Thursday, March 17, 2016

Hosea 9: Looming Exile

Israel's days as a nation are numbered.  The northern kingdom, in rebellion against the house of David since the days of Jeroboam, is on its last legs.  The prophet Hosea reveals what is in store for them: Exile!

We see the looming threat of exile lurking in many clues scattered throughout Hosea, with several specific verses in chapter 9:

  • "They shall not remain in the land of the Lord; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and in Assyria they shall eat unclean food" (vs. 3).
  • "For even if they escape destruction, Egypt shall gather them, Memphis shall bury them" (vs. 6).
  • "Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird" (vs. 11).
  • "Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house.  I will love them no more; all their officials are rebels" (vs. 15).
  • "Because they have not listened to him, my God will reject them; they shall become wanderers among the nations" (vs. 17)

Exile is like the death penalty for a nation.  No longer will they be one people.  Instead they will be ripped apart and thrown among the nations of the earth.  They will lose their identity, and their children will not keep to their traditions or to their God.

What the Lord is threatening to bring upon them is one of the worst fates they can contemplate.  Imagine how you would feel if a prophet forecast the destruction of your country and said your family would have to move to a strange new land and be absorbed into their culture.  What could you do?  To whom would you call?

Sadly, the end is nigh for Israel.  Exile looms.  "The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come" (vs. 7).

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