The Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 10

THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET

HOSEA 

CHAPTER 

10

1. Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars.

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 10 verse 1)


Oh God, this is common in the human race. The more You provide for us, the more we desire to increase our profits, however if we invest in our spiritual welfare more than in our financial welfare we would be better off and live a more balanced life, for at the point of death we will not need money, but the good deeds we did when we were still alive.



2. Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars, and destroy their pillars.


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 10 verse 2)



Oh God, You are aware of our innermost being. You know when we are true and sincere and You also know when we are hypocrites. I thank You for permitting us to bear the consequences of our guilt, for by means of such experiences do we come in touch with ourselves, and realize how wrong we were when making such decisions. During such moments may we realize that although we are enveloped by our sinful nature, Your loving arms are always outstretched to welcome us back, if only we are humble enough to admit our sins and show repentance by confessing our sins in a spirit of humility.


3. For now they will say: "We have no king, for we do not fear the LORD, and a king-what could he do for us?" 4. They utter mere words; with empty oaths they make covenants; so litigation springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 10 verses 3 to 4)


Oh God when we decide to take control of our lives, we become the sole authority. What, we think, say or do, is good and totally approved by us, regardless of what others, may think, feel or say! When we are in such a state nobody from our world can communicate with us, it is as if we are locked in a bubble. I pray oh God that You have mercy on us during such situations and create situations or intervene directly and burst our bubble so that we wake up from our state of sinful alienation.



5. The inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Its people shall mourn for it, and its idolatrous priests shall wail over it, over its glory that has departed from it. 6. The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim shall be put to shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 10 verses 5 to 6)


Oh God when we come face to face with the reality that our idol is simply a person or a career and that in itself has taken Your place, we will have reason to wail over all the wasted time. When we appear before You, we shall also appear before You w8ith our idols for which we must feel contrition because You have been given second place in our lives, because our investment may not have been in You and Your ways but in the ways of the world.


7. Samaria's king shall perish like a chip on the face of the waters. 8. The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars. They shall say to the mountains, Cover us, and to the hills, Fall on us.


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 10 verses 7 to 8)


Oh God my Father even during our times, we ought to tell the abortion clinics that we built, the genetic engineering centres in order to manipulate the genes of the pre-fabricated baby, the parliaments who pass laws that are contrary to our faith as in the case of divorce to fall on us. Such means are used in a way that is contrary to Your will and they have no reason to exist in this world. We are already experiencing the consequences of such false places of worship, for there will come a time when we drastically need an increase in population, and those who abort children will wish that  they were never born, for having committed such a sin. Those who passed legislation in favour of same-sex marriages, and divorce, will wish that they were never elected to parliament for the consequences of such legislation is adding fuel to the flame and increasing the degree of this is issue that may have widespread consequences, especially when considering the influx of immigrants, especially those of beliefs that are non-tolerable of our own belief in You my God. If we intermarry with such people, the faith may take a large bash, and this is a real shame, especially, when considering the secularism of our times.


9. Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel; there they have continued. Shall not war overtake them in Gibeah? 10. I will come against the wayward people to punish them; and nations shall be gathered against them when they are punished for their double iniquity. 


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 10 verses 9 to 10)


Oh God as Christians we have also sinned and are still doing so. Could it be that it is for this reason that You are permitting this group ISIS, to harass and persecute Catholics and Christians as a punishment for our iniquity?. If it is justifiable in Your eyes so shall it be, but if not I pray that You save us from this waste of life and shedding of blood along with the destruction of many people.


11. Ephraim was a trained heifer that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck: but I will make Ephraim break the ground; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for himself.


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 10 verse 11)


Oh God my Father while we were still faithful and obedient to You we were supported by Your love, care and protection when we decide to wander according to our ways we are bound to experience the consequences of our actions, which at times lead us into a state of exile.


12. Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up fallow ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. 


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 10 verse 12)


It follows as You say oh God my Father that if we sow righteousness, we will reap it, however if we sow sin and corruption we will also reap it as we are reaping it today and throughout the ages. I pray oh God that You anoint the world with Your Holy Spirit so that we will be purified and return back to Your ways and start really and truly living Your promise Amen.


13. You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your power and in the multitude of your warriors, 14. therefore the tumult of war shall rise against your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel  on the day of battle when mothers were dashed in pieces with their children. 15. Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great wickedness. At dawn the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off.


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 10 verse 13 to 15)


Oh God, my Father it makes sense that if we sow sin we will reap sin or negative outcomes, however if we place our trust in You instead of in our own devices we will be better off. When we place our trust in ourselves, if such plans are not according to Your plan for us we will gradually witness the degradation or dismantling of our plans one by one until we learn how to make our plans according to Your will.


Oh God my Father I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:


Oh God You know me more and better than my own self. You have known me ever since the time before I was created for You had already made plans for me even before I was born. You love me so much that even when I go against Your will you have already plans by which to place me back on track for You love me so much. I pray that You never permit me to wander away from You for I am weak and may easily sin against You. Thanks for loving and caring for me God my Father. 

The Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9

THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET

HOSEA 

CHAPTER 

9

1. Do not rejoice, O Israel! Do not exult as other nations do;  for you have played the whore, departing from your God. You have loved a prostitute's pay on all threshing floors.

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verse 1)

Oh God, the same warning can be applied to us Christians. Today You would tell us not to be satisfied and or overjoyed with the discoveries in science and other spheres of life. For even though we are making great progress, in the scientific world, on a spiritual level we are becoming more atheist than ever before and this is something that we are not to be proud of.


2. Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail them. 3. They shall not remain in the land of the LORD, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and in Assyria they shall eat unclean food.

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verse 3)


Oh God, the world can only satisfy what is human and material. It can never satisfy our spiritual needs. This is an area that we take for granted, at our own cost, for in fact all that is material will come to an end but, all that is spiritual will remain forever. If we neglect this area we will find ourselves in a state of Egypt, meaning sorrow and pain.


4. They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the LORD, and their sacrifices shall not please him Such sacrifices shall be like mourners' bread all who eat of it shall be defiled: for their bread shall be for their hunger only; it shall not come to the house of the LORD.

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verse 4)


Oh God, when we come to receive You during communion we need to be prepared to receive Your holy presence, for if we are in deep sin at the time we cannot benefit from the power of Your presence. Even though You love us it will be like driving a new Ferrari into a garage filled with the waste and droppings of pigs and horses.


5. What will you do on the day of appointed festival, and on the day of the festival of the LORD?

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verse 5)


How will we stand before You oh God on the day of judgement if we have wasted our lent time on earth instead of using our time to do good works on behalf of others in need?


6. For even if they escape destruction, Egypt shall gather them, Memphis shall bury them. Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver; thorns shall be in their tents.

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verse 6)


Oh God, we can never escape Your justice. Even though we may manage to live a corrupt life on earth at the expense of other innocent people, there will come the time when we will have to face the consequences of our actions.


7.  The days of punishment have come, the days of recompense have come; Israel cries "The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is mad!"

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verse 7)


Indeed oh God the days of punishment are in fast progress. People who believe in You are being ridiculed because of the message of Your truth that they are proclaiming. People who have a close relationship with You and were being of help to others by holding prayer meetings are being persecuted of which one that I am familiar with has been forced to stop such meetings by a competent authority, but has not provided a solution for the welfare of such faithful, whose spiritual life is at risk if they generalize that all people who have made Your experience during apparitions are phonies and not accepted by the Roman Catholic Church.


8. The prophet is a sentinel for my God over Ephraim, yet a fowler's snare is on all his ways, and hostility in the house of his God. 9. They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; he will remember their iniquity he will punish their sins.

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verses 8 to 9)


Oh God even though we willfully give up our lives to a life sin You still watch over us and spoil our plans so that we will not harm ourselves or others by means of our crooked plans. Oh God because You love us so much You face the dilemma of every parent. Although You love us so much You cannot turn a blind eye to our acts of disobedience. This means that we still have to experience the negative consequences of our sins, by which we will grow and mature in the process. I thank You, God, for the way that You choose to deal with us humans.


10. Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree, in its first season, I saw your ancestors. But they came to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to a thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved.

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verse 10)


Oh God before we ever had set our eyes and minds on You, before we had even been created You already knew us. We were already in Your plan for our salvation. Time and time again throughout our lives You communicated with us either directly or by means of Your Gospel or Bible or by means of tribulations, but our hearts were set on the world and we did not respond to You. However, You never gave up on us.


11. Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird-no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verse 11)


Oh God, it is only from You that we receive our strengths our talents and skills our life, however without You, nothing makes sense or is of value. Without You we end up living in a state of death and confusion.


12. Even if they bring up children. I will bereave them until no one is left Woe to them indeed when I depart from them!

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verse 12)


And woes it is to me and many others oh God my Father! If You had to leave my side for even a second my soul would surely perish for I am still weak on all levels. May it never be oh God that You depart from me and the whole world, for we would surely be in a state of bereavement.


13. I saw Ephraim as a young palm planted in a lovely meadow but now Ephraim must lead out his children for slaughter.

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verse 13)


Oh God, I can only just understand Your feelings on seeing Ephraim degenerating in such a way. You have known us even before we were born. You have been following us since we made our first step and uttered our first exclamation and now You maybe see us deep in sin, hooked on cocaine, or maybe even see us in a wrecked car over cliff's edge in an act of suicide! You who felt sorry to have had to spare Your only son for our redemption and was overjoyed to accept Him risen and in glory, will one day also feel the same emotion when we meet You in heaven. (I hope!)


14. Give them, O LORD what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verse 14)


As in the case of the prophet Hosea, I also ask, 'what shall we pray for?' However You gave us the answer to this question. We are to pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit and it will be given to us. Amen.


15. Every evil of theirs began at Gilgal; there I came to hate them. 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. 

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verse 15)


Every form of evil has a beginning oh God. A situation where we said 'Yes' to evil and no to 'You'. Since then if this action became a pattern as in masturbation that can even become a compulsion or lives will change completely for the goodness of God cannot be present at the same time as evil, therefore, in order to allow You my God in our lives, we are to say goodbye to evil. Oh God even though, we do sinful acts You still love us and have love and compassion for us, however, You cannot turn a deaf ear, or a blind eye on our sins as if they did not exist.


16. Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, I will kill the cherished offspring of their womb. 17. Because they have not listened to him my God will reject them; they shall become wanderers among the nations.

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 9 verses 16 to 17)


Oh God, I understand that You want to have the first place in our lives and that You do not accept any other competition. As a parent myself, I realize how painful it is to have disobedient children, who although receive Your comfort and love, still decide to go against Your will.


Oh, Father, I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:-


Oh, Father, I would like to pray for all parents, especially those who are facing a tidal wave of stress due to the disobedience of their children and many other issues. I pray for the parents of those youths who are addicted to drugs, a life of crime and other issues that Satan uses to test and harm us before You. I also pray for the youths themselves for it could be that their behaviour is a reflection of the challenging times that they are facing and are not coping with. I pray for Your blessing, love and protection oh God. May Your blessings flow on to all the families of the world.