Monthly Archives: July 2017

They Wouldn’t Recognize God If They Saw Him 1-2 “Listen to this, priests! Attention, people of Israel! Royal family—all ears! You’re in charge of justice around here. But what have you done? Exploited people at Mizpah, ripped them off on Tabor, Victimized them at Shittim. I’m going to punish the lot of you. 3-4 “I […]

Gangs of Priests Assaulting Worshipers 1-3 “Come on, let’s go back toGod. He hurt us, but he’ll heal us. He hit us hard, but he’ll put us right again. In a couple of days we’ll feel better. By the third day he’ll have made us brand-new, Alive and on our feet, fit to face him. […]

Despite All the Signs, Israel Ignores God 1-2 “Every time I gave Israel a fresh start, wiped the slate clean and got them going again, Ephraim soon filled the slate with new sins, the treachery of Samaria written out in bold print. Two-faced and double-tongued, they steal you blind, pick you clean. It never crosses […]

Altars for Sinning 1-3 “Blow the trumpet! Sound the alarm! Vultures are circling over God’s people Who have broken my covenant and defied my revelation. Predictably, Israel cries out, ‘My God! We know you!’ But they don’t act like it. Israel will have nothing to do with what’s good, and now the enemy is after […]

Starved for God 1-6 Don’t waste your life in wild orgies, Israel. Don’t party away your life with the heathen. You walk away from your God at the drop of a hat and like a whore sell yourself promiscuously at every sex-and-religion party on the street. All that party food won’t fill you up. You’ll […]

You Thought You Could Do It All on Your Own 1-2 Israel was once a lush vine, bountiful in grapes. The more lavish the harvest, the more promiscuous the worship. The more money they got, the more they squandered on gods-in-their-own-image. Their sweet smiles are sheer lies. They’re guilty as sin. God will smash their […]

Israel Played at Religion with Toy Gods 1-9 “When Israel was only a child, I loved him. I called out, ‘My son!’—called him out of Egypt. But when others called him, he ran off and left me. He worshiped the popular sex gods, he played at religion with toy gods. Still, I stuck with him. […]

1-5 Ephraim, obsessed with god-fantasies, chases ghosts and phantoms. He tells lies nonstop, soul-destroying lies. Both Ephraim and Judah made deals with Assyria and tried to get an inside track with Egypt. Godis bringing charges against Israel. Jacob’s children are hauled into court to be punished. In the womb, that heel, Jacob, got the best […]

Religion Customized to Taste 1-3 God once let loose against Ephraim a terrifying sentence against Israel: Caught and convicted in the lewd sex-worship of Baal—they died! And now they’re back in the sin business again, manufacturing god-images they can use, Religion customized to taste. Professionals see to it: Anything you want in a god you […]

Come Back! Return to Your God! 1-3 O Israel, come back! Return to yourGod! You’re down but you’re not out. Prepare your confession and come back toGod. Pray to him, “Take away our sin, accept our confession. Receive as restitution our repentant prayers. Assyria won’t save us; horses won’t get us where we want to […]