Introduction
AWFUL CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE DUE TO A LACK OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF JEHOVAH, FOR WHICH LACK THE PRIESTS ARE RESPONSIBLE, Hosea 4:1-19.
With chapter 4 opens the second main division of the Book of Hosea (Hosea 4:4-14). No definite plan of arrangement can be traced, though fresh beginnings may be recognized in Hosea 4:1; Hosea 5:1; Hosea 9:1; Hosea 11:12 (Hosea 12:1, in the Hebrew); Hosea 13:1; Hosea 14:1. The section as a whole may be taken to represent Hosea’s teaching after the death of Jeroboam II. Throughout the first few chapters the emphasis is upon the people’s guilt. This is the predominant note in chapter 4. In the first part (Hosea 4:1-10) the moral corruption in everyday life receives special condemnation, in Hosea 4:11-19 the moral corruption seen in the religious cult. Both sections close with announcements of judgment (Hosea 4:9-10; Hosea 4:19). At the same time the prophet, accuses the priests as responsible for the lamentable conditions (especially Hosea 4:4-8); they have failed to instruct the people in the law of Jehovah.
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