The Book Of Hosea. Day 29, Broken Altars Of Sin

In Monday's study we talked about how no other god but the Lord ever spoke to Israel, ever rescued Israel from Egypt with great signs and wonders, ever miraculously provided for Israel in the wilderness, ever rooted out the nations before them and planted them in the promised land, ever gave them the laws and commandments, ever provided them with protection and prosperity, or ever made a covenant with them. Yet so many forsook Him in favor of the gods of the nations---gods that didn't even exist, gods that never spoke to them, gods that never did anything for them. In today's study the Lord proclaims that the altars of these gods will be brought to ruin.

"Their heart is deceitful, and now must bear their guilt. The Lord will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones." (Hosea 10:2) The word translated into English as "deceitful" literally means "smooth" in the original language. This indicates they flattered the Lord with their words while their affections lay elsewhere. You'll recall that Hosea's wife Gomer has been repeatedly unfaithful to him; some scholars believe Hosea had often been the victim of her smooth and deceitful words. Perhaps she claimed time and time again that she was turning away from her wandering nature and would be faithful to her husband, yet time and time again she broke her promises, just as time and time again the people of the northern kingdom were unfaithful to the Lord. The Lord will say of these people through the prophet Isaiah, "These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me." (Isaiah 29:13a)

Hosea's ministry began sometime during the prosperous reign of King Jeroboam II but Jeroboam's successor will be assassinated soon after his coronation. The same fate will befall several other kings in quick order before the Assyrian invasion, at which point the northern kingdom will be a sovereign nation no more. When these tumultuous events begin to happen, "Then they will say, 'We have no king because we did not revere the Lord. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us?'" (Hosea 10:3) Even if they had a king, unless the nation underwent a widescale turning back to the Lord, no human king was capable of rescuing the nation from the hand of the enemy. It was the Lord's will for them to be conquered and taken into captivity due to their unrepentant idolatry and there wasn't a man on earth who could thwart His will. 

We learned earlier in our study of Hosea that justice had long ago fallen by the wayside. Judges were accepting bribes. People were defrauding their neighbors. Defenseless widows and orphans and foreigners were being deprived of their rights. Even the king (or several kings) have spoken falsehood, not only to their own people but to other leaders with whom they've attempted to ally themselves. And those allies have not kept their word either, being unwilling or unable to come to Israel's aid. "They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field." (Hosea 10:4)

"The people who live in Samaria fear for the calf-idol of Beth-Aven. Its people will mourn over it, and so will its idolatrous priests, those who had rejoiced over its splendor, because it is taken from them into exile. It will be carried to Assyria as tribute for the great king." (Hosea 10:5-6a) This is not the first time we've seen the Lord referring to Bethel as Beth-Aven. Bethel meant "house of God" but Bethel, near the capital city of Samaria, is where King Jeroboam I set up one of his two golden calves (the other being placed in Dan) and the Lord is refusing to call that location the "house of God" but instead uses a term that means "house of wickedness".

When the nation falls to the enemy, the enemy soldiers will carry the calf idol of Bethel to the king of Assyria. The idol will not be able to protect itself or the people who so often made offerings and sacrifices on the altar in front of it. They have wasted their energy, their prayers, and their resources at this sinful religious site. As the author of Psalm 115 states, "Their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats." (Psalm 115:4-7) 

Only the living God, who established Israel as a nation, is their helper. He can speak to them. He can see them. He can hear them. He can save them. But despite all the prophets who were sent to them, the vast majority of the people did not turn back to Him, and so they were swept away like a flood by the enemy army. No idol lifted a finger to help them.