Amos 1-3

Amos 1

Amos 1 uses a construction of three/four that seems to try to convey something. Perhaps it is a signal that Amos is not the first to warn the hearers of the consequences of their actions. They were warned, they repeated their offenses a fourth time, and judgment would be executed. Perhaps if they had repented after three offenses and were warned less severely, they might have been saved. But now they will experience God’s justice, which will be fair but severe. We don’t know what the earlier warnings were, but since that is how God dealt with people through other prophets, that is how He works.

We will each individually face a final judgment from God. Nations are judged in this world, but the great white throne of judgment is reserved for determining our personal judgment for eternity - redeemed or receive justice.

Amos 1:1-2 Perhaps the earthquake was one of the warnings that God gave Israel and Jeroboam, to confirm Amos’ warnings. Or perhaps it was just a notable event in Israel’s history. Zion and Jerusalem were Jeroboam’s enemies. When the Lord roars, do we hear His voice and respond? Or is it perceived as the sound of an animal? It is believed to have happened in the 760-750 BC timeframe, and been approximately 8.0 magnitude. It was so notable that Zechariah mentioned it 250 years later.  (Zechariah 14:5)  

Amos 1:3-5 Damascus represents modern Syria geographically. With great power comes responsibility for how it is used. Only one  type of sin is identified, so it is a bit unclear whether this was the fourth sin, or if this sin was repeated four times. God judges the threshing of nations by destruction of both the political leaders and the people.  Hazael had an interesting but ambiguous history. The Lord told Elijah that Hazael would kill many of the followers of Baal, (1 Kings 19:15-17). When Hazael later brought an offering to Elisha, the Lord had Elisha prophesy that he would kill many, including women and children, as king of Aram (2 Kings 8:9-13), which was then recorded in the following chapters of 2 Kings. Hazael was God’s instrument, but his descendants and followers were judged for their barbaric cruelty. It is clear that even when God calls us to act as His instruments of judgment, we are responsible to Him for how our actions match what He commands, and not our own agendas.

Amos 1:6-8 Gaza represents the Philistines, and it is interesting that 3,000 years later we are in the same tension. Slavery is rare in the modern world, but mass kidnapping and murder continue. Chattel slavery was widespread until the 19th century, when it took William Wilberforce twenty years to persuade the British Empire to abolish it, and the American Civil War fifty-plus years later, to end it in the English-speaking world.  But Palestinian/Philistine hatred towards Israel persists, as does God’s judgment. It is not just bombing campaigns that destroy cities, but lifestyles that perpetuate grinding poverty. It does not appear that the last of the Philistines’ spiritual descendants have yet died.

Amos 1:9-10 In Solomon’s day, Hiram king of Tyre and Solomon had been on good terms, doing business and giving gifts to each other, and Tyre was involved in building Solomon’s temple. (1 Kings 5 & 9) Things went downhill after that. Their sale of Israelites to Edom as slaves parallels that of Aram’s. God’s judgment on Tyre was initially carried out by Nebuchadnezzar in 586-573 BC, when they surrendered but the city remained intact.  It was ultimately consummated by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. Everything on the island was completely destroyed and the people were killed and imprisoned.  

Amos 1:11-12 Amos lists four specific sins of Edom. Esau was Jacob’s brother, and his anger and jealousy over God’s choice and blessing of Jacob was carried by Esau’s descendants, the Edomites (Genesis 36), until Israel was destroyed. This lasted from approximately 1930 BC to 586 BC (Northern and Southern Kingdoms’ destruction). Edom’s  major cities (in the wilderness), Teman and Bozrah,  would be destroyed. This is believed to have happened in the 580-550 BC time frame, at the hands of the Babylonians. It is perhaps ironic that the same forces that destroyed Judah, doubtless seen as justice by the Edomites, also destroyed them.

Amos 1:13-15 The descendants of Lot (Genesis 19:38), Abraham’s nephew, also expanded their land holdings by violence. David and his army had fought against the Ammonites, but Rabbah remained a significant stronghold throughout Biblical history. Modern day Amman is Jordan’s capital, about fifty miles north of Rabbah. The exact battle that Amos prophesies is hard to pin down, since there have been multiple conquests, although it is believed that the Babylonians conquered it about 582-581 BC.

Amos 2

Amos 2:1-3 Moabites were descended from Lot, like the Ammonites. (Genesis 19:16) in fact the name Moab means ‘from my father’, since Lot’s daughter conceived him through incest with him. The Moabites were the tribe who hired Balaam to curse Israel. (Numbers 22) Subsequently, when God did not allow Balaam to curse Israel, but instead bless them, they conspired to get God’s  blessing removed by seducing them to sexual immorality. (Numbers 25) Despite this, God would not allow Israel to take Moab’s territory because of ancestry traced back to Lot. (Deuteronomy 2:9) But now, enough! 650 years later (more or less), God has Amos pronounce His judgment on them. The final straw was burning the bones of Edom’s king. Esau and Lot weren’t exactly close relatives (Abraham’s nephew and grandson), but God had blessed both of them with land; Moab did not respect Edom. 

Amos 2:4-5 Judah had certainly gone astray - rejecting the Mosaic law, worshipping false gods -  and they will be punished, although it would be later. Curiously, the enumerated sins of Judah do not call out mistreating the poor or people of other nations. Jeremiah would be much more specific 120 years later.

Amos 2:6-8 Amos now turns to Israel, the Northern kingdom. More than four sins are enumerated. Perhaps it started with selling Joseph for silver (Genesis 37:28), although Ephraim and Manasseh, the two tribes descended from Joseph, were part of Israel. But that was only a start. Selling the needy for a pair of shoes indicates total lack of respect - not only were the poor enslaved, they were despised.  Having sex with your father’s wife was prohibited, so when father and son “use” the same woman, not only is at least one of them committing adultery, the son is violating this principle. (Leviticus 18:8) Keeping a garment taken in pledge shows total disregard for the poor. (Exodus 22:26-27) Drinking wine in the house of other gods was essentially full participation in pagan worship, making pagan gods their god, in place of the one true God. (Exodus 20:4-6)

Amos 2:9-12 Israel should remember the Exodus, when God protected them and fed them for forty years in the wilderness. He destroyed the Amorites when they refused to let Israel have safe passage through their land, and He gave Israel their land. (Numbers 21:21-26) He raised up prophets and Nazirites, but the Israelites told the prophets to shut up (Deuteronomy 18:15-19), and made the Nazirites violate their vow of abstinence. (Numbers 6:1-6) 

Amos 2:13-16 Israel’s punishment will be to be crushed in a way that the athletic, the strong, and the soldier will not be able to escape or resist. 

Amos 3

Amos 3:1-3 The Lord sees Israel as His family, that He chose and rescued from Egypt. He wants them to walk with Him. He uniquely called Israel by revelation, beyond His call to other nations by conscience and intuition. They had the Truth in writing, and knew better. What about us? We have the full Bible, Old and New Testaments - do we take them seriously?

Amos 3:4-8 The warning of a lion’s roar should be heeded by potential prey. Other warning mechanisms are natural - a trumpet sounds an announcement or alert. So the Israelites should heed the prophet’s warning as the roar of the Lion of Judah, and pay heed. Jesus is a meek and gentle shepherd, so when He roars, it is cause for alarm.

Amos 3:9-11 Forts are physical strongholds in which people trust, but their actions of oppression and looting others have acquired ill-gotten wealth, stored therein. The sovereign Lord speaks through the prophet - spiritual wrongs will lead to worldly judgment and disaster in the end. Physical forts cannot save in the end.

Amos 3:12 Think of the disappointment of a shepherd who goes to rescue a lamb from a lion, and only manages to get a few body parts, not a living animal. This is how sad the Lord feels when we go astray and put ourselves in harms way. He grieves when we make ourselves the devil’s pray. 

Amos 3:13-15 Total destruction of the worship of false gods and false religion is coming, and along with it the lifestyle, economy, and wealth of the Northern Kingdom. This will get Israel’s attention and end their rebellious lifestyle. The golden bull at Bethel (house of God!), erected about 930 BC by Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:28-30), will be destroyed. This happened about 722 BC. 

At first it seems odd that both Aaron and Jeroboam made golden bulls for worship. Most likely this was because that was common in the pagan religions of the time. Gold represented wealth, and bulls symbolize strength and virility. We have bull markets on Wall Street. Let us pray that we will not be seduced into worshipping them, but sadly it is an uphill battle. True spiritual prosperity comes from God. Even tithing can become a false god if we do so solely in order to receive the promise of Malachi 3:10.  God honors His word, but He knows our heart.

Joel

Joel 1

There is no fixed date for this book, no references to kings or events that place Joel in the context of Biblical history. There are at least three possible interpretations of the plague of locusts. All of them are for punishment of sin.

• A real plague of locusts like the eighth plague on  Egypt. (Exodus 10:1-20)
• Symbolically, a human army or armies. (2 Kings 25:8-10)
• A supernatural army of angels or demons, perhaps in the Last Days. (Revelation 9:3-11) 

When Peter cited Joel on Pentecost, he did not refer to locusts, so we have nothing to tie this prophesied plague in chapter 1 to Israel’s history, or the church, or the end times. (Acts 2:16)

Joel 1:1-4 This is a once in a generation event, or perhaps a once-ever event, not just a routine plague. Four kinds of locusts are called out. There have been different names assigned to the four categories, which have had various translations suggested, but the important point is this: there won’t be anything left when they are done.

Joel 1:5 Wine is a symbol of joy and celebration (John 2:1-11), but it must be taken in context. It is not the only thing in life. (Matthew 26:27-29) On Pentecost, the disciples were accused of drinking too much wine. (Acts 2:13) The judgment Joel prophesies will fall because the drunkards consumed too much wine and fallen asleep. Could this pertain to a church so enamored of sacramental wine that it fails to warn the world of the consequences of rejecting Jesus?

Joel 1:6-7 The locusts are compared to lions, who have destroyed both vine and tree. Branches without bark will die.

Joel 1:8-12 Deep mourning will replace joy, to all walks of life - young brides-to-be, priests, farmers. Perhaps overuse of the wine has led to a judgment that prevents it from being abused. Farmers, whether they grow grains, vines, or trees, will see their crops ruined.

Joel 1:13-15 Priests who have failed in their ministry need to repent, fast, and call for a holy assembly of elders. Since they are without food, they should turn their fasting towards the Lord. The day of destruction that Moses warned about has come. (Deuteronomy 28:42) Joel calls it the day of the Lord in multiple places, a term Isaiah also used. 

Joel 1:16-20 The destruction is broad and enumerated to include foods of all types - both grown and from animals. Even in the wilderness pastures and trees and water are gone, and wild animals starve.

Joel 2

Joel 2:1-11 It is unclear if this passage describing the invasion by a terrible army is a metaphor for the locust plague or a description of it, or if this army will invade following the locust plague. The subsequent promise to repay for the tears the locust has eaten does not clarify the issue. Others have suggested that this is a description of nuclear-tipped missiles (ICBM’s) in a nuclear war that destroys civilization.

• A fire devours before and behind. Perhaps a nuclear detonation that follows, after the missile is propelled by rocket fuel.
• The land becomes a desert waste, essentially everything is consumed by a nuclear explosion, leaving only dirt.
• Crackling fire that consumes stubble could describe the outward flow of superheated gases outside the fireball that burns everything combustible far outside the initial explosion.
• They march in line, not swerving, according to their pre-programmed trajectories.
• They pass through conventional defenses because of their immense speed descending from very high altitudes or outer space.
• Before them the earth shakes and the heavens tremble describe what could be the shock wave from the detonation.
• The sun and moon are darkened because the mushroom cloud of the explosions rises into the atmosphere and obscure all light from the sky. Perhaps like the natural effects of the explosion of Krakatoa in 1883, estimated to be as strong as a 200 Megaton nuclear bomb.
• World War III is dreadful, and it is certainly a cause to wonder who, if anyone, will survive it.

Joel 2:12-17 A call to repentance. Despite the sin that led to the calamity, God is still merciful if we repent, individually and/or nationally, even though we ignored earlier warnings. His increasing the volume on the warnings is an act of mercy. As mentioned previously,  since food sources are destroyed, abstaining from food should become a holy fast that turns to the Lord. 

It is important to remember that fasting is not a means of manipulating God or earning favors from Him. The purpose of the fast is to turn our hearts to Him, and purify our hearts from the debris of the world. This enables us to more clearly communicate with and understand Him, and to prepare our hearts to obey what He tells us.

Joel 2:18-20 The Lord was jealous for His peoples’ love, so He spoke in the first person through Joel, promising food and victory over enemies. “I am ….  I will ….”

Joel 2:20-24 The prophet now speaks of great things the Lord has done (in future response to genuine repentance). He will have restored their agriculture.

Joel 2:25-27 The Lord speaks in the first person again. He will repay the years the locusts have eaten, repeating the four categories described earlier as destroying all types of food. (1:4) This will include both physical and spiritual food. “I will…. You will know that I am….” Those who receive this promise will praise the Name of the Lord.

Joel 2:28-32 Continuing in the first person, the Lord says that after this, He will pour out His Spirit on all people. This passage was famously quoted verbatim by Peter on Pentecost. (Acts 2:17-21) It is a direct answer to Moses’ prayer (Numbers 11:29), but goes far beyond to describe what this will look like. Dreams & visions, wonders in nature, visible signs like blood, fire, and smoke (as in the days of Moses), all are part of the lead-in to the day of the Lord. The promise that whoever calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved clearly points to the New Testament (Romans 10:13). All people in verse 28 suggests inclusion of gentiles, but the passage wraps up with the survivors on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. This sounds very apocalyptic, because it is. Peter knew that this set of events was a last-days precursor to the return of the Lord in power to establish His kingdom. 

Joel 3

Joel 3:1-8 God promises that He will restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, and retribution in kind to nations who mistreated the Jews. Specifically to those who created the diaspora sending them away from the land of Israel, selling them as slaves. While this might seem to be a judgment on the practice of slavery, in 3:8 He says He will sell the sons and daughters of the nations that did this to His people to the Sabeans. Since modern day Sabeans are nearly extinct, this must refer to some distant nation symbolically, or else to a past event. The Jews have been restored to the land. They do not practice slavery, although they have driven many Palestinians away, to live in refugee camps. It is hard to draw a connection between the people who enslaved Israelites millennia ago and modern day ethnic groups.

Joel 3:9-16 Beating plowshares into swords and pruning hooks into spears is the opposite of the call to peace found elsewhere. (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3) This is a declaration of war. The valley of Jehoshaphat (YHWH judges) will be the seat of judgment for the nations, because evil is ripe and ready for harvest; hence the agricultural implements for harvest are now weapons. Jehoshaphat the king of Israel did not even have to have his army fight because the Lord turned the armies of the invading nations on each other. The army of Judah only found bodies. (2 Chronicles 20:22-26) But the implication of this passage is apocalyptic. The sun and moon darkened (as in 2:10) and the Lord roaring with thunder, heaven and earth trembling, sounds much more like the final judgment. 

God’s voice can be gentle, as is recorded in much of Jesus’ ministry, or it can be terrifying. It depends on whether we receive Him or rebel against Him.  (1 Kings 19;12, Matthew 21:5; Daniel 10:7-9, Revelation 1:17)

Joel 3:17-21 This is the final blessing that will confirm who God is and who His people are. Judah and Jerusalem will be permanently inhabited by Jews and Christians, and innocent blood will be avenged: Egypt and Edom will be permanent deserts. This implies that even the Nile valley and Petra, perhaps even the southern Jordan valley near the Red Sea will be uninhabitable. This blessing will come in the form of the new wine, the Holy Spirit will be everywhere in God’s kingdom. Those who reject Him and do not have the Holy Spirit will live miserable lives in the power of their own human will. As God speaks to unbelievers, it is clear that He turns up the volume on them as He does in speaking to His people, as most of the earlier passages in Joel have described. But the final vindication will be the New Jerusalem.  (Revelation 21:2-4, 11-26)

Hosea 8-14

 Hosea 8

Hosea 8:1-6 Judgment is announced. Israel claims the covenant with the Lord, but their actions betray the reality of their heart. Breaking the covenant by rebellion against His laws. Not just disobedience, but rebellion - rejecting them. Kings who gain power through assassination and idol worship. This goes all the way back to Jeroboam erecting two golden calves, in Bethel and Dan, so that the Israelites would not return to Jerusalem to worship. (1 Kings 12:28-30) He broke spiritual laws for political gain. The Lord will ultimately judge and destroy those idols. 

Hosea 8:7-10 An often quoted verse. “They sow to the wind and reap the whirlwind.”  The principle of sowing and reaping is mentioned many times in Scripture.

• Sowing trouble and reaping likewise. (Job 4:8; Proverbs 22:8)
• Sowing with tears and reaping joy (Psalm 126:5)
• Sowing righteousness and reaping rewards. (Proverbs 11:18)
• Reaping whatever seed we sow (Galatians 6:7-8)

But Hosea goes on to offer hope, lest they waste away under the foreign king they sold themselves to. No one wants a used-up prostitute, except God.

Hosea 8:11-14 Although Moses recorded many of the Lord’s rules to help them live happily and flourish, they rejected His revelation and worshipped at foreign altars. This goes beyond the foolishness of eating junk food and expecting to be healthy. It is mistaking the very source of existence for a chimera of earthly things like palaces and fortifications. The immovable mover, the uncreated creator, the God who simply is that He is, will send fire to show them the flimsiness of their reliance on perishable physical protection.

Hosea 9

Hosea 9:1-5 Other nations celebrate worldly success but Israel has unique festivals appointed by the Lord for feasting. Since Israel has been unfaithful to Him, they can’t celebrate those festivals; they can’t bring unclean food into the temple. They themselves are unclean because of their pagan worship. Religious celebrations are meaningless, or worse, deceitful, when we don’t live out what God has told us. We deceive ourselves, because He knows what is going on.

Hosea 9:6-9 The day of God’s punishment is coming. The people are so far into sin that those watchmen who warn them are deemed fools. God will remember.

Hosea 9:10-13 At first, Ephraim seemed like grapes in the desert. There was glory in Joseph’s lineage. But God reminds them that their rejection of Him and His ways started early and continued. (9:10, 10:5) When they came to Moab and committed sexual sin with the women, they engaged in idolatry and became vile. (Numbers 25:1-5) The initial glory was gone. They went the path that led to child sacrifice. 

Hosea 9:14-17 Their punishment will include barrenness, both spiritual and physical - childlessness. Since they were going to use children as sacrifices to other gods, He will prevent that. In addition, He will send them to other nations to experience how they really live. How does this relate to our culture today, which glorifies sex and believes that killing unborn children that are unwanted is part of the process. What is abortion really worship of? Can and does God vindictively keep those who do so from having children later? Or is doing so simply allowing them to have what they want - sex without children? What are the other consequences?

Hosea 10

Hosea 10:1-4 A description of the consequences of going the idolatry road. They must bear the guilt of their deceit and idolatry, and recognize that a king could not rescue them. They make false contracts and then end up in court.

Hosea 10:5-8 Beth-aven is near Beth-el, where Jeroboam set up the golden calf. (1 Kings 12:28-29) Beth-aven means house of wickedness or house of vanity or house of nothingness, and used as a derogatory term for Bethel (House of God). The high places will be destroyed. The people will call on the mountains and hills to fall on and cover them, very similar to what people will do in the days of the sixth seal of judgment. (Luke 23:30, Revelation 6:16) The golden calves won’t do anything for them in either case.

Hosea 10:9-10 Gibeah is mentioned in Judges 19-21 as the location where some wicked men men raped and murdered a man’s concubine. The reaction to this was for the man whose concubine was killed to incite the tribes of Israel to attack and kill all the men of Benjamin, which they almost succeeded, leaving only 600 alive after killing over 25,000. They eventually arranged for the tribe to not be totally wiped out, but the legacy of violent over-reaction was entrenched sin. War will overtake evildoers. One sin leads to more, unless justice is administered as God directed Moses. 

Hosea 10:11-13 Farming metaphors re-emphasize the principle of reaping what we sow. (Galatians 6:7) Breaking up fallow ground is hard work - as Judah will find in turning from Israel’s ways to avoid reaping the same fruit.

Hosea 10:14-15 Bethel will face disaster and the king of Israel (who inherited the golden calf Jeroboam placed there and worshipped along with many other idols) will be completely destroyed. Since there were many kings, being king of the Northern kingdom obviously was a position that carried a curse on whoever occupied it.

Hosea 11

Hosea 11:1-4 God recalls Israel’s origins, like a child, when they left Egypt. He carried them through the wilderness, taught them, protected them, with love as a parent does with a child. Even when they did naughty things like idolatry, He loved them.

Hosea 11:5-7 The unfortunate fruit of rejecting discipleship and turning away from God is walking in the way of the world. They claim Him as their God, but not in their hearts or actions, only their lips.

Hosea 11:8-11 Like the parent of a young adult, He still loves them as His own. He will not fully punish them as outsiders, and has a vision for their return to Him. When that happens, He will again bless them. He is heartbroken over their rebellion. (Maybe He sees them more as adolescents than young adults.)

Hosea 11:12 Bridge to the next chapter, a further reminiscence of Israel growing up.

Hosea 12

Hosea 12:1-2 Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, makes deals with earthly powers, thinking to secure the country by worldly politics. That is all like trying to get nourishment by eating wind? But Judah, the Southern Kingdom, has their own baggage, going back to the forefather, Jacob.

Hosea 12:3-6 A brief recap of Jacob’s issues growing up.

• He grabbed Esau’s heel at the moment of birth, his initial foray into claiming the birthright of the firstborn. (Genesis 25:26)
• He wrestled with God. He wanted control, and God was forced to wound him to show Him the supernatural reality of divine authority. (Genesis 32:24-39)
• He returned to Bethel and worshipped God (long before the golden calf) and they talked. (Genesis 35:6-13) God revealed to Jacob His Name, the Name that carries His authority (Genesis 35:11). In like manner, Judah must return to God as He had revealed Himself to them.

Hosea 12:7-8 In Hosea’s day, fraud was loved. They worshipped wealth, a common enough practice throughout the ages, but also a foreboding of the  Laodicean church. (Revelation 3:17) Their key error was thinking that worldly wealth would protect them from the consequences of sin. Worldly riches and materialism is a very false god.

Hosea 12:9-11 Contrasting God’s ways with idolatry. He fed them and protected them for forty years of living in tents in the desert during the Exodus, which He reminded them of annually in the Feast of Tabernacles (booths). He sends them prophets to speak His words to them. All of the idolatry of Israel is just sacrificing animals on piles of stone that take up space in otherwise fertile farm fields.

Hosea 12:12-14 When Jacob left his parents to flee to Rebecca’s family, he worked hard to get Rachel as his wife. (Genesis 29:20)  He served faithfully but manipulated the animals that he tended to his own advantage, was poorly treated in the end, but God protected him.  (Genesis 31) Hundreds of years later, God sent Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt to which they had fled because of famine. They also had tended flocks and were poorly treated in the end. But once in the promised land, Ephraim (named for one of Joseph’s sons) turned to false gods, and the one true God, who had faithfully cared for their ancestors, said, “Enough!”

The lesson we should take from this is that although God is infinitely loving and merciful, and will forgive and protect us, He will not allow us to persist indefinitely in life choices that are self-destructive. He warns us, and we have opportunities to repent and turn to Him. He turns up the heat to get our attention when needed. If we ignore His warnings in all of the different ways that He speaks to us, then He will bring complete destruction to that lifestyle, so that we will have to experience the bitter fruit of sin. 

Sowing and reaping is built into both nature and the supernatural realm. Divine intervention goes beyond natural law because God has purpose and design in His dealings with us. He is a person, not just a life-force. His character and His heart are so perfectly loving and holy that what happens to us will reflect His every effort to get us to become like Him.

Hosea 13

Hosea 13:1-3 Although Ephraim began history exalted as Joseph’s son, when his tribe turned to idolatry of various types (Baal-worship, offering human sacrifices to calf-idols), they became spiritually like dew, chaff, or smoke - something that dissipates in the wind and is gone.

Hosea 13:4-9 Recalling God’s providential care for Israel for forty years in the desert, all He asks was that they acknowledge Him. They refused, and so He will devour them like a lion or bear.

Hosea 13:10-11 Recalling Israel’s initial request for a king (1 Samuel 8:5), He now tells Israel to look at what kings can and can’t do for you. Especially since they keep getting assassinated. 

Hosea 13:12-16 God keeps records. They will bear their guilt. The people have only themselves to blame. 

Hosea 14

Hosea 14:1-3 Hosea offers words of repentance that Israel should say in order to return to God. But they must be genuine words, enough so that their actions will demonstrate that they renounce their sin. This standard is not because God doesn’t love and forgive, but because sin will continue to destroy them. This starts with confession.

Hosea 14:4-8 The Lord speaks of how He will restore and bless Israel on the day when they make that decision. Everyone, both in Israel and outside Israel, will recognize that their fruitfulness comes from Him. Is this true in our day? Israel is restored as a nation and prospers materially, but does it have spiritual blessing? Do the nations of the world recognize God’s handiwork in the Balfour Declaration? Do the people of Israel?

Hosea 14:9 Hosea’s closing observation, like the last chapter of Ecclesiastes. Reality is that rejecting God for selfishness or for other gods cannot bring long-term happiness, only pain and destruction. True wisdom and discernment recognize The Lord as the source of all blessing and that we partake of those blessings to the extent that we walk in His ways.  Both worldly and spiritual flourishing are ultimately gifts of the Holy Spirit.  (James 3:13)

The algorithm is my shepherd

 I don’t think any commentary on this by me would add to it. It speaks for itself.

The algorithm is my shepherd, I shall always want.

It makes me doomscroll through digital pastures.

It leads me besides the rapids of engagement.

It activates my anxiety.

It guide me along paths of monetization for its profits sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of comparison

I will fear missing out, for you are always tracking me.

Your notifications and your ads, they compel me.

You prepare a curated feed before me in the presence of those I envy.

You fill my heart with validation, my anxiety overflows.

Surely dissatisfaction and envy will follow me all the days of my life, 

And I will dwell in your monetized data analytics forever.

By Jon Tyson (not me!)