As we closed our last study session we found the Lord imploring the people to seek Him but this is what they have done instead: "But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors, the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be devastated---as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children. So it will happen with you, Bethel, because your wickedness is great. When that day dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed." (Hosea 10:13-15)
The reference to the destruction of a city called Beth Arbel is unclear in a historical context. Some scholars and historians propose that Beth Arbel was the Armenian city of Arbela which was conquered by Shalmaneser when he was the top general over Assyria's army, before he became king of Assyria. Wherever Beth Arbel was, and whatever happened there, it's clear that this was a well known example of atrocity. The soldiers who conquered the city not only struck down its fighting men but its women and children too, having no mercy on anyone. The Lord is predicting that an enemy (which we know is Assyria) will sweep in and destroy Bethel and show no mercy to the city's inhabitants. Bethel was the primary center of worship in the northern kingdom, where the king himself made offerings and sacrifices to the golden calf.
Chapter 11 opens with the Lord speaking of Himself as a father who brought up His child in the right way but whose child has gone terribly astray. "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son." (Hosea 11:1) The exodus took place about 500 years before the time of Hosea. The Lord is speaking of the early days of Israel, when the people were still faithful to Him, and He talks about the nation as if it were an infant.
The Lord called Israel out of Egypt but the call of the Baals (the idols of the heathen nations) was a siren song they answered. Instead of remaining faithful to the Lord, they went astray and began bowing to false gods. "But the more they were called, the more they went away from Me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images." (Hosea 11:2)
They did this in spite of the Lord being the one---the only one---who had ever spoken to them or who had ever helped them. He now speaks of what we might call their toddler years. "It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them." (Hosea 11:3-4)
The Lord is depicted as a patient and loving father. He taught Israel to stand just as a father holds his young child by the arms. He taught Israel to walk; He speaks of the ancient method of using a cord for the child to hold. A parent or nursemaid would hold one end of a cord (or tie one end to themselves) and the child would hold the other end while learning to toddle around. The Lord speaks of His affection for Israel by comparing Himself to a father who lifts a child up in a hug, snuggling the child against His cheek. He speaks of His willingness to stoop down low to help mankind. Although the Lord is so high above us that we cannot truly fathom His power and majesty and righteousness, He never considers it beneath Him to bend down to help weak and fragile human beings.
Though He brought the nation out of Egypt, gave them His laws and commandments, provided for them in the wilderness, uprooted heathen nations from the promised land and planted them in their place, and prospered them in the promised land, they forsook Him. They forsook Him for things that were of no benefit. They forsook Him for useless idols that were incapable of speaking to them, providing for them, or saving them. The Lord took them out of bondage in Egypt and then they willingly gave themselves in bondage to the sin of idolatry. Since they preferred bondage to freedom, the Lord is going to allow them to become captives again. "Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?'' (Hosea 11:5)
The Apostle Paul said that we are slaves to that which we give ourselves. If we give ourselves to the Lord and strive to live godly lives, we are slaves (servants) of the Lord. But if we give ourselves to sin, we are slaves to sin, and sin leads to death. (See Romans 6:16-18.) The people gave themselves to idolatry and became slaves of sin. Nothing good comes from sin. Sin comes in between a person and the Lord. Sin comes in between a person and their loved ones. Sin has consequences. The consequences of the people's sin---their constant and unrepentant sin---will be invasion by Assyria. Some will flee to Egypt while they still can, while others will be taken captive by the enemy army. Either way, they will end up dispersed among the heathen nations. There they will see idols everywhere and it will become clear to many of them that idols are nothing and that the Lord is their only helper.
In today's world idolatry usually doesn't look like it looked in Hosea's day. There are some areas of the world where people still bow to images, but idolatry in most nations has taken other forms. Idolatry occurs when we place more importance on anyone or anything than we place on the Lord. We typically think of idolatry as something we find pleasurable but the Lord has recently revealed to me that this isn't always the case. Idolatry can be a negative habit or an unhealthy obsession. The Lord revealed something to me that is an idol in my own life and before we conclude our study of the book of Hosea I will discuss my own struggles in more detail as a personal testimony. I am thankful the Lord has revealed this to me because this particular thing has enslaved me in ways I was never aware of before. So when we think of idolatry in modern times, it isn't necessarily some sort of pleasurable sin. It can be an unpleasant or even debilitating habit or obsession to which we are clinging.
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