In today's section, we read about:
Daniel's prayer of repentance, having read Jeremiah's prophecy of the 70 year period of exile
The detailed prophecy of the end times
Hosea's call to marry the prostitute Gomer as a metaphor for Israel's idolatry
God's case against Israel, its wickedness, its evil leaders and priests
God's punishment announced and His anger, counterpoised with God's love
Some thoughts that occurred to me today:
We get a further insight into the character of Daniel, and how he maintained his relationship with God - he meditated on God's word (9:2), believed and claimed the promises, which led him to prayer and repentance, even though compared to the rest of us, he was a paragon way beyond our own limitations. Daniel associates himself with the sins of his ancestors, focusing on the justness of God's judgment (9:4,7,12,14). There is no self-pity at all, simply admission of guilt and an appeal to God's character, full of mercy and love for His people. And what a reward Daniel gets, 9:23, "The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God" (also 10:11,18).
It is interesting that the more is revealed to Daniel of God's plan, the more distressed he becomes (10:8-9,11,17). Yet, twice Gabriel comforts him, saying 'don' t be afraid'.
The prophecy in chapter 11 is incredibly detailed, and one explanation for ancient history that fits it can be found here. For me, the important thing is that God is the master of history, both on a macro scale involving all the empires and nations of the earth, and on a micro scale in our own lives - 11:32, "but the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him."
There are some great promises for God's people in 12:1 "but at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued" and 12:3, "Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever." The book concludes with a confirmation of Daniel's reward for his faithfulness to God, "as for you, go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you" (12:13).
It doesn't ever seem to be a comfortable or pleasant occupation being a prophet, as we have seen with Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Here Hosea has to marry a prostitute, and take her back in after her renewed unfaithfulness (3:1).
The names used are so descriptive - Lo-ruhamah and Lo-ammi (1:8,9), which are returned to later in the prophecy (1:10; 2:1,23)
Even though, Israel has turned away from God, He makes amazing promises, "I will make you my wife forever, / showing you righteousness and justice, / unfailing love and compassion. / I will be faithful to you and make you mine, / and you will finally know me as the Lord" (2:19-20), ""In that day I will answer", says the Lord" (2:21) and ""I will bring them home again," says the Lord" (11:11). Sometimes, however, God's desires for his people is thwarted by their own actions, "I want you to show love, / not offer sacrifices. / I want you to know me / more than I want burnt offerings" (6:6), "I want to heal Israel, but its sins are too great" (7:1) "I wanted to redeem them, / but they have told lies about me" (7:13).
The indictment against Israel is clear - idolatry, refusal to acknowledge God and everything He has done, buck passing ("Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame!" (4:4)), injustice and dishonesty, stubbornness. God also turns their words against them, as in 4:6, "Since you priests refuse to know me, / I refuse to recognize you as my priests. / Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, / I will forget to bless your children."
"Oh, that we might know the Lord! / Let us press on to know him. / He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn / or the coming of rains in early spring” (6:3).
9:9 refers to Jdg 19, 9:10 refers to Num 25. Gilgal (4:15, 9:15, 12:11) was the place where Joshua set up the monument of the 12 stones from the River Jordan (Josh 4:19-20). The calf at Beth-aven (10:5) is presumably the calf Jereboam set up in 1 Ki 12:28.
10:12 is a succinct statement of what the covenant relationship should entail, "I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, / and you will harvest a crop of love. / Plough up the hard ground of your hearts, / for now is the time to seek the Lord, /that he may come / and shower righteousness upon you.’"
God is not like His people fortunately, "for I am God and not a mere mortal. / I am the Holy One living among you, / and I will not come to destroy" (11:9).
12:6 - "So now, come back to your God. / Act with love and justice, / and always depend on him."
13:4-6 - "I have been the Lord your God / ever since I brought you out of Egypt. / You must acknowledge no God but me, / for there is no other saviour. / I took care of you in the wilderness, / in that dry and thirsty land. / But when you had eaten and were satisfied, / you became proud and forgot me."
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