The Book of Hosea
The Book of Hosea
By Richard St.James
Bible 1611.Com / Old Paths Baptist Mission © 2023
Hosea, chapter one:
Verse one: “The word
of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri,
in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of
Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.”
The word of the LORD
The word of the LORD is
TRUTH: T-R-U-T-H:
·
“Sanctify them through thy
truth: thy word is truth.” [John
17:17]
·
“And ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
[John 8:32]
This BOOK is herein
identified: It is the Authorized Bible of
1611, or any of its editions! It is the
word of God in the English language!
“The words of the
LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of
earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep
them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this
generation for ever.” [Psalm12: 6-7]
Amen!
At this point the word of
the LORD by Hosea begins .
Hosea, the son of
Beeri, (Osee)
Note: The word of God
came to a man. [There are men called
of God.]
This man was
called to be a Seer or a prophet.
What is a seer? A SEER sees into
the future. For this we reference
the First Book of Samuel, chapter nine, verse nine:
“(Beforetime in
Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he
spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that
is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a
Seer.)” [1 Samuel 9:9]
God reveals himself
to a man by the word of God. This is
seen in the calling of a prophet in
the First Book of Samuel, chapter three, verse
twenty-one:
“And the LORD appeared
again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to
Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD”
[1 Samuel 3:21]
Note here: the
revelation of God is by the word of God.
There is something else
that is to be seen here. A prophet
is a man that has God’s words put into his
mouth that he shall speak.
Deuteronomy 18:18: “I
will raise them up a Prophet from among their
brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in
his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I
shall command him.”
[Note: This particular
Prophet spoken of here is none other but Jesus
Christ.]
Thus, we have the word
of God coming unto Hosea, the son of Beeri.
The SEER has God’s
words put his mouth that he
shall speak!
The four kings of
Judah
Hosea was cotemporary
to these four Judean kings.
- Uzziah
- Jotham
- Ahaz
- Hezekiah
- Uzziah
[the son of Amaziah] was king of Judah in
Hosea’s day.
2 Chronicles
26:1: “Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah,
who was sixteen years old, and made him king
in the room of his father Amaziah.”
Uzziah did
right before the LORD till he was strong:
2 Chronicles
26:16: “But when he was strong, his heart was
lifted up to his destruction: for he
transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into
the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the
altar of incense.”
- Next,
Jotham [the son of Uzziah] was also king of
Judah in Hosea’s day.
2 Chronicles
27:2: “And he did that which was right in
the sight of the LORD, according to all that his
father Uzziah did: howbeit he entered not into the
temple of the LORD. And the people did yet
corruptly.”
- Then next,
Ahaz became king of Judah also
in Hosea’s day. 2 Kings 15:38:
“And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was
buried with his fathers in the city of David his
father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.”
Ahaz did wrong!
2 Kings 16:2:
“Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began
to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem,
and did not that which was right in the sight
of the LORD his God, like David his father.”
- The last
Judean king during Hosea’s ministry was
Hezekiah.
2 Kings 16:20:
“And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried
with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah
his son reigned in his stead.”
Hezekiah did
right in the sight of the LORD.
2 Chronicles
29:2: “And he did that which was right in
the sight of the LORD, according to all that David
his father had done.”
Jeroboam the son of
Joash, king of Israel.
Hosea was also
cotemporary to Jeroboam a king of Israel.
[Note: Do not confuse this Jeroboam with the
Jeroboam of the son of Nebat.]
2 Kings 13:13: “And
Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon
his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the
kings of Israel.”
Now, Jeroboam did evil in
the sight of the LORD.
2 Kings 14:24: “And he
did that which was evil in the sight of the
LORD: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam
the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.”
Thus, we see here that
Hosea’s ministry spanned these five kings.
Before we proceed
to verse two, we need to consider something rather
heavy: What will it will cost us to love and to
obey God?
It is that we will
suffer affliction!
·
Moses considered the cost,
and nevertheless he went ahead, and obeyed
God: “Choosing rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a season;”
[Hebrews 11:25] Moses loved God, and
therefore, suffered affliction.
·
David
considered the cost, and
nevertheless he went ahead, and obeyed
God: “Before I was afflicted I went
astray: but now have I kept thy word.”
[Psalm 119:67] “It is good for me that I
have been afflicted; that I might learn thy
statutes.” [Psalm 119:67]
·
David loved God, and
therefore, suffered affliction.
·
Jesus Christ considered
the cost, and nevertheless he went ahead,
and obeyed God. It is this way: HE set
HIS face like a flint, and went forward to the CROSS
of Calvary’s hill!
Isaiah 50:7:
“For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I
not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like
a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.”
Isaiah 53:3-7:
“He is
despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our
faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him
not.
Surely he
hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet
we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted.
But he
was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we
are healed.
All we like
sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to
his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the
iniquity of us all.
He was
oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not
his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he
openeth not his mouth.”
Jesus Christ,
the SON of GOD loved the FATHER and
therefore, suffered affliction.
Now, do we
love God?
Then, we will
most assuredly suffer affliction.
Thus, with
Hosea we will see the prophet of God suffering
affliction.
Now, we are
ready for the word of God located in verse two.
Verse two: “And the
LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of
whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land
hath committed great whoredom, departing from
the LORD.”
And the LORD said …
Now, it behooves us to
keep what the LORD says. Will we
obey God, or will we disobey God? This will be
in our lives the acid test. Here is the
question. Do we love God? To
love God is to keep God’s commandments:
John 14:21: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
Go, take unto thee a
wife…
In the BOOK [The
King James Bible] the first mention of the word “wife” is
in [Genesis 2:24].
“Therefore shall a man
leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave
unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
In this verse God
establishes a BASIC TRUTH.
A man needs a wife for
several reasons:
1. A good woman
tied to a good man can together bare the
troubles of life. “Yet man is
born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” [Job
5:7]
2. As God is to Israel,
a man and his wife yoked together will see
great deliverance even when up in years as
gray-heads. “And even to your old age I am
he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have
made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will
deliver you.” [Isaiah 46:4]
3. The man and his wife
will stay together even after all life’s years
for better or worse! “Let thy fountain be
blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.” [Proverbs
5:18]
4. The man and his wife
working together will be a TEAM. “I
will make him a help meet for him.” [Genesis
2:18b] The man cannot make it without his wife.
For emphasis, let’s put: “I
will make him a help meet for him” of Genesis
2:18b back together with the first part of the
verse, [verse 18] and read it again to see the
context:
“And the Lord God
said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I
will make him an help meet for him.”
Do you believe what
GOD said in THE BOOK?
If things are to go
good for a man, then a man a man
needs to find a wife.
“Whoso findeth
a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth
favour of the LORD.” [Proverbs
18:22]
Finding a wife is
called by the LORD … a good thing. A
good thing does not bring evil.
Question: What is a
good wife? Well, first off, a
good wife is virtuous. This is
according to the BOOK!
Proverbs 31:10: “Who
can find a virtuous woman? for her price is
far above rubies.” Look at that price!
Only a virtuous
woman can provide a safe haven for her
husband’s inner most thoughts and aspirations …
which haven reposits his very life.
How do we know this?
Well, for the answer to this we must read the next
two verses, [verses eleven and twelve]:
“The heart of her
husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall
have no need of spoil. She will do him good
and not evil all the days of her life.”
[Proverbs 31:11-12]
Bottom-line: A good
wife will do her husband GOOD all the days of her
life.
And this goodness
comes from where?
It comes from her
faithfulness to him. She will be
faithful to him, and loyal to him, [and only to
him] with her whole heart.
Portrayed here
is an illustration by the Holy Spirit of God in the
word of God the deliberate intention of Jehovah to
have an intimate relationship with the nation
of Israel that is true, that is faithful, that is
beautiful, and that is pure. These four
attributes taken together add up to the quality of
virtuous.
- TRUE,
- FAITHFUL,
- BEAUTIFUL,
- PURE.
= VIRTUOUS
Israel [as a type of a
wife] was to respond to her God in
faithfulness, in loyalty and in trueness as a people
[and as a land] to her God. She was to be
V-I-R-T-U-O-U-S!
“Go, take unto thee a
wife of whoredoms.”
This is a very strange
and a totally bizarre command given by God to the
prophet of God, or for that matter to any man on the
face of this earth.
Note: this command is
not unlike the command that
Peter faced in the book of the Acts of the Apostles
in chapter ten [Rise, Peter; kill]:
Acts 10:13-14: “And
there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and
eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never
eaten any thing that is common or unclean.”
Now hear this:
Obedience to God shows our faith in God!
·
Hosea, go find a whore,
and then, marry her.
·
Hosea, go find a harlot,
and then, marry her.
Now, a whore or a
harlot is one who is not true to her
husband.
·
To be not true is to
be unfaithful.
·
To be unfaithful is to
be disloyal, and to be disloyal is to be
rebellious.
The land hath
committed great whoredom.
The first instance
of the word whore in the Bible is found in
the third book of Moses called Leviticus, chapter
nineteen, verse twenty-nine:
“Do not prostitute thy
daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land
fall to whoredom, and the land become full of
wickedness.” [Leviticus 19:29]
Now note: Prostitution
produces a whore. The proliferation of whores
reduces a land to whoredom.
A land reduced to
whoredom is a polluted land … a land
that is polluted with BLOOD!
Psalm 106:38: “And
shed innocent blood, even the blood of their
sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed
unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted
with blood.”
When a land, and a
people, go this way, it’s because there is a great
underlying and festering problem: The
people hate God!
Now, read the book
of Romans, chapter one, verse thirty: “Backbiters,
haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters,
inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,”
[Romans 1:30].
The HATERS of GOD
despise God’s words.
In Israel’s case, they
were shown over, and over, and over again, to have
been guilty of despising God’s words.
They repeatedly did evil which thing showed
their rebellion to God.
And look at this.
This all the while God was so merciful and so
loving to them even in [betimes] sending to
them HIS prophets to warn them. We can see
this is so very true by reading an account of this
found in the book of Second Chronicles, chapter
thirty-six, verses fifteen and sixteen:
“And the LORD God of
their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising
up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion
on his people, and on his dwelling place:
But they mocked the
messengers of God, and despised his words, and
misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD
arose against his people, till there was no
remedy.” [2 Chronicles 36:15-16]
Departing from the
LORD
Now for the last part of
our verse: Notice Israel departed from the
LORD their God.
Now, this departure
from the LORD occurred in steps through
various states. These states are
the state of marvel, the state of
mediocrity, the state of malaise, and the
state of malady.
The states of
marvel, mediocrity, malaise, and
malady aggregated reveal the
downward progression in a relationship
due to the unwelcome presence of unchecked
sin.
Do you see the
regression?
We first, marvel
in Jesus Christ with our first love.
Then, we cool to a
doctrinal mediocrity.
Then, we descend to a
morbid malaise.
Then, in our malady
our relationship dies.
We lose our fellowship
with Jesus Christ.
Why? Well, it is
because of unchecked sin.
Let us review: First sin
is in the world because of one man’s sin.
In Adam we died:
Romans 5:14:
“Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even
over them that had not sinned after the similitude
of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him
that was to come.”
But in Jesus Christ, we
are made alive when we get saved:
1 Corinthians 15:22:
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all
be made alive.”
We are at first
totally amazed with our Savior. We marveled
in Him.
Then second, with the
passing of time we begin to relax in our
knowledge of Him.
Then, the familiarity
with Him all puts us to sleep.
Then, soon after in our
sleep we have no thought of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ.
This scenario is what had
happened to Israel time, and time again [betimes].
Israel went through the
states of marvel, of mediocrity,
of malaise, and of malady. They
had departed from the LORD.
Verse three: “So he
went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which
conceived, and bare him a son.”
A son born to trouble
from an unfaithful wife.
So Hosea, without
questioning God, obeys God. Is this not
what we should do also? Oh, yes, we should!
No matter the consequences OBEY God.
See for this the book of
Jeremiah, chapter forty-two, verse six:
“Whether it be
good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the
voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee;
that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice
of the LORD our God.” [Jeremiah
42:6]
Hosea instead of marrying
a virtuous woman marries Gomer
a whore to his grief.
Obey God and leave the
consequences of obeying God with God.
Hosea believed
God’s words! His obedience to those words
showed he believed them!
For us living today, we
see this truth of this played out in the
Gospel according to John, in chapter fourteen, verse
twenty-one:
“He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth
me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my
Father, and I will love him, and will manifest
myself to him.” [John 14:21]
Verse four: “And the
LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a
little while, and I will avenge the blood of
Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to
cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.”
Call his name Jezreel.
The LORD tells Hosea,
name your son Jezreel.
Let’s look at this
name. The name Jezreel first
appears in the Authorized Version of the Bible
in the book of Joshua, chapter fifteen, verse
fifty-six. Look there and read: “And
Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah …” [Joshua
15:56].
Now, note: Jezreel
was given as part of “the inheritance of the
tribe of the children of Judah according to their
families.” [Joshua 15:20]
Now Jezreel is a
location in Israel. Further, Jezreel is
a valley.
[Note: There is also a
day of Jezreel as we shall see later. The
day of Jezreel is concerning … JUDGMENT and
WAR.]
The valley of Jezreel
is also known as the valley of Megiddon.
In the valley of Megiddon is a city
called Megiddo. Megiddo
is beneath Jezreel according to the
book of First Kings [1 Kings 4:12].
We find that the first
mention of Megiddo in the book of
Joshua, chapter twelve, verse twenty-one.
Megiddo
is part of the tribe of Manasseh on the west
side of Jordan, which is among the possessions
of the tribes of Issachar and Asher in the northern
part of Israel [Joshua 17:11, Judges 1:27, 1
Chronicles 7:29].
I will avenge the
blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu.
Much blood has been shed
in the valley of Jezreel. The LORD will
avenge! The house of Jehu has blood on
their hands. The LORD will remedy.
Though Jehu did right by destroying Baal out of
Israel Jehu departed not from the sins of
Jeroboam.
See what is recorded
about Jehu in the book of Second Kings, chapter ten,
starting with verse twenty-eight this:
“Thus Jehu destroyed
Baal out of Israel.
Howbeit from
the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them,
to wit, the golden calves that were in
Bethel, and that were in Dan.
And the LORD said unto
Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing
that which is right in mine eyes, and
hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all
that was in mine heart, thy children of the
fourth generation shall sit on the throne of
Israel.
But Jehu took no heed
to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with
all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of
Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.”
[2 Kings 10:28-31]
Somehow
the blood of Jezreel accrued to Ahab’s household was
transferred to the house of Jehu. Remember
the house of Jehu
departed not from the sins of Jeroboam.
Pay back came after the fourth
generation to the house of Jehu:
- The first
generation – is Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu.
- The second
generation – is Jehoash [also called Joash], the
son of Jehoahaz.
- The third
generation – is Jeroboam, the son of Jehoash.
- The fourth
generation – Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam.
Shallum the son
of Jebesh smote Zachariah, and thus, judgment was
executed on the house of Jehu for the blood of
Jezreel.
I … will cause to
cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
This prophecy was
fulfilled in the year of B.C. 721. The
Kingdom of Israel ceased.
2 Kings 17:6: “In
the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took
Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and
placed them in Halah and in Habor by the
river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.”
Verse five: “And it
shall come to pass at that day, that I will break
the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”
I will break the bow
of Israel.
There is a day of
Jezreel. The day of Jezreel is
about … JUDGMENT and WAR.
Jeremiah 30:7: “Alas!
for that day is great, so that none is
like it: it is even the time of Jacob's
trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”
The time of Jacob’s
trouble involves more than trouble for Israel.
It involves a great controversy between the
LORD GOD and the nations of this earth.
Jeremiah 25:31: “A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.”
It will happen in the
valley of Jezreel.
According to the book of
The Revelation of Jesus Christ God will
gather all the nations together in a great
battle at Megiddo in “the valley of
Megiddon” “called in the Hebrew tongue
Armageddon.” [Revelation 16:16]
Now, Jezreel [or
“the valley of Megiddon”] is set to be
the climactic valley of decision for all the
nations of the earth.
“Multitudes,
multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of
the LORD is near in the valley of decision.”
[Joel 3:14]
The boy’s name is Jezreel
born of an unfaithful wife. Question: Can it
get worse? But before we proceed to verse six,
we need to delve in a certain word called mercy,
M-E-R-C-Y.
Webster’s 1828 dictionary
defines: MER'CY, n. L. Misericordia:
“That benevolence,
mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a
person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender
better than he deserves; the disposition that
tempers justice, and induces an injured person to
forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear
punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will
warrant. In this sense, there is perhaps no word in
our language precisely synonymous with mercy. That
which comes nearest to it is grace. It implies
benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity or
compassion, and clemency, but exercised only towards
offenders. Mercy is a distinguishing attribute of
the Supreme Being.”
Let us now read verse six
in Hosea chapter one.
Verse six: “And she
conceived again, and bare a daughter. And
God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for
I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel;
but I will utterly take them away.
A daughter born to
trouble from an unfaithful wife.
“O give thanks unto
the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy
endureth for ever.”
God’s mercy was
intended by God to endure forever.
[1 Chronicles 16:34] O how sin messes things up!
The God of Israel
signals here to Israel that the mercy of God,
which had been flowing to them [for generations] has
finally come to an end. It can be said: This
was the end of the run. The mercy
seat is to be taken away. The mercy
seat of pure gold
would no longer be found in its place below the two
cherubims in the most holy place within the
tabernacle of God set amongst the congregation of
Israel. [Exodus 25:20].
Ichabod!
“The glory is departed from Israel” [1 Samuel
4:21].
Lesson: God will
depart from those that depart from HIM.
Loruhamah: I will have mercy no
more! The girl’s name,
Loruhamah, born of a wife of
whoredoms means the end of God’s
mercy has come to Israel.
Surely now, it cannot
get worse? We shall see
later. But let it be made known there is still
found mercy for others.
Verse seven: “But I
will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will
save them by the LORD their God, and will not save
them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses,
nor by horsemen.”
Mercy to the house of
Judah
Notice that very first
word in this verse [seven]: BUT. The word
but shows an exception by way of a
connection to something that precedes to
what follows. God’s mercy was to
stop flowing to the people of Israel but God’s
mercy was to keep on flowing to the people of Judah.
O for us to have God’s
mercy. “O give thanks unto
the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy
endureth for ever.”
We ought to always turn
toward the God of mercy. And
again, we ought to always be found in way of the
MERCY of God. Amen!
Now hear the promise of
MERCY ultimately prevailing in a psalm in a
promise of God!
Psalm 136:1-26:
“O give thanks unto
the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy
endureth for ever.
O give thanks unto the
God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.
O give thanks to the
Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for
ever.
To him who alone doeth
great wonders: for his mercy endureth for
ever.
To him that by wisdom
made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for
ever.
To him that stretched
out the earth above the waters: for his mercy
endureth for ever.
To him that made great
lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:
The sun to rule by
day: for his mercy endureth for ever:
The moon and stars to
rule by night: for his mercy endureth for
ever.
To him that smote
Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth
for ever:
And brought out Israel
from among them: for his mercy endureth for
ever:
With a strong hand,
and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy
endureth for ever.
To him which divided
the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth
for ever:
And made Israel to
pass through the midst of it: for his mercy
endureth for ever:
But overthrew Pharaoh
and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy
endureth for ever.
To him which led his
people through the wilderness: for his mercy
endureth for ever.
To him which smote
great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
And slew famous kings:
for his mercy endureth for ever:
Sihon king of the
Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:
And Og the king of
Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever:
And gave their land
for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for
ever:
Even
an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy
endureth for ever.
Who remembered us in
our low estate: for his mercy endureth for
ever:
And hath redeemed us
from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for
ever.
Who giveth food to all
flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.
O give thanks unto the
God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for
ever.”
I will save them!
Now, look back again to
verse seven: “…and will save them by the LORD
their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by
sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.”
2 Chronicles 20:15:
“And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye
inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat,
Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor
dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the
battle is not yours, but God's.”
The battle is God’s! We cannot do
it by ourselves! Do you understand this?
Only God can do this!
Zechariah 4:6: “Then
he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is
the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by
might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the
LORD of hosts.”
A new creature by a
new birth.
No amount of works
derived by the flesh can ever earn a man’s salvation
from the fires of Hell [Matthew 9:47].
A man, a woman a child
must needs become a new creature [in Jesus Christ]
by the operation of God: THE HOLY
GHOST. This is a very straight and a
very narrow truth from none other than the
BOOK of GOD.
See this thing for
yourself written in the Epistle of Paul the Apostle
to the Galatians, in chapter six, verse fifteen:
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth
any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new
creature.”
A person becomes a
Christian by becoming a new creature which
new creature comes by way through a second
birth. Warning:
- This
birth is not gained by inheritance.
- Nor does
this birth come by the strength [or
the will] of the flesh,
- Nor
furthermore does it come by a man’s sheer will.
It only comes by the
power of God:
John 1:13: “Which were
born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Ye must be born
again! :
John 3:7: “Marvel not
that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”
Verse eight: “Now when
she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a
son.”
First a son, Jezreel,
then a daughter comes, Loruhamah, and now
another son is born. Remember, these are
the children of whoredoms born of a wife of
whoredoms.
Verse nine: “Then said
God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are
not my people, and I will not be your God.”
Another son born to
great trouble from this very unfaithful wife.
Loammi
is his name. There is a divorce
coming into play. It is coming to thee, O
Israel.
Yet let the divorce be
done according to the law.
Ezra 10:3: “Now
therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put
away all the wives, and such as are born of them,
according to the counsel of my lord, and of those
that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let
it be done according to the law.”
The Law
Deuteronomy 24:1:
“When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and
it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes,
because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then
let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give
it in her hand, and send her out of his house.”
The LORD GOD is going to
send Israel out of HIS HOUSE.
Loammi
I am going to put your mother away for her
unfaithfulness to me [for her transgressions].
Isaiah 50:1: “Thus
saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your
mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or
which of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities
have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions
is your mother put away.”
For my thoughts are
not your thoughts.
Now, we will pause here
[in our study in the book of the prophet Hosea] and
turn to the prophet Jeremiah for a purpose, and for
a reason. This reason is for us to
search out some thoughts of the
LORD God [so as to properly formulate
Bible-believing doctrine].
You say, but where can
we learn of these thoughts of God? Well,
these thoughts of the LORD God are
revealed in a BOOK called the SCRIPTURE
[THE BIBLE].
THE SCRIPTURE is THE
BIBLE: 2 Timothy 3:16-17:
“All scripture is
given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly
furnished unto all good works.”
Now, the nation of
Israel was given these thoughts of the
LORD as oracles of God [Romans 3; 2].
It is in these oracles that we find the
things revealed by God to man. Let us go
further into this matter. It is in the book of
Deuteronomy, chapter twenty-nine, verse twenty-nine,
that we will find who the owners are
of the secret things and of the revealed
things:
“The secret things
belong unto the LORD our God: but those things
which are revealed belong unto us and
to our children for ever, that we may do all
the words of this law.”
[Deuteronomy 29:29]
Bottom-line:
·
The secret things belong
to God.
·
The revealed things belong
to us.
The worthy goal for
one’s life is clearly given:
We need to have our
thoughts line out with God’s thoughts!
First, to discern
these revealed thoughts, [and in order to be
perfect] we need to pray to God that HE
would search our hearts, and next, for
us to cry out, TRY ME!
Psalm 139:23: “Search
me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my
thoughts:”
Second, come to terms
with God and agree with God that your
thoughts are not HIS thoughts:
Isaiah 55:8:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”
Realize God’s thoughts are higher than man’s
thoughts:
Isaiah 55:9: “For
as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are
my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than
your thoughts.”
Now we are ready to turn
to the book of Jeremiah, chapter three, and we will
read starting with verse six:
Jeremiah 3:6: “The
LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the
king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding
Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high
mountain and under every green tree, and there hath
played the harlot.”
As we already have
learned in the book of Hosea, Gomer [a type of
Israel] was a harlot, and was unfaithful
to her husband [a type of God].
Jeremiah 3:7: “And I
said after she had done all these things,
Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her
treacherous sister Judah saw it.”
Israel refused to
return to God.
Jeremiah 3:8: “And I
saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding
Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and
given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous
sister Judah feared not, but went and played the
harlot also.”
Note this: God puts
her away! The LORD gives her the bill of
divorce.
Jeremiah 3:9:
“And it came to pass through the lightness of her
whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed
adultery with stones and with stocks.”
Whoredom
destroys: It is what defiles a people and a
land!
Jeremiah 3:10:
“And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah
hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but
feignedly, saith the LORD.”
Judah is next.
Notice, The LORD God wants your whole heart.
Jeremiah 3:11:
“And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel
hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.”
Summary:
Divorce is a Bible
doctrine.
The actual divorce
occurs when you leave the love of your life.
Israel divorced the LORD her God when she
departed from God. God’s
thoughts were not her thoughts, neither were God’s
ways her ways!
The one who is
left behind therefore, becomes the innocent
party.
The innocent party
can now give the guilty party the bill
of divorcement.
The bill of
divorcement is the paper [the legal]
dissolution of the bond of the marriage of the
husband and the wife granted by a judicial
sentence.
For my thoughts are not
your thoughts signifies divorce.
The converse is true: My thoughts are your thoughts.
Marriage = Agreement:
Amos 3:3: “Can two walk
together, except they be agreed?”
At this juncture we need
to summarize concerning marriage,
divorce, and remarriage before we
continue our commentary in the book of Hosea.
God’s view of
marriage, divorce and remarriage encapsulated.
1. The ideal Biblical
pattern for marriage is set in Genesis chapters 1
and 2 … one man - one woman for life.
2. God provided
legislation (by the giving of the Law) to Israel,
governing multiple wives; i.e., marriage privileges,
responsibilities are delineated, including the
regulation of divorce and re-marriage.
3. God gives the New
Testament order: National Israel set aside, and the
institution of the Church established with the Jew
and the Gentile in one body, which re-sets
Genesis 1-2 for marriage, one man, one woman, for
life as ideal.
He reveals only two Biblical reasons for divorce for
New Testament Christians, that is, for adultery, and
for desertion by the unbeliever. Remarriage is
allowed only in these two cases, plus for the reason
of the death of the spouse.
Adultery brings the
dissolution of the marriage.
Jeremiah 3:8: “And I
saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding
Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and
given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous
sister Judah feared not, but went and played the
harlot also.”
The LORD in so many words
in the sands of time said betimes: O
Israel put away your abominations, and I will not
put you away [I will not remove you!] PLEASE
HEAR ME!
Jeremiah 4:1:
“If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD,
return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine
abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not
remove.”
God wanted to keep her.
He wanted Israel to get right!
Ezekiel 43:9-11:
God’s Plan for the
nation of Israel: DO THEM!
“Now let them put away
their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far
from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for
ever.
Thou son of man, shew
the house to the house of Israel, that they may be
ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure
the pattern.
And if they be ashamed
of all that they have done, shew them the form of
the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings
out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the
forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and
all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and
write it in their sight, that they may keep
the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances
thereof, and do them.”
They did not do them!
The exception: Saving
for the cause of fornication
Matthew 5:31-32:
“It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his
wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
But I say unto you,
That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for
the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit
adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is
divorced committeth adultery.”
The divorce is
finalized.
Yet this is not the end!
There is hope. There is a promise.
The Promise:
“He hath made every
thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set
the world in their heart, so that no man can find
out the work that God maketh from the beginning to
the end [Ecclesiastes 3:11].
Restoration of the
Marriage
Verse ten: “Yet the
number of the children of Israel shall be as the
sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor
numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in
the place where it was said unto them, Ye are
not my people, there it shall be said unto
them, Ye are the sons of the living God.”
In the putting away
of his wife, Hosea represents a type of God
casting his wife Israel away.
[Now a type
illustrates a showing of something, which represents
something else.]
Hosea is a type of the
God of Israel. And Gomer is a type of
unfaithful Israel. Gomer commits adultery
which adultery constitutes the actual
divorce from her husband. It is
Gomer who dissolved her marriage to Hosea.
The responsive
action of Hosea only forms the legal
divorce [by the putting away of Gomer].
Thus, the thing is shown in type: The nation
of Israel dissolved her own marriage to God
by her continual
transgressions.
The LORD God responded by putting
her out!
But there is something
else here. Israel’s treacheries can be
shown to be part of a great mystery.
Now, what is this
mystery? This great mystery is now
revealed to us living today by way of the
illumination of the Holy Ghost in the New Testament
Epistle to the Romans, in chapter eleven, which see.
We can see in verse
fifteen that the casting away of Israel
[which formed a great grief to the LORD GOD of
Israel] brought about with the passing of time a
most wonderful thing, the
reconciling of the world.
This unfolding wonderful truth displayed in verse
fifteen:
“For if the casting
away of them be the reconciling of the world,
what shall the receiving of them be,
but life from the dead?” [Romans
11:15]
This
reconciling of the world will
conclude with the bringing forth of a restoration
of the marriage [that God had with the nation of
Israel in the Old Testament] in the beginning of the
millennial reign of Jesus Christ. This is what we
all will see happen in the restitution of all
things [Act 3:21].
Restoration =
Remarriage
The concluding story
located within this mystery is so beautiful
and is a story likening the raising of life from
the dead. See this thing with your
own eyes [your eyes of faith] in verses twenty-five
through verse twenty-seven:
“For I would not,
brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this
mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to
Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come
in.
And so all Israel
shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come
out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my
covenant unto them, when I shall take away their
sins.” [Romans 11:25-27]
What happened to Israel
[[shown here in the book of Hosea] allows the
Gentiles to come into the fold. The One
forwent [Israel] becomes the opportunity for
another {the Gentiles]. The Gentiles were now
in line to receive the mercy of God. Go
to the First Epistle of Peter, chapter two, verse
ten: “Which in time past were not a people, but
are now the people of God: which had not obtained
mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
The Gentiles have always
been on the outside [with very few exceptions, i.e.,
Ruth] of “the commonwealth of Israel.”
The Gentiles were strangers to the promises
of God … “having no hope”. The Epistle
to the Ephesians tells us this is so, very
plainly. We see in chapter two, verse
twelve:
“That at that time ye
were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the
covenants of promise, having no hope, and without
God in the world:” [Ephesians
2:12].
Before Jesus Christ went
to the Cross of Calvary, we Gentiles were not the
people of God. We were as dogs at the
table of Israel. We were all dogs, just like
the Siro-Phoenician woman said we were, in the
Gospel of Mark, chapter seven, verse twenty-eight:
“And she answered and
said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the
table eat of the children's crumbs.”
[Mark 7:28]
Now bear with me a
little, my friend. I will tell you what has
transpired. It was by the precious blood of
Jesus Christ that God opened up the Gentiles to the
mercies of God … even the GRACE of God.
Let’s go back to Ephesians chapter two starting with
verse thirteen to see that this is true. Are
you ready for this?
“But now in Christ
Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by
the blood of Christ.” [Ephesians
2:13]
Before this time, we were
OUT, but now, we are IN. The
mercy of God … towards us … made us part of the
family of God. Amen! God brought us into
the sure mercies and promises of God … along with
Israel … so that we would be made one body.
Look at this in verse fourteen and fifteen with me:
“For he is our peace,
who hath made both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us; Having
abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of
commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in
himself of twain one new man, so making peace;”
[Ephesians 2:14-15].
The WALL was taken
down! We Gentiles have become the people of
God … along with the Jews. The Jews and
the Gentiles have been made into one body for the
last two thousand years. We see
this truly amplified in verse sixteen through
nineteen in Ephesians chapter two:
“And that he might
reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby: And came and
preached peace to you which were afar off, and to
them that were nigh.
For through him we
both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Now therefore ye are
no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens
with the saints, and of the household of God;”
[Ephesians 2:16-19]
Verse eleven: “Then
shall the children of Judah and the children of
Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves
one head, and they shall come up out of the land:
for great shall be the day of Jezreel.”
War
comes, and judgment arrives, mercy
runs out, and finally they are put away, and
thus, we find them cast away,
and seemingly, they are undone.
Jezreel, Loruhamah, and
Loammi were the children of
whoredoms that were born of a wife of whoredoms.
The divorce came. It came to thee, O
Israel!
Who can save thee?
The LORD WHO is mighty
will save thee, O Israel!
Isaiah 63:1: “Who
is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed
garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious
in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his
strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to
save.”
BUT the promise of the
LORD GOD of ISRAEL arrives, and just in time, and
interrupts this whole downward process with
this which is found in the book of Jeremiah, chapter
thirty, verse ten and eleven:
“Therefore fear thou
not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be
dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from
afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity;
and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be
quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
For I am with
thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a
full end of all nations whither I have scattered
thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I
will correct thee in measure, and will not leave
thee altogether unpunished.”
[Jeremiah 30:10-11]
There you have it, my
friend, ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED!
They will finally
obtain the mercy of GOD.
Isaiah 45:17: “But
Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an
everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor
confounded world without end.”
Israel will appoint for
themselves Jesus Christ as their HEAD in that
climatic day which is the great day of Jezreel at
the end of the GREAT TRIBULATION.
This is a story with a
happy ending.
There you have it, my
friend.
If you have been saved,
you have already obtained the mercy of God.
You now belong to God. God is
the King of the Hill … in your life. You are
no longer offended by Jesus Christ.
Instead, the work of grace is in you and makes Jesus
Christ precious to you.
Amen! Amen!
Amen!
This brings us to a close
of Hosea chapter one.
Before we go to chapter
two, we will need to consider the Law and its
weighty qualities.
The Law of God are the
testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments.
Deuteronomy 4:44-45:
“And this is
the law which Moses set before the children of
Israel:
These are the
testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments,
which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after
they came forth out of Egypt,”
Deuteronomy 6:17:
“Ye shall diligently
keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his
testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath
commanded thee.”
The strength of
your diligence in the keeping is a measure
of the depth of your love to the very one who
gave you these testimonies.
Gomer, how much do you
love Hosea?
Israel, do you love
the Lord THY GOD, and HIM ONLY?
Deuteronomy 6:5: “And
thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
might.”
Deuteronomy 10:12:
“And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require
of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in
all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD
thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,”
Deuteronomy 11:1:
“Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and
keep his charge, and his statutes, and his
judgments, and his commandments, alway.”
Deuteronomy 30:6:
“And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine
heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD
thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul,
that thou mayest live.”
Over and over, and over
again fidelity, loyalty, and faithfulness, is what
God desires of Israel [and of you and of me].
Let us go deeper!
The attributes of fidelity, loyalty, and
faithfulness are sourced from something else.
It is this: TRUTH.
Psalm 51:6: “Behold,
thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the
hidden part thou shalt make me to know
wisdom.”
Our inner most
parts need to be deliberately made to be the
repository of truth.
John 17:17: “Sanctify
them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
“BETH. Wherewithal
shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed
thereto according to thy word.
With my whole heart
have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy
commandments.
Thy word have I hid in
mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
[Psalm 119:9-11]
Let me focus here on
these testimonies and the relationship
that these testimonies have to your
separation unto Jesus Christ. How
much are we only for HIM, and not distracted by
an allurement to someone else?
Now, God separated
Israel for HIMSELF from all other people on the
earth:
Leviticus 20:24: “But
I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land,
and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land
that floweth with milk and honey: I am the
LORD your God, which have separated you from
other people.”
2 Kings 17:15: “And
they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he
made with their fathers, and his testimonies which
he testified against them; and they followed vanity,
and became vain, and went after the heathen that
were round about them, concerning whom
the LORD had charged them, that they should not do
like them.”
Psalm 93:5: “Thy
testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine
house, O LORD, for ever.”
There are 27 instances of
the word: testimonies
in Psalm 119
Israel was separated
out from all the other nations of the earth to be
the bearer of God’s testimonies.
These testimonies
were to be the rejoicing of the heart.
It always comes back to matter of the heart.
Read with me here in
Psalm 119:
1.
Psalm 119:2: “Blessed
are they that keep his testimonies, and
that seek him with the whole heart.”
2.
Psalm 119:14:
“I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as
much as in all riches.”
3.
Psalm 119:22:
“Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have
kept thy testimonies.”
4.
Psalm 119:24:
“Thy testimonies also are my delight and
my counsellers.”
5.
Psalm 119:31:
“I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD,
put me not to shame.”
6.
Psalm 119:36:
“Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to
covetousness.”
7.
Psalm 119:46:
“I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings,
and will not be ashamed.”
8.
Psalm 119:59:
“I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy
testimonies.”
9.
Psalm 119:79:
“Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those
that have known thy testimonies.”
10.
Psalm 119:95: “The wicked
have waited for me to destroy me: but I will
consider thy testimonies.”
11.
Psalm 119:99: “I have more
understanding than all my teachers: for thy
testimonies are my meditation.”
12.
Psalm 119:111: “Thy
testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever:
for they are the rejoicing of my heart.”
13.
Psalm 119:119: “Thou puttest
away all the wicked of the earth like dross:
therefore I love thy testimonies.”
14.
Psalm 119:125: “I am
thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know
thy testimonies.”
15.
Psalm 119:129: “Thy
testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my
soul keep them.”
16.
Psalm 119:138: “Thy
testimonies that thou hast commanded are
righteous and very faithful.”
17.
Psalm 119:144: “The
righteousness of thy testimonies is
everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall
live.”
18.
Psalm 119:146: “I cried unto
thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.”
19.
Psalm 119:152: “Concerning
thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast
founded them for ever.”
20.
Psalm 119:157: “Many are
my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not
decline from thy testimonies.”
21.
Psalm 119:167: “My soul hath
kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.”
22.
Psalm 119:168: “I have kept thy
precepts and thy testimonies:
for all my ways are before thee.”
Keeping
the LORD’s testimonies proves one’s
fidelity to HIM.
The ring on the finger is
to show forth your fidelity to your husband,
or to your wife in marriage.
Fidelity
to Jesus Christ is an indicator of one’s oneness
with Jesus Christ. For two shall be
one. Oneness with HIM displays the
dominant characteristics of a true marriage
i.e., fidelity, or loyalty,
commitment, and faithfulness.
The statement of the
LORD, the God of Israel:
Ezekiel 16:8: “Now
when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold,
thy time was the time of love; and I spread
my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea,
I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with
thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.”
God married Israel.
Next - Hosea Chapter Two
Friend
If you
know the Bible Is True,
And you
never received
Jesus
Christ as your personal Lord and Savior...
And you
want to come to Him for Salvation now ... Then:
1. Admit
... To God that you are a Sinner...
Deserving Hell Fire...
2. Believe ... that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God...
Who died on the Cross for
You! ...
3. Repent! ... Ask
Him to Forgive You of Your Sin...
4. Receive Him... By
Asking Him to come into Your Heart...
And You
Will Receive the Gift of Eternal Life!
Born of God! You
Are in The Narrow Way ... To HEAVEN!