READING HOSEA, PART VI

Above:  Doves (Hosea 7:11)

Image in the Public Domain

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Hosea 6:7-8:14

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Understanding this reading in textual context requires backing up to at least Hosea 6:4.  For a refresher, I refer you, O reader, to the previous post in this series.

Hosea 6:7-8:14 contains some references from a later period, after the Fall of Samaria in 722 B.C.E.  These references to Judah (6:11, 8:14) relate to the text to the (southern) Kingdom of Judah when it was declining.

According to this and other prophetic texts, alliances with powerful and dubious neighbors constituted infidelity to and treason against God.  The references to the Egyptians were odd, given that the (northern) Kingdom of Israel entered into alliances with Aram and Assyria.  At the time of Hosea 1:1, the main regional conflict was Aram versus Assyria.  However, Judah did become a vassal of Egypt (2 Kings 23:31f).

That matter aside, divine chastisement, designed to bring about repentance, had not done so.  Therefore, the time for punishment had arrived.

Hosea 7:3-7 makes sense if one considers royal succession in the (northern) Kingdom of Israel during the final quarter-century of the that realm:

1. Jeroboam II (r. 788-747 B.C.E.) had died.  (See 2 Kings 14:23-29.)
2. Zechariah (r. 747 B.C.E.), his son, succeeded him.  Zechariah reigned for about six months.  (See 2 Kings 15:8-12.)
3. Shallum (r. 747 B.C.E.) overthrew Zechariah then reigned for about a month.  (See 2 Kings 15:13-16.)
4. Menahem (r. 747-737 B.C.E.) overthrew Shallum.  (See 2 Kings 15:17-22.)
5. Pekahiah (r. 737-735 B.C.E.), his son, succeeded him.  (See 2 Kings 15:23-26.)
6. Pekah (r. 735-732 B.C.E.) overthrew Pekahiah.  (See 2 Kings 15:27-31.)
7. Hoshea (r. 732-722 B.C.E.) overthrew Pekah and became the last King of Israel.  (See 2 Kings 17:1f.)

Two dynasties and four kings of Israel fell in twenty-five years.  Six Kings of Israel came and went.  Two kings without dynasties fell.  The (northern) Kingdom of Israel did not endure.

They sow wind,

And they shall reap the whirlwind–

Standing stalks devoid of ears

And yielding no flour.

If they did yield any,

Strangers shall devour it.

–Hosea 8:7, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

Assyrians did devour it.

The two calves of Samaria, at Bethel and Dan (1 Kings 12:26-33), dated to the reign (928-907 B.C.E.) of Jeroboam I.  (See 1 Kings 11:26-14:20.)  King Jeroboam I, for political reasons, did not want any of his subjects making pilgrimages to the Temple in Jerusalem, the capital of the (southern) Kingdom of Judah.  The two calves, therefore, were substitutes for the Temple in Jerusalem.

I reject your calf, Samaria!

I am furious with them!

Will they ever be capable of purity?

For it was Israel’s doing;

It was only made by a joiner,

It is not a god.

No, the calf of Samaria shall be

Reduced to splinters!

–Hosea 8:5-6, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

Hosea 8:1-14 may, in its final form, be the product of Judean editing of an extant text.  One feasible interpretation of 8:3-6 is that all the kings of the (northern) Kingdom of Israel (from Jeroboam I to Hoshea) were as illegitimate as the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.  One who has read of the northern monarchs may recognize the pattern of dynasties rising and falling.  I hold open the possibility that the original version of the Book of Hosea included at least some of this material.  The final version of 8:14, bearing the stamp of Judean editing, updated for a new (now ancient) context, provided no comfort.

Israel has ignored his Maker

And built temples

(And Judah has fortified many cities).

So I will set fire to his cities,

And it shall consume their fortresses.

—TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

It happened twice, in 722 and 586 B.C.E.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 17, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THOMAS BRADBURY CHANDLER, ANGLICAN PRIEST; HIS SON-IN-LAW, JOHN HENRY HOBART, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF NEW YORK; AND HIS GRANDSON, WILLIAM HOBART HARE, APOSTLE TO THE SIOUX AND EPISCOPAL MISSIONARY BISHOP OF NIOBRARA THEN SOUTH DAKOTA

THE FEAST OF SAINT CATERINA VOLPICELLI, FOUNDRESS OF THE SERVANTS OF THE SACRED HEART; SAINT LUDOVICO DA CASORIA, FOUNDER OF THE GRAY FRIARS OF CHARITY AND COFOUNDER OF THE GRAY SISTERS OF SAINT ELIZABETH; AND SAINT GIULIA SALZANO, FOUNDRESS OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE CATECHETICAL SISTERS OF THE SACRED HEART

THE FEAST OF CHARLES HAMILTON HOUSTON AND THURGOOD MARSHALL, ATTORNEYS AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

THE FEAST OF DONALD COGGAN, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

THE FEAST OF SAINT IVAN ZIATYK, POLISH UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1952

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READING HOSEA, PART IV

Above:  Cattle (Hosea 4:16)

Image in the Public Domain

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Hosea 4:1-5:7

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The heading for Hosea 4:1-9:17 in The Oxford Study Bible, Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha (1992) is,

God’s case against Israel.

This is a legal case, given the language of accusation and reproof, which carries the connotation of hauling someone into court.  This language carries over from Hosea 2:2/2:4 (depending on versification),:

“To court, take your mother to court!….”

—The Revised New Jerusalem Bible (2019)

Then we got theological whiplash by changing the tone in Chapter 3 and switching back to judgment in Chapter 4.

Chapter 4 begins:

Hear the word of the LORD,

O people of Israel!

For the LORD has a case

Against the inhabitants of this land,

Because there is no honesty and no goodness

And no obedience to God in the land.

–Hosea 4:1-2, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)

As I survey translations, I notice a variety of word choices in lieu of honesty, goodness, and obedience to God.

1. The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011) offers, in order, fidelity, loyalty, and knowledge of God.
2. The Revised English Bible (1989) offers, in order, good faith, loyalty, and acknowledgment of God.
3. The New Revised Standard Version (1989) offers, in order, faithfulness, loyalty, and knowledge of God.
4. Robert Alter’s The Hebrew Bible (2019) offers, in order, truth, trust, and knowledge of the LORD.

I will unpack the three terms, in order.

1. Truth/faithfulness/good faith/honesty refers to the trustworthiness expected of a judge, as in Exodus 18:21.
2. Trust/loyalty/goodness refers to fidelity in human relationships, as in 1 Samuel 20:15.
3. Knowledge of God/obedience to God/acknowledgment of God refers to marital intimacy.  The metaphors of marriage, sexual fidelity, and divorce are prominent in the Book of Hosea.

In other words, the covenantal relationship between God and Isaiah was broken.  Israel had broken it.

The priesthood was corrupt, too.  Some priests were devout and honest, of course, but corruption was rife.

Exegetes whose writings I have consulted disagree with each other about the alien or bastard children in 5:7.

1. These offspring may be alien because of Israelite intermarriage with foreigners.
2. But, O reader, do not forget the pervasive metaphors of marriage and divorce in the Book of Hosea.  We read that God has “cast off” Israel for sustained, collective infidelity to the divine covenant.
3. The most likely explanation is that both answers apply.

The heart of 4:1-5:7 may reside in 5:4a:

Their habits do not let them

Turn back to their God;….

—TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

Alternative translations of the Hebrew word translated as “habits” include:

1. Deeds (The New Revised Standard Version, 1989),
2. Misdeeds (The Revised English Bible, 1989), and
3. Acts (Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, 2019).

Each of these translations has something to recommend it.  Yet I prefer “habits.”

Habitual behavior of the population had broken the covenant.

Human beings are creatures of habits.  May we, therefore, learn and nurture good habits, both individually and collectively.

I write this post at a particular moment, therefore certain issues occupy my mind.  The COVID-19 pandemic continues to claim lives needlessly around the world.  Whether to get vaccinated with a proven vaccine is, in the minds of many people with the option to get vaccinated, a politically partisan issue.  Public health policy, which should be just a matter of following science and saving lives, has become a matter of cynical politics for certain elected officials.  Varieties of hatred, often wrapped in Christian rhetoric, are on the rise.  Authoritarianism and objectively-inaccurate conspiracy theories are increasingly popular with most of those who identify with one of the two major political parties in the United States of America.  And speaking the objective truth about reality, as some members of that party do, is risky, if one hops to retain one’s leadership position within that party.

Bad habits separate individuals from each other.  Bad habits separate individuals, cultures, and societies from God.  Bad habits harm the whole.  Whatever I do, for example, affects others.  This is a statement of mutuality.  We all stand before God, completely dependent on grace.  In that context, each person is responsible to and for all other people.

Society is people.  Society shapes its members.  Those members also influence society.  When enough people change their minds, societal consensus shifts.

Their habits do not let them

Turn back to their God;….

This need not apply to any group, although it does.  Members of any such group can change their habits, therefore, their fates.  They can.  Will they?  Will we?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 15, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS JUNIA AND ANDRONICUS, COWORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE

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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33

Above:  King Ahab of Israel

Image in the Public Domain

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PART LXX

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1 Kings 16:21-34

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For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind….

–Hosea 8:7a, The Holy Scriptures (1917)

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King Omri of Israel (Reigned 882-871 B.C.E.)

King Ahab of Israel (Reigned 873-852 B.C.E.)

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These verses bring us to the cusp of the stories of Elijah and Elisha, set against the backdrop of the House of Omri.

The account of the 12-year reign of King Omri is succinct and negative.  The author seems not to have had much interest in this monarch, rated as being worse than the five preceding Kings of Israel.  On a historical note, if anyone finds the lost Annals of the Kings of Israel, that person will recover a priceless historical resource.

King Ahab, son of King Omri, was worse than his father, according to 1 Kings 16:30.

The text unpacks that generalization somewhat.  It mentions idolatry and name drops Queen Jezebel.  Subsequent chapters (17-22) reveal more about King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.

On a related issue, Psalm 45 may refer to the marriage of Jezebel to King Ahab.  If it does, the text drips with irony.  For example, the line,

he is your master,

rings hollow, given how much King Ahab did Queen Jezebel’s bidding.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 25, 2020 COMMON ERA

PROPER 25:  THE TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF PHILIPP NICOLAI, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT PROCLUS, ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE; AND SAINT RUSTICUS, BISHOP OF NARBONNE

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Above:  Christ and His Apostles, 1890

Image in the Public Domain

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The Collect:

O God, you are the source of life and the ground of our being.

By the power of your Spirit bring healing to this wounded world,

and raise us to the new life of your Son, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 38

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The Assigned Readings:

Leviticus 15:25-31; 22:1-19 (Monday)

Hosea 8:11-14; 10:1-2 (Tuesday)

Hosea 14:1-9 (Wednesday)

Psalm 40:1-8 (All Days)

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:2 (Monday)

Hebrews 13:1-16 (Tuesday)

Matthew 12:1-8 (Wednesday)

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Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

who does not turn to the proud that follow a lie.

–Psalm 40:4, Common Worship (2000)

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Turning is of the essence.

The Kingdom of Israel was prosperous and militarily strong under King Jeroboam II. Yet all was far from well. Idolatry and economic exploitation were commonplace and the alliance with Assyria was dangerous. God, through the prophet Hosea, called the populaton to repent—to change their minds, to turn around. They did not do this, of course, and fearful consequences came to pass. Yet there was also the assurance of forgiveness.

Other assigned radings also concern unwise associations and those perceived to be thus. The lesson from Leviticus 15 demonstrates the antipathy of the Law of Moses toward female biology—in the context of ritual impurity. There were many causes of ritual impurity in that law code. Touching a corpse, coming into contact with a bodily emissions, et cetera, rendered one impure and therefore unfit to fulfill various holy functions. Not doing certain acts just so also resulted in ritual impurity, something contagious. As Jewish Bible scholar Richard Elliott Friedman wrote regarding Leviticus 15:23:

…This tells us something about the nature of impurity. It spreads throughout a person or object. And it is not any kind of creature, like bacteria. It is a pervasive condition.

—Commentary on the Torah (2001), page 365

The fear of bad influences present in Hosea and Leviticus exists also in the New Testament readings. Indeed, we ought to care deeply about the nature of our peer groups and our intimate partners, for they do influence us. But we should never forget that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, scandalized respectable people by associationg with marginalized and disreputable people. The sick need a doctor, he said. If we who call ourselves Christians mean what our label indicates, how many respectable people will we offend and scandalize?

We ought also to avoid using piety (such as keeping the Sabbath in Matthew 12:1-8) as an excuse for missing the point. Human needs mater. Sometimes they prove incompatible with a form of piety which only those of a certain socio-economic status can afford to keep. And we should never use piety as an excuse not to commit a good deed, as one character in the Parable of the Good Samaritan did. If the man lying by the side of the raod had been dead, the priest would have become ritually impure by touching him. Then the cleric would have been unfit to conduct certain rites. Human needs matter more, or at least they should.

May we repent of using any excuse for not doing the right thing. May our active love for each other spread like a contagion—a good one.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 14, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF FRANCIS MAKEMIE, FATHER OF U.S. PRESBYTERIANISM

THE FEAST OF EDWARD HENRY BICKERSTETH, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF EXETER

THE FEAST OF JOHN ROBERTS/IEUAN GWYLLT, FOUNDER OF WELSH SINGING FESTIVALS

THE FEAST OF NGAKUKU, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY

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Adapted from This Post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2014/05/14/devotion-for-monday-tuesday-and-wednesday-after-proper-5-year-a-elca-daily-lectionary/

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Christ Pantocrator

A Moral Form of Divestiture

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Hosea 8:3-14 (TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures):

Israel rejects what is good;

An enemy shall pursue him.

They have made kings,

But not with My sanction;

They have made officers,

But not of My choice.

Of their silver and gold

They have made themselves images,

To their own undoing.

He rejects your calf, Samaria!

I am furious with them!

Will they never be capable of purity?

For it was Israel’s doing;

It was only made by a joiner,

It was not a god.

No, the calf of Samaria shall be

Reduced to splinters!

They sow wind,

And they shall reap the whirlwind–

Standing stalks devoid of ears

And yielding no flour.

If they do yield any,

Strangers shall devour it.

Israel is bewildered;

They have now become among the nations

Like an unwanted vessel,

[like] a lonely wild ass.

For they have gone up to Assyria,

Ephraim has courted friendship.

And while they are courting among the nations,

There I will hold them fast;

And they shall begin to diminish in number

From the burden of king [and] officers.

For Ephraim has multiplied altars–for guilt;

His altars have redounded to his guilt:

The many teachings I wrote for him

Have been treated as something alien.

When they present sacrifices to Me,

It is but flesh for them to eat:

The LORD has not accepted them.

Behold, He remembers their iniquity,

He will punish their sins:

Back to Egypt with them!

Israel has ignored his Maker

And built temples

(And Judah has fortified many cities).

So I will set fire to his cities,

And it shall consume their fortresses.

Psalm 115:1-10 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1  Not to us, O LORD, not to us,

but to your Name give glory;

because of your love and because of your faithfulness.

2  Why should the heathen say,

“Where then is their God?”

3  Our God is in heaven;

whatever he wills to do he does.

4  Their idols are silver and gold,

the work of human hands.

5  They have mouths, but they cannot speak;

eyes have they, but they cannot see;

6  They have ears, but they cannot hear;

noses, but they cannot smell;

7  They have hands, but they cannot feel;

feet, but they cannot walk;

they make no sound with their throat.

8  Those who make them are like them,

and so are all who put their trust in them.

9  O Israel, trust in the LORD;

he is their help and their shield.

10  O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD;

he is their help and their shield.

Matthew 9:32-38 (An American Translation):

But just as they were going out, some people brought to him a dumb man who was possessed by a demon, and as soon as the demon was driven out, the dumb man was able to speak.  And the crowds were amazed, and said,

Nothing like this was ever seen in Israel!

But the Pharisees said,

It is by the prince of demons that he drives them out.

Jesus went round among all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.

But the sight of the crowds of people filled him with pity for them, because they were bewildered and dejected, like sheep that have no shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples,

The harvest is abundant enough, but the reapers are few.  So pray to the owner of the harvest to send reapers to gather it.

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The Collect:

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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A Related Post:

Be Thou My Vision:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/be-thou-my-vision/

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This is an unhappy reading from Hosea.  Corruption, dishonesty, idolatry, and murder were commonplace in the northern Kingdom of Israel.  Official corruption was especially ubiquitous.  King Jeroboam II, who made alliances with dangerous foreign nations and therefore weakened the nation, was not a legitimate king, according to Hosea.  The House of David continued to rule in the south, but Israel had a series of dynasties, most of them established by means of palace coups.

The Book of Hosea moves back and forth between judgment and mercy.  The YHWH of Hosea is a passionate deity seeking the love of a faithless people whose ancestors he had rescued from slavery and led to freedom.

We read in Matthew 9:32-38 of the faithlessness of certain Pharisees, members of just one sect of First Century Palestinian Judaism.  Yet Jesus, the rejected one, helped, cured, and healed many people, on whom he had pity.  Why was Jesus the rejected one?  Would not nearly anyone in the region want to follow such a great man?  The answer, I think, is that simple goodness threatens many people with certain vested interests.  Most people might say that “Love your neighbor as you love yourself” is an excellent ethic, yet how many of them might condemn someone who obeys this great commandment in a politically unpopular way?

We need to divest ourselves or all which causes us to hate or otherwise fear or despise those who are different from us and whose existence prompts us to nurture the dark side of our nature.  God loves all of us–the exploiters and the exploited, the murderers and the murdered, the cheaters and the cheated, the corrupt and the honest.  Where there is love there do not cease to exist the consequences of our actions, which flow from attitudes.

May we value people more than power, status, honor, and wealth.  May we love God more than these things, which can become idols if we treat them as such.  Power, status, honor (which is socially defined), and wealth are transitory, but God is forever.  And people die in time, but human relationships are much more valuable than anything material.

This lesson is timeless, but successive generations of human beings have contained many people who have not acted consistently in accordance with it.  So, unfortunately, we need reminders.

It is no wonder that we read of God’s anger in books such as Hosea.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF CHARLES ELLIOT FOX, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY

THE FEAST OF MADELEINE L’ENGLE, NOVELIST

THE FEAST OF PETER CLAVER, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

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Published originally at ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

Adapted from this post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/week-of-proper-9-tuesday-year-2/

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