- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Nov 24, 2015 1:45:09 GMT -8
haftara for par'shah "Vayetze"
Hosea 12:12-14 (ESV) Jacob fled to the land of Aram; there Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he guarded sheep.
By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was guarded.
Ephraim has given bitter provocation; so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.
This looks back to Genesis ch. 29, when Jacob fled to Laban and the story of his tending Laban’s sheep for Rachael and Leah, his wives. The reference to a prophet is to Moses, considered the greatest prophet of all those in the TNK.
Th offense of Ephriam was that they had turned from their God to follow false gods; especially to become dependent upon themselves, leaving God out of the equation entirely. God had saved them from Egypt and preserved them through the wilderness. But then Ephraim had become a mighty nation within Israel. They became rich through deceitful business practices.
Hosea 12:7-8 (ESV) A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress.
Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich; I have found wealth for myself; in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”
They had become dependent on their own wealth, power, leadership and diplomacy; all the while discounting the God who had brought them there and who could have saved them from the Assyrians. He was subsequently compelled to allow them to fail and ultimately fall by their own devices. There is an obvious lesson here for us today.
Hosea 13:1 (ESV) When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
“Guilt through Baal,” the emblem of both idolatry and self-reliance.
Hosea 13:2-4 (ESV) And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, “Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!”
Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away, like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or like smoke from a window.
But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior.
Some Northern Israelites believed that calves were alternate ways of depicting God. In fact, the first letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet is Aleph; which can mean God. It is pictorially represented by the shape of an ox-head, and means the “Mighty One.” However we are commanded to make no graven images, and to do so, even with the best intentions ("but it represents God") is to start the fall into total idolatry. This is why it is so important we as Meshiachim put away all our Christian baggage such as Christmas (coming soon) even though it supposedly worships “the Baby Jesus.” We can make an idol even out of God Himself!
These verses however see the images of calves to represent foreign deities; false gods. This is the ultimate end of idolatry. “But,” you may say, “many Christians don’t fall into worship of false gods.” Oh really? Have we not as a once Christian nation fallen into the same dependency on ourselves as Ephraim did? And I’ve argued with Christian pastors who think they can go into pagan temples and worship before their alters because “I can worship God anywhere.” Some pray to statues of saints instead of to God. Others are confused as to whether they should pray to the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit- not realizing they are one and the same!
Hosea 13:10 (ESV) Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers— those of whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?
This language harkens back to 1 Samuel 10 and the nations cry for a human king to rule them. It is mocking, as God warned them at the time they would come to regret their choice.
Hosea 13:13 (ESV) The pangs of childbirth come for him, but he is an unwise son, for at the right time he does not present himself at the opening of the womb.
Here we see a metaphor in which “the son” is unwise, as He will suffer prolonged pains of childbirth; resisting birth at the proper time. Birth is symbolic of repentance which is necessary for salvation. If Ephraim will turn their hearts to God they will end their suffering and enter an era of divine blessing. This can be seen as a prophetic metaphor for HaMoshiach, who contemporary Judaism sees as delaying His coming but who we see as having come, but who is delaying judgement. Either way, I can relate to this era as being like labor pains.
Now, I can just hear the moms out there saying “You have no idea!” Well, actually I do. In one of the EMS classes I helped instruct the PA teaching one class said it feels like being kicked in the groin, only it lasts longer. They know this because of studies and because the same nerve bundles innervate both male and female reproductive anatomy. So if it makes you feel any better, just say it is like getting kicked repeatedly … both are true! As a Messianic believer I am just about tired of getting kicked! But I digress.
If we had avoided the fight (accepted Yeshua in true repentance) we might not have got kicked so bad in the first place.
Hosea 13:15 (ESV) Though he may flourish among his brothers [some translations- ‘among the reeds’], the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come, rising from the wilderness, and his fountain shall dry up; his spring shall be parched; it shall strip his treasury of every precious thing.
טו. כִּי הוּא בֵּן אַחִים יַפְרִיא יָבוֹא קָדִים רוּחַ יְהוָה מִמִּדְבָּר עֹלֶה וְיֵבוֹשׁ מְקוֹרוֹ וְיֶחֱרַב
מַעְיָנוֹ הוּא יִשְׁסֶה אוֹצַר כָּל-כְּלִי חֶמְדָּה:
15. Though he may flourish like the reed grass, an east wind shall come, the wind of
the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his
fountain shall be dried up; it shall strip his treasure of all precious vessels.
This part of the poem is rich in wordplay. “Ephraim” and “reeds” sound similar in Hebrew. So do “reeds” (or marshes) and “brothers.” Reeds could be a metaphor for Egypt, while brothers could represent Ephraim’s place at the head of his brothers; also their prominent place in the Northern tribes. An east wind is a dry, scorching wind which represents God’s might and power. Assyria was to the east.
אח 'âch can mean brother by blood, an ally, friend, companion, or many other connotations of “brother.” Achim however means tribal relations. ‘Kanim’ are reeds, and ‘ach’ can also mean a fireplace where dried reeds might be burned
Hosea 14:2-4 (ESV) Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls [others ‘instead of bulls we will pay (with)’] the vows of our lips.
Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.”
I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.
This is a powerful call to repentance. True repentance has always been valued more by God than sacrifices and offerings.
Hosea 14:5-8 (ESV) I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon.
They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit.
EB Meyer gave the best commentary on this when he said “The prophet here ransacks the world of Nature for phrases sufficiently expressive of his transports of joy. The whole world seems to set forth the love of God.”
Hosea 14:9 (ESV) Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.
These lessons were not meant to be simply heard and passed on like a sermon or a d’rash. They are to be read over and over; studied and taken to heart.
Dan C
Sources: JPS TNK study notes, W. Wiersby, E. B. Meyer, Vine’s, Strong’s, Webster's Hebrew Dictionary, my father, and others.
