Hosea 10 Study Notes: Israel the Vine and the Coming Ruin
Hosea pictures Israel as a thriving vine that used its prosperity to build more altars, so God will tear them down and send the calf idol of Beth-aven to Assyria. Terrified people will beg the hills to hide them, and God urges them to sow righteousness and seek Him, since trust in their own strength will end in war.
General
What does 10:5-6 say will happen to the calf idol of Beth-aven?
Answer: It will be hauled off to Assyria as payment to its king
Verse 5 speaks of the calf idol of Beth-aven. Calf idols had been set up in the northern kingdom by King Jeroboam, one at Bethel and one at Dan (1 Kings 12:28-29). Hosea says Samaria's people will be afraid for this idol, and its people and idol priests, who once delighted in its splendor, will grieve because it is gone into exile. The idol itself will be hauled off to Assyria as payment for the great king, and Ephraim and Israel will be put to shame over their wooden idols (10:6). Samaria and her king will be swept off like a stick floating on water (10:7). The god they trusted could not even protect itself. God had already said that a craftsman made the calf of Samaria, that it is no god at all, and that it would be smashed to pieces (8:5-6). Isaiah likewise mocks idols that cannot save themselves and are carried off into captivity (Isaiah 46:1-2).
- Hosea 10:5-7 (BSB)“The people of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn over it with its idolatrous priests—those who rejoiced in its glory—for it has been taken from them into exile. Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols. Samaria will be carried off with her king like a twig on the surface of the water.”Samaria fears for the calf idol, which is taken to Assyria while Ephraim is shamed and Samaria and her king are swept away.
- 1 Kings 12:28-29 (BSB)“After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.”Jeroboam set up the northern kingdom's calf idols at Bethel and Dan, the worship Hosea condemns.
- Hosea 8:5-6 (BSB)“He has rejected your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? For this thing is from Israel—a craftsman made it, and it is not God. It will be broken to pieces, that calf of Samaria.”God has already declared that the calf of Samaria is human handiwork, not God, and will be broken.
- Isaiah 46:1-2 (BSB)“Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal. The gods cower; they crouch together, unable to relieve the burden; but they themselves go into captivity.”Isaiah shows idols that cannot save themselves being carried into captivity, as Israel's calf would be.
Theological
According to 10:5-6, what becomes of the calf idol of Beth-aven?
Answer: It will be hauled off to Assyria as payment to its king
The calf idol of Beth-aven (10:5) belongs to the calf worship Jeroboam established in the north with calves at Bethel and Dan (1 Kings 12:28-29). Samaria's people tremble for it, and its people and idol priests, who had exulted in its glory, mourn because it has gone into exile. The idol is hauled to Assyria as payment for the great king, and Ephraim and Israel are shamed over their wooden idols (10:6), while Samaria and her king are swept off like a stick floating on water (10:7). The irony is pointed: the object of Israel's trust becomes plunder. God had already declared the calf a mere craftsman's work, not God, destined to be smashed (8:5-6), and Isaiah similarly portrays idols that cannot rescue themselves going into captivity (Isaiah 46:1-2).
- Hosea 10:5-7 (BSB)“The people of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn over it with its idolatrous priests—those who rejoiced in its glory—for it has been taken from them into exile. Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols. Samaria will be carried off with her king like a twig on the surface of the water.”Samaria fears for the calf idol, which is taken to Assyria while Ephraim is shamed and Samaria and her king are swept away.
- 1 Kings 12:28-29 (BSB)“After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.”Jeroboam set up the northern kingdom's calf idols at Bethel and Dan, the worship Hosea condemns.
- Hosea 8:5-6 (BSB)“He has rejected your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? For this thing is from Israel—a craftsman made it, and it is not God. It will be broken to pieces, that calf of Samaria.”God has already declared that the calf of Samaria is human handiwork, not God, and will be broken.
- Isaiah 46:1-2 (BSB)“Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal. The gods cower; they crouch together, unable to relieve the burden; but they themselves go into captivity.”Isaiah shows idols that cannot save themselves being carried into captivity, as Israel's calf would be.
General
Who in the New Testament speaks words that echo the cry addressed to mountains and hills in 10:8?
Answer: Jesus, speaking to women on His way to be crucified
In 10:8 Hosea says Aven's high places, hilltop shrines where idols were worshiped, will be destroyed and overgrown with thorns, and the people will beg the mountains to cover them and the hills to fall on them. Their terror will be so great that being buried seems better than facing God's judgment. Jesus took up these words while being led to the cross. He told the women of Jerusalem to weep for themselves and their children, because a time was coming when people would cry this way to mountains and hills (Luke 23:28-30). In Revelation, people of every rank cry out to mountains and rocks to hide them from God on His throne and the Lamb's wrath (Revelation 6:15-17). The same cry of dread before God's judgment runs from Israel's fall to the day of wrath John sees.
- Hosea 10:8 (BSB)“The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!””The idol shrines are destroyed, and the terrified people beg the mountains and hills to bury them.
- Luke 23:28-30 (BSB)“But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’ At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’”On the way to the cross, Jesus takes up Hosea's cry to describe coming judgment on Jerusalem.
- Revelation 6:15-17 (BSB)“Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?””People of every rank use the same plea to the mountains as they try to hide from God's wrath.
Theological
Which New Testament speaker takes up the cry addressed to mountains and hills in 10:8?
Answer: Jesus, speaking to women on His way to be crucified
Hosea 10:8 announces the destruction of Aven's high places, which the verse calls Israel's sin, with thorns overgrowing their altars, and the people's desperate plea for mountains and hills to bury them. Jesus applied this cry to coming judgment as He was led to crucifixion, telling the daughters of Jerusalem to weep for themselves and their children (Luke 23:28-30). Revelation uses the same plea for people of every rank who seek to hide from God on His throne and the Lamb's wrath (Revelation 6:15-17). The judgment on Samaria thus becomes a pattern for the dread of all who face God's wrath unprotected.
- Hosea 10:8 (BSB)“The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!””The idol shrines are destroyed, and the terrified people beg the mountains and hills to bury them.
- Luke 23:28-30 (BSB)“But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’ At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’”On the way to the cross, Jesus takes up Hosea's cry to describe coming judgment on Jerusalem.
- Revelation 6:15-17 (BSB)“Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?””People of every rank use the same plea to the mountains as they try to hide from God's wrath.
General
True or False: In 10:3 the people say they have no king, and they connect this with their failure to revere the LORD.
Answer: True
This is true. Hosea foresees a day when the people will admit that they have no king, tie that loss to their own failure to fear the LORD, and then wonder what any king could do for them anyway (10:3). Their kings had been set up without God's approval (8:4), and God says He gave them a king in His anger and removed him in His wrath (13:10-11). Verse 4 adds that their words were empty and that they made covenants, meaning solemn binding agreements, using false oaths. As a result, judgment spreads like poisonous weeds through a plowed field. A nation that will not honor God cannot be rescued by a king.
- Hosea 10:3-4 (BSB)“Surely now they will say, “We have no king, for we do not revere the LORD. What can a king do for us?” They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants. So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.”The people admit they lack a king and fear of the LORD, while their oaths and covenants are false.
- Hosea 8:4 (BSB)“They set up kings, but not by Me. They make princes, but without My approval. With their silver and gold they make themselves idols, to their own destruction.”God says Israel's kings and princes were set up without His approval, explaining why they could not help.
- Hosea 13:10-11 (BSB)“Where is your king now to save you in all your cities, and the rulers to whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”? So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away.”God asks where Israel's king is now and says He gave and removed kings in His anger.
Theological
True or False: The people's words in 10:3 link the absence of a king to their failure to fear the LORD.
Answer: True
This is true. The confession put in the people's mouth in 10:3 joins two admissions: they have no king, and they have not feared the LORD, followed by the hopeless question of what a king could accomplish for them. Their monarchy had been established apart from divine sanction (8:4), and God says He granted a king in anger and removed him in wrath (13:10-11). Verse 4 exposes the speech behind their covenants as empty words and false oaths, so that judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds across a plowed field. Without the fear of the LORD, no human ruler can save.
- Hosea 10:3-4 (BSB)“Surely now they will say, “We have no king, for we do not revere the LORD. What can a king do for us?” They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants. So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.”The people admit they lack a king and fear of the LORD, while their oaths and covenants are false.
- Hosea 8:4 (BSB)“They set up kings, but not by Me. They make princes, but without My approval. With their silver and gold they make themselves idols, to their own destruction.”God says Israel's kings and princes were set up without His approval, explaining why they could not help.
- Hosea 13:10-11 (BSB)“Where is your king now to save you in all your cities, and the rulers to whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”? So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away.”God asks where Israel's king is now and says He gave and removed kings in His anger.
General
In 10:9, what earlier time does God point to as the start of Israel's ongoing sin?
Answer: The events at Gibeah
God says Israel's sinning goes back to Gibeah and that the people have stayed there ever since (10:9). These words are widely understood to point back to the outrage recorded in Judges 19-20, when men of Gibeah in the tribe of Benjamin committed a terrible crime against a traveling Levite's concubine (a secondary wife), and Benjamin's tribe would not hand the guilty men over, which led to war (Judges 20:12-14). Hosea had already said the people had sunk as low as at Gibeah (9:9). The nation had never truly left that low point. Just as battle overtook the wicked at Gibeah, God will now discipline Israel when He chooses, gathering nations against them for their double guilt (10:10).
- Hosea 10:9-10 (BSB)“Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity? I will chasten them when I please; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bondage for their double transgression.”God traces Israel's sin back to Gibeah and promises to gather nations against them.
- Hosea 9:9 (BSB)“They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.”Hosea has already compared Israel's corruption to the days of Gibeah, the same comparison found in 10:9.
- Judges 20:12-14 (BSB)“And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you? Hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge Israel of this evil.” But the Benjamites refused to heed the voice of their fellow Israelites. And from their cities they came together at Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites.”The other tribes demanded the guilty men of Gibeah, Benjamin refused, and the tribe gathered at Gibeah for war.
Theological
To what episode does 10:9 trace the root of Israel's persistent sin?
Answer: The events at Gibeah
God traces Israel's sin back to Gibeah and says the nation has remained there (10:9), words widely understood to point back to the atrocity recorded in Judges 19-20, when men of Gibeah in Benjamin committed a terrible crime against a Levite's concubine and Benjamin refused to surrender the guilty, bringing war on the tribe (Judges 20:12-14). Hosea had already compared the people's deep corruption to that time (9:9). Israel's history is presented as one unbroken line of rebellion, and as battle overtook the wicked at Gibeah, so God will chasten Israel at His pleasure, gathering nations against them for their double guilt (10:10).
- Hosea 10:9-10 (BSB)“Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity? I will chasten them when I please; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bondage for their double transgression.”God traces Israel's sin back to Gibeah and promises to gather nations against them.
- Hosea 9:9 (BSB)“They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.”Hosea has already compared Israel's corruption to the days of Gibeah, the same comparison found in 10:9.
- Judges 20:12-14 (BSB)“And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you? Hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge Israel of this evil.” But the Benjamites refused to heed the voice of their fellow Israelites. And from their cities they came together at Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites.”The other tribes demanded the guilty men of Gibeah, Benjamin refused, and the tribe gathered at Gibeah for war.
General
What does God call Israel to do in 10:12?
Answer: Keep seeking the LORD till He showers righteousness on them
Ephraim had been like a trained young cow that liked to thresh grain, but now God will put her neck under a yoke: Ephraim will be put in harness, with Judah set to plowing and Jacob to breaking up hard soil (10:11). Using the same farm language, God calls Israel to plant righteousness so they can reap the harvest that loving devotion brings, and to break up their hard, unplowed ground, a picture of hearts that have grown hard (10:12). Now is the season to keep seeking the LORD, who will come and shower righteousness on them like rain. Righteousness here is both God's gift and their calling: they are to seek Him, and He is the one who sends it down. Jeremiah uses the same picture of breaking up unplowed ground (Jeremiah 4:3), and Hosea 6:3 describes the LORD coming to His people like rain. Paul states the same principle of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7-8). Verse 13 shows the opposite harvest: they had cultivated wickedness and harvested injustice.
- Hosea 10:12 (BSB)“Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.”God calls Israel to sow righteousness and seek Him until He sends righteousness like rain.
- Jeremiah 4:3 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among the thorns.”Jeremiah uses the same picture of hard ground that must be broken up in repentance.
- Hosea 6:3 (BSB)“So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.”Hosea elsewhere pictures the LORD coming to His people like refreshing rain.
- Galatians 6:7-8 (BSB)“Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”Paul states the lasting principle behind Hosea's image: what is sown determines what is reaped.
Theological
What summons does God issue to Israel in 10:12?
Answer: Keep seeking the LORD till He showers righteousness on them
Ephraim, once a trained heifer that enjoyed threshing, will now be yoked and harnessed, with Judah and Jacob set to heavy plowing (10:11). In the same agricultural imagery God summons Israel to sow righteousness, reap the harvest that loving devotion yields, and break up unplowed ground, an image of hardened hearts (10:12). The ground of hope lies in God Himself: now is the season to keep seeking the LORD, who will come and shower righteousness on them like rain, so that the righteousness they need is finally His gift sent down from above. Jeremiah uses the same image of breaking up unplowed ground (Jeremiah 4:3), Hosea 6:3 pictures the LORD coming to His people like rain, and Paul states the abiding principle that what a person sows he reaps (Galatians 6:7-8). Verse 13 describes the contrary harvest Israel had actually gathered: wickedness cultivated and injustice harvested.
- Hosea 10:12 (BSB)“Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.”God calls Israel to sow righteousness and seek Him until He sends righteousness like rain.
- Jeremiah 4:3 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among the thorns.”Jeremiah uses the same picture of hard ground that must be broken up in repentance.
- Hosea 6:3 (BSB)“So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.”Hosea elsewhere pictures the LORD coming to His people like refreshing rain.
- Galatians 6:7-8 (BSB)“Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”Paul states the lasting principle behind Hosea's image: what is sown determines what is reaped.
General
What reason does 10:13 give for the battle that will rise against Israel?
Answer: They trusted their own way and many warriors
Verse 13 gives the reason plainly: Israel relied on its own way and on the great number of its warriors. Because of this the noise of war would rise against the people and every fortress would be torn down (10:14). Verse 14 compares the coming ruin to a past destruction of Beth-arbel in which even mothers and children were killed, a picture of complete devastation. Bethel, the center of their false worship, would suffer this because of its great evil, and Israel's king would be completely cut off when the day dawned (10:15). Scripture repeatedly says that no army can save a king (Psalm 33:16-17), pronounces a curse on the one who makes human strength his trust and turns from the LORD (Jeremiah 17:5), and contrasts reliance on chariots and horses with trust in the LORD's name (Psalm 20:7).
- Hosea 10:13 (BSB)“You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your mighty men,”Israel's harvest of injustice is traced to trust in their own way and their many warriors.
- Hosea 10:15 (BSB)“Thus it will be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great wickedness. When the day dawns, the king of Israel will be utterly cut off.”Bethel's wickedness brings judgment, and Israel's king will be cut off.
- Psalm 33:16-17 (BSB)“No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.”The psalm declares that no army or warrior's strength can save, exposing Israel's false confidence.
- Jeremiah 17:5 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.”A curse rests on whoever relies on human strength and turns from the LORD, as Israel did.
- Psalm 20:7 (BSB)“Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”The psalm sets trust in military power against trust in the LORD's name, the choice Israel got wrong.
Theological
What does 10:13 identify as the cause of the war coming upon Israel?
Answer: They trusted their own way and many warriors
Verse 13 names the cause: Israel relied on its own way and on its many warriors. Self-reliance therefore draws down the din of battle and the demolition of every fortress (10:14), a ruin compared to the destruction of Beth-arbel, where even mothers and children were killed. Bethel, the seat of their idolatry, would suffer this for its great evil, and Israel's king would be cut off entirely at daybreak (10:15). The verdict matches Scripture's consistent witness that military strength cannot save (Psalm 33:16-17), that whoever relies on mere human strength and turns away from the LORD is cursed (Jeremiah 17:5), and that God's people trust His name rather than chariots and horses (Psalm 20:7).
- Hosea 10:13 (BSB)“You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your mighty men,”Israel's harvest of injustice is traced to trust in their own way and their many warriors.
- Hosea 10:15 (BSB)“Thus it will be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great wickedness. When the day dawns, the king of Israel will be utterly cut off.”Bethel's wickedness brings judgment, and Israel's king will be cut off.
- Psalm 33:16-17 (BSB)“No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.”The psalm declares that no army or warrior's strength can save, exposing Israel's false confidence.
- Jeremiah 17:5 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.”A curse rests on whoever relies on human strength and turns from the LORD, as Israel did.
- Psalm 20:7 (BSB)“Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”The psalm sets trust in military power against trust in the LORD's name, the choice Israel got wrong.
General
According to 10:1, what did Israel do as its fruit and its land increased?
Answer: They built more altars and finer sacred pillars
Hosea pictures Israel as a thriving vine whose fruit served only itself (10:1). Every increase in harvest was matched by more altars, and every improvement in the land by finer sacred pillars, which were standing stones set up for worship at idol shrines. God's good gifts were turned into fuel for false worship. Their hearts are called devious, and they now must answer for it; the LORD will tear down the very altars and pillars they multiplied (10:2). Moses had warned that plenty could make Israel proud and forgetful of the LORD (Deuteronomy 8:12-14), and Hosea says this is exactly what happened (13:6; 2:8).
- Hosea 10:1-2 (BSB)“Israel was a luxuriant vine, yielding fruit for himself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better he made the sacred pillars. Their hearts are devious; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and demolish their sacred pillars.”Israel's growing prosperity is matched by more altars and sacred pillars, which God will tear down.
- Deuteronomy 8:12-14 (BSB)“Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses in which to dwell, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud, and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”Moses warns that abundance can make Israel proud and forgetful of the God who freed them, the pattern Hosea describes.
- Hosea 13:6 (BSB)“When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.”God later traces the same sequence in Israel: full pastures, then pride, then forgetting Him.
- Hosea 2:8 (BSB)“For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.”Israel failed to acknowledge God as the giver of her goods and even used His gifts in Baal worship.
Theological
How does 10:1 describe Israel's use of its growing prosperity?
Answer: They built more altars and finer sacred pillars
The image of Israel as a lush vine bearing fruit only for itself (10:1) frames prosperity as the occasion of apostasy: the more the harvest grew, the more altars were built; the better the land produced, the finer the sacred pillars became. Divine blessing was converted into idolatrous worship. The root is named as a devious heart that must now bear its guilt, and the LORD will demolish the very altars and pillars they multiplied (10:2). This is the danger Moses foresaw, that abundance would breed pride and forgetfulness of the LORD (Deuteronomy 8:12-14), and Hosea later traces the same sequence of fullness, pride and forgetting (13:6), as well as Israel's failure to see God as the giver of her goods (2:8).
- Hosea 10:1-2 (BSB)“Israel was a luxuriant vine, yielding fruit for himself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better he made the sacred pillars. Their hearts are devious; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and demolish their sacred pillars.”Israel's growing prosperity is matched by more altars and sacred pillars, which God will tear down.
- Deuteronomy 8:12-14 (BSB)“Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses in which to dwell, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud, and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”Moses warns that abundance can make Israel proud and forgetful of the God who freed them, the pattern Hosea describes.
- Hosea 13:6 (BSB)“When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.”God later traces the same sequence in Israel: full pastures, then pride, then forgetting Him.
- Hosea 2:8 (BSB)“For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.”Israel failed to acknowledge God as the giver of her goods and even used His gifts in Baal worship.