HOSEA 8
11 Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning,
they have become to him altars for sinning.
12 Were I to write for him my laws by the ten-thousands,
they would be regarded as a strange thing.
13 As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it,
but the Lord does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
so I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour her strongholds.
– Hosea 8:11-14
HOSEA 8 DEFILED BY SIN
A Poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
If you intentionally sin against God, you are stained
Because God is holy, he cannot tolerate sin
God won’t put up with adultery and idolatry
These sins are against His design for eternity
It defies God’s salvation plan for his people
When we sin, we turn to the world and reject Him.
In this account, God lays down his verdict on the sins of His people. When they built many altars, they were challenging God. They know very well that God would not tolerate sins of idolatry and they still did it anyway. As a result, they became blind to the truth and to the wisdom that God has given them. In verse 12, God comments to them that even if they gave them His word, they view it as strange. Because they have now been blinded by seeking their idols and defiling the covenant they made with God, they became foolish. God was giving them great things but they view it as strange.
David Guzik comments “while Israel practiced outright idolatry, Judah was guilty of a more subtle sin. They trusted in the fortified cities they built against the Assyrians.”
REFLECTION
- What happens to believers when they defy God’s laws as shown in these verses?
