Hosea 4:13

The Idolatry of Israel

11 “Harlotry, wine, and new wine ^aenslave the heart.

12 My people ask counsel from their ^awooden idols,
And their¹ staff informs them.
For ^bthe spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray,
And they have played the harlot against their God.

13 ^aThey offer sacrifices on the mountaintops,
And burn incense on the hills,
Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,
Because their shade is good.
^bTherefore your daughters commit harlotry,
And your brides commit adultery.

14 “I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry,
Nor your brides when they commit adultery;
For the men themselves go apart with harlots,
And offer sacrifices with a ^aritual harlot.
Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled.

15 “Though you, Israel, play the harlot,
Let not Judah offend.
^aDo not come up to Gilgal,
Nor go up to ^bBeth Aven,
^cNor swear an oath, saying, ‘As the Lord lives’—

16 “For Israel ^ais stubborn
Like a stubborn calf;
Now the Lord will let them forage
Like a lamb in¹ open country.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Hosea 4:13 Mean?

Hosea 4:12-14

Symbolically, adultery is used to express unfaithfulness to God, and we can easily see this in Israel's idolatry. God is represented as the husband of His people. Ezekiel 16:15-59 gives a graphic description of Israel's spiritual adultery, and Hosea 1:1-2 shows the same symbolism in Hosea's marriage. We can fall into spiritual adultery by relying on the world and its false teaching rather than God.

Martin G. Collins
The Seventh Commandment

Hosea 4:11-13

Everyone understands the addictive and destructive power of alcohol in wine and new wine. It can affect a person's mind (heart) insofar as he will lose the right perspective of situations he encounters and, with it, his discretion. Alcohol has the power to enslave the heart. It also has a subtle quality to draw a person into dependence on it while promoting the destruction of his will.

Amazingly, God lists harlotry (faithlessness) alongside wine and new wine, teaching us that it can affect us the same way! This fact is not nearly so well known. Faithlessness is every bit as enslaving and destructive as drug addition, and it has ensnared far more people in its entangling web than have ever been addicted to a drug.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Seventh Commandment (1997)

Related Topics: Addictions | Alcohol | Drug Addiction | Faithlessness | Harlotry

**Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Hosea 4:13:**

2 Kings 15:2-5
2 Kings 15:2-5
Hosea 3:4-5

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