This week we
will begin the study of the Book of
Hosea in the Old Testament.
Background:
The Book of Hosea is included under the category of Minor Prophets (12 in total) in the Hebrew Scriptures (minor in the sense of shortness in length). Hosea’s prophecies are directed to the Northern Kingdom, Israel, beginning likely after the death of Jeroboam II (2 Ki. 14:23ff), marking the end of a prosperous period in the history of the Northern Kingdom by which time Israel had engaged in idol worship and forsaken Yahweh worship for some time. The message of Hosea is primarily of judgment, the reiterating of the curses foretold in the Law of Moses, although prophecies of hope are pronounced, but such blessings are eschatological and would come only when Israel has served His punishment. The name Hosea means salvation. One of the features of the Book of Hosea is the puzzling command by God to him to marry an adulterous woman (twice). It is absolutely futile to speculate if he was asked to marry a woman who became unfaithful to him, or someone who was already adulterous before their marriage, lest we get distracted from the main message which is the undying love of the Lord in reclaiming His adulterous people, although not until they have faced the full measure of the consequence of their sins.
(1) Hosea spoke as the prophet of the Lord, indeed for some 60-65 years:
27-30 years under Uzziah, 31 under Jotham and Ahaz, and 1-3 years under
Hezekiah (see K&D, 11). If you look at 1 Kings 15-17, you will see that during
the reigns of these kings of Judah (of the Southern Kingdom), there were many contemporary kings of Israel (of the Northern Kingdom) to whom Hosea directed his main messages and of whom he was a
subject. What might be the reason that
while each of the kings of Judah was mentioned, only Jeroboam (of the Northern Kingdom) was mentioned? Which of the following might be the reason?
a. In the strictest sense, only the kings of Judah were legitimate in the eyes of the prophet. Or,
b. Most of these kings of Judah did listen to him while none of the kings of Israel paid attention to his message.
(2) Why did God ask the prophet to marry an adulterous wife?
a. How does such a relationship reflect the relationship between God and Israel?
b. Why are verbal messages of rebuke about Israel’s rebellion against their God not enough?
c. What does such an actual experience mean to the prophet in his understanding of the heart of God, of His judgment and of His ultimate forgiveness?
d. Do you think the prophet’s own experience has any impact on the people and the kings of Israel, as far as his message is concerned?
(3) Three messages are conveyed through the naming of the three children born by Gomer:
a. The name of the first son is “Jezreel": This message does not seem to have anything to do with the word-meaning of the name (which means God sows), but with the historical event of the bloody slaying by Jehu of the house of Ahab. (see 2 Ki. 9:21-26; 9:30-10:17)
- Why did God, on the one hand, commend Jehu for his killing of the house of Ahab (who resided in Jezreel) in 2 Kings 10:30 and yet hold him accountable for the massacre, to the point that the entire kingdom of Israel would come to an end also in Jezreel?
- What kind of a king was Jehu? (2 Ki. 10:29, 31)
- While he might have killed an evil king in Ahab, do you think he did it out of obedience to God or was it for some other purposes? How do we know?
- Why does God place such significance on the sin of massacre?
b. The name of the next child, a daughter, is “Lo-Ruhamah”. The name means “not loved.”
- What is the message to Israel?
- What do “no longer love” and “forgive” signify as far as God’s covenant to Israel is concerned?
- Why does God contrast Judah with Israel?
- What is the message to Judah then?
c. The name of the second son is “Lo-Ammi”: The name means “not my people”.
- What is the message to Israel?
- What does it signify as far as God’s relationship with Israel is concerned?
d. Judging from the account of vv. 2-9, what might be the minimum length of time it took for Hosea to convey these messages?
e. What then does the Lord expect the people and the king of Israel to do in the meantime?
f. Do you think they listened?
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
While Samaria was eventually captured by the Assyrians who put an end to the Northern Kingdom, the Bible does not mention where the major or decisive battle was fought. The famous church father, Jerome (A.D. 347-420), states that the decisive victory took place in the valley of Jezreel (see K&D, 30).
“The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel.” (Hos. 1:1)
Hosea served as the prophet of the Lord to the Northern Kingdom of Israel for some sixty years — a very long period of time indeed. In order to understand the messages God has intended for Israel during this long period of time, it is helpful for us to know the historical setting of such a time.
Hosea began his ministry towards the end of the reign of Jeroboam II (793-753 B.C.) which marked the height of the prosperity of Israel. Jeroboam II was succeeded by Zechariah who was assassinated. Six kings governed Israel during the remaining 30 years until its fall. As the fortune of the nation waned, “complacency of the early days…gives way to a desperation in foreign…and domestic…affairs” (Word, Hosea-Jonah, 9).
Given the
comments on the various kings of Israel in 2 Kings, by the time of Hosea,
Yahweh worship almost did not really exist in Israel. The people’s knowledge of the Torah could at
best be superficial. Idol worship,
eating and committing adultery with prostitutes in pagan worship, would be
common place. Hosea could hardly find
any serious listeners to his words, and it would not be surprising for him to
face resentment or even ridicule from the majority of those who
heard his message.
“Israel was no place for Hosea to find a sympathetic audience. The burgeoning military and economic power of the north in the days of Jeroboam II (2 Ki. 14:25-28) and the tendency of the north to have greater international contacts than the more isolated Judah resulted undoubtedly in a cosmopolitan, latitudinarian attitude religiously. Polytheistic syncretism, not monotheistic Yahwism, constituted the dominant faith."
(Word, Hosea-Jonah, 10)
Such was the setting in which Hosea unleashed the rebuke of the Lord. It was not unlike the world we live in.
Right after the initial pronouncement of judgment and forsaking because of Israel’s breach of the covenant, God immediately reveals His commitment to the covenant as the God who is always faithful (2 Tim. 2:13) with the connective “yet”:
(1) What is the promise that God reiterates as part of His covenant to Abraham (Gen. 22:17)?
(2) However, how is this promise now expanded to include others beyond the nation of Israel?
(3) How does this reiteration clarify the true intent of God’s promise to Abraham as the “Father of all nations” (Gen. 17:4-5; 22:18)?
(4) How is this promise fulfilled? (See Rom. 9:24-26; 1 Pet. 2:10)
(5) Hosea prophesies that “the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be united”.
a. Do you think it points to the re-establishment of the nation of Israel on May 14, 1948? Why or why not?
b. Read 1:11 again to see what will happen upon the fulfillment of this prophecy (Note: “the day of Jezreel” has created a huge debate among scholars over the years. As it denotes in v. 4 the decisive battle that ends the kingdom of Northern Israel due to its sins of bloodshed, idolatry and adultery, perhaps in its future sense, it points to an eschatological time or battle that brings true repentance to both Israel and Judah.)
(6) As a reversal of the curse pronounced by the names of Hosea’s two children, what does this prophecy foresee in the future in 2:1? What is the message the Lord wishes to convey to the rebellious hearers of Hosea?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.” (Hos. 1:2)
I have to admit that when the Book of Hosea is mentioned, the first thing that comes to my mind is the command by God to Hosea to marry an adulterous wife. The inevitable question to me is “why does God demand His prophet to do such a horrible thing?”. In other words, neither the important message of the prophecies nor the revelation of the intense struggle within the heart of God created by the infidelity of His people captures my attention. What a pity!
It is indeed futile to debate or speculate if Gomer was indeed an adulterous woman before her marriage to Hosea or if she became adulterous afterwards. The importance of this command by God is at least two fold:
(1) It reveals the intense struggle of the heart of God because of the infidelity of His chosen people, Israel. It is incredibly amazing that the Creator God, who has no obligation whatsoever, chose not to destroy mankind who has rebelled against Him. Instead, He has chosen the race of Israel through a covenant that He has imposed upon Himself with their forefather, Abraham, as a means to bless all the nations of the world in His effort to call them to repentance and to reclaim them as His own people. But such a passion has met with nothing but scorn, indifference and increased rebellion. It is not just a passion of any kind, but that of undying love of a committed husband. The command He gave to Hosea is the way He uses to bare His soul before Israel, in His desperate effort to lure them back to Him. What an amazing God we have!
(2) However, since Hosea is the chosen vessel through whom this message is to be conveyed to Israel, God never sees the servant He uses as simply an impartial tool to perform a task; He desires that His servant would identify with His passion, His heart, so that he or she might be His true partner in His mission. Therefore, there is no better way for Hosea to understand this intense struggle of the Lord than to marry an adulterous wife himself. How often do we complain about our sufferings and the difficulties we have, without knowing that if we truly desire to be used by God, we need to go through such trials and tribulations without which we cannot share His passion and His heartbeat. We become simply nothing but a tool!
It is important that we remember the message is declared by the Lord (v. 13) to Israel whose unfaithfulness is exposed through Gomer and whose judgment is being pronounced partly as metaphors, partly as plain reality. Since this section is primarily of warning and judgment, let’s reflect based on the many warnings that begin with “I will”:
(1) 2:3-5: The warning of stripping the mother naked ("I will strip"): This warning is preceded by calling the children to rebuke their mother:
a. Why does this metaphor seem to differentiate the mother (Israel) from the children (the people of Israel)?
b. What kind of sin is being depicted in v. 2?
c. The warning to strip bare in v. 3 is given in the form of two pairs of parallelism: How does the second pair of parallelism explain the first pair of the metaphor?
d. How does the sin of the mother affect the children? How is it applied to Israel and its people?
e. How does v. 5 describe the unfaithfulness and disgrace of the mother and what kind of sin of Israel is being depicted?
(2) 2:6-7: The warning of blocking her path (I will block):
a. What kind of warning is this metaphor to Israel?
b. What does God wish to achieve through this punishment (v. 7)?
(3) 2:8-9: The warning of taking back (I will take back):
a. What does God threaten to take away from Israel?
b. What is the reason given (v. 8)? What kind of sin is being depicted?
(4) 2:10: The warning of exposing (I will expose):
a. God threatens not only to take away blessings He has given, but to expose her lewdness. How is this metaphor applied to Israel?
(5) 2:11: The warning of stopping (I will stop) —The metaphor now gives way to plain
judgment:
a. Why does God desire to stop their celebrations?
(6) 2:12: The warning to ruin (I will ruin):
a. Who indeed has given her vines and fig trees? Why would she credit her “lovers”?
b. How will God ruin them?
(7) 2:13: The reason for punishments (I will punish)
a. What are the reasons given for these punishments or what kinds of sin are being depicted?
(8) From the reflections based on the questions in italics, list all the sins committed by Israel.
(9) Is God justified in pronouncing His judgments? Why or why not?
(10) Which of these sins speak to you in particular?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
“Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not my wife and I am not her husband.” (Hos. 2:2)
It is sad enough if we read 2:2-13 as a lament of Hosea, as the husband of an unfaithful wife, but v. 13 makes it clear it is a song of lament of the Lord over His people, Israel. By framing the song through the real-life breach of the marital bond of Hosea’s wife, it vividly depicts both the horrific sins of Israel and the heart-brokenness of the Lord. Instead of focusing on the horrific sins of Israel, let’s examine our relationship with Christ as His bride based on the sins of Israel lamented by the Lord:
- The sin of shamelessness: 2:2 depicts an adulterous woman who has no shame — she fornicates with her look and with her breasts. Such is the depth of rebellion of Israel, reaching perhaps a point of what Charles Swindoll calls the loss of “sensitive nerve of the conscience”. What about us?
- The sin of greener grass: 2:5 depicts a woman whose adultery is prompted partly by the lure of material satisfaction — food, water, wool, linen, oil and drink. This in essence depicts a marriage that is not based on commitment and loyalty but on material satisfaction and a “good life”. Such is the relationship of Israel to the Lord — never based on love and commitment, but on “what’s in it for me?”. What about us?
- The sin of ingratitude: 2:8 depicts an adulterous woman who is ungrateful — not acknowledging who has given her grain, new wine, oil and even silver and gold. I suspect it is not a matter of not having what one wants, but a matter of discontentment. It is never enough! What about us?
- The sin of self-deception: 2:11 depicts the continuous religious practices, including the keeping of Sabbath which, in the case of Israel at this stage of their national life, are mixed with idol worship. But the maintenance of some form of Yahweh worship allows them to deceive themselves to believe that they have not committed adultery against the Lord. What about us?
- The sin of idol worship: 2:12-13 depicts the core of the sins of Israel — they have completely forsaken Yahweh and turned to idols as their gods, their new masters and their lovers. They have forgotten not only all that God has done for them, but God Himself. If I ask, “What about us?”, the answer is obvious. However, idolatry does not only come in many forms, but the change of master and the object of love is a gradual process which is rooted in, according to the Apostle John, the love of the world (1 Jn. 2:15). Food for thought!
The song of lament and judgment is suddenly turned into a promise of restoration and even given equal length:
(1) The promise of restoration of the wayward wife, Israel (2:14-15):
a. What will God do to restore Israel according to v. 14?
b. However, the process of restoration must be through “the desert” and even “the Valley of Achor” (see Jos. 7:24-26). Why?
c. What will be the result? Why is it likened to the day Israel came out of Egypt?
(2) The restoration of the covenantal relationship (2:16-17):
a. What kind of relationship will be restored?
b. What will this intimate relationship be marked by?
c. Although this passage has not mentioned how it is being made possible, what do you think will happen to bring about this restoration? (See Ezek. 11:19; 36:26)
(3) The extensions of the restored covenant with God (2:18)
a. What is the covenant that God will make for their sake concerning their relationship with the animal world?
b. What impact does the restoration of peace with God have on the human world?
c. How do Isaiah 2:4 and 65:25 depict the above promises?
(4) The ceremony or price for betrothal (2:19-20) — see Note below.
a. Does Israel, the betrothed, possess any of these qualities?
b. How then will such qualities be present in this renewed relationship?
c. Apart from these qualities, what marks this renewed relationship from the former?
(5) The God who hears (2:21-23):
a. What is the picture of restoration being depicted in vv. 21-22?
b. Now “Jezreel” seems to cease to remind them of past judgment, but of the fulfillment of the meaning of the name which means “God sows”:
- What is being sowed by God in vv. 2-13?
- What is being reaped now in v. 23?
- Is this harvest confined to Israel? Why or why not? (Again, read Rom. 9: 23-26; 1 Pet. 2:10)
(6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
“These two verses (vv. 19-20) form a unit…As Yahweh addresses His beloved directly, the metaphor shifts to marriage betrothal…The words of Yahweh can mean that He will betroth Israel to Him with or by means of righteousness, justice, etc., in the sense that these qualities can denote the bride price of this marriage.”
(Word, Hosea-Jonah, 59)
“I will betroth you to me forever, I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.” (Hos. 2:19)
It is indeed heart-warming to read in chapter two that the pronouncement of judgment on Israel is countered by an equally lengthy promise of restoration. Even more amazing is that the restoration is so complete in that Israel, that adulterous wife, will call the Lord again, “my husband” (2:16). In prophesying such a restoration, the Lord promises this betrothal will be a lasting relationship (2:19) in that it will be marked by righteousness, justice, love and compassion (2:19). It is also worth noting that this promised new relationship is in fact extended beyond Israel to include us, Gentile believers (1 Pet. 2:10).
However, given the wayward nature not only of Israel but of ourselves, one wonders how this could be possible! How can we guarantee our faithfulness, let alone justice, love and compassion? These are qualities outside of our evil nature. This is precisely the reason the Lord’s promise is framed within the Jewish betrothal setting in that He, the husband, pays for the price of betrothal, and in this case, the price includes His righteousness, His justice, His love and His compassion. In other words, all is grace — whether Israel’s restoration or our being grafted into this everlasting relationship has nothing to do with our goodness, but God’s mercy.
This reminds me of the saying “There but for the grace of God” which is attributed to John Bradford.
John Bradford
(1510–1555) was an English Reformer and martyr. Bradford was in the Tower of London for alleged crimes against Mary
Tudor due to his Protestant faith and was subsequently burned at the stake on 1
July, 1555. According to A Treatise on Prayer by Edward
Bickersteth (1822):
“The pious Martyr Bradford, when he saw a poor criminal led to execution, exclaimed, ‘there, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford.’ He knew that the same evil principles were in his own heart which had brought the criminal to that shameful end.”
(1) Presumably, Gomer has left Hosea for another man, but now the Lord commands him to take her back (see Note I below):
a. How hard would it be for Hosea to do so?
b. Would you take such an adulterous spouse back? Why or why not?
c. So, is it easy then for the Lord to reclaim Israel (and us) back?
(2) Reclaiming is one thing, but the command to Hosea is to “Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites” (3:1).
a. Can you describe how the Lord loves the Israelites?
b. Can you describe how the Lord loves you?
(3) It appears that Hosea paid only half of the price of a slave girl (Exod. 21:32) plus some inexpensive barley to purchase his wife back:
a. What does this signal as the value of life of this woman after she left Hosea?
b. How does it speak to the actual value or quality of life of each below?
- A sinner like us
- Israel as a people in a life apart from God
(4) What are the commands given by Hosea to his wife now?
(5) What does it mean for the nation of Israel? (See Note II)
(6) If the last words of v. 3 are translated as “and I will not live with you”, consider the following:
a. How does it apply to the prophecy in the first part of v. 4?
b. How does this reflect the history of Israel after the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70 until now?
c. What is God’s purpose in this respect?
(7) We know that David their king refers to the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ:
a. Under what condition will Israel return to the Lord in the last days? (See 5:15)
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note
I:
It is true that it is not entirely clear if the Lord asked Hosea to take his wife back or to take another adulterous woman as his wife. But since such an action clearly speaks to God taking back Israel, it is only logical that this woman had to be this former wife for this typology to work.
Note
II:
Many would translate the last words of v. 3 as “and I will not be intimate with you”.
“So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley.” (Hos. 3:2)
It appears that Gomer has left Hosea for another man, which aptly depicts the adultery committed by Israel against the Lord. However, God desires to express His unfailing love to Israel and asks Hosea to take back his wife once again. One can imagine the struggle that Hosea has to go through, but this also speaks of the amazing love of the Lord, because it does not mean that He does not have to struggle to reclaim wayward Israel as His own.
What is interesting to note is that Hosea only paid fifteen shekels plus a certain amount of barley (which is a rather inexpensive type of grain) to purchase his wife back from her lover. Even a female slave would have cost thirty shekels (Exod. 21:32). In other words, in her unfaithfulness Gomer has sunk into a life that was worse than a slave girl.
Gomer thought her beauty deserved a better husband than Hosea (2:2); and she was not satisfied with the lifestyle afforded her in her marriage (2:5), so she looked for other men, only to be treated as less than a slave. This is the picture of Israel; this is the picture of all who live a life apart from God.
We thought God was so mean to strip us of all our freedom and we turned away from Him to pursue things of the world, to seek freedom, and to find satisfaction. Alas, like the prodigal son, we soon find that whatever we pursue apart from God will not bring satisfaction, only deeper emptiness; whatever freedom we seek apart from God will only enslave us in greater misery; and whatever we treasure apart from God will only reduce our dignity and value as a human being. We have become, like Gomer, less than a slave.
But just like a father to the prodigal son, the Lord is also the faithful husband who would purchase us, not with only 15 shekels and some lowly barley, but with His own life and His own blood! How amazing a God we have in Jesus Christ.
4:1-4—A formal charge laid against Israel
We have no idea about the time and occasion of this oracle.
(1) In using the language of a court setting to “bring a charge”, what does the Lord signify?
(2) What are the things that the Lord charges them with as lacking?
(3) What does it mean to be a society or people with the following characteristics:
a. Without faithfulness
b. Without love
c. Without acknowledgement of God
(4) Why would the absence of the above qualities constitute a serious sin to be charged?
(5) How would you describe a society that is filled with or marked by the following?
a. Cursing, lying and murder
b. Breaking of all bounds
c. Bloodshed that follows bloodshed (All kings in Israel during the time of Hosea died of assassination.)
(6) What has the absence of faithfulness, love and acknowledgement of God to do with their evil condition?
(7) Can you nail down the reason why such a nation once “under God” could turn into such a lawless society?
(8) What is the direct result of the sinfulness of the society? (4:3)
(9) Why does the Lord warn that only He could bring a charge against the people and not anyone of them? (4:4)
4:5-9—Like priests like people
V. 4 likely means that the people should not lay blame on the priests, because in essence the Lord looks as the whole nation as a priest.
(10) If people, priests and prophets all stumble together, what kind of a spiritual condition has the nation fallen into?
(11) In pronouncing His judgment of destruction, the Lord charges them with a “lack of knowledge” (v. 6). What knowledge is He talking about that they have even rejected? Why does this disqualify them as priests? (Exod. 19:6)
(12) What do you understand as the role of a priest, and Israel as a “kingdom of priests”?
(13) List the sins of the priests highlighted in vv. 6-8.
(14) Can you imagine the impact of the priests’ sins on the common people?
(15) What might be the reason that priests could degenerate into such a pitiful state?
(16) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“And it will be: Like people, like priests I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.” (Hos. 4:9)
In charging the people of Israel with a lack of faithfulness, love and acknowledgement of God (4:1), the Lord warns the people not to bring charges to one another which means they are all guilty as charged. However, that means that they should not even charge any of their priests either. The reason is not only because they should leave it to God to charge them, but also because the problem lies in “like people, like priests” (4:9).
One could imagine that the Lord should have said, “Like priests, like people” and not the other way around.
As priests, they should teach the people the law of God, therefore it should be their fault that the people “have ignored the law” of their God (4:6). And, if the number of priests increased, it would only serve to give the people more knowledge of the law of God. Such, unfortunately was not the case. The Lord accuses the priests of “feed[ing] on the sins” of His people and “relish[ing] their wickedness”. They have, instead of leading the people out of sin, condoned and followed them into their sins. In other words, they have become pleasers of men and not pleasers of God.
The pressure to conform to the world is the challenge faced by God’s people, but the pressure to conform to the people is the test faced by the servants of God even today.
Having chastised the people and their priests, the Lord now lists the horrible sins committed by the nation and their consequences:
4:10-14—The sin of prostitution
(1) The sin of prostitution is mentioned quite a few times in these verses:
a. Can you distinguish the two kinds of prostitution being rebuked here?
b. How does one kind relate to the other? (v. 13 in particular)
(2) What is the reason for their sin of prostitution? And what is its short-term consequence? (4:10)
(3) What do the giving of themselves to prostitution and the giving of themselves to old wine and new wine have in common? (v. 11)
(4) What is meant by “the taking away of understanding”? What kind of a warning is it?
(5) Why would the Lord not punish the sin of prostitution of the daughters and the daughters-in-law?
(6) What kind of a society is being depicted here?
(7) What is its long-term consequence (4:14)?
4:15-19—A warning to Judah
With the destiny of the Northern Kingdom assured in v. 19, the Lord calls on Judah to not follow their footsteps:
(8) While the history of the use of Gilgal as a place of worship is not known, the reference to Beth Aven which is Bethel (see Amos 4:4, 5:5) is according to the setting up of a golden calf in 1 Kings 12:29. To worship the golden calf is sinful enough. What kind of sin is it if coupled with the swearing by the name of the Living God?
(9) The next kind of sin that Judah should avoid is mentioned in v. 16:
a. What kind of sin is being depicted by a heifer?
b. What does God desire them to be? Why?
(10) Ephraim, the strongest of the ten tribes, is being singled out in v. 17:
a. What is being highlighted by the word “joined”?
b. What is God’s verdict? Why?
(11) V. 18 is a concluding statement of their sins:
a. How does the Lord depict the severity and finality of their sins?
b. Who are the people mentioned?
(12) What will be the final destiny of the Northern Kingdom?
(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“(B)ecause they have deserted the Lord to give themselves to prostitution; to old wine and new, which take away the understanding of my people.” (Hos. 4:10-11)
We all know that drunkenness can certainly take away the ability to think and to judge properly from a person, and Proverbs depict a very vivid picture in this respect with these words:
“Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. ‘They hit me,’ you will say, ‘but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?’” (Prov. 23:30-35).
However, Proverbs always cite the woes of drunkenness together, as the above passage follows right after the warning to stay away from prostitution. Hosea reinforces the same truth as he warns that the giving in to prostitution (or adultery) and the giving in to alcohol have the same effect in that they both will take away our understanding, i.e. the ability to think straight and judge properly.
In my walk with those who unfortunately have given in to adultery, because this is a sin of desertion from the Lord, they have gradually lost their ability to make proper decisions for their family and their career. The result is that often warned by Hosea: “a people without understanding will come to ruin” (Hos. 4:14). I really do not know whether to call it a judgment by God or simply a natural consequence of adultery!