Hos 4:3 | KingComments | STEP | If man breaks his connection with God, it has dramatic consequences for the relations between people. We see this in the previous verse. But that is not the only consequence. The actions of man living in sin also have consequences for his natural environment, creation. As a result of the sins mentioned in , God has had to judge the land by withholding the rain from it ( ; ). The result of that, the drought, gives the land a desolate appearance. Land-, air- and sea beasts are dying out. All life disappears. Throughout the Old Testament, the sin of the people and the condition of the land are closely connected. When God’s people listen to Him, there is abundance; when they disobey, the land is ‘smitten’ and there is scarcity. What applies to Israel also applies to the whole creation: “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” ( ). This is the result of man’s actions ( ). As a result, creation now does not produce its abundance, as it will in the realm of peace. The disturbed relations in the realm of animals are also a consequence of man’s sin. Man was originally set to rule “over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth” ( ). If man had continued to serve God faithfully, it would have meant blessing for creation. But by sinning, man has dragged creation into his apostasy from God. God placed man on the earth to cultivate it and keep it and to rule over the animals ( ). Nothing of this has come to pass. Just as in Israel in the past, the consequences of sin are visible in creation in our time.

‏ Hosea 4:3

Consequences of Sin

If man breaks his connection with God, it has dramatic consequences for the relations between people. We see this in the previous verse. But that is not the only consequence. The actions of man living in sin also have consequences for his natural environment, creation. As a result of the sins mentioned in Hos 4:2, God has had to judge the land by withholding the rain from it (1Kgs 17:1-7; Joel 1:10-12 ; 17-20). The result of that, the drought, gives the land a desolate appearance. Land-, air- and sea beasts are dying out. All life disappears.

Throughout the Old Testament, the sin of the people and the condition of the land are closely connected. When God’s people listen to Him, there is abundance; when they disobey, the land is ‘smitten’ and there is scarcity.

What applies to Israel also applies to the whole creation: “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom 8:22). This is the result of man’s actions (Rom 8:20). As a result, creation now does not produce its abundance, as it will in the realm of peace. The disturbed relations in the realm of animals are also a consequence of man’s sin.

Man was originally set to rule “over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen 1:28). If man had continued to serve God faithfully, it would have meant blessing for creation. But by sinning, man has dragged creation into his apostasy from God. God placed man on the earth to cultivate it and keep it and to rule over the animals (Gen 2:15). Nothing of this has come to pass. Just as in Israel in the past, the consequences of sin are visible in creation in our time.