When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace. When their liquor is goneThe phrase "when their liquor is gone" refers to the state of inebriation and indulgence in wine, which is a recurring theme in the book of Hosea. The Hebrew word for "liquor" here is "sobe," which implies a state of drunkenness or excessive drinking. In the historical context of ancient Israel, wine was a common part of daily life, but it also symbolized moral and spiritual decay when consumed in excess. This phrase highlights the people's abandonment of self-control and their pursuit of temporary pleasures, which ultimately leads to their downfall. The imagery of wine running out suggests a depletion of spiritual vitality and a turning away from God. they turn to prostitution
The act of turning to prostitution is both literal and metaphorical in the context of Hosea. The Hebrew word "zanah" is used here, which means to commit fornication or to be unfaithful. Historically, this reflects the Israelites' engagement in pagan rituals and idolatry, often involving temple prostitution as part of Canaanite religious practices. Spiritually, it signifies Israel's unfaithfulness to God, akin to an adulterous relationship. This turning away from God to other deities and practices is a central theme in Hosea, illustrating the nation's spiritual infidelity and the consequences of forsaking their covenant with Yahweh. their rulers dearly love disgrace
The phrase "their rulers dearly love disgrace" underscores the moral corruption and failure of leadership in Israel. The Hebrew word for "rulers" is "sarim," which refers to those in positions of authority and governance. These leaders, who should have been guiding the people in righteousness, instead embraced and even cherished disgraceful behavior. The word "disgrace" is translated from "kelimmah," meaning shame or dishonor. This highlights the leaders' preference for actions that bring shame rather than honor to the nation. In a broader scriptural context, this reflects the failure of Israel's leaders to uphold God's laws and their role in leading the people astray, contributing to the nation's spiritual and moral decline. Persons / Places / Events 1. HoseaA prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, called by God to deliver messages of judgment and hope. 2. IsraelThe Northern Kingdom, often depicted as unfaithful to God, engaging in idolatry and immorality. 3. RulersThe leaders of Israel, who are criticized for their role in leading the people astray. 4. ProstitutionUsed metaphorically to describe Israel's unfaithfulness to God through idolatry and alliances with pagan nations. 5. LiquorSymbolizes indulgence and moral decay, leading to further sin and separation from God. Teaching Points The Dangers of IndulgenceExcessive indulgence in alcohol or any vice can lead to moral decay and poor decision-making. Christians are called to live soberly and righteously. Leadership AccountabilityLeaders have a responsibility to guide their people in righteousness. When they fail, it can lead to widespread corruption and disgrace. Spiritual UnfaithfulnessJust as Israel turned to other gods, Christians must guard against idolatry in their own lives, ensuring that nothing takes precedence over their relationship with God. Repentance and RestorationDespite Israel's unfaithfulness, God's desire is for repentance and restoration. Believers are encouraged to turn back to God when they stray. The Consequences of SinSin has real consequences, both personally and communally. Recognizing this can motivate believers to pursue holiness and avoid actions that lead to disgrace. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the metaphor of prostitution in Hosea 4:18 help us understand the seriousness of Israel's unfaithfulness to God? 2. In what ways can modern Christians be tempted to "prostitute" themselves spiritually, and how can they guard against this? 3. How does the behavior of Israel's rulers in Hosea 4:18 serve as a warning for leaders today, both in the church and in society? 4. What practical steps can believers take to avoid the pitfalls of indulgence and maintain a life of sobriety and righteousness? 5. How can the themes of repentance and restoration in Hosea encourage us in our personal walk with God, especially when we have strayed? Connections to Other Scriptures Jeremiah 3This chapter also uses the metaphor of prostitution to describe Israel's unfaithfulness, emphasizing God's call for repentance. Isaiah 28Discusses the effects of drunkenness on leaders, leading to poor judgment and moral failure. Proverbs 23Warns against the dangers of excessive drinking and its impact on one's life and decisions. Ezekiel 16Uses the imagery of prostitution to depict Israel's idolatry and betrayal of God. 1 Corinthians 6Paul warns against sexual immorality and emphasizes the importance of honoring God with our bodies. People HoseaPlaces Beth-aven, Gilgal, JezreelTopics FALSE, Band, Bitter, Carouse, Committed, Completely, Continually, Continue, Dearly, Deeds, Deeply, Diligently, Dishonour, Drink, Drunkards, Glory, Guilty, Harlot, Harlotry, Lewd, Liquor, Love, Loved, Passionately, Play, Pleasure, Prostitute, Prostitution, Protectors, Rulers, Shame, Shameful, Sour, Themselves, Thoroughly, WhoredomDictionary of Bible Themes Hosea 4:10-19 8705 apostasy, in OT Library 'Let Him Alone'
'Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.'--HOSEA iv. 17. The tribe of Ephraim was the most important member of the kingdom of Israel; consequently its name was not unnaturally sometimes used in a wider application for the whole of the kingdom, of which it was the principal part. Being the 'predominant partner,' its name was used alone for that of the whole firm, just as in our own empire, we often say 'England,' meaning thereby the three kingdoms: England, Scotland, and Ireland. So 'Ephraim' here …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThe Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers.
1. His Early Years.--Ephraim, according to this biography, was a Syrian of Mesopotamia, by birth, and by parentage on both sides. His mother was of Amid (now Diarbekr) a central city of that region; his father belonged to the older and more famous City of Nisibis, not far from Amid but near the Persian frontier, where he was priest of an idol named Abnil (or Abizal) in the days of Constantine the Great (306-337). This idol was afterwards destroyed by Jovian (who became Emperor in 363 after the …
Ephraim the Syrian—Hymns and Homilies of Ephraim the Syrian Instruction for the Ignorant:
BEING A SALVE TO CURE THAT GREAT WANT OF KNOWLEDGE, WHICH SO MUCH REIGNS BOTH IN YOUNG AND OLD. PREPARED AND PRESENTED TO THEM IN A PLAIN AND EASY DIALOGUE, FITTED TO THE CAPACITY OF THE WEAKEST. 'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.'--Hosea 4:6 ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. This little catechism is upon a plan perfectly new and unique. It was first published as a pocket volume in 1675, and has been republished in every collection of the author's works; and recently in a separate tract. …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Beth-El. Beth-Aven.
Josephus thus describes the land of Benjamin; "The Benjamites' portion of land was from the river Jordan to the sea, in length: in breadth, it was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." Let these last words be marked, "The breadth of the land of Benjamin was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." May we not justly conclude, from these words, that Jerusalem and Beth-el were opposite, as it were, in a right line? But if you look upon the maps, there are some that separate these by a very large tract of land, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Of Orders.
Of this sacrament the Church of Christ knows nothing; it was invented by the church of the Pope. It not only has no promise of grace, anywhere declared, but not a word is said about it in the whole of the New Testament. Now it is ridiculous to set up as a sacrament of God that which can nowhere be proved to have been instituted by God. Not that I consider that a rite practised for so many ages is to be condemned; but I would not have human inventions established in sacred things, nor should it be …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation "For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus Hath Made Me Free from the Law of Sin and Death. "
Rom. viii. 2.--"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." You know there are two principal things in the preceding verse,--the privilege of a Christian, and the property or character of a Christian. He is one that never enters into condemnation; He that believeth shall not perish, John iii. 15. And then he is one that walks not after the flesh, though he be in the flesh, but in a more elevate way above men, after the guiding and leading …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Epistle cxxi. To Leander, Bishop of Hispalis (Seville).
To Leander, Bishop of Hispalis (Seville). Gregory to Leander, Bishop of Spain. I have the epistle of thy Holiness, written with the pen of charity alone. For what the tongue transferred to the paper had got its tincture from the heart. Good and wise men were present when it was read, and at once their bowels were stirred with emotion. Everyone began to seize thee in his heart with the hand of love, for that in that epistle the sweetness of thy disposition was not to be heard, but seen. All severally …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great That the Ruler Relax not his Care for the Things that are Within in his Occupation among the Things that are Without, nor Neglect to Provide
The ruler should not relax his care for the things that are within in his occupation among the things that are without, nor neglect to provide for the things that are without in his solicitude for the things that are within; lest either, given up to the things that are without, he fall away from his inmost concerns, or, occupied only with the things that are within bestow not on his neighbours outside himself what he owes them. For it is often the case that some, as if forgetting that they have …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great 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 Seasonable Counsel: Or, Advice to Sufferers.
BY JOHN BUNYAN. London: Printed for Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1684. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. THIS valuable treatise was first published in a pocket volume in 1684, and has only been reprinted in Whitfield's edition of Bunyan's works, 2 vols. folio, 1767. No man could have been better qualified to give advice to sufferers for righteousness' sake, than John Bunyan: and this work is exclusively devoted to that object. Shut up in a noisome jail, under the iron hand of …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Joy
'The fruit of the Spirit is joy.' Gal 5:52. The third fruit of justification, adoption, and sanctification, is joy in the Holy Ghost. Joy is setting the soul upon the top of a pinnacle - it is the cream of the sincere milk of the word. Spiritual joy is a sweet and delightful passion, arising from the apprehension and feeling of some good, whereby the soul is supported under present troubles, and fenced against future fear. I. It is a delightful passion. It is contrary to sorrow, which is a perturbation …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity The Third Commandment
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.' Exod 20: 7. This commandment has two parts: 1. A negative expressed, that we must not take God's name in vain; that is, cast any reflections and dishonour on his name. 2. An affirmative implied. That we should take care to reverence and honour his name. Of this latter I shall speak more fully, under the first petition in the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name.' I shall …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments The Doctrine
OF THE LAW AND GRACE UNFOLDED; OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING THE LAW AND GRACE; THE NATURE OF THE ONE, AND THE NATURE OF THE OTHER; SHOWING WHAT THEY ARE, AS THEY ARE THE TWO COVENANTS; AND LIKEWISE, WHO THEY BE, AND WHAT THEIR CONDITIONS ARE, THAT BE UNDER EITHER OF THESE TWO COVENANTS: Wherein, for the better understanding of the reader, there are several questions answered touching the law and grace, very easy to be read, and as easy to be understood, by those that are the sons of wisdom, the children …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 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 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 Links Hosea 4:18 NIVHosea 4:18 NLTHosea 4:18 ESVHosea 4:18 NASBHosea 4:18 KJV
Hosea 4:18 Commentaries
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