Hos 4:10-14 | TNotes | STEP | 4:10 God’s judgment matches the punishment to the crime. The Israelites worshiped Canaanite fertility deities with the expectation of bountiful crops and herds, but God’s judgment was that they would still be hungry and their religious prostitution would gain them nothing .

a4:10►

b4:12►

cJer 2:27►

dExod 20:4-5►

eIsa 44:19►

f4:13►

g1 Kgs 14:23►

hJer 2:20►

i4:14►

jDeut 23:18►

‏ Hosea 4:10-14

4:10 ^a God’s judgment matches the punishment to the crime. The Israelites worshiped Canaanite fertility deities with the expectation of bountiful crops and herds, but God’s judgment was that they would still be hungry and their religious prostitution would gain them nothing.
4:12 ^b They ask a piece of wood for advice! For millennia, people have worshiped natural objects such as wood and stones that they believed embodied spirits and gods (Jer 2:27 ^c). Biblical religion completely rejects such practices and beliefs (Exod 20:4-5 ^d; Isa 44:19 ^e).
4:13 ^f Many Canaanite religious rites were practiced on the mountaintops and hills. On these pagan “high places,” sacred trees were usually used in fertility worship (1 Kgs 14:23 ^g; Jer 2:20 ^h).

• Israelite daughters and brides also committed sexual acts in the worship of Baal; they were possibly forced to do so by their fathers and husbands.
4:14 ⁱ God declared that he would not single out the young women for their prostitution. This declaration contrasts with double standards that were common in ancient cultures.

• shrine prostitutes: The Hebrew word refers to female prostitutes who were dedicated to the service of Baal and Asherah in the temples of Baal (Deut 23:18 ^j).