Ephraim Abandoned by God | Hosea
By Rev. Jeremiah Cheung.
From Hosea Chapter 9:1-17
9:1 Do not rejoice, Israel; do not be jubilant like the other nations. For you have been unfaithful to your God; you love the wages of a prostitute at every threshing floor. 2Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people; the new wine will fail them. 3They will not remain in the Lord’s land; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria. 4They will not pour out wine offerings to the Lord, nor will their sacrifices please him. Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat them will be unclean. This food will be for themselves; it will not come into the temple of the Lord.
5What will you do on the day of your appointed festivals, on the feast days of the Lord? 6Even if they escape from destruction, Egypt will gather them, and Memphis will bury them. Their treasures of silver will be taken over by briers, and thorns will overrun their tents. 7The days of punishment are coming; the days of reckoning are at hand. Let Israel know this. Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired person a maniac. 8The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim, yet snares await him on all his paths, and hostility in the house of his God. 9They have sunk deep into corruption, as in the days of Gibeah. God will remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins.
10“When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved. 11Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird— no birth, no pregnancy, no conception. 12Even if they rear children, I will bereave them of every one. Woe to them when I turn away from them! 13I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place. But Ephraim will bring out their children to the slayer.”
14Give them, Lord— what will you give them? Give them wombs that miscarry and breasts that are dry.
15“Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal, I hated them there. Because of their sinful deeds, I will drive them out of my house. I will no longer love them; all their leaders are rebellious. 16Ephraim is blighted, their root is withered, they yield no fruit. Even if they bear children, I will slay their cherished offspring.”
17My God will reject them because they have not obeyed him; they will be wanderers among the nations.
What is the message of this Scripture passage? Verses 1-7 reveal God’s coming judgment on Israel. Hosea 9:7 says the Israelites need to know that the day of their judgment approaches. The time for retribution is coming; all these will happen because of their sins and their hostility. When the day of judgment comes, Ephraim will have to face God’s terrible punishment.
The Chinese say, “The deeper the love, the deeper the hate.” When you love someone deeply and they betray you, the hate in your heart will be as fierce as the love you felt for them. In Hosea 9:8-13, the Lord describes how he had loved Ephraim.
1. Ephraim was once established as a watchman by God.
Hosea 9:8, “The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim.” God entrusted a great responsibility to Ephraim, a watchman for the kingdom of God and protection for the nations.
2. Ephraim was like grapes in the wilderness.
In Hosea 9:10, “The Lord said, “When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert.” How can there be grapes in the wilderness when all you can usually find are thorns? The Lord watched over Israel so that they were like grapes that grew in the desert — everyone marveled at them. Israel had God’s law and God’s presence. When they left Egypt, the nations were awed by them.
3. Ephraim was like an early fruit on the fig tree.
Hosea 9:10: “The Lord said, “When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree.” The first fruits are the best, Israel was the best.
4. Ephraim, like Tyre, was planted in a pleasant place.
Hosea 9:13 says, “I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place.” Tyre was a very powerful seaport of that time. Because of its strategic location, it became a trading center. Ephraim was once similar. The Lord gave them a land flowing with milk and honey, he set them in the Promised Land.
But Ephraim did not cherish the blessings that came with God’s love.
Ephraim abandoned the true and living God, and now the Lord’s judgment is upon them. Hosea 9:14: “Give them, Lord—what will you give them? Give them wombs that miscarry and breasts that are dry.” Not only did they lose their blessings, but they also experienced disasters because the Lord has abandoned them. Hosea 9:17 says, “My God will reject them because they have not obeyed him; they will be wanderers among the nations.”
The Lord rejected them because they did not obey him. Let us not make the mistake of taking the Lord’s love for granted. May we not fall away from His grace lest we find ourselves in a most deplorable state. Let us turn back quickly!
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被神拋棄的以法蓮 | 何西亞書
張國強牧師
何西亞書 9:1-17
9:1以色列阿, 不要像外邦人歡喜快樂, 因為你行邪淫離棄你的神,在各榖場上如妓女喜愛賞賜。2榖場和酒醡, 都不夠以色列人使用,新酒也必缺乏。3他們必不得住耶和華的地, 以法蓮卻要歸回埃及,必在亞述喫不潔淨的食物。4他們必不得向耶和華奠酒, 即便奠酒,也不蒙悅納, 他們的祭物, 必如居喪者的食物, 凡喫的必被玷污, 因他們的食物, 只為自己的口腹, 必不奉入耶和華的殿。
5在大會的日子,到耶和華的節期, 你們怎樣行呢。6看哪, 他們逃避災難, 埃及人必收殮他們的屍首, 摩弗人必葬埋他們的骸骨; 他們用銀子作的美物上必長蒺藜, 他們的帳棚中必生荊棘。7以色列人必知道降罰的日子臨近, 報應的時候來到;（民說: 作先知的是愚昧, 受靈感的是狂妄）皆因他們多多作孽, 大懷怨恨。8以法蓮曾作我神守望的, 至於先知, 在他一切的道上作為捕鳥人的網羅, 在他神的家中懷怨恨。9以法蓮深深地敗壞, 如在基比亞的日子一樣; 耶和華必記念他們的罪孽, 追討他們的罪惡。
10主說: 我遇見以色列如葡萄在曠野, 我看見你們的列祖如無花果樹上春季初熟的果子, 他們卻來到巴力毗珥專拜那可羞恥的, 就成為可憎惡的, 與他們所愛的一樣。11至於以法蓮人, 他們的榮耀必如鳥飛去, 必不生產、不懷胎、不成孕。12縱然養大兒女, 我卻必使他們喪子, 甚至不留一個; 我離棄他們, 他們就有禍了。13我看以法蓮如推羅栽於美地, 以法蓮卻要將自己的兒女帶出來, 交與行殺戮的人。
14耶和華阿, 求你加給他們加甚麼呢?要使他們胎墜乳乾。
15耶和華說: 他們一切的惡事都在吉甲, 我在那裡憎惡他們, 因他們所行的惡, 我必從我地上趕出他們去, 不再憐愛他們, 他們的首領都是悖逆的。16以法蓮受責罰, 根本枯乾, 必不能結果, 即或生產, 我必殺他們所生的愛子。
17我的神必棄絕他們,因為他們不聽從他, 他們也必飄流在列國中
這章經文在講什麼呢? 1-7是講論神對他們的審判, 9:7 以色列人必知道降罰的日子臨近, 報應的時候來到; 皆因他們多多作孽, 大懷怨恨。當審判的日子來到時, 以法蓮面對神可怕的刑罰, 為什麼呢? 中國人說: 愛之深, 恨之切。當你深愛一個人時候, 當他背叛你時候, 你心裡的恨也非常的深。8-13神在述說祂以前是怎樣愛以法蓮。
1.以法蓮曾被神立作守望者。
9:8 以法蓮曾作我神守望的。神將一個重大的責備交予以法蓮, 成為神國的守望者, 成為列國的保護。
2.以法蓮如同葡萄在曠野。
9:10 主說: 我遇見以色列如葡萄在曠野。曠野怎會有葡萄, 曠野是有荊棘, 但看顧以免列, 使他們如同在曠野中生長的葡萄, 使眾人都羨慕。以色列有神的律法, 有神的同在, 當他們出埃及的時候, 真是使列國都敬畏。
3.以法蓮如同無花果上初熟的果子。
9:10 主說: ⋯⋯我看見你們的列祖如無花果樹上春季初熟的果子。初熟的果子都是最好的, 以色列曾是最好的。
4.以法蓮如推羅栽於美地。
9:13 我看以法蓮如推羅栽於美地。推羅是當時非常強大的海港, 因為環境的原因, 成為一個通商的重城。以法蓮也曾這樣, 神將流奶與蜜之地賜給他們, 神將他們安置在應許之地。
但是以法蓮不珍惜, 一次又一次的犯罪, 離開永活的真神, 結果神要拋棄他們, 審判他們; 9:14 耶和華阿, 求你加給他們加甚麼呢?要使他們胎墜乳乾。這不是祝福, 這是災難; 9:17 我的神必棄絕他們,因為他們不聽從他, 他們也必飄流在列國中。神棄絕他們, 因為不聽從神的話, 神愛我們, 但不要在神的恩中墜落, 結果是很可憐可悲的, 早早回頭吧!