6/11/2011 2 Samuel 5:1-10 --- 1 Chronicles 11-12
Yesterday Tomorrow
2 Samuel_5:1-10_1_Chronicles_11-12
David Anointed King of All Israel (1 Chr 11.1—3)
Jerusalem Made Capital of the United Kingdom (1 Chr 11.4—9; 14.1—7)
6 The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, "You will not come in here, even the blind and the lame will turn you back"—thinking, "David cannot come in here."The Jebusites relied upon the unusual natural advantages of their citadel, which stood upon Mount Zion, a mountain shut in by deep valleys on three different sides; so that in their haughty self-security they imagined that they did not even need to employ healthy and powerful warriors to resist the attack made by David, but that the blind and lame would suffice.
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002), 2:579.
7 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David. 8 David had said on that day, “Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, those whom David hates.” Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” 9 David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inward. 10 And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.
David Anointed King of All Israel (2 Sam 5.1—3)
1 Chronicles 11:1 Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, “See, we are your bone and flesh. 2 For some time now, even while Saul was king, it was you who commanded the army of Israel. The Lord your God said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over my people Israel.” 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.Jerusalem Captured (2 Sam 5.6—10)
4 David and all Israel marched to Jerusalem, that is Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. 5 The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will not come in here.” Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, now the city of David. 6 David had said, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites first shall be chief and commander.” And Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief. 7 David resided in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David. 8 He built the city all around, from the Millo in complete circuit; and Joab repaired the rest of the city. 9 And David became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.David’s Mighty Men and Their Exploits (2 Sam 23.8—39)
10 Now these are the chiefs of David’s warriors, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. 11 This is an account of David’s mighty warriors: Jashobeam, son of Hachmoni, was chief of the Three; he wielded his spear against three hundred whom he killed at one time.12 And next to him among the three warriors was Eleazar son of Dodo, the Ahohite. 13 He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines were gathered there for battle. There was a plot of ground full of barley. Now the people had fled from the Philistines, 14 but he and David took their stand in the middle of the plot, defended it, and killed the Philistines; and the Lord saved them by a great victory.
15 Three of the thirty chiefs went down to the rock to David at the cave of Adullam, while the army of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim. 16 David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 17 David said longingly, “O that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 18 Then the Three broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and they brought it to David. But David would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord, 19 and said, “My God forbid that I should do this. Can I drink the blood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. The three warriors did these things.
20 Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Thirty. With his spear he fought against three hundred and killed them, and won a name beside the Three. 21 He was the most renowned of the Thirty, and became their commander; but he did not attain to the Three.
22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds; he struck down two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. 23 And he killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits tall. The Egyptian had in his hand a spear like a weaver’s beam; but Benaiah went against him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 24 Such were the things Benaiah son of Jehoiada did, and he won a name beside the three warriors. 25 He was renowned among the Thirty, but he did not attain to the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
26 The warriors of the armies were Asahel brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 27 Shammoth of Harod, Helez the Pelonite, 28 Ira son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, Abiezer of Anathoth, 29 Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, 30 Maharai of Netophah, Heled son of Baanah of Netophah, 31 Ithai son of Ribai of Gibeah of the Benjaminites, Benaiah of Pirathon, 32 Hurai of the wadis of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, 33 Azmaveth of Baharum, Eliahba of Shaalbon, 34 Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan son of Shagee the Hararite, 35 Ahiam son of Sachar the Hararite, Eliphal son of Ur, 36 Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, 37 Hezro of Carmel, Naarai son of Ezbai, 38 Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar son of Hagri, 39 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah, 40 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 41 Uriah the Hittite, Zabad son of Ahlai, 42 Adina son of Shiza the Reubenite, a leader of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, 43 Hanan son of Maacah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite, 44 Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel sons of Hotham the Aroerite, 45 Jediael son of Shimri, and his brother Joha the Tizite, 46 Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai and Joshaviah sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, 47 Eliel, and Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.
David’s Followers in the Wilderness (1 Sam 22.1—2)
1 Chronicles 12:1 The following are those who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul son of Kish; they were among the mighty warriors who helped him in war. 2 They were archers, and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right hand or the left; they were Benjaminites, Saul’s kindred. 3 The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, both sons of Shemaah of Gibeah; also Jeziel and Pelet sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, Jehu of Anathoth, 4 Ishmaiah of Gibeon, a warrior among the Thirty and a leader over the Thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah, 5 Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite; 6 Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites; 7 and Joelah and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham of Gedor.8 From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and who were swift as gazelles on the mountains: 9 Ezer the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third, 10 Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, 11 Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, 12 Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth, 13 Jeremiah tenth, Machbannai eleventh. 14 These Gadites were officers of the army, the least equal to a hundred and the greatest to a thousand. 15 These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was overflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.
16 Some Benjaminites and Judahites came to the stronghold to David. 17 David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship, to help me, then my heart will be knit to you; but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, though my hands have done no wrong, then may the God of our ancestors see and give judgment.” 18 Then the spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said,
“We are yours, O David;
and with you, O son of Jesse!
Peace, peace to you,
and peace to the one who helps you!
For your God is the one who helps you.”
19 Some of the Manassites deserted to David when he came with the Philistines for the battle against Saul. (Yet he did not help them, for the rulers of the Philistines took counsel and sent him away, saying, “He will desert to his master Saul at the cost of our heads.”) 20 As he went to Ziklag these Manassites deserted to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of the thousands in Manasseh. 21 They helped David against the band of raiders, for they were all warriors and commanders in the army. 22 Indeed from day to day people kept coming to David to help him, until there was a great army, like an army of God.
David’s Army at Hebron
23 These are the numbers of the divisions of the armed troops who came to David in Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, according to the word of the Lord. 24 The people of Judah bearing shield and spear numbered six thousand eight hundred armed troops. 25 Of the Simeonites, mighty warriors, seven thousand one hundred. 26 Of the Levites four thousand six hundred. 27 Jehoiada, leader of the house of Aaron, and with him three thousand seven hundred. 28 Zadok, a young warrior, and twenty-two commanders from his own ancestral house. 29 Of the Benjaminites, the kindred of Saul, three thousand, of whom the majority had continued to keep their allegiance to the house of Saul. 30 Of the Ephraimites, twenty thousand eight hundred, mighty warriors, notables in their ancestral houses. 31 Of the half-tribe of Manasseh, eighteen thousand, who were expressly named to come and make David king. 32 Of Issachar, those who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, two hundred chiefs, and all their kindred under their command. 33 Of Zebulun, fifty thousand seasoned troops, equipped for battle with all the weapons of war, to help David with singleness of purpose. 34 Of Naphtali, a thousand commanders, with whom there were thirty-seven thousand armed with shield and spear. 35 Of the Danites, twenty-eight thousand six hundred equipped for battle. 36 Of Asher, forty thousand seasoned troops ready for battle. 37 Of the Reubenites and Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh from beyond the Jordan, one hundred twenty thousand armed with all the weapons of war.38 All these, warriors arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with full intent to make David king over all Israel; likewise all the rest of Israel were of a single mind to make David king. 39 They were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their kindred had provided for them. 40 And also their neighbors, from as far away as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen—abundant provisions of meal, cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.
Devotionals, notes, poetry and more
by Bill Federer
He sent Paul Revere on his midnight ride to warn Lexington that the British were coming. A Harvard graduate, he was a successful doctor in Boston, but left his comfortable career when the British passed the hated "Stamp Act." With Samuel Adams, he organized the Provincial Congress to protest. Courageously fighting in the Battle of Bunker Hill, a monument marks the spot where he died. His name was Joseph Warren, born this day, June 11, 1741. Warren stated: "If you perform your part, you must have the strongest confidence that the same Almighty Being who protected your… forefathers… will still be mindful of you."
Federer, B. (2003). American minute. St. Louis, MO.: Amerisearch, Inc.
by whoever
All that I have seen
teaches me to trust God
for all I have not seen.
---Author Unknown
He who kneels before God
can stand before anyone.
--- Author Unknown
... from here, there and everywhere
by D.H. Stern
7 A poor man's relatives all hate him;
even more his friends stay away from him.
He may pursue them with entreaties,
but they aren't there to be found.
Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.
A Daily Devotional by Oswald Chambers
Getting there
Where the sin and the sorrow cease, and the song and the saint commence. Come unto Me. --- Matthew 11:28.
Do I want to get there? I can now. The questions that matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by the words—"Come unto Me." Not—'Do this, or don't do that'; but—"Come unto Me." If I will come to Jesus my actual life will be brought into accordance with my real desires; I will actually cease from sin, and actually find the song of the Lord begin.
Have you ever come to Jesus? Watch the stubbornness of your heart, you will do anything rather than the one simple childlike thing—"Come unto Me." If you want the actual experience of ceasing from sin, you must come to Jesus.
Jesus Christ makes Himself the touchstone. Watch how He used the word 'Come.' At the most unexpected moments there is the whisper of the Lord—"Come unto Me." and you are drawn immediately. Personal contact with Jesus alters everything. Be stupid enough to come and commit yourself to what He says. The attitude of coming is that the will resolutely lets go of everything and deliberately commits all to Him.
"and I will give you rest," i.e., I will stay you. Not—I will put you to bed and hold your hand and sing you to sleep; but—I will get you out of bed, out of the languor and exhaustion, out of the state of being half dead while you are alive; I will imbue you with the spirit of life, and you will be stayed by the perfection of vital activity. We get pathetic and talk about 'suffering the will of the Lord!' Where is the majestic vitality and might of the Son of God about that?
Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest
the Poetry of R.S. Thomas
Do you despair with all
these conurbations above you?
They are the legions the God-
Man was unwilling to summon.
After the last symphony, the last
painting, electricity will continue.
There are new forms and new media
the brilliance of his mind blinds us to.
When from the human tree the last
leaf will have fallen on the last grave.
the tree of heaven will be alive still
with thoughts resting momentarily
on migration.
R.S. Thomas Selected Poems, 1946-68
OUTLINE OF MIDRASH COLLECTIONS
USED IN THIS BOOK
By and large, most of the Midrash was composed in the land of Israel. There is a core of material that goes back to the second and third centuries. Midrashim may have originally been delivered orally in the synagogue, on Shabbat, as sermons, or they may have been taught as lessons or written down in the beit midrash, the study house. Decades or centuries later that same material may have been compiled, reworked, and edited, with later teachings added, into the written form that has come down to us.
The earliest material goes back to the Tanna'im, the Rabbis who taught until the codification of the Mishnah, around the year 220 C.E. Some scholars have held that during this period there were two main schools of Midrash, that of Rabbi Akiva, and that of Rabbi Yishmael. Those two schools have been identified not only by the teachers associated with them but also by methodology and use of technical terms. Scholars today attempt to date Midrash collections by their language and use of foreign words, allusion to datable historic events, and by the earlier material that is quoted.
As was noted above, the content of midrashim falls into two broad categories: הֲלָכָה/halakhah (legal matters) and אַגָּדָה/aggadah (nonlegal matters, including sermons, legends, stories, and folklore). In terms of form, there are also two main divisions. The first kind of Midrash, including the earliest texts, are exegetic. Exegesis (from the Greek "to guide out") refers to the interpretation of a biblical passage. In the exegetic midrashim, we see a chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse explanation of a biblical book. This type of material seems to have originated in the academic environment of the beit midrash. The second type of Midrash is homiletic. A homily (from the Greek meaning "assembly") is a sermon. Some scholars hold that a sermon was developed from a verse at the beginning of the weekly Torah reading. (While current practice is to divide the Torah into 54 weekly parashot or parashiyot, or portions, and to complete the reading cycle in a year, in Israel during the Rabbinic period the custom was to divide the Torah into over 150 sedarim, or sections, which were completed in a little over three years.) Thus, some homilies may have originated at the Shabbat synagogue service, though even if they did, they were later reworked into sophisticated literary creations.
Midrashim developed formal structures over time, with several possible elements. There was the פְּתִיחָה/petiḥah (the introduction, which scholars call the proem). This was a formal "opening" to the Midrash; it began by quoting a different verse from the one that was being interpreted. This verse was often from Kethuvim (the "Writings"), the third section of the Hebrew Bible. Part of the artistry of the darshan (the one delivering or teaching the sermon) was to tie together creatively the verse beginning the petiḥah and the Torah verse being explicated.
Another element in some midrashim was the יְלַמְּדֵנוּ/Yelammedenu ([Our Masters,] teach us …), a halakhic question that served as the introduction to the sermon. Following the body of the Midrash, many of these sermons ended with a חֲתִימָה/ḥatimah, a "closing" that concluded with a message of hope for the messianic deliverance.
It should be noted that there are many other collections of Midrash and that midrashic material is found extensively throughout the Talmud. The Midrash texts presented in this book are new translations from the original Hebrew and Aramaic. We have attempted to capture as genuinely as possible the authentic words and thoughts of the Rabbis. Occasionally, for the sake of clarity, we have added a word or phrase in brackets. Furthermore, while traditional Midrash collections are printed unpunctuated, our translation has added punctuation. Here are brief descriptions of the collections of Midrash that have been used in this volume.
GENESIS RABBAH (HEBREW: בְּרֵאשִׁית רַבָּה/BERESHIT RABBAH)
An exegetic Midrash to the Book of Genesis, arranged in its current form in the first half of the fifth century. There are one hundred parashiyot, which are characterized by the petiḥot (many sections have more than one). This was the first collection to have the title "Rabbah" ("great"). Some say it comes from the name of the first Rabbi mentioned in the opening line (Oshaya Rabbah); others claim the title designates the "great" collection of Midrash, as opposed to a lesser book. The other Rabbah midrashim (Exodus, Leviticus, etc.) are not related but took on the title when they were compiled.
EXODUS RABBAH (HEBREW: שְׁמוֹת רַבָּה/SHEMOT RABBAH)
There are two distinct parts to this Midrash. Part I (encompassing sections 1–14) is an exegetic commentary to the first ten chapters of the Book of Exodus. It was redacted after the tenth century. Part II (sections 15–52) is a homiletic Midrash on Exodus 12–40, compiled in the ninth century. It has halakhic petiḥot, which introduce aggadic homilies. The two parts were combined sometime in the eleventh or twelfth centuries.
MEKHILTA DE-RABBI YISHMAEL (HEBREW: מְכִילְתָא דְּרַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל)
An exegetic halakhic Midrash to the legal sections of Exodus (chapters 12–23, 31, 35), with much, aggadah added. It includes tannaitic material, with many subsequent additions and redactions. It has been attributed to the school of Rabbi Yishmael and is dated to the first half of the third century.
LEVITICUS RABBAH (HEBREW: וַיִּקְרָא רַבָּה/VA-YIKRA RABBAH)
A collection of interpretations based on the third book of the Torah. The sections are all introduced by petiḥot, and some conclude with a ḥatimah. Given the subject matter of much of Leviticus (sacrifices and purity), this Midrash remarkably avoids dealing with ritual matters. It was composed in the fifth century.
SIFRA (HEBREW: סִפְרָא/SIFRA [DEBERAV], also known as סִפְרָא דְּבֵי רָב/SIFRA DEVEI RAV)
A halakhic, exegetic Midrash to the Book of Leviticus seen by some as emanating from the school of Rabbi Akiva. The core goes back to the second century, and the work was redacted in the early third century.
NUMBERS RABBAH (HEBREW: בְּמִדְבַּר רַבָּה/BE-MIDBAR RABBAH)
This collection is composed of two different sections. Part I (sections 1–14) begins as an exegetic Midrash to the first seven chapters of the Book of Numbers, but contains homiletic sections as well. It may have been compiled in the middle of the twelfth century and is seen by some as based on the work of Moshe ha-Darshan (eleventh and twelfth centuries, Narbonne). Part II (sections 15–23) is a homiletic Midrash to Numbers 8–36, which may have been compiled in the ninth century. The two parts were combined by the beginning of the thirteenth century.
SIFREI NUMBERS (HEBREW: סִפְרֵי בְּמִדְבַּר/SIFREI BE-MIDBAR)
An exegetic halakhic commentary to the Book of Numbers. It begins with the fifth chapter of Numbers and omits the narrative portions. Attributed to the school of Rabbi Yishmael, it was edited sometime in the early third century (and possibly not before the end of the fourth century).
DEUTERONOMY RABBAH (HEBREW: דְּבָרִים רַבָּה/DEVARIM RABBAH)
A collection of twenty-seven homilies that are tied to the triennial cycle of the Torah reading. The homily begins with a halakhic question that is followed by a פְּתִיחָה/petiḥah; this leads into the body of the sermon, which is often concluded with words of comfort. Deuteronomy Rabbah is dated somewhere between 450 and 1100 C.E.
SIFREI DEUTERONOMY (HEBREW: סִפְרֵי דְּבָרִים/SIFREI DEVARIM)
An exegetic commentary to the Book of Deuteronomy attributed by some to the school of Rabbi Akiva, though it is clear that the book is a composite. It was edited in the early third century.
TANḤUMA (HEBREW: תַּנְחוּמָא)
A style or genre of Midrash. There are many Tanḥuma midrashim. The most famous is a collection of homiletic midrashim on all five books of the Torah. The name comes from the frequent mention of Rabbi Tanḥuma bar Abba (second half of the fourth century). It is also referred to as Yelammedenu—the opening word in many of its sections, which means "[Our Masters] teach us.…" This introduced a halakhic petiḥah to the aggadic homily. Tanḥuma was edited around the year 800 C.E.
YALKUT SHIMONI (HEBREW: יַלְקוּט שִׁמְעו̇נִי)
An anthology of midrashim to the entire Bible, compiled from more than fifty works. The first part (963 sections) deals with the Torah; the second part (1,085 sections) covers the Prophets and the Writings. The author is thought to be Shimon ha-Darshan, who lived in Frankfort in the thirteenth century.
Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. Searching for Meaning in Midrash: Lessons for Everyday Living
by Diana Wallis
The grace of God… teaches us… to live… upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. --- Titus 2:11–13
We live in an interval between two appearings of the Lord. Classic Sermons on the Grace of God (Kregel Classic Sermons Series)
We look forward to a second appearing—of glory rather than of grace. Our Lord, in the fullness of time, will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet of God. This is the terminus of the present age. We look from anno Domini, in which he came the first time, to that greater anno Domini, or year of our Lord, in which he will come a second time in all the splendor of his power to reign in righteousness and break the powers of evil.
Behind us is our trust; before us is our hope. Behind us is the Son of God in humiliation; before us is the great God our Savior in his glory.
We are living between the two beacons of the divine appearings. We have everything to hope for in the last appearing, as we have everything to trust to in the first appearing. We wait with patient hope throughout that weary interval. Paul calls it "this present age." This marks its fleeting nature. It is present now, but it will not be present long. We look to the things that are not seen and not present as being real and eternal. We traverse an enemy's country—there is no rest for us by the way.
Already I have given you the best argument for a holy life. If before you blazes the splendor of the Second Advent and behind you burns the everlasting light of the Redeemer's first appearing, what manner of people ought you to be! If indeed, you are but journeying through this present world, do not permit your hearts to be defiled with its sins.
Put on therefore the "armor of light" (Rom. 13:12). What a grand expression! Helmet of light, breastplate of light, shoes of light—everything of light. What a knight must one be who is clad in light! Like a wall of fire, the Lord's appearings are around you; there ought to be a special glory of holiness in the midst. That is the position of the righteous, and it furnishes a call to holiness.
--- C. H. Spurgeon
Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers
W. W. Wiersbe
For the second time, Hosea calls for the trumpet to be blown (8:1; 5:8). According to Numbers 10, the Jews used trumpets to announce special occasions, to sound alarms, to gather the people for assemblies, and to proclaim war. This call was a trumpet of alarm because the enemy was coming and God was giving His people opportunity to repent. Hosea again used a number of familiar images to show the people what God would do to them because of their sin.
The eagle (Hosea 8:1–6). "The house of the Lord" refers to the nation of Israel, for the people were God's dwelling-place (9:15; Ex. 15:17; Num. 12:7). The Assyrian eagle was about to swoop down and destroy God's house because the nation was given over to idolatry, and the leaders were not seeking God's will in their decisions. They made kings and removed kings to satisfy their own desires, and they manufactured gods (especially the golden calves at Bethel and Dan) that could not help them. (Dr. Leon Wood translates Hosea 8:5, "Your calf stinks!" The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Daniel and the Minor Prophets (Volume 7)
Sowing and reaping (Hosea 8:7). The concept of sowing and reaping as it relates to conduct is often used in Scripture (Job 4:8; Prov. 22:8; Jer. 12:13; Gal. 6:7–8), and Hosea used it twice (Hosea 8:7; 10:12–13). In their idolatry and political alliances, the Israelites were trying to sow seeds that would produce a good harvest, but they were only sowing the wind—vanity, nothing—and would reap the whirlwind. Nothing could stop the force of the Assyrian army. The harvest would be more powerful than the seed!
The sowing/reaping image continues with the picture of a blighted crop of grain. The rulers of Israel thought their worship of Baal and their foreign alliances would produce a good crop of peace and prosperity; but when the time came for the harvest, there was nothing to reap. And even where heads of grain did appear, the enemy reaped the harvest and Israel gained nothing. In the image of the wind, Hosea said, "You will reap far more than you sowed, and it will be destructive!" In the image of the grain, he said, "You will reap nothing at all, and your enemies will get the benefit of all the promises you made."
Worthless pottery (Hosea 8:8). There was no grain for Israel to swallow, but she herself would be "swallowed up" by Assyria. She was a useless vessel "in which no one delights" (NASB). Their compromise had so cheapened them that Israel was of no value to the community of nations. Nobody feared them, nobody courted them, nobody wanted them.
A stupid donkey (Hosea 8:9a) Israel wanted to be a part of the alliances that were forming to fight Assyria, but she was actually very much alone. She was like a dumb animal that had lost its way in the wilderness. Israel had forsaken her God, and she had been forsaken by her allies, so she was abandoned to face a terrible future alone.
A prostitute (Hosea 8:9b–10). In negotiating with the Gentile nations for protection, Ephraim (Israel) acted like a common prostitute selling herself for money. Israel's kings paid tribute to the king of Assyria and also sent gifts to Egypt (12:1). Instead of being faithful to her Husband, Jehovah God, Israel prostituted herself to the Gentile nations—and lost everything. God promised to gather them together for judgment and they would "waste away" (NIV) under the ruthless hand of the Assyrian king.
Egyptian bondage (Hosea 8:11–9:9). Hosea mentions Egypt thirteen times in his book, and these references fall into three distinct categories: past—the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt (2:15; 11:1; 12:9, 13; 13:4); present—Israel's unholy alliances with Egypt (7:11, 16; 12:1); future—Egypt as a symbol of their impending bondage to Assyria (8:13; 9:3, 6; 11:5, 11). Three times in this section, the prophet announces, "They shall go to Egypt" (8:13; 9:3, 6); but 11:5 makes it clear that "Egypt" is a symbol for Assyrian bondage: "He shall not return to the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian shall be his king" (NKJV).
The prophet contrasts the past Exodus from the bondage of Egypt with the impending "exodus" into bondage of Assyria, the new "Egypt." When the Jews left Egypt, they had not yet received the Law nor did they have the tabernacle and its system of sacrifices. But now the Jews had heard the Law for centuries, and the temple had been standing since Solomon's time. Yet they ignored the Law, and the priesthood became corrupt. The NIV catches the irony in 8:11, "Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning."
Instead of trusting the Lord to protect her from Assyria, Israel fortified her towns and sought help from foreign nations, and from a spiritual point of view, this was like prostitution. (During the harvest season, prostitutes frequented the threshing floors where the men slept to guard the grain.) The harvest season was a time of great joy (Isa. 9:3), but there would be no joy in Israel. And when the people ended up in a foreign land, everything would be unclean to them, but they were an unclean people anyway, so what difference would it make?
Agriculture (Hosea 9:10–10:10). God reviews the history of His relationship with the Jews. You don't find grapes in the desert, but if you did, it would thrill you. That's how God felt when He called Israel. The early fruit of the fig tree is especially good, and Israel was special to the Lord. But this joyful experience didn't last, for King Balak gave Israel her first taste of Baal worship, and the nation indulged in idolatry and immorality with its neighbors (Num. 25).
God planted His people in a special land, but they polluted the land with their idols (Hosea 9:13). The more prosperous they became, the more they turned away from God. Now they must suffer a bitter harvest for their sins, they and their children. (The adults sin and the children have to suffer: "Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer" (9:13, KJV). When Hosea speaks in verse 14, he asks God to keep the women from having children so they won't be murdered. He is pleading for mercy for the innocent.) The nation is blighted, having no roots and bearing no fruits. She was a "spreading vine" (10:1, niv), but now she is without fruit. (The vine as a symbol of the Jewish nation is also found in Deuteronomy 32:32; Psalm 80:8–11; Isaiah 5:1–7; and Jeremiah 2:21. The vine also pictures Christ and His church (John 15) and the Gentile world system ripening for judgment in the last days (Rev. 14:17–20).) These agricultural images remind us that we reap what we sow.
There's an interesting agricultural image in 10:4, "Therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field" (NIV). People couldn't trust one another and few were keeping their promises; therefore, they had to sue one another to get what they deserved. The multiplying of laws and lawsuits is one evidence that integrity and credibility are vanishing from society.
The final agricultural image is in verse 8: the idolatrous shrines will become nothing but clumps and weeds, and the people will beg the Lord to destroy them quickly (v. 8; see Luke 23:30 and Rev. 6:16).
Twice in this passage, Hosea mentions "the days of Gibeah" (Hosea 9:9; 10:9). The reference is to the awful sins of the men of Gibeah and the tragic civil war that followed (Jud. 19–21). The men of Gibeah practiced unnatural lust and killed an innocent woman in a gang rape episode. The city would not punish the offenders, so the whole nation attacked Benjamin and almost destroyed the tribe. In Hosea's day, all the ten tribes of Israel were practicing these abominable things, but God would judge them and they would reap what they had sown.(The references to Israel's past history —Baal-Peor (Hosea 9:10) and Gibeah (9:9; 10:9)—show that "the only thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history." Both of these events brought the judgment of God on the nation, yet later generations turned a blind eye to this fact. The sins of the fathers are committed by their children—and grandchildren.)
The chapter closes (Hosea 10:11–15) by comparing Israel to a young heifer that enjoys treading out the grain because she can eat and work at the same time. But then she is yoked to another beast and forced to do the hard work of plowing. Israel's "salad days' were over and she would feel the Assyrian yoke.
In verse 12, the prophet gives one more appeal to the nation to repent and seek the Lord. "Fallow ground" is land that has lain idle and become hard and full of weeds. This appeal sounds like the preaching of John the Baptist: "Repent! Bear fruits worthy of repentance!" (Matt. 3:1–12) The plow of conviction must first break up hard hearts before the seed of the Word can be planted and the gracious rain be sent from heaving.
The nation did not repent, and judgment fell. In 722 B.C., the Assyrian army invaded the land, and the ten tribes as a nation vanished from the pages of history. (Any group that calls itself "the lost tribes of Israel" is suspect, for only God knows where all the tribes are. See Acts 26:7; James 1:1; and Revelation 7:1–8.
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Prov. 14:34, NKJV).
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Ps. 33:12, NKJV).
W. W. Wiersbe, (1996) Be Amazed (Minor Prophets): Restoring an Attitude of Wonder and Worship (The BE Series Commentary)
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