hosea 10:8). That Judgment Day was only a generation away when the Assyrians would destroy the nation of Israel and its capital of Samaria in 721 BC.

Lord, give us wisdom to understand the times! 

The passage below caught my attention this morning.

Israel has forgotten their Maker and built palaces; Judah has fortified many towns. But I will send fire on their cities that will consume their fortresses.”

Israel and Judah were wealthy and powerful. They had beautiful houses. They took pride the strength of their military. Sounds a lot like our own experience here in the US. There is so many parallels with our own times.

As we see the increasing wickedness in our society and the power of sin in our own lives, let us repent and cling to the one verse of good news in our reading today.

Sow righteousness for yourselves,
    reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
    for it is time to seek the LORD,
until He comes
    and showers his righteousness on you (Hosea 10:12).

Historical References

There are also many historical references in this section that would have been obvious to Hosea’s first hearers and readers, but not to us:

• Gibeah (Hosea 9:9) – A reference to the wickedness of sexual abuse in Judges 19.
• Baal Peor (Hosea 9:10) – A reference to the power of sexual gratification in Numbers 25.
• Gilgal (Hosea 9:15) – A city near the Jordan River where God’s people in the past dedicated themselves to the LORD (Joshua 5:1-10; 1 Samuel 11:14-15). It was the place where King Saul began to reveal his distrust in the LORD’s promises and where he was rejected as king (1 Samuel 15:12-23).
• Beth-Aven (Hosea 10:5) – Beth Aven means “house of wickedness,” a derogatory name for Bethel, which means “house of God.” King Jeroboam I set up calf worship at Bethel 200 years before Hosea’s time.
• “Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle” (Hosea 10:14). This is the only reference to this event in the Bible. “Shalman” may be a reference to Shalmaneser IV, King of Assyria, who may have captured Beth Arbel (possibly the modern city of Irbid) about 12 miles to the south east of the Sea of Galilee early in King Jeroboam II’s reign.

Give Us Wisdom to Understand the Times

Our New Testament lesson (Ac 22:22-23:10) records the Apostle Paul’s use of his rights as a Roman citizen and his skills in reading the crowd and understanding how he could use the division between the Sadducees (the religious skeptics of the day) and the Pharisees (the super strict legalists of the day) to his advantage as he sought to protect himself and provide an opportunity for the gospel to be heard. 

Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit, and give us that kind of wisdom today. Help us understand the times so that we know how best to read our culture and speak to both sides of the political and religious divides in our nation. Our prayer is simply: Hallowed by Your Name. Your Kingdom Come. Your Will be Done. Amen.