by
Rev. Mark Perkins, Pastor
Denver Bible Church
326 E. Colorado Ave.
Denver, Colorado 80210
To: Hosea
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"Israel is a lush vine; the fruit will really produce
for him. According to the abundance of his fruit he has multiplied
his altars; according to the richness of his land, he glorified
his sacred pillars. Their heart is faithless; now they must bear
their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy
their sacred pillars."
1. The qal participle BAQAQ is found only once in the Bible -
here. The only way we know of its meaning is from this context,
and from the cognate languages of the middle east.
A. The Arabic has a similar word, which describes the gurgling of water as it pours from a cup, and also the emptiness of the cup afterward. The vine which has this water would be lush.
B. This well describes the situation with Israel - they are a prosperous vine, but the water which gives them their prosperity is gurgling away to nothingness. Soon they will have no water and die out.
2. The vine is a common simile for Israel, Isa 5:1-10; Ezekiel
17:6ff. This is GEFEN in the hebrew.
A. Various vines grew in the region - gourds, grapevines, etc. However, the grapevine is the predominant basis of illustration, because everyone loved it.
B. The vine is a symbol of the settler, because it takes a number of years for the vine to mature and bear fruit. Thus a proclivity toward delayed gratification is necessary for the production of grapes and wine.
3. The fruit will really produce for him.
A. Fruit is the subject of the sentence, not the object, as portrayed in the NASB. The fruit of the vine produces profit when it is sold.
B. In this case, the lush vine produces fantastic fruit, and the fruit really brings a great profit.
C. The piel intensive stem of the verb YESHAWWEH reveals that the profit comes at a fast and furious pace.
4. God produces prosperity for this nation, and they use it to
broaden the number of their idolatrous altars, and improve upon
what is already there. The sindustries and idolustries are really
booming in Israel; booming commensurate with their material prosperity.
A. The prosperity came from God, and because of their good relationship with Him. This prosperity overflowed into a time of degeneracy, and continued for generations in spite of sin.
B. The abuse of prosperity inevitably leads to its cessation. The gurgling brook will be dried up; the vine will die; the altars will be broken down, and the pillars destroyed.
"Surely now they will say, "We have no king, for
we do not revere the Lord. As for the king, what can he do for
us?" They speak words, oaths of emptiness while making covenants;
and judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the
field."
1. In the first verse, Hosea takes the role of Israel under final
discipline. He puts words in their mouths, the words of any reasonable
person under the circumstances.
A. This soliloquy reveals the inner workings of Hosea's mind.
B. He has labored for this nation for several decades, only to discover negative volition at every turn. Hosea is now talking to himself - surely the reality of the discipline will bring them to their senses.
C. Hosea has preached the coming discipline for so long that the nation should have been thoroughly inculcated in the possibility, and the details of the death of their nation.
D. Yet there is no positive response. In spite of the Divine intervention of discipline, Israel remains negative.
E. Some other observations from verse three.1. The removal of the king was divine discipline.
2. However, the discipline came from their own hand - they were always assassinating them.
3. Even the king cannot save them from the destruction of their nation - even if they had not killed him.
2. "They speak words..." Anyone can speak words, but
words are just words when you have no integrity. Words become
something more when you keep them.
3. The words are just oaths of emptiness, even while cutting
a covenant.
A. A covenant, treaty, or contract is "cut" because the two parties would customarily make a blood sacrifice on the spot. The blood sacrifice was the signature of the day. This not only solemnified the proceeding but also made recognition that it was done in the sight of God.
B. Making a contract was therefore an act of worship - in it you gave your word, and your solemn pledge that you were standing in imitation of His character.
C. But an empty oath is a blasphemy before God, and from it comes disaster.
4. The absence of integrity leads to the massive increase of
judgment.
A. The word for judgment is MISHPAT. It is a regular Hebrew noun that denotes the activity of a legitimate court of law.
B. The Mosaic law covered both the criminal and the civil sides of law. This verse concentrates on civil law.
C. Civil litigation grows for a few basic reasons:1. Revenge motivation - an inability to trust God to right your wrongs.
2. Greed - the inordinate desire for money.
3. An absence of personal integrity.D. All three of the above reasons stem from involvement in the cosmic system, and especially bitterness against God.
1. An absence of trust in God leads to a necessity for another vindicator. That vindicator may be yourself, it may the government, through legislation, or the courts, through litigation.
2. An absence of trust in God leads to the gain of money through wrong means.
3. And absence of trust in God leads to the rationalization of one's lack of integrity.E. The absence of integrity may sometimes cause a need for criminal prosecution, and in the case where the absence of integrity crosses the line into criminality it is right to take legal action.
F. The absence of integrity, when not criminal adds fuel to the fire of unnecessary litigation.
5. Note, however, that this is not 'lawsuits' in the modern concept
of gold-digging through the courts.
6. So, a couple of principles:
A. Integrity eases the courts.
B. An inordinate amount of litigation puts a great strain on the economy - it is the poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
7. The final exhortation of Hosea to Judah is to refrain from
making the oath, 'As Yahweh lives'.
A. What a great falsehood this was on the lips of idol worshippers. They worshipped dead idols in the house of nothingness and on a holy ground of national heritage, and yet they swore, 'as Yahweh lives'. Of course this would be a ground for any lie, because the hypocrites did not believe in the living God, and acted like He did not exist at all.
B. The exhortation from the ten commandments is to never take the Lord's name in vain; never use His name out of context of relationship with Him. And yet this is exactly what this oath does when it comes from the lips of unbelievers.
Grace Notes
Warren Doud, Editor
1705 Aggie Lane, Austin, Texas 78757
Phone: 512-458-8923