This is the sin of Israel: the more abundant her fruit, the more altars she built. If all the crimes that Israel had committed against her God would be summed up in one word, it would be idolatry. And while the idolatry of Israel came in many shapes and forms, it basically boiled down to Israel’s failure to remain faithful to the Lord their God. In today’s first reading from the prophet Hosea, Israel’s idolatry has taken the form of insecurity. Israel had the Lord her God as her provider and sustainer, and as God had promised, the sons and daughters of Israel would not be in want of anything as long as they had the Lord as their Lord (cf. Psalm 23). The Lord has kept his part of the covenant, and Israel has become productive and successful. Unfortunately, this has also become the source of Israel’s sin.
As Israel journeyed from Egypt to the Promised Land, Israel encountered many cultures and was seduced by some of them. Among the practices they found among the natives of Canaan was the worship of fertility gods especially at harvest time. Sacrifices were made to them in thanksgiving for a good harvest as well as to implore their help in the future. The more sacrifices/offerings one made to the gods, the more the assurance of a bountiful harvest. The implication of such an understanding was the erection of more altars. This is what Israel finally found herself doing. Seduced by the native practices and having forgotten about her God, Israel attributed her success to the fertility gods. And to ensure future success, Israel too erected more altars to the gods in order to “cover all her bases.” Israel had forgotten about the Lord her God.
Israel was led into sin by her feeling insecure and uncertain about her future (material-wise). It was a situation in which she found herself because of her abandoning the Lord God. Our attempts “to provide” for ourselves, sometimes at any cost, often come about because of this very reason. Like Israel, we find ourselves going to great lengths to “erect altars” to different gods while forgetting the Lord God. As the Lord reminded Israel, we should know that such altars never last, and sooner rather than later, the Lord knocks them down, leaving us exposed. With the Psalmist, let us put our trust in the Lord always, with the knowledge that the Lord will deliver us from death and preserve us in spite of famine (Psalm 33:19).