1 Israel is a vine full of fruit, but he uses it only for himself. The more he produces, the more altars he builds to other gods. The more his land increases, the more beautiful idols he makes.
God gives Israel a very good land and she uses her prosperity to better worship pagan gods. From God’s point of view, she’s as much use as a grapevine that has no grapes.
2 Their heart is disloyal and unfaithful. Now will they be found guilty. God will break down their altars. He will ruin their images.
3 In fact, they will say, "We don't have a king, because we didn't fear the I AM, but what could a king do for us anyway?"
If you are not afraid of God, why would you fear a mere human king?
4 Israel, you break treaties and don't keep promises, and injustice sprouts up like hemlock in the plowed lands.
God is making a list of the sins of Israel and her punishments.
They have lied, and committed injustices like poisonous weeds in a farm. Hemlock is the most poisonous plant on the planet.
5 The people of Samaria and their priests will fear for the calves of Bethaven, and they will mourn over them, because they were so proud of the beauty of those calves and they will be taken away from them.
Because Israel (whose capital is Samaria) has worshiped the golden calves, they will fear and miss their idols while they are in captivity.
6 And will be carried away to Assyria for a present to king Jareb. Israel will be shamed for their worship of that calf.
The very idol they have worshiped as a god will be taken as a mere present to a foreign king. We have not yet found any record of an actual King Jareb, but the word means “avenger.” So it is believed that this means Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria who conquered Israel. (It was very common for each nation to give names to their neighbor kings in their own languages. These names didn’t necessarily have anything to do with the name of the king in his own country. This does make it difficult to identify which king is which when looking at records from different countries.)
7 As for Samaria, her king will disappear like foam on water.
Bye-bye king. Since Israel would never be a separate nation again but would be incorporated into Judah, she will never again have her own king. That royal line is ended.
8 The pagan altars of Aven (Bethel), the sin of Israel, will be destroyed. The thorn and the thistle will come up on their altars, and they will say to the mountains, "Cover us;" and to the hills, "Fall on us."
“Aven” means vanity and here is referring to the City of Bethel where there was a major center of idol worship.
Israel will prefer death to captivity, but will not have that choice.
9 O Israel, thou have sinned since the days of Gibeah. Thou haven't changed a bit. Didn't that war kill all the sinners?
“The Days of Gibeah” are referring to the story told in Judges 19. A man goes to retrieve his concubine who ran away and he spends the night in Gibeah. The men of the place threaten to rape him so he gives them his concubine who they abuse until she dies. The men of Israel at the time marched on the town and destroyed them all.
God is telling Israel that they are still sinning just as much as those men did hundreds of years ago. Their sins have not lessened, but if anything, have gotten worse.
10 I want to punish them. An army will be gathered against them because of their double sins.
11 And Israel is like a heifer that is taught to tread out wheat and loves to do that easy job. But I will put a heavy yoke on her fair neck. I will make Israel to pull heavy carts. Judah will pull a plow, and all the descendants of Jacob will be used to break up the hard soil.
Treading wheat was an easy job for cattle to do. They simply pulled a light weight around until all the chaff was broken off, and, according to the Mosaic Law, the cattle were allowed to eat the wheat they were treading. Plowing, however, was hard physical labor. God had given them the relatively easy job of serving Him. Now, because of their rebellion, He is going to make Israel do the work of slaves.
12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy. Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the I AM, until He comes and rains righteousness upon you.
God will lesson (or even remove) His punishment on people who seek Him and repent. Israel has the chance to lessen the severity of her punishment, but, of course, she won’t take that chance.
13 You have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, because thou trusted in thy own way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.
Humanism. They set their own rules and standards.
This is the same problem we have today. We believe we are in charge and can control our own destiny. We believe we can decide what is right and wrong.
14 Therefore shall a storm come up among thy people, and all thy fortresses will be ruined, just like Shalman ruined Beth-arbel in the day of battle. The mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.
Shaman is most likely Shalmaneser of Assyria.
We are not sure which city is being referred to here, but it is most likely on the Assyrian-Israelite border that had already been brutally attacked. The Assyrians slaughtered all their enemies who resisted their conquest, no matter the age or condition. It was common for them to throw pregnant and nursing mothers and babies off of cliffs.
15 So this is what will be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great wickedness. In a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be destroyed.
In one morning, the royal line will die and the kingship of Israel will cease to exist.