The boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Matthew 14:24-27
Don’t Doubt God’s Word
The Sea of Galilee is seven hundred feet below sea level. It’s the lowest freshwater lake on the planet. When winds whip through the surrounding mountains and into that watery Galilean crater, storms come quickly and out of nowhere.
That is where the disciples are—on a boat, in a windstorm, at night. Jesus is not with them. In fact, Jesus was the one who told them to cross the sea.
It shows that being a disciple is not easy. You can’t assume that life will be exactly how you want it. Life is full of unexpected storms. What do you do when they arise?
The temptation is to doubt God’s Word. We hear God’s promises, but we are tempted to wonder if he is reliable. If he were, why would life be so difficult right now? But don’t doubt God’s Word. Think about the disciples in that boat on the wind-whipped sea. What are they looking at? They’re looking at Jesus.
It’s a surreal scene. Jesus goes out to them, walking on the rough water. No wonder they think they’re seeing a ghost. Then he speaks a word of promise: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” There is strength for faith. It’s not a ghost. It is the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Son of God!
When we fear or worry, Jesus promises, “It is I who forgives. It is I who saves. Look at me. Focus not on the illness, not on the pain, not on the economy, not on yourself. Find strength for your faith in my promises.”
God has laid a firm foundation for your faith in his excellent Word. Believe it. God’s promises are always powerful. They brought peace to the disciples, and they bring faith to your heart and hope for your future.
Prayer:
Lord, I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief. Amen.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:4-6
It’s All Under Control
Did you know that your soul’s salvation is not a “chancy” thing?
Being born when and where you were is not “lucky” or “unlucky.” Our parents may have said that we were an “accident” or a “surprise,” but to God, we were neither. God so determined your birth.
God is in control. His will WILL be done. From eternity, God our Father chose us to be his children through faith in Jesus Christ, his Son. This has real comfort for us.
Perhaps our money doesn’t go as far as it once did. Around us, we see society drowning in its own immorality. There are troubles everywhere. All this sorrow tells us that this world will never be heaven, but we can rejoice in spite of it all. God still has total control, and we know that nothing can separate us from his love in Christ Jesus.
We are forgiven. There’s nothing “chancy” about our salvation. It’s all under the control of our loving, gracious, forgiving, and patient Father in heaven.
Prayer:
I rejoice, heavenly Father, that you chose me to be a member of your eternal family through faith in Jesus my Savior. Preserve my faith through the power of your Word and accomplish for me everything that your loving will has determined. Amen.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. Ephesians 1:7-8
Grace by the Basketful
Perhaps you have known someone like my grandmother. No guest ever left her table hungry. She did not measure food by the serving; she filled the table until it groaned, and when the meal was over, she loaded you down with leftovers to take home. For her, feeding people was not a duty to calculate. It was a joy to share.
The apostle Paul says that is how God deals with us. He writes that God “lavished” the riches of his grace on us. God does not ration his undeserved love for sinners or count it out in careful portions. He is no miser. He gives by the basketful.
Consider what he has given. Paul calls it “redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” To redeem something means to buy it back, to set it free by paying a price. That is what we needed. Our sins had made us prisoners, guilty before God and unable to purchase our own release. No amount of good behavior could cover what we owed.
So, God paid the price himself. The cost was not silver or gold, but the holy, precious blood of his own Son. On the cross, Jesus gave everything to set you free, and now every sin you have ever committed stands forgiven. God did not forgive you reluctantly, the way we sometimes pardon others while quietly keeping score. He forgave you gladly, fully, lavishly, because that is who he is.
This is what Christians trust in most of all. God’s greatest provision is not found on our tables or in our bank accounts, but at the cross. And if God has already lavished such riches on you there, you can be certain his grace will never run short.
Prayer:
Gracious Father, you lavished the riches of your grace on me through the blood of your Son. Let me live each day in the joy and freedom of your full forgiveness. Amen.
Five newly elected district presidents join the Conference of Presidents The Conference of Presidents, chaired by the synod president, also includes 12 district presidents, the first and second synod vice presidents, and the non-voting synod recording secretary. The respective districts […]
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Resources to help keep teens connected “This year’s rally was meant to be more than just an event. It was a catalyst to seek deeper faith commitment.” As memories from the 2026 WELS Youth Rally this […]
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Faces of Faith: Meet Lynne Lynne embarked on a lifelong search for truth that led her from atheism and hostility toward Christianity. Through the ministry of two WELS home mission congregations, God quenched Lynne’s thirst […]
»
New director named for WELS Foundation and WELS Investment Funds Mark Maurice began serving as executive director of WELS Investment Funds and WELS Foundation in June. Maurice brings more than 30 years of experience in Christian stewardship, charitable gift planning, […]
»
Tornado damages WELS church and school Around noon on Monday, July 27, a tornado ripped through northeastern Wisconsin, causing damage to Bethel, Menasha, a bilingual WELS church with about 500 members. The tornado also damaged the […]
1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more I called to them, the more they went away from me. [1] They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. 3 Yet I was the one who taught Ephraim to walk. I took them in my arms, [2] but they did not realize that it was I who healed them. 4 I drew them with cords suitable for a man, [3] with ropes of love. For them I became like someone who lifts a yoke off their neck, and I bent down to feed them.
5 They will not [4] return into the land of Egypt. Instead, an Assyrian will be their king, because they refused to repent. 6 The sword will slash against their cities. It will destroy the bars of their gates, and it will devour them because of their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn away from me. Though they call him the Most High, he certainly will not exalt them.
8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? [5] My heart is changed inside me. All my compassion is stirred up. 9 I will not carry out my burning anger. I will not destroy Ephraim again, because I am God, and not man, the Holy One among you. I will not enter a city. [6] 10 They will follow the Lord. He will roar like a lion. Yes, he will roar, and his children will come trembling from the west. 11 They will come trembling like a bird from Egypt, and like a dove from the land of Assyria. I will settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.
Israel Must Repent
12 Ephraim surrounds me with falsehood, and the house of Israel with deceit. Judah still strays from [7] God, even from the Holy One, who is faithful. [8]
Hosea 12
1 Ephraim feeds on wind and chases the east wind all day. He multiplies lies and violence. They make a treaty with Assyria, and olive oil is carried to Egypt. 2 The Lord has a case against Judah. He will deal with Jacob according to his ways. According to his deeds he will repay him. 3 In the womb Jacob grasped his brother by the heel, and when he was a grown man, he struggled with God. 4 He wrestled with the Angel and prevailed. He wept and sought his favor. He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with him, [9] 5 namely, with the Lord, the God of Armies. The Lord is the name by which he is to be remembered! 6 So return to your God. Observe mercy and justice, and wait for your God continually.
7 A merchant has fraudulent scales in his hand. He loves to defraud others. 8 Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich. I have secured wealth for myself. Among all my possessions no one will find anything that makes me guilty of sin.”
9 But I have been the Lord your God from the time you left the land of Egypt. I will make you dwell in tents again, as in the days of the appointed festival. [10] 10 I have spoken to the prophets. I have given numerous visions. I taught meaningful lessons through the prophets. 11 Since Gilead is wicked, it is certain that they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls. Yes, their altars are like piles of stones in the furrows of a field. 12 Jacob fled to the territory of Aram. Israel worked as a servant to get a wife, and for a wife, he took care of sheep. 13 By a prophet, the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he took care of Israel. 14 Ephraim has provoked bitter anger. Therefore his Lord will leave him bloodied by his guilt and bring his disgrace back on him.
Footnotes
Hosea 11:2 A variant reading is the more they called them, the more they went away from them.
Hosea 11:3 The text of the pronouns in this verse is uncertain. The translation follows the Greek Old Testament.
Hosea 11:4 Literally cords of mankind. The words translated man and love have homonyms meaning leather, so there may be a play on words here.
Hosea 11:5 Not is missing from some manuscripts.
Hosea 11:8 Admah and Zeboiim were daughter cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Hosea 11:9 Or come in wrath. The Hebrew is difficult.
Hosea 11:12 Literally wanders with. Translations disagree whether the term is negative or positive.
Hosea 11:12 English verse 11:12 is verse 12:1 in Hebrew. In chapter 12 the subsequent Hebrew verse numbers are one higher than the English numbers.
1 Do not rejoice, Israel, with excessive celebration like the nations, because you act promiscuously against your God. You love the wages you can earn as a prostitute at every threshing floor for grain. 2 The threshing floor and winepress will not feed them, and the new wine will fail for them. 3 They will not remain in the Lord’s land. Ephraim will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria. 4 They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord. Their sacrifices will not be pleasing to him. For them, their bread will become like the bread eaten by mourners. Everyone who eats it will be unclean. This bread will only serve their own appetite. It will not enter the House of the Lord. 5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festivals and on the feast days of the Lord? 6 Know this! Even if they flee from destruction, Egypt will gather them up. Memphis will bury them. Thistles will overgrow their silver treasures. Thorns will grow inside their tents. 7 The days of reckoning have come. The days of retribution have come. Israel should know this!
Israel Rejects the Prophets
The prophet is treated like a fool, and the man of the Spirit is called crazy, because your guilt is enormous, and because your hostility is so great. 8 A prophet is to be a watchman over Ephraim for my God, but a fowler’s snare is laid for him on all of Ephraim’s paths, and he encounters hostility in the house of his God. [1] 9 They have become extremely corrupt, as they were in the days of Gibeah. God will remember their guilt. He will punish them for their sins.
Fertility Worship Brings No Fertility
10 I regarded Israel like grapes found in the wilderness. I regarded your forefathers like the first ripe fruit on a fig tree in its first season, but they went to Baal Peor, and they devoted themselves to a shameful thing, and they became as disgusting as the thing they loved. 11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird— no birth, no pregnancy, no conception! 12 Even if they bring up their children, I will deprive them of each one. Yes, woe to them when I depart from them! 13 I have seen Ephraim planted in a pleasant place like Tyre, but Ephraim will bring its children out to the executioner. 14 Give to them, Lord—but what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. 15 Because of all their evil in Gilgal, I hated them there. Because of their evil deeds, I will drive them out of my house! I will love them no more. All their officials are rebels. 16 Ephraim has been struck down. Their root has dried up. They will bear no fruit. Even if they give birth, I will put their precious offspring to death.
17 My God will reject them, because they have not obeyed him. They will be wanderers among the nations.
Hosea 10
1 Israel was a spreading [2] vine. He produced fruit for himself. The more fruit he produced, the more altars he made. The richer the land became, the richer he made his sacred memorial stones.
2 Their hearts are insincere, [3] so now they will suffer for their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their sacred memorial stones.
Kings Cannot Save You
3 Certainly now they will say, “We have no king because we did not fear the Lord, but what could such a king do for us anyway?” 4 They speak empty words. With empty oaths, they make agreements. That is why disputes sprout like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field. 5 The inhabitants of Samaria will be terrified because of the calf [4] of Beth Aven. Yes, its people will mourn over it, and its idolatrous priests will cry out over it, over its lost glory, because it has gone into exile. 6 It will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the Great King. [5] Ephraim will be gripped with shame, and Israel will be ashamed of its own idol. [6] 7 Samaria, like her king, will be carried off like a twig on the surface of the water. 8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will become unusable. Thorns and thistles will grow on their altars. They will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Learn the Lesson of Gibeah
9 Israel, you have sinned ever since the days of Gibeah, where the evildoers took their stand. The war against the evildoers caught up with them at Gibeah, did it not? 10 When I see fit, I will discipline them. [7] Peoples will be gathered against them to bind them for their double guilt. [8]
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh. I will put a yoke on her beautiful neck. [9] I will harness Ephraim. Judah will plow. Jacob will break up the ground. 12 Sow righteousness for yourselves, and reap mercy. Break up your fallow ground. It is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and rains righteousness on you. 13 You have plowed wickedness. You have reaped injustice. You have eaten the fruit of your lies, because you trusted in your own way, in the large number of your strong warriors. 14 Therefore the roar of battle will rise against your people, and all your fortresses will be destroyed, as Shalman [10] devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle. Mothers were dashed to the ground with their children. 15 This is what will be done to you, Bethel, because of your great wickedness. At dawn the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
Footnotes
Hosea 9:8 This verse is difficult.
Hosea 10:1 The Hebrew word may have a negative connotation like invasive.
Hosea 10:2 Or divided
Hosea 10:5 Variant calves
Hosea 10:6 The text of the last word of the line is uncertain.
Hosea 10:6 Or plan. The meaning of the last word is uncertain.
Hosea 10:10 The text of the line is uncertain.
Hosea 10:10 Or two crimes. The text of the line is uncertain.
15 I will go. I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and seek my face. In their distress they will earnestly seek me.
Israel’s Need to Return to the Lord
15 Come, let us return to the Lord. For he has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us. He has struck us, but he will bandage our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us. On the third day he will raise us up, so that we may live in his presence. 3 Let us acknowledge the Lord. Let us pursue knowledge of the Lord. As surely as the sun rises, the Lord will appear. He will come to us like a heavy rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth.
God’s Grief Over Israel’s Impenitence
4 What am I going to do with you, Ephraim? What am I going to do with you, Judah? For your faithfulness [1] is like a morning mist, like early dew that disappears. 5 That is why I cut them to pieces by means of the prophets. I killed them with the words of my mouth. The judgments against you go forth like the light. 6 For I desire mercy, [2] and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings. 7 Like Adam, [3] they have broken the covenant. They acted treacherously against me there. 8 Gilead is a city of evildoers, stained with bloody footprints. 9 As gangs of robbers wait to ambush a man, so do bands of priests. They commit murder on the road to Shechem. They have committed shameful crimes. 10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing. Ephraim practices sexual immorality there. Israel defiles itself. 11 Judah, also for you, a harvest has been appointed, when I restore the fortunes of my people. [4]
Israel’s Corruption
7 Whenever I want to heal Israel, the guilt of Ephraim is uncovered, and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed, because they deal dishonestly. Thieves come inside, and bandits raid outside. 2 In their hearts Ephraim does not realize that I remember all their wickedness. Now their deeds are all around them. They are in front of my face. 3 The people of Ephraim make the king glad with their wickedness. They make their officials happy with their lies. 4 They are all adulterers, burning like an oven. The baker does not need to stoke the fire from the time the dough is kneaded until it is leavened. 5 On the day [5] of our [6] king, the officials became sick from the intoxicating wine. He reaches out his hand to the blasphemers. 6 Indeed, their hearts are like an oven. They approach him, while plotting against him. Their anger sleeps all night, but in the morning it burns like a blazing fire. 7 They are all hot as an oven. They devour their rulers. All their kings have fallen. Not one of them calls on me. 8 Ephraim mixes itself with the nations. Ephraim is a flatbread not turned over. 9 Strangers have devoured his strength, but he does not realize it. There are gray hairs on his head, but he does not realize it. 10 The arrogance of Israel testifies against him, yet they have not returned to the Lord their God, and they have not sought him, despite all this.
Israel’s Instability
11 Ephraim is like a gullible dove, without sense. They call to Egypt. Then they appeal to Assyria. 12 When they go out, I will spread my net over them. I will bring them down like birds from the sky. I will discipline them, on the basis of the report about their assembly. [7] 13 Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction comes upon them, because they have rebelled against me! I want to redeem them, but they speak lies against me. 14 They do not cry out to me with their hearts, but they howl on their beds. They gather together [8] for grain and new wine. They turn away from me. 15 Though I trained and strengthened their arms, they plot evil against me. 16 They return, but not upward. [9] They are like an unreliable bow. Their officials will fall by the sword because of their angry tongues. Because of this, they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.
The Lord’s Anger Burns Against Israel
8 Raise a ram’s horn to your lips! A vulture is circling over [10] the Lord’s house, because they have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law. 2 Israel cries out to me, “My God, we acknowledge [11] you!” 3 But, in fact, Israel has rejected what is good. An enemy will pursue him. 4 They set up kings, but not with my approval. They installed officials, but I did not choose [12] them. From their silver and their gold they made idols for themselves, so they will be cut off. 5 I reject [13] your calf idol, Samaria! My anger burns against these people! How long will they be incapable of innocence? 6 That thing sitting there is from Israel! A craftsman made it, so it is not God. Certainly that calf of Samaria will be smashed to pieces! 7 Because they sow the wind, they will reap the whirlwind. The standing grain forms no heads, so it will yield no flour. Even if it would yield flour, foreigners would swallow it up. 8 Israel is swallowed up. Now among the nations they are like a pot no one wants. 9 For they have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey all by itself. Ephraim has hired lovers. 10 Even though they hire lovers among the nations, I will now gather them together. They will begin to suffer in a little while, because of oppression by a king with many officials. 11 Ephraim has multiplied his altars for sin offerings, but for him they became altars for sinning. 12 Though I wrote many teachings from my law for them, they regarded them as strange. 13 They offer sacrifices to me just to get the meat. [14] They sacrifice flesh and eat it, but the Lord is not pleased with them. Now he will remember their guilt and punish their sins. They will return to Egypt. 14 Israel has forgotten its Maker and built palaces. [15] Judah has multiplied its fortified cities, but I will send fire on its cities, which will devour its citadels.
Footnotes
Hosea 6:4 Or mercy
Hosea 6:6 Or faithfulness
Hosea 6:7 Or at Adam. We are aware of no act of covenant breaking at the city of Adam.
Hosea 6:11 Or though I would rather restore my people from captivity. Some translations join this line with verse 7:1.
Hosea 7:5 The birthday or the coronation day
Hosea 7:5 The Targum reads their.
Hosea 7:12 Or I will discipline them when I hear them flocking together. The meaning of the line is uncertain.
Hosea 7:14 Or they cut themselves, a reference to heathen religious practices
Hosea 7:16 Or not for the better. The translation above is literal. Many translations suggest the emendations return to the Most High or turn to Baal.
Hosea 8:1 Or an eagle is about to swoop down on
Hosea 8:2 Or know
Hosea 8:4 Literally know
Hosea 8:5 The Hebrew text reads he rejects. Ancient versions read reject! Sudden shifts of person are not unusual in Hosea.
1 Hear the word of the Lord, you people of Israel,
because the Lord has charges to make against the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in the land. 2 There is cursing, lying, murder, theft, and adultery. They break out in violence, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3 Therefore the land mourns, [1] and everyone who dwells in it wastes away along with the wild animals and the birds in the sky. Even the fish of the sea have been removed. 4 Yet no one should bring charges. No one should accuse, because your people are like those who dispute with a priest. [2] 5 You will stumble by day, and the prophet will also stumble with you by night. I will also destroy your mother. 6 My people have been destroyed because of lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from serving as a priest for me. Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. 7 The more they increased, the more they sinned against me. I changed their glory into shame. [3] 8 They feed on the sin of my people. They set their desire on things that make them guilty. 9 So it will be the same for people as for priests. I will punish them for their ways. I will repay them for their deeds. 10 They will eat, but not be satisfied. They will engage in sexual immorality, but not increase. This will take place because they have abandoned the Lord to devote themselves to 11 sexual sin. [4] Wine and new wine take away their understanding. [5] 12 My people consult their wooden idol, and their fortunetellers wand gives them information, because a promiscuous spirit has led them astray, and they behave like a whore instead of following their God. 13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops. They burn incense on the hills, and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, because their shade is pleasant. That is why your daughters commit fornication, [6] and your brides commit adultery. 14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit fornication, or your brides when they commit adultery, because the men consort with prostitutes and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes. So the people without understanding will come to ruin. 15 Though you, Israel, practice sexual immorality, Judah should not follow your guilty way. Do not go to Gilgal. Do not go up to Beth Aven. Do not swear, “As surely as the Lord lives.” 16 For Israel has become as stubborn as a heifer. How can the Lord feed them like a lamb in a meadow? 17 Ephraim is joined to idols. Let him go his own way! 18 Their alcoholic drinks are used up, but they keep practicing sexual immorality anyway. Their rulers, who should be their shields, instead love shame. 19 The wings of the wind will sweep them away, and they will be put to shame because of their sacrifices.
Judgment on Israel’s Priests and Kings
Hosea 5
1 Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, house of Israel! Listen, O house of the king! For this judgment applies to you, because you were a trap at Mizpah and a net spread out on Mount Tabor. 2 The rebels sink deeper into slaughter, but I will discipline all of them. 3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me. Now, Ephraim, you still practice sexual immorality. Israel is defiled. 4 Their deeds do not allow them to return to their God. For a spirit of prostitution lies within them, and they do not know the Lord. 5 The arrogance of Israel testifies against them. Israel and Ephraim will stumble over their guilt. Judah also will stumble with them. 6 They will go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord, but they will not find him. He has withdrawn from them. 7 They acted treacherously against the Lord. They even gave birth to illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them along with their allotted land. 8 Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah and the trumpet in Ramah! Raise a battle cry at Beth Aven: “Lead the way, Benjamin!” 9 Ephraim will become desolate ruins on the day it is punished. [7] What I have made known among the tribes of Israel will certainly happen. 10 The officials of Judah are like people who move a boundary stone. I will pour out my wrath on them like water. 11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, because he was determined to pursue worthless idols. [8] 12 I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like decay to the house of Judah. 13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to the Great King for help, but he is not able to heal you, and he will not cure your wound, 14 because I will be like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. Yes, I will tear him to pieces and go away. I will carry them off, and there will be no one who can rescue them.
Footnotes
Hosea 4:3 Or dries up
Hosea 4:4 The verse is difficult. The translation follows the Hebrew and Greek texts. Translations that render the third line my contention is with you, O priest emend the text to obtain this rendering. The point of the verse seems to be that it is useless to bring charges against these people, because they would not accept the judgment even of a priest.
Hosea 4:7 A Hebrew variant is they changed my glory for something shameful.
Hosea 4:11 Or prostitution
Hosea 4:11 The proper dividing point between verses 10 and 11 is uncertain. Though the words sexual sin are in verse 11 in the Hebrew text, these words belong with verse 10.
Hosea 4:13 The same Hebrew word elsewhere translated sexual immorality or prostitution is used here in reference to unmarried girls, so it is translated fornication.
Hosea 5:9 Or rebuked
Hosea 5:11 The translation follows some ancient versions. The Hebrew reads human commands.
The Prophet’s Reconciliation With His Wife:
A Picture of the Lord’s Love
1 The Lord said to me, “Go again. Show love to a woman who is loved by another man, a woman who keeps committing adultery. Show love just as the Lord loves the people of Israel, even though they keep turning to other gods and loving the raisin cakes.” [1]
2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and nine bushels [2] of barley. 3 I said to her, “You will stay with me for many days. You must not be promiscuous. [3] You must not be with any other man, and I will also be for you.”
4 So the people of Israel will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred memorial stones, and without the special vest [4] or family idols. [5]5 Afterward the people of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
Footnotes
Hosea 3:1 Raisin cakes were sometimes shaped into images of the goddess Asherah.
Hosea 3:2 A homer and a lethek, that is, six bushels plus three bushels
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The Conference of Presidents, chaired by the synod president, also includes 12 district presidents, the first and second synod vice presidents, and the non-voting synod recording secretary. The respective districts […]
“This year’s rally was meant to be more than just an event. It was a catalyst to seek deeper faith commitment.” As memories from the 2026 WELS Youth Rally this […]
Lynne embarked on a lifelong search for truth that led her from atheism and hostility toward Christianity. Through the ministry of two WELS home mission congregations, God quenched Lynne’s thirst […]
Mark Maurice began serving as executive director of WELS Investment Funds and WELS Foundation in June. Maurice brings more than 30 years of experience in Christian stewardship, charitable gift planning, […]
Around noon on Monday, July 27, a tornado ripped through northeastern Wisconsin, causing damage to Bethel, Menasha, a bilingual WELS church with about 500 members. The tornado also damaged the […]