Sow the Wind; Reap the Whirlwind

Hosea 7:4  They made kings, but not through me.
    They set up princes, but I knew it not.
With their silver and gold they made idols
    for their own destruction.
5 I have spurned your calf, O Samaria.
    My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence?
6 For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God.
The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.
7 For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no heads;it shall yield no flour;
if it were to yield, strangers would devour it.

In this chapter, God takes Israel (the Northern Kingdom) back to the root issue - when they decided to split away from the Southern Kingdom and establish their own form of worship at Samaria.  It was a decisive action that led them further and further away from God.  They chose kings not of the Davidic line, and chose priests not from Levi.  It was their first step of idolatry in setting up their own temple and golden idol. Now they are reaping the harvest of what they have done. Famine has come, and any grain that does grow will not be theirs, because they are going to be caught up in the whirlwind and exiled from the land.