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| 1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he exalted himself in Israel: but he trespassed through Baal, and he died. |
When Ephraim – Christendom. D22
In Baal – Or Bel, the god of Babylon, the Pope. B256; D24, D40
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| 2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. |
And idols – The idolatry of money, etc. B139
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| 3 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the lattice. |
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| 4 Yet I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou hast known no God but me; and there is no saviour besides me. |
Saviour – Jehovah, in that he provided a Redeemer in the person of Christ. R379:2
Author of the divine plan. E33
Not standing in wrath, seeking to slay or torture until the Lord Jesus interposed and satisfied the Father's malice and anger by receiving the blow of wrath in man's stead. E34
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| 5 I knew thee in the wilderness, in the land of drought. |
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| 6 According to their pasture, they became full; they became full, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me. |
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| 7 And I will be unto them as a lion; as a leopard I will lurk for them by the way; |
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| 8 I will meet them as a bear bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the covering of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lioness: the beast of the field shall tear them. |
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| 9 It is thy destruction, O Israel, that thou art against me, against thy help. |
Destroyed thyself – In the days of Samuel, by praying for a king, contrary to the divine arrangement. R3217:4
The answer to Israel's prayer for a king was disadvantageous to her as a nation. R3217:4
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| 10 Where then is thy king, that he may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? -- |
I will be thy king – The King whom the Lord intends to give to Israel and the world is Messiah. R3217:5
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| 11 I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath. |
And took him away – The Lord took away the kings of Israel when the people went into captivity to Babylon; there have been no independent kings of that nation since. R3217:5
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| 12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is laid by in store. |
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| 13 The pangs of a woman in travail shall come upon him: he is a son not wise; for at the time of the breaking forth of children, he was not there. |
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| 14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them from death: where, O death, are thy plagues? where, O Sheol, is thy destruction? Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. |
I will – Jesus shares in the Father's plan for our ransom from the grave. R387:2
Since the Church is to be associated with Christ in all the Millennial work, therefore the Church, in that sense of the word, will be identified with the ransoming work, the work of deliverance. Q112:1
The resurrection hour has not yet come. R690:3*
Ransom them – To buy back, by giving a price to correspond, to redeem. R4818:3; R1228:1, R2399:1
Deliver by a ransom. R5891:1
Used in a prophetic sense as including the entire work of redemption, down to the very end of the Millennial age. R5891:1
The word here signifies to recover from the grave; a different sense than the word ransom in 1 Tim. 2:6. R4747:2, R4818:3, R4864:1
Man's recovery from death is a part of the ransom work. R5882:4, R1228:1; Q571:T
The ransom price was paid nearly 1900 years ago, but man is not yet ransomed from the grave, and will not be until the awakening in the Millennium. R4617:4
The ransom work will take the whole Millennial age. R5891:1, R4617:1, R5873:2; Q112:1
The ransoming work will be finished when the New covenant is put into effective operation; but the atonement work will not be finished until the end of the Millennial age. R5882:4; Q571:T
Power of the grave – Sheol, oblivion, not torment. E373; SM27:2; R2600:3, R2608:5
All who are in their graves shall ultimately be set free. OV363:3
"All that are in the grave shall hear the voice of the Son of God." (John 5:28,25) R2613:3
After the last member has been delivered from the power of the grave there is still a great resurrecting work to be done--a raising up out of imperfection of mind, morals and physique to the full image and likeness of God. R5873:3
I will redeem them – Messiah's Kingdom will bless, not only the living, but also those who have fallen asleep. R5706:4; CR479:4
Every member of Adam's race is to be delivered by Him who redeems all. HG497:2
From death – Adamic death. R2608:5
And not from eternal torment. R2600:3, R387:3
Mankind has no option but to come forth from the tomb in due time, because the ransom has been applied on their behalf. PT388:2*
In view of the fact that the divine plan has arranged for the redemption from sheol, death is appropriately described as a sleep. R4054:3
"Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (1 Cor. 15:54, 55) E373
O death – Death is not a friend, but an enemy. R625:6
Thy plagues – Gradual destruction. HG497:2
O grave – Sheol, oblivion. E373
Quoted in 1 Cor. 15:54, 55, proving that the word hades in the New Testament is equivalent to the word sheol in the Old Testament. R2600:4
There is no evidence in the Old Testament that sheol had more than one signification, or that its later signification was different from its earlier. R828:6*
I will be – Future--"in due time." R690:3*
He presently, when united with his Bride, will begin the work of destroying death by raising all mankind out of it. R381:2
Thy destruction – Through the opening of the prisonhouse. R2610:2, R303:6, R381:2, R474:4; OV168:6, OV363:1
The grave is really a symbol of hope; for we would not speak of it as a prisonhouse were it not for our hopes of a resurrection. R894:2
In the Millennial reign. R474:4; OV168:5
The grave, the tomb, the state of death, is to be destroyed. OV168:4, OV363:2
The Lord will break the bands of death and set the captives free. PT387:5*
Ransom and resurrection follow each other like cause and effect. R1322:2*
Adamic Death shall be forever swallowed up and cease in the Second Death, into which it is to be cast by the great Redeemer. R2608:5; OV363:2
The thousand years of Messiah's reign will be devoted to this very work of destroying Adamic Death. OV168:4
Death will continue to be an enemy until its final destruction in the Millennial reign. R303:6, R474:4
"For he must reign until he has placed all enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." (1 Cor. 15:25) R763:5
Therefore, even if it were a place of torment, it would not endure to all eternity. E373; Q363:1; HG556:5; HG735:1
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| 15 Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, a wind of Jehovah that cometh up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels. |
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| 16 Samaria shall bear her guilt; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword; their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up. |
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