Hosea

In our day.

By Anne Lastman

Coming across the writings of the Prophet Hosea I stopped for a moment to read the words of the prophet who lived hundreds of years before the birth of the Messiah, Jesus.

He lived and prophesied in the later years (720 BC) and from the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

He was a prolific preacher especially against the Canaanisation of the Hebrew people and condemned loudly the fertility cults and practices of the times and the aligning of themselves with the local Baals.

Hosea saw the sufferings as a punishment from Yahweh for the idolatrous behaviour of His people.

Idolatry is the giving to another what belongs to God and here is where I stopped in my tracks – giving to others what belongs to God.

It’s not politically correct in our day to speak about or call out the error which is idolatry.

We give to science, governments, laws, moneyed, groups, indeed “others” what belongs to God.

The idolatry of our day has attempted to wrest from God His authority over life, death, gender, sexuality.  From His care the Godlike work of creation have been surrendered into the hands of the enemy of these.

Hosea in his time saw the terrible results/outcomes where the sin of idolatry was found, because as a result of this the punishment was abandonment by Yahweh (Hs 2:11-19). 

This is interesting because it was believed that when Yahweh’s favour was with the people there was prosperity, abundance, victories, rest from aggression. When not in favour there was suffering and even slavery.

We can see in our day that with the “God is dead” mantra, courtesy of F. Nietzsche, there has been and there is an absence of peace, of favour, even of abundance.  Still in our day slavery (or human trafficking) abortions, all manner of legalised death, famine, wars, terrorism are deeply embedded.  The idolatry of this time has meant the taking control of “life” and “death” and surrendering these to the Baals of our own day.

Hosea spoke of defection of the people from Yahweh their God for the gods of their time and surroundings and today too there is a defection to the god science, god convenience, goddess feminist, god Molech to the detriment of the people of God.

As one who knew their past history, Hosea could see that idolatry always led to suffering and in our day our abandonment of the Holy also has led to suffering.  Worship of technology has not meant easing of hardships but new methods of wounding society. Has meant slow loss of the sense of the Holy and Godly.  Has meant determining who lives (abortions, IVF, gender confusion, gene editing, barrenness, slavery) who dies (euthanasia et al) and when these are to be valued and when disposable.  The Baals of this era are demanding of the very domain of God…Life.  For the enemy being unable to create life is his greatest angst and so he intrudes and contaminates that which he cannot ever have.  The common denominator of the enemy’s rage in all of the attacks on God’s creation, is disrespect for the creation of life.

The call of recent Popes and all people of goodwill to remember their story of salvation and the price paid for the salvation (death of Jesus on Cross) is presently being muffled and barely heard and even met with no response or at times disdain and yet we know that “Yahweh will not relinquish his honour to another (Is. 42:8).

Hosea’s prophetic call to his people was to remember the story of favour shown to them.  However, this met with resistance and so too in our day the memory of our salvation, and at what a cost, is also meeting resistance and a forgetfulness and this like in the day of Hosea has led to idolatry or as Hosea called it “harlotry.”

The forgetting in Hosea’s day meant eventual barrenness, famine, exile and death (Hs 9:11-14).  The forgetting in our time and society has also meant the emergence of the culture of death and the deification of “man” and “technology”

Hosea’s look into the distant future shows not so much gloom but the always available mercy and forgiveness of Yahweh God however this comes together with a new “exile” where life becomes very hard and from this hardship then springs forth the beginning of a new relationship. 

From the wilderness of a sense of loss of God is born a strong desire for renewal of covenantal love between Yahweh God (husband) and his people Israel (Bride).

As much as Hosea’s prophecies seem to contain within them the darkest of times (and in our day we also see darkness) there is also the promise echoed in these words

“Ephraim how could I part with you?

Israel how could I part with you?

I will not destroy Ephraim again

For I am God not man

A Holy one in your midst, I have no wish to destroy (Hs 11:8f).

These words show that even though there will be a darkness when all seems lost God, country, sacrifice (Mass?) a time will come when Yahweh God will again court his bride and love her anew

(Hs 14:5).

The beautiful imagery of the flora (Hs 14:5-9) speaks of promises and future blessings that will come when repentance is present and love renewed.  This brings renewed abundance, renewed lives, and many blessings and restoration.

The Baals, who for a time seem victorious, have been shown to be dead gods (Hs 4:12-54) and victory is always with the One true God.