66.
Woe to a people who are forsaken of the Lord. Death and dying was to be a common happening among their children. The sorrows of having forsaken the Lord were to be their portion in life. Hos. 10:12 The warnings of the Lord had been more than sufficient of the consequences into which they had led themselves. Specifically, the Lord had stated that if they went after other gods He would forsake them. Also, that He would hide His face from them. Therefore many evils would come upon them until they would confess that all his had happened because the Lord was not in their midst. Deut. 31:16-17 To have known the Lord and to have depended upon Him, then suddenly to come to the realization that He was not longer with them, would have been a terrible shock. They would have lost their best friend as well as the Divine protection of the Lord. Dire and difficult circumstance came upon them, all because of their own wicked doings.
Ephraim, Israel, had been planted in a place of beauty, the word pleasant in the Hebrew can also mean home. The Lord had situated them in a portion of the land which would be a blessing to them. He had certainly given them every advantage possible, still they went astray. Therefore the children which would be born unto them, were to be murdered by the Assyrians. They had placed themselves in a very precarious position. It is difficult to lose a child under the very best of circumstances. What sorrow they had brought upon themselves because of their willful ways and stubbornness.
The prophet himself sounds as if though he had lost complete confidence that Israel would hear and respect the Word of the Lord which he brought unto them. It is almost as if though the Lord had taken him into his confidence and asked his advice on what to give to the children of Israel. Hosea responded with the suggestion that they cease to have children born into their midst. Hos. 9:14 Their future was dark and dismal for the way of the transgressor is hard. Their plans and wishes are turned upside down. Ps. 146:9.
Gilgal is a point of decision. It is here that the men who had been born after they left Egypt but were not yet circumcised, were circumcised upon entering into the land of promise. Josh. 5:4-5 Gilgal means circle or rolling. Circumcision was a sign of having entered the covenant of Abraham with the Lord. Acts 7:8 In the case of this mass surgery it was to roll away the reproach of Egypt. It was to be an act of separation and consecration unto the Lord. Josh. 5:9 Circumcision is not left out of the Christian experience. Circumcision is profitable, but only if the individual keeps the entire Law. Rom. 2:25 But then, who ever kept the Law outside of the Lord Jesus who came to fulfill the Law. Mt. 5:17 Contrary wise, if the uncircumcised keep the righteousness of the Law, is their righteousness not to counted as circumcision? Rom. 2:25.