Hosea 10:5-8
by
Rev. Mark Perkins, Pastor
Denver Bible Church
326 E. Colorado Ave.
Denver, Colorado 80210
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Hosea 10:5-8
"The population of Samaria continually fears for the
calf of Beth Aven. Likewise, its people will mourn for it, and
its idolatrous priests continuously tremble over it, over its
glory, since it has departed from it. Also, it (the glory) will
cause it to be carried to Assyria as a gift to King Jareb; Ephraim
will accept humiliation, and Israel will be ashamed because of
his counsel. Samaria silenced, her king like debris on the face
of the water. And the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
will be destroyed; Thorn and thistle will grow on their altars,
then they will say to the mountains, "Cover us!" and
to the hills, "Fall on us!"
1. The idolaters will fear for their object of idolatry. Remember,
idolatry is a love relationship
A. In idolatry, you replace the love you have (or should have) for God with love for an idol, whether general or specific.
B. When danger comes to the substance of idolatry, there is an expression of fear from its worshippers - the thing they love is in danger.
C. When that thing is finally destroyed, the idolaters mourn, for they have lost something that they love dearly.
D. It can be sex, drugs, or any other addictive thing which stands in the category of general idolatry. It can be some kind of icon or system of demon worship. Whatever it is, it is loved.
2. The translation is 'population' here, for the word, SHEKHAN
is in the singular, while its verb is in the plural. 'Population'
fits that bill just right. The word gathers together all of the
residents of a single geographical area.
3. Samaria is both a city and a region, and from the mention
it may mean either. However, SHEKHAN seems to fit the region
definition just a little bit better.
4. Their fear is continuous, because the Hebrew verb YAGURU is
in the imperfect tense.
A. The imperfect tense generally denotes action which is not yet complete. In a more specific way, it also describes action which is continuous. From the context, that is the appearance here. The fear is continuous because the threat to the calf does not go away. It will be continuous until such time as the calf is carried off to Samaria.
B. The kind of fear is the ecstatic kind, where one loses control of one's mind in the course of fear. This is continuous, paralyzing fear.
5. The preposition KI is translated 'likewise'. It demonstrates
the similarity between fear and mourning. Principle: the greater
your fear for the loss of someone or something, the greater your
mourning after it is gone. There is a big difference between
honest sadness and out of control grieving.
6. The next verb, which describes the future time of mourning
over the idol, is in the perfect tense. It describes a completed
action. It is 'ABHAL.
A. Since this event had yet to take place in the time it was written, but it was written in the perfect tense, it is obvious that this is a prophetic future perfect.
B. This is certainly a prediction about the removal of the calf of Beth Aven. It will come true.
7. The final two clauses of the verse concentrate on the activity
of the idol-priests with the calf of Beth Aven.
A. The verb YAGILU is first of all a paranomasia, a play on words, with YAGURU. The two verbs were chosen for their sound alike qualities. They sound alike, and in fact they are near in meaning as well. But notice that they are very difficult to pronounce together. This makes fun of the one who fears - he is so scared that he can barely pronounce his words.
B. YAGILU is also in the imperfect tense, and it also denotes continuous action, this time after the calf is gone.
C. YAGILU normally describes an ecstatic state of rejoicing - the trembling, the waving of hands, the dancing. But here it only concentrates on the outward form, without the inward happiness. This is like saying, in a sarcastic tone of voice, "Oh, they'll tremble in happiness alright."
D. They tremble over it, over its glory. KEBHODHO is glory, but not in any objective virtuous sense. This word more often points to outward glory - the only real glory a golden idol could have. Their fear is outward, and it is perfect, because that is the only kind of glory that this calf of Beth-Aven has.
E. The glory has departed from it. The perfect tense of KI-GALAH outlines another completed action - the departure of the calf. It is as good as done.
8. Hosea predicts that the idol will be taken back to Assyrian
as tribute to king Jareb - 'king combat'.
A. Chapter Five, Verse 13, "When Ephraim will see his sickness, and Judah his wound, and then Ephraim will go to Assyria and will send to King Jareb. But he will be unable to heal you, and the wound will not depart from you."
1. Hosea summarizes two historical events here.
a. The attempt of Menahem of Israel to win over Tiglath-Pileser in 738 B.C., as recorded in 2 Kings 15:19. Here, Menahem exacted a special tax on the wealthy to bring a treasure trove of silver to Assyria.
b. The attempt of Ahaz of Judah to win over Tiglath-Pileser in 734 B.C., as recorded in 2 Kings 16:7.2. King Jareb is Israel's mocking nickname of Tiglath-Pileser. It means literally, 'king combat'. It was right in one sense. The Assyrian army was tough, and way tougher than either Israel or Judah.
3. Well, ultimately these bribes did not work. They delayed the destruction for a season, or a few years, but that was it.
4. The sickness here refers to the military weakness. Of course, an idol-worshipping nation of drunks and fornicators is going to be exceptionally weak on the field of combat. So it is with Israel and Judah.
5. The bribery itself is blasphemy before the Lord. It compensates weakness with weakness. It was a human viewpoint attempt to stave off the justice of God, and it could not possible work.B. "Also, it (the glory) will cause it to be carried to Assyria as a gift to King Jareb;"
1. One of the difficulties of the Hebrew language is that the personal pronouns are used more often than in English, and it is not easy to tell its antecedent.
2. But, reason rules in this verse. The first personal pronoun (it) refers to the glory of the calf of Beth-Aven. The second pronoun (also it) points to the calf itself.
3. The glory of the calf causes it to be carried to Assyria.a. The Hophal imperfect of YUBHAL designates that the glory of the calf causes the action of the verb. However, since the Hophal is the passive causative, it means that the calf also receives the action of the verb. In other words, the glory of the calf causes it to be carried away.
b. The verb describes a special kind of carrying. It is the carrying which takes place in a victory parade. In the ancient world, a nation would hold a great parade after their victory in war. In this parade they would carry along with them the spoils of war. This is YUBHAL.
c. Now there is some bitter irony here. The people of Israel made the calf, and they were responsible for its outward glory. But that same outward glory was attractive to Tiglath-Pileser when he demanded tribute from Israel, and so the glory of the calf caused it to be carried away as a gift to 'king combat'.
9. The upshot of the loss of the calf is humiliation and shame."Ephraim
will accept humiliation, and Israel will be ashamed because of
counsel"
A. Hosea communicates this through a parallelism. Two lines, with equivalent form and similar meanings convey different shades of the same theme: humiliation.
B. The imperfect verb YIQAH. comes from the root LAQAH., which in this context has the shade of accepting a bribe. The imperfect tense tells us that the action is not yet complete - it is a future possibility. Accepting a bribe is done in a sly manner, something done while looking out for a stab in the back, or with one eye out for the authorities.
C. The object of the verb is BASHNAH, humiliation in the sense of nakedness. This noun has the same root as the verb which appears in Hosea 2:5, "For their mother has committed adultery; the one conceiving them has acted shamefully."1. It can denote shame that comes from nakedness, or from immoral behavior.
2. Observe the connection between the verb and its object noun: they will accept humiliation like a bribe. It is almost funny that Israel was trying to bribe Tiglath-Pileser...
3. As the humiliation comes, they surreptitiously look from the corners of their eyes to see if anyone is looking. It is almost as though they do not think they deserve the shame!D. The second clause of the parallelism has to do with their attitude toward the poor political counsel that they received from Tiglath-Pileser
1. Israel will be ashamed because of his counsel.
2. The verb 'be ashamed' is BOSH, a cognate of BASHNAH. It has the same connotation as before.
3. The preposition MIN is causative here, revealing the cause behind the effect of shame.
4. The cause is ETSAH. This noun has the third masculine singular suffix, which is translated to our English possessive, 'his'.
5. The king of Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser, gave counsel to the Northern Kingdom, asking tribute and offering peace and limited freedom in return.
6. He took what he wanted, and then destroyed the nation anyway. Thus the shame because of his counsel. How embarrassing to give a bribe to allay your destruction, and then have the receptor of that bribe turn and destroy you anyway.E. Principle: if you rely on someone or something other than God, you will receive shame. Never trust the integrity of one who has power over you, and yet no apparent restraint on his sin nature.
10. "Samaria is silenced, her king like debris on the face
of the water."
A. DAMAH describes not violence, but the deathly calm of the post-destruction. Hosea also employs this in 4:5. It is the silence of the dead. This verb is in the niphal passive participle, and it reveals a continuous state imposed on the nation by God.
B. The second half of the verse has an interesting simile: the floating splinter on the face of the water. This is somewhat of a parallel from the previous verse, and so the idea of calm after destruction is the common thread.
C. The noun QETSEPH translates to 'debris' here. QETSEPH describes the splinters that are left from the snapping of a branch or board. It also describes what is left from a boat or a ship after its wreck. There the debris floats in silence and deathly quiet. So also the king of Israel at this time.
D. In the flow of discourse this stands as a coda of sorts - it denotes the finality of the matter of the fifth cycle of discipline. It is a chilling verse.
11. "And the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will
be destroyed; Thorn and thistle will grow on their altars, then
they will say to the mountains, "Cover us!" and to
the hills, "Fall on us!"
A. Not only will the people of the nation be destroyed, but also the places of demon worship.
B. Observe that the high places of Aven are made the equivalent of the sin of Israel. They summarize everything that is wrong with them.
C. Demon worship is the culmination of a long decline into the cosmic system, and so works well as a summary.
D. The niphal passive perfect verb NISHMADHU describes annihilation brought on by an outside agent. The Assyrians are the human agent, and God stands behind them.
E. What is not destroyed will fall into disuse... entropy will finish whatever the Assyrian leave incomplete.
F. And then Hosea personifies the altars, imputing the power of speech to them.1. They say to the mountains, "cover us". This is more entropy.
2. And to the hills, "fall upon us". Even more entropy.
G. Today, we have a science that is based upon the uncovering and reversal of the work of entropy - it is archaeology. The great volume of available archaeological work is a testimony to the work of entropy in human lives and vast empires.
H. And remember... their glory and importance are gone. Their names have passed from the scene of history and are know no more. They only stand now for an example to those who live now, an example of how not to live.
End of Lesson 31
Grace Notes
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