JUDGMENTS IN THE BOOK OF HOSEA

 Marks introduces this subject with the following words: “Religious abuses, ranging from violation of covenant laws (4:2...) to idolatry (8:5) and participation in the Canaanite fertility rites (4:13-14) have led YHWH to reject his people: they shall be 'swallowed up' among the nations (8:8), 'smitten' and dried up' (9:16), their king 'utterly...cut off' (10:15); in short, 'they shall return to Egypt' (8:13; 9:3,6). The latter sayings especially are dense with allusions to Israel's history, presented both to accuse and to remind the audience of the special legacy they are in danger of forgetting.”

But that is not all that this book is about. As Andersen says, “Hosea is a book of conflicting passions. Extremes of rage alternate with the most moving expressions of tenderness and compassion. Its themes are the goodness and the severity of God.” For the purposes of this post we will concentrate only on the threatened judgments in Hosea, at least those which Marks mentions above.

Hosea 8:8

“Even if the nation's efforts did yield some 'grain' (prosperity), foreign nations would swallow it up. This would be appropriate and ironic, for Israel was seeking security through alliances with these nations (v. 8). She willingly submitted herself to Assyria and Egypt, but her efforts would backfire (vv. 9-10).” (Chisholm)

Davies says, “The image seems to be of a dish or a bowl of food which has been eaten clean...Israel no longer has any attraction or use for anyone among the nations.”

Hosea 8:13; 9:3,6

“All too often, the little countries in the buffer zone between two imperial nations tried to play one off against the other, with...disastrous results. Such moves were roundly condemned by the prophets as apostasy from Yahweh, their true and only Lord. Their new protectors became their captors (9:3).” (Andersen)

Chisholm states: “She gave herself to Baal for the 'wages of a prostitute,' namely the agricultural prosperity she erroneously thought Baal could provide (see 2:5). But the threshing floors and winepresses would be empty, and Israel would be sent into exile (v. 9:3). Symbol and reality are mixed, as both Egypt (the place where Israel had once been enslaved) and Assyria (the destination of the future exiles) are mentioned.”

Davies comments on Hosea 8:13 that “the mention of Egypt as a place of exile is also found in 7:6, 9:6 and 11:11. Since Egypt was the land of bondage from which Yahweh had once called Israel to be his people...to return there was equivalent to a reversal of Yahweh's guidance of their history...Some see this as a purely figurative expression for the imminent dissolution of Israel's relationship with Yahweh, and argue that Hosea envisaged only Assyria as a place of exile..., but at least 7:16 and 9:6 require a literal interpretation...”

“It is significant to note that thorns are in some cases associated with the judgment of Israel's exile. Thus in Isaiah we read that Israel, God's vineyard, will be overgrown with 'briers and thorns' (Is 7:23-25; cf. Is 32:13; Ezek 28:24; Hos 9:6; 10:8).” (DBI)

Regarding the historical context of this prophecy, Bullock cites Harrison as suggesting that “the relations of Israel to Egypt mentioned in 7:11; 9:6; and 12:2 would push the date [of composition] down into the reign of Hoshea, the last king of Israel.” But in view of the opinions above, that may not necessarily be the case if Egypt is only mentioned in a figurative manner.

Hosea 9:16

“The controlling image changes back in this verse to that of a fruit tree (cf. v. 10), which is stricken, perhaps by disease (cf. Jon. 4:7-8; Ps. 105:33)...The word stricken is also often used of the defeat of a nation, and Hosea may have chosen it deliberately with the double meaning in view.” (Davies)

Although this verse starts out with “Ephraim is smitten,” Andersen and Freedan note: “A distinction between Israel and Ephraim is not clearly maintained throughout the unit [i.e. vv. 10-17].”

The first half of the verse is presented as an agricultural reference, but its more chilling underlying import is seen in the parallel last half, rendered in the AB translation as “Yet even if they do have children, I will murder the darlings of their womb.”

Hosea 10:15

Stuart demonstrates how this verse fits into its immediate context. I have adapted his scheme somewhat to demonstrate the literary symmetry in this passage.

                                               Literary Structure of Hosea 10:9-15

        A. Prose announcement of war (9-10)

                B. Poetic indictment of Israel (11-14)

                        1. Israel's calling (11)

                                2. Israel's challenge (12)

                        1'. Israel's misuse of its calling (13)

        A'. Prose announcement of war (14-15)

Scholars argue over the historical background to this threatened event, but Stuart concludes: “The point of the statement is at any rate clear: in the matter of battles fought to exterminate a population (2 Kgs 8:12; Isa 13:16; Nah 3:10; Ps 137:9; cf. Hos 13:16), Israel itself would experience numbing brutality...The king himself, as leader of the family of Israel, will suffer annihilation. It will not be only women and children who are brutalized.”

“These verses [i.e. 10:14-15] have a somber word for the cities of Israel and particularly for Bethel. The spur to righteousness in 10:12 was a hope, but not apparently a reality...Bethel comes under particular scutiny for its surpassing wickedness. Even Israel's king will be gone when the judgment rolls through the land. One cannot tell from these terse references whether it is the cultic sins of Bethel (e.g. the calf located there) or its support for political option that qualifies as exceedingly wicked.” (Dearman)

Conclusion

Marks concludes by saying, “This historical bond [between Israel and God] is the basis for the moving depiction of YHWH as a troubled father unable to forget his wayward son, which has been placed near the end of the collection, where it prepares for the final promise of restoration at 11:11.”