Faithful God (Part Fifteen): Feeding On Wind

Transcript

JROT 15
04/30/2023
Faithful God (Part Fifteen): Feeding On Wind
Hosea 11:12 – 12:14
Jesse Randolph


We are resuming our study of the book of Hosea tonight. As we do so, we’re picking it up at the end of chapter 11, in verse 12. As I mentioned, I believe the last time we were together in Hosea, I did mention that the chapter breaks in our English bibles are not inspired. The chapter divisions that we’re now familiar with, they came about in the early 1200’s. Brought about by a man named Stephen Langton, who was then the Archbishop of Canterbury. All that to say, he was not divinely inspired. Therefore, his chapter divisions are not divinely inspired. There are mistakes in the ordering of chapters and verses, though the text itself, of course, is inspired. This chapter break that we have here between chapters 11 and chapter 12 of the book of Hosea, is one of the most notorious and unfortunate that there is. Because verse 12 of chapter 11 clearly belongs with chapter 12, not chapter 11. So, we need to finish tonight, by finishing chapter 11, specifically verse 12 of chapter 11. Then if the Lord allows, we’re going to work our way, all the way through chapter 12 tonight. So, we’ve a lot of ground to cover tonight, so we’re going to jump right in by reading our text.

God’s word reads in Hosea 11:12 “Ephraim surrounds Me with lies and the house of Israel with deceit; Judah is also unruly against God, even against the Holy One who is faithful. Ephraim feeds on wind, and pursues the east wind continually; He multiplies lies and violence. Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried to Egypt. The Lord also has a dispute with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; He will repay him according to his deeds. In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his maturity he contended with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor. He found Him at Bethel and there He spoke with us, even the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord is His name. Therefore, return to your God, observe kindness and justice, and wait for your God continually. A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress. And Ephraim said, ‘Surely I have become rich, I have fond wealth for myself; in all my labors they will find in me no iniquity, which would be sin.’ But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of the appointed festival. I have also spoken to the prophets, and gave numerous visions, and through the prophets I gave parables. Is there iniquity in Gilead? Surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, yet their altars are like the stone heaps beside the furrows of the field. Now Jacob fled to the land of Aram, and Israel worked for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep. But by a prophet the Lord brought Israel from Egypt, and by a prophet he was kept. Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger; so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him and bring back his reproach to him.”

Well, the last time we were in Hosea, a couple of Sunday evenings ago, things had ended, you might recall, on such a high note. As Yahweh there, delivered these impassioned words of promise and hope to Israel, in Hosea 11:8. Turn back there with me to Hosea 11:8. This is where we left off, where he says, “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I make you like Adamah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned over within Me, all My compassions are kindled. I will not execute My fierce anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again. For I am God and not man, The Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.” Then He gave these future words of hope. These words of future hope for Israel, in verses 10-11 where he says, “They will walk after the Lord, He will roar like a lion; indeed, He will roar, and His sons will come trembling from the west. They will come trembling like birds from Egypt and like doves from the land of Assyria; and I will settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.” Considering where that ended, that would have been a really nice, high note to end this whole prophecy on. The whole book of Hosea on, right? A nice fairytale ending. A Hollywood ending. The Disney ending. To end right there, where the groom and his bride, God and His people, Israel, resolve their differences, reconcile, and ride off into the sunset, happily ever after. That does sound nice, right? It sounds like the way we would want it scripted. It appeals to our innate desires for a feel-good story. But that’s not how Hosea’s prophecy ends. He didn’t put down his stylus and his parchment after writing Hosea 11. He didn’t sign and seal the scroll here. No, we still have three more chapters of this book to go. In these next two chapters, in particular, chapters 12 and 13, the picture that Hosea paints for us, is not rosy. Rather, the picture he paints for us is quite bleak. Very bleak. As God has more to say about the depths of Israel’s sin. More to say, by way of reminder, about how faithful He had been to them. More to say about how faithless they had been toward Him. More words of warning. More words of judgment to this wayward people, as they careened toward their fate. A fate which involved being sacked by the Assyrians, conquered by the Assyrians. Taken into captivity, as a disciplinary measure, for many centuries, to this point, of outright rebellion against the Lord. So, what we have in these final three chapters, 12, 13 and 14, is one more survey of Israel’s march from immediate punishment and discipline. Which we’re going to see, not only in tonight’s text, but in next week’s text, chapter 13, to ultimate restoration and blessing. Which we’ll get to in chapter 14.

The title of this evening’s message is “Feeding on Wind.” The title is taken from this expression in Hosea 12:1, where it says: “Ephraim feeds of wind.” Which we’re soon going to see, describes the futility of Israel’s efforts, to find security, and comfort, and hope in any source other than Yahweh Himself.

Now, the Old Testament prophets are notoriously difficult to preach. That’s not to give me a get out of jail free card, for any times I fumbled it, it’s just true. Because they don’t always, they didn’t always detail their prophecies chronologically. Sometimes they leap far forward into the future. Sometimes they reach far back into the past. Sometimes it can feel like they’re meandering with their thoughts. They give all of us, sort of like mental whiplash as we’re trying to keep up with the direction they’re going. Hosea, as it seems, since we’ve been studying this book since September, if you can believe that, is no exception. Our passage for tonight falls into that category of one of those passages that can give us mental whiplash. There’s just a lot going on here. Sometimes its Hosea speaking. Sometimes its Yahweh speaking. Sometimes the target is Israel. Sometimes the target is Judah. Sometimes the context is present-day Israel. Sometimes the context is Israel’s past. There are allusions even to the future. So, what I’m going to try to do this evening, is give you a very rough outline of the overall movement of the text. Nothing profound. Nothing alliterated. Just some basic guardrails to grab onto, as we work through this section of scriptures. So, the outline I’ve come up with tonight, is this: In verse 12 of chapter 11, through verse 2 of chapter 12, we’re going to see An Unfaithful People. In verse 3-5 of chapter 12, we’re going to see Lessons From the Past. Then in verse 6-14, the remainder of the chapter, we’re going to see The Plague of Pride. With that, let’s get into our text. First, we’re going to look at an unfaithful people, starting at chapter 11:12

1. An Unfaithful People – chapter 11:12
“Ephraim [this is the Lord speaking] surrounds Me with lies and the house of Israel with deceit; Judah is also unruly against God, even against the Holy One who is faithful.”

So, here we see “Ephraim”, “Israel,” and “Judah,” all mentioned in one breath by the prophet Hosea. What God, speaking through Hosea, is saying here, is that all of His people. His chosen people. Those whom He has set His love upon and redeemed from slavery in Egypt and brought into the Promised Land. All of them. From the north to the south. In every town. In every village, all over the Promised Land. They were unfaithful. Yahweh here, is pictured as standing in the midst of His people, and no matter which way He turns, He finds wickedness all around. He finds it in the north, in “Israel”, which is referred to as “Ephraim” here. Those people, it says, are marked by their “lies” and their “deceit”, there in verse 12. Their sins, it says, “surround[ed]” Him, surrounded God. Now, earlier in Hosea, in Hosea 7:2, we saw that the wicked deeds of the people surrounded them, the people. It said, “Their deeds are all around them.” But here, the pervasiveness of their wickedness, and specifically, their deceit and their lying, is portrayed as being so broad that it’s surrounding Yahweh Himself. He has a 360-degree, panoramic view of the peoples’ iniquity. Now, we’ve already seen similar accusations of Israel’s lying elsewhere in this prophecy:

Hosea 4:2, he says, “There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing, and adultery.”
Hosea 7:1, it refers to them “deal[ing] falsely . . .”
Hoses 7:3, he says, “With their wickedness they make the king glad, and the princes with their lies.”
Hosea 7:13, it says, “I would redeem the, but they speak lies against Me.”
Hosea 10:13, it says, “You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies . . .”

Now, verse 12 here, doesn’t specify which particular “lies” Yahweh has in mind. But as we move through this verse, and through the next chapter, we are going to see that the Lord does in fact have a specific lying and deceit in view. That’s the lying and the deceit that’s involved with spiritual adultery. That is, when a person says that they are devoted to the one true God, but they deceive and they betray and they lie, by bowing down to, and shacking up with – various false “gods.” They deceive and they betray, and they lie by fawning over foreign powers, as Israel did here.

Well, Yahweh, not only has His sights set on the north, He goes after the southern tribes here in verse 12 as well. The southern tribes, of course, being “Judah.” Of Judah, is says here in verse 12, they were “unruly against God.” Which means, they were straying. They were roaming restlessly. They were drifting from God. Which is an apt picture of Israel’s wandering off from the true God, as they chase after all the false “gods.” It’s an apt picture of Israel’s putting her trust, not in God, for support and protection, but instead putting her trust in the short and weak arm of the surrounding nations. This is an apt picture of the hearts of His people, God’s people, actually being far from him. To borrow from Isaiah 29:13, these people were “draw[ing] near with their words.” They were “honor[ing] Him with their lip service.” But their hearts were “removed . . . far from Him”. Note, all of this bad behavior on the part of Israel, Ephraim, Judah, is set in contrast, here in this verse, verse 12, against the unwavering faithfulness of God. These acts of lying, and deceit, and unruliness, are being committed, look at the end of verse 12 . . . “Even against the Holy One who is faithful.” Interestingly, the Hebrew there, when it says, “Holy One”, that’s actually a plural form. Which is intensifying what’s being said here. It’s what grammarians call a plural of majesty. It’s not a plural in the sense of this describing two “gods”. It isn’t necessarily highlighting the fact that there is plurality within the Godhead. We would know that as trinitarian believers. Rather, the plural here, is being used to shine a spotlight on the magnitude of the particular characteristic of God, that He is holy. Meaning, that He is morally excellent and transcendent. He’s in a class all by Himself. He’s completely unlike His people. But at the same time, He is very much with His people. As we saw back in Hosea 11:9, where He says, “For I am . . . the Holy One in your midst.” This God, this “Holy One”, as we’ve seen all throughout the book of Hosea. As we see all throughout the Old Testament. Has always demonstrated total fidelity to His original covenant promises to Israel. I mean, how many times have I said it now, in the Sunday evening services? Though Israel continually showed herself to be faithless . . . God is, and ever will be, what? Faithful. That’s a promise not just for Israel. That’s a promise for us today, as Christians, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. As those who have been grafted into the olive tree, and are being nourished by the root. That we show ourselves continually to be faithless . . . but He is, has been, always will be faithful. That’s not me speaking, that’s Paul, 2 Timothy 2:13, by the way.

So, we’re done with chapter 11. We can move onto chapter 12, as we look at the next couple of verses there. Hosea 12:1 says, “Ephraim feeds on wind, and pursues the east wind continually; he multiplies lies and violence. Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried to Egypt. The Lord also has a dispute with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; he will repay him according to his deeds.”
Now, in the previous verse, verse 12 of chapter 11, we had Yahweh speaking directly to the people (through Hosea.) Now, in Hosea 12, we have the perspective shift. This is now Hosea the prophet now speaking directly to the people, all be it guided by the Holy Spirit. Note the first thing he mentions here. “Ephraim feeds on wind.” Now, another legitimate translation of that phrase would be: “Ephraim herds the wind”. Or “Ephraim corrals the wind.” Or “Ephraim shepherds the wind”, you could say. The idea though, that’s being communicated here is one of abject futility. Of course, no one can catch the wind. No one can contain the wind. No one can feed the wind, or corral the wind, or shepherd the wind. What is being pictured here, is an impossible exercise. A vain effort. Just as it was back in Hosea 8:7, when it was said of Israel, “For they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind.” Just as it said all throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, where Solomon says, on multiple occasions, that the pursuit of the fleeting things of this life is vanity and a “striving after wind.” The people of Israel in Hosea’s day, were demonstrating their own folly, by trying to, as it says here, “feed on wind.”

What did that look like for them, practically? What does it mean that they were “feed[ing] on wind? What did that involve? Well, we’ve seen this described all over, really, the book of Hosea up to this point. This is yet another reference to Israel refusing to bow the knee to their King, Yahweh. Instead, attempting to forge alliances and treaties and pacts, with the kings of the surrounding nations, including Egypt and Assyria. That’s what we see here described in the rest of verse 1, which says that “Ephraim”, meaning Israel,
“pursues the east wind, continually. He multiplies lies and violence. Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried to Egypt.” That reference here to the “east wind.” Israel’s pursuit of that “east wind.” Is a reference to tone of those dry, searing sirocco winds, that blow from the eastern deserts, and right through this very region. Here, that term “east wind” is being used with reference to Assyria. The mention of Ephraim “pursu[ing] the east wind continually”, is a reference to their foolish pursuit, in Hosea’s day, of aid and assistance, from the very nation, Assyria, that God was preparing to use as an instrument for their judgment. See, Israel had already chosen a very dangerous and a futile foreign policy. They were not only biting the hand that fed them, God Himself, but now they were effectively putting their own necks under the swords of their once, or would be invaders, the Assyrians. So, the very “east wind”, Assyria, that they are said to be pursuing here in verse 1 . . . and “feed[ing] on” . . . would be the same “east wind” that would soon swallow them up and wipe them out.

If fact, you could look at the next chapter, look at Hosea 13:15, for another reference for this “east wind.” We’ll cover this next week. Look at Hosea 13:15, it says, “Though he flourishes among the reeds, an east wind will come, the wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness; and his fountain will become dry, and his spring will be dried up; it will plunder his treasury of every precious article.” What they were pursuing, in other words . . . Peace and shelter and protection under the shade of their Assyrian invaders, was ultimately going to catch up with them and collapse upon them. But it wasn’t just Assyria, you note, that they were trying to sidle up to. They also were trying to gain the favor of Egypt. Look at the end of verse 1, “And oil is carried to Egypt.” In those days, oil was, specifically, olive oil was often used in covenant-making ceremonies. It was given as a token of allegiance, oil was, to the other party that you were seeking to make a treaty with. That was quite the slap in the face to Yahweh. To openly seek protection from mere human rulers rather than from the all-powerful God who had been there all along. Not only was it a slap in the face of Yahweh, but it was also a dangerous method of diplomacy. To seek protection all at one time from multiple surrounding nations. Playing these surrounding nations off of each other, claiming you’re loyal to one nation, when in fact you’re undermining that loyalty by sidling up to another nation. But that was Israel’s way and that is why Yahweh rightly compared them to a prostitute. Who had not only one lover, and one partner, and one customer, but many. Which comes out in all the passages we’ve studied up to this point:

Hosea 7:8 says, “Ephraim mixes himself with the nations.” Plural, more than one partner.
Hosea 8:8 – “They are now among the nations.”
Hosea 8:8 – “Ephraim has hired lovers.”

They are all plural statements about the number of nations they went after. Note, this repeated charge here in verse 1, about the people’s “lies” and “violence.” It says, “He multiplies lies and violence.” Now, that’s not some broad indictment of fibbing, or telling tall-tales, or just lying generally. This instead is not a broad indictment of mere violence either. Hosea is not here, calling out all forms of lawlessness in this particular passage, verse 1. Rather, his target is much more specific. He’s calling out, once again, the dangerous, and deceptive, and sometimes bloody game, of international politics. He’s calling out the practice of accommodating all these foreign nations. Allying with these surrounding nations. Begging for the approval and the support of all these other nations. Rather than seeking and honoring the Lord. In doing so, Israel was multiplying it’s “lies and violence.” But it wasn’t only the tribes of the north who were in Yahweh’s crosshairs here. It’s not only Israel who transgressed the covenant made with God, back on the peninsula at Sinai. It was Judah, the southern tribes as well.

Look at verse 2, it says, “The Lord also has a dispute with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; He will repay him according to his deeds.” So, with that language, “The Lord has a dispute with Judah”, we’re back in the courtroom. Back in the courtroom setting. He’s back to using legal language. It’s reminiscent of that lawsuit-like language we saw many months ago, back in Hosea 4:1, where he says, “the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land, because there is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the land.” Just as he had a “case” against Israel in the north. Yahweh also had a “case” against Judah in the south. Sin had infected all parts of the Promised Land. Every corner of the Promised Land. It had spread from the north to the south. Sin has never needed a passport to cross borders, and it certainly didn’t then.

No sooner that the fact that He’s gone from the north to the south, from Israel to Judah. Yahweh now broadens His charge to be against “Jacob.” You see that there in verse 2: He “will punish Jacob according to His ways.” That’s a reference to all of Israel. To each tribe, in both the north and the south. Of Jacob, it says here in verse 2, He “will punish Jacob according to his ways; He will repay him according to his deeds.” Those words – “ways” and “deeds” are easy enough to understand terms for us. They refer to behavior, whether good or bad. It’s Israel’s behavior, of course, that’s in view here. The “ways” and the “deeds” that are being referred to here, are those evil practices which have been repeatedly called out and condemned throughout this book. Hosea 4:9 for instances, He says, “I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.” Hosea 9:15 he says, “Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house!” The details of the punishment that Jacob was going to receive. The retributive justice that Israel was going to face, are fleshed out later here in chapter 12, as we’re about to see. Alright, so, in these first few verses, Hosea 11:12 through 12:2, we have seen, An Unfaithful People. As we turn now, to the next three verses, verses 3-5, we’re going to see more light shed on what’s happening here, as Hosea delves more into the history of this people. That’s our second heading for this evening’s message.



2. Lessons From the Past - verses 3-4
“In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his maturity, he contended with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed, he wept and sought his favor. He found Him at Bethel and there He spoke with us.”

As we just saw in verses 1 and 2, Hosea went from addressing Ephraim, meaning the northern tribes. To Judah, meaning the southern tribes. To Jacob, meaning all of Israel. He did so intentionally, as here in the next couple of verses, 3 and 4, He’s going to link the Israel of his present-day, with its patriarch, Jacob. You know, two times in our passage for this evening, we’ve already seen Hosea call out the people’s “deceit” and their “lies.” Now, as he brings in the person of Jacob, the patriarch, it says, though he’s saying to the people now, ‘Where do you think you got that from?’ From Jacob. He begins here in verse 3, with this statement about Jacob. “In the womb he took his brother by the heel.” That of course, goes back to the account of Genesis 25:19-26, where Jacob there, is noted to have grasped his twin brother’s heel before they exited their mother Rebekah’s womb. Here’s how the pertinent portion of that section of Genesis 25 goes, this is verses 24-26, “When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. Afterword his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob.” That name he was given – Jacob – means “heel-grabber.” So, going back to Hosea 12 now, verse 3, Hosea’s highlighting this account when he says, “he took his brother by the heel.” We have a bit of Hebrew wordplay happening here. Because that verb “took”, here in verse 3, actually describes the process of supplanting. As though you’re a person of inferior rank. You’re lower on the ladder and you’re trying to leapfrog, or leap ahead, or supplant the person who is ahead of you. Well, that describes exactly what Jacob did when he and his brother Esau were born. As he grabbed his brother’s heel. But it also describes what Jacob would go on to do, as he sought to supplant him in the family rank. Remember, Jacob, despite trying to grab his twin brother by the heel. Taking Esau there in the womb, Esau was still the firstborn. Israel, at this time, still had this system of primogeniture, meaning, the firstborn son had various privileges, called his “birthright” . . . as the firstborn son. Being the heel-grabber and the supplanter that he was, Jacob tried to change that later on in life. First, he bribed his brother Esau, trying to get him to give away his birthright. We see that in Genesis 25 as well. All for a bowl of red stew. Later, Jacob, as we know, tricked his own father, Isaac, into giving him a blessing, that was designed for Esau. By pretending to be Esau, who was the actual firstborn. We see that in Genesis 27. Well, Esau had words for Jacob. Once Jacob was found out, for being the heel-grabber and supplanter he was, Esau said this of Jacob in Genesis 27:36. He said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he as supplanted me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing’.”

So, Jacob was a deceptive heel-grabber. He was a lying supplanter. Back to Hosea here, Yahweh, through Hosea, is accusing the people of Israel, whom He calls Jacob, of having these same deceptive and supplanting tendencies. As they go after these other “gods.” As they forge these flimsy alliances with the surrounding nations. They were displaying – corporately and nationally, the same type of deception and lying that their ancestor (Jacob) had displayed. They bore a striking family resemblance to their ancestor.
But the story didn’t end there with Jacob, did it? Didn’t end with the heel-grabbing, didn’t end with the stew, it didn’t end with the hairy arms that he put before his father. No, as Hosea points out, later in verse 3, he matured. It says, “And in his maturity he contended with God.” In verse 4, it says, “Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor. He found Him at Bethel and there He spoke with us . . .” See, Jacob eventually had a turning point in his life.

First, he had a dream. Which we see in Genesis 28, where he was told that his descendants would be like the dust of the earth. After he had that dream, he said aloud, “Surely the Lord is in this place.” He named that place Bethel, meaning “house of God.” Later, Jacob contended [as it says here in Hosea] with the angel of the Lord and Jacob prevailed. Genesis 32:28, this is the Lord saying to Jacob, or the angel saying to Jacob, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.” Then, third, at Bethel, the site of his dream all those years before, God appeared to Jacob again. Changed his name formally to Israel, which means, by the way, “strives with God.” That’s the meaning of the word “Israel”, blessed him and renewed His covenant promise to Israel.

So, Jacob was a heel-grabber at birth. He was a supplanter by nature. But then he contended with God. He grew and matured in his faith. He was blessed by God. That’s where the comparison between Jacob, the patriarch, and the people of Israel, in Hosea’s day, ends. See, the Israel of Hosea’s day had inherited all of Jacob’s worst traits. His lying, his deception, his heel-grabbing, his supplanting. Without inheriting any of his good qualities. They were a nation, at this point, made up of liars and deceivers. Just as Jacob was a deceiving, lying, heel-grabber. But they weren’t earnestly contending with god, as Jacob did. Instead, they were going only after their other lovers, other nations, other gods.

So, Yahweh here has called out the futility of Israel’s ways. He’s called out the history of its treachery. He’s showcased how Israel has adopted none of the good traits in Jacob, that he would later develop, but only the bad ones. In verse 5, God declares who it was that Israel had committed their transgressions against. It wasn’t some weak, toothless, localized deity. No. They had sinned against the God and the Ruler of all.
Look at verse 5, “Even the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord is His name.” The “God of hosts.” The One who rules over nations and armies. The One who rules over the heavenly hosts. The Stars, the cosmos. The One who rules over the angelic realm. The One who rules overall. The One who is Yahweh. I Am. That’s who these people had been sinning against.

Alright, we have seen, an unfaithful people, in Hosea 11:12 up through 12:2. We’ve seen lessons from the past, in verses 3-5. In our remaining verses for this evening, 6-14, we’re now going to see:

3. The Plague of Pride.
As we chip away at these remaining verses here this evening. I want you to note the pride that’s underlying Israel’s actions here. The various forms that their pride took. Starting in verse 6 he says, “Therefore, return to your God, observe kindness and justice, and wait for your God continually.” As we’ve just worked through, the present-day realities of the sins of Israel in Hosea’s day. The parallels between Israel’s behavior, and that of their heel-grabbing, supplanting ancestor, Jacob, set up this call to repentance here in verse 6. Where he says “Therefore, return to your God, observe kindness and justice, and wait for your God continually.” By the way, Yahweh here, wasn’t demanding something new of His people at this point. Here, He’s calling on them to do what He’s been calling on them always to do. What He had always called on them to do. Which was to return to Him. To not be marked by lying. To not be marked by deceit, but instead to marked by kindness and justice, as they waited for their God, continually. We see similar language to this, in places like, Micah 6:8 where it says, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Psalm 37:9 says, “those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.” See, God, Yahweh had always demonstrated these traits to Israel. Psalm 89:14, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; lovingkindness and truth go before You. How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O Lord, they walk in the light of Your countenance.” That’s how Yahweh revealed Himself to Israel. But they hadn’t reciprocated. They hadn’t returned the favor. Hosea 4:1 which we saw many months ago, says, “there is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the land.”

So, Israel here, in verse 6, is being called to “return to your God.” That word “return”, shub in Hebrew, means repent. They’re being called to repent of their sinful and adulterous ways. To reverse course. To turn from their idols. To turn from their false worship. To turn from their fledgling alliances with these foreign nations and to turn to God. But they refused. It wasn’t happening. Not because Yahweh hadn’t been clear. Not because they were somehow in the right, or just misunderstood. But instead, because of their own hardheartedness. Their stubbornness, and their own pride, and their own wickedness. So sick were they with their sin, and so enveloped were they with their pride, that they resisted even these final calls to repentance. But before exile. Look at the next two verses. This is His response, as he summarizes where their hearts are.

Look at verse 7, “A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress. And Ephraim said, ‘Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself; in all my labors they will find in me no iniquity, which would be sin’.” So, Israel here, is first pictured as “a merchant in whose hands [it says] are false balances, he loves to oppress.” The people whom Hosea had been called to prophesy, had been overtaken by economic dishonesty. The Old Testament had repeated warnings about using this very thing. False balances. False scales, to give the buyer less than what they bargained for. To give the seller more money than they actually earned.

Leviticus 19:36 says, “you shall have just balances, just weights.”
Proverbs 11:1 says, “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.”
Proverbs 20:23 says, “Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord, and a false scale is not good.”

Well, back to verse 7, or our chapter 12 here, Hosea’s not recounting just some random story of a merchant here. He’s not engaging in sanctified storytelling here. He’s rather, referring to Ephriam. As he’s calling out their abominable practices of extortion. A practice that they apparently loved. Into verse 7 it says, “He loves to oppress.” Well, we see this reality, of Israel’s greed and extortion. Ephriam’s greed and extortion, further developed and indicated in verse 8, “And Ephraim said, ‘Surely, I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself’.” That could fairly be translated, “Look how wealthy I’ve become.” “Look how rich I’ve become.” The picture here is of this sin-blinded people. Arrogantly boasting in whatever they’d stockpiled through their extortion and their sin. This is, again, reminding us of Jacob in his earlier days especially; and his days of supplanting. Grabbing and lying, deceiving. The Israel of Hosea’s day was following suit. They were a bunch of sinful ladder-climbers and supplanters. Doing whatever they could do to make a buck or a shekel. Even in doing so, as they transgressed God’s law, they didn’t care. Even if it brought the reproach of their Maker. The arrogance continues at the end of verse 8, where it says, “In all my labors they will find in me no iniquity, which would be sin.” This is Ephraim being personified and quoted here. The phrasing here is a bit awkward, both in Hebrew and in English. But the general idea is this: The people of Hosea’s day were so calloused by their sin and so self-deceived, that they actually thought they were going to get away with it. They actually thought that they would never be found out. You know, it’s the common thread of any criminal enterprise. Hubris. The idea that you’re never going to get caught. You’re going to be the one that never gets caught. Never found out. Never have to face the consequences for the crimes you’ve committed. Well, Israel was delusional. They weren’t going to escape without guilt. Because the God that they had turned their back on, had still seen everything they had done. He knew everything they were thinking and planning. He was going to judge them accordingly.

Now, one final note here in verses 7-8. I think it is worth noting. There again, is some wordplay happening here. In the Hebrew language, as Yahweh here likens Israel (or Ephraim) to “a merchant.” The word for “merchant”, in Hebrew, is kenann. It’s the same word for “Canaan.” As in, the Canaanites. The very pagan people of the land that God had called on Israel to conquer and completely drive out. So, what Yahweh is doing here, by referring to Ephraim as “a merchant.” Is he’s linking them to Canaan. It’s a way of effectively, saying to the Israelites . . . you’re no better than “Canaanites.” You are as unethical as the pagan peoples who I had called you, all those years ago, to conquer and destroy. It’s quite the indictment.

Well, having just insulted them, rightly, by calling them “Canaanites” there in verse 8. Yahweh puts His people back in their place in verse 9, where He says, “But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt.” Those words would have been reminiscent to the people who received this, of what God said many years before, back on the plain of Sinai. Exodus 20:2 when He said, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” In other words, it was by His mighty hand that they became a people. It was by His mighty hand that He brought them out of Egypt. The effect of these words, having just been called “Canaanites” would be to set those two things in contrast. Those two truths in contrast. To be reminded that God was the One that took you out of Egypt, into the promised land. But now, you’re living like a bunch of greedy “Canaanites.” Did He really rescue you? Did He really rescue them for that? Surely not. Surely a day was coming where Yahweh was going to strip away their comforts and expose their pride and humble them. Which is exactly what we see in the rest of verse 9. Where He says, “I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of the appointed festival.” As we’ve seen over the past many months in our study of this book . . . Hosea, in his prophecy, generally offered a positive, if not nostalgic view of the wilderness in his prophecy. Since in the wilderness, that was really a picture, most of the time, of the “honeymoon” phase between God and Israel. Hosea 2:15 says, “she will sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.” “There”, being the wilderness. Hosea 9:10 he says, “I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.” These are positive descriptions. Not here. Not in verse 9. What’s being described here in chapter 12, at the end of verse 9, is Israel’s upcoming period of exile. A period in which they would be leaving behind what they thought was their self-attained wealth. They were about to be completely humbled by God, in their upcoming season of exile. This was going to be a season that they face, that was going to be marked by inconvenience. A total feeling of being unsettled and worries and anxieties associated with living in a land that was not their own. They were going to be forcibly put in a position of humble dependence. Like their ancestors, they were about to become homeless wanderers. Living, it says, “in tents again.” “As in the days of the appointed festival.” That’s a reference to the Feast of Tabernacles. That weeklong feast in which Israel was supposed to remember the days of the wilderness wanderings by living in booths. So, now they’re about to go back outdoors. Back “in tents.” To lean of their need for total trust and dependance on Yahweh . . . a lesson they should have learned many centuries before.

Well, He continues in verse 10. Now, we’re in the first person, Yahweh is speaking directly here. Where He says: “I have also spoken to the prophets, and I gave numerous visions, and through the prophets I gave parables.” This morning, in our study of James, we saw how the prophets of old were examples of patient endurance. Here in Hosea, the “prophets” are being brought up to communicate to the people of Israel, in this time, in effect, something like this . . . “It’s not like I didn’t warn you!” Yahweh here is saying to His people. “I gave you every opportunity to turn back to Me.” “I sent you My prophets.” “But you ignored them.” God had done more than His part. He spoke to His prophets, as it says here, through “numerous visions.” We have references to those visions, by the way, in the scriptures.

Isaiah 1:1, “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem . . .”
Obadiah 1, “The vision of Obadiah.”
Nahum 1:1, “The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.”

God revealed His plans and His purposes through these visions He gave those prophets. But He also communicated, obviously, as we know from holding a prophetic work here, through the written word. To communicate to His people. One of the ways He did that, was “through parables.” Says, “And through the prophets I gave parables”, verse 10. “Parables”, meaning, a divine form of revelation which both reveals and conceals. Perhaps by way of analogy. Perhaps by way of comparison. We do have examples of those in the Old Testament. Bringing it back to verse 10, the main idea that God is communicating to His people through Hosea here, is: “I tried.” “I tried to get through to you by various means.” “Through the prophets.” “Through the visions I gave those prophets.” “Through the parables I gave you.” “But you wouldn’t listen.” “You rejected Me.” “And you still reject Me.” It calls to mind a passage we saw last time, in Hosea 11:2, speaking of the prophets. It says, “The more they called them, [meaning the more the prophets called the people] the more they [the people] went from them.”

Well, He goes on to move on with His indictment of Israel, in verse 11, as he brings up Gilead and Gilgal.
Verse 11, he says, “Is there iniquity in Gilead? Surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls. Yes, their altars are like stone heaps beside the furrows of the field.” Now, you’ll note, it’s phrased there as a question. “Is there iniquity in Gilead?” That could actually be translated more certainly as a propositional statement. You could actually translate that “Surely there is iniquity in Gilead.” Or “Since there is iniquity in Gilead.” That makes sense because there actually was iniquity in Gilead. You might remember many weeks ago now, we saw in Hosea 6:8, the city in Gilead being called out for its sin. You might remember that there, we saw Gilead sort of linked together with two other cities – Adam and Shechem. Sort of the Tri-City area of sin. Adam, it said in Hosea 6:7, “have transgressed the covenant, there they have dealt treacherously with me.” Of Shechem, in verse 9, chapter 6, it says, “surely they have committed a crime.”
Of Gilead, Hosea 6:8, it’s called “a city of wrongdoers, tracked with bloody footprints.” In other words, Gilead lived up to the name here, they’re given in chapter 12:11, when they’re called “worthless.”

Then there’s Gilgal, the other city mentioned here, they’re no better. Gilgal was located between Jordan and Jericho in the area of Samaria. It was once a holy place to God. It actually was established as a memorial location by Joshua after he led the people into the Promised Land. However, by Hosea’s day, it had become completely desecrated by idol worship that took place there. As it says here in verse 11, “in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls.” Well, the party was over, and the wicked practices were coming to an end. In the coming invasion of the Assyrians, the altars and shrines there of Gilgal, that had been dedicated to false worship, were soon going to be torn down. That’s what it says at the end of verse 11 here, they would become “like stone heaps beside the furrows of the field.” Their once-precious altars would soon be broken down into these shapeless piles of rubble.

That brings us to our final few verses for this evening. In these last few verses, we have both historical flashbacks, but also present-day insights into the Israel of Hosea’s day. We’ll start with the flashbacks.
Hosea 12:12-13 it says, “Now Jacob fled to the land of Aram, and Israel worked for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep, but by a prophet the Lord brought Israel from Egypt, and by a prophet he was kept.” So, we’re back to the Jacob story here. What’s brought to remembrance, specifically here in verse 12, similar to what we saw back in verses 3 and 4, are the good and the bad that were shown in Jacob the patriarch’s life. The two are set in contrast against each other. The bad – was that he “fled to the land of Aram.” As it says here in verse 12. And he fled the land of Aram after he stole his brother Esau’s birthright and blessing.
The good – though, is that as Israel now, with this new name, Israel, he “worked for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.” That’s of course, referring to his many years of serving Laban. So that he could marry Laban’s daughter, Rachel. There’s good and there’s bad here in verse 12. Fast-forward to Hosea’s day, though. And none of the good, again of their ancestor, Jacob . . . was being shown by Israel during this time. Rather than working hard, as Jacob did for his wife, Rachel. The Israel of Hose’s day was conniving and thieving and cheating. We saw that a few verses ago, with their “false scales.” They were functional “Canaanites.”

Then the historical flashback continues in verse 13, where it says, but “by a prophet the Lord brought Israel from Egypt. And by a prophet he was kept.” That’s a reference to Moses. A mouthpiece for God. Who brought Israel out of Egypt. Tended to them during their period of that wilderness wandering. This verse 13, causes people confusion. Doesn’t mention Moses by name, but the context surely references Moses. They wonder, why is it that Moses is being brought up here. I think there are at least a couple of good reasons, or good explanations for why Moses is mentioned here, if not by name. First, is to highlight the length of time, between Moses and Hosea, a period of some 700 or so years, that Israel had continually been hearing the word of God through a man, a prophetic word through human instruments. Moses all the way down to Hosea. Yet the message still wasn’t sinking in. That’s one idea. Second, is to remind Israel of the fact that, as in the days of Moses, they are about to go back into the wilderness. They were about to wander again, nomadically, just as they had done during the days of Moses. It was all going to happen again. History was about to repeat itself.

Importantly, though they grumbled all the way through it, in the days of Moses, now, they’re going to look back on the days of Moses, as “the good old days”, as they get ready to go into exile into Assyria. Speaking of which, verse 14, in the final verse, where we see this section not ending on a positive note. Not at all, but rather, a gloomy note. Verse 14, it says, “Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger; so, his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him and bring back his reproach to him.” Through its idolatry. Through its hard-heartedness. Through its stubbornness. Through its wickedness. Ephraim, or Israel had “provoked [Yahweh it says] to bitter anger.” Because Israel, Ephraim, had shown no signs of repentance or transformation, the Lord would leave upon this nation, its guilt. Those words are reminiscent of Hosea 10:2, which says, “Their heart is faithless, now they must bear their guilt.” The Lord would not extend forgiveness. Rather, He would leave this wicked people, this wicked generation, in their guilt. He would repay them for evil. Without atonement for sin. That’s what they would get, which has always been the case. The individual Israelites to whom Hosea’s writing here, would face the consequences of their sin. Not only in Assyria, but individually, in eternal judgment.

I could close in prayer right there, and we’d have a really bummed out audience, as we leave for the evening. But I’ll just highlight one last thing. Which is that the punishment that Israel was facing here seems ultimate, right? Facing the “bitter anger” of the Lord.” Knowing that their “bloodguilt” had been left upon them. Bearing the “reproach” of the Lord. But we always have to remember where we read in the Old Testament, and when we’re dealing with prophetic works in particular. There’s always this aspect of immediate and near-realization and further-realization. We have to remember that Israel’s exile in Assyria was only to be temporary. Also, Israel’s separation from her Lord is only temporary. That’s because, just as it was true in Hosea’s day, it is true in our day, that God has not forgotten His promises to Israel, going all the way back to Genesis 12. Those promises, going back to Genesis 12 and carrying forward . . . have not been superseded, have not been canceled out, have not been declared null and void, just because we’re in the church age. Though the “bloodguilt” of Israel was left on them in Hosea’s day . . . to this generation of Israelites, they went off into captivity in Assyria. We also know that it’s through the blood of their Messiah . . . their savior . . . the Lord Jesus Christ . . . that the sins of all people, whether male or female, whether slave or free, whether Jew or Gentile, can be forgiven and washed away through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Gordy read a couple of these passages already during his testimony, but we remember: Romans 5:8 – “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Ephesians 2:4-5 – “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ.” We remember Titus 3:4-5 – “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy.”

A day is coming . . . when future Israel will recognize their Messiah. It’s in that context. In that sense that all Israel will be saved. At that point, they will come to their Messiah. They’ll return to their Messiah. That future day has been pictured all over the book of Hosea. We’re going to see it pictured again in a couple of weeks, when we get to Hosea 14. But I just can’t wait. Turn with me to Hosea 14 real quick. Let’s end on a positive note, as we think of the glorious future for Israel. Hosea 14:4 says, “I will heal their apostacy, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily, and he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon. His shoots will sprout, and his beauty will be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon. Those who live in his shadow will again raise grain, and they will blossom like the vine.”

Let’s pray. God, thank You for Your word. Thank You that we can, in this day, at this time, in this church, in this part of the world, look back on an ancient book, that was written to Israelites; so many years ago, and still find eternal truths, that we can be encouraged by and comforted by and strengthened by. Thank You, for Your faithfulness in all things. Thank You for Your faithfulness to Israel. Thank You for your faithfulness to the church, and us as the grafted-in ones. Thank You for Your faithfulness to Your word. Thank You for Your faithfulness to Your people. Thank You that we can walk through this world. We can go into the week that’s ahead, knowing that, though we fail You all the time. That we sin, that we fall short, You are an eternally faithful God. The God who keeps His promises, faithfully, and always will. God, I pray that going into this week, we would be spurred on and encouraged and reminded, not about how good we are, how great we are or how we think of ourselves in any sense. But that we would just rest in who You are, and rest, specifically in Your faithfulness. Thank You, for being a faithful, covenant keeping God, in whom we can trust. Its in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.