(Audio version; Music: "Sing To The Lord" and "None But Jesus" by: Hillsong)
Introduction
I
come to my lessons each week after first seeking God and spending a couple of
days in prayer asking Him to guide and direct me. I’m truly thankful that God
allows me to be part of what He’s doing in the world. Some weeks, however, I
don’t derive much joy in the message I believe He’s calling me to deliver—this
is one of those weeks. In the wake of the recent terror attacks in Paris, then
in Mali, and just this past week here in America, I was hoping I could teach on
some text that is cheery and bright to lighten the mood. However, that’s not
the message God wants me to deliver. Instead, God has made it clear to me that
He wants people to wake up and understand why the world appears to be on fire
all around us. In the wake of the recent tragic events perpetrated once again
by Islamic terrorists, God’s message is that if you Sow The Wind, you will Reap
The Whirlwind.
The
thing about whirlwinds is, they can’t be controlled and they destroy everything
in their path. This Christmas, there will be fourteen families who lost loved
ones in the recent terror attacks in San Bernardino, California who will wonder
how they can possibly “celebrate” Christmas beneath the crushing weight of
their grief. Just like their loved-ones didn’t deserve to die, they don’t
deserve the grief they now have to endure. But that’s the thing about
whirlwinds, they don’t choose what they destroy, they just destroy whatever
they touch. Sin is much like whirlwinds, it doesn’t just destroy the sinner but
destroys everything it touches—even other sinners. One sin might be like a
slight breeze but add in everyone else’s sin and a breeze becomes a howling
wind and add to that the sins of a nation’s leadership and you’ve got the
makings of devastating whirlwind. What you see going on in the world around us
is the result of a systematic turning away from God expressed in the overt
rejection of Jesus Christ. Add to this the profound Biblical ignorance of those
who do profess belief in Jesus and we bring upon ourselves a whirlwind of
destruction.
Did you know that all the oldest
universities here in America where founded on Christian principles? That’s
right, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, William & Mary, etc., were all founded for
the purpose of honoring and glorifying God through higher education. In fact, with
respect to Harvard, the empowerment article in the Constitution of Massachusetts
ratified in 1780 reads:
“Whereas our wise and
pious ancestors, so early as the year one thousand six hundred and thirty six,
laid the foundation of Harvard-College, in which University many persons of
great eminence have, by the blessing of GOD, been initiated in those arts and
sciences, which qualified them for public employments, both in Church and
State: And whereas the encouragement of Arts and Sciences, and all good
literature, tends to the honor of God, the advantage of the Christian religion,
and the great benefit of this, and the other United States of America…”[1]
I
think it’s safe to say honoring God and advancing Christianity are no longer
foundational principles in most if not all of our secular universities.
Instead, they have become bastions of secular humanism and militant atheism.
And the result: Petulant children become petulant adults who see themselves as
perpetual victims who can be offended by their own shadow and then hold
universities hostage until their childish demands are met.—Sow The Wind, Reap The Whirlwind.
We
have removed prayer and the Bible from all of our public schools yet we
accommodate every other destructive cult including the death-cult, Islam. And
the result: Drugs, alcohol, unwanted pregnancies, violence, and poor education
are rampant through our public school systems.—Sow The Wind, Reap The Whirlwind.
Company
owners and executives no longer operate their businesses as co-creators with
God in order to bring Him honor and glory but instead operate as money making meat
grinders that use their employees and then discard them. And the result:
Employee theft, disloyalty, poor workmanship, and constant strife between
employer and employee.—Sow The Wind,
Reap The Whirlwind.
Religious
leaders have their own personal agenda and fail to teach God’s Word as it was
given to us. For example, the Pope recently said that humanity will cease to
exist if we don’t do something to address climate change. Really? Has this man
actually ever read the Bible? And other religious leaders will preach that God
wants us to have everything our heart desires—health, wealth, everything, and
all we have to do is ask for it and have enough faith and keep coming back to
church and give to the church, because you know that God gives back abundantly
to those who give abundantly {read:
sarcasm}. And the result: Shrinking church attendance and Biblically
ignorant Christians who love the world more than they love God.—Sow The Wind, Reap The Whirlwind.
And
finally, our President and our other elected officials are sworn into office
with one hand on the Bible. They swear by God’s Word that they will uphold the
laws of the Constitution and then mock God by trampling that same Constitution
under foot when it conflicts with their personal ideology. And the result: A
lawless society that attacks law enforcers, celebrates criminals, and welcomes
law-breakers and terrorists into its midst.—Sow The Wind, Reap The Whirlwind.
Throughout
all of history, humanity has demonstrated time and again that whenever it
pushes God away, its very survival is threatened. It began in the Garden of
Eden with the first sin. That sin represented pushing God away and the result
was that death entered the world. This phenomenon holds true for cultures as
well. The farther a culture pushes God away the more depraved that culture will
become—depraved to the point of self-destruction. Cultures ebb and flow in this
respect. At times when God is at the center, they tend to thrive and prosper
but when they push God away, they tend toward calamity and destruction. Israel
is a good example of this. In the days when they were faithful and obedient to
God, their nation thrived and the people thrived. However, when they pushed God
away and chased after worldly possessions and foreign gods, they were conquered
by some new military might—the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, or
finally the Romans. And after each time they were conquered, they would turn
back to God and once again prosper and the cycle of pushing God away and being
conquered would start over again—they would Sow The Wind of ungodliness and Reap The Whirlwind of personal and national destruction.
Subject
Text
Hosea 8:1-14
1“Put the trumpet to your
lips! An eagle is over the house of the LORD because the people have broken my
covenant and rebelled against my law. 2Israel cries out to me, ‘O
our God, we acknowledge you!’ 3But Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him. 4They set up kings without my consent;
they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make
idols for themselves to their own destruction. 5Throw out your
calf-idol, O Samaria! My anger burns against them. How long will they be
incapable of purity? 6They are from Israel! This calf—a craftsman
has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria. 7“They
sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no
flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up. 8Israel
is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like a worthless thing. 9For
they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has
sold herself to lovers. 10Although they have sold themselves among
the nations, I will now gather them together. They will begin to waste away under
the oppression of the mighty king. 11“Though Ephraim built many
altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning. 12I
wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something
alien. 13They offer sacrifices given to me and they eat the meat,
but the LORD is not pleased with them. Now he will remember their wickedness
and punish their sins: They will return to Egypt. 14Israel has
forgotten his Maker and built palaces; Judah has fortified many towns. But I
will send fire upon their cities that will consume their fortresses.”
Context
Hosea
ministered during the period of the divided kingdom with Israel in the north
having Samaria as its capitol and Judah in the south with Jerusalem as its
capitol. Hosea prophesied to the people of the northern kingdom until shortly
after the fall of Samaria to the Assyrians in 722 B. C. Hosea began his
ministry during a time of prosperity that was coming to an end as a result of
the morally declining reign of King Jeoboam II. God blessed Israel with
everything it needed—freedom, peace, and prosperity. However, instead of
drawing closer to God because of His many blessings, they pushed Him away and
chased after their own sinful desires. The people and their leaders piled sins
upon sins until they had finally pushed God too far away.
Text
Analysis
1“Put the trumpet to your lips!
An eagle is over the house of the LORD because the people have broken my
covenant and rebelled against my law.
It
can be a little difficult to understand the imagery of v.1 but it sets the stage for the devastating events that are about
to overwhelm Israel. It would have been customary that the watchmen positioned
along the walls of a fortified city to be equipped with trumpets used to signal
approaching danger. And Israel was certainly in mortal danger which is
represented by the reference to an eagle circling over Israel. Now here in
America, the eagle is our national symbol. For us it represents nobility,
strength, and majesty. However, that’s not exactly what it represents in v.1. Instead, the eagle represents a
ruthless bird of prey that hunts and attacks its prey with cunning precision.
Once a prey is caught in the deadly talons of the eagle, there is no escape. In
the context of our Subject Text, the
eagle that is circling over Israel and ready to strike with precision and
ferocity is Assyria.
“The
eagles’ hunting skill and sudden attack on their prey lend themselves to images
of sure and sudden disaster in depictions of God’s judgment. In the OT prophets
the mighty nations of Assyria and Babylon are portrayed as eagles bringing
disaster on God’s people because they have broken covenant with him…In a scene
of final judgment in Revelation, the gliding eagle appears in midair to
announce the woes of the imminent disaster that the Lord is sending on the
inhabitants of earth.”[2]
2Israel cries out to me, ‘O our God, we acknowledge
you!’ 3But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue
him. 4They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes
without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves
to their own destruction.
If
you live in America, and perhaps some of you in other countries as well, vv. 2-4 should make you stop and think
about what’s going on around you. In America where 80% of its citizens claim to
be Christians, how is it possible that prayer and the Bible are no longer
permitted in public schools? How is it possible that such a nation has
legalized the murder of babies? How is it possible that in such a nation
possessions are more valuable than people? How is it possible that such a
nation would elect public servants that are greedy, self-serving, pathological
liars? At least 80% say they acknowledge God but clearly many have rejected
what is good. How many have turned their possessions into idols. How many have
turned their favorite sport or athlete into an idol? How many have set up their
favorite celebrity as an idol? How many idolize themselves?
Israel was fond of adopting
the gods of neighboring nations or manufacturing their own idols made of
precious metals, stone, or wood but an idol can be anything that steals away or
dilutes our devotion to God. And Israel is going to find out what happens when
God is pushed too far. “Yahweh and Hosea will demonstrate that the people did
not know Yahweh or have him as their God and that they embodied the worst, not
the best, of what it meant to be Israelites.
‘Good’
in v. 3 is a very general word and
should be treated as such; it refers to God himself as the ultimate good, the
good teachings of the Torah, the right way of living, and the benefits that
come from faithfulness to God…Thus those who forsake the good find themselves
chased by something or someone hostile to them and to what is good for them.
Here pursuit by enemies includes but extends beyond military defeat; it can
also imply that Yahweh himself hunts them down as an enemy would…Israel’s
political instability in the latter half of the eighth century is behind [v.4]. The line is better translated,
‘It is they who make kings—kings who are not from me; they appoint rulers
[whom] I do no know.’ The complaint here is twofold. First, the Israelites
appoint leaders without consulting Yahweh, and second, those whom they do
appoint are themselves strangers to Yahweh in the sense that they are untouched
by grace and outside the covenant…More is implied by this than simply that God
did not give ‘consent’ to their decision. The point is that God should have
been the one to initiate the choice. The had wrested the whole process from
him, and the result is that they had chosen the worst possible leaders.”[3]
5Throw out your calf-idol, O Samaria! My anger burns
against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? 6They are
from Israel! This calf—a craftsman has made it; it is not God. It will be
broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.
Idol
worship wasn’t a recent problem for Israel. It was King Jeroboam I who set up
calf-idols for worship in Bethel and Dan and led the people to worship them. Vv. 5-6 reflect a continuation of
sinful idolatry that was popularized under the previous king. Think about this
for a minute. What is one of the single most significant events in the history
of the Jews? It’s the Exodus right? I mean, Jews observe the Passover to this
very day. After the Israelites left Egypt, they made their way to the base of
Mount Sinai where they camped while Moses climbed to the top of the mountain to
receive the Ten Commandments from God. He was up there for forty days while the
people waited below. Do you remember what the people did while they waited?
They had Aaron fashion a calf made from gold and they worshipped it. And when
Moses came down from the mountain with the stone tablets, men were sent
throughout Israel’s camp and killed thousands who worshipped the golden calf.
And thereafter God sent a plague among all the people because of their idol
worship. These events were passed down from generation to generation. In fact,
if you were to ask a practicing Jew about the events, he or she would be able
to tell you to this day all the details of the events surrounding the Exodus
from Egypt. So imagine what God must have felt when they were once again back
at the same thing during Hosea’s time. God had good reason to be apoplectic
over Israel’s blatant disregard for His commands, their own history of
disobedience with regard to calf-idol worship, and the consequences of that
disobedience.
“When
Israel’s religious structure served its true purpose in celebrating the mighty
acts of God and reminding the people of the present obligation and future
expectations, the prophets gave it full support. But in Hosea’s day the cult
failed miserably to fulfill its purpose. The people were intensely religious.
Feasts were kept judiciously, sacrifices and offerings were burnt continually,
altars were built in abundance. The outward show, however, masked an inward
corruption of the worst kind.
The
priests were a special target of Hosea’s ire. They were as corrupt as the
people they should have been helping. Having neglected their duty to teach the
law, with its demands of righteousness and justice, they were chiefly
responsible for Israel’s defection.
Pagan
practices were observed alongside divinely established forms of worship.
Israel’s faith, grounded in the redemption of the Exodus, had degenerated into
a fertility cult. The Baals were thanked for the spring crops, and immorality
was practiced as a religious celebration. The people did not seek Yahweh’s
word, but were content to discern the future by magic. Canaanite ritualistic
orgies were performed by the Israelites, who wailed and gashed themselves…to
gain answers to their prayers. The drunken revelries and criminal outbursts add
to the grim picture of religious failure. ‘People are kissing calves!’ was
Hosea’s graphic summary of the abysmal depths to which God’s covenant people
descend when they poured out their love to metal images.”[4]
7“They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk
has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would
swallow it up. 8Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations
like a worthless thing.
Israel
seemed to think, like so many people think today, that just because God doesn’t
punish sin and disobedience immediately that he must not care all that much. So
Israel, like all people to this day, just pile one sin on top of another until
their entire lives are enmeshed in sin and disobedience. Eventually though, all
that sin and disobedience will crush a person or nation under its weight. “Sow The Wind, Reap The Whirlwind” of v. 7 refers to the consequences of sin
and disobedience. No sin or act of disobedience escapes consequences even if
those consequences aren’t immediately obvious in real time. At a minimum, every
sin and act of disobedience represents another step away from God until we are
so far from God that we are no longer in relationship with Him. We are gravely
mistaken if we think that God’s immediate inaction in response to sin and
disobedience reflects His ambivalence. Instead, we should understand God’s
restraint as an act of grace. God is not now, nor has He ever been, in a hurry
to punish sin and disobedience. Instead, God gave Israel every chance to repent
by sending His prophets to warn them of the consequences of their repeated sin
and disobedience. God gives chance after chance after chance but Israel learned
a painful lesson that God cannot be mocked indefinitely and when He acts it is
swift and unmistakable.
Israel
was supposed to be like a light to the world; a shining city on a hill that
would point other people and nations to God. Israel was supposed to be
different; better; a reflection of the holiness and righteousness of God. Their
lives where supposed to be a witness to the other nations that God’s way was
the best and only way to conduct their lives. Instead, v. 8 tells us that Israel prostituted itself to the nations that
surrounded her and became just like them which made them useless for God’s
intended purpose.
“Hosea
laments because Israel’s sowing of friendly alliances with other nations will
result in reaping the whirlwind of destruction. This agricultural proverb
summarizes what every farmer knows: A harvest is directly related to what is
planted. Since Israel will reap nothing good and foreign Assyria will take what
little is harvested, one can assume that they have sown evil behaviors to
produce these kinds of results. These comments can be understood literally of a
famine or metaphorically for ‘Be sure your sins will find you out.’ Certainly
the Israelites can understand this principle, for the nation is despised like a
‘cup that gives no pleasure’ (NIV ‘a worthless thing’). Everything good in the
cup (i.e., the nation’s resources) has been swallowed or taken by their
enemies.”[5]
9For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey
wandering alone. Ephraim has sold herself to lovers. 10Although they
have sold themselves among the nations, I will now gather them together. They
will begin to waste away under the oppression of the mighty king. 11“Though
Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for
sinning. 12I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they
regarded them as something alien. 13They offer sacrifices given to
me and they eat the meat, but the LORD is not pleased with them. Now he will
remember their wickedness and punish their sins: They will return to Egypt.
Israel
was essentially led by the hand out of Egypt to the Promised Land by the
Creator of the universe. Every part of their daily lives revolved around the
Creator who cared for them, protected them, and provided for them. Yet according
to vv. 9-13 Israel’s leadership
somehow thought Israel would be safer if they formed an alliance with the pagan
nations of Egypt and Assyria.
God had always provided everything they needed yet
they weren’t satisfied. No matter how safe they were or how prosperous they
were, it was never enough for Israel. However, before we are too harsh on
Israel, let’s not forget that this seems to have defined humanity from the very
beginning. Adam and Eve had unfettered access to God and all the perfect and
abundant resources of the Garden of Eden with the exception of one tree in the
middle of the Garden. And you know what happens next, right? Satan convinces
Adam and Eve that God is keeping the best from them by forbidding them from
eating the fruit from that one tree. Even though they could enjoy the fruit
from every other single tree in the Garden, the fruit from that one forbidden
tree became their obsession and their downfall, as well as the downfall of all humanity
that followed them.
Is it
really any different today? We have the freedom to express our sexuality in the
context of marriage between a man and a woman but we want the freedom to
express our sexuality with anyone we want, whenever we want, in whatever
relational context we want. We are free to earn as much money as we want in
order to provide for ourselves, our families and to serve others but we want
the freedom to hoard money to fulfill our own selfish desires only. We have the
freedom to eat and drink what we like but we want the freedom to be gluttons
and drunkards. We have the freedom to worship God in various forms but we want
the freedom to worship any god we want. And that’s ultimately what led to
Israel’s downfall.
“The
opening and closing lines of vv. 9
and 13, or rather the statement they
secure when they are read together, supply the main topic for the material they
enclose, and so serve as a key to interpreting [vv. 9-13]. We then have good reason to suppose that vv. 9-13 concern political relations of
[Israel] with Assyria and Egypt. The vocabulary used throughout suggests that
this involved arrogant rejection of Yahweh’s Torah, the making of forbidden
covenants, the payment of tribute, and the erecting of sinful altars upon which
illicit sacrifices were offered.”[6]
14Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces;
Judah has fortified many towns. But I will send fire upon their cities that
will consume their fortresses.”
We’ve
sort of forgotten about Judah at this point because everything has been
directed toward Israel. Although the kingdom is divided and there are two kings
that are leading the people, there is but one God who has cared for, provided
for, and protected both and both have prospered as a result. Their priorities
have turned to self indulgence and protecting their “stuff.” God is no longer
the focus of their lives but by the time they realize that by their actions
they have rejected and offended God, it will be too late and the Assyrian
hordes will destroy them like a raging inferno consumes everything in its path.
Israel ignored the counsel and warnings of the prophets that God sent them and
apparently thought that just because God hadn’t done anything to punish their
sinful behavior to that point then they were safe. But Assyria would conquer
the northern kingdom in 722 B. C. Although Assyria gained significant ground
into the southern kingdom by 701 B. C., Judah would actually be conquered and
destroyed in totality by the Babylonians in 586 B. C. For all their striving,
and attempting to appease and fit in with the surrounding nations, Israel was
simply sleeping with their enemy. And that enemy would ultimately destroy them
all under the sovereign direction of the God they mocked, rejected and forgot.
“Though
the Israelites desperately hoped for deliverance from the increasingly
threatening Assyrian territorial gains, they would instead be punished. Because
they had broken the covenant they were now subject to its penalties, including
death. Their enemies like a vulture waited to devour them. Despised on an
international level, the pawns of other nations, they were heading inexorably
toward captivity…
What
in fact has Israel done? Five sorts of sins are specifically cited: (1) the
refusal to acknowledge Yahweh’s right of divine ordination of the king; (2)
idolatry; (3) dependence on international allies rather than on Yahweh; (4) a
corrupt cult; and (5) arrogant disregard for the law of their God…
The
passage portrays vividly the nearness of destruction. From the image of
the…eagle to the image of fire raging through the country’s cities and forts,
the imminence of war overshadows the North. Against this, Israel’s trust is
foolishly misplaced. Their hope in their defensive preparations, their intense
religious rituals and their various allies cannot be rewarded. The enemy will
devour and consume them.”[7]
Application
“Consequences”
is defined as the result or outcome of a certain action or behavior or a series
of actions or behaviors. Consequences can be either positive or negative. For
example, the consequence of studying diligently for a test may mean that you
will do well on a test. Conversely, not studying for a test could mean that you
fail a test. In relationship terms, when we are faithful, honest, and
intentional in our relationships, we will enjoy deep and fulfilling
relationships. Conversely, if we are unfaithful, dishonest and neglectful in our
relationships, we will wind up being very lonely. Most of this lesson has been
focused on Israel’s infidelity toward God and the consequences that resulted
from that infidelity. What we haven’t really looked at is: What does God want?
What does God expect? And what do we do if we’ve screwed everything up? What
happens if our life is a string of one mistake after another? What happens if
it feels like we’re drowning in the consequences of our disobedience and
unfaithfulness? I think those are all important questions. At least they were
important for me when I asked them.
God
wants and expects relationship. That’s it! God wants us to be in loving
relationship with Him and with one another. Jesus had an encounter with a
lawyer who asked him a question. He asked, “What is the most important
commandment of the Law?” What he was really asking was, “What does God want?”
“What does God expect?” And Jesus answered by saying that the greatest
commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, and strength. And the
second most important commandment is to love one another as you love yourself
(Mt 22:36-40). Jesus was saying that God wants and expects us to be in a loving
relationship with Him and with others. Humanity’s problem is that we seem to
spend much of our time rejecting both just like Israel. And the result is that
we wind up wrecking our lives and often the lives of those around us—we ruin
our marriages; we wound our children; we destroy our friendships. And worst of
all, we are separated from God because of our sins. And eventually it starts to
feel like we are drowning in the consequences of our sins. So how do we get
back to what God wants and expects? It’s the same for us as it was for Israel.
It starts with confession—the humility to say God’s right and I’m wrong. And
then moves to repentance—turning away from our sin and turning toward God. And
finally there is forgiveness—asking God to take us back. And just like that,
our relationship with God is restored and we can start over.
But what about the consequences
of our sins? What if you’ve gone through the process of restoring your
relationship with God and you’re still drowning in the consequences of your
sins? What was the point of going through the restoration of our relationship
with God if we still have to endure the consequences of our sins? That’s a fair
question. There are two aspects of consequences—temporal and eternal. And they
relate directly to the two things God expects from us. When we sin, we hurt
those around us and damage those relationships in this life—they are temporal
consequences. However, our sins also separate us from God in the life to come.
Those are eternal consequences. Unfortunately, we rarely if ever get to avoid
the temporal consequences of our past sins. I wish it weren’t that way but I
wonder if that’s because the temporal consequences of our past sins teach us
not to repeat them. But that’s not how eternal consequences work thanks to
Jesus. You see, the eternal consequences for our sin is death and separation
from God. But Jesus suffered those consequences on our behalf when He died on
the cross. All we have to do is accept it and the eternal consequences of our
temporal sins are gone! And guess what? It costs us nothing!
Do
you still reject God’s desire to be in relationship with you? Do you still
think the government and its elected or appointed officials is the solution to
all of society’s problems? Do you still think that God has no place in our
public schools? Do you still want religious leaders to teach only what you want
to hear? Do you want to live your life your way without any intrusion from God?
Are you prepared to endure the consequences—temporal and eternal? Be warned: Sow The Wind, Reap The Whirlwind.
[1] “Constitution of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts,” The 189th General Court of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, accessed December 5, 2015, https://malegislature.gov/Laws/Constitution.
[2] Leland
Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, Tremper Longman III, gen. eds., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic,
1998), p. 223.
[3] Duane A.
Garrett, Hosea, Joel—The New American
Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1997), pp. 181-182.
[4] William
Sanford Lasor, David Allan Hubbard, and Frederic William Bush, Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and
Background of the Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: W. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1996), p. 267.
[5] Gary V.
Smith, Hosea/Amos/Micah—The NIV
Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001), p. 135.
[6] Francis
I. Andersen and David Noel Freedman, Hosea—The
Anchor Bible, (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1980), p. 502.
[7] Douglas
Stuart, Hosea-Jonah—Word Biblical
Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1987), p. 138.
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