When Ephraim spoke, people trembled; he was exalted in Israel. But he became guilty of Baal worship and died. – Hosea 13:1

Today's Scripture Reading (March 2, 2023): Hosea 13 & 14

The World Map has changed greatly during my lifetime. The large National Geographic Map of the World that hung in my bedroom as a child looked significantly different from the current rendition of that same map, especially in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia. In some cases, only the names have changed. But for other nations, the borders have also been drastically redrawn or cut into two. I had a conversation with a friend recently, and I admitted that, when I was younger, I could not see a path that might allow Germany to be reunited. The geopolitical differences between a Soviet-dominated East Germany and an American-dominated West Germany appeared too vast to be mended. And yet that is precisely what happened. The Germanic tribes roamed the land since before the time of Christ, but the unification of these tribes into a single German Confederation took place in 1815. But what was united in 1815 was torn apart in 1945 following Germany's defeat in World War II. And it stayed that way until, almost miraculously, the Berlin Wall fell, and the nation, which had been two for four and a half decades, became one in 1990.

But whenever a nation is artificially divided, or even artificially stitched together, I think there is always a nostalgic hope that one day the country will revert to what seems to be the natural state of things before someone stuck their nose into things and changed it to fit some foreign schemes or goals. And it is a question that I have, and I do not know the answer to this, regarding the struggles that are taking place in Africa. Is it possible that the conflicts existing on that continent result from European interference that changed the borders, and even the names, of the countries to fit their needs instead of the needs of the people who inhabit the land?

And I wonder if the same situation might have existed in Israel and Judah after the nation's division in 931 B.C.E. Was there ever a time when the north and south nostalgically looked back at the years when they were one nation, just the descendants of Jacob against the world? If there was any nostalgia in the Kingdoms, Hosea seems to become just one more prophet telling the nations that reunification would not happen. Once again, Hosea personifies the tribe of Ephraim, telling the Northern Kingdom that while Judah and the surrounding countries may have trembled before the power of Israel, they would be defeated and fall. The Kingdom that had exalted the tribe of Ephraim to the point where the Northern Kingdom became identified by just the name of just one of the ten tribes would soon end. Ephraim had led the nation in the worship of Baal. As a result, Ephraim would die, and their death would be accompanied by the death of the Kingdom that had exalted them. And with their death, so would any dreams of reuniting the nation.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 27