Israel’s Spiritual Adultery
Category: Failure of covenant loyalty
Could endure: Remain faithful to the LORD as husband.
“I will betroth you to me forever.” (Hosea 2:19)
Cross-Refs: Exodus 34:14; Jeremiah 3:14.
Chose wrongly: Committed spiritual adultery with idols.
“When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, ‘Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the LORD.’” (Hosea 1:2)
Cross-Refs: Jeremiah 2:20; Ezekiel 16:15.
Endured (negatively): Separation, shame, judgment.
“I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals.” (Hosea 2:13)
Cross-Refs: Isaiah 1:21; Revelation 17:1–2.
Why (wrong motive): Lust for foreign gods and nations’ practices.
“They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth, where the shade is pleasant.” (Hosea 4:13)
Cross-Refs: Deuteronomy 32:16; James 4:4.
Result: Exile, loss of covenant blessings.
“You are not my people, and I am not your God.” (Hosea 1:9)
Cross-Refs: Hosea 8:8; Romans 9:25.
Corrupt Priests
Category: Failure of spiritual leadership
Could endure: Teach knowledge of God and guide in holiness.
“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6)
Cross-Refs: Malachi 2:7; Matthew 9:13.
Chose wrongly: Increased sin, exploited the people.
“With their wickedness they make the king glad, and the princes with their lies.” (Hosea 7:3)
Cross-Refs: Jeremiah 23:11; Micah 3:11.
Endured (negatively): Condemned for rejecting knowledge.
“Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests.” (Hosea 4:6)
Cross-Refs: Ezekiel 22:26; James 3:1.
Why (wrong motive): Greed, power, indulgence in sin.
“They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness.” (Hosea 4:8)
Cross-Refs: Isaiah 56:11; 2 Peter 2:3.
Result: Cut off, dishonored.
“The more priests there were, the more they sinned against me.” (Hosea 4:7)
Cross-Refs: Malachi 2:8–9; Matthew 23:27.
The Stubborn People
Category: Failure of repentance
Could endure: Return to God in humility.
“Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us.” (Hosea 6:1)
Cross-Refs: Joel 2:13; Luke 15:18.
Chose wrongly: Rejected correction, clung to idols.
“Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!” (Hosea 4:17)
Cross-Refs: Jeremiah 2:25; Acts 7:51.
Endured (negatively): Became like a senseless dove, scattered.
“Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless—now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria.” (Hosea 7:11)
Cross-Refs: Isaiah 30:1–3; Lamentations 4:17.
Why (wrong motive): Pride, unbelief, desire for nations’ help.
“Israel is stubborn like a stubborn heifer.” (Hosea 4:16)
Cross-Refs: Jeremiah 5:23; Romans 10:21.
Result: Exile, destruction, shame.
“They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” (Hosea 8:7)
Cross-Refs: Galatians 6:7–8; Proverbs 22:8.
Kings and Princes
Category: Failure of leadership & justice
Could endure: Rule under God’s covenant.
“They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval.” (Hosea 8:4)
Cross-Refs: Deuteronomy 17:18–19; Psalm 2:10–11.
Chose wrongly: Set up leaders in rebellion, corruption.
“They reign, but not by me.” (Hosea 8:4)
Cross-Refs: 1 Samuel 8:7; Hosea 13:11.
Endured (negatively): Betrayal, instability, assassinations.
“They devour their rulers. All their kings fall, and none of them calls on me.” (Hosea 7:7)
Cross-Refs: 2 Kings 15:10–14; Micah 7:3.
Why (wrong motive): Ambition, self-will, rejection of God’s authority.
“They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow.” (Hosea 7:16)
Cross-Refs: Psalm 78:57; Isaiah 30:9.
Result: Kingdom collapse, exile in Assyria.
“They will return to Egypt. Assyria will rule over them because they refuse to repent.” (Hosea 11:5)
Cross-Refs: Hosea 9:3; 2 Kings 17:6.