Ephraim’s Idolatry

1When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling.

He exalted himself in Israel,

But through Baal he did wrong and died.

2And now they sin more and more,

And make for themselves molten images,

Idols skillfully made from their silver,

All of them the work of craftsmen.

They say of them, “Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!”

3Therefore they will be like the morning cloud

And like dew which soon disappears,

Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor

And like smoke from a chimney.

4Yet I have been the Lord your God

Since the land of Egypt;

And you were not to know any god except Me,

For there is no savior besides Me.

5I cared for you in the wilderness,

In the land of drought.

6As they had their pasture, they became satisfied,

And being satisfied, their heart became proud;

Therefore they forgot Me.

7So I will be like a lion to them;

Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the wayside.

8I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs,

And I will tear open their chests;

There I will also devour them like a lioness,

As a wild beast would tear them.

9It is your destruction, O Israel,

That you are against Me, against your help.

10Where now is your king

That he may save you in all your cities,

And your judges of whom you requested,

“Give me a king and princes”?

11I gave you a king in My anger

And took him away in My wrath.

12The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;

His sin is stored up.

13The pains of childbirth come upon him;

He is not a wise son,

For it is not the time that he should delay at the opening of the womb.

14Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?

Shall I redeem them from death?

O Death, where are your thorns?

O Sheol, where is your sting?

Compassion will be hidden from My sight.

15Though he flourishes among the reeds,

An east wind will come,

The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;

And his fountain will become dry

And his spring will be dried up;

It will plunder his treasury of every precious article.

16Samaria will be held guilty,

For she has rebelled against her God.

They will fall by the sword,

Their little ones will be dashed in pieces,

And their pregnant women will be ripped open.

Thanksgiving for These Believers

1Paul and Silvanus and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

2We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; 3constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, 4knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; 5for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. 9For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 10and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

1) How does Israel’s idolatry in Hosea contrast with the Thessalonians’ repentance and faithfulness?

2) What does it mean to “turn from idols” in a modern context where false securities still abound?

3) How can gratitude and remembrance prevent the same pride that led Jeshurun astray?

Saul Defeats the Ammonites

1Now Nahash the Ammonite came up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us and we will serve you.” 2But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will make it with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, thus I will make it a reproach on all Israel.” 3The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Let us alone for seven days, that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to deliver us, we will come out to you.” 4Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, and all the people lifted up their voices and wept.

5Now behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh. 6Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 7He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out as one man. 8He numbered them in Bezek; and the sons of Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000. 9They said to the messengers who had come, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have deliverance.’ ” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. 10Then the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11The next morning Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

12Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is he that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has accomplished deliverance in Israel.”

14Then Samuel said to the people, “Come and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” 15So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they also offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Ephraim’s Iniquity

1When I would heal Israel,

The iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered,

And the evil deeds of Samaria,

For they deal falsely;

The thief enters in,

Bandits raid outside,

2And they do not consider in their hearts

That I remember all their wickedness.

Now their deeds are all around them;

They are before My face.

3With their wickedness they make the king glad,

And the princes with their lies.

4They are all adulterers,

Like an oven heated by the baker

Who ceases to stir up the fire

From the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.

5On the day of our king, the princes became sick with the heat of wine;

He stretched out his hand with scoffers,

6For their hearts are like an oven

As they approach their plotting;

Their anger smolders all night,

In the morning it burns like a flaming fire.

7All of them are hot like an oven,

And they consume their rulers;

All their kings have fallen.

None of them calls on Me.

8Ephraim mixes himself with the nations;

Ephraim has become a cake not turned.

9Strangers devour his strength,

Yet he does not know it;

Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him,

Yet he does not know it.

10Though the pride of Israel testifies against him,

Yet they have not returned to the Lord their God,

Nor have they sought Him, for all this.

11So Ephraim has become like a silly dove, without sense;

They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

12When they go, I will spread My net over them;

I will bring them down like the birds of the sky.

I will chastise them in accordance with the proclamation to their assembly.

13Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me!

Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me!

I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me.

14And they do not cry to Me from their heart

When they wail on their beds;

For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves,

They turn away from Me.

15Although I trained and strengthened their arms,

Yet they devise evil against Me.

16They turn, but not upward,

They are like a deceitful bow;

Their princes will fall by the sword

Because of the insolence of their tongue.

This will be their derision in the land of Egypt.