“Put the trumpet to your lips! Like an eagle the enemy comes against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law. They cry out to Me, ‘My God, we of Israel know You!’ … He has rejected your calf, O Samaria, saying, ‘My anger burns against them!’ How long will they be incapable of innocence? For from Israel is even this! A craftsman made it, so it is not God; surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces…. Since Ephraim has multiplied altars for sin, they have become altars of sinning for him” (Hos 8:1–2, 5–6, 11).
Ever since the days when Israel was divided into two kingdoms, the northern kingdom had been worshipping golden calves. These idols proved that, no matter how much Israel used God’s name or offered Him sacrifices, the true knowledge of God was missing from their religion. The author of Kings makes this clear by drawing a direct analogy between Jeroboam’s construction of the golden calves and Aaron’s construction of the first golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai (compare 1 Kings 12:28 with Exod 32:4).
God wants us to know Him intimately and to truly love Him.
I can think of at least two applications. First, pleasing God is not about using the right words or multiplying religious activity (see Hos 8:12–13). Hosea consistently compares Israel’s relationship with God to a marriage. I can tell my wife “I love you” until I’m blue in the face and scrub the floors until they sparkle like crystal, but none of this means anything if I share my affections, which are meant to be hers alone, with another. God wants us to know Him intimately and to truly love Him.
Second, history shows how easily we can be led astray by our religious and political leaders. Israel’s first high priest helped the nation worship the first golden calf, and King Jeroboam led them astray by building others. Even the Apostle Peter, along with other early church leaders, compromised the truth of the gospel (Gal 2:11–14). We must never let our loyalty to a “priest” or a “politician” lead us away from the love of God and obedience to His Word.
