Ephraim – The Noontimes

Hosea 5: Consequences

Hosea 5: Consequences

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

A Favorite from November 8, 2009.

“Hosea was one of the first prophets whose message was put into writing. Nevertheless Hosea’s message, like those of Israel’s other ‘writing prophets,’ cannot be understood in isolation from the law and the books of Joshua and Judges, books to which Hosea often alluded”. Zondervan 1428)

Addressing the priests and leaders directly in this chapter, Hosea speaks to the forces which shaped who and what Israel was, and how and why she acted. Hosea calls us today to look at not only the root causes of our actions but the consequences as well. Our own consequences as well as those for others.

A snare, a net, a trap set for the innocent. Arrogance in believing that the voice of God does not arrive through the innocent. Harlotry in maintaining a personal comfort level at the expense of the disadvantaged. Unfaithfulness to the Lord. Giving birth to illegitimate children and causes.

Using the name of the tribe of Ephraim as an equivalent for the whole of Israel, Hosea warns the people that when they turn for help to the leader they have chosen in place of God, he is not able to cure you, not able to heal your sores. This warning from Hosea is stark and even frightening: It is I who rend the prey and depart, I carry it away and no one can save it from me. I will go back to my place until they pay for their guilt and seek my presence. Hosea is clear: If we choose to look out for own skins at the expense of those placed in our care, we will not again be wholly in God’s presence until we repent in a full and sincere conversion. We can easily measure this conversion by the softness of our hearts, by our willingness to risk self in order to save others.

Looking at these Old Testament images and oracles we can fast forward to today. We can examine our own lives for the times when we have collaborated with evil, when we have kept silence when lies are told, when we have been sycophants to present leaders rather than Disciples of Christ.

It will be the Lion of Judah – the Messiah – who will roar out of the south to gather in the lost sheep. It will be this savior who will seek out those disadvantaged who were trampled and left for dead by those who looked after their own ease. It is Christ today who attends to those whom we ought to have sheltered and aided. It is Christ today to whom each of us must give a full accounting of who and what we are. And it is Christ who will help us to see that the consequences we receive are those that we ourselves have chosen.

Image from: http://www.shoutsofjoyministries.com/vision-lion-judah/

ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE (NIV). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005. 1428. Print.

November 14, 2023

arrogance, Ephraim, harlotry, Lion of Judah, Messiah, Messian, unfaithfulness

Jeremiah 31: Slaughter

Sunday, August 29, 2021

*Francois-Joseph Navez: The Massacre of the Innocents*

Jeremiah 31

Slaughter

In these tragic but beautiful verses Jeremiah laments the slaughter of innocents. Footnotes will tell us that “Ramah is a village about five miles north of Jerusalem, where Rachel was buried (1Sm 10, 2). Rachel: said to mourn for her children since she was the ancestress of Ephraim, the chief of the northern tribes. Mt 2, 18 applies this verse to the slaughter of the innocents by Herod”. (Senior cf. 988)

We know that Rachel refuses to be consoled because her children are no more. And we also know that the Lord replies: cease your cries of mourning, wipe the tears from your eyes. The sorrow you have sown will be its reward . . . they shall return from the enemy’s land. There is hope for your future.

In later verses Ephraim replies: I have come to myself, I strike my breast; I blush with shame, I bear the disgrace of my youth.

As we have observed in our Noontime reflections, not all suffering is a result of our actions, and it is a fact that much of the world’s pain is endured by innocents who have committed no wrong and have nothing to repent. Yet still slaughter and mayhem walk among us and we struggle to pray for those schemers who plot chaos. We rally ourselves to stand in solidarity with the faithful who witness to injustice. We keep vigil, we begin campaigns to change corruption, we witness, watch and wait, we petition God, we pray, we form support groups and action pacts, and and we hope for better outcomes.

Despite the fact that we believe there may be a genetic cause for much of the violence in society, science is a long way from understanding the intricate dance the human mind must perform in order to avoid admitting to the sociopathy of evil. In an interview with the author of Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight, M.E. Thomas tells Baltimore columnist and former talk show host Dan Rodricks about the frightening territory of those who observe or commit harm without remorse. The podcast is worth our listening time if we struggle with someone close to us who has little or no empathy for others.

Today Jeremiah tells us that slaughter will take place, and that mourning and wailing will have little effect on those among us who lack an emotional response to others. But he also tells us that amid the tears and pain there is always hope offered by the Living God who accompanies us in our exile. There is always mercy for those who suffer as there also is for those who cause turmoil and violence. There is always the possibility to turn and return to God despite of, and even in the face of, a great slaughter.

Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.cf. 988.Print.

For more on the anger gene, visit: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/code-rage-the-warrior-gene-makes-me-mad-whether-i-have-it-or-not/

To hear Dan Rodrick’s Midday podcast with M.E. Thomas, the author of Confessions of a Sociopath, go to: http://wypr.org/post/confessions-sociopath

For another reflection on these verses, click on the image above or go to: http://signoftherose.org/2014/04/15/jeremiah-31-out-of-the-nightmare-a-dream-for-a-new-future/

August 29, 2021

1 Samuel 10:2, anger gene, Ephraim, hope, sociopaths, violence

Hosea 9: Exile Without Worship

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Hosea 9: Exile Without Worship

Chapter 9 of Hosea is a picture of the Jewish people and in particular Ephraim, the largest tribe in Israel and one of the first to be taken into exile where they cannot offer sacrifices. Over a period of several hundred years, Ephraim is divided and carted off north to Babylon and south to Egypt. Hosea sees the corruption and nepotism in the structure and so he calls for reform and as a priest himself, he sees the importance of honest and sincere worship and he understands how the absence of worship will impact the people when they are carried into exile. Yet, Hosea also knows the promise of God’s enduring love and that although the people will stray God will not. Hosea enacts this belief through his enduring love for Gomer, and he persists in worshiping his God . . . even in exile.

If we continue our Lenten journey with Hosea we will rise from the despair to encounter beautiful words of covenant and union. And so, like Hosea we remain in faith.

If we linger over the imagery of marriage as the model of God’s relationship with each of us we will discover the courage and joy of hope. And so, like Hosea we arise in hope.

If we plod along our own Jerusalem Road to follow the words of Hosea we will find secure refuge in our own relationship with God. And so, like Hosea we abide in love.

Through the allegory of his marriage to Gomer, Hosea lightens our load so that we find the strength to respond to this call to a special, intense, fruitful and honest bond. Just as Hosea persists in calling out to Gomer he also persists in reminding us of this message no matter how much and how often we ignore him. And so Hosea speaks to us today.

We have separated ourselves from God and from one another in big and little ways. Hosea says that God waits with open arms. All we need do is repent and turn to God . . . and offer up our open and honest worship.

For more information about the man Ephraim, go to: http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/p131.htm

Image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephraim

First written on March 26, 2007. Re-written and posted yesterday and today as a Favorite.

March 4, 2020

courage, endurance, Ephraim, Gomer, love, persistence

Tag: Ephraim

Hosea 5: Consequences

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Jeremiah 31: Slaughter

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Hosea 9: Exile Without Worship

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