Articles
Sin Will Be Punished
“They are deeply depraved as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins (Hosea 9:9 NASV). The threshing floor was an important tool for God’s people. Harvested grain had to be threshed; then, the refined grain could be made into bread, the staple of life. The threshing floor served as a gathering place for the citizens of the community, attracting merchants, traders, farmers, and workers. Sadly, God’s people turned the place of work, sustenance, and blessing, into a den of immorality. Israel played the prostitute, believing that their bounty came from the gods of the nations, rather than from the hand of God. Hosea said: “Do not rejoice!” Your celebrations are misplaced. You have no reason to be happy when you refuse to give true sacrifices to the Lord. Your contaminated bread defiles you. Now, exile looms; Israel would be taken into captivity by the Assyrians.
“For behold, they will be gone because of destruction; Egypt will gather them together, Memphis will bury them. Weeds will take possession of their treasures of silver; thorns will be in their tents” (9:6 Egypt symbolizes captivity). Memphis (located a few miles south of Cairo) served as Egypt’s capital for several years. The Israelites were fugitives in Egypt; they were captives in Assyria. Their corruption was so deep that Hosea compared them to the people in Gibeah (Judges 19). The displays of gross immorality in Gibeah became a benchmark for depravity in Hosea’s world.
The celebration of sin continues in our time. The spectacle of homosexuality, adultery, fornication, immodesty, and disrespect for God is broadly and proudly displayed in the media, schools, and entertainments of our society. The values of our world seek to displace God and His truth and make it appear that anything and everything is OK. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20).
What was Israel’s real problem? God through Hosea’s misery warned His people; you will be punished. Still, He sought restoration of His rebellious people. The Lord pleads with His people to return and again be a faithful partner in love and loyalty; be a true and faithful wife. What would Hosea say to us today? “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). Let us remember that we are not of the world; we must not play the harlot at the threshing floor of popular culture. Let us restore respect for God and His moral nature. Remember Assyria is close by.
