Hosea 8-10

“My God, we of Israel know Thee!  Israel has rejected the good …” (8:2-3).  The Israelites of Hosea’s time hid behind their identity as God’s people, even as they chose sin.  They appointed leaders without consulting God (8:4), they worshipped calf-idols (8:6), and they regarded God’s laws as “a strange thing” (8:12).  They thought they were fine, because they regarded their wealth and power as a sign of God’s favor (10:1).  But God was looking for something different: righteousness and kindness (10:12).

Israel “sowed the wind” and reaped the whirlwind (8:7).  As they rejected God’s ways and His rule, they created a world ruled instead by selfishness, violence, and idolatry.