JUDAH JOINS ISRAEL IN THE TRIAL If Israel and its priests were corrupted because of rejecting the divine knowledge, Judah were diverted as well, despite all the privileges they had, being the royal tribe set in Jerusalem and worshipping in the temple of the Lord. Because they also diverted like Israel, God entered with them in an adversity, debated against them, admonished them, revealed to them their wounds, and chastised them. 1. God chastises with no partiality 1 – 5 2. God withdraws Himself from them 6 – 7 3. The declaration of a general state of chastisement 8 – 12 4. They did not return to God. 13– 15 1. GOD CHASTISES WITH NO PARTIALITY: God confirms His impartiality for one category at the expense of the other, or for one person at the expense of another. Everybody has fallen into iniquity when having sinned. God said, “I will punish them all” (Hosea 5: 2). He will punish the Israelis, because they started evil by setting for themselves a temple other than God’s temple in Jerusalem, and diverted to paganism. At the same time, He will punish Judah, despite all the privileges it has like being the royal tribe, having Jerusalem as its capital and the temple of God in it, because its people have sinned, even if later than Israel: “Israel’s arrogance cries out against him; Ephraim’s guilt is his undoing, and Judah no less is undone.” (Hosea 5: 5) If a trial was declared, against the priests in particular in the previous chapter, because the people of God were destroyed for lack of knowledge, although this is the main responsibility of the priests, yet the people themselves (the house of Israel) are not excused: “Hear this, you priests, and listen, all Israel” (Hosea 5: 1). In addition, He says to those of honor, “Let the royal house mark my words; sentence is passed on you” (Hosea 5: 1). He judges all; as He searches the hearts and minds, and nothing is hidden from Him; He says: “I have cared for Ephraim and I have not neglected Israel” (Hosea 5: 3). He started with Ephraim, meaning either all the kingdom of Israel, or Ephraim himself, who was the head of the rebels, because of whom the rest of the ten tribes got defiled. Therefore, he is worthy of punishment more than the others. What does God know about them? First: “Because you have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread out on Tabor” (Hosea 5: 1). Here, He probably addresses the leaderships, who were supposed to support the weak and keep them from falling. Instead of that, they became snares and nets set by the enemy to catch them to the account of evil. Instead of guiding them to repentance, they seduced them to fall and drew them with every possible way to idol-worship. Some believe that they used to place spies on the intersections of roads, and in particular on the two mountains ‘Mizpah’ and ‘Tabor’ during the days of feasts, in order to watch those who go to Jerusalem and inform about them to be trialed. It is not well known here, if ‘Mizpah’ is the one in ‘Gilead’ at ‘Tel-Remeth’ (Judges 11), where Jacob and Laban set a heap of stones as a testimony to the covenant made between them (Genesis 31: 49), the children of Israel assembled together to fight the Ammonites (Judge 10: 17), and ‘Jephthah’ encountered his daughter (Judges 11: 34). 52 The other possibility is that ‘Mizpah’ is the one in Benjamin, where Saul was chosen to be king (1 Samuel 10: 17-21), the one enforced by Asa, king of Judah (1 kings 15: 32), and where Gedaliah was killed (2 Kings 25: 23, 25). It is also said to be the village, from which Prophet Samuel comes. Anyway, Mizpah and Tabor, were at that time two centers of idol-worship, and became two symbols of the desolation that dwelt because of the pagan worship. Second: Their persistence on committing the sin with no repentance, as it comes from their depths, and because of their lack of knowledge of the Lord: “Their misdeeds have barred their way back to their God; for a wanton spirit is in them, and they care nothing for the Lord” (Hosea 5: 4). They are stubborn and insist ignorantly on adjuring from God. Third: Their haughtiness and the pride of their hearts made them despise the words of the Lord, uttered on the tongues of His prophets: “Israel’s arrogance cries out against them” (Hosea 5: 5). Indeed, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” (Proverbs 16: 18, 19) God proclaimed His hate towards pride: “The Lord God has sworn by Himself, The Lord God of hosts says: ‘I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up the city, and all that is in it’” (Amos 6: 8). Also: “Thus will I spoil the gross pride of Judah, the gross pride of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 13: 9, 10). 2. GOD WITHDRAWS HIMSELF FROM THEM: In their pride and ignorance, they thought that they could bring pleasure to God by the material offerings and the sacrifices, without actually changing their hearts. That is why He says: “They go with sacrifices of sheep and cattle to seek the Lord, but do not find him. He has withdrawn himself from them.” (Hosea 5: 6). They approach Him, but not with their hearts, hence, they do not find Him. He would not be present or be seen except by the heart: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5: 8). God withdrew himself from them, because they betrayed Him, and broke the covenant between Him and them. Instead of uniting with Him to give forth the fruits of the Spirit, that bring pleasure to the heart of God, they united with evil and have begotten foreign children; namely fruits that are foreign to God. “They have been unfaithful to Him, and their sons are bastards.” (Hosea 5: 7). He ends His talk by: “Now an invader shall devour their fields.” (Hosea 5: 7). He probably means, that they do no get fulfilled with the spiritual fruits, rejoice in the Lord or let the Lord rejoice in them, although they practice the rite of the feast. However, they would lose everything, even their possessions (their heritage or portion), or the defiled banquets that they set to celebrate the Baal, the thing that has become their portion, instead of God and His kingdom. This portion that they have chosen is mortal, which is why they will lose. 3. THE DECLARATION OF A GENERAL STATE OF CHASTISEMENT: Horns were usually used in case of wars. However, God demanded the ram’s horns to be blown in both Israel and Judah, as though He intended to proclaim to them what sin does to them. Sin shows them God as an enemy fighting against them instead of 53 a Loving God. Anyway, He demanded the horns to be blown in Gibeah as well as in Ramah, and asked them to cry out in Beth Aven (8) “Gibeah” means a “hill” and “Ramah” means a “height”. It is as though God demands the horns to be blown on very high places, where they think they are strong. He wants them to realize that they are in a state of war. By accepting the idol-worship, they have entered into animosity with God, who accordingly allowed them to be chastised by attacks of their enemies who also worship the Baal. Those enemies will rob and captivate them. They loved the Baal, his banquets, and his pleasures, so let them accept servitude to his worshippers. Gibeah, which is in Judah, is very close to Ramah, which is in Israel. It is as though desolation would dwell upon both kingdoms, as they both were corrupted. As to “Beth Aven” or “The house of vanity”, there is no need to blow horns, as it has completely gone down and has fallen hopelessly. Nothing is heard in it but the cries of defeat, after the enemy had taken it over. He consummates His talk by saying, “Look behind you, O Benjamin” (Hosea 5: 8), and according to some versions: “Get terrified, O Benjamin”. As the enemy has taken over the Mountain of Ephraim and came very near to the boundaries of Benjamin, there is no need to blow the horn in Benjamin, but it is enough to look at their back to get terrified and repent, returning to the Lord, lest what dwelt upon Ephraim would also dwell upon them. Then He goes on to say, “On the tribes of Israel I have proclaimed this unalterable doom… The rulers of Judah act like men who move their neighbor’s boundary; on them will I pour out my wrath like a flood” (Hosea 5: 9, 10). God has proclaimed what is sure in Israel; namely, the chastisement that would surely dwell upon them and not mere threats without action as they presumed. As to the rulers of Judah, God would pour on them His wrath like water, because they became like those who remove the landmarks. That is they remove the marks designating the kingdom of God from that of the Baal. They have lost the spirit of the discernment between the Egyptians (symbolic) and Israel (symbolic). There is nothing more grieving to God’s heart than seeing the spiritual leaders lose the spirit of discernment, which should be obtained by each believer within him. Removing the landmarks would also mean greed or taking by force, about which the commandment came to say: “You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess” (Deuteronomy 19: 14). No tribe may take over a part of another tribe’s land, but each tribe owns what God has given it. “Ephraim is an oppressor trampling on justice, doggedly pursuing what is worthless. But I am a festering sore to Ephraim, a canker to the house of Judah” (Hosea 5: 8, 9). Ephraim has fallen under oppression and was completely crushed that there is no breath of life in it anymore. He has also lost his strength, privileges and rights, because he willingly went after the commandment of ‘Jeroboam’ and the kings who followed him, who committed their people to vain worship of the Baal. That is why the word “the commandment” came as “the vanity” in the Septuagint version, which means that Ephraim chose to go after the vanity instead of after the commandment of God, which is the truth. That behavior made people lose the blessings of God in their life and, to them God would be like moth that devours the garment, and would expose their 54 nakedness and shame. To Judah, He would be like termites that rot the wooden pillars of the house, so it will collapse. Judah would become homeless. 4. THEY DID NOT RETURN TO GOD: Those chastisements revealed the sickness of Israel and the wounds of Judah. It was befitting for them to return to God by repentance, but Israel resorted to Assyria for support (Hosea 5: 13). Then, Assyria and its men showed up to be “miserable comforters” (Job 16: 2), “worthless physicians” (Job 13: 4) and they afflicted them instead of supporting them (2 Chronicles 28: 16, 18). Having not benefited from the chastisement, Israel entered under more cruel and bitter chastisement. God is no more like moth or rottenness to them, but is like a lion and a young lion. Despite all that, God hopes that they return to Him: “I will maul the prey and go, carry it off beyond hope of rescue – I, the Lord. I will go away and return to My place until in their horror they seek Me, and look earnestly for Me in their distress” (Hosea 5: 14, 15). What does He mean by saying: “I will go away and return to My place”? He probably means to clarify, that at the moments of chastisement or punishment of the wicked, He seems as though He got out of His place (Isaiah 26: 21), looking cruel, while returning again to His place means His longing to proclaim His love and compassion towards them. Finally, affliction makes the soul hasten to go early to God, which is why the apostle advises us: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.” (James 5: 13) As said by Father Kronstadt: “We mostly resort to God with all our hearts in the time of affliction, as no-one but God could save us from it. Nevertheless, in the time of abundance and prosperity, especially when we thirst for riches and glory; we lose the faith from our hearts, forget God, our Judge, the eternity of our souls, and forget our commitment to love God from all our hearts and to love our relatives like ourselves1”. 1 My Life in Christ, vol 1, P 21.
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