Unstoppable...Bad News - Reflections from Hosea (#8)

It's difficult to understand vast portions of the Bible without understanding the flow of human history behind them.  For example, much of what the Old Testament prophets declared makes no sense without knowing...

YOU'RE LOOKING AT A DIVIDED NATION

Well, without knowing that Abraham's descendants -- those we popularly know as the nation of Israel -- were UNITED under kings Saul, David, and Solomon, and then DIVIDED after that (from about 950 BC to 600 BC).  12 "tribes" of Israel united, then divided.

Divided, the two resulting "nations" were called Israel (10 of the tribes, also called "Ephraim") situated in the northern region of Palestine, while Judah (2 of the tribes) lived to the south.  Each of these nations had a separate line of kings which led their portion of Abraham's descendants one way or the other.

Unfortunately, the kings on both sides of the divide largely led their people the wrong way.  Along those 3 1/2 centuries, God raised up prophets to speak to their kings, to their priests, and to their peoples, calling them back to God, warning that spiritual rebellion and disregard for God's law invited unthinkable judgment.

United under David and Solomon, Abraham's descendants flourished.  The united tribes of God's people were the envy of the middle east.

Divided, they would end in pitiful, almost unthinkable desolation.

YOU'RE HEARING AN IRREVERSIBLE VERDICT

"Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah.  Sound the alarm at Beth-aven...Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of punishment, among the tribes of Israel.  I make known what is sure" (Hosea 5:8-9).

A nation-wide 9-11 was coming upon the northern kingdom  (722 BC).  Just a few years later, the southern kingdom was next (606 BC).   The prophetic prediction of God was as sure as if it had already happened in history.

God promises, "I will be like a lion to Ephraim...I, even I, will tear and go away.  I will carry off, and no one shall rescue" (5:14).   If you've watched the National Geographic footage of a fierce lion taking down a young gazelle or water buffalo calf, ripping it and then carrying it off in its huge jaws, you understand the force of God's promise.

YOU'RE UNDERSTANDING THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN

As a pastor, I meet people virtually every week who have chosen to live in ways that disregard, if not consistently violate, God's word.  Whether it be the moral standards of the 10 commandments, or ignoring instruction about how to love and nurture one's spouse, or one's neighbor, or how to conduct one's business dealings in honesty and fairness - there is a way to live that honors God, and there's a way to live that ignores Him.  "They do not know the Lord," Hosea observes of God's people, on both sides of the dividing line (Hosea 5:4).

The result?

Eventually, and unstoppably, ignoring God and His word brings bad news.  The horn is blown, and the lion takes its prey.