#1125 Hosea 7 When They Wail On Their Beds

 

When I would heal Israel,

The wrongdoing of Ephraim is uncovered,

And the evil deeds of Samaria,

For they practice deception;

The thief enters,

A band of robbers attack outside,

2 And they do not consider in their hearts

That I remember all their wickedness.

Now their deeds surround them;

They are before My face.

3 With their wickedness they make the king happy,

And the officials with their lies.

4 They are all adulterers,

Like an oven heated by the baker,

Who stops stoking the fire

From the time the dough is kneaded until it is leavened.

5 On the day of our king, the officials became sick with the heat of wine;

He stretched out his hand with scoffers,

6 For their hearts are like an oven

As they approach their plotting;

Their anger smolders all night,

In the morning it burns like flaming fire.

7 All of them are hot like an oven,

And they consume their rulers;

All their kings have fallen.

None of them calls on Me.

8 Ephraim is himself thrown about with the nations;

Ephraim has become a round loaf not turned over.

9 Strangers devour his strength,

Yet he does not know it;

Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him,

Yet he does not know it.

10 Though the pride of Israel testifies against him,

Yet they have not returned to the Lord their God,

Nor have they sought Him, despite all this.

11 So Ephraim has become like a gullible dove, without sense;

They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

12 When they go, I will spread My net over them;

I will bring them down like the birds of the sky.

I will discipline them in accordance with the proclamation to their assembly.

13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me!

Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me!

I would redeem them, but they have spoken lies against Me.

14 And they do not cry to Me from their heart

When they wail on their beds;

For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves,

They turn against Me.

15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms,

Yet they devise evil against Me.

16 They turn, but not upward,

They are like a loose bow;

Their officials will fall by the sword

Because of the insolence of their tongue.

This will be their derision in the land of Egypt. Hosea 7 NASB

Hosea 7

1-7 When I would heal Israel - Everybody is ready for healing, in their mind. Take away my physical pain, if I must grow old then let it be gracefully, without want or need, let me know no poverty, no loneliness. Israel wanted to be healed of the threat against her own national sovereignty, that which comes from bad neighbors. But, it is the cancer of our souls, our stone hearts, it is that which bears eternal ramifications, and it is that which they don't seek the Lord for, will not. The worse sickness, worse then bad government, worse than covid, far worse than physical death, they don't think they need healed from, and they won't repent.

When I would heal Israel The iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered - NLT - "I want to heal Israel, but its sins are too great" In the previously chapter Hosea used the same verb in a hope filled appeal to the sin sick nation in Hos 6:1 "Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal (rapha/rophe) us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us." - Precept Austin

36Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation. 37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! 38Look, your house is left to you desolate.…  Matthew 23: 36-38

And the evil deeds of Samaria - Samaria was the capital of the 10 northern tribes of Israel (Ephraim). They had for a long time an apostate, bastardized form of Judaism. They used a lot of the same terminology, but not only lost the Author's intent, they threw it away. God forbade the making of idols, worshiping images made in the fashion of things heavenly or earthly, yet Jeroboam made calves for them to worship. He did this so he maintain control, keep them from going to Jerusalem, which was in Judah. It was so far removed from Judaism that Christ tells the Samaritan woman at the well, you don't know who you worship. They did what churches do today, make a god in their own image, a god that makes the greatest amount of people comfortable enough to sit in the pew and throw money in the plate. They were greedy, false teachers.

…21“Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him.… John 4: 21-23

For they deal falsely - "They practice deceit" (NIV). Falsehood describes their habitual practice, deceiving with untruthful statements. The Septuagint (Lxx) uses ergazomai meaning that they really "worked at this" and did so very effectively! The word sheqer was used of the breaking of a promise, being false to a treaty or commitment, hence an empty promise. - Precept Austin

…9The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have? 10Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit. 11They dress the wound of the daughter of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.… Jeremiah 8: 9-11

They are before My face - Churches today have put out a very singular message, super filtered, culturally sensitive, that, "God is love, love, love," and it never says that, it only says, "God is love", but when the Scripture uses the same word three times, that is an indication of preeminence, like we would say "the most, best, greatest", and we see that in Isaiah 6 and in Revelation 4:8, where it says "Holy, holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts". Holiness is the crowning attribute of all other attributes. In other words He is holy in His love, Holy in His mercy, Holy in His grace, His omnipotence etc.., So, when we say God is love, He is holy in this, and being eternal, He is also eternally just and righteous, those sins, wickedness, greed, all before the face of Someone, Who is without sin, and is eternally, infinitely opposed to sin. Holy means otherly, not like anything we know from the perspective of time and space, it is all before His face, all the time, and yes, God is love, but He is also just, forever.

…2Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3And they were calling out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory.” 4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.… Isaiah 6: 2-4

But why the three-fold repetition “holy, holy, holy” (called the trihagion)? The repetition of a name or an expression three times was quite common among the Jews. In Jeremiah 7:4, the Jews are represented by the prophet as saying, “The temple of the Lord” three times, expressing their intense confidence in their own worship, even though it was hypocritical and corrupt. Jeremiah 22:29, Ezekiel 21:27, and 2 Samuel 18:33 contain similar three-fold expressions of intensity. Therefore, when the angels around the throne call or cry to one another, “Holy, holy, holy,” they are expressing with force and passion the truth of the supreme holiness of God, that essential characteristic which expresses His awesome and majestic nature.

In addition, the trihagion expresses the triune nature of God, the three Persons of the Godhead, each equal in holiness and majesty. Jesus Christ is the Holy One who would not “see decay” in the grave, but would be resurrected to be exalted at the right hand of God (Acts 2:26; 13:33-35). Jesus is the “Holy and Righteous One” (Acts 3:14) whose death on the cross allows us to stand before the throne of our holy God unashamed. The third Person of the trinity—the Holy Spirit—by His very name denotes the importance of holiness in the essence of the Godhead. - Got Questions Org

Like an oven - I failed to see the connections that most commentators made here so I am going to reserve comment, and leave it in the oven a little longer since I am uncertain. 

Oven (08574)(tannur) refers to refers to a kiln, oven, firepot, generally small and sometimes portable stove, not a large furnace. This stove was approximately two to three feet in diameter and was made of clay and placed in the ground. These stoves were used for baking food, especially bread (Exo. 8:3; Lev. 2:4; 7:9). In post-exilic times, an area in northwest Jerusalem was guarded by the Tower of Ovens (Neh. 3:11; 12:38). The flaming stove was a symbol of God's judgment against the wicked (Isa. 31:9; Mal. 4:1+ = describes the Day of the Lord). In Genesis 15:17+ a smoking oven and flaming torch represent the presence of God in a fiery theophany. - Precept Austin

8-16 Ephraim is himself thrown about with the nations - She was separated from Judah, but she was grossly intermingled with the nations. She married into Tyre, and that brought Jezebel into the nation, corrupting it even more, which made it's way down to Judah, so that Jerusalem was no longer that city set high on a hill. Israel became like the pagans around her, her lamp was out.

…13Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name. 14Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you. 15For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.… Deuteronomy 6: 13-15

A round loaf not turned over - Half baked, maybe burnt and hardened on one side.

Ephraim has become a cake not turned - Another baking term of comparison, this one a metaphor. What happens to a pancake that is not turned? Not fit to eat - one side burned, scorched black, and the other side raw and soggy! Worthless! Ready to cast away (which is exactly what happened to the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC when they were taken into exile by Assyria!) NLT has the idea paraphrasing it "as worthless as a half-baked cake!" Constable suggests the picture is that Israel was "crusty toward Yahweh but soft toward other nations." - Precept Austin

Yet he does not know it - Everyone laments with age what they use to be able to do in youth, yet here I think it is more than just feebleness, but unpreparedness for an end that is very close.

Yet they have not returned to the LORD their God (cf Hos 3:5; Hos 5:4+; Amos 4:6-11) - You know why most people don't like to repent? We see the dynamic in this passage -- it is stubborn pride (see the "I" as the central letter in that word pride!). "I" don't need to repent. "I" don't need God. - Precept Austin

They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria - They would not go to God because they did not want to repent of the sin that caused their condition. It was forbidden to return to Egypt in the law unto kings and Assyria was a violent and Godless nation, yet they held wealth and a great military strength, so Israel sought worldly wisdom, and now might makes right. 

…15you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers. 16But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’ 17He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold.…

…18When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all the words of this instruction and these statutes. 20Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, and he will not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left, in order that he and his sons may reign many years over his kingdom in Israel.… Deuteronomy 17: 15-20

THOUGHT - Is there not a warning to all believers in this divine judgment on Israel? We must guard against deception, against deceiving ourselves and allowing others to deceive us (James 1:22, James 1:26, 1 Jn 1:8, Rev 3:17, Isa 44:20). We must guard against placing our hope and trust in the power of man (Isa 2:22, Isa 31:1, Jer 17:5) or the riches of this godless world system (Mk 10:24, Lk 12:16-21+ 1 Ti 6:17). This begs a simple question we should all answer honestly -- In whom are you placing your trust? In anything or anyone other than God? Then your trust is misplaced and will reap a harvest of corruption and if not repented from even a harvest of destruction (cf 1 John 5:17+). - Precept Austin

I would redeem them, but they have spoken lies against Me - Our sin is ever against God, no matter what we do to others it is still against God. We need to guard against painting pictures of God outside of the light of His word, using His name in vain, telling others that God does not hate sin, that He will not judge, though He has said He will. You lie against God, and you send people rushing toward destruction.

…3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge. 5Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.… Psalm 51: 3-5

When they wail on their beds - It is not from a place of sorrow over sin. They still love their sin, and are like spoiled children, whose tears will dry instantly when they get their way. 

For the sake of grain and new wine - Here is what they really hurt over, and this is human, necessary is the grain, but as soon as that is alleviated they will return to what God hates. They don't even care who brings them what they want, just bring me what I want.

Note that other versions have a very different rendering of this passage. For example the NET and CSB Bibles have "They slash themselves for grain and new wine." The NLT has "They cut themselves." The ESV and NRSV have "they gash themselves." See the technical note from the NET Bible below. I favor this reading of the Hebrew text and the Greek Septuagint rendering supports it (Greek verb is katatemno also used in Lev 21:5, 1 Ki 18:28). The fact that Israel was resorting to pagan practices that call on Baal to grant fertility to the land makes a perfect contrast with the opening line that Israel did "not cry out to Me from their heart." As Solomon's prayer below shows, instead of slashing and gashing themselves, they could have simply fallen on their face in repentance and cried out to Jehovah. - Precept Austin

They turn, but not upward - Too proud to even think to look that way or imagine that there is anyone above them. Go to those with the chariots, who hold out wine and revelry. 

This will be their derision in the land of Egypt - Many fled to Egypt, continued their goddess worship there, and though they bragged at times before now they are a laughing stock in the land that God brought them out of when they were slaves. 

…25In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down and killed Gedaliah, along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26Then all the people small and great, together with the commanders of the army, arose and fled to Egypt for fear of the Chaldeans. 2 Kings 25: 25-26

In Jeremiah 44:15-18:[24][25]

Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, along with all the women who were present—a large assembly—and all the people living in Lower and Upper Egypt, said to Jeremiah, "We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD! We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our fathers, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine." Jeremiah 44: 15-18

There was a temple of Yahweh in Egypt at that time, the 6th-7th centuries BC, that was central to the Jewish community at Elephantine in which Yahweh was worshipped in conjunction with the goddess Anath (also named in the temple papyri as Anath-Bethel and Anath-Iahu).[26]

The goddesses Asherah, Anat and Astarte first appear as distinct and separate deities in the tablets discovered in the ruins of the library of Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra, Syria). Some biblical scholars[who?] tend to regard these goddesses as one, especially under the title "Queen of heaven".

John Day states that "there is nothing in first-millennium BC texts that singles out Asherah as 'Queen of Heaven' or associates her particularly with the heavens at all."[27] F. F. Bruce, an evangelical (Biblical) scholar differentiates between Astarte and Asherah as two distinct feminine deities.[28] - Wikipedia