The Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 13

THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET

HOSEA 

CHAPTER 

13

1. When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel; but he incurred guilt through Baal and died. 2. And now they keep on sinning and make a cast image for themselves, idols of silver made according to their understanding, all of them the work of artisans. "Sacrifice to these," they say. People are kissing calves!

(Book of Hosea Chapter 13 verses 1 to 2)

Oh God my Father, with a heavy heart, I say that when Ephraim spoke your people trembled, however when You speak during our times it is as if nobody has spoken or intervened. Everybody is doubting everyone's credibility. Courts are becoming corrupted, our foodstuffs are becoming corrupted, off the counter purchases such as goods are being bought for a heavy price and ending up faulty. We are living in an insecure world, where war or signs of war are looming even though we are not admitting it.  People are adoring other people as in the kissing of calves. Some of us are adoring mistresses and their shoes or feet and are even kissing their high heels in so-called 'worship'. We are giving worship to the wrong god, which can never heal us or love us or offer us salvation. I pray oh God that You give the world a big shaking so that we will turn back to You Amen.



3. Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes away early, like chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or like smoke from a window.


(Book of Hosea Chapter 13 verse 3)



Oh God indeed without You we are like the wind, light empty without weight as in the imagery used of smoke or dew that has no roots and evaporates when the sun starts shining. Therefore Oh God we need to be like the tree and have strong roots that are deeply planted in You or fertile soil and bedrock Amen.


4. Yet I have been the LORD your God ever since the land of Egpyt; you know no God but me, and besides me, there is no savior. 5. It was I who fed you in the wilderness, in the land of drought.


(Book of Hosea Chapter 13 verses 4 and 5)


Oh God and Father I am indebted to You, for You have been caring and loving me since the day I was born. If it had not been for You and Your love for me, I would not have had endured the previous and even the present tribulations. I owe You infinite praise and worship oh God. Amen and a great Thank You and Love You!



6. When I fed them, they were satisfied; they were satisfied, and their heart was proud; therefore they forgot me.


(Book of Hosea Chapter 13 verse 6)


Oh God how selfish we can be, we are only satisfied when You cater for our needs, but when you do not we go against You which is very unfair. Forgive us oh God, for we are all guilty of such a sin . Amen



7. So I will become like a lion to them, like a leopard I will lurk beside the way. 8. I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs, and will tear open the covering of their heart; there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild animal would mangle them.


(Book of Hosea  Chapter 13 verses 7 to 8)


Oh God my Father I understand that we make You angry so much that You would feel like destroying us from the face of the earth, however I also understand how much You love us, more than any other person in the world. As a parent at times I also become angry with my eight-year-old daughter, however, when I calm down I realize that she simply does not yet have the skill to behave better. As humans, we are conditioned by our sinful nature. Even though we aim to live according to Your ways, goodness is not natural in us.



9. I will destroy you, O Israel; who can help you? 10. Where now is your king, that he may save you? Where in all your cities are your rulers, of whom you said, "Give me a king and rulers"? 11. I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath.


(Book of Hosea  Chapter 13 verses 9 to 11)


Oh God without You we are dead meat unprotected and open to the attacks of the evil one, who seeks our destruction. Although we try and seek others as our rulers maybe idols or politics or philosophy  and reasoning to give a sense of order to our lives without Your help we are lost.



12. Ephraim's iniquity is bound up;  his sin is kept in store. 13. The pangs of chilbirth come for him, but he is an unwise son; for at the proper time he does not present himself at the mouth of the womb.


(Book of Hosea Chapter 13 verses 12 to 13)


Oh God as humans we are born in sin and without Your help we are not able to do acts of goodness not even basic things such as exiting the womb at the time of birth for some of us even miss the delivery date. Even though we consider ourselves as being wise according to the standards of the world when comparing our wisdom to Yours it is ignorance.



14. Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your destruction? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.


(Book of Hosea Chapter 13 verse 14)




Oh God what more can You do for us, You have spared us from our merited punishment many times, and also delivered us from moments of tribulation? Although You love us so much we still have to experience situations such as death for it is by means of the physical death that we can be born again in Your presence. Oh God You did not spare Your only Son who was and is pure and innocent from from death let alone ourselves. Thank You Jesus. Amen


15. Although he may flourish among rushes, the east wind shall come, a blast from the LORD, rising from the wilderness; and his fountain shall dry up, his spring shall be parched. It shall strip his treasury of every precious thing.


(Book of Hosea Chapter 13 verse 15)


Oh God even though we may advance in our career, if this same career takes us away from You, in the same way that it had started it will come to an end.



16. Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword, their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.


(Book of Hosea Chapter 13 verse 16)



Oh God my Father in truth Your sons and daughters were dashed to pieces. The suicide bombs that exploded in Brussels claimed the lives and injured many people. I would like to end this chapter with a prayer for the souls of the victims involved in this heartbreaking episode.



Oh God I pray for mercy on the souls of our brothers and sisters in Brussels, Paris and many other countries who experienced an untimely death. Some have even been raped and slaughtered because they believe in You. Have mercy oh God on both the victims and even the killers for due to their mindset, the Devil has taken control of their brains and has set them against the rest of the world. Forgive them oh God for they do not know what they are doing as in the case of Your crucifixion where You also forgave those who trespassed against You.  If there is anybody who is worthy of throwing the stone and condemning these people it is You and even You chose to abstain from throwing it. Amen.


I invite you to move on to the next book of the Bible that of the Prophet Joel by clicking on the following link:-

https://bibleanalysisbookssmallprophets.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-book-of-small-prophets-joel-chapter.html

The Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 12

THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET

HOSEA 

CHAPTER 

12

1. Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit but Judah still walks with God, and is faithful to the Holy One.  Ephraim herds the wind, and pursues the east wind all day long; they multiply falsehood and violence; they make a treaty with Assyria and oils is carried to Egypt.

(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 12 verse 1)

As in the case of a father who has many children oh God my Father, there are those children who are respectful and obedient to You and Your ways, and there are others who are disobedient and rebellious. I believe oh God that as humans we make part of both groups for we are a mixture of good and bad and at times one takes dominance over the other making us obedient at times and rebellious at other times.



2. The LORD has indictment against Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways, and repay him according to his deeds.


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 12 verse 2)


Oh God even though You love us, You cannot turn a blind eye to our shortcomings. As humans, we are to give an account to You for our good acts and deeds and even for those moments of weakness when our behaviour was not according to Your will. I pray oh God that when we appear before You the balance sways in favour of the positive deeds and not in favour of the negative Amen.



3. In the womb he tried to supplant his brother, and in his manhood he strove with God. 4. He strove with the angel and prevailed, he wept and sought his favor; he met him at Bethel, and there he spoke with him. 5. The LORD the God of hosts, the LORD is his name!


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 12 verses 3 to 5)


Oh God, it is by nature that we are rebellious both towards others and even towards You my loving, God. Our mortal life is a constant battle against our sinful nature until we achieve our main objective in life, that of being united with You forever. Amen



6. But as for you, return to your God, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 12 verse 6)


Oh, wise prophet Hosea Your words are truly inspired by God, for you could not have given us a better piece of advice. It is best to let others go their ways according to the ways of the world, however, we are to stick to the ways of God that are based on love and justice. Moreover, the second piece of good advice is that we are to wait on You my, God who always delivers at the appointed time according to Your diary as planned for our own good. However in the mean time, we are not to be passive but never cease in doing good actions and remaining firm in our life of prayer.

7. A trader, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress.


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 12 verse 7)


As much as the image of You my God and Father was portrayed in verse 6, the image of the adversary is portrayed in verse 7. Unlike You my God, the evil one is untrue and cunning and his pleasure is that of oppressing us and cause us to commit one sin after another. As humans, we are struggling to strike a balance in our lives in favour of goodness but the oppressive effects of evil are always at work Amen. I pray for Your protection oh God against the forces of evil.



8. Ephraim has said, "Ah, I am rich I have gained wealth for myself; in all of my gain no offense has been found in me that would be sin."


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 12 verse 8)


When faced with our sinful reality especially during moments of crisis, even before You my God we try and seek justification in order to deny our sins. We often use logical reasoning in order to defend ourselves and justify our acts.



9. I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of the appointed festival


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 12 verse 9)


Oh God, You love us so much that You wish to release us from our state of Egypt and give us the liberty and dignity of that of Your sons and daughters and not that of slaves of our sins.



10. I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets I will bring destruction.


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 12 verse 10)


Oh God, I strongly believe that it is You who gives us visions and ideas. You know what is good for us before we ever think of our needs or wants. You inspire us to create inventions for the good of humanity, but not ideas how to destroy each other or even ourselves as in the case of euthanasia or abortion  Amen.



11. In Gilead there is iniquity, they shall surely come to nothing. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, so their altars shall be like stone heaps on the furrows of the field. 12. Jacob fled to the land of Aram, there Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he guarded sheep.


(Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 12 verses 11 to 12)



During these times, oh God my Father the faith of Your people extinguished like a flame that has consumed all the candle. The acts that, resulted were purely the result of this state of degeneration. During our times meaning 2016, the same process is taking place. Many of us come to Church on Sunday, but when analyzing their behaviour during the service it is evident that some of us either do not know what is going on, why they are attending or even if they still believe in You or not! On the other, hand certain priests are not really believers in You although they celebrate the sacrament of the Eucharist. At the time I was on my way experimenting if I was really called to be a priest, although I had no doubts that You had called me, a friar who lived in the same convent gave me the scare of my life. He told me that Philosophy muddles the mind and its reasoning and theology destroys the faith. My response  was that I was better off if I left the convent, thus preserving my mind and most of all my faith. However if this is true regarding philosophy and theology we have many priests who are atheists and for the sake of being priests are still proclaiming Your message of good news and are still serving on the altars. I pray oh God that the experience of this friar is not that of many other priests and friars. Amen



13. By a prophet the LORD brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was guarded. 14. Ephraim has given bitter offense, so his Lord will bring crimes down on him and pay him back for his insults.


(Book of Small Prophets Chapter 12 verses 13 to 14)


Oh God my Father I thank You for those people who served as prophets throughout my life, during the process of my conversion. I still meet some of them occasionally and we talk about You and the blessed interventions that have taken place in our lives thanks to You. Everywhere I go You send me such people who make me aware of myself, my actions and even of misconceptions on many levels that I might have and help me percieve my distorted perception. Thank You for sending me such prophets and caring for me by sending me such people who are signposts for me to follow Amen.



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



Oh God, You are my Father, You know my every move, You are aware of both my strengths and my weaknesses, You have been following me, guiding me from the very time I came into existence as a human being. Throughout my life there were moments when we were really close, however, there were other moments when I chose to live life according to my way instead of Yours. I Thank You for waiting for me to turn back from my ways and walk in Your ways again. Thank You Jesus. 

The Book of Small Prophets Hosea Chapter 11

THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET

HOSEA 

CHAPTER 

11

1. When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2. The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols.

(Book of Prophets Hosea Chapter 11 verses 1 to 2)

Oh God, my Father You love us so much, however as humans we do not always show our gratitude to You. As in the case of disobedient children, the more You love us and care for us, the more we turn away and disobey Your will. When will we humble our hearts and obey You and accept You as our loving Father oh God! 

I pray for this generation and those to come that they learn from the mistakes that we are making both as individuals and even as a nation Amen.



3. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. 4. I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.


(Book of Prophets Hosea Chapter 11 verses 3 to 4)


Oh God as in all parents You are lamenting over those moments when we were still young and faithful to You. You led us with love and alot of care, however when we grow up we behave like teenagers who are seeking their independence and try to do things according to our ways instead of Your. Amen.



5. They Shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.


(Book of Prophets Hosea Chapter 11 verse 5)


On deciding to act according to our ways, and not even stop to consider Your ways, oh God my Father we end up in a state of Egypt, exile or bondage that may lead to a critical situation. Our vices and even idols, agendas or work, shall become our kings that dominate our lives and cause us to live a life below the level of dignity that You oh God have planned for us. We become slaves of our career, ambitions and drives, although You created us to be masters over what we created and not conditioned by it. God puts on our cloak and sandals, and we decide to undress and walk barefoot.



6. The sword rages in their cities, it consumes their oracle-priests, and devours because of their schemes, 7. My people are bent on turning away from me. To the Most High they call, but he does not raise them up at all.


(Book of Prophets Hosea Chapter 11 verses 6 to 7)


Oh God my Father, the sword may symbolize death which may be referring to the spiritual death, however when we are in a state of sin, we are both spiritually and physically dead, for sin leaves no space for life in us only existence.



8. How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.


(Book of Prophet Hosea Chapter 11 verse 8)


Oh God You love me so much, this is why You cannot stop loving me and the world even though at times we make You angry by doing actions that You do not like. I thank You for never ceasing to love us my God and Father. Amen.


9. I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.


(Book of Prophets Hosea Chapter 11 verse 9)


Many times oh God we have been tempted to become angry and pass judgement on each other, parents on children, children versus younger children, citizens versus people in important occupations, however, oh God my Father, You teach us to control ourselves and act out of love and the Spirit of God who dwells in us instead of out of the flesh.


10. They shall go after the LORD who roars like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west. 11. They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria; and I will return them to their homes, says the LORD.


(Book of Prophets Hosea Chapter 11 verses 10 to 11)


Oh God my Father, when we hear Your name we will come trembling to You in love, fear and humility from all the regions of the earth, for nobody can ever resist Your voice or remain the same after having heard it as I did. Your voice is strong and loving. I will never forget the hour when I heard Your voice and spoke to me and told me to leave all my ways and belongings to follow You my God. I really trembled and was on the verge of a heart attack but I was filled with both fear and happiness. God bless You my God. How I long for another mountain - top experience where I will directly hear Your voice again. amen.



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


Oh God my Father how can I ever stop loving You and praising Your name. However even though I am still a sinner I can never love You as much as You love me. You have been caring for me and making plans for me even before I ever existed. I thank You from my heart for being such a caring and loving Father. I pray for Your love care and understanding even though at times I go against Your will for I am still a human amen.