8 The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it will fall on Israel;
9 and all the people will know, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart: Comment: How often are we all prone to arrogance and pride! This was written nearly 3,000 years ago but arrogance and pride still plague humanity (us) today!
10 “The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.”
11 But the LORD raises the adversaries of Rezin against him, and stirs up his enemies. Comment: who are the him and his referring to? Surely Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria.
12 The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
13 The people did not turn to him who struck them, nor inquire of the LORD of hosts. Comment: God uses nations or whatever He will to see that His will is done – His will is to purify His people, make them just and righteous!
14-16 So the LORD cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed in one day— the elder and honored man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail; for those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up. Comment: Does this apply to our Governments, and world organizations? Is the heretical church or false religions the prophet? And are we the people unstained by following their besmirched ‘laws’?
17 Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men, and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is godless and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. Comment: This is a generalization but is it generally true of the West these days? If so, maybe what follows in the next sentence is true of God’s attitude towards our society today! For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. Comment: Does God’s anger still apply now as it did then? For them it was an attacking enemy for us it is a world in a terrible mess of war and uncertainty! His hand is extended in judgement. Is it extended awaiting our response?
18 For wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns; it kindles the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts the land is scorched, and the people are like fuel for the fire; no one spares another.
20 They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry, and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied; each devours the flesh of his own arm,
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh; together they are against Judah. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. Comment: The Bible is quite clear that we all have a common ancestry (Adam and Eve). Science waffles on with many theories but Wikipedia says Yes, science overwhelmingly supports the idea that all humans share a common ancestry. So as this passage talks about the fighting divisions within Israel, we experience the same interfamilial traumas today! It is not surprising that this passage says ‘For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.‘ Is He awaiting our response?
Hebrews 12:6 – “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives,”
Prayer: Help me to learn from Your discipline, Father God.
As I read it! 