Articles
Sowing To The Wind
“For they sow wind, and they harvest a storm. The standing grain has no kernels; It yields no grain. If it were to yield, strangers would swallow it” (Hosea 8:7 NASV). Self-reliant religion always brings disaster. A man-made calf will always disappoint. A king chosen by popular vote will betray the trust of his electors. Seeking solace from foreigners will always drive you to stronger allies. Cycles of unfaithfulness always result in a storm. Sowing to the wind can only produce a whirlwind. The trumpet has rung forth; the eagle (vulture?) circles overhead. Yet, God’s people continued their journey to destruction.
Seeking an alternative to Jerusalem, King Jeroboam crafted his own shrines at Dan and Bethel, hoping to supplant God’s own throne. “So, the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan” (1 Kings 12:28-30 NASV). Hosea condemned these calves; Jehovah would not be joined to idols. “The calf of Samaria” would be destroyed; Israel would be punished. The Assyrians, God’s agent of judgment, were close by. The supposed security of Mount Samaria was unfounded (Amos 6:1).
Political alliances and foreign policy aside, Hosea’s greater lesson is that unfaithfulness to the Lord always brings ruin. The moral decay of God’s people collectively, weakened their hearts and squashed their interest in obeying God. Individually, continuing a life of disobedience will only spiral out of control. Just as invading armies would sweep the fields clean of grain, the devil will lie, cheat, flatter, and even quote scripture in his sinister desires to turn us away from God. The land of Israel continued in “flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord” (1:2). Their hired lovers let them down.
The familiar words of George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," could apply to Israel. Building another calf recalls the early sin of God’s people at Sinai (Exodus 32). Psalm 106:19-20 says: “They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a cast metal image. So, they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass.” Sadly, Israel continued to exchange God’s glory for the inglorious glory of a man-made idol. One great danger of idolatry is that we become what we worship. No, we are not transformed corporally into a golden idol; more seriously, we cherish our idols in our hearts. Once enthroned, it is hard to get rid of them. “Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Anyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts in front of his face the stumbling block of his wrongdoing, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will let Myself answer him in the matter in view of the multitude of his idols” (Ezekiel 14:4). Israel became like a stubborn heifer (10:11).
The whirlwind of sin blinds. It fills our spiritual eyes with visions of success, riches, popularity, and status. Our eyes need to be wiped clean. And only Jesus can do that!
