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"They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind"

Text: Hosea 8:7

SOWING AND REAPING

Every farmer decided carefully what he wants to sow. For he knows that whatever he sows he will also reap. This imagery of sowing and reaping was applied to Israel.

“They sow the wind,
And reap the whirlwind.
The stalk has no bud;
It shall never produce meal.
If it should produce,
Aliens would swallow it up.
Israel is swallowed up;
Now they are among the Gentiles
Like a vessel in which is no pleasure.”
Hosea 8:7-8

1. “They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind”

a) Sowing the wind was to seek the help of Gentile nations instead of God.

b) These nations appeared to help but soon Israel realized that these so-called allies were worse than their enemies.

c) Their trusted allies became the whirlwind that brought disaster to the nation as a whirlwind would.

2. “The stalk has no bud; it shall never produce meal”

a) A seed is planted.

b) Buds appear but not enough of them to produce a meal.

3. “If it should produce, aliens would swallow it up”

a) In the event that the farmers are able to grow the crops successfully.

b) Aliens consume the harvest.

c) These aliens were the trusted allies!

4. “Israel is swallowed up”

a) Israel was like a harvest that was swallowed up.

b) It was completely vulnerable.

5. “They are among the Gentiles”

a) Israel would be taken into captivity.

b) Their conquerors would bully them badly.

6. “Like a vessel in which is no pleasure”

a) Vessels function in two basic ways:

i) Functional

ii) As an object of beauty and admired.

b) Israel was neither to their conquerors!