Ezek 4—Ezekiel is to portray the history of Israel’s wickedness, and the destruction of Jerusalem
The Lord has Ezekiel portray the siege of Jerusalem on a tile. He’s to build a fort and a mound against it, and a camp against it with battering rams. He’s to set an iron pan between him and the city to separate himself from the city, and the plight of its destruction.
Ezekiel is to lay on his left side for 390 days, symbolizing the years of the iniquity of the House of Israel, then he’s to lay on his right side 40 days, symbolizing suffering for the iniquity of the House of Judah. These appear to refer to the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. From the days of Jeroboam, I don’t recall a righteous king of the northern kingdom. The kings of Judah seemed to alternate between good and evil. The kingdom of Judah lasted another 125 years after the northern kingdom was destroyed and carried away by the Assyrians, more or less. King David reigned 40 years, and Solomon reigned 40 years. If we subtract the 80 years of David & Solomon from the 464 of the kingdom of Judah, we have 384 years. But Solomon built temples for the idols of his foreign wives when he was old, so that might account for the discrepancy of about 6 years.
https://bible-history.com/old-testament/kings-israel Kings of Israel reigned 208 years, all evil
https://www.jewishhistory.org/review-of-the-judean-kings/ Judean Kings, abt 464 yrs, both good & evil
About the 40 years: Josiah reigned in righteousness 30 years, and righteous Hezekiah reigned 6 years before Assyria captured the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 18) . . . one might say they suffered for the wickedness of the unrighteous kings of both Israel & Judah. The other 4 years could refer to when wicked Manasseh returned repentant to his kingship in Judah. All this is speculation.
Through the 390 days Ezekiel is to eat 20 shekels’ weight (perhaps abt 10 oz) of bread made with wheat/barley/beans/lentils/millet/fitches (another type of grain). His water allowance was perhaps between 1-2 cups a day. His bread is to be prepared like a barley cake, baked over a fire made with human waste. This would be considered as defiled, and Ezekiel recoils from the idea, as he has kept the Law of Moses strictly all his life. The Lord relents and allows him to use cow “patties” as his fuel. All this is representative of the famine that the people of Jerusalem would suffer while besieged by Babylon for 30 months.
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ezekiel/4-10.htm
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ezekiel/4-11.htm
https://bible-history.com/map-babylonian-captivity/timeline-of-events from 612 to 516 BC (in years)
https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/antiquities-of-jews/babylon-destroys-jerusalem-temple.html re: Josephus’ account, and notes on the Babylonian attacks on the kingdom of Judah
Ezek 5—the Israelites will suffer for their sins: 1/3 die of famine & pestilence, 1/3 by the sword, 1/3 will be scattered
The Lord tells Ezekiel to shave his head and beard, an extreme cultural taboo for an Israelite. One third of the hair is to be burned, another third is to be cut to bits with a knife, and the last third is to be scattered in the wind. All this is to symbolize the burning of Jerusalem (at the end of the siege), death by the sword of many of the inhabitants, and the scattering/captivity of the rest.
The Lord accuses the inhabitants of Jerusalem of being worse than their neighboring countries, in that while their population has grown more than their neighbors, they have refused to keep the commandments and laws given through Moses. In fact, they have changed the Lord’s laws into wickedness worse than the other nations. In consequence, the Lord will treat them as never before or in future: fathers will eat their sons and sons will eat their fathers (no doubt because of the famine caused by war), those left after the war will be scattered in every direction. Because they have defiled the temple with abominations (idol worship), the Lord will show no pity. A third will die from pestilence and famine, another third will fall by the sword (in battle), and a third will be scattered to the winds and chased by the sword. Thus will they know that the Lord is in charge, and He will find comfort in executing Justice for their misdeeds. The Lord will see their nation wasted, and they will be seen as a reproach/taunt/instruction/astonishment to all their neighboring countries and those who see them.
Ezek 6—a prophecy of the destruction of the idols & worshippers, and the land of Israel; yet a remnant will be saved, captive among the nations, where they will come to know the Lord and be disgusted with themselves for their abominations.
Ezekiel prophecies to the mountains, hills, rivers, and valleys of Israel, that is, to the land of Israel, the destruction of the idols and those who worship them (generally in “high places”). “Then shall ye know that I am the Lord, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols. So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the Lord.” (This is the only mention of Diblath in the Bible, an unknown place).
The House of Israel will be slain by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. “He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.” Yet the Lord will save a remnant of Israel, scattered captives among the nations, who will remember Him and loathe themselves for their sins and abominations.
Ezek 7—a reiteration of God’s recompense to the Israelites for their wickedness/abominations
This chapter is seems a poetic one; it doesn’t say anything new, but uses imagery to make the predictions more memorable. An end is come to the 4 corners/quarters of the land of Israel (all the land of the 2 kingdoms, Israel & Judah), the Lord will not have pity on the people, and they will know that it is the Lord that is doing this to them.
Ezekiel uses the image of dawn turning to day, and of a budding tree branch, describing wicked developments and violence in the land. None will express mourning (by wailing) for them. The buyer won’t rejoice in the bargains he finds, the seller won’t bemoan losing money on the deal (as in ordinary commerce): all will feel the wrath of God, and none of them will be able to return to, nor strengthen their financial position through their wickedness.
A trumpet is blown to call the soldiers to battle, but none are able to go (because God has wreaked havoc on them). Warfare is outside the city (any out there are killed by the sword) and famine & pestilence inside. Any who do manage to escape to the mountains will sound like Mourning Doves for their iniquities.
All will have feeble hands and be weak in the knees (see Heb 12:12, and the link below that speaks of paralysis: people will be paralyzed with fear). People will dress in sackcloth (as for mourning), and be in shame (baldness would be considered a state of shame for the people at that time & place).
https://biblehub.com/hebrews/12-12.htm
Gold and silver will be useless to save the people from starvation (because their riches were their stumbling blocks in iniquity, keeping them from turning to God). Their beautiful ornaments they used for idolatry/abominations, so God has taken them away from them and given them to their enemies as spoil (which enemies will pollute them with their own abominations). The conquering enemies will enter the inner recesses of the Temple (which were kept sacred, separate from other nations) and rob them and defile them.
In response to the bloody crimes and violence of the city(ies) of Jerusalem (Judah & Israel), the people will be taken in chains by the worst of the heathen, who will take possession of the Israelites’ houses. The pomp/pride of the powerful will cease, and their holy places will be defiled. Destruction will come, and despite their efforts to find peace/allies, there will be none. One mischief, one rumor (of bad news) will follow another. They’ll seek for help/vision/counsel from prophets, priests, and elders, but none will be able to give them good news. The king and his retinue will mourn and be de-solate (incapable of solace). People will be too troubled to know what to do. The Lord will give them what they deserve, and they will know that He is God.
Ezek 13—vs false prophets, both male & female
2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord;
3 Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! . . .
6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word . . .
10 ¶ Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace . . .
17 ¶ Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them . . .
22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:
23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
Ezekiel reproves the false prophets of Israel for not protecting the nation with Truth, like a hedge or a wall without gaps/holes. The false prophets will be excommunicated from Israel and deleted from their records. When this comes to pass all will recognize the supremacy of God. He likens them to wall builders whose work will be destroyed before it sets up. Whether the storm, winds, and hailstones are figurative or literal, I’m not sure, but the image is what is important: what false prophets build will be destroyed.
Likewise, I’m not sure what the pillows sewn to the armholes of women prophesying falsely, or how the kerchiefs figure, but the important message is that they will be punished for seducing Israel away from the true God. God will at last save His people from the wiles of these cons.
Ezek 14—when people ask for counsel or help from the Lord, He will answer them as they deserve
A group of elders comes to Ezekiel for counsel from the Lord. But the Lord accuses them of setting up idols in their hearts and iniquity before their faces, blocking them from communion with the Lord. The Lord asks, Why should I listen to their inquiries? The Lord will answer them as they deserve:
“Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations . . . [all those who separate themselves from God by setting up idols in his heart, and block themselves from seeing/believing/living for God] . . . I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.”
The Lord says He will destroy false prophets from among His people. “That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord God.”
When a nation sins against God, He will send famine upon them, and noisy carnivores (making people afraid to even pass through the land), or warfare, or pestilence/pandemic. Then though 3 of the greatest prophets were among them (Noah, Daniel, and Job), those 3 would only save their own souls, by their own righteousness. Such is a warning to Jerusalem.
And yet, there will be a remnant that will return, and they will be comforted after all the afflictions the Lord has caused them to suffer. They “shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord God.” In other words, they will come to recognize that God had reason for sending/allowing all these troubles.
Ezek 15—Jerusalem is likened to a woody vine that is useless but for burning as a fuel
The wood of a woody vine is worthless for building useful things. It is tossed in the fire for fuel and is burned. Before it was burned it was useless, and afterward even moreso. The Lord will give Jerusalem to be burned, because its people were just as useless as the woody vine. They will escape one fire to be devoured by another. He will make the land desolate because of their sins, “and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.”
Perhaps these words seem harsh, but how often have we seen people who do nothing worthwhile with their potential, but waste their lives and end up destroying themselves and sometimes they take others down with them. How frustrating it must be to God! It’s no use pretending that God doesn’t have emotions, as the scriptures speak of them often.
We have already seen how the Lord judges every individual for the choices s/he makes, and in the end, all will be made right. He offers His mercy to all, as all are given the chance to change/repent/be forgiven. Justice demands consequences for choices: good consequences for good choices (obedience and repentance—both implying humility), and dreadful consequences for disobedience and refusal to repent (both implying self-conceit, egotism, arrogance, insolence and a host of like traits).
Ezek 16—the Lord through Ezekiel likens Jerusalem’s history in terms of a child the Lord rescued and cared for, but she became an adulterous wife, even a whore
Jerusalem was a Jebusite/Amorite city in the land of Canaan. It would appear from the text that it allied itself with the ancient Hittites. Thus, Jerusalem is spoken of as having an Amorite father and a Hittite mother. See Judges 1:21, Deut 7:1, and 1 Chron 1:13-14, Gen 10:16 which list the various peoples living in Canaan before the Israelites.
https://biblehub.com/genesis/10-16.htm
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jerusalem-from-canaanite-city-to-israelite-capital
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/who-were-the-hittites/ note that not all academic or scientific theories turn out to be true
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hittites
Ezekiel writes that Jerusalem was not given the ordinary care that a newborn would get. The Lord saw her, took pity on her, raised her, and took her in a marriage covenant (note the reference to spreading His skirt over her, as Boaz did Ruth, a sign of taking a woman under his protection). He clothed and fed her richly (prospered Jerusalem). But then she/Jerusalem was enamored with her own beauty (prosperity), and played the harlot with anyone passing by (such as neighboring gods). She used her riches for idolatry. She even sacrificed her children to idols. “Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?” She has forgotten where she came from and who rescued her.
An alternate understanding is that Jerusalem here is used as a symbol of the Israelites or Jews, whom God rescued from Egyptian neglect & abuse.
Now Jerusalem has idols in every street. She prostitutes herself to all, including the Egyptians and/or their gods. The Lord has allowed the Philistines, who hate her, to take out their despite on Jerusalem. Jerusalem played the whore with the Assyrians and the Chaldeans, and still wasn’t satisfied. (Note that Israelite & Jewish kings had sought alliances with the Assyrians & Babylonians, and no doubt brought their gods back to their people).
And yet, the Lord says, Jerusalem was not like a harlot who takes money for her services, but like an adulterous wife, who gives her husband’s gifts to her lovers. Because of this, the Lord will gather all her lovers and bare/shame her before them all. He will treat her as a woman who breaks her wedding vows. Her lovers will break her down, strip her of her goods, leave her destitute. They will stone her and thrust her through with swords. They will burn her houses with fire. “Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord God . . .” Only then will the Lord be quiet and no more angry.
The proverb “As is the mother, so is her daughter” will be used to describe Jerusalem. That is, Jerusalem is like her Hittite mother. She and her sisters, Samaria and Sodom are alike. Since Sodom was destroyed in Abraham’s era, this seems to be calling a city of Ezekiel’s time by that name (probably one that was known for the same indecent behavior as Sodom). Their daughters are probably reference to nearby suburban cities or villages that were settled by, or subject to, them. But Jerusalem is even worse than those cities. Samaria wasn’t guilty of half Jerusalem’s sins. Those cities felt justified in their behavior because of Jerusalem, and that merits even more the condemnation of Jerusalem.
This Sodom and her daughters were guilty of pride/haughtiness, abundance of food, idleness (remember the “Idle hands” proverb), and not caring for their poor, beside their abominable behavior. So the Lord had them carried away captive.
Yet one day, the Lord will bring back Jerusalem and her two sisters. He will make an everlasting covenant with Jerusalem and make her sister cities her daughters, though not of the covenant. That is, Jerusalem will reign over those other cities. Jerusalem will be properly humble, and the Lord will be pacified toward her.
Ezek 17—a riddle/parable: the eagles & the cedars
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.
5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.
6 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs…
Then a 2nd similar eagle comes along. The vine [we might call it a low shrub] shot branches up toward him, hoping the eagle would water her. She was planted in good soil, with good access to water. Then the Lord asks a startling question: will He not pull up the shrub, cut off the fruit [did the branches become a grape vine? Another well-known product of Lebanese hills. He speaks of furrows and agricultural workers.] and let the leaves wither when the hot east wind off the desert comes?
What does the parable mean? Ezekiel is to tell the rebellious House of Israel: the King of Babylon is come to Jerusalem and takes the king and princes back with him to Babylon [represented by the eagle taking the top branches to his city, a city of trade]. The Babylonian king made a covenant, took an oath, of the heir (seed) and the powerful he had taken captive. The Babylonian king would keep these captives low, like vines or shrubbery, but he would allow them to live. However, the Jewish king sent ambassadors to Egypt to ally with him in rebelling against Babylon, breaking his oath.
The Lord declares that the king will die in Babylon, and Pharoah will not come with his armies to rescue the Israelites. The Lord takes the breaking of this oath personally, perhaps because the Jewish king made the oath using God’s name (taking the name of the Lord in vain). Again, the king is to be recompensed for his sins. The Lord uses the metaphors of a net and a snare, which are used in hunting, for capturing the king/kingdom of Judah. In Babylon the Lord will make His case against the Jewish king for his trespass against Him (probably by violating the oath he made in God’s name). And all those who flee against captivity will be killed by the sword, and scattered to the winds. The Lord has spoken it, so it will come to pass.
The Lord seems to be the 2nd eagle, who takes the highest branches from the cedar and plants it in a high/eminent mountain of the land of Israel. There it will bring forth more branches and bear fruit. It will be a goodly cedar, tall enough for all kinds of birds to live in its shadow. All the other trees of the orchard will know that it was the Lord that brought down (humbled) the high tree, and exalted (raised up) the low tree or shrub. He is the One that dried up the greeItn/living tree, and made the dry/dead tree to flourish. “I the Lord have spoken and have done it.” That is, the Lord does what He says.
About the Cedars of Lebanon (a species of pine, which would bear pine cones & nuts)
https://www.greenactitude.com/en/characteristics-and-properties-of-the-cedar-of-lebanon-a-legendary-tree
https://cedarscamps.org/inspiration/article/cedars-of-lebanon/
http://pnwplants.wsu.edu/PlantDisplay.aspx?PlantID=254
Ezek 21—prophecies against Jerusalem/Israel
Ezekiel is to prophesy against Jerusalem (seat of the kingdom of Judah, and at this point, Israel, since the loss of the northern kingdom, “the 10 tribes”). The Lord says He will draw His sword and cut off both the righteous and the wicked. Now after many times saying that each person is judged by his own behavior, and receives the consequences for it, this may seem unreconcilable. Yet in life we know that good people sometimes suffer because of or along with the wicked. We know that children do at times suffer for the mistakes of their parents (remember the Lord warning the wicked that He would punish [or allow the consequences] down to the 3rd & 4th generation). God knows His own mind and purposes, of course, but I have two thoughts on the matter: 1) in the final Judgment, all will be put right, and each person will receive the recompense of their attitudes and behaviors, and 2) though we suffer from the mistakes, even ill treatment of others in this life, when we continue to trust in the Lord, He will help us through them, as he did David who became king of Israel after years of afflictions.
The Lord says He has drawn His sword from its sheath and it will not return any more. We know from other times the Lord has promised that He will quit His anger and deal with Israel in kindness. So this can’t be taken literally. It’s obviously meant to last until He decides enough is enough.
Ezekiel’s sighs in dismay at the things to come will cause people to inquire why he is sighing. His reply is to be that the coming disaster will cause “every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord God.”
Next, the metaphor of a sword being sharpened & polished is to signify the coming conquerors. This sword holds posterity (rods/branches in the family tree) in contempt. There’s no reason to make merry. A picture of the opposite is in the words: crying out, howling, terrified people. The sword will even enter the private rooms of the powerful. When the Lord claps His hands together (as one sees rulers in the movies giving emphasis/immediacy to their orders), either His fury will rest/calm itself, or His fury will rest upon whom He will.
Ezekiel prophesies (at the Lord’s behest) that the Babylonians will come in two routes to attack Jerusalem, beside the Ammonites. The Lord shows the Babylonian king using soothsayers/fortune tellers (who employ animal livers) to decide which way to go. On the one hand (choice) Babylonian armies would use battering rams against Jerusalem, and earthworks, and a fort. But they will consider that a false sign.
The day is come for the contemptuous wicked ruler in Jerusalem. He will lose his crown and diadem (symbols of his authority). He’ll lose his high place, and people considered of low birth will rule instead, until the Messiah, whose right it is to the throne of Israel.
Re: son of man/Son of Man (one could also research and compare when the scriptures speak of a son of a specific person)
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/21-19.htm uses the word ben for son, scroll down to the Hebrew
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/28-2.htm uses the word ben, scroll down to the Hebrew
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/33-12.htm uses the word ben, similarly Ezek 33:2, 44:5, 8:12, 37:16
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/43-7.htm uses the word ben, scroll down to the Hebrew
https://biblehub.com/matthew/24-30.htm uses the word Huiou, scroll down to the Greek
https://biblehub.com/mark/14-21.htm uses the word Huios, similarly Mark 8:38
https://biblehub.com/luke/9-26.htm uses the word Huios, scroll down to the Greek
https://biblehub.com/john/12-34.htm uses the word Huion, scroll down to the Greek
It is unclear to me in verses 28-32 whether the Lord is talking about the Ammonites in a similar vein as He has just spoken of the Babylonians as the wielders of the burnished/polished sword, or whether He is speaking of them eventually getting their own taste of Babylon’s sword. I think it’s ok to just let it rest, and perhaps at a future time it will become clear. The Lord has enjoined us to study the scriptures essentially on a daily basis all our lives, and that could become either boring or overwhelming if we understood everything all at once. I think it a sign of His genius that He has given us scriptures that require a lifelong study. We must have patience.
Ezek 22—Jerusalem has earned the mocking of herself by nations near and far through her sins, as listed
Jerusalem is called a bloody city for the abominations committed therein:
--idols are made and worshipped
--the princes/elite abuse their position to shed blood, disrespect parents, oppress foreigners (probably people of other nations who live/work in the city), vex the fatherless & widows (probably those who have lost their fathers/husbands in war)
--the people of the city despise what is holy and dishonor the Sabbaths
--people give information to those that shed blood (no doubt similar to snitches/informers to the Mafia), eating upon the mountains refers to idol worship, within the city are those that commit lewdness (could be in worship of idols, or through prostitution, which sometimes are the same)
--there is disregard for the laws of incest in the Law of Moses (the Law of God), such as having sexual relations with a father’s wife or his daughter (not necessarily one’s own mother or her daughter), pressing upon a menstruous woman to have sex (which would be a humiliation to her), committing adultery
--bribes are taken so that the innocent are killed
--interest is charged on debts (forbidden in the Law of Moses)
--ill-gotten gains come by extortion
--in all these things the people have forgotten the Lord and His laws
The Lord requires redress/reparations for these dishonest gains and the bloodshed. The Lord asks poignantly, “Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the Lord have spoken it, and will do it.” The people will be scattered among the heathen nations, and Jerusalem will burn like a refiner’s fire.
Rain is given as an image of washing a land clean, but that will not be the case with Jerusalem when the Lord shows His indignation for her (her people’s) sins. Her prophets conspire to devour souls like lions, taking the wealth as their prey and making widows through their policies (possibly referring to corrupting justice and warfare). They pretend to speak for the Lord when He has not spoken through them. Jerusalem’s priests have violated the Law of Moses and disrespected the holy things (of the Temple). In this they have used God’s name in vain. The princes/elites behave like wolves coming in for the kill in order to prosper dishonestly. The people oppress and rob, vex the poor and needy, and mistreat foreigners that live/work among them (probably as low-income labor).
The Lord looked for someone who would turn away His indignation (recall when He said He would spare Sodom from destruction if there were only 10 good people living there). So similarly, the Lord will rain down His wrath upon Jerusalem in requital for the sins her people.
Ezek 23—the 2 Israelite kingdoms are likened to 2 promiscuous, whorish sisters
Samaria (capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, the “10 tribes”) and Jerusalem (capital of the kingdom of Judah, which included the tribe of Benjamin) are likened to 2 sisters that committed whoredoms even in their youth in Egypt.
Samaria played the harlot with her neighbor Assyria (made alliance with Assyria until it was too late). She was so impressed with the finery of Assyria, when Assyria was rising in power, and sought to benefit thereby (Assyria grew rich through trade and then it became a military power, plundering and causing others to pay tribute). Samaria took up the Assyrian gods, who seemed so beneficent, beside the gods of Egypt. So the Lord left her to her lovers, the gods/power of the Assyrians, who exposed and exploited her in conquest and despoil. They took her children captive and destroyed her in warfare. Her fall became famous.
Jerusalem saw all this, and yet became even more corrupt. She also was bedazzled with the wealth and power of Assyria’s neighbor, Babylon/Chaldea. She saw (or heard of) the walls of Babylon on which were depicted all the glories of their empire. She sent embassies to profit from an alliance. She adopted Babylonian gods, which God saw as committing whoredoms with idol worship. Her mind was alienated from God by them, so God alienated Himself from her. Jerusalem, like her sister Samaria, went right back to her behavior in Egypt, going after the idols of that land. It was like breeding donkeys to horses, producing either mules or hinnies (a more horse-like crossbreed).
https://www.helpfulhorsehints.com/hinny-vs-mule-facts/
As Samaria was conquered by Assyria, Jerusalem will likewise be taken by her “lovers”, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, and Assyrians (meaning the nations of Mesopotamia). The engines/weapons of war were chariots, wagons, wheels, armies, and armor. The conquerors will cut off noses and ears, killing others. The sons & daughters will be taken captive, and the rest will be consumed when the cities are burned. They will take away their clothes and jewelry as booty. The memory of their sufferings in Egypt will be swallowed up in the afflictions of the Babylonian conquest. The admiration for the empires/kingdoms of Mesopotamia will change to hatred. The Lord will turn the people over to their enemies because Jerusalem/the kingdom of Judah behaved just as foolishly, as abominably as Samaria/the northern kingdom of Israel. It is likened to drinking of the same cup. As her sister was, so Jerusalem will be “laughed to scorn and had in derision . . .” The picture of a depressed drunk is conjured.
The 2 sister kingdoms committed adultery (vs their true husband, the Lord) with their idols, even sacrificing their children to their idols (for which any true husband/father would become incensed). And then in the same day people would come to God’s temple to worship, showing utter contempt/sacrilege toward the Lord’s Sabbaths. The Lord paints a vivid picture of a whore preparing for her lovers. But the righteous will judge her (the whorish wife) for what she is, and she will be dealt with as spoken in the Law (stoning, like when catapults are used in a siege, and other enactments of death). Thus will idolatries be cleansed/cleared away from the land.
All this will cause the people to know/acknowledge that the Lord God is in charge.
Ezek 24—9th year of Zedekiah Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem, parable of the pot, Ezekiel can’t mourn
Near the end of the 9th year (of Zedekiah’s reign in Jerusalem), the Lord tells Ezekiel to note the day as the one in which the king of Babylon decides to come against Jerusalem.
Here’s the parable: a pot of water is set over a fire, and meat & bones are added to it, as if making a stew. Bones are also added to the fire, to get it burning hot and boil the meat. Jerusalem is likened to such a pot wherein the cooked blood rises as scum to the top. The blood should have been poured out on the ground and covered with dirt. Instead, the blood is set on a rock out in plain sight for all to see, to their disgust. After the scummy water is poured out, the pot is to be set on the fire empty in order to burn it out (as one would burn out a Dutch oven over the fire to clean it). But the Lord will not purge the filthiness of Jerusalem until He causes His fury to come upon the city (in full). He affirms in the strongest terms that He will do it.
The Lord tells Ezekiel of the impending death of his wife, the desire of his eyes (that is, the love of his life). But he is not to mourn for her. This would have been truly counter to his culture as well as his feelings. He is not even to shed any tears for her, let alone any of the usual signs of mourning.
People question Ezekiel about not mourning his wife. He explains that the Lord has told him to tell them that the things they hold most dear (the Temple and their children) will be destroyed but they, like Ezekiel, will not be able to mourn them. Instead, they will be mourning their sins (and the sins of the nation). And when it comes to pass, they will know that the Lord knew/caused it to happen. When it happens and a person escapes to tell Ezekiel, then Ezekiel will be able to speak once again.
With what pathos we read, “in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters . . .”
Category: kingdom of Israel
Isaiah–part 1
https://www.biblestudytools.com/isaiah/ for background, summary, NIV version of the Book of Isaiah
“The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”
Isa 1—the Lord’s complaint & plea
“Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.”
The language of this chapter, like much of Isaiah’s writing, is so striking that it begs to be read in full. I will try here to summarize without destroying it.
Isaiah invokes images from parenting, husbandry, healthcare, history (Sodom & Gomorrah), textiles, harlotry, metallurgical refining. He references the oaks & gardens wherein they have committed idolatry. Some of my favorite verses:
“Why should ye be stricken any more? . . . [Why keep suffering? What’s the point of your religious observances? Don’t bother me with them, I’m sick of them, I won’t pay any attention to them.] . . .
16 ¶ Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge [bring justice to] the fatherless, plead for the widow.
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet [think in terms of the stain caused by red Jello], they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts [bribes], and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless [don’t bring justice to the orphaned], neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.
27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment [Justice], and her converts with righteousness.
Isa 2—about Judah & Jerusalem, the future mountain of Lord’s house vs current wickedness & pride
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. [Note how Judeo-Christian teachings & morality have spread from the Jews to the world.]
4 And he [God] shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. [They will stop spending their resources on war and destructive doings, and turn them to positive, productive pursuits.]
5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
The Lord has withdrawn His help & blessings from the descendants of Jacob/Israel because they seek fulfillment in the false philosophies, pretenders to prophecy, and partnering with pagan nations. Israel is wealthy and full of expensive vehicles. They worship their own works. They are arrogant. But they will be humbled and seek to hide from the Lord and his judgments. A description & message for US today. “For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low . . . In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” Quit relying on human means, for of what use are they?
3—The Lord has withdrawn His help because of the oppressions in Jerusalem & Judah
This chapter is another beautifully expressed word of the Lord. I will try to summarize it, but I hope all will read it as it is in the Bible.
The Lord takes away the stores of food and water that a besieged city would rely on, as well as the leaders, both military and civil. Instead, they’ll be ruled by the young and/or inept without wisdom. The people will oppress (take advantage of) one another. The traditional order of society will be upended. Then relatives will come to the most solidly based of their kin and try to get them/him to take the leadership role, but he/they refuse that responsibility because it would be such a heavy burden. In many cultures a tribal leader is responsible for the well-being of the tribe/extended family in every way—see that they have food, financial support, safety, etc. “For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory.”
Instead of men taking responsible, leadership roles (in the family, in the nation), “children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.” Sounds like the nightly news in our nation today!
The Lord pleads (Heb. contends) and judges the people: the elders (traditional leaders of a certain standing and age) and those born to leadership roles, instead of caring for the welfare of the people, have taken advantage of the poor and powerless for their own benefit. “What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.”
Additionally, women are haughty, walking that certain provocative walk in their showy apparel. The day will come that their hair (a symbol of beauty) will be replaced with sores, and their private parts will also be affected (not all translations include that last part, see https://biblehub.com/isaiah/3-17.htm ). All their fancy dress, jewelry, and perfumes will be taken away, and their beauty will be replaced with mere lust.
The men of Judah & Jerusalem will fall in battle, and Judah/Jerusalem will be left emotionally as well as physically desolate.
Isa 4—those left after the war will become righteous, and the Lord will protect them
Because of the shortage of men (killed in war), 7 women will offer to be self-supporting, if they can just have the name (come under the social protection/standing) of one man. Those that escape the terrible consequences of war will prosper, and the land healed. Those that are left will turn their lives to holiness (living righteous lives). The Lord will have cleansed the wicked from His people. Isaiah refers back to the time of the Exodus when the Lord led and defended Israel with a cloud by day and fire by night. The Tabernacle was symbolic of a shelter from intense weather (troubles).
5—A song of the vineyard, Woe to the wicked, & captivity comes through lack of knowledge of the Lord
1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
Consequentially, the vineyard is to be destroyed. Isaiah pronounces woe to those who monopolize real estate: their lands will be unproductive. Woe to partiers who spend their days drunk, feasting to the tune of music (only the wealthy could afford to have musicians at their parties), ignoring the Lord. Hell will gorge itself on the proud, the wealthy & powerful will be humbled. Woe to those who promote wickedness, and taunt Let the Lord show Himself and we’ll believe Him. “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Woe to those who think they are wise/prudent. Woe to those who corrupt justice for bribes. The Lord is angry, and letting them be destroyed like a wildfire in a field.
But the Lord promises that when Israel is cleansed and He is appreciated for his Justice and Holiness, Righteousness the wasted land will once again support flocks of sheep. The Lord will metaphorically raise a invitational banner and whistle (hiss) to the world (as a dog owner whistles for a pet to come), and the nations of the world will come quickly. Their transportation will be so rapid that people won’t have to sleep—indicating jet flight. The weapons he depicts might be symbols of modern warfare, described as best an ancient could portray a vision of the future, modern life: the speed, the noise, the smoke of battles.
This chapter is so beautifully written it’s a shame not to read it directly. Here’s one of many favorite verses: “Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.” As Jesus said, the Truth makes us free. People are hungry and thirsting for Truth and Righteousness.
6—the year of King Uzziah’s death Isaiah sees a vision, and is called by the Lord, “Whom shall I send?”
In his vision, Isaiah sees the Lord in His heavenly Temple with symbolically winged seraphim/angels at His throne. Isaiah recognizes his own unworthiness, and that of his people. One of the seraphim symbolically refines him with a live coal from the fire on the sacrificial altar. He hears the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” and Isaiah volunteers himself. The Lord tells him to go tell the people that they hear but don’t understand, they see but don’t apprehend. Their hearts are fat (full of self-gratification, instead of lean and strong; the Hebrew means “calloused”), their ears deaf (Hebrew), their eyes closed. In other words, Isaiah’s teachings will be commonly known but people will quit listening to him. The way this is put is only a manner of speaking. It’s not Isaiah who will make their hearts calloused, and so forth, but the people themselves. The Lord is letting Isaiah know in advance that his contemporaries will ignore the truths he brings, rather than see, hear, understand in their hearts, and convert their lives to be healed (as individual souls and as a nation). This understanding and conversion won’t happen until after the nation is destroyed, the people carried away captive, and only a tenth of them return. (Note the change in the people under leadership of Ezra & Nehemiah).
See https://biblehub.com/isaiah/6-10.htm
Isa 7 Isaiah’s (the Lord’s) message to Ahaz when the kings of Israel & Syria threatened
“And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.” (King Ahaz: 2 Kings 16:1-20, 2 Chron 28:1-27)
The kingdom of Judah is shaking with fear like windblown leaves. The Lord sends Isaiah and his son to King Ahaz to calm his fears. “Don’t worry about these two enemies who are plotting to set up a puppet king in your place. It’s not going to happen. And within 65 years the kingdom of Ephraim (the northern kingdom of Israel) will be wiped out. Just ask for a whatever sign you want to prove this is God talking.”
Ahaz won’t ask for a sign, in what appears an appreciation for God: “I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.” But Isaiah’s reply sheds a different light on the heart of Ahaz. “Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?” It’s bad enough to weary Isaiah, it’s worse to weary the Lord.
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
Verse 14 is quoted in the context of the Messiah, meaning Jesus Christ. There can be more than one fulfillment of a prophecy. But the following verses seem clear that this is a prophecy of the coming Assyrian conquest (see v. 17). In this case I don’t think the virgin birth means a miraculous conception, only that the young woman was a virgin before conceiving, that is, it’s her firstborn child.
I think a better word for “hiss” would be “whistle”, as a dog owner whistles for his pet to come (see v. 18). The Lord will summon Egypt (symbolized by a fly, harking back to the Exodus experience—the flood cycle of the Nile as well as the wet conditions of the delta no doubt bred flies), and likewise He will summon Assyria (symbolized by a bee). The Assyrian conquest is likened to a man being shaved entirely (Assyria the razor) . . . which would be seen not only as utter conquest, but also as a great shaming (remember the case of King David’s emissaries who were disrespected by shaving). The Lord through Isaiah speaks of a man with a cow and two sheep (a poor farmer) with plenty of milk, eating butter & honey (symbols of plenty). In other words, the wealthy will be killed and carried away, leaving the poor to prosper. The huge vineyards will be destroyed and will be full of weeds. Those that are left in the land after the invasion (armies with bows & arrows) will dig out the weedy brush (briers & thorns) to pasture their animals on the hills. A mattock being a digging tool.
Isa 8—Isaiah has two scribes write his testimony & prophecies; alliance with God vs nations
The Lord instructs Isaiah to get a large scroll and write. So he gets two good men to record the Lord’s words, Uriah the priest and Zechariah. Isaiah fathers a child with a prophetess (perhaps alluding to the virgin in the preceding chapter). Before the child learns to speak, both Damascus (the Syrian capital) and Samaria (the northern Israelite capital) will be conquered by Assyria. The conquest is likened to a flooding river, alluding to Assyria of Mesopotamia . . . a land between the Tigris & Euphrates. Assyria will reach even to the neck of Judah, the gates of Jerusalem. Like a bird of prey glides on huge wings, so Assyria will overshadow the land.
The alliances the nations try to forge to protect themselves from the Assyrian conquest will be broken up. Only God can save His people. The Lord powerfully impresses upon Isaiah that he should not go along with all those who say Judah should ally itself with other nations. Rather, Judah should turn to God as their Savior. Don’t be afraid of conquering armies, instead “fear” the Lord. For those who listen and turn to Him, He will be a sanctuary. Unfortunately, for the preponderance of both Israel & Judah, He is a stone to stumble over and to be affronted by. (Note Isaiah’s poetic parallelism in the stone and the rock). To the majority of the people of Jerusalem God is like a trap in which they are snared. It’s both a sorrow and a warning to us today, that they were faithless & foolish, and let us not be so.
Like the binding up of a scroll so it doesn’t unroll, so let the testimony of God and His law be bound in the hearts of those who study God’s law and follow it/Him. Isaiah promises he will look to the Lord and wait for Him as a defense, while the rest of the descendants of Jacob can’t see Him at work. Isaiah and his children symbolize what God is up to. When people say, Get advice from various soothsayers, shouldn’t people go to God for advice, and for the living to hear from the dead? The dead “speak” to us through the scriptures: the Law and the Testimony. Anyone who says differently is not enlightened.
Isaiah prophesies of the coming troubles, people wandering hungry and angry at their king and their God. Truly dark days. See https://biblehub.com/isaiah/8-21.htm (scroll to the bottom for the Hebrew & translation).
Isa 9—Ahaz is king of Judah, Pekah king of Israel, Rezin king of Syria, and Philistines invaded—see 2 Kings 16:1-20 and 2 Chron 28:1-27)
This is a difficult chapter with problematic verses. We can only take what we can from it, and trust that at some point we will come to understand. Verse 1 refers to trouble brought to northern Israel by Ben-Hadad of Syria (1 kings 15:20), and then Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria (2 Kings 15:29). Whether it means the coming afflictions will be worse (not so lightly vexed as before), or whether that darkness will be dispelled is hard to tell. It is apparent that scholars have wrestled with verse 3 as well. But the verses that follow offer hope for the future. For commentary and translation help see
https://biblehub.com/isaiah/9-1.htm verse 1
https://biblehub.com/isaiah/9-3.htm verse 3
https://biblehub.com/isaiah/9-4.htm verse 4
https://biblehub.com/isaiah/9-5.htm verse 5
Consider these pairings in light of the Hebrew poetic device of chiasmus
v 1 dimness, affliction (war)
v 19 land is darkened through wrath of the Lord
v 2-3 light shines & joy
v 6-7 promise of Hope—a Messiah
v 5 battles heretofore are full of confusion, noise, garments rolled in blood, but in future burning/fire
v 18-19 wickedness burns like fire, people as fuel for fire
vs 20-21 the afflictions of war
Between those verses:
Verses 8-12 Israel thinks to rebuild, but the Syrians on one side, the Philistines on the other will devour them/their resources
Verses 13-17 people refuse to repent, so the Lord will not have mercy on them
Taken as a whole, it seems to me that the message of this chapter is that though Israel had been afflicted before, it will be even worse now. The Lord speaks of the pride, the refusal to repent, the lying leaders, the hypocrisy, the evil doings, the foolish wisdom of Israel. Manasseh & Ephraim (Manasseh east of the Jordan River & Sea of Galilee, Ephraim on the west side, both belonging to the Israelite kingdom) against Judah. See Isa 7 and following.
Favorite verses:
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Isa 10—woe to unrighteous (who will you turn to?), and Assyria’s pride & punishment
Woe to those lawmakers that write grievous laws. “To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!” Who are you going to turn to for help when troubles come? (i.e. war, particularly the Assyrian invasion) Where will you hide your wealth/treasures?
The Lord will send Assyria as a punitive rod against Israel, an hypocritical nation. Of course, Assyria thinks it’s through his own might and wisdom that he conquers all these nations. He compares the cities and gods he has already conquered to those he intends likewise to crush. But when the Lord is done with punishing His people and surrounding nations, he will punish the pride of Assyria.
13 For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people [changed the national boundaries], and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:
14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing [as a hen would try to protect her offspring], or opened the mouth, or peeped.
15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh [uses] it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. [as if a tool boasts in itself, rather than recognizing that it is nothing without the person using it]
After Assyria has been punished, a remnant of Israel (the House of Jacob), those that have escaped Assyria (perhaps by fleeing to Jerusalem) will quit relying on their enemy, and rely instead on “the Lord, the Holy One of Israel” with integrity. Remember that it was a king of Israel that invited Assyria into his foreign policy. Although Israel was numerous before its conquest, there will yet be a remnant that will return.
The Lord enjoins Jerusalem (Zion) not to be afraid of Assyria. He refers to when the Children of Israel were oppressed by Egypt but the Lord broke that yoke off them, and the victory the Lord gave Gideon against the Midianites. There’s a list of the cities Assyria has conquered, but he’ll be stopped at Nob, shaking his fist (threatening) Jerusalem. Then the Lord will cut him down like a forest is clear cut.
The Books of Jonah, Amos, & Hosea
I should have created this post before Hezekiah, the previous post. These prophets shed light on the period of time before the Assyrian invasion & capture of the Northern Kingdom. Note how similar to our contemporary culture were their sins. Likewise, God will yet extend His mercy and blessings for us if we turn to Him. If not, we destroy ourselves.
Three prophets mentioned as prophesying during the reign of Jeroboam II, king of Israel, have their own books in the Old Testament: Jonah, Amos, and Hosea. Jonah is only mentioned in the reign of Jeroboam II, and it makes sense that he was sent to Nineveh before the height of the Assyrian glory, as they were still humble enough to repent. There’s an interesting reference to an earthquake while Amos was prophet during the reign of Jeroboam II, and Amos also prophesied during the reign of Uzziah/Azariah, king of Judah. The longest living of the three was Hosea who, like Isaiah, was active during the reigns of the Jewish kings Uzziah/Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. They would see the northern kingdom of Israel taken captive and carried away by the Assyrian Empire, probably only a little over 100 years after the prophet Elisha died during the reign of king Joash of Israel (see 2 Kings 13)—not to be confused with his contemporary king Joash of Judah.
The Book of Jonah (see reference to Jonah under King Jeroboam II in 2 Kings 14:25)
Most of us are pretty familiar with the story of Jonah. The Lord calls him to go call Ninevah (the Assyrian capital) to repentance. Jonah heads instead to the Israeli seaport of Joppa (35 mi northwest of Jerusalem), to take ship to the Phoenician seaport of Tarshish (on the Spanish coast). There are more interesting sites about Nineveh if you contribute or disable your ad blocker.
• https://www.britannica.com/place/Nineveh-ancient-city-Iraq
• https://www.science20.com/the_conversation/nineveh_when_the_capital_of_assyria_was_the_most_dazzling_city_in_the_world-256377
• https://www.bibleplaces.com/joppa/
• https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Joppa
• https://bibleatlas.org/tarshish.htm
• https://www.gotquestions.org/Jonah-Tarshish-Nineveh.html
A terrible storm comes up on the Mediterranean Sea as they are sailing toward Tarshish, threatening shipwreck. All the sailors take to calling on their various gods for help. They toss the cargo, hoping to lighten the ship. Meanwhile, Jonah is fast asleep below deck. The shipmaster comes and says, “What do you think you’re doing?! Start calling on your God (just one of many, to them) to save us!
The crew decide to cast lots to find out who is responsible for the calamity. Remember that anciently people believed the gods responded to queries through the casting of lots, and that’s not to say that God didn’t answer them in a way they could relate to. The lot falls on Jonah. They start questioning Jonah about his occupation and roots, and who is to blame for their bad fortune. Jonah replies that he is a Hebrew, and his God is Ruler over Heaven and is the Creator. He explains that he’s on the run from God. The men are scared stiff. They ask him what to do. He tells them to toss him overboard. They try to row the ship to land, but at last they cry for forgiveness from God for what they are about to do, and toss him into the sea. The storm calms, and they all sacrifice in thanks and make vows.
“Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” This fish is usually depicted as a whale, and the writers of the text may not have differentiated between whales and fish as we do. But apparently there are some possible candidates. Remember that the Lord had prepared the creature, so it wasn’t necessarily just any ordinary species or specimen thereof, and some sort of air supply might also have be swallowed.
• https://armstronginstitute.org/315-what-was-the-great-fish-that-swallowed-jonah
Jonah prays to be released from his unpleasant prison (perhaps when he comes to). A poetic version of the plea is recorded in chapter 2.
The Lord reminds Jonah of his mission, and Jonah goes. Nineveh is so huge it apparently takes 3 days to get through it. Probably big traffic troubles, beside the size of the city. Jonah gets a third of the way into the city and predicts its overthrow in 40 days. In a time of various nations vying for predominance, that seems plausible to the inhabitants. They proclaim a fast, put on sackcloth (a sign of great sorrow, humility, or humiliation—likely worn for mourning and/or slavery). The rulers don’t exclude themselves from their edicts. Even the king is in sackcloth & ashes, while he and the nobles proclaim the fast for humans and animals, likewise in sackcloth & ashes, repenting, crying to God—just in case God is willing to grant them mercy.
We have already discussed whether God repents in the way that humans must . . . It is obvious that He changed His decree. To repent is to change.
Jonah is thinking about his own rep (what he said didn’t happen), and no doubt his own feelings toward this superpower potential enemy or threat to his own nation. He complains/explains that this was the reason he headed for Tarshish. He wants to die.
God says, Is this a good thing to be angry about?
Jonah goes out of the city and builds a little shelter to see what will happen. God’s going to teach him something, and causes a gourd vine to grow up and shade him. Jonah’s glad for that. But then God has a worm invade the gourd vine, and then a strong [hot from the desert] east wind to wither the vine. Jonah faints from the sun [or sunstroke?] and wishes to die.
God says, Is this a good reason to be angry? Jonah says, It’s a good enough reason to be angry to death [probably expecting God to strike him down]. God says, You’re feeling sorry about the gourd, which you did nothing to cause to grow, but shouldn’t I feel sorrow over the loss of Nineveh, with more than 120,000 innocents, beside animals?
The Book of Amos—a shepherd called to be a prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel
Amos 1:1 “The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.”
Such an intriguing mention! It appears that the reigns of Uzziah & Jeroboam (the second) overlapped for 27 years. Sometime during those years was an earthquake of note, it would seem. Here’s an interesting article about evidence of an earthquake in that time with a cross reference to Zech 14:5 “ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah . . .”
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-find-evidence-8th-century-bc-earthquake-described-old-testament-180978385/
Amos 1
Punishments for Damascus (Syrians), and Gaza (Philistines), Tyre (“a major Phoenician seaport from about 2000 BCE through the Roman period” https://www.britannica.com/place/Tyre ), Edom (descendants of Esau, Jacob/Israel’s brother), and Ammon (descendants of Lot). Each of them had transgressed against Judah. The “brotherly covenant” (alliance) between Tyre and Judah was enacted by David & Solomon with Hyrum of Tyre. Edom’s fault in barbarity is noted in that they ripped up pregnant women in Gilead just to enlarge their holdings.
• https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/ammonites-moabites-edomites-in-the-bible/
Amos 2
Punishments are in store for Moab (descendants of Lot), Judah (“because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked”), and Israel (“because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name . . .” as well as worshipping false gods). After God had brought the Israelites out of Egypt and cared for them 40 years in the wilderness, gave them the land of the Amorites (giants like the cedars), they have become so wicked the Lord is angry and leaves them to be conquered. He complains, I’ve raised up prophets (to teach you, warn you, bless you). But you’ve given wine to the Nazarites (vs their vow of abstinence), and tried to silence the prophets. You’ve treated me like a cart under a heavy load. So things will get so bad that even the strong & courageous will flee, taking nothing.
Amos 3
The Lord continues His complaint against the House of Israel: you were my chosen people out of all the families of the earth! And I will punish you for your wickedness. We can’t walk together because we don’t agree. Lions don’t roar for nothing (implying that God has reason for roaring against the Children of Israel). Birds aren’t snared if no snare is set (implying that God has set a snare against the Israelites). Trumpets (of war) will blow, city residents will be afraid. When bad things happen to a city, the Lord is behind it. But surely, “the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” That is, He warns of His punishments. He has roared out His complaints, and shouldn’t everyone pay attention? He has spoken, all I can do is to prophesy as He speaks, Amos says.
Tell the rulers of the Philistines and Egypt to come to Samaria (the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel), and witness the violence and robbery even in the palace. As a shepherd saves whatever he can from the mouth of the lion (even just the legs of the sheep or a piece of an ear), only a small remnant of the people will be saved from the conquerors. The altars (golden calves Jeroboam set up) of Bethel will be destroyed, the winter & summer palaces, the ivory palaces will be destroyed.
Amos 4
Continuing His complaint of the oppression of the poor in Samaria (capitol of the northern kingdom of Israel) the Lord says they’ll be like fish caught on hooks. Their city walls will be breached. They have brought their sacrifices and offerings to the false worship in Gilgal (where Jeroboam had set up a golden calf, beside that at Bethel).
Clean teeth are an indication of having no food to eat.
Despite warnings of famine and drought, city by city (people of one city had to go to another to find food and water), the Israelites still didn’t return to God. Despite blights and diseases, pestilences like Egypt suffered (during the Exodus), wars that killed the young men and horses, the destruction of cities (as Sodom & Gomorrah were destroyed), the Israelites still didn’t return to God. So, prepare to meet your God (at the bar of Judgment), the Creator and Ruler of the earth, who has an army of angels at His command. Yet He deigns to let mankind know what He’s thinking.
Amos 5
The Lord pleads with the House of Israel to return to Him, to quit worshipping false gods at Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba, lest destruction break out like a fire and cities of 1000 are left 100, and cities of 100 are left with 10. (The house of Joseph refers to the rival kingdom of Israel that Jeroboam set up, vs the kingdom of Judah). God is ruler over the stars above and the earth & sea beneath. He can strengthen even the conquered to attack a fortress.
The Israelites hate those that call them to repentance, and who speak Truth and Righteousness. They walk all over the poor, taking all they have. The oppressors have built expensive homes and planted vineyards, but they won’t be able to enjoy them. They have persecuted the just, taken bribes, ignored the rights of the poor. The “prudent” keep their lips shut, lest they suffer as well. The Lord implores, “Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph [leader of the northern kingdom of Israel].”
But because they refuse to repent, there will be wailing and mourning. They that yearn for the coming of the Lord will find that a day of darkness, not light. It’s like a man running from a lion and is met by a bear, or when he reaches the safety of his home he’s bit by a snake (like Jonah, you can't escape God). God hates their religious observances because of their hypocrisy. Rather He wants righteous judgments. They have worshipped false gods, and they will be taken captive, God promises.
Amos 6
“Woe to them that are at ease in Zion . . . ! [the kingdom of Judah]” And those “that trust in the mountain of Samaria . . .” [the northern kingdom of Israel].
Calneh—one of 4 cities founded by Nimrod (Gen 10:10), along with Babel, Erech, and Accad, that is, Babylonia
Hamath—a Syrian city straddling the Orontes River, surrounded by hills
Gath—a major Philistine city
Take a look at these impressive cities, Amos says. Are they any better than you? (Implying they have been conquered, and so will you be). You sit around ignoring the dangerous situation, while you practice violence on others. You lie on ivory beds, eat lambs and calves, chant to the music, drink bowls of wine, anoint yourselves as the rich, but don’t care about the troubles in your land [the land of Joseph, that is, the northern kingdom of Israel].
As a result, you’ll be first to go into captivity. The Lord hates all your [self-centered, corrupted] palaces. The houses of both the rich and poor will be destroyed, not defended by their own relatives. You’ve boasted in yourself, and you are nothing. You’ve taken justice away from judging and turned it to bitterness. God will raise up a nation to conquer you.
Amos 7
The Lord showed me a vision of a plague of grasshoppers eating up the fields of grain, and I pled for the sake of Jacob/Israel. He said that wouldn’t happen.
The Lord showed me a vision of fire consuming the land, and I pled for Jacob/Israel—how would the nation recover such a thing? He relented that possibility.
The Lord showed me a vision of Him standing on a wall with a plumbline [an instrument for measuring]. He said that would be the limit of His protection from the sword. The descendants of Isaac (of Jacob/Israel and Esau/Edom), the holy places of Israel, the kingdom of Jeroboam (the norther kngdom of Israel) will fall.
Bethel was the rival place of worship Jeroboam I had set up to keep his people from going to Jerusalem of Judah to worship, and maybe be drawn back into the kingdom of Judah. It was still the place of that idol worship (of a calf), along with Gilgal, in the time of Jeroboam II. The priest of Bethel, named Amaziah, sends word to Jeroboam II accusing Amos of conspiracy and speaking against his own country. Amaziah says Amos prophesies your death by the sword and that your kingdom will be carried away captive.
Amaziah tells Amos he’d better flee to the land of Judah, and not prophesy against Bethel any more (the king’s chapel and court). Amos replies, I wasn’t a prophet nor the son of a prophet. I was merely a shepherd when God called me to prophesy to His people Israel. So listen to what God says to you: You say not to prophesy against Israel and the descendants of Isaac (Edom & Israel). Here’s what will happen to you: your wife will be a harlot in the city, your children will fall by the sword, your land will be divided among others, and you will die in a desecrated land, while Israel is carried away captive.
Amos 8
The Lord showed me in vision a basket of summer fruit. It was a symbol of the consumption of Israel. God is done with protecting them. The songs of worship in the temple will become the howling of misery and death. Then the dead will be removed in silence.
Listen, you that oppress the poor and needy . . . You can hardly wait for the holy days to be over so you can get back to commerce, with corrupted measuring apparatus. You take advantage of the poor and take all they have in return for the worst of the wheat. God has sworn that He will not forget your evil, and your land will be conquered like a flood in Egypt overtakes all the land. The sun will go down at noon and darkness will take over the clear day.
10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
11 ¶ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
Those that swear by the false gods of Samaria (at Bethel, Gilgal/Dan, and Beersheba) will fall and never rise again.
Amos 9
Amos says, I saw in vision the Lord standing on the altar. He told me to hit the doorway hard enough to shake it, and cut them all. He said he would kill them all [presumably the worshippers], even those that try to escape. Those that try to dig their way to safety, or climb to the heights, will all be taken. Those that try to hide at the top of Mt Carmel, or even if they could hide at the bottom of the sea—the Lord would send a monster to eat them. Though they go into captivity of their enemies, they will still be killed by the sword. The Lord will see that they suffer bad things, not good.
It is the Lord that makes the land melt as if by fire. Sorrows will rise like an Egyptian flood drowning all in its path. The Lord has power over all the earth and sea. Israel is like the Ethiopians . . . He brought Israel out of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor (Crete), and the Syrians from Kir (an Assyrian city—see also 2 Kings 16:9, Amos 1:5, Isa 22:6). “Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord.” The house of Israel will be scattered throughout all nations. The sinners who think nothing bad will happen will die by the sword.
The Lord promises, One day I will bring back my people, and bless their land with abundance, and rebuilding of the cities and ruins. They will never be taken from their land again. [Though the Jews returned under Cyrus and following, they were yet carried away captive again, under the Romans. So this had yet to be fulfilled after the completion of the Biblical texts.]
The Book of Hosea—written before the Assyrian captivity of the northern kingdom of Israel
Hosea 1:1 The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
Hosea’s calling from God began with the command to take a whore as a wife, and her children, as a strong statement that Israel had behaved as a whore in her relationship to God. His calling began under the king Jeroboam II of the northern kingdom of Israel.
Hosea’s whorish wife bears him a son the Lord says to name Jezreel, a sign that the Lord would avenge Jezreel upon the house of Jehu (king of Israel). Next a daughter is born, the Lord says to name Lo-ruhamah “for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.” The kingdom of Israel would be carried away captive by Assyria, and though Assyria threatened even the capital city Jerusalem, the Lord saved the kingdom of Judah under Hezekiah.
Hosea’s wife bears a second son, “Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.” But the Lord offers a promise for the future, “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.” The kingdoms of Judah and Israel would be united under one ruler. After the Assyrian captivity this was essentially true, and this prophecy would, like others, be fulfilled more than once. (Note Jesus’ self-defense when accused of blasphemy in John 10:24-42; see also Psalm 82:6, and https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Believers-As-Sons-Of-God ).
Hosea 2
Using the names of Hosea’s children, Ammi (that is, “my people”) and Ruhamah (“having obtained mercy’) the Lord pleads with Israel (symbolized by Hosea’s whorish wife), to put away their whoredoms & adulteries (that is, their worship of idols/false gods), or they will suffer being stripped of resources and rain. They will appeal to these false gods/idols (whom they credit with their prosperity), but they don’t save Israel. Then they decide to go back to the Lord for help (whom they had not recognized as the Giver of their blessings), but He will leave them to their embarrassment and their hollow religious holidays & observances.
Yet He holds out hope for a future time of blessings. Israel (symbolized as a wife) will yet call the Lord Ishi (“my husband”) instead of Baali (“my master”). Note the root of the word Baal (false god) and Baalim (false gods). Instead of worshipping Baalim, they will return to the Lord. And when they do, the Lord will bless (increase) the animals of the land, and take away wars. “And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.” The Lord will listen to the prayers of Israel, and Israel will listen to the Lord. The Lord will once again call Israel His people, and Israel will once again call the Lord their God.
Hosea 3
The Lord tells Hosea to take an adulteress as a wife as a symbol of the Lord making a covenant with Israel (who love other gods for the drunken parties involved in their worship). Hosea pays a bride price of 15 pieces of silver and about ¾ bushel (or about 45 lbs) of barley. He tells her she must be faithful to him, and he will be faithful to her. Israel will go a long time without rulers and statehood, but will in the end return to the Lord and the Davidic lineage of kings (the kingdom of Judah). Again, after the Assyrian captivity the remnant of Israel were left to Jewish leadership.
Hosea 4
1 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
6 ¶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
Beside all the corruption and crime, Israel worships idols. Consequently, their wives will commit adultery, their daughters fornication, because the men are committing such in the worship of idols (which involved engaging with harlots). The Lord warns Judah not to join in that worship (centered in Gilgal and Bethel). Ephraim is another name for the northern kingdom of Israel, because their first king (Jeroboam) was from the tribe of Ephraim. They will one day be ashamed of their sacrifices to false gods.
Hosea 5
Hosea decries the wickedness of both the kingdoms of Israel & Judah, and foretells their punishment/consequences. Mizpeh (“watchtower” or “lookout”) was the place at which Laban & Jacob agreed not to cross the line against each other (Gen 31:49). Tabor was a mountain in the Jezreel valley (6 mi east of Nazareth, 11 mi sw of the Sea of Galilee. It’s only 2000’ above sea level, but looks taller because the valley of Jezreel is flat. https://www.gotquestions.org/Mount-Tabor.html The kings of Israel have not kept the truce of Mizpeh, and have entrapped/exploited the bounty of the harvest of Jezreel. They have been bloody rulers, despite the Lord’s rebuke. They refuse to limit their actions, nor turn to the Lord. They are proud of what they’ve done. They will fall in their wickedness, and so will the kingdom of Judah. When they seek the Lord, they won’t find Him. Their children are strangers to the Lord (haven’t been taught about Him). The cornet and trumpet announce battle. The possessions of both Israel & Judah will be spoiled, as if a moth got in the closet, or rottenness in the pantry (frig in modern terms). Israel sent to Assyria for help, but Assyria couldn’t fix the problems. Note the reference to lions, symbols of Assyrian kings.
“I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.”
Hosea 6
Hosea pleads for Israel to return to the Lord. “O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.” In other words, whatever good they do is fleeting.
“For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Compare what Samuel said to King Saul (“to obey is better than sacrifice” 1 Sam 15:22 ) and Jesus in Mat 9:13 & 12:7.
The Lord likens the behavior of Israel to treachery/betrayal/treason . . . as in violating the covenants made in Moses’ time between God and the Children of Israel. Robbers ambush people for gain, and the priests murder the faith of people by committing lewdness. The kingdom of Israel is defiled, and Judah will benefit from an increase in population when the Lord brings His people out of captivity.
About Gilead:
https://www.gotquestions.org/land-of-Gilead.html
https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/gilead/
https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Gilead
Hosea 7
Hosea uses an oven metaphor to talk about the corrupt princes of the kingdom of Israel. They have degraded their king with lies, ill-gotten gains, wine, scorning righteousness, evil plans & preparations . . . a cake/bread not turned would burn on one side and not be done on the other. The kingdom of Israel doesn’t see itself for what it is. They foolishly turn to Egypt and Assyria, instead of the Lord. They behave like a silly dove, and they’ll be caught in the Lord’s net for it.
“Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.” They howl in misery for their troubles from their beds rather than turn their hearts to the Lord; they gather to eat and drink and (encourage one another to) rebel against the Lord. Despite the help the Lord has given them in battle, they think up ways to foment insurrection against Him. Egypt (whom they had sought for help) will just ridicule them.
Hosea 8
The Lord, through Hosea complains of Israel/Ephraim’s worship of idols, and the calves set up by Jeroboam. He proclaims the consequential Assyrian captivity. A trumpet signals the battle, an eagle swoops in and seizes its prey.
“For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind”
Hosea 9
Because of Israel’s infidelity with other gods, and their other sins, their feast days will be full of sorrow rather than joy. Either symbolically or actually, they will return to their Egyptian bondage. The corruption of Gibeah refers to the incident In Judges 19-21 when the men of the town not only behaved like the men of Sodom (Gen 19: instead of offering the culturally expected hospitality, demanded to be given the traveler for their sexual pleasure), they brutalized the man’s concubine all night to death. The kingdom of Israel will pay for their sins.
The prophet (symbolized as a watchman) and the spiritual man are considered fools or madmen, and hated for catching Israel in their sins. The Lord had cherished Israel like grapes found in the wilderness, or a newly producing fig tree. But Israel went after the worship of the Moabite god (Baal) worshipped at Peor (reference to what happened as the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land under Joshua). As a result, Israel’s glory will abandon her. When the Lord ceases to be a Protector of Israel their children will be destroyed. Like Tyre, Israel was planted in an advantageous place, but Israel’s children will be murdered. Instead of reproductive fertility, they’ll have miscarriages and lack of lactating breasts. Gilgal was one of the locations for the worship of the calves that Jeroboam set up.
“My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.”
Hosea 10
The more Israel prospered the more idols were set up. The Lord will destroy all those. They figured if their king was removed because of their unbelief (they had lost the Lord’s protection, so the king was removed by foreign powers), what could any king do to them? They have made contracts they didn’t intend to honor. Judgment will come upon them. Weeds growing up in the field are pesky, but a hemlock having taken root in a field could become indestructible. Such would be their fate.
The calves of Beth-aven refers to one of the places of false (calf-god) worship set up by Jeroboam. Whereas it was prosperous, it will be impoverished, shamed, destroyed. Samaria, as the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, will see her king disappear as easily as foam on water. The place of calf-worship will be destroyed such that thorny weeds will overtake it. The destruction will be so bad the people will wish they could be buried under mountains.
Once again Gibeah is referenced (see Hosea 9), when the tribes of Israel all came and destroyed the city of Gibeah for the wickedness of its men.
Hosea invokes the metaphor of cattle obediently/dutifully working the land and in the harvest to implore “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” Instead of that, Israel has cultivated wickedness. Israel has trusted her own judgment and her armies rather than God.
About Shalman, see https://biblehub.com/topical/s/shalman.htm
Hosea 11
When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
The Lord rescued the Children of Israel from bondage in Israel. He brought the child Jesus back from a sojourn in Egypt when his family fled Herod’s murderous rampage against anyone who might be a competitor to him or his family. God calls/rescues us, His children, from bondage to modern idolatries.
But the Children of Israel turned to idol (Baalim) worship. The Lord had a prophet anoint a king (Jeroboam) from the tribe of Ephraim to lead the northern kingdom of Israel, but they (led by king Jeroboam) didn’t acknowledge His help. God was like the owner of a horse or other beast of burden leading his animal lovingly, and releasing it from its bridle to feed (“The word ‘meat,’ when our English version was made, meant food in general; or if any particular kind was designated, it referred to meal, flour or grain.” https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/smiths-bible-dictionary/meat.html ).
Israel won’t return to bondage in Egypt, but be captive of Assyria, because they would not return to the Lord. War will continue on Israel’s cities and consume them, devour them, because of their unrighteous decisions. They were called to come to the most High, but they were unwilling to praise Him or consider Him as exalted.
As a loving Father, the Lord laments, “How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.” Admah & Zeboiim were 2 cities near Sodom & Gomorrah, and were destroyed with them. But, “I am God, and not man”, He says. He feels sorrow, but doesn’t have to repent in the same way that humans do. In these verses He says He won’t punish Israel (as He has already said He would), but in context, that would be if Israel returned to Him. If they would return to Him, He would be in their midst (not enter the cities, implying in battle). If they would walk in the ways of the Lord, He would protect them like a lion against enemies from the west (or anywhere). Israel’s enemies would tremble like birds in Egypt and Assyria. He would settle them in their homes in safety. But in contradiction to that vision of what could be, Ephraim/Israel is full of lies and deceits. As of yet, Judah is ruled by the God-fearing and faithful as the holy men/women of old.
Hosea 12
Ephraim/Israel, instead of seeking things substantial, gulps the wind. Everyday he increases lies and destruction (of the truth, or his own land). They try to make alliances with Assyria and Egypt, implying that these alliances will be as insubstantial as wind, or will lead to the destruction of their land.
The Lord is not satisfied with behavior of the Jews either, and will punish all of Jacob/Israel in recompense of their choices. He refers to the birth of Jacob & Esau, when Jacob took Esau by the heel. Jacob was strengthened by God. Jacob struggled with an angel and won. Jacob sought and found the Lord in Bethel. The Lord spoke to Israel (the nation through the man). The Lord keeps Israel in His memory. So, Hosea implores Israel, “Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and [righteous] judgment, and wait on thy God continually.”
But the Israelites are like a deceitful merchant with false balances (means of measure), who loves oppressing/stepping on others to succeed. Ephraim/Israel boasts that he’s become wealthy with all he’s done, and no one calls him out or holds him to judgment/accountability for his crimes. The Lord reminds them that He brought them out of Israel. That the Lord will make the Israelites live in booths might be either that their houses are destroyed, or that they will begin to celebrate the feasts/Holy Days that the Lord called for. The Lord has spoken to Israel through prophets, visions, and symbolisms. Yet the people sacrifice vainly everywhere—as ubiquitously as piles of rocks in a field (anyone who has farmed in a rocky region will recognize this picture). About Gilead, see https://www.compellingtruth.org/land-of-Gilead.html
Hosea returns to references of Jacob’s life, when Jacob fled to his uncle Laban (who lived in land ruled by Syria), and worked as a shepherd for him to earn the bride price of a wife. Remember that the Lord had covenanted to be with Jacob. By the prophet Moses the Lord brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, and took care of them. But Ephraim/Israel provoked the Lord “most bitterly”, and will receive the consequences of that.
Hosea 13
When Jeroboam, of the tribe of Ephraim, was yet insecure, he managed to become king. But he offended the Lord by turning the people to idols. An now the Israelites worship more and more idols, which are made by craftsmen. Jeroboam set up the worship of calves, wherein either physically or metaphorically people would kiss them. Therefore, Israel will disperse like a morning cloud, or the early dew. They’ll be like chaff blowing in the wind or whirlwind, or as ephemeral as smoke.
But eventually Israel will recognize that the Lord is the only God, the only savior. He took care of them in the wilderness, the desert. He gave them pasture (see Psalm 23), fed them, lifted up their hearts. And yet they have forgotten all He did for them. Like a lion or a leopard watches its prey, the Lord has His eye on Israel, and will attack them as furiously as a mother bear whose cubs have been killed or taken away.
“O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.”
The Lord offers to be Israel’s king. Can anyone else save them? He gave them a king when they asked (under Samuel the prophet, and later Jeroboam was anointed king over the northern tribes), and took away the king(s) when he was angry with them (eg Saul and other kings through their history). He offers to bind up (as a wound) their iniquities and cover their sins. But because of their rebellion against the Lord, they will be hurting as a woman in birth. The Israelites are like a foolish son, who hangs around in the birthing room.
The Lord offers to pay off their debt (in that they are worthy of destruction), and save them from destruction (death & the grave). The Lord will not change His mind, if they will just return to Him.
But despite such a bounteous land they have enjoyed, it will be as if an east wind (off the desert) brings drought & famine, dries up the springs, and the crops are all spoiled. In this case, that the wind comes from the east can be metaphorical as well as physical, the “wind” from the east meaning also Assyria. All the beautiful containers full of treasures (agricultural or financial wealth) will be spoiled/despoiled. Samaria (the capital city, representing the northern kingdom of Israel), will be ruined, because she rebelled against God. They will fall by the sword, their children dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped up. (Such barbarity causes us to shudder for them even to this day).
Hosea 14—a plea and promises for Israel to return to the Lord
1 O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
2 Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. [Remember the promises of Moses if they repent.]
3 Asshur [Assyria] shall not save us; we will not ride [in pride] upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee [God] the fatherless findeth mercy.
4 ¶ I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon [known for its cedars].
6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn [grain], and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I [God] have heard him [Israel], and observed him: I am like a green fir tree [which offers great shade and wood products, symbolizes strength and wealth]. From me is thy fruit [or nuts] found.
9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
scripturescript 
