SCRIPTURE: HOSEA 5
JUDGMENT AGAINST ISRAEL (vs. 1-15)
- God will discipline the rebels in Mizpah and Tabor who are deep in slaughtering. (v.1)
- Due to Ephraim’s prostitution and Israel’s corruption, God did not permit them to return to Him. (vs. 3-4)
- Ephraim and Judah can longer seek the Lord. (v. 6)
- Their New Moon festivals will devour them and their fields due to their unfaithfulness to the Lord by giving birth to illegitimate children. (v. 7)
- Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of reckoning. (v. 9)
- God will pour out his wrath on Judah’s leader because they were like those who move boundary stones. (v. 10)
- God will be like a moth to Ephraim and rot to the people of Judah because they pursued idols. (vs 11-12)
- God will be like a lion to Ephraim and a great lion to Juda tearing them to pieces and carrying them off with no one to rescue them. (v. 14)
THOUGHTS:
God withdrew Himself and His blessings from Israel and let them reap what they had sown. His judgment was described as water getting behind the dam, the moth destroying the fabric of society and the rottenness that leads to death. They sought help from Assyria but Assyria would become a lion to conquer them later.
Do not allow sin to harden your heart. Strive to stay far away from sinful practices. For each sin makes the next more easier to commit. Choose to obey God and follow His commands.