CRITICAL NOTES.—
Hosea 8:14. Forgotten] Deuteronomy 32:18. Israel reared idol temples: Judah increased fortified cities; the sin of both, forgetfulness of God and deification of self as displayed in their buildings. God would destroy all these castles of security (Jeremiah 17:27; Amos 2:5). Nothing can protect in judgment but the refuge, the hiding-place which he has provided.
HOMILETICS
CASTLES OF FALSE SECURITY.—Hosea 8:14
The sin of Judah and Israel is here traced to one cause—forgetfulness of God. Though he made and established them as a nation, their self-confidence and idolatry led them to forsake and offend God, to build temples and palaces, which he destroyed by fire.
I. Men build temples in forgetfulness of God. “Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples.” There was only one temple, to build more was to disobey God. Yet they build in professed recognition of God, act religiously, but sin wilfully. Giving land, building churches and benevolent institutions, not always a proof of religious prosperity.
1. Temples are built in superstition. Like the monasteries of the middle ages, for the remission of sins, the redemption of souls, and the honour of saints.
2. Temples are built in spite. Men have grievances, secede from other places and build for themselves.
3. Temples are built in the interests of sectarianism. All sects rival each other in this respect, and seek to cover the land with their churches and chapels. Temples built in forgetfulness of God, to commemorate man, are not required at our hands. “Ye have not looked unto the Maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.”
II. Men increase national defences in forgetfulness of God. “Judah hath multiplied defenced cities.” Nebuchadnezzar erected Babylon in self-confidence and pride. Samaria and Jerusalem were strongly fortified, but destroyed at last. The strength of a nation depend not upon the skill of its parliament and the splendour of its fleets; nor the valour of its soldiers and the number of its fortifications. God alone is our defence; for he can “impoverish the fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst.” Men who found empires and build cities in opposition to him can never succeed. The Roman Empire crumbled away by the weight of its greatness. The kingdoms of Alexander, Cæsar, and Napoleon came to nought. Babylon and Carthage, Macedon and Persia, Greece and Rome were built, prospered for a while, and then declined. The safety of a nation is in the moral conduct of its people and the guardianship of God. “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 8
Hosea 8:14. Defence. When Nicephorus Phocas had built a strong wall about his palace for his own security, in the night time, he heard a voice crying to him, “O Emperor! though thou build thy wall as high as the clouds, yet, if sin be within, it will overthrow it” [Foster].