Hosea presented the case regarding the guilt of Ephraim with exacting words from God. The people of Israel were absolutely guilty before a Righteous God. His words condemned them totally. However, also offering a sliver of hope for their repentance. After all, if the Ninevites could be saved, surely there was hope for God’s people. Ephraim was the younger son of Joseph, named as one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Joshua was his descendent and thus the richest of the lands were owned by the tribe of Ephraim. They had prospered tremendously in the land of Israel. Yet, amid great prosperity, they became careless and complacent. Ultimately, pride and arrogance lead to the division of the northern 10 tribes of Israel from the southern tribes. God speaks out harshly against “Ephraim” as he admonishes the northern tribes of Israel.
Hear the word of the Lord,You children of Israel,
For the Lord brings a charge[a] against the inhabitants of the land:
“There is no truth or mercy
Or knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed [b]upon bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land will mourn;
And everyone who dwells there will waste away
With the beasts of the field
And the birds of the air;
Even the fish of the sea will be taken away. Hosea 4 (NKJV)
Sounds familiar? “There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land.”
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children. Hosea 4:6
Are we as a nation rejecting the knowledge of God?
Absolutely Guilty
7 “The more they increased,
The more they sinned against Me;
Iwill change their glory into shame.
8 They eat up the sin of My people;
They set their heart on their iniquity.
9 And it shall be: like people, like priest.
So I will punish them for their ways,
And reward them for their deeds.
10 For they shall eat, but not have enough;
They shall commit harlotry, but not increase;
Because they have ceased obeying the Lord. Hosea 4
One of the saddest things we see on earth is the careless casting aside of God by humans particularly in their moments of greatest blessings. It is as though during those seasons we forget that all we have is because of His grace alone and mercy toward us. How quickly did the Israelite nation forget all of God’s mercies toward them.
Yet God Pleads with Them through Hosea
Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will [a]bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
4 “O Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
O Judah, what shall I do to you?
For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,
And like the early dew it goes away.
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by the words of My mouth;
And your judgments are like light that goes forth.
6 For I desire mercyand not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings
Hosea 6 (NET)
One can hearing the pleading of Hosea’s voice. After all Hosea understood the depth of God’s love for these who had cast His love aside like dirty rags to chase after other lovers. Hosea had been deserted by the wife he loved. How often are we guilty of the same, casting aside God’s love while searching after other earthly pleasures? Is our nation not guilty of the same acts of harlotry?
Absolutely Guilty with no shame
As they saw Assyria preparing to attack, what did the Israelite people do? Did they look to God and lay down their idols? No Repentance was far from their hearts, as they looked to Egypt for their rescue. Ah, but how often do we want to return to whatever Egypt we were formerly enslaved to rather than to turn to God who loves us?
11 “Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without [e]sense—
They call to Egypt,
They go to Assyria.
12 Wherever they go, I will spread My net on them;
I will bring them down like birds of the air;
I will chastise them
According to what their congregation has heard.
13 “Woe to them, for they have fled from Me!
Destruction to them,
Because they have transgressed against Me!
Though I redeemed them,
Yet they have spoken lies against Me.
14 They did not cry out to Me with their heart
When they wailed upon their beds.
“They [f]assemble together for grain and new wine,
[g]They rebel against Me;
15 Though I disciplined and strengthened their arms,
Yet they devise evil against Me;
16 They return, but not [h]to the Most High;
They are like a treacherous bow.
Their princes shall fall by the sword
For the cursings of their tongue.
This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
Hosea 7 (NET)
THE WRITING ON THE WALL
Much as what happened to King Belshazzar of Babylon, one day all nations will come to the place of judgment. It was over 300 years after Hosea and after Israel fell to Assyria. Assyria as well as Judah were then overtaken by the Babylonian Empire. Step by step God’s mighty hand had marched forward in time. He used a pagan empire to punish His people. King Nebuchadnezzar came to believe also in the God of Israel, the one true God.
Yet, years after Nebuchadnezzar’s death, it would be time for Cyrus of Persia to return the remnant of true believers to Jerusalem. Isaiah had foretold of this hundreds of years before it happened. Therefore, one fateful night King Belshazzar, the co-regent of Babylon with his father Nabonidus, the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire threw a party. At that party King Belshazzar called for all the sacred golden cups stolen from the temple of God. He poured wine in these to defile them when a hand wrote on the wall.
That hand wrote an ominous warning that time was up for the Babylonians and for their kingdom. Just like that, they were absolutely guilty before a Righteous God. These were the words of God spoken through Daniel that night.
Daniel 5: (NET)
18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. 19 And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed. And whomever he wished, he kept alive Also, whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down.
20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. 21 Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he [l]knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.
22 “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. 23 And you have [m]lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of [n]His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. 24 Then the [o]fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.
The Words Written by the Hand of God
25 “And this is the inscription that was written:
[p]MENE, MENE, [q]TEKEL, [r]UPHARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; 27 TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; 28 PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”[s] 29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
God has numbered your kingdom and finished it. You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting, Your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
Daniel was now an old man. He had spent years praying for the remnant. Cast aside by the younger King, he had too been forgotten. Yet, God put him in the room to witness the takeover by the Persians, knowing this was the answer to prayer and God’s perfect orchestration of the salvation of the remnant.
Could God say the same of our nation? Or even our world? Are we not absolutely guilty before a righteous God.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS: Absolutely Guilty
Where are we as a nation? Furthermore, where do you and I stand at the present. If we know Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, then we have nothing to fear. Yes, I am absolutely guilty before a righteous God; however, clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ I am justified. When He looks down from heaven, He sees the sacrifice of His Son. Washed in the blood, I am clean forever. The storms may rage, but He will hold us fast. He will complete all that He has planned.
So, what are we to do now? WE are to be the beacons of light in this dark and troubled world. How could I give Him less than all of me, (heart, mind, and soul) every moment of every day? That is the least I can do and I can trust Him in the darkest hours because I can see His heart of love through it all.
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.
Therefore if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you today. Go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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DISCLOSURES
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2021
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Credits
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Photo by Permission of RoninRon Pencil Art