The Book Of Hosea. Day 35, Don't Trust In Wealth

In today's portion of the book of Hosea we find the Lord accusing many of the people of having become wealthy through dishonest means. Even if they had gained their wealth through honest means, wealth would be no barrier against judgment for their sins of idolatry. The Bible doesn't condemn being wealthy if a person made their money with honest hard work, but the Bible does say, "Though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them." (Psalm 62:10b) Our trust is to be in the Lord; wealth may come and wealth may go. The only thing we possess in this life that we cannot lose is our relationship with the Lord. That is to be our main priority.

In addition to warning us not to set our hearts on wealth, the same verse of the Bible says, "Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods." (Psalm 62:10a) Yet committing extortion and fraud and theft is exactly what the people have done, according to our text from Hosea. "The merchant uses dishonest scales and loves to defraud. Ephraim boasts, 'I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin.'" (Hosea 12:7-8)

The Lord cannot be bribed like a human judge. We've already learned in our study of the prophets that wealthy people were buying the verdicts they wanted in court. The poor were being disenfranchised because their oppressors were able to pay dishonest judges to rule in their favor. But the Lord doesn't judge according to a person's wealth or status; He judges according to righteousness. The people may think their wealth protects them but the Lord cannot be bought off. 

He says, "I have been the Lord your God ever since you came out of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of your appointed festivals. I spoke to the prophets, gave them many visions and told parables through them." (Hosea 12:9-10) Displacement is coming. There are many fine homes in Israel in Hosea's day. The economy is booming during the reign of Jeroboam II, who was king around the time Hosea first began prophesying to the nation. The military is strong. Some of the land previously taken from Israel by enemy nations was regained by Jeroboam, so the nation is comprised of more territory than it has been for decades. But all this will be lost because the people have placed their trust in all the wrong things: in false gods, in wealth, in the army, in the economy, in the king. They have forsaken the Lord who brought them out of Egypt and made them into a nation in the first place. 

The Lord has given them many opportunities to turn this situation around. He sent the prophets to confront them with their sins, to warn them to turn away from their sins, and to tell them what will happen if they do not repent. But all these warnings have been ignored. If the warnings continue to be ignored, the enemy is going to pour into the nation like a flood and sweep them away.