1 When I heal Israel,
the iniquity of Ephraim will be exposed,
as well as the crimes of Samaria.
For they practice deceit and thieves break in;
bandits raid in the streets.
2 But they fail to consider in their hearts
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds are all around them;
they are before My face.

3 They delight the king with their evil,
and the princes with their lies.
4 They are all adulterers,
like an oven heated by a baker
who needs not stoke the fire
from the kneading to the rising of the dough.
5 The princes are inflamed with wine
on the day of our king;
so he joins hands
with those who mock him.
6 For they prepare their heart like an oven
while they lie in wait;
all night their anger smolders;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven,
and they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall;
not one of them calls upon Me.

8 Ephraim mixes with the nations;
Ephraim is an unturned cake.
9 Foreigners consume his strength,
but he does not notice.
Even his hair is streaked with gray,
but he does not know.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them,
yet they do not return to the LORD their God;
despite all this, they do not seek Him.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Susan Duc

In the story ‘Moby Dick,’ Captain Ahab’s obsession with killing the whale causes him to ignore the advice of the crew and the dangers of the sea, leading to his death and ruin. Captain Ahab’s problem was arrogance, which blinded him to the reality of his situation and caused his downfall.

In today’s passage, the arrogance of Israel – also known as Ephraim and Samaria – is on show. The people are adulterers, unfaithful to God. They freely commit evil deeds in God’s sight, ignoring his displeasure (v 2). Even Israel’s king delights and joins the intrigue. He does nothing to stop the spread of sin throughout the kingdom, unaware that the people will devour him.

The chaos of Israel’s kingdom in this time is reflected in history – four of Israel’s kings were assassinated by rivals during a 14-year period (746 BC to 732 BC). And as Israel’s political instability made it vulnerable to neighbouring powers, it formed ungodly alliances with pagan nations who would use up its resources and draw its people to false gods and practices. The people’s arrogance blinds them from the reality that they need to repent and seek God, and so they continue sinning, heaping judgment and suffering on themselves.

We should grieve the tragedy of arrogance and sin, which leads to destruction. Jesus reminds us that God will humble the proud and lift up those who humble themselves (Matthew 23:12). Unlike the kings of Israel, Jesus the true king also humbled himself before God and through his suffering became the source of salvation to all who obey him (Hebrews 5:8-9). Let us rejoice in what Jesus has done for us and follow his lead in our worship of God.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan is one of our Assistant Ministers.