Hosea

Daughters of the Same Mother (Part 1)

Dan

It was my observation while moving through Ezekiel that Chapter 23 provides a clear view of history from God’s perspective, inserting the moral dilemma of spiritual infidelity into the course of human actions. In this passage, we find both the corporate attitude of the people and the tragic outcomes of their choices fully explored. This is a very sad chapter, and it can be quite difficult to read if you have struggled personally with these things.

During the eras of Isaiah and Ezekiel, the Hebrews divided themselves into two separate kingdoms: Israel and Judah. The ten tribes of Israel had a population of approximately 450,000, while the two tribes of Judah had a population of roughly 100,000. Throughout the text, we see vivid metaphors of spiritual infidelity—likened to prostitution—as the root cause of their transgressions, using their respective capital cities as focal points for why the residents are ultimately brought to justice. This essay explores that narrative in four parts: first, by introducing the moral dilemma of both Israel and Judah; second, the story of Israel (Samaria); third, the story of Judah (Jerusalem); and fourth, the ultimate cause of their joint destruction. Let us begin at the beginning.

Ezekiel 23:2-4 says: “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. They became prostitutes in Egypt, engaging in prostitution from their youth. In that land, their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed. The older [daughter] was named Oholah, and her [younger] sister was Oholibah. They were mine [my daughters] and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.” (NIV)

The elder sister, representing the ten tribes of Israel centered in Samaria, is called Oholah, which means “her own tent.” This name fits because they broke away and did not use the designated temple for worship. The younger sister, representing the two tribes of Judah centered in Jerusalem, is named Oholibah, meaning “my temple is in her,” because those tribes still had direct access to the temple of God.

This tragic image of a woman betraying her husband is not new to the prophetic books; we find it deeply explored in Hosea, written nearly two hundred years prior to the message of Ezekiel (see Hosea 1-3). We have also seen the historical flirting of Israel and Judah with their pagan neighbors—namely Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon. These compromising political and spiritual relationships were heavily chastised by earlier prophets (see Amos 5:18-27; Hosea 7:8-15; Isaiah 14; Jeremiah 19:7-15). The spiritual infidelity detailed in this chapter was central to each of those historical failures.

We also find this half-hearted behavior addressed later in Zechariah 7:5, which says: “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?’” (NIV).

The Hebrews have a long, documented history of offering mere lip service to the God of this universe. This specific cycle of spiritual infidelity dates all the way back to the wilderness, when the spies returned from Canaan with a faithless, negative report about the Promised Land. We read in Numbers 14:1 that the people cried out in dismay and wept aloud all night long. The Hebrews became intensely resistant and afraid.

Responding to their spiritual infidelity, Elohim replied: “How long is this going to go on, all this grumbling against me by this evil-infested community? I’ve had my fill of complaints from these grumbling Israelites. Tell them, As I live—God’s decree—here’s what I’m going to do: Your corpses are going to litter the wilderness—every one of you twenty years and older… this whole generation of grumblers and grousers. Not one of you will enter the land and make your home there, the firmly and solemnly promised land, except for Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.” (Numbers 14:26-30, MSG)

As you may recall, after the death of King Solomon, the nation formally split into two kingdoms with two separate capitals: Samaria and Jerusalem. The stubborn obstinacy of the Hebrews had been in place for as long as they had been engaged in worshiping the one true living God. To help us understand the deep, cutting effect of sin, Elohim forces us to see the absolute worst of ourselves. It is a message that is incredibly hard to accept. Here, spiritual infidelity is presented in the basest, most shocking terms possible simply to capture our wandering attention. The focus of the message zeroes in on these two women, who are clearly identified by God as surrogates for Israel and Judah—the daughters of one mother.

When they were still united as one nation, their initial spiritual infidelity was committed with Egypt. Once they split into two separate kingdoms, they spread their affections to many surrounding pagan nations. Make no mistake, spiritual infidelity is the most grievous of all our human troubles. It actively wars against our soul, pulls us into thick darkness, infatuates our natural weaknesses, and twists our thoughts until we think good is harsh and bad is just right. It renders us odious in the sight of a holy God. This poison always starts in the hidden spiritual realm, and then inevitably migrates into our physical reality.

This is a profoundly difficult subject. The historical troubles of Israel and Judah were extreme, proving that spiritual infidelity is no small thing. Rejecting a God who is so fiercely willing to forgive and restore is difficult to comprehend. Yet, we still see that same rejection playing out all around us every single day. Elohim’s mercy is a wondrous thing. May we all choose to stay in His safe, holy place.

I choose Jesus.

I have set my Face Against Them (Part 1)

Dan

It has been my observation that Ezekiel has been called, over and over again to warn the Hebrews of the impending disaster that is coming. I think that Ezekiel is grieving over the turmoil and his inability to capture the attention of his countrymen. Furthermore, his grieving reflects God’s empathy as he moves forward to the required completion of the plan (the expulsion of his children to the hands of others).

For anyone who thinks the death of Jesus was hard stuff for the Father, you are wise to be careful and peek under the hood of Ezekiel’s messages to see the emotions and feelings of God over losing his child – Israel. I know on the larger scale there is no comparison, but this event (the exile thingy) certainly was a prelude to the main event (the death of Jesus). The cause was the same. The impact was the same.

God tried to get their attention. He used visions, he used theatrics, he used direct messaging.

We, his people, understood, we simply refused to accept the message. We were happy to accept the delusion from Lucifer. How full of himself Lucifer must have been as he watched the City of God, the lamp on the hill, the candle of light, flicker and fade. But God prevailed, his victory was documented in the last few chapters of Ezekiel. Simply stated, God raises his hand and hammers Lucifer. The hammer of Thor is child’s play compared to God’s hand.  God’s city emerges and his people inhabit the city.

Ezekiel 15: 1-5 says — The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred? [NIV]

Huh. What now? Ezekiel had his mind on the trouble that was descending upon Jerusalem, his city the noble structure it was, the city of God was in dire straits. God describes the city in terms of a vine. In Ezekiel’s day the vineyard was a desirable business and the vine that is fruitful was a star in the vineyard (see Judges 9:12-13 and Psalms 104:15). When Jerusalem was on task, the fruit was amazing; the city of God was a visible demonstration of the impact of blessings from God (see Psalms 80:8-15).

But, if the vine is not fruitful, it is taking up space in the vineyard (see Hosea 10:1-4). Wasted space. But God says — the wood can still be of use. He demonstrates. He gives the vine branches over to common slave labor. He says — Let us use nonproductive vines for firewood. Goodness, if the vine has no interest in producing fruit, God will still use it anyways. But the impact of the service will be more draconian.

In Hebrew culture, the vine, a highly valuable economic tool, should never be used as mere firewood. Yet, all through the Old Testament we see references that discuss making idols from firewood (see Isaiah 44:14-20). Now we see the Hebrews being called firewood. Don’t let this get by you. Make no mistake about God’s intent. El Shaddai loves every man-jack reading this essay. But Adonai calls us to repent. Elohim’s palm is opened to us, mercy at his fingertips. Jehovah-Jireh reaches out to us and makes the path home possible.

Read this slowly. He has a plan. He has things for us to do. But our resistance to the plan will have dire consequences. It will cripple our life. Resistance will cripple our relationships. Resistance is futile. The consequences will transfer our penchant for resistance to our children. They imitate us. Hanging out in the fireplace as defiant forced labor, is no place to be. I choose Jesus.

Consuming the Wind

Dan

Written by Dan

It has been my observation that death is the great equalizer, no one can outrun death, no one can avoid death, we all will pass through the portal. Some to life everlasting and others to an everlasting bad day. But what about the things we accumulate? What happens? Do those things matter? Solomon pondered on these things and formulated the essential statement on birth and death in a world with little grace.

Ecclesiastes 5:15-17 says — Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. This too is a grievous evil: As everyone comes, so they depart, and what do they gain, since they toil for the wind? All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction, and anger. (NIV)

Psalms tell us — Do not be overwhelmed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them. Though while they live, they count themselves blessed—and people praise them when they prosper—they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life (Psalm 49:16-19).

It is clear we do not accumulate anything in this world that stays with us after death. What is the impact of this? First, we see the fleeting nature of wealth, second, we are schooled by Solomon on the notion that our wealth is nothing, valueless when compared to the immensity and grandeur of the one true living God. We bring nothing because we have nothing material that is of value to God. He desires our heart, which is what we bring with us into the next world. We have nothing we have collected that is of any value to God. He looks for the heart, not the objects.

In Psalms we read — For you, Oh Lord, are my hope, my trust … from my Youth. Upon you I have learned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you (Psalm 71:5-6).

When we were born, we arrived with nothing. Then, in death we leave with nothing (implied in 1 Timothy 6:7). The dust that formed us, envelops us in death. For we were born in sin, and if we do not find grace in our life and turn towards the one true living God to receive the ransom, then we die in sin. We are unsanctified.   Our sorrow during life is magnified 1 million-fold in death without Jesus.

Our departure without the benefit of Grace is not God’s plan, it is Lucifers plan. He will try to twist and misalign the precepts squeezing all the power from the saving message. This is a difficult thing to wrap our mind around, yet we know he loses his campaign of destruction if we yield to Jesus. The darker truth is — he wants to distract us with wealth, causing our heart to be glued and focused on this world, striving to avoid death so that we may wrap our arms about the great wealth we accumulate and cling to rather than embracing and valuing the eternal gift given to each of us through the shed blood of Jesus.

In Hosea 12:1 we learn about Ephraim, a tribe of Israel trying to feed from the wind. How can that be? I think we quickly learn that feeding from the wind leaves us with an empty tummy. Wind cannot provide us with strength or stamina. What was Hosea the prophet talking about? I think the message is a metaphor that states pursuing wealth to bring happiness leaves us empty. If we pursue wealth for selfish reasons, we are fools. If we do manage to accumulate wealth, we will not find it easy to maintain. I think it is wise to consume the Word of God, leave wind consumption for the godless.

I choose Jesus.