Africa Study Bible Sampler - Flipbook - Page 64
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You have made no progress whatsoever.
Was it not right that the wicked men
of Gibeah were attacked?
10 Now whenever it fits my plan,
I will attack you, too.
I will call out the armies of the nations
to punish you for your multiplied sins.
“Israel* is like a trained heifer treading
out the grain—
an easy job she loves.
But I will put a heavy yoke on her
tender neck.
I will force Judah to pull the plough
and Israel* to break up the hard
ground.
12 I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of
righteousness,
and you will harvest a crop of love.
Plough up the hard ground of your
hearts,
for now is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
and shower righteousness upon you.’
11
“But you have cultivated wickedness
and harvested a thriving crop of sins.
You have eaten the fruit of lies—
trusting in your military might,
believing that great armies
could make your nation safe.
14 Now the terrors of war
will rise among your people.
All your fortifications will fall,
just as when Shalman destroyed Betharbel.
Even mothers and children
were dashed to death there.
15 You will share that fate, Bethel,
because of your great wickedness.
When the day of judgement dawns,
the king of Israel will be completely
destroyed.
13
10:10
Ezek 5:13
10:11
Jer 28:14
10:12
Prov 11:18
Isa 45:8
10:13
Ps 33:16
Gal 6:7-8
10:14
2 Kgs 17:3
11:1
Exod 4:22
Hos 2:15; 12:9,
13; 13:4
*Matt 2:15
11:2
Judg 10:6
2 Kgs 17:13-15
Isa 65:7
Jer 18:15
Hos 2:13;
13:1-2
11:3
Deut 1:31
Jer 30:17
11:4
Exod 16:32
Ps 78:25
Jer 31:2-3
HOSEA 11:4
African Touch Points
A Mother’s Love
“Once I carried you in this womb for nine agonizing
months. I wiped your nose, endured sleepless nights,
changed your diapers, and fed you while I starved.
It is just a matter of time, you will come back and
hold my foot.” These words ring across Africa by
sorrowful mothers addressing wayward children who
have brought distress, shame, and disgrace to the
mother and family. Mothers say these words with
tears in their eyes.
Mothers say these words because they love their
children. This same mother, after the son comes back
to his senses, will dance before the whole village in
honour of her son. She will be the one begging the
father to receive the son.
As we read Hosea 11, we can imagine the feelings
with which God said these words. His love is deeper
than that of a heartbroken mother. God is grieved
when we sin and disobey him. He punishes us, but
he does so because his unfailing love for us. He is
waiting for us to return to him. He will never give us
up to total destruction. God is ready to forgive. As a
Christian, we may have wandered away from God,
but he is still there waiting for us, waiting to celebrate
our return to him. Let us not wait a moment longer.
The Lord’s Love for Israel
1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and I called my son out of Egypt.
2 But the more I called to him,
the farther he moved from me,*
offering sacrifices to the images of Baal
and burning incense to idols.
3 I myself taught Israel* how to walk,
leading him along by the hand.
But he doesn’t know or even care
that it was I who took care of him.
4 I led Israel along
with my ropes of kindness and love.
11
10:11a Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel. 10:11b Hebrew Jacob. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are
often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
11:2 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads the more they called to him, the farther he moved from them.
11:3 Hebrew Ephraim,
referring to the northern kingdom of Israel; also in 11:8, 9, 12.
P r o verbs & S t or i es
There Is No Dumpsite for a Spoiled Child
In Liberia, a common proverb says, Tulu a fe ma lo kala pili behaviour. Hosea points to God’s love towards us, his children,
mεni ma, kwama ta kelee fe ma a gεε di lo kala pili naa, meaning, despite our continuous disobedience and rebellion against
“There is no dumpsite for a spoiled child.” Other West African his loving authority. God in his love for us is always taking the
initiative to bring us back to a place of intimacy with him. What
cultures say, “There is no bush to throw a bad child.”
This saying draws attention to the unending love parents a loving God we serve!
have for their children in spite of any bad conduct or deviant
Applica tion
So Many Notes? • Hosea 11:1-4
This study Bible has so many notes in this passage about God’s There cannot be too many ways to explain and understand the
love—for good reason. It is one of the most important passages immense love of God. If someone ever argues that the God of
in the Old Testament that foretells the full understanding in the Old Testament is a God of anger and wrath, talk to them
the Gospels that Jesus would teach about the love of God. about Hosea 11:1-4!