Hosea continues in this chapter to condemn the northern kingdom for its excess, greed and neglect of what really matters. Prosperity, he warns, may lead to comfort but it will also lead away from justice and truth. He goes right to it at the top of this chapter, likely dating to his early years, 792-751 BCE, when the last successful king, Jeroboam the son of Jehoash was on the throne. Several biblical references and archaeological findings link Jeroboam's long reign with military and economic growth, as well as with the spread of cultic practices of all sorts, all over the place. For Hosea, this excess is not success but moral failure:
גֶּ֤פֶן בּוֹקֵק֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל פְּרִ֖י יְשַׁוֶּה־לּ֑וֹ כְּרֹ֣ב לְפִרְי֗וֹ הִרְבָּה֙ לַֽמִּזְבְּח֔וֹת כְּט֣וֹב לְאַרְצ֔וֹ הֵיטִ֖יבוּ מַצֵּבֽוֹת׃
Israel is a ravaged vine
And its fruit is like it.
When his fruit was plentiful,
He made altars aplenty;
When his land was bountiful,
Cult pillars abounded.
Hosea 10:1
Hosea clearly sees the abundance of altars, cultic sites and mini temples everywhere as a threat to the true religion of the land. He is fighting the priestly system that is likely benefiting from the proliferation of cultic sites while apathetic to the poverty and daily struggles of the masses. He has already spoken bluntly against the corrupt role of the priests in perpetuating these social and economic divides. What’s interesting to note is that his message - less temples, more justice - would eventually migrate to the south, and it would take two generations for King Hezekiah to echo Hosea’s sentiments and begin a massive religious reform that will dismantle local shrines in the favor of centralized worship. Whether that’s what Hosea would have wanted is debatable but we can hear in Hosea’s words the clear call for religious austerity, social responsibility, and more conscious priorities.
What will happen if the kingdom does not heed his call? He has a sad and powerful image to describe their sorry and deflated fate:
נִדְמֶ֥ה שֹׁמְר֖וֹן מַלְכָּ֑הּ כְּקֶ֖צֶף עַל־פְּנֵי־מָֽיִם׃
Samaria’s monarchy is vanishing,
Our King like foam upon water
Hosea 10:7
All that will be left, like foam on water, is the memory of what the kingdom was. Hosea’s words, still echoing today, remind us of the danger of excess, of the perils of reckless prosperity, and of what happens when we ignore the wisdom of the prophet and prefer quick profits instead.
In today’s reality, with excess and abundance, with so much money spent on the wrong priorities and leaders lost in political power play that has nothing to do with people’s needs for peace and justice - we have in many ways become, like flimsy foam on water, dependent on delusions, desperate for prophetic visions and political solutions that will lead us beyond blight into a better future.
Go Below the Bible Belt. Link in bio. subscribe.Below the Bible Belt: 929 chapters, 42 months, daily reflections.Become a free or paid subscriber and join Rabbi Amichai’s 3+ years interactive online quest to question, queer + re-read between the lines of the entire Hebrew Bible. Enjoy daily posts, weekly videos and monthly learning sessions. 2022-2025.
#Hosea #Hosea10 #ProphetHosea #הושעבןבארי# הושע #BookofEzekiel #תריעשר #treiasar #Prophets #Neviim #Hebrewbible #Tanach #929 #labshul #belowthebiblebelt929 #excess #propheticprotest #prosperitytheology #greed #idols #JeroboambenJehoas #KingJeroboam #toomanytemples #speakingtruthtopower #courage #stoptheviolence #peace #prayforpeace #nomorewar #hope