The minor prophets are called minor because they had written less than the major prophets. By the end of King Solomon’s rule the Israelites were steeped in idolatry. With God nothing is impossible. Where there is life there is hope.
Hosea 1:-2 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. 2 When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea: “Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry And children of harlotry, For the land has committed great harlotry By departing from the Lord.”
Admonition and warnings were a big part of the book of Hosea. He lived about 75 years before Isaiah. In their idolatry the Israelites had forsaken God and worshiped the gods of paganism.
Exodus 20:2 -4 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
The first and the greatest of the commandments was that God was to be first in their lives. Idolatry started with the Israelites and the golden calf they constructed. Idolatry continues throughout the world.
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Unbelief is the only thing that ultimately separates us from God. God will not share His glory. In His lovingkindness and mercy He wants no one to live without Him. In Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the Cross the veil that separated from our Creator was removed. The choice is ours to make. (John 3:18) Carla
Hosea is the first of the 12 Minor Prophets (named for the relative brevity of their prophecies). The heading introduces the prophet Hosea and orients his ministry to the eighth-century bc reigns of four kings of Judah and the king of Israel, Jeroboam II. Hosea prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel in the years leading up to its fall to Assyria in 722 bc.
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel each use the image of Israel as an unfaithful wife, emphasizing that the severity of Israel’s idolatry was tantamount to adultery. Hosea takes this metaphorical comparison and turns it into a literal symbolic act, marrying a woman who is continually unfaithful to him. This passage introduces Hosea’s family—his wife, Gomer, and the three children she bears. He takes her as a wife following Yahweh’s explicit command.
The Hebrew term here, zenunim, refers broadly to extramarital sex, including adultery and prostitution. Hosea uses this term to indicate that his wife will be unfaithful. The text does not explain how Gomer fits this description. The main impact of the metaphor and symbolic action comes from the image of adultery, not necessarily prostitution. She may have been a prostitute, a promiscuous widow, or a divorcee. Alternatively, Gomer may have been initially faithful but committed adultery after the birth of their first child. It also is possible that she was not a prostitute or adulteress at all; the reference to her unfaithfulness could be indicating idolatry. In that case, Gomer could fit the criterion solely in the sense that she worshiped idols, just as others in Israel did at this time. The Hebrew expression refers to illegitimate children. The text hints that Gomer’s first child is Hosea’s, while the second and third may have been fathered by her other lovers. It is also possible that Gomer already had children from prostitution or a previous marriage. The prophet equates widespread idol worship in Israel with adultery. Breaking the covenant with Yahweh was like breaking a marriage covenant. Faithlife Study Bible
Gomer may have been a common prostitute at the time Hosea married her, or perhaps she had participated in a ritual sexual act as part of the Baal cult. However, it is more likely that the descriptive phrase anticipates what Gomer would become following her marriage to Hosea. If Gomer was a prostitute when she married Hosea, this could refer to children that Gomer already had and that Hosea adopted at the time of marriage. A more likely possibility is that the title anticipates born to a mother whose reputation and escapades would make their lineage suspect. Gomer’s marital infidelity is a picture of Israel’s idolatry and unfaithfulness to its covenant with God. The NKJV Study Bible
2 Kings 14:23–15:7 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, became king in Samaria, and reigned forty-one years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin…
Hosea 3:1 Then the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.”
To make a connection—to touch, to see, to listen, to discover, to drink from the well of the day's gladness.
How do we measure what matters?
How then do we measure? What is essential? How do we decide (honor) the things that really matter?
I like the idea of rearranging our priorities. Our ducks in a row. And it is easy to resonate with the goal part. It provides needed ballast for that fragment of our psyche that requires closure. So, we're all in. And if it comes with an easy to follow checklist, all the better. (Which is all well and good until someone changes the list.)
But what if measuring is not even about the list?
Is it possible that we are asking the wrong questions?
And this I know: the question is almost never the question.
A blessed Maundy Thursday to all.
Maundy, from the Latin, mandatum, or command, which refers to the directives Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper. At the Last Supper, Jesus blessed the bread and the wine, sharing them with his disciples. And he washed the feet of his disciples as an act of kindness and grace. And blessing. And to model his command that we love one another, encouraging his disciples to gather, to eat bread and wine together after his death.
Yes, because more than ever, we really do need one another. And to remember that everyone is welcome at the table. Sabbath Moments
Euthymeō signifies more than just bravery in terms of action. According to Strong's Concordance, euthymeō is also about attitude, implying an intentional choice to be of good cheer and joy despite obstacles ahead.
This idea of being joyful in trials is recurrent in the Bible. Jesus implored His disciples to rejoice and be glad when they were persecuted (Matthew 5:11-12). Peter, James and Paul also encouraged believers to walk in joy and praise God because trials produce perseverance, strengthen character and encourage deeper faith (1 Peter 1:6-7; Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4).
Although trials may come, we serve a God who is always present and delivers on His word, down to the last storm-tossed hair on our heads. May this blessed assurance remind us to continue to walk in joy no matter the circumstance.
Psalm 5:12, "Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield" (NIV). First5
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