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Hosea 11

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1 When Israel was a lad, then I loved him, and called My son out·​·of Egypt.

2 As they called them, so they went from before them; they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned·​·incense to graven images.

3 And I taught Ephraim to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.

4 I drew them with the cords of man, with ropes of love; and I was to them as those who lift·​·up the yoke from upon their jaws, and I leaned·​·over* to them to cause them to eat.

5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be his king, because they refused to return.

6 And the sword shall travail on his cities, and shall consume·​·all his poles, and devour on·​·account·​·of their own counsels.

7 And My people are swayed* to turn·​·back from Me; and they called them upward, but together they would not exalt.

8 How shall I give thee up, O Ephraim and deliver thee, O Israel? How shall I give thee over as Admah and set thee as Zeboim? My heart is turned upon Me, My repentings yearned together.

9 I shall not do the fierceness of My anger, I shall not return to destroy Ephraim; for I am God, and not a man; the Holy·​·One among thee; and I will not come into the city.

10 After Jehovah they shall go; He shall roar as a lion; for He shall roar, and the sons from the sea shall·​·be·​·frightened.

11 They shall be·​·frightened as a bird out·​·of Egypt, and as a dove out·​·of the land of Assyria; and I will cause them to dwell in their houses, says Jehovah.

12 12:1 Ephraim surrounds Me with denial, and the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still dominates with God, and is·​·faithful with the holy·​·ones.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Field

  
The Sower, by Vincent van Gogh

A "field" in the Bible usually represents the Lord's church, and more specifically the desire for good within the church. It's where good things start, take root, and grow. When you have a desire to be a good person and to do good things, the natural first questions are "What does that mean?", "What should I do?", "What can I do?". You look for ideas, concepts, direction. Once you figure out something you want to do or a change you want to make in yourself, you seek specific knowledge. If you want to volunteer at a food pantry, say, you'd need to know whom to call, when they need help, where to go, what to bring. Armed with that knowhow, you're ready to get to work. That process could be compared to food production. You start with a field -- which is that desire to be good. Then you plant seeds -- those ideas and concepts. Those seeds sprout into plants -- the specific facts and knowledge needed for the task (easily seen in the food pantry example, but also true with deeper tasks like "being more tolerant of my co-workers" or "taking more time for prayer," or "consciously being a more loving spouse"). Finally, those plants produce food -- the actual good thing that you go and do. The Writings also say that in a number of cases a "field" represents the doctrine, or teachings, of the church. This sounds markedly different. The desire for good is emotional, a drive, a wanting; doctrine is a set of ideas. But for a church to be true, its doctrine must be centered on a desire for good, and must lead people toward doing what is good. So sound doctrine is actually closely bound up with the desire for good.