HOSEA 6:7

The Bible says in Hosea 6:7-11, “But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.[8] Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood.[9] And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.[10] I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.[11] Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.” These verses show us a theme that is found in all the prophets and in all of the Bible for that matter. First we are told about the great wickedness of the people, then we are told consequences and judgment that must surely follow such wickedness, and finally we are told of God’s ultimate plan about this situation: to bring mercy and blessing. The sinfulness of the people is revealed with such words as “transgressed the covenant,” “dealt treacherously,” “work iniquity,” “polluted with blood,” “robbers,” “murder,” and “lewdness.” Those who should have been the best of people were the worse: the priests. The words associated with the priests are robbers, murder, and lewdness. We know that these horrible deeds result in judgment because of one little phrase found in Hosea 6:10, “I have seen.” God sees all and knows all, and everyone must give an answer to Him. God is judge of the whole earth. No one gets away with anything. You had better have some boundaries and some limits. You had better have some things that you will not do because God sees and God knows.

God also knows that we are sinners in need of His forgiveness, and so His plans include mercy and forgiveness. After saying in Hosea 6:10, “Israel is defiled,” God looks to the future and says in verse 11, “Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.” The “harvest” refers to the fact that God will continue to take care of them and provide for them. Jesus keeps His promises. He has given us life and He will sustain our lives because He is always kind and merciful. God said that He would return the “captivity” of his people. This refers to the worse thing that ever happened to the Israelites as a return of their sins: they were conquered and taken into captivity. God said He was going to fix that, and Bible prophecy centers around God’s plans to return the captivity of Israel. This truth proves that God’s grace can undo the terrible results of sin. The grace of Christ is greater then our sins. The Bible says in Romans 11:1-5, “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.[2] God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,[3] Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.[4] But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.[5] Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” Once again as we have seen over and over in the Bible, this teaching leads us to accept the truth of eternal security.

The Bible says in Hosea 7:1, “When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without.” Notice the first phrase of this verse. God said, “I would have healed Israel.” God never wants to bring judgment. His plan, his hope, and his desire is that every human being will enter into the Kingdom of God and will live there forever and ever. Jesus loves souls. Jesus saves souls. Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem when He knew that they had rejected Him. It says in Ezekiel 18:31-32, “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?[32] For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”

The Bible says in Hosea 7:2-7, “And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face.[3] They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.[4] They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneeded the dough, until it be leavened.[5] In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.[6] For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.[7] They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me.” In these verses we are told several things about the Israelites to describe the bad place that they had gotten to spiritually speaking. It says in verse 2, “they consider not in their hearts.” Human beings need to have a healthy introspection at times. Everyone needs to be able to take stock of themselves from time to time, to look at themselves and say, something like this, “What have I been doing wrong, and how can I improve myself?” If you only considered what God was thinking about you, perhaps you would understand the need to change your ways and turn to the Lord. Wake up. Those who do not turn, do not wake up, and do not think about their sinfulness are headed towards a terrible destiny. God describes that destiny by using the example of a baker and his oven. A baker gets the oven ready first, and once the oven is very hot then objects are placed in the oven. If an object is placed in the oven long enough, it will burn up. A common theme throughout scripture is that the wicked face a destiny that includes a flaming fire. Jesus spoke of this fire in His teachings. Jesus said in Mark 9:43-48, “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:[44] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.[45] And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:[46] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.[47] And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:[48] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Jesus said that last phrase three times, obviously for emphasis so that people would pay attention. Beware of God’s oven where the fire is never quenched. This is the eternal fire of damnation. You can escape that fire by finding mercy and forgiveness in the arms of Jesus Christ.

In describing the Israelites and how far that had fallen, it is important to notice the last phrase of Hosea 7:7, “there is none among them that calleth unto me.” How do you describe a wicked person, how do you describe an ungodly person, and how do you describe a person who has no relationship with God? You do so, by simply saying that such a person does not call upon the Lord: in other words does not pray. We get saved from our sins by calling upon the Lord. It says in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That is how people who met Jesus got saved in the gospels. It says in Matthew 9:27, “And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.” That is the most important prayer to make because that is the prayer that will get you into heaven. Of course, after we pray that prayer to Him, He wants us to keep praying. Jesus loves communication with people. He loves to hear from you. God is a social Being who loves contact, relationship, and communication with people. God’s Word says in First Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” And it says in Ephesians 5:20, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Bible says in Hosea 7:8-11, “Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.[9] Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.[10] And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this.[11] Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.” God continues to use the analogy of a baker to describe the backsliding Israelites. When God says that Israel “hath mixed himself,” the word that is translated “mixed” means “mixed up” as in “confused.” Israel became confused: in a other words they had a serious problem with their understanding. They did not understand or know what they needed. Notice that they were confused “among the people.” Too close of a connection with the masses can cause a Christian to go astray. The people of the world have the wrong priorities and the wrong philosophies. Yes, have some contact with them in order to show the love of Christ, but beware of too close of a contact. It says in Second Corinthians 6:14, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?” Ephraim became confused because the wrong ingredients went into his mind. In order to emphasize the fact the Ephraim did not become what he should have become, God called them “a cake not turned.” A Christian will grow in Christ if he or she takes in the Word of God and mixes it with other things that have been learned and experienced. But if the philosophies of the world are taken in instead of the Word of God, confusion will result, and that person will not become the Christian man or woman that God intended. They will fail and come up short from what they could have been for the glory of the name of Christ.

Hosea 7:9 speaks about the lack of strength that the Israelites had. “Strangers have devoured his strength.” The strangers represent the unbelievers. The weakness of the Israelites is compared to old age. Of course, from a physical standpoint, if you live a long life, you will eventually get to a point where you can no longer do the things that you could once do. Some people do not realize soon enough just how far down physically they might have gone due to aging. One example of this is in driving of a vehicle. Once your eyes and your reflexes make it impractical for you to drive, then you should stop before you hurt someone or worse. But from a spiritual standpoint, you should be stronger as you get older. That is one of the reasons that pastors are called “elders.” Older should mean wiser, and for a Christian older should mean “someone with greater spiritual wisdom and strength.” If living by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the most important thing for any human being, then an older person is perfectly set up for this. A younger person is tempted to rely on their strength and energy to get things done, and this becomes an impediment to waiting on the Lord to see what the Lord will do. An older person who lived that way in their youth, is tempted to think that now that they no longer have such strength and energy, that they cannot be useful in serving the Lord. Nothing can be farther from the truth. The greatest service to God is what takes place in our hearts by faith. Abraham saw the greatest fulfillment of God’s promises in his life when Abraham was 100 years old and his son, Isaac, was finally born. Moses became the leader of the children of Israel when he was 80 years old. God’s greatest work through you might come when you are 80 or 100 also. At least when you are older, you will not have the temptation of thinking that your strength and vitality will get you through.

Yes, it is important to understand your physical and material limitations, but let those things cause you to be driven to look up to the Lord Jesus even more. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” This is true no matter what age you are.

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