Hosea 8 See an eagle?

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Hosea 8:1 “Put the trumpet to your lips!
An eagle is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant
and rebelled against my law.
2 Israel cries out to me,
‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.
4 They set up kings without my consent;
they choose princes without my approval.
With their silver and gold
they make idols for themselves
to their own destruction.
5 Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?
6 They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
it is not God.
It will be broken in pieces,
that calf of Samaria.
7 “They sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.
The stalk has no head;
it will produce no flour.
Were it to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it up.
8 Israel is swallowed up;
now she is among the nations
like something no one wants.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria
like a wild donkey wandering alone.
Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.
10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
I will now gather them together.
They will begin to waste away
under the oppression of the mighty king.
11 “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning.
12 I wrote for them the many things of my law,
but they regarded them as something foreign.
13 Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me,
and though they eat the meat,
the Lord is not pleased with them.
Now he will remember their wickedness
and punish their sins:
They will return to Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten their Maker
and built palaces;
Judah has fortified many towns.
But I will send fire on their cities
that will consume their fortresses.”
I read a lot of commentaries to find the "eagle". Over the years I have heard "whenever we read of the eagle in prophecy.... that's the US". What a big head! That's the kind of "me me" thinking that got Israel in trouble. I have to keep reminding myself. The Israel here is not the same Israel that God set up in Canaan with that cluster of grapes so large that it would take two men and a pole to move it. The Israel Hosea is speaking of is the northern half of the kingdom..... and the people there, though related to Jacob [the one God renamed Israel], were not following the law that God handed down to them in Canaan. Instead.... these are the people who split Israel in two... Israel and Judah..... and these are the people who put up two new temples in Israel.... complete with golden calves [yep like the one Aaron made while Moses was up on the mountain talking to God]. So the eagle.... we better hope it's not the US.... because this eagle.... according to the commentaries is a symbol of swift demise by Assyria.

This is from enduringworld.com.

Set the trumpet to your mouth! Trumpets were used to assemble God’s people and to call troops to battle. Here, God commands the trumpet to sound to gather the mighty Assyrians against Israel for judgment, because they have transgressed My covenant.​
Israel will cry to Me, “My God, we know You!” But their cry is not sincere, because Israel has rejected the good. They set up rulers and princes against the Lord, and were steeped in idolatry.​
My God, we know You! But they didn’t really know God. It will be the same way for many church-goers today. Jesus said, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:22-23).​
They set up kings, but not by Me: “To choose leaders without the direction of God is not only sinful, it is foolish. Those who follow their own wisdom in the choice of leaders inevitably get what they deserve” (Boice).​
The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces: Israel made beautiful idols out of silver and gold, but they will not stand. In judgment, God will break them to pieces.​
Your calf is rejected “is literally ‘your calf stinks.’” (Wood) That’s what God thought of their idols!​

But the LORD does not accept them: Sure, they still brought sacrifices to the LORD. But it was all just an outward ceremony because they were still steeped in sin and idolatry. Therefore their sin remained uncovered, and God will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.​
For Israel has forgotten his Maker: Israel built temples, but not unto the LORD who made them. Therefore, the judgment described in this chapter is coming upon them.​
Judah also has multiplied fortified cities: While Israel practiced outright idolatry, Judah was guilty of a more subtle sin. They trusted in the fortified cities they built against the Assyrians. Those cities would be of no help (I will send fire upon his cities), and the only the LORD would preserve Judah from total destruction (Isaiah 37:33-36).​
This is from bibletrack.org.

Verse 7 is key here, "For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind:" The wind lacks tangible substance. Likewise, Israel (aka Ephraim) trusted in those false gods which lacked substance. We see in verse 5 a reference to Israel's calf worship in their capital city, Samaria. You will recall that Jeroboam established this as the national religion when the Northern Kingdom (Israel) split from Judah after the reign of Solomon (I Kings 12). Their fall will come like a whirlwind. Verse 9 references the peace that both Israel and Judah (under King Hoshea and King Ahaz) tried to establish with Assyria by paying them off (buying protection, so to speak). It didn't work (II Chronicles 28; II Kings 16-17 ).​
The "wild ass" reference in verse 9 is interesting. The "ass" (aka donkey) was the beast of burden in that day - the farm tractor as well as the mode of leisure transportation for royalty. However, a "wild ass," one that served no useful function, just ate and wandered without a purpose or a plan. Yup, that's Israel all right - no purpose, no plan and refused to serve God. The statement in verse 9, "Ephraim hath hired lovers" is a reference to that same attempt to deal with Assyria. In verse 14 we see a reference to Israel and Judah in that they both have forsaken God and turned to their own devices.
Incidentally, as the most influential among the tribes comprising the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Ephraim is often mentioned in Hosea's prophecies as characterizing all of Israel. The other prophets of the Old Testament often do the same.​

Personally, I'm glad that eagle doesn't represent the US. IMHO.... I don't think there are enough believers in the US to be an army for God to use to take down another country. IMHO.... faith in the US has a dollar sign on it. Heck.... it's a sign of the times that people of today would say "I don't even have to go to church.... all I have to do is pay them whatever I consider a proper tithe and the church will leave me alone and I get a nice tax break too." I would bet that most of the money that is taken in tax write off for charitable contributions to the church never made it to the treasury of the church because it's so easy to inflate a number on a piece of paper.

The fortified cities of Judah were brought up in these verses. Judah.... the southern region of what was once called Canaan.... was the home of the Temple.... built by Solomon for God.... but the people of Judah weren't depending on God either. They were thinking they would be safe..... inside their walls.... inside their fortified cities. They figured no one could break the gate of their fort. Here's a thought.... what if the enemy decided to burn them out? God says, through Hosea.... not even the fortified cities were safe.

Before I go I want to remind myself.... there's a difference between a fortified city and a sanctuary city..... a fortified city just has superb walls that pose a major problem for an opposing army..... while a sanctuary city offers a safe place for someone accused of killing another. In the sanctuary city... the accused would be safe during the proceedings to clear things up. Hosea is talking about the fortified cities here.... the descendants of Jacob [Israel] all thought they were safe behind those big beefy walls..... but God created the stuff that they made the walls out of..... and God can move mountains... so those fortified cities are no match for Him.... a good tornado or firenado would do the job.

I'm glad the eagle doesn't represent the US here.....

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