“Israel has built many altars to take away sin, but these very altars became places for sinning!” (Hosea 8:11 NLT)

God had provided one way for the Israelites to have their sins forgiven, one altar, in one place called Jerusalem. Yet, they chose to build their own altars according to their own desires. They rejected God’s redemption by building their own means of morality. As if their sins were not great enough, this man-made religion was perhaps their greatest sin. In trying to cover their own sins, they multiplied them. This is a foreshadowing of how many have rejected God’s Son today. God provided Jesus as the only means for our redemption from sin, the only way to be reconciled to God. He is the fulfillment of the Jewish sacrificial system, which always pointed to Him. Yet, people today continue to build their own altars, declaring themselves good based on their own thinking. They say, “I have no need of a Savior. My sins did not crucify Jesus. I think He was a good man, a good teacher, but I’m doing fine on my own.” And in saying this they multiply their own sin.