Hosea 9:1

The Message

Don’t waste your life in wild orgies, Israel. Don’t party away your life with the heathen. You walk away from your God at the drop of a hat and like a whore sell yourself promiscuously at every sex-and-religion party on the street. All that party food won’t fill you up. You’ll end up hungrier than ever. At this rate you’ll not last long in God’s land: Some of you are going to end up bankrupt in Egypt. Some of you will be disillusioned in Assyria. As refugees in Egypt and Assyria, you won’t have much chance to worship God— Sentenced to rations of bread and water, and your souls polluted by the spirit-dirty air. You’ll be starved for God, exiled from God’s own country. Will you be homesick for the old Holy Days? Will you miss festival worship of God? Be warned! When you escape from the frying pan of disaster, you’ll fall into the fire of Egypt. Egypt will give you a fine funeral! What use will all your god-inspired silver be then as you eke out a living in a field of weeds? * * *

Cross References

Jeremiah 2:20

“A long time ago you broke out of the harness. You shook off all restraints. You said, ‘I will not serve!’ and off you went, Visiting every sex-and-religion shrine on the way, like a common whore. You were a select vine when I planted you from completely reliable stock. And look how you’ve turned out— a tangle of rancid growth, a poor excuse for a vine. Scrub, using the strongest soaps. Scour your skin raw. The sin-grease won’t come out. I can’t stand to even look at you!” God’s Decree, the Master’s Decree.

Lamentations 4:21

Celebrate while you can, O Edom! Live it up in Uz! For it won’t be long before you drink this cup, too. You’ll find out what it’s like to drink God’s wrath, Get drunk on God’s wrath and wake up with nothing, stripped naked.

Ezekiel 16:15

“‘But your beauty went to your head and you became a common whore, grabbing anyone coming down the street and taking him into your bed. You took your fine dresses and made “tents” of them, using them as brothels in which you practiced your trade. This kind of thing should never happen, never.

Ezekiel 16:30

“‘What a sick soul! Doing all this stuff—the champion whore! You built your bold brothels at every major intersection, opened up your whorehouses in every neighborhood, but you were different from regular whores in that you wouldn’t accept a fee.

Ezekiel 20:32

“‘What you’re secretly thinking is never going to happen. You’re thinking, “We’re going to be like everybody else, just like the other nations. We’re going to worship gods we can make and control.”

Hosea 10:5

The people of Samaria travel over to Crime City to worship the golden calf-god. They go all out, prancing and hollering, taken in by their showmen priests. They act so important around the calf-god, but are oblivious to the sham, the shame. They have plans to take it to Assyria, present it as a gift to the great king. And so Ephraim makes a fool of himself, disgraces Israel with his stupid idols.

Amos 3:2

“Out of all the families on earth, I picked you. Therefore, because of your special calling, I’m holding you responsible for all your sins.”

James 4:16

As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.

James 5:1

And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You’ll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you’ve piled up is judgment.