“…Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer…”
Hosea 41
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. 3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. 4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. 5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. 7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. 8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. 9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. 10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD. 11 Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. 12 My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God. 13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery. 14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall. 15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth. 16 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place. 17 Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. 18 Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye. 19 The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
🧘🏿♀️ "My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.” (v12)
When Christians should be “under their God”, some are, instead, “under pastor... [name]” They ask for advice from their human gods ('stocks' and 'staff') whom they call pastors, priests, preachers, leaders, spiritual mothers, spiritual fathers, mentors, guides, and even BOYFRIEND, GIRLFRIEND, spouse, or lover whom they have made their gods. These liars tell them the fables they insist on hearing.
They believe lies because they have “gone a whoring” to find pleasant and sweet words of prosperity, comfort, and belonging. That “spirit of whoredoms” forces them off course ("err" or error). They want what they want so badly that they go searching for doctrines and teachers that tell them all the "positive" lies they demand hearing about themselves.
😡 “…My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge…” (v6)
Are the people innocently ignorant? Is it a situation where they just don't know better? No, they are ignorant because they have voluntarily REJECTED knowledge.
😡 “Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.” (v11)
The Heart = Passion and desire at its deepest level. When something affects the heart of a thing, it goes to the very core of it. Worse than just touching the heart is the destruction of it. There are things that "take away", completely demolish or obliterate, the heart.
Scripture says, "whoredom and wine and new wine" totally kills the heart. What's the "wine" and "new wine"? It is physical and/or spiritual drunkenness. It is the addictive pursuit of more and more modern doctrinal error. It is the rejection of plain Bible godliness in favor of constantly repackaged satanic, worldly philosophies.
Like an alcoholic or strung-out junkie, the people become so hooked on lies that they cannot come back to truth. The heart is not just damaged; it is destroyed.
Scripture says, "whoredom and wine and new wine" totally kills the heart. What's the "wine" and "new wine"? It is physical and/or spiritual drunkenness. It is the addictive pursuit of more and more modern doctrinal error. It is the rejection of plain Bible godliness in favor of constantly repackaged satanic, worldly philosophies.
Like an alcoholic or strung-out junkie, the people become so hooked on lies that they cannot come back to truth. The heart is not just damaged; it is destroyed.
● Disloyal ● To Deviate
● Apostate ● Stubborn
● Obstinate
Hosea 4:16(a)
For Israel
slideth back
as a backsliding heifer...
How Does a Heifer
Slide Back?
What's the connection between a heifer and the state of sliding back? Does a young calf resist or pull back when a person is trying to move it or lead it to a different location?
What's the connection between a heifer and the state of sliding back? Does a young calf resist or pull back when a person is trying to move it or lead it to a different location?
Is it the nature of a heifer to be obstinate? Is it that a heifer’s legs are too weak to bear its weight and it therefore slips and slides backward before learning to properly walk?
What does "backsliding heifer" mean?
The "heifer" may represent the “molten calf” (Exodus 32:4) or “gods of gold” (Exodus 32:31) which is commonly called the golden calf that the Israelites, who had been newly freed from Egypt, began to worship. The calf was the focus of their reverence. Israel slid back by rejecting God and worshiping a crafted calf. One way to understand Hosea 4:16(a) is: God’s people slide back just as the Israelites did when turning from the true God and, instead, began again to worship a false god--the heifer.
The heifer was one of the idols to which the people had been exposed by former oppressors in Egypt. Conditions became confusing and uncertain while the people were waiting so long for Moses to return from the mountain, that they slid back to idol worship. The same situation sometimes happens with professing Believers. When times get rough, or in many cases just a little uncomfortable, some quickly slip back to their personal idolatry: fornication, consumption of mind-numbing substances including alcohol, gossip, binge entertainment, stress-eating, or other messiness in lifestyle.
For some, the idolatry consists of religious associations. Where these people were once set free from the bondage of reliance on churches and their leaders that they may serve The King only (1 Samuel 8), they are convinced, either through persuasion of others or through isolation, to return to that social construct. They slide back to that 'heifer'. Still others, when things aren't working out the way they want and they aren't getting the prosperity, healing and blessings they were promised by religious leaders, they completely reject the God of the Bible. They go back to the world that they formerly swore to abandon. They willingly slide back to to that 'heifer'.
It's not that the heifer, itself, is sliding back. It's that the people are sliding back to the heifer. They are going backward to the "former conversation" (Ephesians 4:22) and to the "former lusts" (1 Peter 1:14). The 'backsliding heifer' is a metaphor about REGRESSION to idolatry. It is an alert to present-day Believers that we can only PROGRESS by remaining "under God".
Jeremiah 8:5
Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
Jeremiah 31:22
How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter?...
Proverbs 14:14
The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways…
Proverbs 26:11
As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
The "heifer" may represent the “molten calf” (Exodus 32:4) or “gods of gold” (Exodus 32:31) which is commonly called the golden calf that the Israelites, who had been newly freed from Egypt, began to worship. The calf was the focus of their reverence. Israel slid back by rejecting God and worshiping a crafted calf. One way to understand Hosea 4:16(a) is: God’s people slide back just as the Israelites did when turning from the true God and, instead, began again to worship a false god--the heifer.
The heifer was one of the idols to which the people had been exposed by former oppressors in Egypt. Conditions became confusing and uncertain while the people were waiting so long for Moses to return from the mountain, that they slid back to idol worship. The same situation sometimes happens with professing Believers. When times get rough, or in many cases just a little uncomfortable, some quickly slip back to their personal idolatry: fornication, consumption of mind-numbing substances including alcohol, gossip, binge entertainment, stress-eating, or other messiness in lifestyle.
For some, the idolatry consists of religious associations. Where these people were once set free from the bondage of reliance on churches and their leaders that they may serve The King only (1 Samuel 8), they are convinced, either through persuasion of others or through isolation, to return to that social construct. They slide back to that 'heifer'. Still others, when things aren't working out the way they want and they aren't getting the prosperity, healing and blessings they were promised by religious leaders, they completely reject the God of the Bible. They go back to the world that they formerly swore to abandon. They willingly slide back to to that 'heifer'.
It's not that the heifer, itself, is sliding back. It's that the people are sliding back to the heifer. They are going backward to the "former conversation" (Ephesians 4:22) and to the "former lusts" (1 Peter 1:14). The 'backsliding heifer' is a metaphor about REGRESSION to idolatry. It is an alert to present-day Believers that we can only PROGRESS by remaining "under God".
Jeremiah 8:5
Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
Jeremiah 31:22
How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter?...
Proverbs 14:14
The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways…
Proverbs 26:11
As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
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