"They Have Sown The Wind, And They Shall Reap The Whirlwind"
Last Updated on May 24, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 159
Context: Israel, the divided kingdom made up of ten of the tribes of Jacob, has followed a course of degeneracy. Hosea begins to prophesy during this dark period, pronouncing the doom of the nation, which has broken faith with God. In an hour of utter dejection Israel will cry to Him, God says, but since the good has been rejected, the enemy will pursue the chosen race. Hosea discloses the words of the Lord spoken to him of the sinfulness of the Israelites and of the futility of their wicked ways:
They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.
. . .
For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.
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