Hosea 10 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Hosea 10

10:1   Israel is a luxuriant vine
    that yields its fruit.
  The more his fruit increased,
    the more altars he built;
  as his country improved,
    he improved his pillars.
2   Their heart is false;
    now they must bear their guilt.
  The LORD¹ will break down their altars
    and destroy their pillars.
3   For now they will say:
    “We have no king,
  for we do not fear the LORD;
    and a king—what could he do for us?”
4   They utter mere words;
    with empty² oaths they make covenants;
  so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds
    in the furrows of the field.
5   The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
    for the calf³ of Beth-aven.
  Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests—
    those who rejoiced over it and over its glory—
    for it has departed⁴ from them.
6   The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria
    as tribute to the great king.⁵
  Ephraim shall be put to shame,
    and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.⁶
7   Samaria’s king shall perish
    like a twig on the face of the waters.
8   The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
    shall be destroyed.
  Thorn and thistle shall grow up
    on their altars,
  and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”
    and to the hills, “Fall on us.”
9   From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel;
    there they have continued.
    Shall not the war against the unjust⁷ overtake them in Gibeah?
10   When I please, I will discipline them,
    and nations shall be gathered against them
    when they are bound up for their double iniquity.
11   Ephraim was a trained calf
    that loved to thresh,
    and I spared her fair neck;
  but I will put Ephraim to the yoke;
    Judah must plow;
    Jacob must harrow for himself.
12   Sow for yourselves righteousness;
    reap steadfast love;
    break up your fallow ground,
  for it is the time to seek the LORD,
    that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
13   You have plowed iniquity;
    you have reaped injustice;
    you have eaten the fruit of lies.
  Because you have trusted in your own way
    and in the multitude of your warriors,
14   therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people,
    and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,
  as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle;
    mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
15   Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,
    because of your great evil.
  At dawn the king of Israel
    shall be utterly cut off.

Footnotes

[1] 10:2 Hebrew He
[2] 10:4 Or vain (see Exodus 20:7)
[3] 10:5 Or calves
[4] 10:5 Or has gone into exile
[5] 10:6 Or to King Jareb
[6] 10:6 Or counsel
[7] 10:9 Hebrew the children of injustice

Commentary

v1-2: Fruit "for himself," rather than for the Lord. As Israel prospered, he increased his altars and multiplied his idolatry, rather than giving praise to God. As a result, all that was gained will be lost.

v3-4: The people lose conviction and direction, realising that things have gone wrong.

v5: "Beth Aven," the house of vanity (4.15); a name for Bethel, the house of God. This is the place where one of the golden calves was placed, 2 Kings 10.29.

Even the glory of the idol is transitory, yet the people mourn for it, indicating their devotion towards it.

v6: The great king (King Jareb), 5.13, would take away the idols. This may be a reference to Tiglath-Pileser, or simply to Assyria. Even though a craftsman made the idol (8.6) the people put their trust in it; ultimately they would learn that an idol could never deliver them.

v7: Samaria, having lost its political power, floats away like a stick on a stream.

v8: Fear of judgment, as the people seek a place to hide. Those things they trust in prove useless.

v9-10: Judgment upon sins. Israel never really changed. Since the days of Gibeah, 9.9, they had not fully turned back to the Lord.

v11-12: Although God has spoken, giving wonderful promises, and He would work in their hearts and desires, there remains a responsibility upon the people to get right with God, setting their desires afresh upon Him.

These words follow the cry of 6.1-3, bringing fresh urgency, for the days of punishment are coming (9.7). The responsibility is clear, although we always need the Lord's help; we cannot leave it all to God, 'Let go and let God!'

In response to their repentance, the Lord will honour them, and rain righteousness on them.

The command is to "break up your unploughed ground." Israel was largely agricultural. The OT writers frequently use such images. The land was God's. Israelites were tenants, looking after His land. See also Jer 4.3.

v13: Past experience; they have sown wickedness, and reaped the consequences, 8.7-10.

v14-15: The only expectation is judgment, and they have already witnessed something of this.