Israel is a luxuriant vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself; according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have good pillars. Their heart is divided; how they shall be found faulty; he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images. Hosea 10:1, 2.
Abundant Prosperity
Israel is a luxuriant vine! A growing testimony to God’s goodness to His people!
So the prophet Hosea speaks to the people of the ten tribes, likely at some harvest time. Also in the preceding chapter we read of the winepress, cornfloor and wine offerings. It was during the prosperous time of king Jeroboam II, one of the most flourishing times the kingdom of Israel ever enjoyed. The crops had been big. They were prosperous. And so Hosea compares Israel with a luxuriant vine, with many branches and much fruit.
The metaphor naturally refers to what God has given Israel materially, during these prosperous years. The fig tree did blossom, there were lots of cattle in the stalls, the olive trees did not fail and the fields produced more than the people needed or could use. In all this the goodness of God is shown to the people. The good God gave t hem so much.
Isn’t this also true in our own country, even in times of recession and inflation? Didn’t the Lord give us abundance again during the past year? This abundance is revealed in the kinds of homes we live in, in our cars and use of them, even with high priced gas, our abundance of food and the hundreds of extra things we receive, often in an overwhelming measure. Compared with the concept of mere “daily” bread we really still receive an abundance of material gifts. These facts are all the more staggering when we compare ourselves with most people of the Third World and remember that there is more poverty in the world today than there ever has been. The black horse, the horse of want, of Revelation 6, is still galloping throughout the earth.
In all this our abundance God does not leave Himself without witness. Also of our prosperity it can be said (Isaiah 5:4) “What more could have been done for my vineyard, than I have done for it?” Essentially and basically, all these things reveal to us the overflowing love and goodness of God in Christ Jesus.
Extravagant Thanksgiving
But what do we do with these gifts of God? How do we celebrate Thanksgiving Day? How thankful are we from the heart and in our daily lives? How did the ancient Israelites respond to God‘s gifts?
We read of two things that they did. They built altars for the Lord, which was a form of their worship, and they set up memorials.
On the altars they naturally brought sacrifices of sheep and cattle. And even though the two main altars for the ten tribes were found in Dan and Bethel, they set up extra altars for their worship. According to the text they apparently did this according to the goodness of the land. The more material gifts they received the more altars they built and the more sacrifices were offered. In fact, it appears that the land was full of altars, with smoke of the sacrifices being seen daily in many parts of the countryside, especially on the hills.
What’s wrong with this? Why does the Lord rebuke them? Isn‘t this better than what many other people do, not bringing any sacrifices? The more material gifts they received, the more altars were built. Why does Hosea criticize this? If there would not have been any altars, he would have rebuked them, but now when there are lots of them, he also criticizes them.
The text also speaks of good pillars. These were some kind of memorials. Something like Samuel set up with the name “Ebenezer.” Jacob also set up such a pillar or stone at Bethel, where he had the dream of the ladder to heaven. Moses did so when he ascended Mt. Sinai the second time. They were lasting and visible reminders of the special hand of Divine providence and grace. Hosea tells us here that Israel set up many such memorials, remember, according to the goodness of the land. Apparently there were memorials everywhere. They also beautified the older ones. After all, they were a people of culture, and such important things of the Lord could not be neglected. Also, in this way the tradition of the fathers was continued.
They no doubt spent a lot of money for these memorials. Again, what’s wrong with this? Surely they could have spent their money for many other causes, foolish and worthless in themselves! Isn’t Hosea, perhaps, a born critic? He condemns them so severely. “Their glory will depart, the curse is upon these altars” he says.
Before we look for the answer to these questions let us observe that people don‘t change. Let us see that the fundamental error of Israel’s Thanksgiving celebration is still with us today. In general it must be said today that many or nearly all Kingdom causes have prospered materially, “according to the goodness of the land.” Surely in the last decades here in North America we have many more beautiful church properties and many more “up–to-date” Christian schools. There was a day when our Christian day school buildings were inferior to the public school buildings, but they are not inferior now. This is good. Thank God for these advancements. We also have many more “memorials” today. We have them literally in one form or another, but also figuratively. We are very “religious,” with religious cards for every occasion, for birthdays , sympathy expressions, Christmas Day, Easter and many others. One can buy all kinds of beautiful “memorials” in the form of Christian plaques to hang on the living room wall, Christian calendars, even Christian napkins to clean dirty hands. And we have all kinds of Christian societies, clubs and organizations. Why do we have so many more of these things than thirty years ago? The biggest reason, no doubt, is because people have more money; God is giving us more material things. And the more we receive, the more of these products are found on the markets, and the more better church and school buildings are erected. And there is no comparison of the church budgets and Thanksgiving Day offerings of today with those of 20 or 30 years ago. Shouldn’t we be thankful for all this? By all means, if there is the right motivation. But God wasn‘t pleased with Israel and its memorials at all. Why not?
Divided Hearts
These people were, what the Bible calls, Zealots. They were “Pharisees”! Notice the important statement of verse 2, “Their heart is divided.” This is a common expression in Scripture. Elijah speaks of the Israelites “halting between two opinions.” Jesus speaks of people trying to serve God and mammon. Isaiah speaks of people honoring God with their mouths and lips (with song, confession and prayer) but who have removed their hearts far from Him.
A divided heart? How can that be? Actually you can’t divide your heart. Jesus says that the heart can have only one object of worship, in this case either God or mammon. No man, for example, can possibly love two women equally. Our hearts are not made that way. Actually the heart can have only one object of worship. But people try to divide it. Israel did so and we do the same.
And so they had a “form” worship. Israel had it with all their altars and memorials. Many people throughout the ages do the same with an external religion. Even to this extent that the more prosperous they are, the more they give to the “Lord.” They soothe their consciences. Accordingly, they usually are complacent in “the comfortable pew,” lethargic and satisfied with their religion.
The Lord Sees the Hearts
But the Lord sees the heart. And He knows that these people actually are living for themselves , while they are so religious and give so much or do so much for the “church.” They are not worshipping from the heart. They are not sincere and therefore really not alive, spiritually. Jesus spoke of people giving from their abundance and not from the heart. All this does not mean that God condemns all forms of worship. By no means. But all forms must express the love of the heart, and not be substitutes for it. And history proves that the less Christian life there is in the hearts of people, the more forms they may have, the more organizations, memorials and externalities to “push” the “thing” along.
Isn’t it important to have sizeable Thanksgiving offerings? Isn’t it important to have memorials, forms, beautiful buildings for our churches and schools? Of course it is. But we are not faced by the alternative of sincere hearts or altars and memorials. God wants both. He wants these gifts and sacrifices to come from the heart, expressing sincerity, dedication and gratitude.
The Lord wants hearts that are sincere, that worship Him only. He wants hearts that are aware of being delivered from the horrible slavery of sin through Jesus Christ. He wants hearts that worship Him in various forms, but out of love. He wants hearts that daily repent and are converted.
May it be said of us that according to the goodness of the land and the prosperity we receive we are brought to greater repentance and confession of sins in Christ, and to know more what it really means to present ourselves to Him as living sacrifices of thankfulness.