HOSEA LESSON 10


     We will begin this lesson in Hosea 10:1 "Israel [is] an empty
vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude
of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness
of his land they have made goodly images."

     Israel is the vine spoken of here. Israel is like a vine that
empties out all of its good fruit. We saw in the previous lesson,
where God had cursed the womb, and they produced no children. We see
the very thing here, when God removes His blessing from a people,
their crops and fruit do not produce. These goodly images were,
probably, to Baal.  They have left the worship of the One True God for
false gods.

     Hosea 10:2 "Their heart is divided; now shall they be found
faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their
images."

     The following Scripture has a great deal to say about the person
whose heart is divided. I Kings 18:21 "And Elijah came unto all the
people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions?  if the LORD
[be] God, follow him: but if Baal, [then] follow him. And the people
answered him not a word."   God will not allow this. He wanted their
total allegiance. He would not accept them worshipping Him and false
gods at the same time. Matthew 6:24  "No man can serve two masters:
for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will
hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and
mammon." We see from this, God requires 100% of our loyalty. He will
destroy these false gods Himself.

     Hosea 10:3 "For now they shall say, We have no king, because we
feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us?"

     The king that they had chosen for themselves, who was not
appointed of God, had no power at all to help them in their time of
trouble. God had protected them from just such a problem, as long as
they were obedient to Him. Now, they have placed their faith in
others, and have no help at all. The fear of the LORD, here, is
speaking of the great respect that was due Him. It is really speaking
of reverence.

     Hosea 10:4 "They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a
covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the
field."

     They had not kept their covenant with God. It appears, even their
day to day life was full of deceit and lies. They made agreements,
they had no intention of keeping. God had forbidden them to swear at
all, but worse than that, they had sworn lies. "Hemlock" seems to be
associated with bitter herbs. This is speaking of the chastisement of
God, that comes upon them for their lies. Instead of producing sweet
edible food, their land is full of bitterness.

     Hosea 10:5 "The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the
calves of Beth-aven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and
the priests thereof [that] rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof,
because it is departed from it."

     Samaria was the capital of Israel. Beth-aven is speaking of house
of vanity. The calves, here, are speaking of the calf that Jereboam
set up in the temple to worship. They had slipped into gross idolatry.
This calf cannot help them in their time of trouble. The people shall
mourn at the loss of the calf, and the priests will mourn with them.
The people and the priests had accepted this calf to worship as their
god. God allows it to be taken.

     Hosea 10:6 "It shall be also carried unto Assyria [for] a present
to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be
ashamed of his own counsel."

     This is speaking of the calf being carried into Assyria and given
to the king. It had been proclaimed as god of Israel. This calf was
helpless to itself, or these people. The calf is an idol. The name
"Jareb" means he will contend. It is, probably, a symbolic name for
Assyria.  The counselors were just as evil as the ones they gave
counsel to. All of the counsel led to shame.

     Hosea 10:7 "[As for] Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam
upon the water."

     The foam on the water would be skimmed off, and done away with.
This is speaking of the king being of no use to his captors.

     Hosea 10:8 "The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel,
shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their
altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the
hills, Fall on us."

     The high places had been where much of the worship of the false
gods took place. Now, they will grow up with weeds. There will be no
one to care for them. "Aven", here, is speaking of the Beth-aven we
spoke of earlier. It had been Bethel {house of God}, but became a
place where evil worship took place. The growing of the thorn and
thistle show the lack of use. It was almost as if the altars,
themselves, were ashamed. The battle would be so great, many would
choose to die, rather than be captured.

     Hosea 10:9 "O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah:
there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of
iniquity did not overtake them."

     Israel had sinned greatly at Gibeah. The sin was the shameful
thing they had done to the Levite's concubine. We mentioned this
briefly in a previous lesson. This is as if God has never completely
forgotten about the terrible sin committed there. He is explaining,
that what is going on here is just as bad, if not worse. Their
punishment will surely come this time.

     Hosea 10:10 "[It is] in my desire that I should chastise them;
and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind
themselves in their two furrows."

     God's wrath has come up in His face, and His desire is to
chastise them for their terrible sins. God is holy, and He expects His
people to be holy, also. Not anything, or anyone, can stop God from
punishing them, now that He has judged them guilty. The two furrows
could be speaking of the fact that God will punish Judah, as well as
Israel. They may try to hide from God, but there is no hiding place He
cannot find.

     Hosea 10:11 "And Ephraim [is as] an heifer [that is] taught,
[and] loveth to tread out [the corn]; but I passed over upon her fair
neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, [and] Jacob shall
break his clods."

     The job of the heifer had been taught her. She was to tread out
the corn. Ephraim had it better than his neighbors. Just as the heifer
could eat the corn she tread and got really fat, Ephraim had been
blessed abundantly. Ephraim had things so good, that she began to seek
other gods. Ephraim is taken by Assyria, and put in bondage. It is as
if a yoke has been placed on him and a rider makes him work. Judah
will be captured by Babylon and caused to do hard work in bondage.
Jacob speaks of all 12 tribes of Israel, Judah and Ephraim combined.

     Hosea 10:12 "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy;
break up your fallow ground: for [it is] time to seek the LORD, till
he come and rain righteousness upon you."

     This is one more call for them to repent, before it is too late.
Even now, God would rain righteousness upon them, if they would turn
from their false gods, and spread the true righteousness of God.
Whatever you sow, you reap. They must be spreading righteousness and
mercy, if God is to hear and forgive them.

     Hosea 10:13 "Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity;
ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way,
in the multitude of thy mighty men."

     They had placed their faith in false gods. They lived wicked
lives. They dealt unfairly with the people around them. They had
planted wickedly, and they would reap iniquity. They would lie, or
cheat or steal, if it would benefit them. They had left Holy God to
worship false gods with no morals. They were doing whatever was right
in their own sight. They looked to the outward might of men, and not
at their hearts. They were respecters of persons, because of their
position in the community.

     Hosea 10:14 "Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and
all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in
the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon [her]
children."

     Even though this happened in battle, it was really a judgement of
God against these people. This all happened, because of their sins.
The attack was against the fenced cities. We can see from the mother
being dashed to pieces upon her children, just how cruel and inhuman
this conflict was. This was, possibly, the battle where Shalmaneser,
king of Assyria, comes against Samaria three years. This was a very
cruel time, when many died horrible deaths.

     Hosea 10:15 "So shall Beth-el do unto you because of your great
wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off."

     Bethel, which had been a place of God, had been turned into a
place of calf worship. God's fury was kindled against them, because of
this worship of a false god. The time this happened, was a time when
it appeared they were gaining in prosperity. They were prosperous in
the flesh, but their spiritual lives were greatly lacking. The king
was cut off and helpless. It happened so suddenly, it seemed like a
morning.


































                          Hosea 10 Questions


1.  What is Israel compared to in verse 1?
2.  What happens to the people, when God removes His blessings?
3.  What were the goodly images, in verse 1, speaking of?
4.  Quote 1 Kings chapter 18 verse 21.
5.  Quote Matthew chapter 6 verse 24.
6.  What are both of the above Scriptures saying to us?
7.  Why could their king not help them?
8.  What is the fear of the LORD, in verse 3, speaking of?
9.  They had not kept __________ with God.
10. What were their day to day lives full of?
11. What was "hemlock"?
12. Instead of producing sweet edible food, their land was full of
    _____________.
13. Samaria was the capitol of __________.
14. Beth-aven was speaking of ________ of _______.
15. Who would mourn at the loss of the calf?
16. What happened to the calf?
17. The calf had been proclaimed as _______ of Israel.
18. What does the name "Jareb" mean?
19. It is, probably, a symbolic name for __________.
20. What happens to foam on water?
21. What were the high places used for?
22. What is "Aven" speaking of?
23. O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of __________.
24. What was the terrible sin?
25. Why was it God's desire to chastise them?
26. What is Ephraim spoken of as in verse 11?
27. What does Jacob speak of in verse 11?
28. Sow to yourselves in ____________.
29. What is verse 12?
30. Describe these evil people.
31. Even though the terrible punishment comes in battle, where is it
    really coming from?
32. What does the mother being dashed to pieces on her children show
    us?
33. The battle happened so suddenly, it seemed like a __________.