God's Complaint Against His People

Hosea 4:1, “Listen to the word of the Lord, O sons of Israel, for the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land, because there is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the land.”

The “case” referenced here is not a formal court case, but rather a personal striving against another. In Micah we’ll discuss the Covenant Lawsuit by which God sued Israel for their worship and devotion. Yet the elements of this “covenant lawsuit” are not present in Hosea. Accordingly, we understand this not as a formal lawsuit in which God calls upon creation as His witness, but an explanation of an argument which God has against His people; an argument which we’ve already discussed in Hosea 2.
What was the problem? Clearly it related to the nation’s lack of covenant fidelity. Notice the language used here for God appeals to three of the most fundamental elements of a Covenant relationship; each element referenced here is the basis for health and vigor in any covenant relationship.