Continuing on in Hosea's prophecy: again, I find as usual that there is nothing new under the sun. The sins of Israel are every bit the sins of today's church.
I quote verses 5-9 of Hosea's prophecy, second chapter:
(Hosea 2:5-9, ESV)5For their mother has played the harlot;
She who conceived them has behaved shamefully.
For she said, "I will go after my lovers,
Who give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my linen,
My oil and my drink.'6"Therefore, behold,
I will hedge up your way with thorns,
And wall her in,
So that she cannot find her paths.7She will chase her lovers,
But not overtake them;
Yes, she will seek them, but not find them.
Then she will say,
"I will go and return to my first husband,
For then it was better for me than now.'8For she did not know
That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil,
And multiplied her silver and gold--
Which they prepared for Baal.9"Therefore I will return and take away
My grain in its time
And My new wine in its season,
And will take back My wool and My linen,
Given to cover her nakedness.
How wicked it is to mistake the gifts of God for gifts of men! Israel personified here decides to follow after her lovers, whom she regards as having given her the physical blessings that she had... corn, wine, wool and flax ... to the neglect of Jehovah God, to whom alone they owed thanks and worship. Israel's lovers were, it seems from the passage, the false idols whom they worshipped ever since the day of the dividing of the Davidic Kingdom. Perhaps also, the lovers may represent the surrounding nations (Assyria in particular) to whom Israel paid homage. In any case, God was supplanted by adulterous lovers, and the role God was to play was played by the adulterous nation's lovers.
From Calvin's commentaries:
God here amplifies the ingratitude of the people, that they understood not whence came such abundance of good things. "She understood not", he says, "that I gave to her corn and wine". The superstitious sin twice, or in two ways; - first, they ascribe to their idols what rightly belongs to God alone; and then they deprive God himself of his own honour, for they understand not that he is the only giver of all things, but think their labour lost were they to worship the true God. Hence the Prophet now complains of this ingratitude, "She understood not that I gave to her corn and wine and oil". And this was an inexcusable stupidity in the Israelites,
since they had been abundantly instructed, that the abundance of all good things, and every thing that supports man, flow from God's bounty.
Calvin comments regarding the Baalim after which Israel followed, again drawing the apt parallel to the Papists, and their practical idolatry, through saint-worship and seeking after blessings by praying to the saints:
It is the same with the Papists of the present day; they have their Baalim; not that they regard their patrons in the place of God: but as they dread every access to God, and understand not that Christ is a mediator, they retake themselves here and there to various Baalim, that they may procure favour to themselves; and at the same time, whatever honour they show to stones, or wood, or bones of dead men, or to any of their own inventions, they call it the worship of God. Whatever then, is worshipped by the Papists is Baal: but they have, at the same time, their patrons for their Baalim.
It is purely wickedness to seek after gifts by praying to OTHER 'patrons'... how inexplicable indeed is it that people STILL DO THIS?! I am perplexed that people can rationalize their prayers to St. Thomas, or Christopher, or the "saint-of-the-day" as NOT idolatry. Seeking ANYTHING in this way is so blatantly idolatrous I simply cannot comprehend it.
A bit closer to home, though... how often do we get caught in this very thing? I think it most simple to see that we do this in regard to ourselves, and our sense of self-sufficiency... how quickly we seem to "buck up" and "make it on our own". I know that personally I find myself just "sticking it out" and doing the "extra bit" it takes to get things done... relying fully on myself to make things happen the way I think they should. Then, upon reflection, I realize my sin in it - I have taken my eyes off God and 'done it all'. This isn't to say, of course, that effort is unwarranted on our part - certainly NOT! However, I do know that I find myself trusting too fully in myself and too easily dispensing with my rest in God's provision, timing, and blessings.
How about government help? Are we sometimes guilty of looking to the government to bless us where we ought to be humbly seeking GOD's provision? I think we might... more thought on this is needed, but I suspect that we err here as well. Certainly as a nation we err here, big time. Are we headed for a fall? I fear we are.
The result of this pride Hosea deals with in verse 9:
9"Therefore I will return and take away My grain in its time And My new wine in its season, And will take back My wool and My linen, Given to cover her nakedness.
God responds by taking it all away... removing his blessing, removing his favor. The mere thought of this should make one SHUDDER! Do we realize what is said here? Do we today realize HOW MUCH God grants us in his mercy? Do we see HOW FORTUNATE we are? Yet we thank him SO PITIFULLY! God be merciful on us, sinners!!! Grant that we might be thankful, and render worship ONLY to thee!
Calvin comments:
Here, again, the Prophet shows that God was, by extreme necessity, constrained to take vengeance on an ungodly and irreclaimable people. He makes known how great was the hardness of the people, and then adds, "What now remains, but to deprive those who have been so ungrateful to me of all their blessings?" It is, indeed, more than base for men to enjoy the gifts of God and to despise the giver; yea, to exalt his creatures to his place, and to reduce, as it were, all his authority to nothing. This the superstitious indeed do, for they thrust God from his pre-eminence, and insult his glory. Will God, in the meantime, so throw away his blessings as to suffer them to be profaned by the ungodly, and himself to be thus mocked with impunity? We now then see the object of the Prophet; for God here shows that there was no other remedy, but to deprive the Israelites of all their gifts: he had indeed enriched them, but they had abused all their abundance. It was therefore necessary to reduce them to extreme want, that they might no longer pollute God's gifts which ought to be held sacred by us.
I am simply struck dead. How prideful I am in the gifts God has given.. how easily I give lipservice of thanksgiving - but how rare is true, tearful, humble thanks!
Oh, America... Oh, church in America: Pay attention to Hosea's words! Seek repentance for pride, and presumptuousness! Lord, have mercy upon us and forgive us our arrogance!