Book of Hosea Chapter 10 Vs. 13

 ONCE MORE: PUPPET-KINGS AND PUPPET-GODS

Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men. Hos. 10:13

plowed wickedness, ye... Sown wickedness and reaped iniquity. Instead of working righteousness (verse 12), you have taken a great deal of pains in the service of sin, to compass your wicked designs.

have reaped iniquity; ... Four things that will bring a curse:

1. Sowing wickedness

2. Eating the fruit of lies

3. Trusting in own way

4. Trusting in men—even a multitude of mighty men

Ye have in return, received the fruit of iniquity, namely punishment or calamity.

ye have eaten... Fed yourselves with vain hopes, which have deceived and will deceive you. Or, you have trusted to that which has been only deceptive, not really satisfying or profitable.

because thou didst... I. e., not God's. They forsook God's way and followed ways of wickedness and misbelief. While displeasing God, they trusted in the worship of the calves and in the help of Egypt and Assyria, making flesh their arm, and departing from the living God. So long as a man mistrusts his ways of sin, there is hope of his conversion amid any depths of sin. When he trusts in his ways, all entrance is closed against the grace of God. He is as one dead; he not only justifies himself but is self-justified. There is nothing in him, neither love nor fear, which can be awakened.

in the multitude... Their valiant soldiers, their numerous armies, and the generals of them, well skilled in war, and courageous. Also in their auxiliaries, which they had from the Egyptians and others. These they put their confidences in, to protect them, also in their garrisons and fortresses.

They had placed their faith in false gods, they lived wicked lives. They dealt unfairly with the people around them. They had planted wickedly, and they would reap iniquity. They would lie, or cheat or steal, if it would benefit them. They had left Holy God to worship false gods with no morals. They were doing whatever was right in their own sight. They looked to the outward might of men, and not at their hearts. They were respecters of persons, because of their position in the community.

Ye have ploughed wickedness; disaster have ye reaped: ye have eaten the fruit of falsehood; for thou didst trust in thy chariots, in the multitude of thy warriors.

The exhortation in Hos. 10:12 actually summarizes the appeal made by Israel’s prophets throughout her history. But the sinful nation had not responded properly, producing instead wickedness (cf. Hos. 10:15), evil, and deception. Rather than relying on the power of God, the nation had depended on her own military might. The contrast between God’s desires and Israel’s response heightens her guilt. So the call to repentance (Hos. 10:12) had a twofold function: it testified to the Lord’s grace and contributed to the development of the prophet’s accusation.