Hosea: Unfaithfulness (VIII)

Reaping The Whirlwind (8:1-14)

Neal Pollard

Hosea calls for a trumpet to sound, an action that symbolizes judgment and warning in both the Old and New Testaments (Ex. 20:18; Jud. 6:34; Hos. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Th. 4:16). An enemy will come against Israel because of transgression and rebellion (1). While the whole chapter will specifically address what that sin was, Hosea describes the whole matter in verse seven. This is one of the best-known passages from the book, where the prophet writes of Israel, “For they sow the wind And they reap the whirlwind.” What was the iniquity they sowed?

Lip service (2-3). It is an act of desperation, in view of impending doom. They cry out, “My God, we of Israel know You!” (2). They not only confess Him, but they appeal to their identity as Israel. However, “Israel” has rejected the good. How well this illustrates the condemnation Christ would later make of their descendants, quoting Isaiah  29:13, “This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me” (Mat. 15:8). Jesus calls this hypocrisy, and so it was for Israel! We sow to the wind when our devotion is no more than skin deep. 

Failure to consult God (4-6). This was true of their earthly rulers, their kings and princes (4). This was true of their idols (4). Verses five and six make a difficult text, and the wording is confusing. It seems that Hosea is referring to the calf set up by Jeroboam (1 Ki. 12:28-29; cf. Hos. 10:5-6). God is outraged at Israel’s guilt and immorality. They pay homage to a calf idol and ignore Him. That calf would be broken in pieces (6), and the people who worship it would be “cut off” (4). We sow to the wind when we fail to keep God in the only place He will accept (Mat. 6:24,33; Ex. 20:3; Js. 4:4). 

Political folly (8-10).  The same issues the prophet Isaiah repeatedly addressed, trusting in earthly alliances rather than submitting to the authority and power of God, are highlighted by Hosea. “They hire allies among the nations” (10), but they would have the respect of no one (8). Like a donkey, stubborn and resistant to rule, they turn to man instead of God. Their foolish choice of lovers and protectors would cause them to diminish and be of no delight. We sow to the wind when we put our trust in man and refuse to submit to the Lordship of the only Master who can save and deliver us (Prov. 3:5; Isa. 36:4). 

Empty rituals (11-13). Like the first offense mentioned in this chapter (lip service), this is a matter of a people more than willing to worship but unwilling to know and practice His Word. They regarded the many precepts of His law as a strange thing, but they kept on coming to worship and going through the motions anyway (12). Yet, as Hosea has already told them, “I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (6:6). Because of this, God will cause them to go into “Egypt” (13; this must be symbolic given the timeframe, standing for exile and captivity. They are going to Assyria (7:11). We sow to the wind when we refuse to repent of the sin of our daily lives, but insist on continuing to offer worship. 

Self-reliance (14). The condemning, closing indictment is succinctly put: “Israel has forgotten his Maker.”  They built their palaces and fortified cities with no thoughts of God. But God vows to set those dwellings on fire. How God had warned them against self-reliance from the time of the giving of the Law! “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Deut. 8:11-14). He warned that the danger would be to say, “My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth” (Deut. 8:17b). So it was in Hosea’s day. So it usually is in every generation. We sow to the wind when we trust in our income, our wisdom, and our strength, forgetting the God who gives every good and perfect gift (Js. 1:17). God reminds us “that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble” chosen by God (1 Cor. 1:26-27a). When self is too strong and sufficient, we buy into the illusion that we have provided everything for ourselves. The rich farmer shows us how poorly that ends (Luke 12:20)!