Hosea 8:14

Both Israel and Judah had forgotten that Yahweh had made her what she had become. Instead of continuing to trust and obey Him, the people had put their confidence in their own ability to provide for themselves. This attitude of self-reliance manifested itself in building palaces and fortified cites as places of prominence and protection. Palaces and fortified cites are not wrong in themselves, but in this context, set against remembering Yahweh, they were expressions of self-trust. As judgment the Lord would burn down their palaces and fortified cities. He would remove the objects of their confidence and teach the people their personal inadequacy. Tiglath-Pileser III did this when he destroyed Samaria and the other Israelites cities, and Sennacherib did it when he attacked all the fortified cities of Judah (2 Kings 17:6; 2 Kings 18:13).

To summarize, five types of sin stand out in this section as reasons for Israel’s punishment. Israel had usurped Yahweh’s sovereign authority to lead the nation (Hosea 8:4) and had worshipped idols (Hosea 8:4-6). Israel depended on foreign treaties rather than God (Hosea 8:9-10) and had adopted and perpetuated a corrupt cult (system of worship, Hosea 8:5-6; Hosea 8:11; Hosea 8:13). And Israel arrogantly disregarded Yahweh’s Law (Hosea 8:1-3; Hosea 8:5; Hosea 8:12; Hosea 8:14).