Hosea 12:8
And Ephraim boasts: "How rich I have become! I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful."
And Ephraim boasts
The name "Ephraim" refers to one of the tribes of Israel, often used to represent the Northern Kingdom as a whole. The Hebrew root for "boasts" (פָּרַר, parar) implies a sense of arrogance and self-satisfaction. Historically, Ephraim was a leading tribe in the Northern Kingdom, and its prosperity led to a false sense of security and pride. This phrase sets the tone for the verse, highlighting the tribe's misplaced confidence in material wealth rather than in God.

How rich I have become
The Hebrew word for "rich" (עָשַׁר, ashar) conveys the accumulation of wealth and prosperity. In the context of ancient Israel, wealth was often seen as a sign of God's blessing. However, Ephraim's declaration here is self-centered, indicating a reliance on material success rather than spiritual faithfulness. This reflects a broader biblical theme where reliance on wealth can lead to spiritual complacency and moral decay.

I have found wealth for myself
The phrase underscores the self-reliance and self-congratulation of Ephraim. The Hebrew root for "found" (מָצָא, matsa) suggests discovery or acquisition, emphasizing that Ephraim attributes its success to its own efforts. This self-sufficiency is a stark contrast to the biblical teaching that all blessings come from God. Historically, this attitude contributed to the spiritual decline of the Northern Kingdom, as they turned away from dependence on God.

In all my labors
The word "labors" (יְגִיעַ, yegia) refers to toil and effort. Ephraim's focus on their own hard work as the source of their wealth reveals a misplaced trust in human effort over divine providence. This reflects a common biblical warning against the pride of self-reliance, reminding believers that true success is found in obedience to God and His commandments.

they can find in me no iniquity that is sin
The phrase "no iniquity that is sin" (עָוֹן אֲשֶׁר חֵטְא, avon asher chet) suggests a denial of wrongdoing. Ephraim's claim of innocence is ironic and self-deceptive, as the prophets repeatedly condemned the Northern Kingdom for idolatry and injustice. The Hebrew words for "iniquity" and "sin" highlight the moral and ethical failures that Ephraim refuses to acknowledge. This denial of sin is a common human tendency, but the Bible consistently calls for repentance and humility before God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Ephraim
A prominent tribe of Israel, often representing the Northern Kingdom. Known for its wealth and influence, Ephraim is frequently addressed by the prophets for its spiritual and moral failings.

2. Hosea
A prophet in the 8th century BC, called by God to deliver messages of warning and hope to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. His ministry focused on Israel's unfaithfulness and God's enduring love.

3. Israel
The Northern Kingdom, often characterized by idolatry and reliance on wealth and political alliances rather than on God.
Teaching Points
The Deception of Wealth
Wealth can create a false sense of security and self-sufficiency, leading individuals to believe they are without sin or need of God. True security is found in God alone.

Self-Examination
Like Ephraim, we must guard against self-deception. Regular self-examination in light of Scripture helps us recognize our true spiritual state.

True Riches
Spiritual wealth is of far greater value than material wealth. Investing in a relationship with God and in His kingdom yields eternal dividends.

Repentance and Humility
Acknowledging our sins and turning to God in humility is essential. God desires a contrite heart over material offerings.

The Danger of Pride
Pride in one's achievements or possessions can blind us to our spiritual needs. Humility before God is crucial for spiritual growth.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Ephraim's attitude in Hosea 12:8 reflect a common human tendency regarding wealth and self-sufficiency?

2. In what ways can material wealth lead to spiritual blindness, and how can we guard against this in our own lives?

3. How does the message of Hosea 12:8 challenge us to evaluate our own spiritual condition and reliance on God?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to ensure that our confidence is in God rather than in our possessions or achievements?

5. How do the warnings in Hosea 12:8 and related scriptures encourage us to pursue true riches in Christ?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Revelation 3:17
This verse parallels the self-deception of wealth, where the Laodicean church believes it is rich and in need of nothing, yet is spiritually poor.

Proverbs 30:8-9
These verses highlight the danger of wealth leading to self-sufficiency and forgetting God, echoing Ephraim's boastful attitude.

Luke 12:15-21
The parable of the rich fool warns against storing up earthly wealth without being rich toward God, similar to Ephraim's misplaced confidence.
FortunesHomilistHosea 12:7-9
Fortunes Badly Used, Badly Made, and Badly EndedD. Thomas Hosea 12:7-9
I am RichJoseph Parker, D. D.Hosea 12:7-9
Keeping Up AppearancesW. L. Watkinson.Hosea 12:7-9
Balances of DeceitJ. Orr Hosea 12:7-11
Three Painful ContrastsC. Jerdan Hosea 12:7-14
People
Aram, Assyrians, Hosea, Jacob
Places
Aram, Assyria, Bethel, Egypt, Gilead, Gilgal
Topics
Ah, Boasts, Ephraim, E'phraim, Gained, Got, Guilt, Incurred, Iniquity, Labors, Labours, Myself, Nevertheless, None, Offset, Property, Rich, Riches, Sin, Substance, Surely, Wealth, Wealthy, Won't, Works, Yet
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Hosea 12:8

     5413   money, attitudes
     5503   rich, the
     5793   arrogance
     5813   conceit
     5848   exaggeration
     5907   miserliness
     5961   superiority
     8810   riches, dangers
     8820   self-confidence
     8824   self-righteousness, nature of

Hosea 12:7-8

     5253   cheating
     5614   weights and measures, laws
     8711   covenant breakers

Library
Everybody's Sermon
Now it struck me that God is every day preaching to us by similitudes. When Christ was on earth he preached in parables, and, though he is in heaven now, he is preaching in parables to-day. Providence is God's sermon. The things which we see about us are God's thoughts and God's words to us; and if we were but wise there is not a step that we take, which me should not find to be full of mighty instruction. O ye sons of men! God warns you every day by his own word; he speaks to you by the lips of
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

The Pilgrim's Progress
FROM THIS WORLD TO THAT WHICH IS TO COME. THE SECOND PART. DELIVERED UNDER THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM. WHEREIN IS SET FORTH THE MANNER OF THE SETTING OUT OF CHRISTIAN'S WIFE AND CHILDREN, THEIR DANGEROUS JOURNEY, AND SAFE ARRIVAL AT THE DESIRED COUNTRY. By JOHN BUNYAN. 'I have used similitudes.'--Hosea 12:10. London: Printed for Nathaniel Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, near the Church, 1684. THE AUTHOR'S WAY OF SENDING FORTH HIS SECOND PART OF THE PILGRIM. Go now, my little book, to every
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Holy War,
MADE BY SHADDAI UPON DIABOLUS, FOR THE REGAINING OF THE METROPOLIS OF THE WORLD; OR, THE LOSING AND TAKING AGAIN OF THE TOWN OF MANSOUL. THE AUTHOR OF 'THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.' 'I have used similitudes.'--Hosea 12:10. London: Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms in the Poultry; and Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Bunyan's account of the Holy War is indeed an extraordinary book, manifesting a degree of genius, research, and spiritual
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Twofold Wrestle --God's with Jacob and Jacob's with God
'And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast shewed unto Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Gen. xxxi. 11
Of no less importance and significance is the passage Gen. xxxi. 11 seq. According to ver. 11, the Angel of God, [Hebrew: mlaK halhiM] appears toJacob in a dream. In ver. 13, the same person calls himself the God of Bethel, with reference to the event recorded in chap. xxviii. 11-22. It cannot be supposed that in chap xxviii. the mediation of a common angel took place, who, however, had not been expressly mentioned; for Jehovah is there contrasted with the angels. In ver. 12, we read: "And behold
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Unity of the Divine Essence in Three Persons Taught, in Scripture, from the Foundation of the World.
1. Scripture, in teaching that the essence of God is immense and spiritual, refutes not only idolaters and the foolish wisdom of the world, but also the Manichees and Anthropomorphites. These latter briefly refuted. 2. In this one essence are three persons, yet so that neither is there a triple God, nor is the simple essence of God divided. Meaning of the word Person in this discussion. Three hypostases in God, or the essence of God. 3. Objection of those who, in this discussion, reject the use of
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Concerning Worship.
Concerning Worship. [780] All true and acceptable worship to God is offered in the inward and immediate moving and drawing of his own Spirit which is neither limited to places times, nor persons. For though we are to worship him always, and continually to fear before him; [781] yet as to the outward signification thereof, in prayers, praises, or preachings, we ought not to do it in our own will, where and when we will; but where and when we are moved thereunto by the stirring and secret inspiration
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

The Wonderful.
Isaiah ix:6. HIS name shall be called "Wonderful" (Isaiah ix:6). And long before Isaiah had uttered this divine prediction the angel of the Lord had announced his name to be Wonderful. As such He appeared to Manoah. And Manoah said unto the angel of Jehovah, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honor. And the angel of Jehovah said unto Him "why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is Wonderful" (margin, Judges xiii:17-18). This angel of Jehovah, the Person who
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

"But if we Walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, we have Fellowship one with Another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ His
1 John i. 7.--"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Art is the imitation of nature, and true religion is a divine art, that consists in the imitation of God himself, the author of nature. Therefore it is a more high and transcendent thing, of a sublimer nature than all the arts and sciences among men. Those reach but to some resemblance of the wisdom of God, expressed in his works,
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Motives to Holy Mourning
Let me exhort Christians to holy mourning. I now persuade to such a mourning as will prepare the soul for blessedness. Oh that our hearts were spiritual limbecs, distilling the water of holy tears! Christ's doves weep. They that escape shall be like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity' (Ezekiel 7:16). There are several divine motives to holy mourning: 1 Tears cannot be put to a better use. If you weep for outward losses, you lose your tears. It is like a shower
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

The Prophet Hosea.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. That the kingdom of Israel was the object of the prophet's ministry is so evident, that upon this point all are, and cannot but be, agreed. But there is a difference of opinion as to whether the prophet was a fellow-countryman of those to whom he preached, or was called by God out of the kingdom of Judah. The latter has been asserted with great confidence by Maurer, among others, in his Observ. in Hos., in the Commentat. Theol. ii. i. p. 293. But the arguments
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Eighth Commandment
Thou shalt not steal.' Exod 20: 15. AS the holiness of God sets him against uncleanness, in the command Thou shalt not commit adultery;' so the justice of God sets him against rapine and robbery, in the command, Thou shalt not steal.' The thing forbidden in this commandment, is meddling with another man's property. The civil lawyers define furtum, stealth or theft to be the laying hands unjustly on that which is another's;' the invading another's right. I. The causes of theft. [1] The internal causes
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Tenth Commandment
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.' Exod 20: 17. THIS commandment forbids covetousness in general, Thou shalt not covet;' and in particular, Thy neighbour's house, thy neighbour's wife, &c. I. It forbids covetousness in general. Thou shalt not covet.' It is lawful to use the world, yea, and to desire so much of it as may keep us from the temptation
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

There is a Blessedness in Reversion
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Matthew 5:3 Having done with the occasion, I come now to the sermon itself. Blessed are the poor in spirit'. Christ does not begin his Sermon on the Mount as the Law was delivered on the mount, with commands and threatenings, the trumpet sounding, the fire flaming, the earth quaking, and the hearts of the Israelites too for fear; but our Saviour (whose lips dropped as the honeycomb') begins with promises and blessings. So sweet and ravishing was the doctrine of this
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Prayer
But I give myself unto prayer.' Psa 109: 4. I shall not here expatiate upon prayer, as it will be considered more fully in the Lord's prayer. It is one thing to pray, and another thing to be given to prayer: he who prays frequently, is said to be given to prayer; as he who often distributes alms, is said to be given to charity. Prayer is a glorious ordinance, it is the soul's trading with heaven. God comes down to us by his Spirit, and we go up to him by prayer. What is prayer? It is an offering
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Prophet Amos.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point--viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet--the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Hosea
The book of Hosea divides naturally into two parts: i.-iii. and iv.-xiv., the former relatively clear and connected, the latter unusually disjointed and obscure. The difference is so unmistakable that i.-iii. have usually been assigned to the period before the death of Jeroboam II, and iv.-xiv. to the anarchic period which succeeded. Certainly Hosea's prophetic career began before the end of Jeroboam's reign, as he predicts the fall of the reigning dynasty, i. 4, which practically ended with Jeroboam's
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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