seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Hosea 9:1 Do not rejoice, Israel;
do not be jubilant like the other nations.
For you have been unfaithful to your God;
you love the wages of a prostitute
at every threshing floor.
2 Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;
the new wine will fail them.
3 They will not remain in the Lord’s land;
Ephraim will return to Egypt
and eat unclean food in Assyria.
4 They will not pour out wine offerings to the Lord,
nor will their sacrifices please him.
Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;
all who eat them will be unclean.
This food will be for themselves;
it will not come into the temple of the Lord.
do not be jubilant like the other nations.
For you have been unfaithful to your God;
you love the wages of a prostitute
at every threshing floor.
2 Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;
the new wine will fail them.
3 They will not remain in the Lord’s land;
Ephraim will return to Egypt
and eat unclean food in Assyria.
4 They will not pour out wine offerings to the Lord,
nor will their sacrifices please him.
Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;
all who eat them will be unclean.
This food will be for themselves;
it will not come into the temple of the Lord.
5 What will you do on the day of your appointed festivals,
on the feast days of the Lord?
6 Even if they escape from destruction,
Egypt will gather them,
and Memphis will bury them.
Their treasures of silver will be taken over by briers,
and thorns will overrun their tents.
7 The days of punishment are coming,
the days of reckoning are at hand.
Let Israel know this.
Because your sins are so many
and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,
the inspired person a maniac.
8 The prophet, along with my God,
is the watchman over Ephraim,[a]
yet snares await him on all his paths,
and hostility in the house of his God.
9 They have sunk deep into corruption,
as in the days of Gibeah.
God will remember their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.
on the feast days of the Lord?
6 Even if they escape from destruction,
Egypt will gather them,
and Memphis will bury them.
Their treasures of silver will be taken over by briers,
and thorns will overrun their tents.
7 The days of punishment are coming,
the days of reckoning are at hand.
Let Israel know this.
Because your sins are so many
and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,
the inspired person a maniac.
8 The prophet, along with my God,
is the watchman over Ephraim,[a]
yet snares await him on all his paths,
and hostility in the house of his God.
9 They have sunk deep into corruption,
as in the days of Gibeah.
God will remember their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.
10 “When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the desert;
when I saw your ancestors,
it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,
they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol
and became as vile as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.
12 Even if they rear children,
I will bereave them of every one.
Woe to them
when I turn away from them!
13 I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre,
planted in a pleasant place.
But Ephraim will bring out
their children to the slayer.”
it was like finding grapes in the desert;
when I saw your ancestors,
it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,
they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol
and became as vile as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.
12 Even if they rear children,
I will bereave them of every one.
Woe to them
when I turn away from them!
13 I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre,
planted in a pleasant place.
But Ephraim will bring out
their children to the slayer.”
14 Give them, Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry
and breasts that are dry.
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry
and breasts that are dry.
15 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,
I hated them there.
Because of their sinful deeds,
I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;
all their leaders are rebellious.
16 Ephraim is blighted,
their root is withered,
they yield no fruit.
Even if they bear children,
I will slay their cherished offspring.”
I hated them there.
Because of their sinful deeds,
I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;
all their leaders are rebellious.
16 Ephraim is blighted,
their root is withered,
they yield no fruit.
Even if they bear children,
I will slay their cherished offspring.”
17 My God will reject them
because they have not obeyed him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.
because they have not obeyed him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.
a. Hosea 9:8 Or The prophet is the watchman over Ephraim, / the people of my Go
This is from the bible-studys.org.
Hosea enumerates the features of the Lord’s banishment to Assyria: loss of joy; exile ; loss of spiritual discernment; declining birth rate; and abandonment by God.
In stark contrast to the plentiful harvest Israel was accustomed to, the “threshing floor, winepress,” and “new wine in” Israel’s coming harvest would no longer produce a satisfying crop because their idols could not give them what they needed.
“Nettles” and “thorns” would surround them. And in exile, Israel would eat the “bread of mourners”, bread considered unclean because it come from a house of death.
The prophets were God’s inspired messengers and watchmen (Ezek. 3:17; 33:1-7), yet Israel considered them fools and madmen.
Reminiscent of the imprecatory psalms, Hosea prayed that God’s blessing would be withdrawn, in the figure of withholding children, the ultimate earthly blessing.
Hosea spoke of a “miscarrying womb and dry breasts” to show Israel that their worship of the fertility god Baal (who promised offspring to his worshipers), would bring them only barrenness and divine judgment
This is from the easy English site.It is Hosea who now has a message for Israel. In chapter 8, it was God who had the message. But the two things are almost the same. It is probable that Hosea gave this message in 730 - 720 BC. Assyria now ruled over much of Israel. Israel (the prostitute) loves to receive money. It is probable that this means grain (see Deuteronomy 23:18). Israel was happy at these special times. But it was happy for the wrong reasons. Israel thought that God was Baal. They thought that God should bless the grain in the same way. Also, prostitutes visited the floors where people worked with the grain. This was where men stayed at night so that nobody would rob anything. But Hosea says that soon Israel will have very little food. This period of little food may come in different ways. Hosea is clear that Israel is going into exile. The people thought that they were going to have the land for a long time. They were very wrong! Other countries were going to rule them.
It is not possible to run away from exile. It is certain that Egypt will win in any war. Memphis was where they buried many people. Weeds will grow over these places. Their money will not help them. The people are so full of sins that they think terrible things about Hosea and other prophets. They think that he is a fool whom people cannot be serious about. People also thought that Jeremiah was crazy (Jeremiah 29:26). But it is God whom they think terrible things about.
A new part of the book of Hosea now begins. God is speaking. He talks about the past. He is talking to someone else about Israel. He thinks that he might be travelling. He finds grapes when he needed to drink. This did not happen very often. But it was like finding Israel. Israel is special. Figs that came early were also very special (see Isaiah 28:4). But then Israel came to Baal-Peor (Numbers 25:1-5). Things went wrong here. Men from Israel had sex with women from Moab and from Midian and Midianite women. This was part of the sacrifice to other gods. The men hoped that they would have better crops. But God said that it was like worship of Baal. It broke the covenant.
For a time, Israel was great. She won many wars. But these good times cannot stay with Israel. She will be sick. The people will not be able to have children. There will be a *curse on their bodies (Deuteronomy 28:18). Even if there are children, God will stay away from them. He does not say how they will die. But Israel can be sure that this will happen.
Verse 13 is also about death. One of the curses was about parents who loved their children. These parents will kill and eat their own children (Leviticus 26:29). This verse may mean that something, perhaps an enemy, will kill the people’s children.
Verse 14 is like verse 11. But it is Hosea who is speaking. It is a prayer. Hosea prays for something that God wants. Hosea knows that God wants it. In the past, God wanted the ‘blessings of breasts’ (Genesis 49:25). These were much more happy words. But these blessings will end.
In verse 15, God speaks again. The sin at Baal-Peor happened in the past. But the sin at Gilgal was happening now. Gilgal was across the Jordan River from Baal-Peor. It was an important place where people worshipped other gods. Amos also said bad things about Gilgal (Amos 4:4; 5:5). God was very angry about Gilgal. He wanted to stop the things that happened there. It was a place where kings sometimes went. Saul started to be king there (1 Samuel 11:15). It was also where Saul broke the covenant (1 Samuel 15:21-23). God’s house is Israel. The leaders of Israel have helped the country to sin. God’s covenant says that the people cannot stay in the land if they sin (Leviticus 26:32-35).
Back in the day..... 700+ years before Jesus was born..... children were a commodity. If a man had a lot of sons.... he could produce more. If a man had a lot of daughters.... they would attract men and he could produce more. Children.... were how the heritage was passed down.... daddy told son.... son told son.... son told son.... and along the way... the original message got lost.... totally obliterated.... God became a "god" to them instead of the "GOD" who created every molecule. They figured they would have just the same outcome praying to a block of wood carved to their own particular delight. It was more about quantity than quality.... they didn't care about the reason for the season. They didn't teach their children about the covenant as they had been instructed.
Why would someone heat up a metal statue until it is glowing hot.... and then lay a baby on it to sear.... and while it was searing they sang so they would not hear the screams of pain..... why?
Instead of handing the covenant down to their children.... so their children would live in the covenant and have a great life..... they ate them.... they got hungry and ate their own kids. Hosea was warning them.
