Israel’s Crimes (Hosea 6:13b-7:16)
Yahweh yearns to restore the fortunes of Israel, but Israel would not. Their evil, corruption, pride, rebellion, and political alliances hardened their hearts so that they did not seek God’s face. None called on Yahweh. Consequently, their self-destructive cycle, stoked like a hot oven by their greed and pride, played itself out on the world stage. Their internal political chaos destroyed them from within. Ultimately, their political intrigues trapped them like a bird and left them homeless. God would have healed them, but they would not. Rather than they living peacefully in the Eden God gave them in covenant with Yahweh, they returned—metaphorically—to Egypt.
I Would Restore Them But They Would Not (6:13-7:10)
The opening lines of this section are ominous.
- When I would have restored the fortunes of my people. . .
- When I would have healed Israel . . .
Instead, the corruption of Ephraim and the wicked deeds of Samaria are uncovered and made public. [Samaria is the capital of the northern kingdom.] It is also the word for exile, that is, to be removed. God wants to restore, but the evil is too great. The more specific reason is: (1) they do not act with integrity (they lie, שָׁ֑קֶר); (2) they are thieves (stealing from others out of greed), and (3) they raid the people like a group/army of bandits (raiding parties, probably filled with violence; a marauding band as in Hosea 6:9). It is for this reason (“for” or “because” in Hosea 7:1) that restoration and healing is not available for Israel, though God desires it.
This somber judgment does not affect Israel’s thinking. It does not occur to them to say (“consider” in NRSV), “Yahweh remembers our wickedness.” This memory is not simply an accounting of past facts or deeds, but it is remembering in the sense of holding accountable. Rather than forgetting or overlooking their evil, their deeds are “before the face” of Yahweh. Israel has not “taken to heart” (לִלְבָבָ֔ם) Yahweh’s memory. Consequently, their deeds overcome (“surround”) them, and they are brought before Yahweh for discipline and judgment.
In Hosea 7:3-7 the prophet names some of the consequences of Israel’s sin. A major part of this is the nation’s internal political chaos. “All their kings have fallen,” Hosea says. This probably refers to the assassination of four of Israel’s last five kings (namely, Zechariah [748 BCE], Shallum [748 BCE], Pekahiah [735 BCE], and Pekah [733 BCE]). It was a time of intense instability and political chaos. And this chaos involved not only the internal intrigues but also international alliances (which is named in the following section).
The participants in this chaos are called “adulterers,” which refers to their covenant disloyalty to Yahweh and probably some form of idolatry as well as moral vicissitudes. Primarily, however, the effect or consequence is political chaos and national instability at the very time the nation is threatened by empires to the north and south, Assyria and Egypt. Perhaps “adulterers” refers to the plotters themselves who seek to use their political assets for their own gain.
The primary metaphor comes from making bread, which is a daily occurrence in ancient Israel. Women would spend much of their morning—two to three hours or more—making bread for their daily meals, often in community with other women (much like a sewing group). This is a metaphor everyone would understand in Israel, though it may be lost somewhat on modern people who do not typically make their own bread (at least in the West).
The process of kneading dough, leavening it, and baking it is a metaphor for the process of political destabilization. Bakers don’t want the oven too hot, but they needed it heated sufficiently. They must keep the fire going. Perhaps the political instigators are like bakers who are preparing the dough and keeping things hot until the moment to bake and complete the task. Plots take time, but they depend on heat.
The picture offered in Hosea 7:5 is uncertain. We don’t know enough about the context or the metaphors to have much certainty here. It does seem, however, that there is a potential feasting of bread and wine on the part of kings and officials (princes), and perhaps even they sought accommodations with others. (“stretched out his hand”). The mockers are probably other officials—people who might have a say in their plots and intrigues out of the nation’s political or ruling class.
But the heat of the oven, which represents the anger present in the nation, bursts into flame and devours the rulers (literally, judges). Hence, “all their kings have fallen.” The oven symbolizes the caldron where anger and greed boil over, and this ends in a coup and the death of the king.
“None of them calls upon me,” Yahweh says. Yahweh would restore them, but no one asks, no one seeks God’s face.
Israel Relies on the Nations (7:8-16)
Ephraim is a “half-baked cake.” Its problem was not only its own internal squabbles but also its mixing with the nations (“peoples”). The cake is not edible because of its own chaos and because of its international relations. Hosea, more than likely, primarily has in mind Assyria and Egypt, though it could include alliances with Aram (Syria) and perhaps even Judah (though “foreigners” would not apply to Judah in Hosea 7:9).
Israel did not realize the implications of its international politics. The foreigners (literally, strangers) ate their strength. Perhaps they ate Israel’s grain, but it seems more likely that this came in the form of tribute to Assyria or Egypt. Their international alliances drained their economy and weakened Israel. It made them weak, old, and near death (“gray hair”). But Israel did not realize what they were doing to themselves. It was a form of self-destruction, and they did not recognize it until it was too late.
As Hosea stated earlier (Hosea 5:5), pride is a key failing of Israel’s leadership. It is a word that describes glory and majesty—in a negative sense, pride. Israel thought it could handle its future through alliances when they should have turned to Yahweh as their God who could protect the nation and give them life. They neither returned to God nor sought him. Now, as a result, their gray hairs testify to their coming death.
While baking in a hot oven was the metaphor for internal political intrigue, the metaphor for international alliances is a caged or captured bird. Israel is like a dove—a naïve animal, easily trapped, and Israel is like birds (perhaps a reference to doves again) caught in a net. The point is sobering. When Israel seeks political alliances by calling on Egypt and Assyria, they are naively setting themselves up for a trap, and when that trap springs, destruction awaits them. And this is the Lord’s discipline or chastisement, or instruction. [This is made public in an assembly—perhaps a ratification or covenantal ceremony; or perhaps the audience to which Hosea preaches?]
Yahweh reiterates the desire to redeem Israel, but their lies and rebellion make it impossible in the moment. So, Hosea 7:13 is a judgment oracle: “Woe to them!” Israel has lost its way and like sheep have strayed from their shepherd. They have wandered away to Egypt and Assyria rather than trusting in Yahweh.
Their history with Yahweh should have instructed them. It was Yahweh who brought them up out of Egypt, gave them the land, and formed a nation—Yahweh “trained and strengthened their arms.” But instead, they seek grain and wine from other resources (whether idolatry as Hosea 2:5, 8 or international favor). This is a heart problem—instead of crying out to God from their hearts (literally, in their hearts, בְּלִבָּ֔ם), they grieve and moan on their beds. Instead of acting on their faith in Yahweh, they seek comfort in their beds where they wail and moan. They live in despair rather than turning to Yahweh.
Israel made the wrong choice. They sought profit where there was none. They are a broken people without power, like a defective bow. They are at the mercy of their enemies. So, their princes or leaders fall by the sword. Their rage and insolence brought them destruction rather than restoration. Their wailing ends up a “babbling” or mocking, a derision.
The location of this “babbling” is “in the land of Egypt.” This is rather curious because Israel ends up in Assyrian exile, not Egyptian. Most likely, this is a biting allusion to Israel’s first captivity—their bondage in Egypt. Instead of being liberated from their enslavement as happened in Egypt, they will be enslaved again—though this time in Assyria. It is a metaphor for Israel’s reversal of fortune. Once they were liberated from Egypt, now they will be enslaved again. God would restore their fortune—liberate them from Egypt once again, but Israel would not—and so they, metaphorically, return to Egypt once again.
Israel lost their opportunity because of their pride, rebellion, and greed. God would have but they would not.