Tuesday 05 February 2013

Background

Today's passage begins on a very bleak note indeed. Hosea iscontinuing to spell out how God intends to punish the people forthe sins they have committed. Whilst the first part of the chapterdealt with Bethel, we now move southwards to Gibeah and the senseof a respite, in terms of punishment, is not on the cards. Not onlyis a past war brought back into memory, but it is promised again.The previous war had been a civil one but in this new one defeat isprophesied and the outcome, that the land will be plundered, couldnot be grimmer. The harshness does not end there, by implicationpeople will be taken into slavery and made to work the ground. Hopeappears to be in short supply and yet it is there at the start ofverse 12: "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap steadfast love".So amidst the anger and the wrath comes a faint light that thepeople need to look too.

The second part of the passage continues on bleakly; all becausethe people have turned their back on God and tried to do things bytheir own methods and in their own strength. In other words, theyhave carried on like they didn't need God. Verse 13 goes intodetails: they relied on their own strength; planted wickedness;have reaped evil; have eaten the fruit of deception. The peoplehave become immersed in a culture of sin, selfishness and denial ofalmighty God. The crime has been committed, the evidence has beenexamined and now the judgement is being metered out.

The end of the chapter is completely devastating: militarystrongholds will be overwhelmed, young mothers with their new bornwill be slaughtered and everyone will be affected.  To end allthe misery, the king, the figurehead, will be wiped out too,leaving them leaderless. What a terrible end to a terribleannouncement!

To Ponder

• Does all tragedy lead back to God? Why, or why not?

• Are there times when you feel you are suffering underjudgement?

• Does a loving God inflict misery on people?