May 26th 2024 Hosea CH 10
We have here the prophecy of the Destruction of the Baal Cult
1. Israel was always described as a luxuriant vine…The vine was very fruitful, but not now.
but according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altarsof the heathen .
With the increase of wealth and power in Israel, there came an increase in idolatry
2. In trying to serve God and Baal, their heart is divided. God is a jealous God , refusing to share his glory with another.
Altars and images which were offensive to him must be destroyed.
3. When Israel saw her cities desolated by the enemy, she would cry out, We have no king,
Godless rulers had not been able to stop the downward progress of the nation.
4. They have spoken words. Kings and their ministers spoke idle words, making a covenant with Assyria and Egypt.
Their perverted judgment springeth up like the deadly hemlock which grows abundantly in the furrows of the field,
5. The inhabitants of Samaria, seeing their idols carried off by the enemy, would be filled with fear.
The calves of Beth-aven. The idols of Bethel. Beth-el means house of God, but its idolatrous cult had merited a new name for it¬ Beth-aven, (house of iniquity.)
Under the tragic circumstances the people will mourn, and the idolatrous priests will wail, or tremble .
The reference is to a ritual dance performed by the idolatrous priests, during which they implored their idol to save them and himself.
6. The calf would be taken from Bethel unto Assyria, where it would be presented to king Jareb, (or "the fighting king.") …The northern Kingdom (Israel - Ephraim), is filled with shame, and now would learn at last the uselessness of setting up a dumb idol as protector of the nation.
7. Samaria, the capital of Israel, would fall. Her king is cut off. Not only did he lose his life, but his death marked the end of Israel as a state. …The king is described as the foam upon the water, A helpless fragment of wood is irresistibly carried along by the power of the current.
8. Hosea states definitely that the high places of (Beth-aven) Aven would be destroyed.
The thorn and the thistle, mentioned at the time of the curse on the ground following Adam's sin would cover the altars of Beth-aven, which would come to symbolize the sinfulness of pre-exilic Israel.
The words of the people, to be addressed to the mountains and to the hills, are echoed in Lk 23:30 and Rev 6:16.
9. now dealing Israel's sin at Gibeah (Jud 19) it found many echoes in subsequent history. Israel had taken vengeance on the Benjamite’s for the outrage at Gibeah but the wickedness done there entered the life of all Israel.
10. It is my desire I will chastise them. In God's time punishment would come, and the nations who Israel had relied would be shown to be broken reeds.
The words, when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows are difficult to explain.
The RSV reads, when they are chastised for their double iniquity, perhaps referring to the bulls at Dan and Bethel. The double iniquity may also be their rejection of the Lord and the Davidic line
11. Israel is likened to a well-trained heifer that enjoys the treading of corn (grain) which it can freely eat ..No heavy yoke was placed upon her neck, such as the yokes which frequently wounded the necks of animals in the East….. God's kindness was abused, however, and now he would cause Ephraim' to ride,
(to draw a heavy load.)
The heavy work of the heifer is further described in terms of ploughing and breaking clods.
Drawing, ploughing, and breaking up the soil are laborious tasks compared with the easier work of threshing.
12. Hosea still holds out hope for his people: Sow to yourselves in righteousness.
If they would but turn to God, they would find him merciful.
If a harvest was to be reaped, Israel must break up her fallow ground.
She could not sow among thorns and hope for a good harvest.
Hosea reminds Israel that there is still time to seek the Lord.
If they did so earnestly, God would respond and rain righteousness on them.
Although in need of material blessings, Hosea stresses the spiritual "rain" of righteousness, or salvation, was needed, which was the majorneed in Israel.
13. In contrast with the spiritual possibilities of revival, Hosea charges that Israel had ploughed (plotted) wickedness and reaped iniquity (or injustice) .
The lying policy bore bitter fruit for them.
14. A tumult, the noise of armies, would arise among the peoples.
Israelite fortresses would be desecrated.
Shalman may be the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V (727-722 B.C.; d. II Kgs 17:1-6).
The battle at Beth-arbel is otherwise unknown.
The town is either Irbid in Galilee, or Arbela, twelve miles southeast of Gadara, in Trans-Jordan.
15. The judgment at Beth-arbel was caused by the sins associated with idol worship at Bethel.
In a morning. At dawn-when better things might be anticipated. The king of Israel would be cut off.
The nation would be carried into exile, and the day of grace ended.
True, God would remember his people in the land of bondage, but the Northern Kingdom and its succession of rulers was to come to an end forever with the fall of Samaria (722 B.C)
News from the Church New dates
There will be No May Fayre this year
5th June …..Friendship Group, (this covers all ages and the lonely people.)
19th June…. Knit and natter, a time of fellowship together
ANSWERS TO 19th May QUESTIONS
1) King of Tyre 2) Cedar wood 3) Sent his servant to Solomon 4) The building of the Temple
5) By sea 6) 20,000 measures of wheat and 20 measures of pure oil 7) Hiram’s builders 8) 480 years
9) 11 years 8 months 10). Aman of Tyre a skilled worker in brass 11)Jachin and Boaz
12) 2 tablets of stone 13) Hear thou in heaven 14) Twice 15) Cedar and fir 16) Solomon
Bible Quiz this week’s Quiz is about David and Absolom
1 What relationship was Absolom to David?
2 What was Absolom praised for in Israel?
3 How often did Absolom have his hair cut?
4 How long did Absolom live in the same city as David?
5 What steps did Absolom use to see David?
6 What special thing did Absolom provide for himself?
7 What did Absolom do to make sure he was popular?
8 What was the result?
9 What lies did Absolom give to David?
10 What did he do next ?
11 What was Davids reaction to the rebellion?
12 Which river did David cross with his people?
13 Who cast stones at David to curse him?
14 Who suggested pulling a town into the river with ropes?
15 Where did the battle take place between Absolom and David?
16 How was Absolom prevented from escape?
God Bless