It is a law of nature in this world created by God that, for example, we can't reap wheat if we plant corn. We can't harvest tomatoes if we plant cucumbers. Likewise, we can't reap blessings if we sow sin. Sin is the root cause of every calamity and every heartbreak in the world. Sin is the cause of illnesses, accidents, and death. Sin is the cause of addictions and family breakups. Sin is the cause of all crimes and all of man's inhumanity to his fellow man and all of man's inhumanity to the animal world. If we sow sin, there's nothing we can reap except destruction. And while no one is capable of living a fully sinless life, the more sin we commit, the more troubles we bring into our lives and into the lives of those close to us. To quote the Apostle Paul again: "Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." (Galatians 6:8)
The Lord charges Israel with having sown sin. He provided them with fertile ground (the promised land) in which to sow godliness and righteousness but instead they have committed idolatry and have broken His laws and commandments. "Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the Lord because the people have broken My covenant and rebelled against My law. Israel cries out to Me, 'Our God, we acknowledge You!' But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue Him. They have set up kings without My consent; they choose princes without My approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction." (Hosea 8:1-4)
I am not sure what is meant here by "an eagle" and when I consulted various commentaries it appears that Bible scholars are unsure as well. We know that an eagle flies very high but has such sharp eyesight that it can see something very small on the ground. This could be a reference to the eagle eye of God, for He is above all things and sees all things. He knows every sin the people of the northern kingdom have committed. Some scholars suggest that the reference is to the Assyrian Empire which, in the days of Hosea, was eyeing the nation of Israel for itself. It won't be long after Hosea preaches this message that Assyria will swoop in and conquer Israel.
"Samaria, throw out your calf-idol! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? They are from Israel! This calf---a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria." (Hosea 8:5-6) Samaria, the capitol of the northern kingdom, was near the golden calf religious center of Bethel. The altar at Bethel is the one at which the kings (except for those who had been of the Ahab dynasty, who worshiped Baal) brought their offerings and sacrifices. The Lord points out how illogical it is to worship an inanimate object made by human hands when they have the living God who brought them out of Egypt and made them into the great nation of Israel. He reminds them who they are---Israel---and not some heathen nation that has never known the Lord or had a relationship with Him. They could have been the most spiritually, militarily, politically, and economically blessed nation of the entire world, from the day He brought them into the promised land up until our own time, if they had never forsaken Him for idols.
Because they have sown bad seed (sin) they won't reap a harvest of blessing. Their worship of idols has been useless, profiting them nothing. "They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind." (Hosea 8:7a) Another law of nature is that we reap more than we sow. From one seed sprouts a large plant that produces several vegetables or fruits. The nation that has forsaken the Lord has sown the wind but will reap something even bigger: the whirlwind. And it will sweep them away.
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