Hosea 8
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Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.
2 Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.
3 Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.
4 They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.
5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
6 For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.
8 Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.
9 For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.
10 Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes.
11 Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.
12 I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.
13 They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the Lord accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.
14 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
Public Domain KJV text from Wordproject.org
Hosea 8:1-14
Israel Will Reap the Whirlwind
1Set the trumpet to your lips!
One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord,
because they have transgressed my covenant
and rebelled against my law.
2To me they cry,
“My God, we—Israel—know you.”
3Israel has spurned the good;
the enemy shall pursue him.
4They made kings, but not through me.
They set up princes, but I knew it not.
With their silver and gold they made idols
for their own destruction.
5I have spurned your calf, O Samaria.
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence?
6For it is from Israel;
a craftsman made it;
it is not God.
The calf of Samaria
shall be broken to pieces.
7For they sow the wind,
and they shall reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no heads;
it shall yield no flour;
if it were to yield,
strangers would devour it.
8Israel is swallowed up;
already they are among the nations
as a useless vessel.
9For they have gone up to Assyria,
a wild donkey wandering alone;
Ephraim has hired lovers.
10Though they hire allies among the nations,
I will soon gather them up.
And the king and princes shall soon writhe
because of the tribute.
11Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning,
they have become to him altars for sinning.
12Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands,
they would be regarded as a strange thing.
13As for my sacrificial offerings,
they sacrifice meat and eat it,
but the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins;
they shall return to Egypt.
14For Israel has forgotten his Maker
and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
so I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
ESV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Hosea 8:1-14
Israel to Reap the Whirlwind
1“Put the trumpet to your lips!
An eagle is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant
and rebelled against my law.
2Israel cries out to me,
‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
3But Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.
4They set up kings without my consent;
they choose princes without my approval.
With their silver and gold
they make idols for themselves
to their own destruction.
5Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?
6They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
it is not God.
It will be broken in pieces,
that calf of Samaria.
7“They sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.
The stalk has no head;
it will produce no flour.
Were it to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it up.
8Israel is swallowed up;
now she is among the nations
like something no one wants.
9For they have gone up to Assyria
like a wild donkey wandering alone.
Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.
10Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
I will now gather them together.
They will begin to waste away
under the oppression of the mighty king.
11“Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning.
12I wrote for them the many things of my law,
but they regarded them as something foreign.
13Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me,
and though they eat the meat,
the Lord is not pleased with them.
Now he will remember their wickedness
and punish their sins:
They will return to Egypt.
14Israel 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.”
NIV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Commentary
Years ago, I visited Winchester Mystery House in California. It is a popular tourist attraction that offers guided tours of a very large house once owned by Mrs. Winchester. She purportedly believed that her house was haunted and that her only safety from the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles was to be continually building onto the home in order to confuse and appease them. You could say it became her religion to build up.
Building up for one’s own protection as a religion is nothing new. Nimrod tried it. So did the people of Hosea’s time. They were preoccupied with building temples and fortifications. Their focus was not on serving the One true God who is their only real defense. Therefore, they lost both God’s blessing and His protection.
"For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof." Hosea 8:14 KJV
Misguided people are still fascinated with building up monuments of religion rather than building faith in Jesus. They still build their own defenses while forgetting the God of the Bible. Be careful how you build.
Karen D. Lifshay