Hosea 9:10-17
by
Rev. Mark Perkins, Pastor
Denver Bible Church
326 E. Colorado Ave.
Denver, Colorado 80210
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Hosea 9:10-14
"I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw
your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its
first season. But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves
to shame, and they became as detestable as that which they loved.
As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird - no birth,
no pregnancy, and no conception! Though they bring up their children,
yet I will bereave them until not a man is left. Yes, woe to
them indeed when I depart from them! Ephraim, as I have seen,
Is planted in a pleasant meadow like Tyre; But Ephraim will bring
out his children for slaughter. Give them, O Lord - what will
You give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts."
1. The first half of verse ten speaks in glowing terms of the
initial attractiveness of Israel to God.
A. The attractiveness was like finding grapes in the wilderness - it was a really pleasant surprise - a totally unexpected refreshment.
B. Likewise, the forefathers were like the earliest fruit on a fig tree. In other words, after a long winter without fruit, the first fruit is sweetest.
C. The long drought or winter was the period of post-diluvian civilization which preceded Abraham, maybe a couple of thousand years of degeneracy. It was truly a long drought of virtue.
D. And Israel was the refreshment after the drought - and her refreshment to God was virtue.
2. The second half of the verse concentrates on the downfall
of Israel, beginning with their idolatry at Baal Peor.
A. The incident at Baal-Peor is a part of the story of Balaam, and that story is worth going over.
B. Israel came to camp on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho. They were on the verge of occupying the promised land after having marched for so very long.
C. Israel, with the help of God, had just knocked off the Amorites, a very populous group of people. When they came to Moab, the Moabites were quite intimidated by this most recent victory.
D. Balak the king of Moab, sent for aid to Balaam, who was a ruler in Mesopotamia at the time. Balaam was apparently a man of God, for He often communicates with the Lord, and is considered by Balak to have a great deal of impact from the Divine.
E. God talks to Balaam, and tells him not to go to the aid of Balak, for the people who advance on Moab are His people, and are blessed. Balaam thus refused to aid Balak, and sent Balak's envoys back to Moab empty-handed.
F. Rebuffed but by no means defeated, Balak then sent more distinguished envoys and more of them, insisting on the aid of Balaam, and essentially wrote Balaam a blank check for his reward. Balaam again refused to help, but told the envoys to wait for the word of the Lord, which would come to him again that night.
G. That night, God told Balaam he could go if the men had come to call him, but only if he could do so with faithfulness to the Word. He did not intend to do so, but he saddled up his donkey and went anyway.
H. On the way to Moab, Balaam's donkey was confronted three times by an angel of the Lord, and so just up and stopped and laid down. Balaam, ignorant of the presence of the angel, abused his donkey until the Lord enabled it to speak against him. Read vss. 21-35.
I. Again the command came from God to Balaam. So Balaam goes to Balak, and Balak is indignant that Balaam would not come before this, in spite of his grandiose offers.
J. But Balaam says that he will only speak to him the word of the Lord, and so he tells Balak to build seven altars and to sacrifice seven bulls and seven rams for the altar. So it is done.
K. In the mean time Balaam goes off to a barren hill to listen to the voice of God. And Balaam reports his faithfulness to God, and God commands Balaam to speak a certain prophecy to Balak. So he does - vv.7-10.
L. Balak is again indignant: this time because Balaam has pronounced a blessing and not a curse on Israel.
M. Balak then takes Balaam to another high place from whence he might curse Israel. Again the seven altars are built, and a ram and a bull are offered on each.
N. Again the prophetic word comes to Balaam, this time a blessing for Israel and a threat to those who would stand in their way. Again Balak is indignant.
O. Now a third time Balak took Balaam to a high place, and a third time the sacrifices were made on seven altars. The name of the place was Peor. Balaam's prophecy was identical in character to the preceding, vv. 3-9.
P. Balak is outraged, and Balaam has one more thing to say - vv.15-24. This is a messianic prophecy. Balaam then returns to his home in Mesopotamia. He was, by the way, one of the greatest of the true Jews.
Q. But the people of Israel then turned against God, and fornicated with the Moabite women, and offered to the idols of this exceedingly corrupt people. God's punishment of His own people was quite severe. vv. 1-9.
3. "As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird;
no birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!
A. The glory of Ephraim is KABHAH. This describes outward splendor or riches. It is a description which makes no moral judgment, and, as we know, Ephraim was an immoral nation.
B. That glory will fly away like the birds - it will be gone swiftly and completely!
C. The reason for this flight of glory is the absence of reproduction - there will be a 'lost' generation of Ephraim, due to divine discipline.
D. No child-bearing, no birth, no conception.1. This is placed completely out of order from normal, and the ordering is there for reasons of emphasis.
2. There is no conception, but if there is, the mother will miscarry.
3. There is no pregnancy that comes to term, but if one should, then there will certainly be a still-birth.
4. In other words, this is divine discipline on the reproductive cycle.
4. "Though they bring up their children, yet I will bereave
them until they are childless. Yes, woe to them indeed when I
depart from them!"
A. If they should give live birth, then the child will die early!
B. And this goes on until not a man is left.
C. The departure of God is tantamount to the destruction of the nation. Here Hosea compares final discipline to the departure of God.
5. "Ephraim as I have seen is planted in a pleasant meadow
like Tyre; but Ephraim will bring out his children for slaughter."
A. There lies Ephraim in the most pleasant of locations - it is a beautiful land! There are green plains that slope gently down to the sea...
B. Yet what occurs on those plains, but the very worst of crimes - the sacrifice of children on pagan altars. What bitter irony! What a contrast between creation and destruction! And it is all done in the presence of God.
C. And the reproduction discipline is so obviously just!
6. "Give them, O Lord - what will You give? Give to them
a miscarrying womb and shrivelling breasts"
A. They sacrifice their children in demonic rituals, and Hosea implores the Lord to give them what they deserve.
B. Miscarriages and no conception. The perfect justice.
Hosea 9:15-17
"All their evil is at Gilgal; indeed, I came to hate
them there! Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive
them out of My house! I will love them no more; all their princes
are rebels. Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, they
will bear no fruit. Even though they bear children, I will slay
the precious ones of their womb. My God will cast them away because
they have not listened to Him. And they will be wanderers among
the nations."
1. The word Gilgal was onomenapoetic, reciting the sound that
a sqeaky wheel made when it went around and around: gilgalgilgalgilgalgilgal.
Its verb form meant to 'roll', or 'roll away'. It could also
denote anything that was round.
A. Gilgal was a town in Israel down near the Jordan River, just a short ways northeast from Jericho.
1. It was the first military encampment of the Children of Israel in the promised land.
2. It was the terminus of a great victory procession that began in Shittim, 14 miles east of the Jordan, Joshua 3:1.
3. It was here that the twelve stones were set as a memorial to the crossing of the Jordan.
READ Joshua 4:1-7.
4. It was here that the Angel of the Lord, the preincarnate Christ, led the army of the angels, and revealed himself to Joshua on the night before the battle of Jericho.
READ Joshua 5:10-15.
5. So, it was an important place of national heritage, their Plymouth Rock. Their Smithsonian institute. People would often go to worship there, and it was even used as a seat of judgment by Saul. There was instituted a celebration of Gilgal, the thanksgiving holiday of the nation of Israel. This was held as a part of the feasts of passover and weeks.
B. In later years, Gilgal became a place of demon worship, a center of specific idolatry. It was a double perversion to worship Satan at this place, as it is a double perversion to praise the Japanese at our own Smithsonian. Oh! Travesty of Justice!
2. The house of God is the temple, but the people of the Northern
Kingdom had been unable to worship there for quite some time
- generations. The reference to the house of God is therefore
is more generic. Question: is your home open to anyone? Of course
not. God makes it clear that Israel is no longer welcome with
Him - wherever He is.
3. "I will love them no more; all of their princes are rebels."
A. This refers to the cessation of personal love from God. Naturally, God still has virtue love in the situation.
B. God has personal love for anyone who has doctrine in their soul. This was no longer true for the nation of Israel. Only a handful had the truth.
C. The rationale: the rebellion of the national leadership. The leadership of a nation reflects the national attitude. One way or another, God molds the events of the nation in order to give it the leadership it deserves. It was more than just bad luck that we got our latest president.
D. Interestingly enough, the leadership is also a basis for discipline.
4. "Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; they will
bear no fruit."
A. The root of any tree is of great importance. From it the tree draws water and the organics and minerals that it uses for food. The root is the fuel pipeline from which it draws materials for the photosynthetic process.
B. If the root dries up, or is cut from the tree, the tree will die. However, this death may take some time to manifest itself.
C. So it is with Israel. They are dead, and they do not know it yet. This death is irreversible, and already in motion. They are past the point of no return.
D. Their fruit is children.
5. "Even though they bear children, I will slay the precious
ones of their womb. My God will cast them away because they have
not listened to Him. And they will be wanderers among the nations."
A. God will destroy the next generation.
B. This is because of disobedience.
C. They will be wanderers among the Gentile nations. Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome - and many more.
End of Lesson 29
Grace Notes
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