Feeding on and Pursuing the Wind | Hosea
By Rev. Jeremiah Cheung
From Hosea Chapter 12:1-6
12:1 Ephraim feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day and multiplies lies and violence. He makes a treaty with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt. 2The Lord has a charge to bring against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds. 3In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God. 4He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there— 5the Lord God Almighty, the Lord is his name! 6But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.
Can we feed on the wind? Can we eat enough of it to fill us? Can we ever catch the wind if we try to pursue it? The answer is obviously no. Doing so would be a waste of energy and resources, and yet we know that “Ephraim feeds on the wind, he pursues the east wind all day.” Just how did Ephraim do that? We see that lies and violence multiplied and the people resorted to making a treaty with Assyria and sending olive oil to Egypt. In the face of adversities, Ephraim did not seek the help of the one and only true God. Instead, he turned to Assyria and Egypt. The result? Ephraim was destroyed by Assyria. Their actions were like feeding on wind, like chasing after the wind — everything was in vain.
From verse 3 to verse 5, the prophet Hosea presents Israel’s ancestor, Jacob, as a role model. These three verses recalled Jacob’s experiences of God as a babe, a middle-aged man, and an old man.
- At birth, his hands grasped his brother’s heel tightly. Hosea 12:3 “In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel”. Jacob wanted to grab the blessing that was due to the eldest son. He wanted the blessing of God.
- As a middle-aged man, he wrestled with God. Hosea 12:3-4 “as a man he struggled with God. He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor.” This incident at Peniel is recorded in Genesis 32. He was about to face Esau and his 400 men; Jacob held onto the angel of the Lord tightly and begged that he be blessed.
- In his old age, when he knew that Joseph was in Egypt, he wanted to go but was afraid to. He was afraid that he would not be able to return to the promised land of God once he left it. Jacob was afraid that God’s promises to him might not be fulfilled and so God appeared to him again in Bethel, Hosea 12:4-5 “He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there— the Lord God Almighty, the Lord is his name!” The Lord told him, “Go down to Egypt and I will surely bring you back again”. The Lord assured him Joseph’s own hand will close his eyes. Thus Jacob boldly embarked on the road to Egypt.
From his youth to his old age, Jacob sought to grab — from grasping Esau’s heel to taking hold of God. Finally, with the blessing of God, Jacob became Israel, and now Israel has become a nation. Everyone in the nation of Israel sees Jacob as their role model.
Hosea 12:6 says “But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.” It is a shame that the Israelites did not hold on tightly to the Lord as their forefather did. Instead, they turned to Assyria, to Egypt for help. Thus, in Hosea 12:2 it says, “The Lord has a charge to bring against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.”
Church, when we are faced with difficulties, may we recall our past experiences of the Lord. Let us also hand down our spiritual experiences to those who come behind us, that they may recall the power of God and his abundant mercy when they themselves face adversities. May our stories of God spur them on to trust the Lord!
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喫風、追風 | 何西亞書
張國強牧師
何西亞書 12:1-6
12:1 以法蓮喫風, 且追趕東風, 時常增添虛謊和強暴, 與亞述立約, 把油送到埃及。2耶和華與猶大爭辯, 必照雅各所行的懲罰他, 按他所作的報應他。3他在腹中抓住哥哥的腳跟, 壯年的時候與神較力, 4-5與天使較力並且得勝, 哭泣懇求, 在伯特利遇見耶和華, 耶和華萬軍之神在那裡曉諭我們以色列人, 耶和華是他可記念的名。6所以你當歸向你的神, 謹守仁愛, 公平, 常常等候你的神。
喫風, 風可以吃嗎? 可以吃飽嗎? 追風, 風可以追嗎? 追得上嗎? 答案很明顯是不可能的, 這根本是在浪費人力物力, 但神卻說: 以法蓮喫風, 且追趕東風。結果呢? 增添虛謊和強暴, 與亞述立約, 把油送到埃及。以法蓮面對困難的時候, 不尋求獨一真神的幫助, 卻與亞述立約, 又與埃及結盟, 但結果呢? 最後竟被亞述所滅, 這真是吃風, 追風, 徒勞無功啊!
從第三節到第五節, 先知何西亞將以色列人的先祖提出來作一個例子, 這三節的經文記載雅各年幼, 中年與老年與神的經歷。
- 年幼出生時他的手緊緊抓著哥哥的腳跟不放12:3 他在腹中抓住哥哥的腳跟。他要抓的是長子的祝福, 他要的是神的祝福;
- 他中年的時候, 又與神摔跤, 12:3-4壯年的時候與神較力, 與天使較力並且得勝, 哭泣懇求。這是記載在創世記32章毗奴伊勒事件, 他面對以掃與400人的威脅, 他緊緊抓著神不放, 懇求神祝福他。
- 老年的時候, 當他知道約瑟在埃及時, 他想去但又不敢去, 因為他怕, 他離開了神應許之地就不能再回來了, 神對他的應許要成空了, 結果神再一次在伯特利與他顯現, 12:4-5在伯特利遇見耶和華, 耶和華萬軍之神在那裡曉諭我們以色列人, 耶和華是他可記念的名。神對他說: 你去, 我必帶你回來這地, 約瑟必為你送終, 雅各來勇敢踏上往埃及的路。
雅各的一生, 從年幼到年老, 他都想抓, 從抓以掃的腳跟到抓著神, 結果在神的祝福下, 雅各成為了以色列, 現在以色列成為了一個國家, 所有以色列人都當以雅各為榜樣, 12:6所以你當歸向你的神, 謹守仁愛, 公平, 常常等候你的神。但可惜的是: 以色列人不單沒有學習先祖緊緊倚靠神, 反向亞述, 埃及這個外邦國求助, 所以12:2 耶和華與猶大爭辯, 必照雅各所行的懲罰他, 按他所作的報應他。
教會, 當我們面對困境的時候, 回想以往與神的經歷吧! 讓我們也留下一些屬靈的經驗給我們的下一代, 當他們面對困難時, 他們能回想神的大能與祂豐盛的憐憫, 成為他們倚靠神的動力!