BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

By this point in the biblical story, we’ve seen plenty of low points in Israel’s history. Few compare to the book of Judges’ catastrophic conclusion, when the nation tore itself apart with violence and sexual assault, everyone “doing what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 21:25).

In today’s reading, Hosea says Israel’s moral corruption has spiraled back down to “the days of Gibeah” (Hos. 9:9), a gut-wrenching hyperlink to Judges 19. The people are back to doing what’s right in their own eyes, making them as dead as the idols they worship. From bandit priests with golden calves, to clueless kings with charlatan courts, to scheming farmers with bloodstained fields: It’s violence and chaos all the way down.

Yahweh wants the Israelites to sow righteousness and eat the fruit of unfailing love. Instead, they plant wickedness, reap evil, and gorge themselves on the rotten fruit of their deceptive schemes. Like the first humans in Eden, the Israelites spurn God’s gift of true life. They eat from the wrong tree, as it were, through idol worship, exploitation of the poor, and political alliances with other nations.

As a result, all the garden blessings they were supposed to enjoy in the promised land come undone. Instead of being fruitful and multiplying, they will experience the heartbreak of barrenness. Fertile fields will be overrun by thorns, leaving no grain for their threshing floors. Peace and security will give way to exile. Notice how exhaustive loss of life becomes when people reject God’s will in favor of their own, and notice how full life becomes when people allow God’s will to direct their choices.

Reflection Questions

• Meditate on Jesus’ quotations of Hosea 6:6—“I desire mercy, not sacrifice”— in Matthew 9:9-13 and 12:1-14. How do Jesus’ actions help you understand what it looks like for God’s people to follow his example of mercy?
• In the book of Joshua, we learned that Shechem was supposed to be a city of refuge (see Josh. 20). It was also where Joshua renewed the covenant with Israel in the promised land (Josh. 24). How does this context help you understand the weight of God’s accusation in Hosea 6:9-10?