Monday 23 January 2017

The word of God to FEBC and Life BPC

Hosea 10:4-8 
New International Version (NIV) 

4 They make many promises, 
take false oaths 
and make agreements; 
therefore lawsuits spring up 
like poisonous weeds in a plowed field. 

5 The people who live in Samaria fear 
for the calf-idol of Beth Aven. 
Its people will mourn over it, 
and so will its idolatrous priests, 
those who had rejoiced over its splendor, 
because it is taken from them into exile. 

6 It will be carried to Assyria 
as tribute for the great king. 
Ephraim will be disgraced; 
Israel will be ashamed of its foreign alliances. 

7 Samaria’s king will be destroyed, 
swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters. 

8 The high places of wickedness will be destroyed— 
it is the sin of Israel. 
Thorns and thistles will grow up 
and cover their altars. 
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” 
and to the hills, “Fall on us!” 

Commentary from ESV Study Bible: 

Hos. 10:4 It is difficult to determine whether those who utter mere words are Israelites (v. 3) or their kings. If Israelites, it refers to Israel's misplaced reliance on their leaders and the hypocritical or blind claim that they are nevertheless faithful to the Lord (cf. 1 Sam. 8:7; Hos. 7:14). If it refers to the words of kings, their covenants/promises do not stem from integrity but are untrustworthy, empty oaths. 

Hos. 10:5 The address moves to the future. The inhabitants … tremble. Both their king and calf-idol will be removed from Samaria. What the people and the priests once rejoiced over, they will mourn for. On Beth-aven, see note on 4:15. The term glory describes the special presence of God in his sanctuary (cf. Ex. 40:34). Here it is the presumed presence of God at the illegitimate sanctuary. It will depart (or go into exile, ESV footnote), just as the legitimate glory did (1 Sam. 4:21–22). 

Hos. 10:6 The idol they worshiped becomes tribute for the great king of Assyria (see 5:13).

Hos. 10:7 The imagery like a twig on the face of the waters (i.e., tossed about every which way and then swept away) illustrates the helplessness and weakness of the kings that Israel trusted. 

Hos. 10:8 The thorn and thistle indicate that the land is unproductive; cf. Gen. 3:18; Matt. 7:16; Heb. 6:8. For Aven (another name for Beth-aven), see note on Hos. 4:15. 

My commentary: 

Lawsuit is a curse to FEBC and Life BPC! 

Hosea 10:4 "...lawsuits spring up 
like poisonous weeds in a plowed field." 

Genesis 3:17-18, "...cursed is the ground because of you
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; 
and you shall eat the plants of the field. 

To say that the ground is cursed (Hb. ’arar, v. 17) and will bring forth thorns and thistles (v. 18) indicates that the abundant productivity that was seen in Eden will no longer be the case. Underlying this judgment is a disruption of the harmonious relationship that originally existed between humans and nature. 

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