In the book of Hosea, Hosea said, “Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yes, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb. My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations”, and in chapter ten and verse one of Hosea, Hosea said,“Israel is an empty vine” where we read,
Israel is an empty vine, he brings forth fruit unto himself:
according to the multitude of his fruit he has increased the altars;
according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.
The verse begins, “Israel is an empty vine, he brings forth fruit unto himself:” Hosea began with the word, “Israel” whose name means “God prevails” and is “the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “is an empty vine” which means “exists as a void, waisted and devastated bending or twining vine”, “he brings forth fruit” or “he, Israel, sets in place, yields and reckons bough and produce” “unto himself” which means “to his own self”. Hosea said the nation of “Israel” was similar to a void and wasted twining vine that yielded only produce for it's own self.
The verse goes on to say, “according to the multitude of his fruit he has increased the altars;” Hosea added the words,“according to the multitude” or “in keeping with the great, numerous and abundant amount” “of his fruit” which means “pertaining to his, Israel's, produce” “he has increased the altars” or “he, Israel, has multiplied and greatly enlarged the places of slaughter”. Hosea shared how “Israel” enlarged the number of their sacrificial offering locations because of the abundant amount of their produce.
Finally the verse says, “according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.” Hosea concluded this verse with the words, “according to the goodness” or “in keeping with the pleasantness, agreeableness, excellence and prosperity” “of his land” which means “pertaining to his, Jehovah God's, country, territory region and district” “they have made goodly images” or “they, the nation of Israel, have fashioned, accomplished and produced glad, pleasing and beautiful pillars, stumps and stock of trees”. Hosea ended this verse by referring to the great number of beautiful tree stumps and pillars the nation of “Israel” set up in keeping with the prosperity of their country.
When we mediate upon the words in this verse, we learn how Hosea recognized the blessing of Jehovah God that was upon “the nation of Israel”, and yet, they exploited themselves and used those blessings to make sacrificial “altars” to their idols and false gods. They made pillars and stumps from the stocks of trees that would only add to their worship experiences, and each of these were in defiance to Jehovah God. God desired a personal relationship with the people of “Israel”, but they refused and rejected Him. He wants a relationship with us as well, and when we yield our lives to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and keep us from using His blessings to worship other gods and idols.
Next time Hosea says, “their heart is divided”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment