Reflection for Wednesday 08 July 2020

Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8,       12 Psalm 105:        1-7 Matthew 10:1-7

Good day dear friends,

The prophecy of this chapter of the book of Hosea has two themes-Israel’s sin, and its punishment.
Conviction of sin and prediction of judgment are at the heart of Hosea’s message. The image of a
luxuriant vine laden with fruit is as old as Jacob’s blessing of the tribes, where it is applied to Joseph,
whose descendants were the strength of the Northern Kingdom. With the increase in prosperity came
an increase in the sinfulness of the people. The more fruit or material wealth, the more altars; the
better the harvests, the more the towers or pillars to gods, falsely supposed to be the authors of the
blessings.
The root of the evil was a heart divided or, concealing and dishonest. As so often in Hosea, evidence
of covenant unfaithfulness begin the section followed by announcements of punishment for
unfaithfulness. In this one pronouncement of the fate of the nation’s cultic symbols (altars, idols,
sacred standing stones, and high places) it quickly gives way to announcement of judgment on Israel’s
political symbol (the king).
When the Lord brought destruction, the people would realize that their self-appointed king had failed
them and that they did not respect the Lord. They would acknowledge that no human king could help
them. The Assyrians would remove the Israelites along with their king and they would be helpless,
totally at the mercy of the Assyrians.
The three centres of authority in the North were “king”, “cult”, and “capital city” and the final three
verses of the passage announce the fulfilment of sanctions against each of these. The Assyrians would
also destroy the sites of the idolatrous shrines at Aven, where the Israelites had sinned. The prophet
Hosea made a passionate plea to the Israelites to repent and foster righteousness with a view to earn
the Lord’s kindness. This is a figure for confessing sins and exposing them to God when they have
remained unconfessed for a long time. It was time for the people to seek Yahweh, whom they had
failed to seek in repentance for so long. They should confess and repent until the Lord sent the
blessings of righteousness on them like rain. This is a good summary of what all Israel’s prophets
appealed to God’s people to do throughout their history. God does not desire the death and ruin of His
people through their sins, but in mercy he needs them to suffer some form of punishment. It is the
intention to make them suffer destitution as a means to end their forbearance in comfort and pleasure.
They are meant to clean their hearts form corrupt affections and lust and to serve God in works of
devotion, justice and aid. Herein they would earn unto themselves a reward of grace and not of doubt.
Even our day and world is not immune to the misery brought about by sin. The misuse of worldly
wealth and the tendency of success to draw us away from God, and to blind to the true source of all
blessing, are as rampant now as it was then.
The psalmist wishes to excite the hearer to the point where they would seek only to bring praise to
God in word and life. He set out the “duties” to engage in as having but one aim, that being to give
unto God the glory due to him as follows:
1. We must give thanks to him; 2. Call upon his name; 3. Make known his deeds; 4. Sing psalms; 5.
Glory in his holy name; 6. Seek him; and 7. Let the hearts of those rejoice that do seek him.
The motivation to the performance of these “duties” would be:

1. To consider both what God has said and done to engage us in relationship with Him
for ever.

2. To consider the relation we stand in to him as His “children”, “chosen” and
“beloved”, as an undertaking to walk in the footsteps of our forefathers whose
honours we inherited.
3. To consider our interest in him as “the Lord our God”, upon whom we depend, are
devoted to and upon whom our expectation for salvations rests.

We are reminded of our need to with excitement declare the goodness of God even in the worst of
conditions and circumstances and to offer Him praise due to His name. We are given a beautiful
formula to do this that would prevent our disintegration and assist us in fulfilling the very role of the
church to honour and praise God.
Matthew organizes his Gospel as a new edition of the Law of God and in his gospel presents five
great dissertations or teachings of Jesus followed by a story part, in which he describes the way in
which Jesus puts into practice what He had taught in the addresses. 
Today’s Gospel presents to us the beginning of the Discourse on the Mission in which the accent is
placed on three aspects: (a) the call of the disciples; (b) the list of the names of the twelve Apostles
who will be the recipients of the Discourse on the Mission; and (c) the sending out of the twelve.
The task, or the mission, of the disciple is to follow Jesus, the Master, establishing community with
Him and carrying out the same mission of Jesus: “to drive out unclean spirits, to cure all sorts of
diseases and all sorts of illness”.  The calling of the disciples is followed by a list of the names of the
Twelve Apostles as Simon, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew, James
son of Alpheus, Lebbaeus, Simon the Canaanite and Judas.
After having given the list of the names of the twelve, Jesus sends them out with the following
command: “Do not make your way to gentile territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town. Go
instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the Kingdom of
Heaven is close at hand.”  In this one command there is a three-fold determination on showing that
the preference of the mission is for the house of Israel: (1) “Do not go among the gentiles”, (2) “do
not enter into the towns of the Samaritans”, (3) “rather go to the lost sheep of Israel”. Here appears
a response to the doubt of the first Christians concerning opening up to the heathen. After the
Resurrection of Jesus, there are several episodes on the sending out of the Apostles not only to the
Jews, but to all peoples like in Matthew’s great commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them
to observe everything which I have commanded.  And I will be with you until the end of time” (Mt
28:19-20). This call has a two-fold purpose: to form a community and to go on mission.  How do we
live this two-fold purpose in our lives?

Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the many things we can learn from the commission Christ gave to His
apostles, when He sent them to preach the good news of the kingdom to Israel and empowered them
with strength from on high. Thank You that in Christ we have all we need for life and godliness,
through the power of the indwelling Spirit of Christ. We praise you that in this world of sin and
deception, there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, and nothing that is hidden that will not
be known and judged appropriately by you. Thank You for Your love towards all your people of faith
and help us to live and work for your praise and glory – this we ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.