And will make them as His royal horse in the battle

This prophecy is about the time known as the latter rain. God will intervene in this time. The idol believers will be misled. God will judge the nations and Judah will be His instrument. The Lord will be on the side of Judah. God will bring back His people and His nation, and it will be as if they were not cast aside before.

God will redeem His people, and they will rejoice in Him. The second part is perhaps a prophecy that has been fulfilled and is the past to us. This is about God spreading and planting His people in various countries, perhaps to witness to others, as well as to build up His people. Then they will be returned to their Promised Land. They will also be brought back from the land of their captivity of Egypt and Assyria.



Zechariah 10
Restoration of Judah and Israel

1 Ask the Lord for rain
In the time of the latter rain.[a]
The Lord will make flashing clouds;
He will give them showers of rain,
Grass in the field for everyone.
2 For the idols[b] speak delusion;
The diviners envision lies,
And tell false dreams;
They comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wend their way like sheep;
They are in trouble because there is no shepherd.
3 “My anger is kindled against the shepherds,
And I will punish the goatherds.
For the Lord of hosts will visit His flock,
The house of Judah,
And will make them as His royal horse in the battle.
4 From him comes the cornerstone,
From him the tent peg,
From him the battle bow,
From him every ruler[c] together.
5 They shall be like mighty men,
Who tread down their enemies
In the mire of the streets in the battle.
They shall fight because the Lord is with them,
And the riders on horses shall be put to shame.
6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back,
Because I have mercy on them.
They shall be as though I had not cast them aside;
For I am the Lord their God,
And I will hear them.
7 Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man,
And their heart shall rejoice as if with wine.
Yes, their children shall see it and be glad;
Their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will whistle for them and gather them,
For I will redeem them;
And they shall increase as they once increased.
9 “I will sow them among the peoples,
And they shall remember Me in far countries;
They shall live, together with their children,
And they shall return.
10 I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt,
And gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon,
Until no more room is found for them.
11 He shall pass through the sea with affliction,
And strike the waves of the sea:
All the depths of the River[d] shall dry up.
Then the pride of Assyria shall be brought down,
And the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
12 “So I will strengthen them in the Lord,
And they shall walk up and down in His name,”
Says the Lord.

For they shall be like the Jewels of a Crown

This is a proclamation against Hadrach and Damascus, as well as Hamath, Tyre, Sidon. Tyre was a prosperous metropolis port city. She will be destroyed by the Lord and her neighbours will witness it. The surrounding nations too will be judged, including Ashkelon, the Philistines, Ashdod. Those who survive will turn towards God.

In the second part, Messiah is introduced as the King who will come riding on a young donkey. His nature is described as just, bringing salvation and real peace to all nations and His authority is over the whole earth.

The prophecy then turned towards God's people, that because of the covenant, they will be saved again. God will restore Judah and defend her. They are like jewels of a crown to God and they will prosper in the land again.




Zechariah 9
Israel Defended Against Enemies

1 The burden[a] of the word of the Lord
Against the land of Hadrach,
And Damascus its resting place
(For the eyes of men
And all the tribes of Israel
Are on the Lord);
2 Also against Hamath, which borders on it,
And against Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
3 For Tyre built herself a tower,
Heaped up silver like the dust,
And gold like the mire of the streets.
4 Behold, the Lord will cast her out;
He will destroy her power in the sea,
And she will be devoured by fire.
5 Ashkelon shall see it and fear;
Gaza also shall be very sorrowful;
And Ekron, for He dried up her expectation.
The king shall perish from Gaza,
And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
6 “A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod,
And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will take away the blood from his mouth,
And the abominations from between his teeth.
But he who remains, even he shall be for our God,
And shall be like a leader in Judah,
And Ekron like a Jebusite.
8 I will camp around My house
Because of the army,
Because of him who passes by and him who returns.
No more shall an oppressor pass through them,
For now I have seen with My eyes.


The Coming King

9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
The battle bow shall be cut off.
He shall speak peace to the nations;
His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.’[b]


God Will Save His People

11 “As for you also,
Because of the blood of your covenant,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 Return to the stronghold,
You prisoners of hope.
Even today I declare
That I will restore double to you.
13 For I have bent Judah, My bow,
Fitted the bow with Ephraim,
And raised up your sons, O Zion,
Against your sons, O Greece,
And made you like the sword of a mighty man.”
14 Then the Lord will be seen over them,
And His arrow will go forth like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet,
And go with whirlwinds from the south.
15 The Lord of hosts will defend them;
They shall devour and subdue with slingstones.
They shall drink and roar as if with wine;
They shall be filled with blood like basins,
Like the corners of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will save them in that day,
As the flock of His people.
For they shall be like the jewels of a crown,
Lifted like a banner over His land—
17 For how great is its[c] goodness
And how great its[d] beauty!
Grain shall make the young men thrive,
And new wine the young women.

For the Ways of the Lord are Right

God lays out the prospect of repentance for His people to turn back and call on Him again. They should ask God to take away their sins, acknowledge that their neighbours or others cannot help them and they are to stop worshipping idols made from their hands. In return, God promises to turn His anger away, to love them, and bless them with abundant growth. And the simple reason that they should follow the Lord, besides that He is the Almighty, is that "the ways of the Lord are right".



Hosea 14
Israel Restored at Last

1 O Israel, return to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
2 Take words with you,
And return to the Lord.
Say to Him,
“Take away all iniquity;
Receive us graciously,
For we will offer the sacrifices[a] of our lips.
3 Assyria shall not save us,
We will not ride on horses,
Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’
For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”
4 “I will heal their backsliding,
I will love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from him.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
He shall grow like the lily,
And lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread;
His beauty shall be like an olive tree,
And his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;
They shall be revived like grain,
And grow like a vine.
Their scent[b] shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 “Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’
I have heard and observed him.
I am like a green cypress tree;
Your fruit is found in Me.”
9 Who is wise?
Let him understand these things.
Who is prudent?
Let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right;
The righteous walk in them,
But transgressors stumble in them.

And you shall know no God but Me

The main reason for their rejection of God had been their idolatry and worshipping of other gods. They knew the true Lord God of Israel, yet they turned away. God reminded them that He is their God who brought them out of Israel. God recounted how He gave them a king when they requested, even though it will not be beneficial for them. Israel will go through various trials, God will be with them, but also judgment will be upon them. God promises to redeem them from death, but Samaria will face a terrible destruction.



Hosea 13
Relentless Judgment on Israel

13 When Ephraim spoke, trembling,
He exalted himself in Israel;
But when he offended through Baal worship, he died.
2 Now they sin more and more,
And have made for themselves molded images,
Idols of their silver, according to their skill;
All of it is the work of craftsmen.
They say of them,
“Let the men who sacrifice[a] kiss the calves!”
3 Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud
And like the early dew that passes away,
Like chaff blown off from a threshing floor
And like smoke from a chimney.
4 “Yet I am the Lord your God
Ever since the land of Egypt,
And you shall know no God but Me;
For there is no savior besides Me.
5 I knew you in the wilderness,
In the land of great drought.
6 When they had pasture, they were filled;
They were filled and their heart was exalted;
Therefore they forgot Me.
7 “So I will be to them like a lion;
Like a leopard by the road I will lurk;
8 I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs;
I will tear open their rib cage,
And there I will devour them like a lion.
The wild beast shall tear them.
9 “O Israel, you are destroyed,[b]
But your help[c] is from Me.
10 I will be your King;[d]
Where is any other,
That he may save you in all your cities?
And your judges to whom you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?
11 I gave you a king in My anger,
And took him away in My wrath.
12 “The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
His sin is stored up.
13 The sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him.
He is an unwise son,
For he should not stay long where children are born.
14 “I will ransom them from the power of the grave;[e]
I will redeem them from death.
O Death, I will be your plagues![f]
O Grave,[g] I will be your destruction![h]
Pity is hidden from My eyes.”
15 Though he is fruitful among his brethren,
An east wind shall come;
The wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness.
Then his spring shall become dry,
And his fountain shall be dried up.
He shall plunder the treasury of every desirable prize.
16 Samaria is held guilty,[i]
For she has rebelled against her God.
They shall fall by the sword,
Their infants shall be dashed in pieces,
And their women with child ripped open.

So you, by the help of your God, Return

The two nations of ancient Israel and Judah; Israel allied with the Assyrians and the Egyptians, while Judah was not completely innocent either. It mentions the person of Jacob who struggled since he was in the womb and then struggled with an angel and won. There God made a covenant with Jacob and so the people are encouraged to return to seek their God. Ephraim or Israel continued to seek riches and her own independent ways instead of committing to God. So God will allow them to live through His judgement for a time.



Hosea 12
1 “Ephraim feeds on the wind,
And pursues the east wind;
He daily increases lies and desolation.
Also they make a covenant with the Assyrians,
And oil is carried to Egypt.
2 “The Lord also brings a charge against Judah,
And will punish Jacob according to his ways;
According to his deeds He will recompense him.
3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb,
And in his strength he struggled with God.[a]
4 Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
He wept, and sought favor from Him.
He found Him in Bethel,
And there He spoke to us—
5 That is, the Lord God of hosts.
The Lord is His memorable name.
6 So you, by the help of your God, return;
Observe mercy and justice,
And wait on your God continually.
7 “A cunning Canaanite!
Deceitful scales are in his hand;
He loves to oppress.
8 And Ephraim said,
‘Surely I have become rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors
They shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.’
9 “But I am the Lord your God,
Ever since the land of Egypt;
I will again make you dwell in tents,
As in the days of the appointed feast.
10 I have also spoken by the prophets,
And have multiplied visions;
I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets.”
11 Though Gilead has idols—
Surely they are vanity—
Though they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal,
Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.
12 Jacob fled to the country of Syria;
Israel served for a spouse,
And for a wife he tended sheep.
13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,
And by a prophet he was preserved.
14 Ephraim provoked Him to anger most bitterly;
Therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him,
And return his reproach upon him.

At Dawn the King of Israel Shall be Cut Off Utterly

God's people were living in a broken society. They have corrupted their religious practice, ruining their altars and temple pillars. Their civil practice was also broken and they have no king. They continue with their idolatry and alliance with pagan nations steeped in idolatry.

The metaphor with farming is quite clear. It uses concepts of plowing wickedness and reaping iniquity, to describe the consequences of their rebelliousness. Wickedness and iniquity are not physical objects of farming so the verses are clearly allegorical. Whereas when it describes the breaking down of civil order, it is quite literal. For example when it describes that the king of Israel will be cut off literally, we know that the kingdom was conquered and the king removed.




Hosea 10
Israel’s Sin and Captivity

1 Israel empties his vine;
He brings forth fruit for himself.
According to the multitude of his fruit
He has increased the altars;
According to the bounty of his land
They have embellished his sacred pillars.
2 Their heart is divided;
Now they are held guilty.
He will break down their altars;
He will ruin their sacred pillars.
3 For now they say,
“We have no king,
Because we did not fear the Lord.
And as for a king, what would he do for us?”
4 They have spoken words,
Swearing falsely in making a covenant.
Thus judgment springs up like hemlock in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria fear
Because of the calf[a] of Beth Aven.
For its people mourn for it,
And its priests shriek for it—
Because its glory has departed from it.
6 The idol also shall be carried to Assyria
As a present for King Jareb.
Ephraim shall receive shame,
And Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.
7 As for Samaria, her king is cut off
Like a twig on the water.
8 Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
Shall be destroyed.
The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars;
They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
9 “O Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah;
There they stood.
The battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity[b]
Did not overtake them.
10 When it is My desire, I will chasten them.
Peoples shall be gathered against them
When I bind them for their two transgressions.[c]
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer
That loves to thresh grain;
But I harnessed her fair neck,
I will make Ephraim pull a plow.
Judah shall plow;
Jacob shall break his clods.”
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
13 You have plowed wickedness;
You have reaped iniquity.
You have eaten the fruit of lies,
Because you trusted in your own way,
In the multitude of your mighty men.
14 Therefore tumult shall arise among your people,
And all your fortresses shall be plundered
As Shalman plundered Beth Arbel in the day of battle—
A mother dashed in pieces upon her children.
15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,
Because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel
Shall be cut off utterly.

They became an Abomination like the thing They Loved.

This chapter refers to the state of sin and judgement of Israel. There is no point for them to rejoice. They have continued with their alliance with the pagan nations. Their sacrifices are not pleasing to God anymore. The chapter continues with various curses that will fall on the people. Basically God has cast them away because they did not obey him. It expresses the disappointment of God in His people. However, we must keep in mind this is not the end of the story of God's people. God is mercy, and that will manifest in the salvation of His people later on.



Hosea 9
Judgment of Israel’s Sin

1 Do not rejoice, O Israel, with joy like other peoples,
For you have played the harlot against your God.
You have made love for hire on every threshing floor.
2 The threshing floor and the winepress
Shall not feed them,
And the new wine shall fail in her.
3 They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land,
But Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
And shall eat unclean things in Assyria.
4 They shall not offer wine offerings to the Lord,
Nor shall their sacrifices be pleasing to Him.
It shall be like bread of mourners to them;
All who eat it shall be defiled.
For their bread shall be for their own life;
It shall not come into the house of the Lord.
5 What will you do in the appointed day,
And in the day of the feast of the Lord?
6 For indeed they are gone because of destruction.
Egypt shall gather them up;
Memphis shall bury them.
Nettles shall possess their valuables of silver;
Thorns shall be in their tents.
7 The days of punishment have come;
The days of recompense have come.
Israel knows!
The prophet is a fool,
The spiritual man is insane,
Because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity.
8 The watchman of Ephraim is with my God;
But the prophet is a fowler’s[a] snare in all his ways—
Enmity in the house of his God.
9 They are deeply corrupted,
As in the days of Gibeah.
He will remember their iniquity;
He will punish their sins.
10 “I found Israel
Like grapes in the wilderness;
I saw your fathers
As the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season.
But they went to Baal Peor,
And separated themselves to that shame;
They became an abomination like the thing they loved.
11 As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird—
No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!
12 Though they bring up their children,
Yet I will bereave them to the last man.
Yes, woe to them when I depart from them!
13 Just as I saw Ephraim like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place,
So Ephraim will bring out his children to the murderer.”
14 Give them, O Lord—
What will You give?
Give them a miscarrying womb
And dry breasts!
15 “All their wickedness is in Gilgal,
For there I hated them.
Because of the evil of their deeds
I will drive them from My house;
I will love them no more.
All their princes are rebellious.
16 Ephraim is stricken,
Their root is dried up;
They shall bear no fruit.
Yes, were they to bear children,
I would kill the darlings of their womb.”
17 My God will cast them away,
Because they did not obey Him;
And they shall be wanderers among the nations.

For Israel has forgotten his Maker

This prophecy concerns the time when Israel will be in danger from her enemies. They have violated their covenant with God and the Law, but in that time, they will cry to the Lord. But God remembers their rejection of Him, when they set up their own rulers, made idols using their silver and gold. Their lack of repentance when they asked God for help turns God away.

They are unproductive and their crops will not have a good harvest. They have allied themselves with their pagan neighbours like Assyria, that will one day conquer them. They have build altars and continued the practices of sacrifices and offerings, but they have no understanding or obedience to the Law. Besides the temples, they have also build fortresses to protect themselves, but God declares that He will send fire to destroy the cities, none of the fortresses can withstand it.

covenant, transgresses, rebelled, Israel, Lord, Law, princes, calf, idols, Samaria, innocence, Ephraim, Maker, Egypt, fortified cities,

Hosea 8
The Apostasy of Israel

1 “Set the trumpet[a] to your mouth!
He shall come like an eagle against the house of the Lord,
Because they have transgressed My covenant
And rebelled against My law.
2 Israel will cry to Me,
‘My God, we know You!’
3 Israel has rejected the good;
The enemy will pursue him.
4 “They set up kings, but not by Me;
They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them.
From their silver and gold
They made idols for themselves—
That they might be cut off.
5 Your calf is rejected, O Samaria!
My anger is aroused against them—
How long until they attain to innocence?
6 For from Israel is even this:
A workman made it, and it is not God;
But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.
7 “They sow the wind,
And reap the whirlwind.
The stalk has no bud;
It shall never produce meal.
If it should produce,
Aliens would swallow it up.
8 Israel is swallowed up;
Now they are among the Gentiles
Like a vessel in which is no pleasure.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like a wild donkey alone by itself;
Ephraim has hired lovers.
10 Yes, though they have hired among the nations,
Now I will gather them;
And they shall sorrow a little,[b]
Because of the burden[c] of the king of princes.
11 “Because Ephraim has made many altars for sin,
They have become for him altars for sinning.
12 I have written for him the great things of My law,
But they were considered a strange thing.
13 For the sacrifices of My offerings they sacrifice flesh and eat it,
But the Lord does not accept them.
Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.
They shall return to Egypt.
14 “For Israel has forgotten his Maker,
And has built temples;[d]
Judah also has multiplied fortified cities;
But I will send fire upon his cities,
And it shall devour his palaces.”

They return, but not to the Most High

God continues to pronounce the guilt of Israel to Hosea - they were robbers in God's eyes, they have wickedness in their hearts, they please kings and princes with lies. As a result the society was going down and because of their pride, they have not returned to God to follow Him.

Another indictment on His people is that they have turned to neighbouring pagan nations for security, nations that would take advantage of them. God declares that although He has redeemed them, such as from Egypt, yet the people lie against God. They are described as rebellious, treacherous, evil and God let their leaders fall.




Hosea 7

1 “When I would have healed Israel,
Then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered,
And the wickedness of Samaria.
For they have committed fraud;
A thief comes in;
A band of robbers takes spoil outside.
2 They do not consider in their hearts
That I remember all their wickedness;
Now their own deeds have surrounded them;
They are before My face.
3 They make a king glad with their wickedness,
And princes with their lies.
4 “They are all adulterers.
Like an oven heated by a baker—
He ceases stirring the fire after kneading the dough,
Until it is leavened.
5 In the day of our king
Princes have made him sick, inflamed with wine;
He stretched out his hand with scoffers.
6 They prepare their heart like an oven,
While they lie in wait;
Their baker[a] sleeps all night;
In the morning it burns like a flaming fire.
7 They are all hot, like an oven,
And have devoured their judges;
All their kings have fallen.
None among them calls upon Me.
8 “Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples;
Ephraim is a cake unturned.
9 Aliens have devoured his strength,
But he does not know it;
Yes, gray hairs are here and there on him,
Yet he does not know it.
10 And the pride of Israel testifies to his face,
But they do not return to the Lord their God,
Nor seek Him for all this.


Futile Reliance on the Nations

11 “Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without sense—
They call to Egypt,
They go to Assyria.
12 Wherever they go, I will spread My net on them;
I will bring them down like birds of the air;
I will chastise them
According to what their congregation has heard.
13 “Woe to them, for they have fled from Me!
Destruction to them,
Because they have transgressed against Me!
Though I redeemed them,
Yet they have spoken lies against Me.
14 They did not cry out to Me with their heart
When they wailed upon their beds.
“They assemble together for[b] grain and new wine,
They rebel against Me;[c]
15 Though I disciplined and strengthened their arms,
Yet they devise evil against Me;
16 They return, but not to the Most High;[d]
They are like a treacherous bow.
Their princes shall fall by the sword
For the cursings of their tongue.
This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

In their Affliction they will Earnestly Seek Me

God condemns the rebelliousness of Israel and Judah and points out their harlotry. Their children are even considered pagan children because of their parents and the society they are born in. They have pride, they do not know the Lord and when they seek the Lord in their sins, God withdraws Himself from them. They are oppressed, rotten and sick. God however will wait for them until they acknowledge their sins and turn back toward Him, which will happen during the time of their struggles.



Hosea 5
Impending Judgment on Israel and Judah

1 “Hear this, O priests!
Take heed, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For yours is the judgment,
Because you have been a snare to Mizpah
And a net spread on Tabor.
2 The revolters are deeply involved in slaughter,
Though I rebuke them all.
3 I know Ephraim,
And Israel is not hidden from Me;
For now, O Ephraim, you commit harlotry;
Israel is defiled.
4 “They do not direct their deeds
Toward turning to their God,
For the spirit of harlotry is in their midst,
And they do not know the Lord.
5 The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;
Judah also stumbles with them.
6 “With their flocks and herds
They shall go to seek the Lord,
But they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn Himself from them.
7 They have dealt treacherously with the Lord,
For they have begotten pagan children.
Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage.
8 “Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah,
The trumpet in Ramah!
Cry aloud at Beth Aven,
‘Look behind you, O Benjamin!’
9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke;
Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure.
10 “The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark;
I will pour out My wrath on them like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment,
Because he willingly walked by human precept.
12 Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth,
And to the house of Judah like rottenness.
13 “When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah saw his wound,
Then Ephraim went to Assyria
And sent to King Jareb;
Yet he cannot cure you,
Nor heal you of your wound.
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear them and go away;
I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
15 I will return again to My place
Till they acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”

I will put My Law in their Minds, and Write it on their Hearts

The first part is about the remnant of Israel who will be saved and once again live under the blessings of God. God tells them of His everlasting love for them. In that future time, they will come to Jerusalem to worship from all over the world. They will understand that God had redeemed them for a ransom and come to rejoice and worship.

In the second part, Ephraim, which may also indicate Israel, calls onto God for restoration. They have understood their mistakes and willing to repent. God hears them and provides them with hope. He also assures them that the future generations will return to the promised land. But before the restoration and blessings, there will first be judgment. God will allow both good seed and bad seed to grow together, then he will separate them when the time arrives.

In the final section, even in this Old Covenant times, God has revealed that in the future He will make a New Covenant with His people. The Old Covenant was based on the laws the God gave the people after rescuing them from Egypt. The New Covenant would be laws written in the hearts and minds of His people. God reveals Himself as the Supreme Creator and gives the confidence that the restored Israel will be there as long as the universe exist.



Jeremiah 31
The Remnant of Israel Saved

1 “At the same time,” says the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

2 Thus says the Lord:

“The people who survived the sword
Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when I went to give him rest.”
3 The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
4 Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your tambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.
5 You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria;
The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food.
6 For there shall be a day
When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim,
‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’”
7 For thus says the Lord:
“Sing with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘O Lord, save Your people,
The remnant of Israel!’
8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country,
And gather them from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child
And the one who labors with child, together;
A great throng shall return there.
9 They shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters,
In a straight way in which they shall not stumble;
For I am a Father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My firstborn.
10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare it in the isles afar off, and say,
‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
11 For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he.
12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion,
Streaming to the goodness of the Lord—
For wheat and new wine and oil,
For the young of the flock and the herd;
Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden,
And they shall sorrow no more at all.
13 “Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance,
And the young men and the old, together;
For I will turn their mourning to joy,
Will comfort them,
And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
14 I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”



Mercy on Ephraim

15 Thus says the Lord:
“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because they are no more.”
16 Thus says the Lord:
“Refrain your voice from weeping,
And your eyes from tears;
For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord,
And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 There is hope in your future, says the Lord,
That your children shall come back to their own border.
18 “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself:
‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained bull;
Restore me, and I will return,
For You are the Lord my God.
19 Surely, after my turning, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated,
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
20 Is Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a pleasant child?
For though I spoke against him,
I earnestly remember him still;
Therefore My heart yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.
21 “Set up signposts,
Make landmarks;
Set your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.
Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
Turn back to these your cities.
22 How long will you gad about,
O you backsliding daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman shall encompass a man.”


Future Prosperity of Judah

23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!’ 24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. 25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”

26 After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me.

27 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. 29 In those days they shall say no more:

‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

A New Covenant

31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,[a] says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

35 Thus says the Lord,
Who gives the sun for a light by day,
The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,
Who disturbs the sea,
And its waves roar
(The Lord of hosts is His name):
36 “If those ordinances depart
From before Me, says the Lord,
Then the seed of Israel shall also cease
From being a nation before Me forever.”
37 Thus says the Lord:

“If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also cast off all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done, says the Lord.
38 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the city shall be built for the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath. 40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the Lord. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.”

I Lay in Zion a Stone for a Foundation

The first part is about the prophecy on Ephraim. It describes the reason for the judgment as Ephraim or Israel, being drunk and full of pride. Drunk probably means drunk in their sinfulness and rebellion, which may or may not lead to physical drunkenness. The result of their sinfulness also mean that they have the wrong vision of what God has for them and also failing to make good judgments. Another fault of the people is that they have failed to pass on the message about God to the next generation.

The proclamation is also aimed at the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It seemed that they have put their confidence in lies and falsehood, and even death, that they will be safe from judgment. Here quotes the well known versus about the Lord has laid a foundation and Messiah will be the cornerstone. It warns that the inhabitants cannot hide from God's judgment, it warns against mocking God and finally it reveals the impending destruction from God's judgment on the whole earth.

The final part gives some encouragement to listen and concentrate on what God is saying. Although the destruction might come, God will protect some, using the analogy of farming cummin. It also encourages by saying the destruction will not last forever and that God is "wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance".



Isaiah 28
Woe to Ephraim and Jerusalem

1 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim,
Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the verdant valleys,
To those who are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one,
Like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm,
Like a flood of mighty waters overflowing,
Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.
3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim,
Will be trampled underfoot;
4 And the glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the verdant valley,
Like the first fruit before the summer,
Which an observer sees;
He eats it up while it is still in his hand.
5 In that day the Lord of hosts will be
For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty
To the remnant of His people,
6 For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 But they also have erred through wine,
And through intoxicating drink are out of the way;
The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink,
They are swallowed up by wine,
They are out of the way through intoxicating drink;
They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filth;
No place is clean.
9 “Whom will he teach knowledge?
And whom will he make to understand the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just drawn from the breasts?
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little.”
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, “This is the rest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little,”
That they might go and fall backward, and be broken
And snared and caught.
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol we are in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
It will not come to us,
For we have made lies our refuge,
And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”


A Cornerstone in Zion

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17 Also I will make justice the measuring line,
And righteousness the plummet;
The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will be trampled down by it.
19 As often as it goes out it will take you;
For morning by morning it will pass over,
And by day and by night;
It will be a terror just to understand the report.”
20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim,
He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon—
That He may do His work, His awesome work,
And bring to pass His act, His unusual act.
22 Now therefore, do not be mockers,
Lest your bonds be made strong;
For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts,
A destruction determined even upon the whole earth.


Listen to the Teaching of God

23 Give ear and hear my voice,
Listen and hear my speech.
24 Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow?
Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
25 When he has leveled its surface,
Does he not sow the black cummin
And scatter the cummin,
Plant the wheat in rows,
The barley in the appointed place,
And the spelt in its place?
26 For He instructs him in right judgment,
His God teaches him.
27 For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin;
But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick,
And the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread flour must be ground;
Therefore he does not thresh it forever,
Break it with his cartwheel,
Or crush it with his horsemen.
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts,
Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.

Behold, Damascus Will Cease from Being a City

This chapter proclaims judgment on both Syria and Israel. The proclamation on Syria's capital Damascus in one of destruction to the point that it will "cease from being a city". This has not happened to Damascus since this prophecy was written until now which means that it is in the future.

The proclamation on Israel however is quite different. The imagery of a harvester is used perhaps to indicate judgment. However, using the imagery of olives and grapes, a good remnant of Israel will be left surviving. Great hardship will still come to Israel in those days, it is even described as desolation. However the people will begin to recognize and turn again toward the Holy One of Israel. At that time, they will also stop worshipping idols made from their hands and seek the Lord their God.



Isaiah 17
Proclamation Against Syria and Israel

1 The burden against Damascus.
“Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city,
And it will be a ruinous heap.
2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken;[a]
They will be for flocks
Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid.
3 The fortress also will cease from Ephraim,
The kingdom from Damascus,
And the remnant of Syria;
They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
4 “In that day it shall come to pass
That the glory of Jacob will wane,
And the fatness of his flesh grow lean.
5 It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain,
And reaps the heads with his arm;
It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain
In the Valley of Rephaim.
6 Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it,
Like the shaking of an olive tree,
Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough,
Four or five in its most fruitful branches,”
Says the Lord God of Israel.
7 In that day a man will look to his Maker,
And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel.
8 He will not look to the altars,
The work of his hands;
He will not respect what his fingers have made,
Nor the wooden images[b] nor the incense altars.
9 In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough[c]
And an uppermost branch,[d]
Which they left because of the children of Israel;
And there will be desolation.
10 Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation,
And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold,
Therefore you will plant pleasant plants
And set out foreign seedlings;
11 In the day you will make your plant to grow,
And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish;
But the harvest will be a heap of ruins
In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people
Who make a noise like the roar of the seas,
And to the rushing of nations
That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters;
But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away,
And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind,
Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 Then behold, at eventide, trouble!
And before the morning, he is no more.
This is the portion of those who plunder us,
And the lot of those who rob us.

The Spirit of the Lord Shall Rest upon Him,

This chapters delves into the introduction of the Messiah. His lineage will be from Jesse, the father of King David. He will have the Spirit of the LORD, with wisdom and understanding and knowledge. He will be a fair judge, compassionate to the poor and fearsome to the wicked. There is a description of His rule in which there will be peace on Earth, even in nature, where the wolf will lie down with the lamb.

In the days where Messiah rules, the whole earth will know Him. All the Gentiles will come to Him. He will again gather the remnant of His people. This part is prophetic and is difficult to be sure about. It may be referring to the remnant of His people Israel, but in that time it is not clear who the enemies will be since Messiah is known throughout the Earth.




Isaiah 11
The Reign of Jesse’s Offspring

1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
6 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.
10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.”
11 It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time
To recover the remnant of His people who are left,
From Assyria and Egypt,
From Pathros and Cush,
From Elam and Shinar,
From Hamath and the islands of the sea.
12 He will set up a banner for the nations,
And will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
And gather together the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.
13 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart,
And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not envy Judah,
And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west;
Together they shall plunder the people of the East;
They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab;
And the people of Ammon shall obey them.
15 The Lord will utterly destroy[a] the tongue of the Sea of Egypt;
With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River,[b]
And strike it in the seven streams,
And make men cross over dry-shod.
16 There will be a highway for the remnant of His people
Who will be left from Assyria,
As it was for Israel
In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.

That The Lord will Whistle for the Fly

Isaiah was sent to King Ahaz to deliver a message from God that the forces of Syria and Israel(Ephraim) against Judah will not prevail. In more detail it also describes the Ephraim herself would be destroyed as a nation in the next 65 years. God then challenges Ahaz to believe this or Ahaz himself will fall.

God further challenges Ahaz to ask Him for a sign. When Ahaz refused, God revealed the virgin birth of the LORD and His name Immanuel. Also God described the forces that will come against Judah soon.

God revealed his plans of judgement where he will summon enemies from the east (Assyria) and west (Egypt). The enemies of Judah will come and wreck the land so that it will become briers and thorns.




Isaiah 7
Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz

1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it. 2 And it was told to the house of David, saying, “Syria’s forces are deployed in Ephraim.” So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.

3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub[a] your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, 4 and say to him: ‘Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel”— 7 thus says the Lord God:

“It shall not stand,
Nor shall it come to pass.
8 For the head of Syria is Damascus,
And the head of Damascus is Rezin.
Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken,
So that it will not be a people.
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
And the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.
If you will not believe,
Surely you shall not be established.”’”


The Immanuel Prophecy

10 Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.”

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”

13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.[b] 15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. 17 The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.”

18 And it shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord will whistle for the fly
That is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt,
And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19 They will come, and all of them will rest
In the desolate valleys and in the clefts of the rocks,
And on all thorns and in all pastures.
20 In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor,
With those from beyond the River,[c] with the king of Assyria,
The head and the hair of the legs,
And will also remove the beard.
21 It shall be in that day
That a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep;
22 So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give,
That he will eat curds;
For curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land.
23 It shall happen in that day,
That wherever there could be a thousand vines
Worth a thousand shekels of silver,
It will be for briers and thorns.
24 With arrows and bows men will come there,
Because all the land will become briers and thorns.
25 And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe,
You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns;
But it will become a range for oxen
And a place for sheep to roam.

O God, You Have Cast Us Off

This psalm appears to be regarding conquests of enemy lands. It starts off seemingly like Israel's army has displeased God in some way. Yet the psalmist is a believer and trusts God to deliver the enemy nations to his hand, such as Shechem, Gilead, Moab, Edom, Philistia and so on. Finally he acknowledges that any victory is from God, who treads down the enemy.

Psalm 60
To the Chief Musician. Set to “Lily of the Testimony.”[a] A Michtam of David. For teaching. When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

 1 O God, You have cast us off;
         You have broken us down;
         You have been displeased;
         Oh, restore us again!
 2 You have made the earth tremble;
         You have broken it;
         Heal its breaches, for it is shaking.
 3 You have shown Your people hard things;
         You have made us drink the wine of confusion.
        
 4 You have given a banner to those who fear You,
         That it may be displayed because of the truth.  Selah 
 5 That Your beloved may be delivered,
         Save with Your right hand, and hear me.
        
 6 God has spoken in His holiness:
         “I will rejoice;
         I will divide Shechem
         And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
 7 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
         Ephraim also is the helmet for My head;
         Judah is My lawgiver.
 8 Moab is My washpot;
         Over Edom I will cast My shoe;
         Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.”
        
 9 Who will bring me to the strong city?
         Who will lead me to Edom?
 10 Is it not You, O God, who cast us off?
         And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies?
 11 Give us help from trouble,
         For the help of man is useless.
 12 Through God we will do valiantly,
         For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.

Asa Renews Covenant with the LORD

Asa call to revival for his nation is a resemblance of similar events in the reign of David and Solomon. The LORD's spirit came to the prophet Azariah to invite King Asa to lead his nation to repentence. Asa responded and took down the idols and restored worship at the Temple. This was a significant revival that it caused the migration of some from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon in Israel to Judah.

The nation of Judah renewed their covenant with the LORD with such zealousness that those who refuse to seek the LORD would be executed. For a long period of time after that, God blessed Judah with peace from any wars. Also, Asa' own mother, Maachah, who made an idol, was removed from being Queen Mother.

2 Chronicles 15

The Reforms of Asa

 1 Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. 2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; 4 but when in their trouble they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. 5 And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. 7 But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”
8 And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded[a] the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the LORD that was before the vestibule of the LORD. 9 Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
10 So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 And they offered to the LORD at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the spoil they had brought. 12 Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; 13 and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14 Then they took an oath before the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns. 15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around.
16 Also he removed Maachah, the mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah;[b] and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron. 17 But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days.
18 He also brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils. 19 And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

Families of Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh (West), Ephraim and Asher

This chapter chronicles the remaining tribes of Israel, namely Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh (West), Ephraim and Asher. The family of Issachar, Asher and Benjamin were noted at one time as mighty men of valor as they contributed strong troops to the army of Israel. From the family of Ephraim, came Joseph, son of Nun, who was the chosen leader who replaced Moses and led the Israelites into the promised land.


1 Chronicles 7

The Family of Issachar

 1 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah,[a] Jashub, and Shimron—four in all. 2 The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father’s house. The sons of Tola were mighty men of valor in their generations; their number in the days of David was twenty-two thousand six hundred. 3 The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah, and the sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Ishiah. All five of them were chief men. 4 And with them, by their generations, according to their fathers’ houses, were thirty-six thousand troops ready for war; for they had many wives and sons.
5 Now their brethren among all the families of Issachar were mighty men of valor, listed by their genealogies, eighty-seven thousand in all.

The Family of Benjamin
 
6 The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Becher, and Jediael—three in all. 7 The sons of Bela were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri—five in all. They were heads of their fathers’ houses, and they were listed by their genealogies, twenty-two thousand and thirty-four mighty men of valor.
8 The sons of Becher were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jerimoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these are the sons of Becher. 9 And they were recorded by genealogy according to their generations, heads of their fathers’ houses, twenty thousand two hundred mighty men of valor. 10 The son of Jediael was Bilhan, and the sons of Bilhan were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tharshish, and Ahishahar.
11 All these sons of Jediael were heads of their fathers’ houses; there were seventeen thousand two hundred mighty men of valor fit to go out for war and battle. 12 Shuppim and Huppim[b]were the sons of Ir, and Hushim was the son of Aher.

The Family of Naphtali
 
13 The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel,[c] Guni, Jezer, and Shallum,[d] the sons of Bilhah.

The Family of Manasseh (West)
 
14 The descendants of Manasseh: his Syrian concubine bore him Machir the father of Gilead, the father of Asriel.[e] 15 Machir took as his wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim,[f] whose name was Maachah. The name of Gilead’s grandson[g]was Zelophehad,[h] but Zelophehad begot only daughters. 16 (Maachah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh. The name of his brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17 The son of Ulam was Bedan.) These were the descendants of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh.
18 His sister Hammoleketh bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
19 And the sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

The Family of Ephraim
 
20 The sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eladah his son, Tahath his son, 21 Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead. The men of Gath who were born in that land killed them because they came down to take away their cattle. 22 Then Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.
23 And when he went in to his wife, she conceived and bore a son; and he called his name Beriah,[i] because tragedy had come upon his house. 24 Now his daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon and Uzzen Sheerah; 25 and Rephah was his son, as well as Resheph, and Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26 Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27 Nun[j] his son, and Joshua his son.
28 Now their possessions and dwelling places were Bethel and its towns: to the east Naaran, to the west Gezer and its towns, and Shechem and its towns, as far as Ayyah[k] and its towns; 29 and by the borders of the children of Manasseh were Beth Shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph, the son of Israel.

The Family of Asher
 
30 The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. 31 The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith.[l] 32 And Heber begot Japhlet, Shomer,[m] Hotham,[n] and their sister Shua. 33 The sons of Japhlet were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were the children of Japhlet. 34 The sons of Shemer were Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35 And the sons of his brother Helem were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. 36 The sons of Zophah were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, ImrahBezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Jithran,[o] and Beera. 38 The sons of Jether were Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara. 39 The sons of Ulla were Arah, Haniel, and Rizia.
40 All these were the children of Asher, heads of their fathers’ houses, choice men, mighty men of valor, chief leaders. And they were recorded by genealogies among the army fit for battle; their number was twenty-six thousand.

Perverted sin of Gibeah

Jebus, the old name for Jerusalem. Its inhabitants are the Jebusites, which must be the previous inhabitants of Jerusalem. This curious little detail is included in the tragedy below.

This is the account of a certain Levite who had a concubine who ran away back to her father's home. Not entirely sure if "played the harlot" actually meant she became a harlot for a while. The man from the mountains of Ephraim went to her father's house in Bethelem in Judah and after many days, was able to bring her out of her father's house.

Tragedy struck as the Levite and his party stopped at a town called Gibeah. Initially the party went passed Jebus but the man refused to stay the night there because it was not an Israel territory. So they reached Gibeah, in the land of Benjamin, and decided to rest there. An old man invited them into his house to spend the night.

Then some perverted men in the city tried to force the Levite out of the house to rape him. Instead the old man suggested that they sacrifice the old man's daughter and the man's concubine and let the perverted man do as they wish. They raped the concubine all night and in the morning, she lay by the door and may have died since she did not answer when the man called to her. The man brought her back and cut her into 12 pieces and sent each piece to the 12 tribes of Israel. The Levite did this so that all the tribes would know and remember the tragedy that happened.

The act of the perverted men in Gibeah is very much like that in Sodom, when the angels stayed in Lot's house and the perverted men tried to force them out to rape them.



Judges 19

The Levite’s Concubine

 1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 But his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months. 3 Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him. 4 Now his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.
5 Then it came to pass on the fourth day that they arose early in the morning, and he stood to depart; but the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.”
6 So they sat down, and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, “Please be content to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.” 7 And when the man stood to depart, his father-in-law urged him; so he lodged there again. 8 Then he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, but the young woman’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they delayed until afternoon; and both of them ate.
9 And when the man stood to depart—he and his concubine and his servant—his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is now drawing toward evening; please spend the night. See, the day is coming to an end; lodge here, that your heart may be merry. Tomorrow go your way early, so that you may get home.”
10 However, the man was not willing to spend that night; so he rose and departed, and came opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys; his concubine was also with him. 11 They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it.”
12 But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who are not of the children of Israel; we will go on to Gibeah.” 13 So he said to his servant, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.” 14 And they passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. 15 They turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open square of the city, for no one would take them into his house to spend the night.
16 Just then an old man came in from his work in the field at evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim; he was staying in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites. 17 And when he raised his eyes, he saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?”

20 And the old man said, “Peace be with you! However, let all your needs be my responsibility; only do not spend the night in the open square.” 21 So he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.

Gibeah’s Crime
  
22 As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men,[a] surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!”
23 But the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brethren! I beg you, do not act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, do not commit this outrage. 24 Look, here is my virgin daughter and the man’s[b] concubine; let me bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them as you please; but to this man do not do such a vile thing!” 25 But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until morning; and when the day began to break, they let her go.
26 Then the woman came as the day was dawning, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, till it was light.
27 When her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, there was his concubine, fallen at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold. 28 And he said to her, “Get up and let us be going.” But there was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey; and the man got up and went to his place.
29 When he entered his house he took a knife, laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve pieces, limb by limb,[c] and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. 30 And so it was that all who saw it said, “No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day. Consider it, confer, and speak up!”

Danites Adopt Micah’s Idolatry

The tribe of Dan apparently had not taken possession of their assigned land up to this point. So they where surveying the land to see how they can conquer it. They went to the land of Ephraim and met the Levite whom Micah hired to be the priest in his temple. The were impressed by the priest and his temple and asked the priest to enquire God for them. The young priest blessed them as they went. Then they came to the land of Laish which was a good land and had no rulers.  So they went back to give a good report and encouraged the rest that it is a good opportunity to begin their conquest.

When the Danites gathered their army, their first stop was the house of Micah. They abducted the priests and took all the idols from the temple of Micah. They managed to convince the priest to serve as their priest. Although Micah rounded up his neighbours to chase the Danites, he eventually realised that he could not defeat the Danites and thus gave up the chase.

They managed to conquer Laish easily and renamed it Dan after their tribe. With Micah's carved images and the priest, the Danites set up their own worship centre. Up until now there is no mention of impending judgement or how sinful the act was. But perhaps this sinful act of setting up their own idols and priests was too obvious to require any further comment.


Judges 18

The Danites Adopt Micah’s Idolatry

 1 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for itself to dwell in; for until that day their inheritance among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them. 2 So the children of Dan sent five men of their family from their territory, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and search it. They said to them, “Go, search the land.” So they went to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 While they were at the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. They turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?”
4 He said to them, “Thus and so Micah did for me. He has hired me, and I have become his priest.”
5 So they said to him, “Please inquire of God, that we may know whether the journey on which we go will be prosperous.”
6 And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The presence of the LORD be with you on your way.”
7 So the five men departed and went to Laish. They saw the people who were there, how they dwelt safely, in the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure. There were no rulers in the land who might put them to shame for anything. They were far from the Sidonians, and they had no ties with anyone.[a]
8 Then the spies came back to their brethren at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren said to them, “What is your report?”
9 So they said, “Arise, let us go up against them. For we have seen the land, and indeed it is very good. Would you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go, and enter to possess the land. 10 When you go, you will come to a secure people and a large land. For God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”
11 And six hundred men of the family of the Danites went from there, from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war. 12 Then they went up and encamped in Kirjath Jearim in Judah. (Therefore they call that place Mahaneh Dan[b] to this day. There it is, west of Kirjath Jearim.) 13 And they passed from there to the mountains of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.
14 Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brethren, “Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a molded image? Now therefore, consider what you should do.” 15 So they turned aside there, and came to the house of the young Levite man—to the house of Micah—and greeted him. 16 The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17 Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up. Entering there, they took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image. The priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were armed with weapons of war.
18 When these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”
19 And they said to him, “Be quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us; be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the household of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” 20 So the priest’s heart was glad; and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and took his place among the people.

24 So he said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. Now what more do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What ails you?’”
25 And the children of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry men fall upon you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household!” 26 Then the children of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.


Danites Settle in Laish
  
27 So they took the things Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; and they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no ties with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt the city and dwelt there. 29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city formerly was Laish.
30 Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh,[c] and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.