Hosea 10

Hosea 10 is the tenth of the fourteen chapters of the Book of Hosea. It continues the prophecy of judgment against the Northern Kingdom of Israel from Hosea 9 and returns to the "days of Gibeah" mentioned in chapter 9.

Outline

• Verses 1–4 Israel is likened to a fruitful vine; the more abundant its fruit and its land, the more it multiplied altars and images (stone pillars used as idols). The altars of a people with a divided heart will be broken down, and even their king will prove useless.
• Verses 5–8 The calf of Bethaven will be carried to Assyria as a present for King Jareb. The king of Samaria is cut off "as the foam upon the water," and the thorn and the thistle grow up on the high places (hilltop altars) of Aven. The people cry out to the mountains, "Cover us."
• Verses 9–11 Because of sin that has persisted since the days of Gibeah, the peoples will be gathered against them. A yoke is laid upon Ephraim, the trained heifer that loved to tread out the corn.
• Verses 12–15 The people are called to sow in righteousness, reap in mercy, and break up their fallow ground. Yet they have plowed wickedness and reaped iniquity, trusting in their own way and in their mighty men. Their fortresses will be destroyed as Shalman destroyed Betharbel, and the king of Israel will be utterly cut off in a morning.

Key Verses

• Hosea 10:8 "They shall say to the mountains, Cover us" — the same expression appears in Luke 23:30 and Revelation 6:16.
• Hosea 10:12 "Break up your fallow ground" — a call to repentance set in the very midst of a prophecy of judgment.

People and Places

• Ephraim — the name of the tribe representing the Northern Kingdom; in the Book of Hosea it refers to the northern kingdom as a whole.
• Samaria — the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
• Bethaven — meaning "house of iniquity." It is commonly understood as a derogatory name for Bethel, where Jeroboam set up a calf image.
• Assyria — the empire that destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
• King Jareb — his identity is uncertain. Some interpret the name as a title meaning "the great king," that is, the king of Assyria.
• Gibeah — the site of the events recorded in Judges 19–21.
• Shalman and Betharbel — the identity of the person and the place is uncertain.

Points for Reflection

• What the "two sins" of verse 10 refer to is not settled. Some take them to be the two calves at Bethel and Dan; others take them to be the sin of forsaking God and the sin of serving idols.
• The cutting off of the king in verse 15 is commonly read in connection with the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel around 722 BC.
• The imagery of sowing and reaping in verses 12–13 echoes Hosea 8:7: "they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind."

In the Korean Church

The words of verse 12, "break up your fallow ground," are frequently used as a sermon text on occasions that emphasize repentance and a new beginning, such as New Year services, revival meetings, and special early-morning prayer meetings.