Hosea 9:13–17 (NKJV)

Just as I saw Ephraim like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place,
So Ephraim will bring out his children to the murderer.

Give them, O LORD—
What will You give?
Give them a miscarrying womb
And dry breasts!

“All their wickedness is in Gilgal,
For there I hated them.
Because of the evil of their deeds
I will drive them from My house;
I will love them no more.
All their princes are rebellious.
Ephraim is stricken,
Their root is dried up;
They shall bear no fruit.
Yes, were they to bear children,
I would kill the darlings of their womb.”

My God will cast them away,
Because they did not obey Him;
And they shall be wanderers among the nations.

This passage shows Israel’s plans backfiring perfectly. They sacrifice to Baal gods of fertility, and God will:

Give them a miscarrying womb
And dry breasts.

They pray to Baal gods of the harvest and:

Their root is dried up;
They shall bear no fruit.

But it gets worse. The children who are born have a grim future.

So Ephraim will bring out his children to the murderer. …
I would kill the darlings of their womb.

Still, that’s nothing compared to the LORD kicking them out of the Promised Land.

Because of the evil of their deeds
I will drive them out of My house …
And they shall be wanderers among the nations.

This is bringing the hammer down. Everything else is just a slap on the wrist.

What makes this even more chilling is that this prophesy is still being fulfilled today. Some Jews do live in the Promised Land, but they have to share it with others. Furthermore, they’re under unending threat.

The prophesy was fulfilled far beyond its original interpretation.

All the weekly study guides, which include all five devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

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https://www.amazon.com/Higher-Purposes-Lesson-God-Job/dp/1684719534