Hosea 5:7-15

Sunday, August 22, 2010

I know that it appears that I skipping around quite a bit, but you have to believe that my paper journal is in order. Or an order, of sorts. Today, I woke up early-ish with my son and decided there was plenty of time to read a few verses of my Bible with cup of coffee. Then there seemed to be just enough to write in my study blog.

My normal study Bible is in the car, ready for church, so today I used my old Teen Study Bible. It doesn’t have the study text like the Zondervaan’s Bible, but that just meant I had to do a little digger (that and I opened up the Geneva Study Bible online for a little help.

The verses are here.

One of my biggest difficulties, especially in a book like this, is separating the analogies from the realities. Verse 7 is a great example. A reference to “illegitimate children” that indicates their unfaithfulness to the Lord. Are we talking about true illegitimate children? The Geneva Study Bible interprets this as the children themselves are degenerate, and thus there is no hope for them. I may have to do a little more digging on this particular verse. (Edit: I brought my study Bible in from church & it says its a reference “unfaithfulness” as a metaphor.)

I’m not sure what “moving boundary stones” is verse 10 means. It actually reminds me of the act of gerrymandering, but I’m not sure if I’ve got that correct. Either way, it seems like an unethical political practice.

Verse 13 actually reads pretty clear. By indicating that the people of Israel went to a king first to solve their problems, it is obvious that they did not turn first to the Lord, as they ought to have.

The last verse of this section I read today says (in the NIV translation) “…in their misery, they will earnestly seek me.” I was reminded of a Sunday School class a while back, where one of the women confessed that it didn’t seem right that some people only come to God after hitting rock bottom; that reaching out to God as a last-ditch effort seemed wrong. I think this verse is a perfect answer to that. God recognizes that some people have to hit rock bottom before their pride leaves them and they are open and free to accept Christ.