Thy Strong Word — Hosea 4: You Shall Not Commit Idolatry

The Rev. Paul Cain, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sheridan, WY, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Hosea 4.

The prophet Hosea, now more empathetic to YHWH’s concern for the infidelity of the people, begins to deliver a lengthy indictment against Israel and their wickedness. The people openly sin and the priests lead the way. YHWH laments the lack of love for him and his statues among them and forewarns of coming judgement.

The book of Hosea is a love story with a twist. It tells how God commanded Hosea, a prophet, to marry Gomer, a wife who would be unfaithful to him. God wanted Hosea to feel firsthand the pain of betrayal as he sent him out to prophesy to the people of Israel how they had been unfaithful to God. Hosea still loved Gomer and pursued her and restored her as his wife. This was a picture of how God pursued Israel despite their sin and rebellion and offered them grace and mercy if they would return to Him.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

Hosea 4

The Lord Accuses Israel

4 Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
    for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
    and no knowledge of God in the land;
²there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
    they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
³Therefore the land mourns,
    and all who dwell in it languish,
and also the beasts of the field
    and the birds of the heavens,
    and even the fish of the sea are taken away.

⁴Yet let no one contend,
    and let none accuse,
    for with you is my contention, O priest.^[a]
⁵You shall stumble by day;
    the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
    and I will destroy your mother.
⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
    because you have rejected knowledge,
    I reject you from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
    I also will forget your children.

⁷The more they increased,
    the more they sinned against me;
    I will change their glory into shame.
⁸They feed on the sin^[b] of my people;
    they are greedy for their iniquity.
⁹And it shall be like people, like priest;
    I will punish them for their ways
    and repay them for their deeds.
¹⁰They shall eat, but not be satisfied;
    they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
    to cherish ¹¹whoredom, wine, and new wine,
    which take away the understanding.
¹²My people inquire of a piece of wood,
    and their walking staff gives them oracles.
For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray,
    and they have left their God to play the whore.
¹³They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains
    and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
    because their shade is good.
Therefore your daughters play the whore,
    and your brides commit adultery.
¹⁴I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,
    nor your brides when they commit adultery;
for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes
    and sacrifice with cult prostitutes,
and a people without understanding shall come to ruin.

¹⁵Though you play the whore, O Israel,
    let not Judah become guilty.
Enter not into Gilgal,
    nor go up to Beth-aven,
    and swear not, “As the Lord lives.”
¹⁶Like a stubborn heifer,
    Israel is stubborn;
can the Lord now feed them
    like a lamb in a broad pasture?

¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols;
    leave him alone.
¹⁸When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;
    their rulers^[c] dearly love shame.
¹⁹A wind has wrapped them^[d] in its wings,
    and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Footnotes

Hosea 4:4 Or for your people are like those who contend with the priest
Hosea 4:8 Or sin offering
Hosea 4:18 Hebrew shields
Hosea 4:19 Hebrew her

Rev. Dr. Phil Booe

Native North Carolinian Rev. Dr. Phil Booe serves pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and host of Thy Strong Word on KFUO Radio. His parishioners probably think he can’t teach Bible study without a mug of coffee in his hand, and he’ll always be happy to eat a plate of sushi. When he’s not shepherding his flock or teaching on the radio, you might find him watching bad movies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and especially binging RiffTrax and MST3K episodes. Some day he’d love to travel to the Lutheran homeland in Germany, but for now he spends time in Minnesota with his wife, son, daughter, and cat, and looks forward to Holy Week every year.