192. Internal Meaning of Hosea, Chapter 9

1-3 They have falsified the truths of the church, therefore the church has been destroyed, and they will be natural, abiding only in reasonings from the natural man. (3, 3)

4-5 Consequently there is no Divine worship. (3)

6 All truth and good is turned into falsity and evil. (3)

7-9 They will perish on the day of judgment. (3)

12-13 The first of them were also such, they had no understanding of truth; so also their posterity, although instructed. (3)

14-17 The posterity of these cannot but become such. (3)

The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings -- Conjugial Love -- is devoted to the subject. So we can hardly offer a full explanation here. In a very general sense, though, the Writings say that men are creatures of intellect, driven by the love of growing wise; women, meanwhile are creations of affection, driven by the love of wisdom and the good that wisdom can do. They are formed this way to reflect the Lord's Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, and so that they can form marriages that reflect the unity of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. Marking differences between men and women can be a touchy thing, but realistically it's easy to see that men tend to love acquiring knowledge whether it has any practical application or not. Many of them can spout out sports statistics or hold court on the workings of the internal combustion engine, even though it is knowledge they are not likely to ever use. They find such knowledge interesting for its own sake. It follows, then, that when the Bible speaks of men, the men represent facts, ideas, knowledge, truth, intellect and wisdom -- or in the negative sense falsity, twisted logic, and reasoning that is devoid of concern for others.