Hosea 10: Wormwood
Sunday, July 10, 2022
Like wormwood in a plowed field . . .
Israel splits from Judah and sets up a new capital in Bethel to rival the city of Jerusalem but in this temple Jeroboam placed a golden calf. All of this mocks the beautiful covenant established between Yahweh and the faithful but, as the people will discover when the Assyrians invade, it is impossible to replace Yahweh’s fidelity and love with a mere golden calf. We might well ask what the followers of this idol were thinking when they centered their lives on the false hope of an inanimate statue. And when we do, we also ask ourselves where we might find golden calves in our own lives.
Hosea predicts ruin and destruction for the followers of the calf. He points out the ways and places that wickedness, perversity and falsehood are cultivated in this false spirituality. He also describes the folly of relying on the power of chariots and warriors and the turmoil of the tribes when superior forces overrun their cities.
Hosea reminds his readers that they are called to sow justice but instead of reaping fruitful crops the bitter wormwood plant which, because of its bitterness, cannot serve as fodder or animals or birds. In the hope of reaping rich harvest, those who are lured by false promises and false gods will instead gather in the bitterness they themselves have sown.
Hosea asks each of us to examine what it is we sow, and what it is we hope to harvest. Is it fertile and bountiful goodness, or the bitter fruit of wormwood? Only we can know.
To learn more about wormwood and how we use this herb today, click on the plant’s image above or visit: http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/w/wormwo37.html
Wormwood image from: http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/w/wormwo37.html
Bull image from: http://www.christian-resources-today.com/biblical-prophets-4c.html
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