September 23 Daily Discovery
September 23 Daily Discovery - Read Hosea Chapter 5
This passage below is from the King James Version (ekjv.org).
Remarks from the Berean Fellowship follow the passage below.
[1] Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
[2] And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all.
[3] I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.
[4] They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.
[5] And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.
[6] They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.
[7] They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
[8] Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin.
[9] Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
[10] The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
[11] Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.
[12] Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
[13] When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.
[14] For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
[15] I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
An Affliction they will Seek God Early
I have extracted this title from the last verse in the chapter. Hosea is pronouncing judgment upon the whole of Israel because of idolatry. The unfaithfulness of Israel to god is repeatedly shown is that of an unfaithful wife and Israel is called a whore.
This charge is always used because they had fallen into the worship of the gods of the land instead of the one true living God of Israel.
The Spirit of Whoredoms is in their Midst
The priests are involved in it which would be the heart; the king is involved in it which would be the head and the entire body is involved in it which would be Israel and Judah. The whole of the nation is guilty.
God tells them that they are going to seek Him but He is not going to be found. The reason for this is God knows their pride and their hearts. Their hearts are going astray and just because they would bring their bodies and cry out to God he is looking for sincerity in the heart which is not found.
Jer. 29:13
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
The Blessing of Affliction
Psa. 119:67
Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.
The place of blessing and protection and flourishing is in that place where god dwells. When we fail to dwell or to abide in our relationship with god, thus enjoying his fellowship, is when we experience trouble because of his chastisement. His purpose is to bring us back into fellowship with himself -- to be in the place of blessing again. It is good for us when we are so afflicted.
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