HOSEA 5
5 The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt; Judah also shall stumble with them.
6 With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord,
but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them.
7 They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord; for they have borne alien children.
Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.
8 Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound the alarm at Beth-aven; we follow you, O Benjamin!
9 Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of punishment;
among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure. – Hosea 5:5-9
HOSEA 5 THE CONSEQUENCE OF PRIDE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When a child of God decides to choose arrogance
He will have struggles to follow God’s commands
His loyalty will be divided between God and himself
And he will most likely prefer to please the idol inside him
He will then suffer the pain of God’s wrath and punishment
For God hates those who think highly of themselves.
Sources say that the pride mentioned in verse 5 refers to the arrogance of the nation. Their pride was so visible throughout the Old Testament. Coffman comments “They jealously opposed Gideon, were disrespectful to Jephthah, made an Ephraimite concubine’s son king over Israel, presumptuously called their bastard nation “Israel,” the true name of the nation they had rebelled against, upheld for seven years the house of Saul against David, even though they knew it was against God’s will, joined Absalom in the rebellion against David, and in the final rebellion they supported Jeroboam of Ephraim against Rehoboam of the house of David. They were also conspicuous in their setting up of the bull-gods at Dan and Bethel in opposition to the worship of the true God in Jerusalem.”
In Isaiah 65:24 we hear that even before God’s people call on him, he has already answered them. We know that this time, God withdrew hearing their prayers. This shows how serious God judged their sins. In James 4:6, we know that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Continued pride shows no humility and much idolatry as 1 Samuel 15:23 says. How can the Israelites have forgotten their covenant promise to God that they will be his people?
REFLECTION
- How is pride the sin of idolatry and what are its consequences?
