Winds and Whirlwinds

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Scripture

Hosea 8:1-14

¹Set the trumpet to your lips! One like a vulture is over the house of the LORD, because they have broken my covenant, and transgressed my law. ²Israel cries to me, "My God, we - Israel - know you!" ³Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him.

⁴They made kings, but not through me; they set up princes, but without my knowledge. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction. ⁵Your calf is rejected, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? ⁶For it is from Israel, an artisan made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

⁷For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads, it shall yield no meal; if it were to yield, foreigners would devour it. ⁸Israel is swallowed up; now they are among the nations as a useless vessel. ⁹For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild ass wandering alone; Ephraim has bargained for lovers. ¹⁰Though they bargain with the nations, I will now gather them up. They shall soon writhe under the burden of kings and princes.

¹¹When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sin, they became to him altars for sinning. ¹²Though I write for him the multitude of my instructions, they are regarded as a strange thing. ¹³Though they offer choice sacrifices, though they eat flesh, the LORD does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity, and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt. ¹⁴Israel has forgotten his Maker, and built palaces; and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour his strongholds.

Devotion

Today's lectionary reading isn't designed to make folks feel good.  In fact, the entire book of Hosea's goal is to make the people repent from their sinful ways and return to God.  Throughout the book, the prophet compares the nation to an unfaithful wife, a harlot, and a disobedient child.  The people have been betraying God at every turn.  They worship idols and appoint rulers that flaunts God's laws.  Instead of trusting God to protect them, they make sinful promises to other, stronger nations.  They take advantage of the poor, the oppressed, the widow, and the orphan.  And Hosea wants them to know that the chickens are about to come home to roost.

Hosea explains that God has grown sick and tired of the people's constant betrayals.  The time has come for them to experience the natural consequences of their actions.  Those consequences are receiving back all the destruction and anguish that they have put out into the world. The other nations that they have schemed with and promised allegiance to will soon swallow them up and rule over them.  The people, in other words, are about to get exactly what they deserve.  Because they sowed evil winds, they will reap a destructive whirlwind.

If Hosea's prophecy creates a pit in your stomach, you are not alone.  Like the people of his time, our society betrays God at every turn.  Instead of showing our allegiance to the Holy One of Israel, we worship at the altars of money, power, and fame.  We idolize billionaires and heap insults of the poor and oppressed who God loves.  When it comes to getting "ahead" in life...well, we like to believe that the ends justify whatever sinful means get us to where we want to be.  As the hateful and angry rhetoric that infects our world grows, it seems like society is about tear itself apart.  An ill wind is blowing throughout the land.  As it was in Hosea's day, it looks like we are about to reap the whirlwinds that we have sown. 

The Good News is that we can still change. Hosea's dire warnings were God's broken-hearted attempt to convince the people to change their ways.  The people didn't listen until it was too late...but we still can.  We can stop worshiping at the altar of money and power and instead worship the Living God--a God who cares for the poor and lifts up the downtrodden.  We can stop perpetuating unjust systems that flaunt God's teachings and seek to pursue true justice and reconciliation.  Most importantly, we can quit fanning the flames of hatred and instead seek the true and lasting peace that God has promised to provide.

Friends, the hour grows late.  The winds are gathering strength.  Shall we repent and return to God, or shall we keep sowing evil winds?  The choice is each of ours to make.  And if we want to change the course of the coming storm, we must act before it is too late.  Let us search our hearts and choose wisely...for we will live with the consequences of our decisions.

Prayer

God, give us hearts full of repentance so that we may return to you.  May we cease our idolatrous and immoral ways.  Help us to stop sowing ill winds and instead sow seeds of goodness.  Amen.