The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911, 1911-05-31

NE exten0e0 into tn0 Gays OF hezekl8ns
king Of Judah. who came to the throne
(Beecher). b. C. ~ OHastings). 20.
PLACE-Hosea was q prophet OF the
northern kingdom.
PROPHETS-I Isaiah and Micah; perhaps
Amos.
What was the iniquity Of Israel
from which Hosea exhorted her to re-
turn unto the Lord? The degradation
Of religion into q sensual and revolt
Ing worship Of idols. and the foolish
and weakening separation from the
Southern Kingdom. The period was
one Of frightful violence and confu-
sion: all ties Of social life were
loosened: immortality, irreligion. su-
perstition. panic and despair contrib
uted to the common misery and ruin:
1t hardly needed prophetic insight to
foresee the inevitable end in the total
dissolution Of the state.
Their reliance upon Assyria for SAL
walton instead Of upon Jehovah: their
reliance upon Egypt. the land of
horses; their reliance upon idols. the
work of their own hands. All the in
ner woes Of the nation sprung from
its idolatry, and all its woes from
without sprung from the mischievous
foreign alliances against which the
prophets continually protested. Note
that this Is more than a confession: 1t
is q promise Of amendment. a VOW of
total abstinence from these sins.
God promises to the repenta3t ma
ton. promises for the past. forgive
ness. l will heal their backsliding.
that horrible disease Of apostasy from
the Fathers love; for the present.
love: ! will love them freely, without
money and without price," for what
price could pay for this inestimable
blessing: for the future. ever-in-
creasing progress and blessedness;
God will be to his restored people an
enriching. stimulating. reviving dew,
causing them to throw out new
branches. strike new roots deeper into
the soil, blossom In beauty and fra
GRANGE, and bring forth fruit In abun-
dance.
What is the Significance of the
three comparisons used Of the re-
stored people? l. They are to be like
the lily, in its purity and beauty. 2.
They are to be like Lebanon. rooted
deep in the earth. with its foothills
stretching forth like roots: or perhaps
the reference is to the firmly rooted
cedars Of Lebanon; at any rate the
comparison signifies strength, which
is to be added to beauty. 3. They are
to be like the olive tree, which is not
lovely as the lily but is gnarled and
ugly: nor strong and imposing like
the mountain and its great cedars. but
feeble and Insignificant to the eye;
but It Ia green when other trees are
bare, and 1t brings forth abundance OF
rich fruit.
The confident statement whether
made by Jehovah. or. as some com,
mentators and both authorized and re-
vised versions hold. by Ephraim him.
self that Ephraim that is. Israel, the
leading tribe being put for the entire
Northern Kingdom) has nothing more
to do with idols; he is through with
them: they are laid away with his un-
happy past. This actually happened
after the exile; the returned Jews had
had enough Of idolatry. and never
again lapsed into that sin.
Hosea certainly did not mean, az he
Is SO often misunderstood to mean,
that Israel Was 20 firmly fixed in idol.
airy that the nation could never be
moved from that iniquity. The proph-
ct was addressing Judah. the South
ern Kingdom, and bidding her hold
aloof from her idolatrous neighbor
and let him alone. lest she herself
contract the foul disease.
The sum of wisdom. according to
Hosea. is that wisdom consists of
three things: Understanding. know
ing the things that Hosea had been
setting forth. namely, Gods dealings
with his children. Understanding that |
Gods ways are always right. straight, |
alike when they spread themselves |
out in an unbroken level for the pious. |
and when they oppose themselves in |
rocky stumbling.blocks to the un-
cody. /
Hosea began his warnings at the |
point where we feel the most pride. |
Our, nation Is proud of its wealth and |
power. but these two things lead to
which Is our greatest
peril.
What would be the substance of |
Hosea's message to the nation and to
each one Of US? Take with you
words. and return unto the Lord" Our
sins must be acknowledged. humbly
before God and frankly before every
one who should hear the confession
for any reason. Then We are simply,
In Christ's strength. to obey Sam
Jones' oft-repeated injunction. Quit
your meanness!" We are to cease
to do evil, learn to do we'll"
We must turn wholly from our sin.
"A certain village church possessed a
line-toned bell. Of which the villagers
were very proud. It became cracked.
but q blacksmith riveted It 20 skilfully
that the crack was invisible. The bell
was rehung. but oh! the appalling dis
cord when 1t was rung! It was taken
down, and recast. The result was q
new bell Of sweeter tone than the old
one. Man has devised many appar-
.ntly clever schemes for the restora-
lion Of sin-diseased hearts. They are
III failures. A new heart nodded by