Grandmasters of Geopolitics Chat

Bible - Hosea, chapter 8 (and following...) Condemnation of Israel 1 The Lord says: 'Blow the trumpet! Disaster has come upon my land like an eagle. The people of Israel have broken their covenant with me and rejected my teachings. 2 Even though they cry out to me, 'We, people of Israel, acknowledge you as our God,' 3 they have rejected what is good, and the enemy will persecute them. 4 'My people have chosen kings I have not appointed. They have chosen leaders without my approval. They have made idols of gold and silver, only to ruin themselves. 5 I reject the calf that the people of Samaria worship! I am furious with my people until they renounce their idolatry. 6 An Israelite craftsman made this idol that is no god. The golden calf revered by the people of Samaria will be shattered. 7 They sowed the wind, but they will reap the whirlwind. Their grain will not grow, and if it ripens, it will yield no flour. Even if it yields some, foreigners will devour it. 8 'Israel has been swallowed up, disappeared among the other nations and is like a worthless object.' 9 'Stubborn as a wild donkey, the people of Israel wander alone. They have gone to Assyria for help, they have made allies with money. 10 Let the other nations pay! I will gather this people to punish them. They will stop choosing kings and rulers! 11 'The more Ephraim multiplies his altars to seek forgiveness, the more numerous his sins become. 12 I have written many laws for my people, but they feel they are foreign. 13 They offer sacrifices to me and eat the meat, but I, the Lord, do not accept them. I will remember the sin of my people and punish them. I will send them back to Egypt. 14 'The people of Israel have built palaces for themselves, but they have forgotten me, their Creator. The people of Judah have built fortresses, but I will set fire to their cities and burn the fortresses.'