Hosea 10:1-12:7
1 Israel is a luxuriant vine;
Her fruit is abundant.
According to the multitude of her fruits
She has multiplied her altars;
According to the wealth of his land
He has set up pillars.
2 They have divided their hearts;
Now shall they be utterly destroyed.
He shall raze their altars to the ground;
Their pillars shall experience distress.
3 For now they will say,
“We have no king,
Since we did not fear the Lord.
As for a king, what would he do for us?”
4 As he speaks words With false motives,
He would make a covenant.
Thus judgment will spring up
As a weed on the soil of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria
Shall dwell near the calf of Beth Aven,
For its people mourned for it.
To the degree that they rebelled against it,
So they will rejoice at its glory
Because it was removed from them.
6 For they bound it up for the Assyrians
And carried it away as a gift to King Jareb.
Ephraim shall receive it as a gift,
And Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.
7 Samaria has cast off her king
Like a twig on the surface of the water,
8 And the altars of Aven, the sins of Israel,
Shall be removed.
Thorns and thistles shall come upon their altars,
And they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”
And to the hills, “Fall on us.”
9 “From the days of Gibeah, Israel has sinned;
There they stood.
The war on that hill against the children of unrighteousness
Did not overtake them.
10 I came to chastise them,
And peoples shall be gathered against them
When they are chastised for their two sins.
11 Ephraim is a heifer taught to love victory,
But I will come upon the fairest part of her neck.
I will mount Ephraim;
I will pass over Judah in silence;
Jacob shall prevail against him.”
12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness;
Gather in the fruit of life;
Light for yourselves the light of knowledge;
Seek the Lord till the fruits of righteousness come upon you.
13 Why have you passed over ungodliness in silence
And reaped its wrongdoings?
You have eaten the fruit of deception,
For you have hoped in your chariots,
In the abundance of your power.
14 Therefore destruction shall rise up among your people,
And all your walled places shall be gone,
As Beth Arbel in the time of Prince Shalman.
In the days of battle,
They dashed the mother to the ground upon the children.
15 Thus will I do to you, O house of Israel,
Because of your evil deeds.
Early in the morning were they cast off;
The king of Israel has been cast off.
God’s Love for Rebellious Israel
1 “For Israel is a child, and I loved him,
And out of Egypt I have called his children.
2 As I called them,
So they departed from My presence.
They sacrificed to the Baals,
And burned incense to graven images.
3 “Yet I bound the feet of Ephraim.
I took him on My arm,
But they did not know that I healed them.
4 When men were destroyed,
I drew them with the bands of My love,
And I will be to them as a man
Smiting another on his cheek.
I will look with favor to him;
I will prevail with him.
5 “Ephraim dwelt in Egypt;
And the Assyrian himself was his king,
Because he would not return.
6 The sword became weak in his cities,
And he ceased to war with his hands;
For they shall consume themselves
With their own intrigues.
7 His people shall hold onto His habitation;
But God shall be angry with His precious things,
And shall not at all exalt him.
8 “How shall I deal with you, Ephraim?
How shall I protect you, Israel?
What shall I do with you?
I will make you as Admah and as Zeboiim.
My heart is turned about;
My repentance is utterly thrown into confusion.
9 I will not act according to the fury of My wrath;
I will not abandon Ephraim to be utterly destroyed.
For I am God and not man;
The Holy One among you;
And I will not enter into the city.
10 “I will go after the Lord.
He shall utter His voice as a lion;
For He shall roar,
And the children of the waters shall be amazed.
11 They shall be amazed as a bird out of Egypt
And as a dove out of the land of the Assyrians;
And I will restore them to their houses,”
Says the Lord.
A Charge against Israel and Judah
1 “Ephraim has encompassed me with falsehood,
And the house of Israel and Judah with ungodliness.
But now God knows them,
And he shall be called God’s holy people.
2 But Ephraim is an evil spirit.
He has chased the east wind all the day.
He has multiplied empty and vain things
And struck a covenant with the Assyrians.
He made business with oil in Egypt.
3 “The Lord has a judgment against Judah
So as to punish Jacob according to his ways,
And He will repay him according to his practices.
4 He kicked his brother in the womb,
And in his toils he regained strength with God.
5 He prevailed with the Angel and was strong.
They wept and entreated Me.
They found Me in Bethel,
And there a word was spoken to them.
6 So the Lord God Almighty shall be his memorial.
7 You shall return to your God;
Therefore, observe mercy and judgment,
And draw near to your God continually.
Psalm 86
1 A psalm of an ode for the sons of Korah.
His foundations are in the holy mountains;
2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion
More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things were said concerning you, O city of God.
(Pause)
4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me;
And behold, foreigners, and the people of Tyre and Ethiopia,
These were born there.
5 A man will say, “Mother Zion,”
And a man was born in her;
For the Most High Himself founded it.
6 The Lord shall describe it in a written account of the peoples
And of the rulers, of those who were born in her.
(Pause)
7 How glad are all who have their dwelling in you.
Proverbs 18:6–11
6 The lips of a man without discernment lead him into evil things,
And his rash mouth calls upon death.
7 The mouth of a man without discernment is destruction to him,
And his lips are the snare of his soul.
8 Fear destroys slothful men,
And the souls of cowardly men shall hunger.
9 He who does not heal himself by his works,
He is the brother of him who maltreats himself.
10 The name of the Lord is of great strength,
And when the righteous run to it, they are exalted.
11 The substance of a rich man is a strong city,
And its glory casts a great shadow.
Colossians 3:1-4:1
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
Character of the New Man
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
The Christian Home
(cf. Eph. 5:21—6:9)
18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.
20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.
21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.1 Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.