Thy Strong Word

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

With guest Rev. Tim Ostermeyer of Hope Lutheran Church in St. Ann, Missouri.

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

Hosea 10

Israel is a luxuriant vine
    that yields its fruit.
The more his fruit increased,
    the more altars he built;
as his country improved,
    he improved his pillars.
²Their heart is false;
    now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord^[a] will break down their altars
    and destroy their pillars.

³For now they will say:
    “We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord;
    and a king—what could he do for us?”
⁴They utter mere words;
    with empty oaths they make covenants;
so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds
    in the furrows of the field.
⁵The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
    for the calf^[b] of Beth-aven.
Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests—
    those who rejoiced over it and over its glory—
    for it has departed^[c] from them.
⁶The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria
    as tribute to the great king.^[d]
Ephraim shall be put to shame,
    and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.^[e]

⁷Samaria’s king shall perish
    like a twig on the face of the waters.
⁸The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
    shall be destroyed.
Thorn and thistle shall grow up
    on their altars,
and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”
    and to the hills, “Fall on us.”

⁹From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel;
    there they have continued.
    Shall not the war against the unjust^[f] overtake them in Gibeah?
¹⁰When I please, I will discipline them,
    and nations shall be gathered against them
    when they are bound up for their double iniquity.

¹¹Ephraim was a trained calf
    that loved to thresh,
    and I spared her fair neck;
but I will put Ephraim to the yoke;
    Judah must plow;
    Jacob must harrow for himself.
¹²Sow for yourselves righteousness;
    reap steadfast love;
    break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
    that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

¹³You have plowed iniquity;
    you have reaped injustice;
    you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
    and in the multitude of your warriors,
¹⁴therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people,
    and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,
as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle;
    mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
¹⁵Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,
    because of your great evil.
At dawn the king of Israel
    shall be utterly cut off.

Footnotes:

Hosea 10:2 Hebrew He
Hosea 10:5 Or calves
Hosea 10:5 Or has gone into exile
Hosea 10:6 Or to King Jareb
Hosea 10:6 Or counsel
Hosea 10:9 Hebrew the children of injustice

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.