Thursday, October 14, 2010

NIPTO, Day 249

Today. Has been a funny kind of day weather wise. It was nice this morning. Then it rained a little bit. Then it was sunny again. Then it rained again. And now it's all nice and sunny out. [Lately the weather has been so bipolar and consequently so have I!]

I did school. Not a whole lot going on there. I watched Tuesday's Glee during lunch. It was pretty good. And then I worked on my paper a little bit. (Lit class, The Scarlet Letter.) The intro is kind of lame, but it's coming along nicely. I'll probably work on it a lot tomorrow.
And now I'm here. With a little bit of time before I babysit and go to Kent. So I declare it to be "blog time."

=P Yeah. I'm ridiculous. I know. I'm cool with it.

NIPTO!
Hosea 5:1-15
 1 "Hear this, you priests!
       Pay attention, you Israelites!
       Listen, O royal house!
       This judgment is against you:
       You have been a snare at Mizpah,
       a net spread out on Tabor.

 2 The rebels are deep in slaughter.
       I will discipline all of them.


3 I know all about Ephraim;
       Israel is not hidden from me.
       Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
       Israel is corrupt.


Gulp. This isn't going to be pretty.
This happens to be the judgement against Israel. Since they've been somewhat (really!) disobedient. 

God is disciplining them because they did what he told them not to. Bummah.
God kinda knew everything that was going on. He knew Israel was corrupt. Which kinda stinks for Israel, huh?


 4 "Their deeds do not permit them
       to return to their God.
       A spirit of prostitution is in their heart;
       they do not acknowledge the LORD.

 5 Israel's arrogance testifies against them;
       the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin;
       Judah also stumbles with them.



What Israel was doing didn't allow them to turn back to God. There was no way that they could follow God and still do what they were doing. They had a wrong spirit/attitude and didn't acknowledge God. Their arrogance was basically used against them.




 6 When they go with their flocks and herds
       to seek the LORD,
       they will not find him;
       he has withdrawn himself from them.

 7 They are unfaithful to the LORD;
       they give birth to illegitimate children.
       Now their New Moon festivals
       will devour them and their fields.



God says that when they go to seek him, they won't find him because he has hidden himself from them. They were unfaithful to God, does he have to be faithful to them?




 8 "Sound the trumpet in Gibeah,
       the horn in Ramah.
       Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven;
       lead on, O Benjamin.

 9 Ephraim will be laid waste
       on the day of reckoning.
       Among the tribes of Israel
       I proclaim what is certain.

 10 Judah's leaders are like those
       who move boundary stones.
       I will pour out my wrath on them
       like a flood of water.



God said to Gibeah, Ramah, Beth Aven, and Benjamin to follow him. (Or to lead on! haha)
God told them how Ephraim would be destroyed and that he would proclaim what was certain. Judah's leaders cheated. So God said he would pour out his wrath on them. Like a flood. eek. Floods do a lot of damage. I'd be a "fraidy cat."




 11 Ephraim is oppressed,
       trampled in judgment,
       intent on pursuing idols.

 12 I am like a moth to Ephraim,
       like rot to the people of Judah.

 13 "When Ephraim saw his sickness,
       and Judah his sores,
       then Ephraim turned to Assyria,
       and sent to the great king for help.
       But he is not able to cure you,
       not able to heal your sores.



Ephraim didn't have good judgement. And God would destroy them like a moth destroys cloth. (*snorts* that rhymed unintentionally. NOT changing it!)
God said that Ephraim would realize that there was something wrong, but they would turn to their neighbors to help them instead of God. Their neighbors couldn't help them. They wouldn't be able to heal the hurt that had been done.




 14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
       like a great lion to Judah.
       I will tear them to pieces and go away;
       I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.

 15 Then I will go back to my place
       until they admit their guilt.
       And they will seek my face;
       in their misery they will earnestly seek me."



God would rip them apart and carry them away to a place where no one could rescue them. Then God would go back to his place and wait until they admitted their guilt.
They would admit their guilt and seek God's face. In their misery they would earnestly seek God.
It's funny how their misery could've been prevented if they had followed God in the first place, but they didn't. And God let them not follow him, but he knew they would come back. And when they did come back they were hurting. But it all could've been prevented.
Hm. We do that too, ya know. It stinks, but we do it.


And now I'm going to leave that there and work on my paper a little bit more before I have to babysit. Then I'm headed to Kent with the fam for something of Katie's.... TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) awards/presentation thing. Soooo yeah. Should be a good time! I get to see my sister(s) and have dinner with her(them)!
So. I'll be back tomorrow with more... fun stuff from Hosea! =)
Later gators!

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