Theological Commentary: Click Here
In Hosea 4,
we leave behind the story of Hosea and his prostitute wife. Instead, we turn to a declaration against the
priests. God has issue with the
religious leaders. He has an issue with
the people who ae supposed to be shepherds among the people. There is no verse in this chapter where this
becomes clearer than verse 6. “Since you
have rejected knowledge, I reject you as priest.”
At first,
this seems like a scary thought. God is
rejecting His priests. God is taking
those who are supposed to be closest to Him and turning them away. If anyone should have the eye of God, it is
the priests. They are now rejected.
Rather than
be scared, it is more appropriate to ask why this is happening. What is causing the priests to reject
wisdom? The reason is stated simply in
verse 8. The priests are feeding on the
sin of the people. In verse 10 Hosea
says that they cherish whoredom and wine, which take away understanding. The priests are rejecting wisdom because they
would rather have the sin in their hearts.
They reject the ways of God to pursue their own desire.
This has a
disastrous effect on culture. When the
priests reject knowledge, they reject righteousness. They can no longer teach righteousness to the
people. Instead of being a good example,
they become a temptation and a source of validation for sin. Because the priests have neglected their
duty, swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery are running rampant. When the priests fall away, God has little
recourse except to bring judgment and exile to get the attention of the people.
As with most
chapters in God’s Word, there is a lesson here.
In fact, I think there are two lessons.
First, it is important for the religious leaders to continue to be
bastions of righteousness. When the
religious leaders fail, so does the community.
Second, we should be careful when we notice things like swearing, lying,
murder, stealing, and adultery becoming more and more commonplace in
community. When both things are
happening at the same time, we can be sure that God will be none too pleased.
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