HOSEA 11-13

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God Yearns over His People11:1 When Israel was a youth I loved him,

And out of Egypt I called My son.

2 The more they called them,

The more they went from them;

They kept sacrificing to the Baals

And burning incense to idols.

3 Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,

I took them in My arms;

But they did not know that I healed them.

4 I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love,

And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;

And I bent down and fed them.

5 They will not return to the land of Egypt;

But Assyria--he will be their king

Because they refused to return to Me.

6 The sword will whirl against their cities,

And will demolish their gate bars

And consume them because of their counsels.

7 So My people are bent on turning from Me.

Though they call them to the One on high,

None at all exalts Him.

8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?

How can I surrender you, O Israel?

How can I make you like Admah?

How can I treat you like Zeboiim?

My heart is turned over within Me,

All My compassions are kindled.

9 I will not execute My fierce anger;

I will not destroy Ephraim again.

For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,

And I will not come in wrath.

10 They will walk after the LORD,

He will roar like a lion;

Indeed He will roar

And His sons will come trembling from the west.

11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt

And like doves from the land of Assyria;

And I will settle them in their houses, declares the LORD.

12 Ephraim surrounds Me with lies

And the house of Israel with deceit;

Judah is also unruly against God,

Even against the Holy One who is faithful.

Ephraim Reminded12:1 Ephraim feeds on wind,

And pursues the east wind continually;

He multiplies lies and violence.

Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria,

And oil is carried to Egypt.

2 The LORD also has a dispute with Judah,

And will punish Jacob according to his ways;

He will repay him according to his deeds.

3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel,

And in his maturity he contended with God.

4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;

He wept and sought His favor.

He found Him at Bethel

And there He spoke with us,

5 Even the LORD, the God of hosts,

The LORD is His name.

6 Therefore, return to your God,

Observe kindness and justice,

And wait for your God continually.

7 A merchant, in whose hands are false balances,

He loves to oppress.

8 And Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich,

I have found wealth for myself;

In all my labors they will find in me

No iniquity, which would be sin.”

9 But I have been the LORD your God since the land of Egypt;

I will make you live in tents again,

As in the days of the appointed festival.

10 I have also spoken to the prophets,

And I gave numerous visions,

And through the prophets I gave parables.

11 Is there iniquity in Gilead?

Surely they are worthless.

In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,

Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps

Beside the furrows of the field.

12 Now Jacob fled to the land of Aram,

And Israel worked for a wife,

And for a wife he kept sheep.

13 But by a prophet the LORD brought Israel from Egypt,

And by a prophet he was kept.

14 Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger;

So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him

And bring back his reproach to him.

Ephraim’s Idolatry13:1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling.

He exalted himself in Israel,

But through Baal he did wrong and died.

2 And now they sin more and more,

And make for themselves molten images,

Idols skillfully made from their silver,

All of them the work of craftsmen.

They say of them, “Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!”

3 Therefore they will be like the morning cloud

And like dew which soon disappears,

Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor

And like smoke from a chimney.

4 Yet I have been the LORD your God

Since the land of Egypt;

And you were not to know any god except Me,

For there is no savior besides Me.

5 I cared for you in the wilderness,

In the land of drought.

6 As they had their pasture, they became satisfied,

And being satisfied, their heart became proud;

Therefore they forgot Me.

7 So I will be like a lion to them;

Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the wayside.

8 I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs,

And I will tear open their chests;

There I will also devour them like a lioness,

As a wild beast would tear them.

9 It is your destruction, O Israel,

That you are against Me, against your help.

10 Where now is your king

That he may save you in all your cities,

And your judges of whom you requested,

“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 pains of childbirth come upon him;

He is not a wise son,

For it is not the time that he should delay at the opening of the womb.

14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?

Shall I redeem them from death?

O Death, where are your thorns?

O Sheol, where is your sting?

Compassion will be hidden from My sight.

15 Though he flourishes among the reeds,

An east wind will come,

The wind of the LORD coming up from the wilderness;

And his fountain will become dry

And his spring will be dried up;

It will plunder his treasury of every precious article.

16 Samaria will be held guilty,

For she has rebelled against her God.

They will fall by the sword,

Their little ones will be dashed in pieces,

And their pregnant women will be ripped open.

MATTHEW 19

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Concerning Divorce  19:1 When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; 2 and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.
    3 Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” 4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, 5 and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” 7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
    10 The disciples said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” 11 But He said to them, “Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”
Jesus Blesses Little Children    13 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.
The Rich Young Ruler    16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; 19 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
    23 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
The Disciples’ Reward    27 Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.