Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, you children of Israel: for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land… In this chapter Israel is cited to appear at God's tribunal. There the Lord makes the following accusations — 1. Gross violation of both Tables of the Law, both by omission and by commission. God threatens, because of this, to send extreme desolation. 2. Desperate incorrigibleness. He threatens to destroy such, and the false prophets, and the body of the people and Church. 3. God accuseth the priests in Israel, that, through their fault, the people were kept in ignorance. He threatens to cast them and their posterity off. He further accuses the priests of ingratitude towards Elm, for which He threatens to turn their glory into ignominy. And tie even accuses them of sensuality and covetousness, rendering them unfaithful to their calling. 4. He accuses the whole people of gross idolatry, and threatens not to restrain their sin by corrections. 5. He accuses them of the idolatry of the calves, from which He dissuades Judah, as being an evidence of Israel's wantonness, and the cause of their ensuing exile. 6. He accuses Ephraim, the kingly tribe, of their incorrigibleness in idolatry, their intemperance, filthiness, and corruption of justice through covetousness. For this He threatens sudden and violent destruction and captivity, where they should be ashamed of their corrupt worship. (George Hutcheson.) Parallel Verses KJV: Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. |
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