Thy Strong Word

Hosted by Rev. Will Weedon, LCMS Director of Worship and International Center Chaplain.

With guest Rev. Jeremy Loesch of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church of Grandview, MO.

Lutheran Heritage Foundation - Underwriter of Thy Strong Word — Underwriter of Thy Strong Word

Hosea 5

Punishment Coming for Israel and Judah

5 Hear this, O priests!
    Pay attention, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
    For the judgment is for you;
for you have been a snare at Mizpah
    and a net spread upon Tabor.
²And the revolters have gone deep into slaughter,
    but I will discipline all of them.

³I know Ephraim,
    and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;
    Israel is defiled.
⁴Their deeds do not permit them
    to return to their God.
For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
    and they know not the Lord.

⁵The pride of Israel testifies to his face;^[a]
    Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt;
    Judah also shall stumble with them.
⁶With their flocks and herds they shall go
    to seek the Lord,
but they will not find him;
    he has withdrawn from them.
⁷They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord;
    for they have borne alien children.
    Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.

⁸Blow the horn in Gibeah,
    the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound the alarm at Beth-aven;
    we follow you,^[b] O Benjamin!
⁹Ephraim shall become a desolation
    in the day of punishment;
among the tribes of Israel
    I make known what is sure.
¹⁰The princes of Judah have become
    like those who move the landmark;
upon them I will pour out
    my wrath like water.
¹¹Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,
    because he was determined to go after filth.^[c]
¹²But I am like a moth to Ephraim,
    and like dry rot to the house of Judah.

¹³When Ephraim saw his sickness,
    and Judah his wound,
then Ephraim went to Assyria,
    and sent to the great king.^[d]
But he is not able to cure you
    or heal your wound.
¹⁴For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
    and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear and go away;
    I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.

¹⁵I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.

Footnotes:

Hosea 5:5 Or in his presence
Hosea 5:8 Or after you
Hosea 5:11 Or to follow human precepts
Hosea 5:13 Or to King Jareb

Rev. William Weedon

We have the distinct privilege of borrowing LCMS Director of Worship and International Center Chaplain Rev. William Chancellor Weedon for an hour a day to add Host of Thy Strong Word to his list of titles. Native to the central Maryland area just outside of Washington D.C., he enthusiastically enjoys his coffee, playing piano, and singing heartily, as well as spending time in the pool with his wife Cindi, three children and their spouses, and seven grandchildren. He’s one of those people that listens to Christmas music year-round, but we still let him in our studios. You may find him reading a good murder mystery or some writing by Johann Gerhard, Joseph Ratzinger, or Alexander Schmemann while eating a chocolate torte made by his wife Cindi. When he’s read all the books he can manage, he escapes outside to hike, bike, or even run in his Vivobarefoot shoes that Andy Bates, his favorite famous person, told him to buy.