Tag Archives: spoken word

HOSEA 12 FEEDING ON THE WIND

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December 30

HOSEA 12

Ephraim feeds on the wind and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence; they make a covenant with Assyria,

and oil is carried to Egypt.2 The Lord has an indictment against Judah

and will punish Jacob according to his ways; he will repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God.
4 He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor.
He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us—
5 the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial name:
6 “So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice,
    and wait continually for your God.”– Hosea 12:1-6

HOSEA 12 FEEDING ON THE WIND

In the first verse of this chapter, the prophet reiterates his words in Hosea 8:7 when he said that if you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind. All of the things they chased such as their idols resulted in nothing. They were sowing unfaithfulness, so they reaped violence and more deceived minds. They began to rely on Assyria which cannot truly give them assurance.

In Proverbs 11:29, we hear again about the wind. It says “Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.” The wind symbolizes things that we chase that cannot satisfy us because the wind is something we cannot hold on to. John 4:14 on the other hand, tells us to drink the living water because if we do, we will never be thirsty again. Unlike feeding on the wind which does not result in life, the living water brings us eternal life. A commentary says “The point is actually fairly simple. Wind is not filling. It cannot satisfy. No matter how much you eat of it, you will never be full. It has zero nutrition.” The phrase “pursue the east wind all day long” has almost the same meaning as Solomon states in Ecclesiastes 1:14 when he said “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.”

Hosea reminded God’s people of Jacob’s fight with Esau even in their mother’s womb and we know that Ephraim and Judah all came from Jacob’s tribe. It is not hard to deduce that the sinful nature of Jacob could have been passed on to the next generations after him.

REFLECTION

·       What do people usually chase that make them feed on the wind?

HOSEA 11 GOD’S LOVE REPAID WITH IDOLATRY

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December 28

HOSEA 11

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more they were called, the more they went away;

 they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.

3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,

and I bent down to them and fed them. They shall not return to the land of Egypt,
but Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.
6 The sword shall rage against their cities, consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them because of their own counsels.

7 My people are bent on turning away from me,
 and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.

                                                                        – Hosea 11:1-7

HOSEA 11 GOD’S LOVE REPAID WITH IDOLATRY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Do you know that I watched you as you were formed?

I knit you inside to be like me in your mother’s womb

I love you without bounds and gave you mercy and grace

And yet you repaid me by bowing down to other gods.

In this account, God reminds his people how he loved them so much. He took both the roles of a mother and father to them.  He took care of their safety and also provided for all their needs. He led them out of slavery from the Egyptians and ensured they would not starve and die in the desert. God guided them towards the Promised Land, but how did the Israelites repay God’s kindness and love? They served the gods of Baal and completely forgot all the manifestations of the love  he had for them.

Humans can easily forget the things that they were rescued from as soon as they are in safety and needs are met. We tend to forget how God pulled us out of the predicament we were in as soon as we get comfortable and out of danger.

REFLECTION

  • How can we resist the temptation to repay God with idolatry?

HOSEA 10 BECAUSE YOU HAVE TRUSTED IN YOUR OWN WAY

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December 27

HOSEA 10

11 Ephraim was a trained calf that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck;
but I will put Ephraim to the yoke; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for himself.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

13 You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors,
14 therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle;
mothers were dashed in pieces with their children. 15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great evil. At dawn the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off.

                                                                     – Hosea 10:11-15

HOSEA 10 BECAUSE YOU HAVE TRUSTED IN YOUR OWN WAY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

If you continually rely on your own understanding and strength

You will exhaust yourself and still feel inadequate

Because you have trusted in your own way, you will fail

But if you trust only in the Lord, you will conquer them all.

Kidner explains about threshing which was mentioned in verse 11. He says that “Threshing was a comparatively light task, made pleasant by the fact that the creature was unmuzzled and free to eat . . . as it pulled the threshing sledge over the gathered corn.”

Some commentary also said that “Ephraim had abandoned this comparatively light service in preference for becoming yoked to sin.” When we choose to trust in other gods or even in our own understanding and strength, we are provoking God’s wrath and it will definitely bear consequences. Wood comments that “Judah” refers to the South Kingdom and Jacob to the Northern, using the name of the patriarch that stresses this ancestor’s rebelliousness. Or possibly “Jacob” refers to all 12 tribes. As punishment Yahweh would yoke the people of both Northern and Southern Kingdoms to an enemy who would greatly restrict their movements and force them to do hard work.  When we trust in our own ways, we are competing with a God who knows all things and is All-powerful.

REFLECTION

  • How is trusting your own understanding a form of idolatry and pride?

HOSEA 10 ASSURANCE FROM GOD ALONE

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December 26

HOSEA 10

6 The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king.
Ephraim shall be put to shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.

7 Samaria’s king shall perish like a twig on the face of the waters.
8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed.
Thorn and thistle shall grow upon their altars,
and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,” and to the hills, “Fall on us.”

9 From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel; there they have continued.
Shall not the war against the unjustovertake them in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will discipline them, and nations shall be gathered against them
when they are bound up for their double iniquity. – Hosea 10:6-10

HOSEA 10 ASSURANCE FROM GOD ALONE

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

If a believer truly serves the Lord God Almighty

He will only trust in God and not in any other authority

Not kings, princes or human masters can give you assurance

Only the One true God who truly loves and cares for you can.

According to sources, the Assyrians would carry the golden calf to their land in honor of their king. Israel would then feel great shame because the Israelites had decided to trust in a foreign alliance with the Assyrians for their security instead of trusting their God. James Pritchard comments: “In those days the secular state did not exist, and so in practice it was impossible to distinguish between a state and its gods. In an extant treaty of peace between Rameses II of Egypt and Hattusilis the Hittite king it is a thousand of their gods on either side who are the witnesses to and guarantors of it.” Ellison also comments “Even a treaty on equal terms with a neighboring country would have involved for Israel a recognition of the other country’s deities as having reality and equality with Jehovah. To turn to Assyria or Egypt for help implied of necessity that their gods were more effective than the God of Israel.”

History has proven that rulers of nations who do not acknowledge God will naturally be wicked and evil. We become slaves to whoever we serve, their idols become ours.

REFLECTION

  • How is Psalm 1 reiterated in the following verses?

ISAIAH 9 FOR TO US A CHILD IS BORN

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December 25

ISAIAH 9

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

and the government shall be uponhis shoulder, and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.– Isaiah 9:6-7

ISAIAH 9 FOR TO US A CHILD IS BORN

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

One silent night a son is given and to us a child is born

The Lord God loved us so much so He gave his Only Begotten Son

He rules over all kingdoms and he is the Prince of Peace

He makes sure that justice and righteousness reigns on earth

Praise the Son of God who is the Only Way to the Father

Believe in Him so you can have a life that is eternal.

What a privilege and honor it was for the prophet Isaiah to be given this revelation about our Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God and Everlasting Father thousands of years ago before we were born. Scholars and bible experts calculate Jesus’ time at the same time of King Herod which was between 6 and 4 BC. The Father gave us a resume of Jesus before he was born. Isaiah became God’s spokesperson to give us the identity of his Son Jesus Christ.

In this account we hear of different attributes of God: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Just and Righteous God. The Old Testament books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel contain much of God’s promises to his people. These two verses hold a big chunk of those promises. It assures us of good counsel from the Lord Jesus Christ, unending peace and strength, assurance that He is the one in control and that anyone who believes in him will have everlasting life. It brings comfort and security for the believers who live in a very corrupt world. It gives them hope and expectancy.

REFLECTION

  • What among these traits of God mentioned in these two verses are the most significant to you and why?

HOSEA 10 THE DIVIDED HEART

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December 24

HOSEA 10

Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased,
the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars.
2 Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their pillars.

3 For now they will say: “We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord; and a king—what could he do for us?”
4 They utter mere words; with emptyoaths they make covenants;
so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-aven.
Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests—

 those who rejoiced over it and over its glory—

 for it has departed from them. – Hosea 10:1-5

HOSEA 10 THE DIVIDED HEART

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When a believer serves two masters, his heart will be divided

He will surely have a bias towards one and neglect the other

When one is unfaithful, he will betray one and love the other

A divided heart can never please God since he is an adulterer.

Matthew 6:24 says that no one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. In this account, Israel continues to defy God by building more altars and worshiping other gods. The more the Lord blesses them, the more altars they build. The more they continued their unfaithfulness, they grew in pretense and deception.  The book of James in chapter 1 verse 8 explains what a double mind is. It is unstable in all its ways. It is two-faced and its loyalty is divided, making him more confused and sinful. They say things that they don’t really mean because there is no truth in them. All they want is to cater to their own desires and satisfy themselves instead of truly serving their master. There is no honesty in them, it is all lies and deception that occupy their minds and hearts.

REFLECTION

  • Why are integrity and honesty very important in a Christian’s life?

HOSEA 9 WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE REJECT GOD

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December 23

HOSEA 9

15 Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal; there I began to hate them.
Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house.
I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels.

16 Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit.
Even though they give birth, I will put their beloved children to death.
17 My God will reject them because they have not listened to him;
they shall be wanderers among the nations. – Hosea 9:15-17

HOSEA 9 WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE REJECT GOD

In Isaiah 1 the prophet saw a vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Isaiah spoke as the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. The prophet is speaking about the abomination they committed in Gilgal. Because of their wickedness, they will be shunned out of the Lord’s house. Calvin comments “When God threatens to eject Israel from his house, it is the same as though he said, “I will wholly cast you away;” as when one cuts off a withered branch from a tree, or a diseased member from the body.”

In Deuteronomy 28, God gave them a blessing and a curse before they entered the land. The blessing was dependent on their obedience, and they would be cursed if they didn’t obey. One of these blessings for obedience would be a fruitful womb, and one of the curses for disobedience would be a barren womb. Hosea pronounces the consequence of their idolatry which reaps fruitlessness. Because they have rejected God, they shall be wanderers among the nations. Some commentaries say that since the exile of Israel and then later Judah, this is still the case almost three thousand years later.

No one who claims they are believers can run from a life of hypocrisy. It will be dealt with harshly by the Lord himself.

REFLECTION

  • What leads a believer to live a life of hypocrisy?

HOSEA 9 OUTPOURING OF GOD’S WRATH ON HIS PEOPLE

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December 22

HOSEA 9

10 Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers.
But they came to Baal-Peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame,
and became detestable like the thing they loved.

11 Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird—no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!
12 Even if they bring up children, I will bereave them till none is left.
Woe to them when I depart from them!
13 Ephraim, as I have seen, was like a young palm planted in a meadow;
but Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter.
14 Give them, O Lord— what will you give?
Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. – Hosea 9:10-14

HOSEA 9 OUTPOURING OF GOD’S WRATH ON HIS PEOPLE

A poem by ILMA inspired by theses verses

When you test the Lord your God with unfaithfulness

Be prepared to experience his wrath in fullness

He will not let his people perish in their sinfulness

He is a jealous God who won’t stand infidelity.

According to a commentary, the phrase like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. They were likened to grapes and figs which was interesting since they were very complaining people. The commentator said that though they weren’t perfect, God still chose them. They were undefiled under Moses’ leadership since they kept themselves free of idols. In Numbers 25:3-18, when the Israelites came to Baal-Peor, they consecrated themselves to things of shame. They were seduced by Moab and many of the men fell into sexual sin and they also worshipped Baal and sacrificed to him. They committed unfaithfulness to God.

Verses 11-14 give us details of the wrath of God against his own people as a consequence of their idolatry. They will be barren. They won’t have children. Verse 12 sounds so harsh that even if they raise whoever children were left to them, they won’t make it since God will take them. A commentary says “Was this unfair to the children? Many biblical scholars believe that children who die before the age of accountability are accepted into heaven. If this is the case, and it likely is, then this could be a blessing for those very children who would have had to grow up in that world.”

REFLECTION

  • Do you think it was cruel of God to kill those children of the Israelites as a consequence of their idolatry? Why or why not?

HOSEA 9 THE DAYS OF PUNISHMENT HAVE COME

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  December 21

HOSEA 9

5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festival,
and on the day of the feast of the Lord?
6 For behold, they are going away from destruction;
but Egypt shall gather them; Memphis shall bury them.
Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver;
thorns shall be in their tents. 7 The days of punishment have come;
the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it.
The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad,
because of your great iniquity and great hatred.
8 The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God;
yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.
9 They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah:
he will remember their iniquity;  he will punish their sins. – Hosea 9:5-9

HOSEA 9 THE DAYS OF PUNISHMENT HAVE COME

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

In this account, Hosea declares to the Israelites that the days of punishment have come. They will surely not miss it for they miscalculated God’s response to their terrible adultery. Hosea points out that when he warned them to not rejoice in their harvest in the previous verses, he was giving them time to repent so they can avoid the punishment of their sin.

They laughed at the prophet and called him a fool when in reality, they are the fools for thinking that they can get away with their sins and not bear the consequences of it. When they flee to Egypt after the Assyrians have destroyed their land hoping they could find comfort in them and later on come back to rebuild what they lost, they will soon find out that they have fled to their own graves. Memphis is a city of Egypt that will eventually devour them too. According to Matthew Henry’s commentary, “They shall be demolished and laid in ruins to such a degree that they shall be overgrown with nettles; so that if they survive the trouble and return to Israel, they would find it neither fruitful or habitable.”

This is what Hosea has warned them, the day of their punishment has arrived. If only they had heeded his warning, they could have been spared of it.

REFLECTION

·       Why do you think the Israelites ignored Hosea’s warnings?

HOSEA 9 WHEN YOU FORSAKE THE LORD

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December 20

HOSEA 9

Rejoice not, O Israel! Exult not like the peoples;
for you have played the whore, forsaking your God.
You have loved a prostitute’s wages on all threshing floors.
2 Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,
 and the new wine shall fail them.3 They shall not remain in the land of the Lord,
 but Ephraim shall return to Egypt and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.  

4 They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord,
and their sacrifices shall not please him. It shall be like mourners’ bread to them;
all who eat of it shall be defiled; for their bread shall be for their hunger only;
it shall not come to the house of the Lord. – Hosea 9:1-4

HOSEA 9 WHEN YOU FORSAKE THE LORD

Hosea warns the Israelites of the consequences of their adultery. He cautions them not to be so secure about their wages since they have forsaken the Lord and preferred to rely on their idols. According to some sources, at the time Hosea was alerting them of the coming doom, it may have been during harvest time when there was much rejoicing and fun because of the bountiful harvest they had. Boice comments “It was probably the case, though we do not know this for sure, that Hosea delivered the opening part of this oracle as a sermon on the occasion of a harvest festival…characterized by feasting, mirth, and dancing.”

In verse 2, the threshing floor was a place where grain was processed. Guzik comments that “Israel practiced idolatry on the threshing floor. They worshipped idols here because they believed that it helped the harvest. Because of their idolatry, the LORD would curse their harvest, and the threshing floor and the winepress shall not feed them.” In our times now, we can easily do this by forgetting that all good things come from the Lord as James 1:17 reiterates. We think that we did well because we are talented or gifted or hardworking.

Aside from such curses, they would also be sent back both to Egypt and Assyria, where they would once again suffer the enslavement of these pagan wicked people. They will be eating unclean food in Assyria and they would only sacrifice to the Lord for their own survival and not to worship and thank the Lord.

REFLECTION

·       What are some ways that a believer can forsake the Lord?