Hos 8:14 | KingComments | STEP | There is more often talk about God as “Maker” ( ; ; ). What He makes belongs to Him and is for Him, to benefit from it and to rejoice in it. As a Maker, He has equipped His makings with all kinds of functions, so that His makings can function optimally, with a perfect harmony between the different functions. He has given in His law a detailed manual for His creation. But unfortunately, it has forgotten to remain dependent on its Maker. They have ignored his ‘instructions for use’. They have given their own interpretation to their functioning. They have forgotten who they are and what their task is. When entering into the bond with His people, God said: “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel” ( ). That is what they have lost. The word “forgot” here literally means “put it in the wrong place”. Forgetting God is not the same as not thinking about Him, but not giving Him the place He deserves. For example, we can assume as a fact that God exists, intellectually agree that He is there, without this affecting our behavior. In this way we can banish God until the Sunday meeting or church service and leave Him there until the next Sunday. If God has been given a wrong place, He has lost His active power over our lives. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses warns the people time and again not to forget God, not to give Him the wrong place by not taking Him into account. In that case God is, so to speak, banished to the temple and left there. If the people no longer give God the place that is due to Him, this can be seen, among other things, in the activities they develop. Instead of occupying themselves with His house, they are building their own temples or palaces and fortified cities. Temples and palaces both point to space, vastness. It does not matter if that space is used for worship or for pleasure. The origin is the will and lust of man. It is the desire for greatness, a building without God. Building fortified cities looks at the attempt to obtain safety and security apart from God. Israel and Judah are addressed together again. They have forgotten their Maker and dedicate themselves to earthly splendor and greatness, palaces in which one lives luxuriantly, and solid cities in which one feels safe from the enemy. Safety is something that man is constantly looking for. He constantly lives in fear of what he can lose in terms of possessions and health. As punishment, God will give it all up to the fire. Both Israel and Judah will have to deal with the judgment, each for the sin it has committed. Israel will be scattered by the Assyrians and Judah will be taken away in exile to Babylon.

‏ Hosea 8:14

The Maker Forgotten

There is more often talk about God as “Maker” (Deu 32:15; Job 35:10; Psa 100:3). What He makes belongs to Him and is for Him, to benefit from it and to rejoice in it. As a Maker, He has equipped His makings with all kinds of functions, so that His makings can function optimally, with a perfect harmony between the different functions. He has given in His law a detailed manual for His creation.

But unfortunately, it has forgotten to remain dependent on its Maker. They have ignored his ‘instructions for use’. They have given their own interpretation to their functioning. They have forgotten who they are and what their task is. When entering into the bond with His people, God said: “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel” (Exo 19:6). That is what they have lost.

The word “forgot” here literally means “put it in the wrong place”. Forgetting God is not the same as not thinking about Him, but not giving Him the place He deserves. For example, we can assume as a fact that God exists, intellectually agree that He is there, without this affecting our behavior. In this way we can banish God until the Sunday meeting or church service and leave Him there until the next Sunday.

If God has been given a wrong place, He has lost His active power over our lives. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses warns the people time and again not to forget God, not to give Him the wrong place by not taking Him into account. In that case God is, so to speak, banished to the temple and left there.

If the people no longer give God the place that is due to Him, this can be seen, among other things, in the activities they develop. Instead of occupying themselves with His house, they are building their own temples or palaces and fortified cities. Temples and palaces both point to space, vastness. It does not matter if that space is used for worship or for pleasure. The origin is the will and lust of man. It is the desire for greatness, a building without God.

Building fortified cities looks at the attempt to obtain safety and security apart from God. Israel and Judah are addressed together again. They have forgotten their Maker and dedicate themselves to earthly splendor and greatness, palaces in which one lives luxuriantly, and solid cities in which one feels safe from the enemy. Safety is something that man is constantly looking for. He constantly lives in fear of what he can lose in terms of possessions and health.

As punishment, God will give it all up to the fire. Both Israel and Judah will have to deal with the judgment, each for the sin it has committed. Israel will be scattered by the Assyrians and Judah will be taken away in exile to Babylon.