The Book Of Hosea. Day 19, Hot And Cold

Today's segment of Chapter 7 continues the theme of the condition of the hearts of a majority of the people of Hosea's day. The Lord will compare them to a cake burned on one side (hot) and raw on the other side (cold). Later on in the Old Testament, in the book of Revelation, the Lord will say that it's easier to work with a cold heart or a hot heart than to try to influence a lukewarm heart. (Revelation 3:15-16) That passage is about an entirely different situation than the one we find in the book of Hosea. In Revelation the Lord was speaking to a particular group of people who had just enough "religion" to think they were ok; they did not realize they hadn't formed much of a relationship with Him. In Hosea the Lord is talking about people whose hearts burn for idols and whose hearts are cold toward Him.

Sin has invaded the population from the least to the greatest. The poor, the middle class, the wealthy, and the members of the royal family are all participating in it. "They delight the king with their wickedness, the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers, burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough until it rises." (Hosea 7:3-4) 

Jeroboam II was king of the ten northern tribes during a good portion of Hosea's ministry. The nation was very prosperous during the time of this king. Jeroboam II reclaimed much land that had been taken by Israel's enemies and the king's economic policies brought prosperity to the nation. Jeroboam II participated in a perverted form of religion by taking his offerings and sacrifices to the golden calf site at Bethel, just as his predecessor and namesake Jeroboam I (the first king of the ten northern tribes) did, as did many other kings. The people are following his example, pleasing him and the princes of the royal family. They are also adding in religious practices from the pagan nations around them, as we will see when the Lord states that Ephraim (meaning the nation as a whole) "mixes with the nations". This is why the Lord says, "They are all adulterers," because they are being unfaithful to Him. They are leavened bread, for He compares them to dough that rises, and leaven is often used as a symbol for sin in the Scriptures.

All manner of debauchery is included in the people's festivals. Some of these festivals may claim to be the festivals commanded by the law, but they are being observed in the wrong ways. That means a lot of carnal activity is included, according to this next segment. Drunkenness, immorality, and violence are taking place. "On the day of the festival of our king the princes become inflamed with wine, and he joins hands with the mockers. Their hearts are like an oven; they approach him with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. All of them are hot as an oven; they devour their rulers. All their kings fall, and none of them calls on Me." (Hosea 7:5-7)

Hosea refers to Jeroboam II as "our king" but then he goes on to mention the fall of the kings, for after the death of Jeroboam II several kings of Israel quickly ascended to the throne and were assassinated after short reigns. Jeroboam's son, Zechariah, was assassinated by Shallum. Shallum was assassinated by Menahem. Menahem was assassinated by Pekahiah. Pekahiah was assassinated by Pekah. Pekah was assassinated by Hoshea. The Jehu dynasty ended with the death of Jeroboam's son Zechariah and, as the northern kingdom neared the end of its life, many kings quickly rose and quickly fell due to all the "intrigue", as Hosea phrased it, and the general unrest and violence and lawlessness in the land. The nation began falling apart on the inside before it was conquered by Assyria from the outside. This is because the people fell apart on the inside. As the Lord said, "None of them calls on Me."

"Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over. Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice." (Hosea 7:8-9) The nation has been hot for the wrong things. The people's hearts burned for the gods of other nations instead of for the Lord. Like a cake not turned on the fire, they are burning up on one side but are cold on the other side. They are so consumed by their revelry that they do not notice. They have lost their strength---the Lord---and have traded His love and protection for useless idols that cannot hear them and cannot save them. The Lord compares the nation to a gray-headed old man because the ten-tribe northern kingdom is nearing the end of its life. He has warned the people time and time again through His prophets but they have remained oblivious to the peril into which they continue to sink. They've grown weak and frail without realizing it. They've grown old without noticing it. While their hearts burned for idols, they grew cold toward the Lord and lost the favorable hand of protection that was formerly upon them. 

This type of thing can happen to any nation that forsakes the Lord. Our passage from Hosea is one we can all take to heart. It should encourage us to make certain we are living in ways that honor the Lord and it should compel us to pray for spiritual revival in our nation.