Hosea 4:1-5

A controversy with Israel -- Hosea 4:1-5: When people depart from God's arrangement of things then no one is faithful or loyal or truly cares about God. Without God these people turned to other gods and practice all kinds of evil. The children of Israel were guilty of spiritual adultery. They had forsaken truth, mercy, and the knowledge of God. Their conduct had become godless and sinful. They were so corrupt that "the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land." Israel had fallen into a very corrupt way of life. There was cursing, dishonesty, murder, robbery, unfaithfulness and all kinds of violence everywhere in Israel. Hosea said, "Blood touches blood." One violent act was not completed until another was done.

God punished their disobedience by bring misery upon their land. Their wickedness caused everything to suffer; the land, the people and the animals. The horrible things that had happened in Israel were the fault of the priests. God said, "Not everyone is at fault. My case is against you, the priests." The common people were also guilty. But if you cannot reason with the priest about religious error what hope would there be for reasoning with the common man about eternal things. Both the prophet and the entire nation, pictured with the term "thy mother," would be destroyed because of their spiritual adultery..