Reading from Wednesday, December 8

Ow ow.

Reading for December 8
Hosea 10:1-14:9
This is the final reading for the book of Hosea.

Like the majority of the books in the Bible, there is an obvious contrast between the goodness of God and the wickedness of his people. Between his frightening punishment and his surprising mercy. These last four chapters are the epitome of this distinction. There is a ton of imagery around God's punishment, recounting Israel's history - asking for a King, wishing to return to Egypt after their exile, worshiping foreign gods and so on. But, because God is merciful and loving, he also puts just as much emphasis on his plan for forgiveness.

 ¹⁴ “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;
   I will redeem them from death.
Where, O death, are your plagues?
   Where, O grave, is your destruction?

What's most interesting about this verse is the context. It is after a section where God is talking about his retribution on his people for wanting a king and it's placed before a section which opens with the words "I will have no compassion." If anything, this emphasizes the duality of God which I've spoken about since I've started this project. It's almost as if God has multiple personalities. He goes from turbo rage to shocking kindness and mercy.

The book closes with another verse of hope

 ⁴ “I will heal their waywardness
   and love them freely,
   for my anger has turned away from them.
⁵ I will be like the dew to Israel;
   he will blossom like a lily.

What I love about verse 5 is that he used the word "dew" to describe God's love for Israel - when only a few chapters ago, he used dew to describe Israel's love for God, but in the negative sense. In this case the dew is seen as nourishing and helpful for his people. Just another instance of God using the bad for good.

Jude 1:1-25
Another one chapter book. This is the second to last book of the Bible - after this - its Revelation, baby. Oh yeah.

This book is intense. Maybe 7 or 8 years ago I attended a church called Jesus Fellowship out in Keansburg and they had a Bible Study where they studied one verse a week from Jude. Now I see why. This stuff is incredibly deep and confusing. It covers a large chunk of Israeli history as well as a ton of future prophecies. I could probably spend a whole week going over this book, but I'll just cover the high points.

⁵ Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord^[c] at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

It's strange that this author focused on God's wrath rather than his grace - especially after 1, 2 and 3 John which focused so much on God's more palatable qualities.  Even the story of the Israelites' exile from Egypt - instead of focusing on the fact that the Israelis went back and forth - in and out of God's favor, the author of Jude reminds us only of God's wrath on those who didn't believe in him after their miraculous exile.

Then we have verse 6 which is terrifyingly strange. Is this related to the idea that Lucifer was once an angel and tried to become too powerful and God sent him to hell? Either way, scary stuff.

But even this book, filled with God's wrath, closes with a message of mercy and hope.

²² Be merciful to those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

I think the common reaction to this type of "rah rah - sniff out the sinners" type of message is to run out and accuse people and become all holier than thou, but this book gives an idea as to how you should interact with the "sinners" described here. To be merciful to them, and to love them.

So even a book which was so focused on the awfulness of the world and God's plan to eradicate it, is punctuated with a message of love, mercy and hope. These three things seem to be inescapable in the Bible.


Psalm 127:1-5
Is this true, placebo-true, or completely false?

² In vain you rise early
   and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
   for he grants sleep to^[a] those he loves.

Much of the "wisdom" in Psalm has been shown to be false - even within the Bible itself. Specifically, the books of Ecclesiastes and Job stand in stark contrast to the cheery, saccharine-laden praise and worship from Psalm. 

Proverbs 29:15-17

 ¹⁵ A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom,
   but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.
 ¹⁶ When the wicked thrive, so does sin,
   but the righteous will see their downfall.
 ¹⁷ Discipline your children, and they will give you peace;
   they will bring you the delights you desire.