33.
How great is the protection of the Lord? Among the many promises given to Israel was the assurance of divinely appointed peace. Their enemies were to be filled with fear of them, as long as they walked with the Lord. Ex. 23:27 But now, that protection of the Lord had been revoked. They were on their own, trusting in gods that were none existent. The Lord used a threefold method of warning to alert them of the impending judgment. Therefore sound an alarm. Invasion is imminent if not already commenced. The sophar, was to be sounded, but in vain, for they were no longer under the canopy of the Lord. Hos. 5:8 When they walked with the Lord the sounding of the ram’s horn translated in to victory for them. Josh. 6:5 In this instance it was a warning of impending defeat and captivity. The silver trumpets were used in much the same way, for an assembly, in preparation for traveling and in a warning of impending danger. Num. 10:1-9 The third warning was in the shouted warning of the prophet of the Lord. The Lord had been faithful in alerting them to the consequences of their backslidings. The time for the penalty to be enjoined upon them had arrived.
While the main emphasis is on Israel, Judah is not excluded from being effected. With the special warning given to Benjamin it would appear that the invasion began in their territory. Ephraim (Israel), to be laid waste as an act of chastisement from the Lord. Thus, and in this method the Lord will reveal to them the truth and effectiveness of His Word. Hos. 5:9 As the Lord had previously warned, (Hos. 5:5) Judah, most unfortunately had followed the same pattern as Israel and therefore would not escape correction. They had removed the religious border and were involved in the worship of Baal commingled with Jehovah. Seeing as there was a curse upon those who removed the landmarks of their neighbors property, (Deut. 27:17) how much greater would the punishment be for those who cheated on the Lord. Note Jer. 23:27 Judah was to receive correction like floods of water. Ephraim will know violence and be removed, scattered abroad and find that they have been violently separated from the land of their inheritance. All because, they willingly walked by human concept. NKJV Natural, carnal intelligence and spiritual concepts do not agree. What is presented by the natural mind may sound reasonable, but only to those who do not know the reasoning‚ of the mind of the Spirit. Their acceptance of the doctrines of the heathen around and about them is the cause of the trouble in which they found themselves. Rom. 8:5 The difference between the two is equal to life and death. Rom. 8:6 The Lord in utter disgust had turned away from Israel and declared that He would be like a destructive moth. At the same time He would be to Judah as rottenness or decay, as though they were being eaten by a worm. Certain and positive signs of great problems because they had forsaken the Lord.