Hosea 4: 11-19 A People Without Understanding

Hosea 4:11-19 A People Without Understanding

[11] Wine and new wine take away the understanding. [12] My people consult a piece of wood, and their divining rod gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have played the whore, forsaking their God. [13] They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and make offerings upon the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good.

Therefore your daughters play the whore, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. [14] I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go aside with whores, and sacrifice with temple prostitutes; thus a people without understanding comes to ruin.

What is happening in this scripture? – After Solomon’s reign, the people of Israel found themselves in a culture full of diversity and choices. Solomon had married many wives, political deals, so to speak, and the texts tell us that he was very liberal about building altars, temples, etc for the other gods of his many wives. The fear was about apostasy, or the watering down of the true faith and the turning away from God’s commandment to have no other gods before me. Eventually the kings that followed, in succession were almost all guilty of this apostasy.
The writers of Hosea probably wrote about the reign of King Jeroboam, but it could have been any of a number of kings who allowed other faiths to bring their gods and idols into the culture. Some scholars believe that Hosea’s wife, Gomer, truly was unfaithful to him and he used this event to symbolize what he saw as the state of Israel.. By now the northern and southern kingdoms had formed. The texts tell us in 1st Kings that God caused Jeroboam’s royal line to die and his kingdom to fall apart.
The prophet says wine and new wine take away understanding. He says his people consult a piece of wood for a god. They depend upon divining rods for signs and guidance. He then says a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have played the whore, forsaking their God. It is clear that Hosea uses the definition of whore to mean someone who has betrayed a sacred trust or vow. He sarcastically says the people make sacrifice on mountain tops, hills, and under oaks, poplars, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Hosea ridicules the shallowness and comfort seeking, drama seeking people who have turned their worship into matters of show and convenience. He rages against the worship of nature and the emptiness of their gods and their worship. Hosea sees this adulterated religion as the source of the sexual adultery of the young women, including the married women, or daughters in law. But he says it is not their blame, but rather the men who take prostitutes and whores for their companions. He ends with what he begins: Thus a people without understanding comes to ruin.

How is this happening in the world today? – How can we know what is right when we don’t know who we are, or where we came from? How can trust and develop consistency in life when we break the promises and covenants we have made with others who depend upon our being honest and dependable? No one is perfect, and we all make mistakes, but Hosea is speaking here of people who are making selfish, conscious decisions to be unfaithful; to put their personal pleasure before all else, even their God and their life partners. There is a spiritual hunger in this country. People are searching for God, and they are leaving churches and looking in New Age Philosophies, altered states of consciousness offered by designer drugs, gambling, sports, addictions, sexual promiscuity, or falling in love with power and the ladder of success.
Why are they not looking towards the traditional churches? Some church services look more like concerts and “The God Show” than worship these days. Why is that?
Are we trading easy, feel good religion for the authentic questions that haunt us, that have haunted us since our birth? Is this the way we run away from a real relationship with the God in whom we live and move and have our being? Where is the solemnity, and as Tillich put it, where is the embarrassment? Where is the reverence? Does gathering at the house of the Lord God look any different than The Tonight Show? It should.
How many of us really study our legacy? Do we know what we are talking about, or are we just repeating the words of some charismatic speaker? Whose relationship with God are we having?

11] Wine and new wine take away the understanding. [13] They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and make offerings upon the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good.

How is this story my story? – Lord, I know we change. Our cultures change, our fashions change, our customs, slowly, change. But you are steadfast Lord. You are the great un-nameable, un-exploitable one. When we call out to you, when we pray to you Lord, keep us humble and ignorant. We do NOT have all the answers Lord. Help us to remember that faithfulness to you means faithfulness to justice and to love, even when the shade is not good. Help us to be still and know Lord. May it be so.