Scripture Text (NRSV)
Hosea 11:1-11
11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I
called my son.
11:2 The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept
sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols.
11:3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my
arms; but they did not know that I healed them.
11:4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I
was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down
to them and fed them.
11:5 They shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be
their king, because they have refused to return to me.
11:6 The sword rages in their cities, it consumes their
oracle-priests, and devours because of their schemes.
11:7 My people are bent on turning away from me. To the Most High
they call, but he does not raise them up at all.
11:8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O
Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like
Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and
tender.
11:9 I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy
Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I
will not come in wrath.
11:10 They shall go after the LORD, who roars like a lion; when he
roars, his children shall come trembling from the west.
11:11 They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and
like doves from the land of Assyria; and I will return them to their
homes, says the LORD.
Comments:
The prophet compares God's love of Israel to the love parents have for
their children. Whether teaching toddlers to walk or supporting them
in the midst of rebellion, good parents continue to love their
children as they try to lead them to life. In the same way, God's love
will not let Israel go.
Does anybody else have the OT lesson from Ecclesiastis? I know there
is another translation for the word vanity, but I can't remember what
it is. Anyone know?
PBG in IL
PGB in IL I copied this from my Quickverse GreekHebrew translation: "hebel,
heh'-bel; or (rarely in the abs.) habel, hab-ale'; from H1891;
emptiness or vanity; fig. something transitory and unsatisfactory;
often used as an adv.:-- X altogether, vain, vanity." Would "The Text
This Week" have some references? Anyway, I hope this helps some.
Shalom
bammamma
bammamma--
That helps a lot. Thank you.
PBG in IL
Vanity
Hebrew 'hebel' means "vapor," "breath," hence something insubstantial
and ephemeral--a vain, futile thing. The repetition "vanity of
vanities" is of course the normal Hebrew idiom for the superlative (as
in "Song of Songs"). When Ecclesiastes pronounces the verdict of
vanity on life, nothing is excluded. Life, in its totality, is utterly
futile. This desperate judgment runs through the work, and it is not
to be muted: ALL is vanity. His experiment with pleasure yields
nothing (2.1-11). His toil and the fruits thereof (2.18-23; 3.9;
6.7-9) give no enduring satisfaction. Riches also turn out to be a
failure (5.9-16; 6.1-6). Even wisdom, which he resolutely aspire to
but failed to attain (7.23-24), is not satisfying ("Why then should I
be wise?" 2.15).
His verdicts are clear and forthright, but his reasons are varied and
often quite circumstantial in ways that may not seem convincing to the
reader. For example, he "hates" the fruits of his labor because he has
to leave them to another who has not toiled for them (2.19-21, and his
successor might turn out to be a fool!). There is no feeling here for
family identity or the community--feeling that is so typical of
traditional Israelite thought. No matter the strength of his argument,
his conclusions are firm. He can always have recourse to the fact of
death ("How is it that the wise man dies as well as the fool?" 2.16),
which casts a shadow over all his thoughts (3.19-20; 4.3; 9.3-6,
10-12; 8.8; 11.8-12.7).
Ecclesiastes' judgment is also expressed in ways other than the
repetition of "vanity." He questions after the "profit" in such a way
as to make it clear that there is none (1.3; cf. 2.11; 3.9; 5.15).
Another ominous term is "lot" (miqreh, literally, "happening"), which
befalls all living things (2.15; 3.19; 9.2); this is equated with
death. But there is also what has been called the "falling time" when
"time and a blow" ("time of calamity," 9.11) "happen" to living
beings; it is the "evil time" (9.12). Elsewhere he conveys the
futility of events by asserting human ignorance as fact or as a
rhetorical question ("Who knows?") 3.21; 6.12).
For Ecclesiastes, then, the human situation is utterly bleak; it is no
wonder that he can say that he "hated" life (2.17). It is possible to
quarrel with his verdict and to claim that humans are not "helpless."
But such relativization goes beyond Ecclesiastes' thought, and it has
to be argued from perspectives he does not envision.
Doesn't look like many are even looking at Hosea this week. I'm
following up with it after preaching the Hosea lection last week and
tying it to the idea that God chooses whom God chooses & we don't get
to "help" him with the selection process. This week I'm focusing on
the cords/bands of love that bind us to God even when we reject that
love for ourselves.
Robbie in KS
I actually had been drawn in first by Hosea this week, too, and was
surprised to see so little activity. It's kind of late to finally be
deciding whether to go with this or the gospel, but I think this is
the one. I am so moved by the level of heartbreak that God endures in
order to love us, and the enormity of God's power and autonomy that
God chooses to translate into grace for us. I didn't preach Hosea last
week so will bring in that imagery as well as the parent-child.
Any other thoughts on this text?
Laura in TX
This Sunday will be my first Sunday in my new position and I've
decided to preach on Hosea. I just love the language of God's love in
this book.
Not knowing this parish yet makes it difficult to preach, but I think
I am going to use the metaphor and image of a labirynth -- to
symbolize our biblical-historical journey, our journey as Christians
in this time and place, and also to tell a little about myself and my
journey.
I hope to tie into the metaphor of walking the labirynth how sometimes
we drift father away from the center, sometimes we are drawn closer,
but we are always moving forward, even when we seem to be moving away
and that in the end, there is nothing we can do, nowhere we can go
that will put us outside of God's loving embrace.
Any thoughts and wisdom about "saying hello" sermons would be
appreciated!
-- CSB+ in NY
It seems like this song is the song of the Israelites -- "I Still
Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." by U2
Israel seems to be search for God in all the wrong places --
worshipping idols, etc. Isn't amazing how sometimes the very things we
look to to make us whole end up separating us from God?
I have climbed the highest mountains I have run through the fields
Only to be with you Only to be with you.
I have run, I have crawled I have scaled these city walls These city
walls Only to be with you.
But I still haven't found What I'm looking for. But I still haven't
found What I'm looking for.
I have kissed honey lips Felt the healing in her finger tips It burned
like fire (I was) burning inside her.
I have spoke with the tongue of angels I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night I was cold as a stone.
But I still haven't found What I'm looking for. But I still haven't
found What I'm looking for.
I believe in the Kingdom Come Then all the colours will bleed into one
Bleed into one. But yes, I'm still running.
You broke the bonds And you loosed the chains Carried the cross of my
shame Oh my shame, you know I believe it.
But I still haven't found What I'm looking for. But I still haven't
found What I'm looking for.
CSB+ in MY
I have always been struck by the depth of emotion God displays in this
passage. The 'hesed' relationship, the 'covenant love' or, as it's
often translated into English, 'steadfast love,' is ever-present in
the OT. Israel (or we?) might take this promise to love and be
faithful for granted - might not put much stock in it. But this
emotioal outburst rocks us! It's not that God has to love us, HAS to
be faithful - God really cares about us, very deeply loves us. It's
like a couple, married for years (to use another relationship analogy
besides the text's parent-child one), whose relationship seems just
kinda' tired, worn-out. They're used to each other; they stay
together, it seems, just because they promised to and have nowhere
else to go. Until the day of crisis comes along - an illness, a death
in the family, a personal upheaval - and suddenly, they discover a
powerful connection, an emotional involvement that takes everyone,
even the couple, by surprise. That's what this sounds like. God is
doing God's best to be angry at Israel, angry enough to finally cut
the 'prodigal' loose. But then comes an outburst that seems to even
surprise the Almighty! I think this text is one of the most powerful
expressions of God's love in the Bible. How can any preacher not even
be tempted to use this text! Ken in WV
It has been a while since I've visited... and you've probably talked
about this already... but... I'm okay with anonymous contributions,
but it would be helpful to know which anonymous entries are by the
same person. Maybe they could be signed "Anon 1", "Anon 2", etc...
Amma in FL
CSB+ in MY,
Thanks for the U-2 lyrics. They fit very well with the direction my
sermon is taking. I'm using them as the intro.
Robbie in KS
