Israel's ‘Fruitfulness' Is Revealed By Their Setting Up A Multiplicity Of Altars And Religious Pillars, Declaring That They Are Responsible To No One, And Do Not Fear God, But They Will Shortly Discover That They Are Responsible To Someone, Even To The Great King Of Assyria, And That All Their False Altars Will Be Torn Down By A God Whom They Will Certainly Fear (Hosea 10:1-8).
Israel is here depicted as being like a luxuriant vine, but it is as one that turns out to be a vine of false promises because the ‘abundance of fruit' that it produces will be in the form of altars to Baal and pillars of Baal. Furthermore they will declare their freedom from any restraint, whether by king or God, trusting to false covenants with nature gods. This reveals a state of anarchy and lawlessness within Israel unparalleled in the past. All restraint has broken down as they fling themselves headlong into dependency on Baal and Asherah. However, Hosea points out that they will inevitably discover that they are not free from restraint because they will discover in the end that they have to submit to a king, even the Great King, the King of Assyria, and at the same time they will be in terror of losing their ‘new' gods. Furthermore they will discover that their high places will be destroyed, and that by the very One Whom they have despised.
Analysis of Hosea 10:1-8).
a Israel is a luxuriant vine, which puts forth his fruit. According to the abundance of his fruit he has multiplied his altars; according to the goodness of their land they have made goodly pillars (Hosea 10:1).
b Their heart is divided. Now will they be found guilty. He will smite their altars, he will destroy their pillars (Hosea 10:2).
c Surely now will they say, “We have no king. For we do not fear YHWH, and the king, what can he do for us?” (Hosea 10:3).
d They speak vain words, swearing falsely in making covenants, therefore judgment springs up as hemlock in the furrows of the field (Hosea 10:4).
c The inhabitants of Samaria will be in terror for the calves of Beth-aven, for the people in it mourn over it, and its priests who rejoiced over it, for its glory, because it is departed from it. It also will be carried to Assyria for a present to the great king. Ephraim will receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel (Hosea 10:5-6).
b As for Samaria, her king is cut off, as a twig on the water, the high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed (Hosea 10:7-8 a).
a The thorn and the thistle will come up on their altars, and they will say to the mountains, “Cover us,” and to the hills, “Fall on us” (Hosea 10:8 b).
Note that in ‘a' stress is laid on the multiplicity of their altars, and in the parallel we learn what will happen to their altars. In ‘b' YHWH will smite their altars and destroy their pillars, and in the parallel the high places of Aven will be destroyed. In ‘c' the people boast that they have no king and have no fear of YHWH, and want to know what a king can do for them, and in the parallel they are in terror for their gods and own the kingship of the Great King and admit the folly of their own counsel. Centrally in ‘d' they speak lying words concerning religious covenants with the result that judgment will inevitably come upon them.