Chastisement Because of Rebellion

July 6, 2026 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Book of Hosea Chapters 4 through 9

Chastisement is correction, punishment, or pain inflicted for punishment and correction.

The truth is that God will only chastise those He loves.

God is much more about correction than He is about punishment!

Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

If we are full of sin and have not been chastened for it, then we had better ensure our salvation.

Chastisement is not judgment! The Lord Jesus Christ took our judgment on the cross, and when we are saved, we have been justified and will not see judgment.

Job 34:5 For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.

Chastening is to teach us obedience to the Word of God.

Job 34:31 Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
Job 34:32 That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.

We have seen that God chastised Israel and Judah for rebellion, but it is still chastisement, not judgment, because He still loves them, even if it seems very harsh.

We know that Hosea had firsthand experience with the hurt that is caused by unfaithfulness.

*Hos 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

This is God speaking by the Holy Spirit to make sure that Israel understands the sins they have committed against God.

No matter our sin or who else may be involved in our sin, that sin is against our Holy God.

If the Lord Himself is delivering these charges, then we know they are true.

Israel is charged with a lack of truth, a lack of mercy, and a lack of knowledge of God.

What is the truth?

1) Truth and Love cannot be separated. When you love someone, you tell them the truth.
2) Truth cannot be sustained without “mercy,” and mercy without “truth” will make us negligent. Truth and mercy must be mingled together.
3) When there is no knowledge of God, people will be willfully ignorant of how to treat others and will therefore attempt to dominate them.

We live in this world today. A world without natural affection.

Rom_1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

2Ti_3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

It is in our politics, and it is in our everyday life. We have chosen hatred to rule our lives.

We must keep hatred out of the Church!

What were the specific charges against the Northern Kingdom?

*Hos 4:2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.

When faithfulness, kindness, and the knowledge of God are lacking it creates room for all kinds of sin.

When there is no bond with God there will be no commitment to relationships with others.

One of the greatest examples is Adam and Eve.

Eve blamed the serpent, but Adam blamed God, who gave Eve to him as a helpmate.

Then their children did not see God clearly, and Cain killed Abel.

The Northern Tribes of Israel had trampled the Word of God under their feet, and they violated the Laws of God.

1) Swearing to confirm a lie is a violation of the third commandment.

Deu 5:11 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

We must be very careful that we do not misuse God’s name.

2) Lying is a violation of the ninth commandment.

Deu 5:20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.

They deceived, twisted the truth, exaggerated the facts, and misled others to build themselves up.
Sounds just like Washington, DC today. In fact, these things are happening in most nations’ capitals, especially those that seem to be the most powerful nations.

3) Murder is a violation of the Sixth Commandment.

Deu 5:17 Thou shalt not kill.

These people filled the land with murder. Again, sounds just like America and many other nations.

Someone is being murdered every day.
It is said that the government of Iran has murdered over 42,000 people who are suffering from a terrible government.
People are not really safe anywhere these days. Ride by shootings, schools, gatherings of people, none are truly safe.

4) Stealing is a violation of the eighth commandment.

Deu 5:19 Neither shalt thou steal.

Selfishness and covetousness cause people to take what they want from anybody they want to. They cheated wherever they could get away with it. Businesses overcharged customers, overpriced products, and used cheaper materials to make so-called quality products.

5) Adultery is a violation of the seventh commandment.

Deu 5:18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery.

Sexual immorality had swept over the land. Few were faithful to their spouses. Even among priests.

They committed adultery in their marriages, but worse than that, they committed adultery against God, their Creator and Savior.

6) These people had broken all Godly restraints:

Neither the Word of God, nor the people’s consciences, nor any sort of reasoning remained with these wicked people.

1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

7) They had allowed violence to run wild.

People in every walk of society were willing to do anything to fulfill their lust and their pride.

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

You cannot make these things up because these same things are happening in our own nation today, along with many other sins against God.

There is only one answer to our problems.

1Co 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1Co 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

What did God say about all these, and God never changes?

*Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed, for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Hos 4:7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.

The Church needs to wake up, and the false church needs to wake up. We know God does not ever change, and this passage is clear language of who God holds to blame.

God does not have to destroy this world; our world is so full of sin and foolishness that it will destroy itself if God does not stop it.

The people were guilty of polluting the land that God had given to them to live on.

Isa 24:3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.
Isa 24:4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
Isa 24:5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
Isa 24:6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

King Jeroboam’s first action was to corrupt the law of God from the very beginning.
What Jeroboam started was a religion that mixed a little of the truth of God with the false religion of the world.

Again, the same thing is happening today in the Church.

He found his own priests from people who were disqualified to be priests by the Word of God, non-Levites.

Jeroboam had set up a state religion, but the Word of God was not taught, and the people had allowed it to happen because most of them knew the truth of God.

We already know that Hosea was the only prophet who resided in the Northern Kingdom through whom God spoke.

The other true prophets who prophesied in the Northern Kingdom resided in the Southern Kingdom.

This tells us there were no other men in the Northern Kingdom whom God trusted to give them the truth.

Most all the Levites had escaped to Judah.

These people still had no excuse because they knew the truth of God.

They did not wander astray because they did not know the way of God, but because they had no desire to go God’s ways, and the religion of Jeroboam gave them an excuse.

Job 21:14 Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
Job 21:15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?

Today, most people do not want to hear what God has to say because it will bring them under conviction.

The truth is that not knowing God and His Word will not save them from the judgment of God because they are already judged.

Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

The priests chosen by Jeroboam were leading the people further away from God and not closer to Him.

This is the same problem of false preachers today. They lead the people further away from God and not closer to Him.

The result is that the people of God will lack the true knowledge of God, and it is showing up in the modern Church today.

We can know all the facts of the Bible, but we still must have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and He must be Lord of our lives.

God cannot break any promises He has made; “judgment” had to come to the Northern Tribes of Israel.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Eze 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

What we find is that if we look at the history of mankind, it appears time and time again that acquired greatness has been abused by mankind to self-exaltation, while God is forgotten.

Judgment would begin as God would no longer provide their needs.

*Hos 4:10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.
Hos 4:11 Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.

Why do some people believe that sin brings benefits?

Oh, they may win a small amount from the lottery, but that big pot is just an enticement to most people.

I do not know of many people out in the world who are satisfied, especially as they approach their elder years. I know I wasn’t.

Most of them are so greedy that they will never be satisfied, and the rest know they are missing out on something, but they do not know what it is.

Their insatiable thirst for sin will remain with them because the Devil will not let them go and may even cause them an early death.

What do we know about the heart? Pro 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

These priests had lost their understanding of the Word of God.

When every action we take is to benefit ourselves, we are living in harlotry.

When we do not think about worshiping the Lord, we are living in harlotry.

When we quit praying, we are living in harlotry.

We have lost our understanding of the Word of God.

Wine! I do not believe that the Lord Jesus authorized the use of alcoholic wine.

Pro 23:20 Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:

Pro 23:29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
Pro 23:30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
Pro 23:31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
Pro 23:32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.

God will never contradict Himself!

The word “wine” is used many times in the Word of God.

The most common Hebrew word is “yayen”. Yayen could be fermented wine, but it could also mean to tread out, which is grape juice.

Another Hebrew word used is “Ashishah”, and it is not wine but basically means raisins.

Another Hebrew word used is “Asis” which is grape juice no older than one year.

Another Hebrew word used is “Hometz” which is vinegar.

Another word used is “Hemer” and it means the blood of the grape and or grape juice just beginning the process of fermentation.

Another word used is “enabh” which is cakes of raisins.

Another word used is “Mesekh,” which is mixed with yayen, water, and spices. Mixed wine.

Another word used is “Tirosh” which is wine that is intoxicating and is said to take possession of the brain.

There is still “Sobhe” which means drunkard.

“Shekar” which is intoxication liquor.

“Yekebh” which fresh pressed juice.

“Shemarim” which is old juice.

“Mesek” mixed juice and spice, but not diluted with water, boiled down to a syrup.

The wine the Lord Jesus made is described as “oinos”. Fresh-squeezed juice mixed with water.

This same Greek word is used to describe the wrath of God.

Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

All other grape juices were mixed with water.

Our Lord miraculously supplied wine at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee (Jhn_2:1-11).
The Rechabites were forbidden the use of wine (Jer. 35).
Nazarites also were to abstain from its use during the period of their vow (Num_6:1-4); and those who were dedicated as Nazarites from their birth were perpetually to abstain from it (Jdg_13:4, Jdg_13:5; Luk_1:15; Luk_7:33).
The priests, too, were forbidden the use of wine and strong drink when engaged in their sacred functions (Lev_10:1, Lev_10:9-11).
“Wine is little used now in the East, from the fact that Mohammedans are not allowed to taste it, and very few of other creeds touch it.
When it is drunk, water is generally mixed with it, and this was the custom in the days of Christ also.
The people indeed are everywhere very sober in hot climates; a drunken person, in fact, is never seen”.

We should be very careful to look closely at the word “wine” used in English-speaking Bibles.

The Lord Jesus Christ did not drink alcoholic wine and it should not be used in the Church.

Some people are told to drink a little wine for medical purposes when grape juice will do the same thing that the wine will do in medicine.

*Hos 4:12 My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.

Even though these are the people of the Northern Kingdom the LORD still required the people themselves to be accountable for their own sins.

We can be sure that there will be a great accounting to God by those who were the leaders of God’s people it still does not diminish the fact that these people will endure God’s chastisement for their sins.

We know that God does not change, so this should be a great lesson for the Church today.

The Church cannot allow what God calls abominations to continue in the Church!

The people of the Northern Kingdom ceased seeking the only One who could give them proper counsel, Jehovah.

*Hos 4:16 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.

An acceptance of physical and spiritual adultery had gripped that society.

The priests and the people played the harlot, enticing people away from God.

These people began to worship sex as well as idols and false gods. This is what fertility worship leads to!

I have already said it, but I will say it again: we see these same things here in the USA and throughout the world, and people wonder why our world is so messed up.

They had rejected the covenants that bound them to a Holy God!

Jer 3:3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

What was happening in Israel was affecting what was happening in Judah.

Jer 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.
Jer 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.

Isa 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

We have to wonder sometimes why our Heavenly Father even puts up with any of us as long as He has.

*Hos 8:5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
Hos 8:6 For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
Hos 8:7 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.

What does God think of the idols we worship? They will be broken in pieces.

What did God say about choosing our leaders or presidents? We are to choose them according to whether they are following the Word of God.

We are to choose those who remain close to Israel.

We are to choose them if they are into truth and not lies.

We are to choose those who are close to God in their lives.

We are to choose only after we have spent some time in prayer.

We are never to choose them for political reasons.

We are never to choose those who deny Jesus Christ or the Bible.

God was going to allow the Assyrian army to judge Israel.

What country or what nation is God going to allow to judge our nation? He could still do this.

God hates idol worship!

We are to be a righteous nation and not the Great Satan.

God has a desire for us to return to being a godly nation.

The only thing saving our nation today is the patience of God.

2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

We had better get our hearts right with God very soon!

The Northern Tribes, called Israel, had:

1) They had broken their covenant with God and rebelled against the Word of God.
2) The people had made a false confession. They pretended to still be God’s people.
3) The people rejected what was good. Truly seeking and believing in the Lord. Doing deeds of righteousness in the spirit of justice, mercy, and humility.
4) They had chosen corrupt leaders without consulting God’s guidance or His consent. They had chosen according to charisma and political reasons. They had chosen with their dreams of having greater power and wealth.
5) They used their own imagination to create idols for themselves and provided silver and gold to build false worship centers.

We see these same things today in our own nation and most every other nation, including Israel.

No idol can do what our powerful God can do!
No idol can cleanse you of your sin.
No idol can bleed and die for you.

The reference to Samaria has no connection to the places where those two calf idols were located; it was just the capital city used by the Northern Tribes.

A handmade god is not a god nor can it ever be. It is foolish, and full of nonsense, but also a terrible sin.

Listen how Isaiah describes such things: Isa 44:13 The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.
Isa 44:14 He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.
Isa 44:15 Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.
Isa 44:16 He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire:
Isa 44:17 And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.

Everything we do has consequences. Good deeds have good consequences; bad deeds have bad consequences.

Even nature proves this to be true.

When Israel sowed wind, which is “nothingness,” they reaped the “whirlwind,” which is God’s judgment!

Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Israel was supposed to be the nation that blessed all the other nations, but they had failed miserably, and they became a vessel that the Gentile nations had no pleasure in and still are today.

*Hos 9:17 My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

What happened to the Northern Tribes of Israel?

This same thing was happening in Judah!

Hos 8:14 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.

The bitter harvest was coming to the nation of Israel, and no matter what those who are lost think, the Lord God was justified in this severe judgment!

He had called for repentance many times, but His calls were ignored.

Israel had been warned. Deu 6:12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

The prophets of God were ignored or silenced.

Today, the Church is traveling the same road as Israel traveled, and Christians have forgotten who made them and saved them from the consequences of sin.

Much of the Word of God has been rewritten and left out God’s judgment and God’s laws.

Why would the Church think that God will respond any differently today when He says He never changes?

Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Jas 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

We are to meditate on the Word of God and this is a good place to start!

Amen

Restoration

June 29, 2026 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Restoration

Book of Hosea, Chapters 1 through 3

Hosea was a prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

Hosea was the only prophet who lived in the area of the Northern Tribes whose writings were preserved by the Holy Spirit and became part of the Bible we have today.

All the other prophets who prophesied against the Northern Tribes lived in the area of the Southern Tribes.

The Book of Amos was also of the Northern Kingdom, but Amos lived in the Southern Kingdom, along with Isaiah and Micah, who also prophesied against the Northern Kingdom.

The Book of Hosea gives us a picture of just how far God will go in trying to save His chosen people.

Our direct knowledge of Hosea comes entirely from the book which bears his name.

He is mentioned nowhere else in the Old Testament.

It is believed that Hosea prophesied for about 70 years.

The words of Hosea were written mostly to the Northern Tribes, but the fact remains that he was writing to all God’s people, including Judah, and to us who are alive today, because this is a work of the Holy Spirit.

The clearest lesson we can get from the Book of Hosea is that God loves His people and His greatest request is for His people to repent and return to Him.

God told Hosea to choose Gomer as his wife with the intention of showing us what it means to be unfaithful, as both Israel and Judah were in that day.

Once Hosea married Gomer, she would become involved in the sins of infidelity and unfaithfulness.

Israel and Judah had betrayed God and been disloyal and adulterous in their relationship with God.

They had committed act after act of Spiritual Adultery.

Many of God’s people are doing the same today. God must be first in our lives!

Hosea gives us a clear picture of God’s demanding call to us is for us to remain faithful.

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

We sometimes forget that God requires us to be obedient to Him and the Lord Jesus is the greatest example of obedience to our Heavenly Father, but we can learn from Hosea also.

Hosea would write from the heart because he would understand how God felt about unfaithfulness because of Gomer’s relationship with him.

Of course, we know that the Holy Spirit would still guide and approve what was written.

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
1Co 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Following the Lord will require us to make some sacrifices, and we are never guaranteed a pain-free life, as many of us have already experienced.

We must be clear as we serve the Lord: Jesus Christ is the only Savior of God’s people and the only One who redeems His people from death!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

This message is clear and unchangeable!

We should be able to picture our Savior through the relationship of Hosea to his wife, Gomer.

The Book of Hosea stands as one of the most straightforward and passionate declarations of God’s great love for us.

We will also see that even as great as His love is for us, there is a coming judgment on those who refuse to repent and return to Him.

Spiritual Adultery is a serious matter, and much of the Church is involved in Spiritual Adultery today and needs to repent.

*Hos 1:1 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 Book of Hosea is the first of the books that are called the Books of the Minor Prophets.

We need to understand that the message of these books is just as important as all the other books of the Bible.

They are minor in that they are short books as compared to the books of the other prophets, such as Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel.

They would not be part of the canon of the Bible if they were not important enough for us to study God’s message that they have for us.

Remember, it is the Holy Spirit who has chosen what we need to know of the message of God.

2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

There are no unimportant words in the Bible, but many so-called modern versions leave out so many of them and change many others.

The prophets Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, and Nahum prophesied in the time of the Assyrian world empire.

The name Hosea means “savior”, “deliverer”.

God wants to deliver His people from the power of sin, and this is still His will even now in the Church Age, which is soon coming to its end.

Mat 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

The prophets of God were not very popular among the people because they would usually appear when something was not right with God’s people, and many of them were murdered to keep them forever quiet, but the Holy Spirit made sure we of today get to know their message, which came straight from the lips of our Heavenly Father.

The first thing we notice is that the LORD Himself called out to Hosea. This would be Jehovah in the Old Testament, but the Lord Jesus in the New Testament.

We will also notice that God’s people as a whole are not open to hearing the voice of God, and not much has changed today, certainly not in the time of Jesus.

Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

People then and people of today just do not want anyone to point out their sin to them.

To be real, everyone knows that they are sinners. People know they do not do everything righteously.

Everyone knows right from wrong except for the very young, but even they are not innocent of sin.

Idolatry had become the national religion of the Northern tribes of Israel, and idolatry was making its way into the Southern Tribes, and idolatry has made its way into the America we love today.

Their king, Jeroboam I, had established a new religion that he had created himself. His son Jeroboam II now ruled the Northern Tribes, and he was no different from his father.

He did this to keep the Northern Tribes from going to the Temple on feast days to worship.

Now, don’t get me wrong, but these people knew the truth, and they should have rebelled against this false worship, but they just obeyed their new king because they hated the King of Judah.

During the reign of King Solomon, many of the lower classes were not treated fairly.

Some others just worshipped the false gods of the surrounding nations, but either way, they turned away from Jehovah and the truth of God.

Rom_1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.

God used His Prophet Hosea to be an example of wicked Israel in a way we may not understand, but we should be able to see it clearly.

We should understand that it is often the case that God calls a preacher or a missionary who is sent to specific places where they labor long hours, but do not see much fruit because God made a promise to all people.

2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Mrk_13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

God asked Hosea to do something that many of us would certainly not want to do.

Hosea would experience a whole lot of what we call drama today in his marriage to a harlot.

The Northern Tribes of Israel would never be at rest but would face one crisis after another.

The Northern Tribes of Israel did not have one decent king.

They all were after power and riches.

It is getting the same in America today and in much of the world.

When God’s way of righteousness is rejected, and His Holy commandments are ignored, this world will suffer in turmoil that could have been avoided.

*Hos 1:2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. 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.

The wife of Hosea would be an adulteress, and God told Hosea to marry her and be faithful to her.

No matter what we do in this life, God is always faithful to His Word!

In reality, Hosea did not know Gomer would be an adulteress when he married her until God told him, but God did not cause Gomer to sin.

God will never lead us into temptation.

These marriages happen often, and divorce is rampant in America today, even in the Church.

People struggle with faithfulness!

Being faithful to God, Hosea obeyed and married a woman named Gomer.

The message God was sending to the Northern Tribes was a message of unfaithfulness.

Hosea would completely understand unfaithfulness to God by his own marriage to Gomer.

Hosea did not get to know Gomer through normal ways, as we would think, but Hosea purchased his wife.

We will understand as we go through this lesson that Gomer will be a picture of unfaithfulness representing Israel, and Hosea will be a picture of God’s faithfulness and God’s unlimited “Grace”.

Rom_5:20 Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

For the Prophet Hosea to prophesy in the right manner, he needed to understand and feel how God feels about unfaithfulness.

Hosea would write with a greater understanding of how God feels about His spiritually adulterous children.

Through the tragedy of his own marriage, Hosea will come to feel how unfaithfulness affects the heart of God.

Unfaithfulness will destroy love in most people, but Jehovah God has a love that we do not really understand until we get to know Him as our Savior.

Now, we do not really know if Gomer was immoral before her marriage to Hosea, but for her to be an example of Israel, then she would have to begin her marriage to Hosea with faithfulness, but with a faithfulness that did not last very long.

Israel began with the faithfulness of Abraham.

Gomer’s children had names given to them that had special meaning.

It seems that the first son of Gomer would be Jezreel.

Hos 1:4 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.
Hos 1:5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

You know if God broke the bow of Israel, then He allowed them to be defeated. The bow was their greatest weapon against the enemy.

The first daughter was named Loruhamah.

Hos 1:6 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.
Hos 1:7 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.

Then another son named Loammi.

Hos 1:9 Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.

It appears that maybe these children may not have been fathered by Hosea because our verse says, “children of whoredoms”.

It could also mean that all of these children would follow in the ways of their mother and were fathered by Hosea, which would make more sense.

Hos 2:4 And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.

We should not doubt that Gomer was an adulterous woman!

Adultery is also a picture of people turning away from God and giving themselves to false gods.

When the parents do not follow the Word of God, how can the children know what God expects?

We are to be godly examples to our children and train them in the way that they should go in life, God’s way.

If we look at the people of the entire world belonging to God because He is the Creator, then we see a world that is given over to the worship of false gods today

*Hos 1:10 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.

We should understand that it was not just unfaithfulness in a few of these people; it was unfaithfulness, but that all the land of Israel had surrendered itself to adultery and unfaithfulness, ignoring the Word of God and the God who loved them.

It is estimated that there are around 20 million Jews in the world today.

Remember that Hitler slaughtered over 6 million.

God promised His people would be very numerous, and the pure fact is that God will keep His promise to Abraham.

Gen 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
Gen 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Some say this would include the Muslim, and it could, because the seed of Israel would be from the line of Sarah, which would be Isaac and not Hagar, who is the mother of Ishmael, which includes the Muslim.

Muslims are not part of the Church unless they accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, and not just as some prophet.

To be a son of the Living God is to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior!

God promised there would be only one ruler, and that ruler would be the Son of David.

On the Day of Jezreel, in all of Israel, there will be a reunion of all the tribes of Israel.

Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

God promised that they would be restored to the land given to Abraham. Now, this does not include the Muslims because this land was passed on to Isaac and from Isaac to Jacob, who is Israel.

Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

What do we know? God has never broken a promise, and He never will!

The Valley of Jezreel is located in the eastern extension of the plain of Esdraelon. (Jos_17:16; Jdg_6:33; Hos_1:5)

Jdg 6:33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.

This place has been called the battlefield of Palestine. It has been a chosen place for encampment for every enemy of Israel and in every battle carried on in this country.

This is the same place of another prophecy that has not taken place as of yet.

Rev 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

This is the same place where most of the armies of the world will gather against Israel, and the Lord Jesus will slaughter them there.

God will show us how He acts to get us back on the right path.

God will use chastisement to purify His people, but then God will love them back into the family.

In Hosea, we read that God denied His people, but through the work of Jesus Christ, God will redeem them.

They just do not realize it yet.

*Hos 2:6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.

We know that adultery runs rampant in our societies of today.

Many couples do not even get married because marriage requires commitment, and these unions are full of fornication.

Look how many babies could be saved if fornication were not the lifestyle of the USA and the world.

It is the same as it was in the Book of Judges: Jdg 21:25 In those days “every man did that which was right in his own eyes”.

This includes the women of today.

Many a marriage has ended because of adultery, and this is the message God gives to Israel and that God gives to the Church.

Even if Gomer would not stay faithful to Hosea, she should have been faithful to her children, but we find that this is not the case.

This is another case of Israel not even training its children to follow God.

God is teaching us that if you travel the road with painful barriers on the left and the right, you can only go one way or select a path with painful injuries.

We should ask ourselves, why do so many try to break through those painful barriers, just to go against a loving God?

Those painful barriers represent the Holy Spirit trying to keep us on the right path to victory.

People today do not even think about their health when they get on that road to sin.

Listen to Job: Job 19:8 He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.

God will not put anything in our path to stop us from reaching Him, but He will put obstacles in our path to try to get us to change directions and return to Him.

The message of God is still repentance.

*Hos 2:7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.
Hos 2:8 For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.
Hos 2:9 Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.
Hos 2:10 And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.

Israel was chasing hard after false gods, but they could not find one that could help them.

Gomer was guilty of lust and adultery, and it was the same for Israel.

Gomer became enslaved by her desire for sexual pleasure, unable to break free from her passion.

This is what being enslaved to the Devil means. The Devil chains us to our sins and does not allow us to break free.

2Ti_2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

We talk about how we should not waste the things God gives to us, but Israel would melt down gold and silver and make idols to worship.

How smart is that, by the way? That made those idols valuable to a thief who is the Devil.

It is a sad day when we forget that it is our Creator who has provided our needs all our days, and we begin to worship some false god who cannot give us anything but death.

It is even worse when we give credit to idols for the things we have.

When we seek the world seeking some benefit that appears to be good and supposed riches and prosperity that the world hoards for itself, instead of God, who is in control, we will find that there is no advantage to be gained in the world.

We find that in war or in bad times, the Church is filled with prayerful people, but as soon as these things are over, those same people return to doing what they were doing before.

They should ask themselves, would God answer their prayers, and why would He? No, God will not listen to them lest they repent and return to Him.

Job 35:12 There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men.
Job 35:13 Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it.

Only because God had placed obstacles in her path to keep her from finding her lovers did Gomer decide to go back to her husband, Hosea.

This will be the path of Israel!

When Israel is face-to-face with the results of her rebellion and sees no way out, will she ever return to the Lord?

We should be amazed at the “GRACE” of God and His “FORGIVENESS” of our sins.

No false god in this world can provide for our needs because they are only figments of the imagination.

We will never gain satisfaction from false gods or from this world!

Israel will one day realize that they were much better when they followed the LORD than when they followed the world.

This will be a while because they will be going through the Seven-Year Tribulation Period.

When we become spiritually blind to the truth of God, we become blind to the benefits of serving Him.

Psa_68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

This world and its politicians make promise after promise, and when they are elected and run again for the same office, they make the same old promises that they cannot fulfill.

Why do we tolerate such people and not vote them out?

God keeps every promise He has ever made.

God provided for Israel while they were in captivity, but they gave their offerings to idols of this world.

What did Israel lose?

They lost God’s care and His provision.
They were publicly exposed and shamed before the eyes of the world.
They could not escape God’s judgment.

There is no place for the sinner to hide from God’s judgment!

God began by taking His provision away from them.

These are the same lessons Gomer learned. Her bad reputation took her lovers away from her.

We cannot pretend we love the LORD and then go against His Word.

*Hos 2:13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.

The days of Baalim were the days consecrated to Baal, and on which the worship of Jehovah was transferred to that idol.

In the days of Ahab, Baal worship was elevated to the status of a “state religion” while service to Jehovah was set aside.

1Ki 16:31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
1Ki 16:32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
1Ki 16:33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

2Ki 11:18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.

The name Baalim, Baals in plural, means the various forms of Baal-idolatry or any modification of Baal-worship.

Some say Baal is the god of the elites of society, and in many places, we find this to be true.

They worship what their riches have bought them.

Baal is also mentioned in the Quran.

To be clear, when you give anything that God has given to you to some idol, some Baal, you have committed a terrible sin.

God provides our needs; they are intended for our use in life or in a ministry of the Church.

Gomer celebrated her marriage with Hosea, but she was deceptive and insincere, a wife of whoredoms.

She turned her love away from Hosea and gave that love to other men.

Israel and many others have turned their love away from the LORD and given that love to a god that does not exist, for they have rejected the Son of God, their one true God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, we meet the God of the second chance.

*Hos 2:14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.
Hos 2:15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
Hos 2:16 And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.
Hos 2:17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

People say Grace is a New Testament thing, but we can see God’s Grace all through the Old Testament.

Hosea decided to renew his romance with his adulterous wife.

He would give her assurance that their marriage was safe, speak tenderly to her, and take her to places away from the temptation of her former worldly life.

This was a place where they could be alone and focus on each other and rekindle their original love for one another.

God would also do this for Israel.

Isa 65:8 Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.
Isa 65:9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.
Isa 65:10 And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.

God says, “My servants will dwell there”. This would be the land of Israel.
God says, “My chosen ones shall inherit it”. This would be God’s people after the Tribulation. Israel and the Church.

The heir of Judah will be the Messiah, and that remnant will be unified with Him.

This is the seed that grows into a great nation, and the world will be at peace.

It is believed that the name “Ishi” should be “my husband” and no longer be referred to as Baali, which means “my lord”.

We could say that this passage is spoken by the Messiah Himself, our Lord Jesus.

Isa 52:6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
Isa 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

We know this is the Lord speaking because we know that after the Great Tribulation, our Lord will remake this world as it was in the Garden of Eden when He said His creation was “very good”.

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

This is the same earth that our Lord Jesus will make again, a New Earth.

*Hos 2:18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.
Hos 2:19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
Hos 2:20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.

All those who want to know about the animals that God created on day five and day six, they were all at peace with mankind.

Adam and Eve and all the animals ate from the grassland and the fruit trees. No animal ate another animal. No insect caused harm to another insect. No fish ate another fish. No dinosaur ate meat.

What is the truth of God?

All those who have committed Spiritual adultery and rejected the Lord can still have a wonderful future if they return to the Lord.

It is still called repentance today!

No one could say these things if they did not know the future!

God seeks a personal relationship, and He will have it with those who repent and join Him in sincerity and truth.

There would be no divorce, only an eternal union that could never be broken.

This relationship would be built on love and mercy, and no one has as much love and mercy as the LORD.
This relationship would be built on faithfulness, and no one is as faithful as the LORD.
This relationship would be built upon knowing and acknowledging the LORD.

*Hos 2:22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.
Hos 2:23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

Jezreel (‘whom God soweth’) is a title symbolically applied to Israel.

Once Israel returns to the LORD, many things will happen.

We should remember this is also the time that the Earth will be destroyed by fire.

The LORD will restore the earth:

1) The LORD will meet the needs of the heavens.
2) The heavens will meet the needs of the earth.
3) The earth will meet the needs of the harvest, including grains, vineyards, and olive oil.
4) This great harvest will meet the needs of Jezreel as it is applied to Israel at this time and all those who are alive during the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ.

*Hos 3:4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:
Hos 3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.

There should not be even one Israelite who can deny the truth of verse four.

God has a purpose for this time period.

Certainly, God has sent missionaries to Israel to tell them the truth of Jesus Christ, but in reality, God has not sent them a prophet since the time of John the Baptist and then His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

What did Jesus tell them? Mat_17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.

We know even at this time David the King had been dead and buried for many years, so God is not talking about David, and not a resurrected David.

God is speaking of the Messiah, the Son of God, the One called the Son of David.

Mat_1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

This will be the second coming of Jesus Christ.

The example given to us from the Book of Hosea should teach us about the enduring love God has for His people.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Amen

Forgiveness

October 9, 2016 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Forgiveness

Book of Hosea Chapters 10-14

Forgiveness is the removal of guilt and in God’s eyes it is to be the same as a pardon.

Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law, so God removes the condemnation of the law from the sinner.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God removes the guilt of sin and the sinners liability to eternal wrath.

In other words by God’s act of “Grace” I am forever freed from the guilt and also the penalty of my sins.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

We sometimes forget these things and get caught back up in the ways of the world and this breaks the heart of God but He still will not abandon us.

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 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.

God is much more faithful to His Word than we are!

1Co 1:8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

It is our duty to be faithful to the Lord who paid our sin debt with His own blood!

It is also our duty to be just as forgiving to all others as the Lord is to us!

How can we ignore such a wonderful gift as the “Love of God”?

Amen.

Let’s begin in Chapter 10 at verse 9

*****Hos 10:9 O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.
Hos 10:10 It is in my desire that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows.
Hos 10:11 And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods.
Hos 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

We should be very clear about the gross sin of Israel at this time.

When we studied the Book of Judges we should remember the story of the Levite and the concubine that almost caused the elimination of the tribe of Benjamin and only 600 survived.

It had been Gibeah where the people had defied God and had been over taken by immorality, sexual perversion, including homosexuality and they had had there own LBGT movement, along with rape, assault, abuse, and murder and they had also refused to repent. (Judges 19:1-20:48)

God had judged Gibeah severely and He promised the same judgment would come to Samaria and the Northern Tribes.

Israel was plowing a furrow just like Gibeah had plowed and it would lead them to the same results.

A destruction that would leave only a small remnant alive!

Again we need to relate these things to what is happening in America today and not listen to those that say that the Christian way is racist or bigotry. We are still to love the sinner but hate the sin and in that we do fail the most.

If we think about it a heifer that treaded out the corn got to eat all she wanted by the law of God just by walking in a circle.

This then is a sign of laziness. It may have been easier to go along with the ways of the world but they were still bound in the captivity to sin.

These are the chains we must break free from to be made free!

Again we see that today it may be easier to compromise on the Word of God and live in today’s world but we will still be trapped in our own sin.

Where as, those animals that plowed the fields only got to eat at certain times of the day and labored much harder pulling the plows.

It may be harder to live in righteousness by the Word of God, but we will certainly live in freedom from the wrath of God!

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, “If ye continue in my word”, THEN are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, “and the truth shall make you free”.

Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

The Word of God is full of instances of “what you sow, you will also reap”.

God says these things are real simple. Righteousness is simply doing things right and to do things right is to follow the ways of the Word of God.

So if we act righteously we will reap the rewards of righteousness, not of debt, but of “Grace”.

Pro 11:18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.

We will reap the rewards of God’s divine “Mercy” which we will again sow to others and we can see that this cycle should continue all our days!

God has an endless supply of “Mercy”!

Luk 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Remember there is no victory to those who are not in the battle.

There is no medal for those who are not in the race.

There can be no harvest without working in the field!

So “break up your fallow ground”!

Remove the ways of this world from your life and be tenderized and renewed by the Blood of Jesus!

What was that “fallow ground”?

*****Hos 10:13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

By the Laws of Moses, these Israelites were to let the ground lie “fallow” and unplowed every seventh year.

Exo 23:11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

These people were not only content to live in sin but they worked hard at promoting sin to all, like it had some benefit that sin just does not have.

We see this today as sin is promoted by our own government and much of the so-called church.

Sin is like a fertilized weed that grows among the people of this world and God will give all these up to reap the rewards of their sin which we already know is death.

There is only one bounty that can come from sin and that is more sin!

These people had reaped “iniquity”.

In other words, small sin had grown up to be major sin!

It is a fact that the fruit of sin will make it’s promises but in the end will only bring disappointment that leads only to destruction.

Immorality is a trap that will never release you!

When we trust in our own ways it will only lead to failure.

Pro 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Not only this but they had trusted in their military to defend their evil ways.

Sounds a whole lot like the America we live in today.

What was God’s answer?

God said their hearts were as hard ground that was over run with weeds and thorns and that heart was that fallow ground that needed to be broken up so the good seed of the truth of God could be sown.

It was time to seek the Lord, this was their final warning.

It’s time for America to break up It’s fallow ground!

It’s time for America to seek the Lord instead of the ways of this world!

God warns us all against immoral behavior, against wickedness, against perversion, and against degenerate acts.

In no uncertain terms, God condemns such sins as homosexuality, rape, abuse, assault, murder and governments that allow and even promote these things.

Mar 7:20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
Mar 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mar 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

The more we plant wickedness as a nation and as a people, the more we will become even more wicked.

This is the truth of reaping and sowing and it never changes!

You cannot get good water from a bad well.

So how would Israel suffer and we should pay close attention to what God says.

*****Hos 10:14 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.
Hos 10:15 So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.

Webster describes a tumult as commotion, disturbance, or agitation of a multitude. Usually accompanied with great noise, uproar, and confusion of voices.

Anyone who says this is not going on in America today, lives in cave by themselves.

These things happened in Israel of that day and they are happening in America today for the exact same reasons.

God just never changes like many keep saying that He does!

No matter how good our police force is, or our military, the enemy keeps slipping in to cause death and destruction and terrorism is still spreading around this world no matter what lies our own government keeps repeating.

No one is seriously trying to stop the spread of Islamic Terrorism or Governmental Terrorism, they are both essentially the same just one is more deceitful.

The Israel of that day was invaded and totally destroyed because all the fortresses of that nation crumbled before the Assyrians.

We may not know who this Shalman is, the Bible does not say, but remember there was a King Shalmaneser also of the Assyrians.

No matter what we know, it is a fact that the land of the Assyrians is now the land occupied by the Muslim.

The truth is that any nation or any people who place their hope in their own works, their own wealth, or their own power, is doomed for failure.

We must trust God above all else in this world!

The true resources of the human race is really very limited and there is not one human who can solve man’s biggest problems.

Selfishness and corruptness only breed more selfishness and more corruptness!

It is far better to trust in the Lord to meet our needs!

There are many in our world that say we must compromise on the Word of God and accept the things of this world of today because we have a God of Love but the truth is we simply do not really understand the love of God!

*****Hos 11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

Besides our prayer of faith, “Love” is the greatest force on this earth in fact throughout God’s creation. God made us because of His great love!

Love is far more powerful than wealth and power and if we take a stand on “love”, the “love of God” we can change the direction of our own nation that is bent on wealth and power.

Love brings commitment and allegiance and then is shown in tenderness, compassion and forgiveness!

God gives us an example of His great love for Israel in these Scriptures.

We should know that God has a great love for the entire human race, the proof of that can be read in one verse.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

And God gives us His reason.

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

It is obvious that God loves Israel like a son.

At this time, God dealt with nations more than the individual. Today God deals with the individual more that He does nations but He still deals with both.

We see the paternal love of Israel as it was just born as a nation when God brought them out of the slavery of Egypt. One family had entered Egypt and a baby nation had departed Egypt.

America became a baby nation on July 4, 1776.

At this time the majority of Americans worshiped the One True God, The Christ.

As a son, God began to provide for America by ending the bondage to England.

So, God adopted Israel that day and called him a son!

As a son, God began to provide for Israel, first by ending that slavery.

At this time the majority of Israelites were true in the worship of the One True God, Jehovah.

So there certainly are many parallels in our histories!

The biggest thing we see is Fatherhood of God, it cannot be missed. (Our Father who art in Heaven)

The key to life lies in our Father’s hand, not in anything we think we have!

We also see that God’s love for us is to be our pattern for our love for others!

In fact we can look upon all these things as a “type of Christ”.

God’s love to Christ, as a child, manifested to us by His calling Him from Egypt. In the fulness of time the beloved of the Father became flesh, and dwelt among us. But no sooner did He appear than His life was threatened. The child was borne for safety into Egypt. In due time Christ was called out of Egypt, brought again to the Holy Land, there to exercise His ministry and perform the will of God.

The truth is, God has shown His love for us all in these things while we are still a great distance from Heaven.

We who are redeemed by the “blood of the Lamb” are loved with the same love with which God loved His only begotten Son!

All humans are a highly favored people in the eyes of God!

BUT, the truth is as we can readily see today, most all humans are a highly ungrateful people!

What the world does not want to hear and the thing that makes this world so mad is that, God will righteously punish those that reject their Creator!

Righteously meaning it will be the right thing for God to do!

Israel is our example of all these things and we must learn from Israel’s mistakes.

What had God told Moses?

“And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son, even My first-born; and I say unto thee, Let My son go, that he may serve Me.”

Moses on that day was a “type” of Christ.

One day Jesus will return and He will look straight into the face of Satan and He will say, “thus sayeth the Lord God, Our Father in Heaven, let my people go that they may serve Me”.

Most of these people did not even realize it was God who healed them!

This also, is still the same today!

*****Hos 11:2 As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

God sent His prophets the first one Moses, to call Israel into worship and into the service of God but they turned a deaf ear and then turned their backs on God.

They turned to Baalim, which is the plural of Baal. Baal was the name of the many false gods of the enemies of Israel and still is.

Allah is the Baal of the modern Muslim and there are too many to mention who reject Christ Jesus the Messiah, the One True God, the Triunity of God.

The truth of God is that He longs to rescue us all from all the sin of this world.

He does this by either delivering us from those trials or He will give us the strength to walk away ourselves!

When we learn about the Lord, we find that God is teaching us more and more about the truth of His great love for us.

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

This is the truth of our loving God and it only gets better!

2Ti 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

God continues to show us His goodness but He has not yet shown us His best!

1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

God is all the time teaching us, if we will just pay attention!

*****Hos 11:3 I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.

There are truly many methods of teaching but God uses His great love to teach us.

When we walk by the Lord, then the Lord walks with us, even taking a hold of our hand!

With the Word of God, we can certainly learn how to walk in this life.

There is no other life, except a life of misery “without God”!

When we fail to follow God’s lead we will stumble and fall but if we look up and reach for the Lord, He will lift us up and heal us and our spirit.

Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

We should clearly understand that God will use every believer to fulfill a purpose but God will also use unbelievers to get His will done in this world.

Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

We have an election coming up soon and our job is to vote by the Word of God but it is God who will decide who wins the election.

God will see if we are serious about a change and if we are not serious then God will give us what we deserve!

To this day Israel has not learned that it is God who has healed them and placed them back into the Promised Land. (Makes no sense at all but what the Scriptures say)

2Co 3:13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
2Co 3:14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2Co 3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2Co 3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.

BUT, God has never abandoned Israel throughout all these years.

*****Hos 11:4 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.

One of the greatest promises we have as Christians is that God will never forsake us!

Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

With this, God also promises to provide all our needs especially those needs we have in pursuit of the will of God!

Psa 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

And this is not only our physical needs but also our spiritual needs!

Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

These things God promises all the days of our lives until He takes us home.

Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Joh 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Israel does not yet realize all these things but they will before the end, for God will open their blinded eyes.

*****Hos 13:4 Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.

When we look at the history of Israel from the Scriptures we see a picture of God’s “grace” and God’s “faithfulness”.

But when we look at these same Scriptures as a “type” of Christ, then we see a picture of Christ watching over His “redeemed” as they travel in this world after salvation and leading them from the (Egypt of sin) to (Canaan, redemption and glory)

But there is one more “type” we should observe, we should be able to see the teaching of God the Holy Spirit who will lead us by His regenerating power to the throne room of God.

The Old Testament is so valuable to teach us these things that Jesus will reveal in the New Testament.

The Holy Trinity is involved in our lives the very moment we realize our Savior and take action to know Him!

There is no Savior beside our God!

Isa 45:21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Isa 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

The truth is we doom ourselves both spiritually and physically when we turn away from the Lord!

God offers many things but His free gift is “eternal life”!

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Those that reject this truth may be working but in truth they are themselves to death, in reality!

When we reject the Living God for handmade objects, or figures of some animal, or a figment of our own imagination, we are dooming ourselves to a Hell that was created for Satan and his angels.

Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

The total and honest truth is that most people love their sins to much to acknowledge the Lord.

To acknowledge the Lord means they would have to acknowledge that He has some commandments that need to be followed!

Remember an idol or a false god, is anything that we make more important than the True and Living God!

Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

We have become a nation of pride and self-sufficiency and have forgotten that there is a God, so as God is kicked out of America, He gives us these words.

Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Rom 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Rom 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Anyone who disagrees with these words are just blind or they are part of this problem, the Word of God is always true!

The absolute truth is “Judgment” is coming!

Israel found that out over and over again as they spent some time having no nation at all and God made some promises to Israel He has not made to any other nation!

*****Hos 13:7 Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them:
Hos 13:8 I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.
Hos 13:9 O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.

God knows and understands His people when no one else will even take notice of them!

You can know of God but you cannot know God on a personal level until you accept the Word of God as fact and not fiction!

The truth is that the leaders of Israel had proven to be weak and ineffective. God had allowed them to rule but God removed them do to the evil that they were and that they had done.

The only dynasty that has remained in all of Israel is the dynasty of David with Jesus Christ fulfilling that dynasty because He can never die!

Even to this day Israel continues to rebel against the Lord.

They have refused to repent and return to the Lord and they are still our example.

The truth is “Judgment” is certain!

God said He would be unto Israel as a leopard.

Leopards lurk in thickets ready to pounce on their victims!

And as a Lion, He would lie in wait for them to pass by!

You want to see an angry bear, mess with her babies!

A momma bear is the most dangerous just after she has lost her cubs!

Pro 17:12 Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.

God says if you will not turn our hearts to Him, then He would open the skin and rip the heart out of our chest and let the blood flow to the ground.

How does a lion devour his prey but by ripping it to shreds like a wild beast would tear them.

The coming “judgment of God” cannot be stopped!

As an individual you can make sure you are not caught up in that judgment!

On that day, everyone who “has not” accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior will face the terrifying judgment of God!

2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

This just the truth of the Word of God and God does not ever change, and He means what He says!

Israel had only one acceptable answer just as all those who are lost today!

*****Hos 14:1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.

We will see that the true Israel is a “type” of the Church. God will never abandon His people!

No one who truly follows the Lord will ever be forsaken!

To be redeemed we must acknowledge that we are a fallen race!

This is an individual decision we must make about ourselves!

We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners!

This, we can blame on Adam.

This is never an excuse but it is the truth!

We will all sin and the wages of sin is death, but understanding that we never have to perish because of that sin should bring us into reality.

Once anyone has heard the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ, they can no longer blame anyone but themselves if they refuse to repent. They can no longer blame our Creator for their own actions!

Each and every individual can return to the Lord but only by Jesus Christ!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

This was the final message of the Prophet Hosea to the people of Israel.

*****Hos 14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

According to this Prophet Hosea, we must come to the Lord in prayer. (take you words and turn to the Lord)

There is nothing else we can bring to the Lord but ourselves, because the Lord will furnish us with what is required. (receive us graciously)

We have a Savior and it is in Him that the “Grace” of God is made known!

The only thing we can offer to God is a sinner in need of salvation!

We must acknowledge our sin. (say unto Him take away our iniquity)

We then show our faith in the work of the Lord to do these things. (we will render the calves of our lips)

This is the praise and thanksgiving for our redemption which is a sign of “faith”!

We are acknowledging that the Lord Jesus provided the only acceptable sacrifice and we are to offer praise and thanksgiving to our Father in Heaven.

Salvation can come from only one source!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

There is only one means of salvation!

*****Hos 14:3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

We must realize that there is no earthly power that can bring salvation!

There is no foreign power strong enough to defeat the Lord!

Our own military is not strong enough to defeat the Lord!

There is no false god that holds any power over the Lord!

There is absolutely no sort of work that we can do to appease God!

We serve the only God who can just speak and things happen!

Rev 19:15 “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations”: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

We as people must all confess that “Mercy” can only be found in the Lord!

Without the “Mercy” of God, there could be no “Grace” of God!

The most important thought of any human is to realize that they are a sinner and then in need of a Savior!

In fact before we pray to God for forgiveness we actually need to praise God for His Majesty!

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God “must believe that he is” and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

We have more cause to praise God than we have to pray to Him!

It is sin that brings the “Judgment” of God. It is praise, faith, and repentance that halts the “Judgment” of God.

The only people who will escape the “Judgment” of God will be those who repent!

God will only offer His “Mercy” and His “Grace” if we turn away from sin and truly turn back to Him!

Where was the world in the days of Noah?

Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

If we but only open our eyes, we can see that these days of Noah have returned to this world we live in!

Luk 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

We are fools to disregard these things!

*****Hos 14:9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.

We live in a world today that denies the “Judgment” of God.

But the Word of God says we must make a choice!

We must choose to repent and walk away from sin and walk in the ways of the Lord, or rebel and suffer the “Judgment of God”.

There is no middle ground on these things!

God told Israel the exact same thing many times:

Deu 30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
Deu 30:16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

Jesus Christ has told the Church many times:

Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Luk 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

In other words God does not change His ways because He simply does not have to!

(For the ways of the Lord are right)

Those that have been “Justified” throughout the Bible are those that walked in the ways of the Lord!

Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

There will be no one who can stand before the “Judgment Throne” of God and say, “I just did not know any better”.

We know that there will be a final restoration of Israel because God promised Abraham!

At that time they will join the Church and live throughout eternity with the Lord!

Those that rebel against these things will know in the end the great love God had for them but they will also realize that God must keep His Word or He could not be God!

The truth is Hosea’s marriage to Gomer was bittersweet but in the end Gomer was restored to her husband who bought her with a price.

We have seen that Jehovah’s marriage to Israel has also been bittersweet.

They have stumbled in every way known to man and just before they move to the brink of extinction, they will call on the Lord and He will gloriously save them.

With broken hearts they will return to the Lord and their relationship will be instantly mended!

God will never forsake His church because He simply will not let us go!

Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

No one has stronger hands than my God!

Our job today is to tell all others about this great plan of God, not so much those that have already denied Him, though we should not forget these, but surely to those who have never heard of Him.

The one thing God promises to everyone is the opportunity to make that choice!

God, through Jesus Christ is the only cure this world has!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Chastisement

October 3, 2016 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Chastisement

Book of Hosea Chapters 4-9

Chastisement is more than just punishment, chastisement is feeling the pain that is inflicted by punishment!

We should understand the chastisement for our sin was the “pain” Christ suffered to restore us to the family of God. We are now at peace with God if we accept that Jesus paid the price for our sin!

Isa 53:5 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”.
Isa 53:6 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”.

What is the purpose of personal chastisement?

To teach us not to sin.

Job 34:31 Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
Job 34:32 That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.

It is really in our own hands just how much pain it will take to teach us not to sin anymore!

Hosea knew exactly how God felt toward Israel because Hosea lived it every day through his own personal experiences with his adulterous wife.

Hosea made it through his marriage that lasted many years, until their death, because he knew the love of God and how much God loved His people.

This is the same God we worship here today!

*****Hos 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

The truth is that any place that has no knowledge of God then their lives are then a lie.

The nation of Israel was dying and dying fast.

Israel was filled with immorality, injustice, oppression, lawlessness, and violence and they could not address any of these problems because they simply did not know the answers and they just guessed at results.

This again sounds just like America today.

These things demanded the judgment of God in that day and they still do today!

The nation of Israel stood before God, the true “Judge” of this world on this day and God made His case.

The absence of the truth is the downfall of every nation!

This has been proven over and over again throughout history!

Have you noticed how the politicians of today stand by their lies even if they have been proven wrong. They simply will not concede to the truth.

They refuse to have mercy on those who speak the truth and they use every force available to them to keep the knowledge of God away from the people.

This has happened since the days of the early Church and will continue until the end of the Church Age.

God says these things about Israel:

*****Hos 4:2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.

This was God speaking and God was saying there was no “moral goodness” left in that land!

Moral goodness is essentially virtue and virtue is nothing but a voluntary obedience to the truth.

Israel was full of profanity, full of falsehood, full of killing, full of dishonesty, full of uncontrolled passions, full of rioting, full of corruption, and full of murder in every way.

Notice Hosea was not addressing the government at this time. He was addressing the people and the priests.

After all the people can eventually change the government if they so choose to do it.

But this people deserved the government they had.

Sounds a whole lot like the America we live in today!

We deserve the government we have because we put them in that position!

Remember God certainly had a controversy with Israel but He has that same controversy with every nation.

Jer 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.
Jer 25:32 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

We would be foolish if we did not see this prophesy of Jeremiah being fulfilled today as the evil of terrorism is moving from nation to nation and a whirlwind of evil is spreading throughout this world!

What did God say the main problem was?

*****Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: “seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God”, I will also forget thy children.

What is the truth of all false gods and all false religions? They simply do not possess the knowledge to address these problems as described by the Lord.

Study the false gods and the false religions and you will see that they simply have no answers to life’s problems!

They give rhymes and poems with no real answers!

Most of this world we live in depends on Science which by definition is supposed to be based on facts but has been twisted to mean theory and theory is exactly what it means. Theory is speculation!

We live in a world where evil men convince people “with speculations” that are twisted for “specific political purposes” in an evil agenda of power and riches.

Philosophy is the love of wisdom but today philosophy only means some man trying to explain things while withholding the truth!

This is the thing that has infiltrated our schools and education has been tossed out in the streets to be trampled on like the other more needed things in this world.

God says to Israel, “you need to listen to what I am saying”!

God says when we forget the Law of God, He have forgotten our children.

It is our children who will one day rule this world and they will rule without God and this thing we also are witnessing today!

The only principles that can secure the stability of all people is the fear and knowledge of the Almighty God!

God will one day say, “did I not tell you these things”!

And what does God say?

*****Hos 4:7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.

“As they increased” could mean population or even riches but God is addressing “wickedness” so we need to stick to this thought. (As they increased in wickedness)

It is true that most of the truly wicked do increase in riches but they also have no sense of honor.

They do not observe to rules of “right” but prefer “wrong”.

They have no sense of “Good” but only of “Evil”.

These Scriptures are addressing the priests so we see then that false priests prefer a world that they can easily adapt too and control for their own pocketbooks and power! (It’s truly easy to adapt to a sinful world)

This is another thing we see in America today. The hypocritical priest, preachers, pastors, of the Church gain popularity by allowing the world to come into the Church. It’s called “compromising the Word of God”!

When we can glory in our selves or glory in some false god or glory in some false government, then certainly God will change that glory into shame.

When we are ashamed of the Word of God we need to just stay home and bolt the doors and keep our mouths shut!

Any glory we offer to anything that is just the imaginations of man, will certainly end in public shame.

When our church leaders glory in the worldly state of the modern church they are bringing shame to themselves but also to the Lord And Master of our universe who dwells not only in perfect holiness, but also in perfect righteousness, perfect justice, and will certainly bring a perfect “judgment”!

We must be aware of these things in our day because many in the church, if not most, are being deceived.

Deu 11:16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
Deu 11:17 And then the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.

Why are there so many things happening in nature today?

Maybe it’s because we are falling into that trap of deception not only by our church leaders but also by our own government.

What is happening in our world today, in our nation and in our Churches?

*****Hos 4:8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
Hos 4:9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.

When the men behind the pulpits of the Church and the leaders of our government actually encourage sin in their own wickedness, “they are treading on very dangerous ground”.

In Israel the greater the sin, then the greater the sin offerings, and it was the false priests who prospered!

Greater offerings mean more and larger worship centers and shrines!

So the truth is, then and today that these wicked priests will always speak encouraging words to property owners and community leaders no matter how wickedly they are living!

When those who own the liquor stores and the beer depots give willingly to the church that is suppose to be trying to put them out of business, something may be wrong in the church.

When the makers of war machines are giving willingly and excessively to the church that is suppose to be preaching peace in the world and put them out of business, then something may be wrong with that church.

Lawyers would have no work or income without crime, breach of contracts, and social immorality and it is the job of the church to preach against these things!

The newspapers would go out of business if there no scandals to write about and the church is suppose to preach against all these things!

There would be no immorality in advertisements if the church had the right message, because we would also refuse those products!

There would be no sinful love novels without the sin of immorality!

If sin is destroyed, many people simply would not have a job and the church could not pass the plates, so there is a vested interest in being lax on sin in our pulpits and in our government!

When everything is going the wrong way, just check to see which way the money is going!

And today we can add to that power! (See who is gaining the power to increase sin)

God says “I will punish all of them for their evil ways”!

*****Hos 4:10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.
Hos 4:11 Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
Hos 4:12 My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
Hos 4:13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
Hos 4:14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.

When the Church leaders and the national leaders become a stumbling block to the people they are to serve, then it will not be long until God steps in.

They committed adultery, both physically and spiritually, and sexual immorality had become the national theme.

They had submitted to drunkenness which in actuality means that the Holy Spirit was not enough for them and they were searching for power in worldly things.

They prayed to idols instead of seeking the Lord and they sought what could never come, because imaginary gods simply have no power at all!

Not only did the priests play the harlot but so then did the people enticing the world away from the church.

In this day of Hosea, these people worshiped the so-called fertility gods.

In other words when they prayed for rain, or good harvest, or an increase in livestock, or even an increase in children “they themselves took part in the reproductive process”.

There were many priestesses in those Temples for this reason!

This would have been a great attraction at least for the men.

In today’s world there are many untold ways that places of worship use to attract newcomers.

For this reason in Israel, a worship center was built in every place possible, to add to the convenience of attending.

These things should sound familiar to us all. Maybe not fornication but the worst fornication of all is to worship a false god in any fashion or be enticed or seduced into worship that does not come from the heart.

These became worship centers and not houses of prayer, and this to is happening today!

Jesus said:

Mar 11:17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.

We can just imagine how these things affected the wives and the daughters of these men who fell into these traps of Satan.

These things would destroy any family and false religion is no excuse, God created the family first!

Notice, God said He would not punish those daughters nor wives who had led astray but God said the entire nation of Israel would fall.

When we fail to understand the truth of God or simply reject the Word of God as being the truth, then those who do this will be destroyed. “the people that do not understand these things shall fall”

God has one job for all His priests and His called men.

Mal 2:7 For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
Mal 2:8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.

The covenant of Levi was a covenant of righteousness and we must remember, righteousness is just doing things the right way and the right way is by the Word of God!

Rom 9:31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
Rom 9:32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
Rom 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

The people of Israel had at one time followed the Laws of Moses.

*****Hos 4:15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth.
Hos 4:16 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.

Jesus said:

Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

1) The yoke of the Lord is not that hard but when we refuse to draw on God’s yoke at all, we have become as a backsliding heifer!

2) When we call on God only in times of distress, we have become as a backsliding heifer.

3) When we grow weary of performing our duties for the Lord, we have become as a backsliding heifer.

4) When we grow weary of battling our lusts and give in to them, we have become as a backsliding heifer.

When we do these things we show contempt to God!
When we do these things we are justifying evil!
When we do this we are ruining our ability to witness probably forever!

These people would swear on the Bible in business deals and the court rooms, but never intended to keep the truth or keep any business deal.

These people would use the name of the Lord in all day by day promises much like we use to could use our hand shake, but they were actually being deceitful.

And no doubt they had become foul mouthed, their tongues were filled with profanity.

Again all these things are familiar to the days we live in now where everyone you meet is saved and go to some imaginary church where they do not even know the pastor’s name.

God’s says:

Lev 19:12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

They were no longer the sheep of the Lord’s pasture but only stubborn cows resisting the yoke of freedom and clinging to gods of their own imagination who are powerless to help them.

A Shepherd can only do His work when the sheep know His name!

And a flock of this sort is only fit for the slaughter house!

*****Hos 8:5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
Hos 8:6 For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

King Jeroboam had convinced these people that the golden calf-idols had actually saved them from Egypt.

Samaria was the capitol of these Northern Tribes so God was speaking to the entire nation and the government in this Scripture.

Replicas of these idols had been made and every city had become a worship center to them as well as all businesses and all of the government.

In other words they had removed the 10 Commandments from all displays.

They had broken down all the Crosses.

Judah had watched as Samaria had prospered during these times and this would also lead to Judas’s downfall.

The truth is when you worship animals you will begin to act like animals!

This is the process of Evolution in full view and we live in a world and a nation that are calling on animal instincts to survive and prosper in our evil world!

When the animal part of our sin nature over rules the spiritual part of our being, humans can be much worst than the beasts who are the true animals.

Punishment is then the only alternative when it is certain there will be no repentance!

SO, Through the Prophet Hosea, God speaks very bluntly to Israel.

*****Hos 8:7 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.

The truth is that misery is always attached to sin!

**To “sow the wind” is really a farmers expression for laboring in vain.

When people are depending on a harvest but they sow nothing but wind they will starve to death!

God is saying that if you depend upon sin to provide your happiness, you will only bring your own destruction!

Solomon had already tried this method just as so many do today:

Ecc 2:10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.
Ecc 2:11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

**To “reap the whirlwind” is a figure that represents extraordinary destruction.

It will be sudden!
It will be inescapable!
It will be tremendous!

Think in terms of that tornado that drops down all of a sudden out of the sky.

The laws of sowing and reaping are some of the most basic principles of life!

We will certainly reap what we sow!

When we sow a life of wickedness we will reap God’s judgment!

Wickedness has never been able to produce peace!

Wickedness cannot produce security!

Wickedness cannot produce lasting prosperity!

When we refuse to repent, we leave God with only one choice and God does not walk away from it, even with His great love.

God knows when a people will not repent!

*****Hos 9:16 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.
Hos 9:17 My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

The Northern Tribes of Israel had made friends with the Assyrians, trusting in their help more than they trusted in God’s help, so God would use them to punish Israel instead.

Again we see we need to pay attention to the nations we make friends with!

The truth is when we turn away from the Lord, He will turn away from us!

We simply must refuse to listen to the liberal preaching of today and we need to stay away from all those that have yielded to this theology!

The Bible says that God will cast us away!

Sexual immorality has been dominating our culture for a time now and God will execute judgment on all who partake of such things!

The pro-abortionists go against the Word of God and God will execute judgment on all to do such things!

Those who turn away from God will one day realize that they have separated themselves from God for eternity!

Mat 13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

REMEMBER, A parable is a Heavenly Truth!

God will separate the wheat from the tares one day soon and the Church will forever be with the Lord.

There is only One who possesses this power!

Luk 12:4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Luk 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: “Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him”.

His name is the LORD!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Redemption, Lessons from the Book of Hosea

September 19, 2016 / Bobby Mayfield / 3 Comments

Redemption

Book of Hosea Chapters 1-3

We need to have a clear understanding of the word “redemption”.

Redemption is the buying back of something you once owned through the payment of a ransom!

Mat 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

The “redemption” the Scriptures are speaking of is not for objects but for each human.

In fact the “redemption” spoken of in the Scriptures is the price of blood that Christ Jesus paid for the Church.

Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

God would have never paid such a ransom if He had not had such a great love for humanity.

Many times God has taught us the important themes of the Scriptures through examples.

Old Testament prophets often lived their message as well as preached them.

In the Book of Hosea we see a man who God called to be a living example of the Lord’s great love for all humans no matter how sinful we are.

The name Hosea actually means “salvation” or “a savior” much like the name Joshua and we know these names in the Greek would be translated “Jesus”.

The entire Book of Hosea gives us a living picture of the great love our Savior has for us, if we just picture ourselves being the spiritual adulterers that we were before we asked the Lord Jesus to come into our hearts.

Rom 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
Rom 9:25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
Rom 9:26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.

The period of the ministry of Hosea was for about 60 years some even say 80 years.

It is hard to imagine a man staying married to a harlot for this period of time but if we can relate this harlot to the Israel of that day, or even to the Church, or even to each and every individual, we can better understand the Book of Hosea.

If we just imagine the Lord married to the adulterous Israel, the subject of this great book of the Bible is not only clear but highly instructive.

We can even see the ties to the modern Church of today that has become lukewarm.

In the Book of Revelation Jesus had these words:

Rev 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Without a doubt the Book of Hosea is much more about the “Grace” of God than any other subject!

So let’s begin:

*****Hos 1:1 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.
Hos 1:2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. 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.

It should be obvious to us all that Hosea was called of God to be a prophet. After this call Hosea’s life was under the control of God just the same as any other prophet of God.

We know that adultery is a sin condemned by God and there no exceptions at all, even to Hosea. So it seems strange that God would tell Hosea to marry a harlot and we should know that Hosea still had a choice, he could have said no.

Remember it was not Hosea who committed this sin, he just obeyed God and it would have been Hosea’s sin to not obey God.

In fact Hosea did not spend much time searching for a wife, he did as the Lord had told Him to do.

No matter what we think, the safest place for any of us to be is still to be in the will of God!

This life would be painful for Hosea and it would cost him dearly, mentally and also in material things.

By the end of this lesson Hosea would have to redeem his adulterous wife.

Hos 3:1 Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.
Hos 3:2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:
Hos 3:3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.

Hosea had informed his new wife that she would not be a harlot and remember this is the same command that God gave to the children of Israel and also the same command God gave to the Church.

God tells us all that we are to have no other gods before Him and this is what Hosea told his new wife, she was to have no other man before him. The same thing we men expect from all our wives.

Gomer gave Hosea 3 children.

God named all three children.

1) Jezreel a son: This name means “seed of God”.

Jezreel was also the place where King Ahab of Israel, the Northern Tribes, had his palace.

God said:

Hos 1:5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

2) Loruhamah a daughter: This name means “uncompassionated”

God said:

Hos 1:6 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.

At this time this did not include Judah which also included Benjamin.

3) Loammi another son: This name means “not my people”

And God said:

Hos 1:9 Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.

We should remember in the days of Hosea most all of Israel had turned away from the Lord.

If we look at our own world today we will see that most all the world has again turned away from the Lord.

And then God said these words:

*****Hos 1:10 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.

BUT, Even in the midst of God’s anger God simply does not forget those that love Him!

It should be obvious that this promise was not made to any who lived in that day but was to be fulfilled in a future age!

The truth is there is nothing lost to those willing to lose for the Lord!

When we are willing to lose for the Lord, it is then the time when God will renew and confirm His covenant with us.

We should remember what God told Abraham.

Gen 22:15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
Gen 22:16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
Gen 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
Gen 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

It is true that God promised a day when Israel will be restored and we know that time as the Millennial Kingdom of the Lord and many multitudes will come to the Lord.

We know that this passage also refers to the Church Age when many souls will be saved.

God has promised that both groups would be called the “Children of the Living God”!

There will only be one ruler in these times:

*****Hos 1:11 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.

That one ruler is the promised Messiah.

Mic 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Jesus came the first time as a babe, with a manger for a throne!

When Jesus returns again to sit on His throne in Jerusalem, it will be after He has destroyed His enemies in the Valley of Jezreel! (Jezreel was the place of Ahab’s palace) (The Valley of Jezreel is the palace of all who reject the Lord)

Rev 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

The truth is, that God’s Kingdom is soon coming to this earth!

The Lord Jesus will return as King Of Kings and Lord of Lords and He will rule here on this earth from Jerusalem.

1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

At this time, just as Gomer was playing the harlot, Israel was playing the harlot.

*****Hos 2:5 For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.
Hos 2:6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.

The truth of those living in sin is that, they are too blind and too ignorant to see the dangers in the path they have chosen.

The truth of a worldly church is that, it will become shameless but will also be bold in contempt of those who cannot believe as they believe.

The sin of idolatry is that objects are loved and hearts are taken from the Living God!

When a wife commits adultery she is ignoring the responsibilities of her marriage and especially her children.

The same goes for any man.

The children should rebuke any such activity and not just stand still.

When the worship in any church is straying from the doctrine of Jesus Christ, then the faithful of the church should take a stand against such nonsense.

It is sin to fall away from the Lord but it is also great sin to not take a stand for the Lord!

Verse six means that Gomer would be denied access to the things she lusted after. This is enslavement.

This is the lesson that Israel would learn if they would not repent and of course we know that they did not repent.

So they had become enslaved to their sin!

And so they would be come enslaved to other people.

This is exactly what sin does, it makes us slaves to Satan, the Devil, and slaves to worldly governments!

Gomer was enslaved in her own sin and then became no more than a slave to her lovers.

In the end sin will only hide the way to freedom!

What we find is, that the things we worship other than the true God are never able to provide the things we need the most. What we need the most is the “Grace” and the “Mercy” of our God!

In the end then sin can only bring disappointment!

*****Hos 2:7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.

Gomer continued to chase after her lovers but she could never find the peace nor the satisfaction she was looking for.

The sin of Israel was the same. They would chase after their false gods but they could never catch them because they were only figments of their imagination. They did not actually exist!

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

They would have been far better off to have returned to the Lord but that day is still in their future.

This is the sin of our world today and it cannot be denied from those who are willing to open blinded eyes.

How blind are those that reject the Lord?

*****Hos 2:8 For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.

Spiritual blindness is devastating in the end!

Gomer had failed to realize that the good things that Hosea had given to her had actually come from the Lord.

Gomer had not just turned away from her husband but she had turned away from her God.

We as men are fools if we do not think that a good wife does not bring great gifts and great treasures into a marriage but Gomer had chosen to give her treasures and her gifts to others rather than her husband.

Israel had failed to realize that all good gifts come from God.

Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

This is the way of sin and every sinner, they forget that there is a God and God has already said no one will be able to use this as an excuse on judgment day.

Most of our world do realize that there is a God, so only a few actually say “there is no God” and we even allow them to dictate their thoughts while Christians sit idle and allow these things to happen!

What most of our world says is “If there is a God, why would He allow such things to happen”.

They don’t hesitate to blame God for all the bad things but they refuse to accept that they may be the blame for God’s actions.

The truth is that, when we expel God from the intellectual side of thinking, immorality will increase and the whole of our nature will decrease.

The world we live in refuses to admit that there is a “Supreme Being” and that we are all responsible to Him!

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

If this is not a true statement then lets just throw it all away!

What people do not want to hear is that God will judge sin!

*****Hos 2:9 Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.
Hos 2:10 And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.

Hos 2:13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.

1) For Gomer she would be cast into the world naked and afraid with no one to provide for her.

For Israel they would lose God’s care and His providing hand even the necessities of life.

2) For Gomer she would be publicly exposed and shamed in the eye of the public.

Eventually she would find that men would no longer find her desirable.

For Israel, they would also be exposed and shamed before the eyes of the world. Her lovers would be the other nations of the world but when the weakness of Israel was exposed even those nations would not have anything to do with them.

It is obvious that most of these things are still in effect today!

3) No one can escape the “Judgment of God”. Not Gomer, not Israel, and not anyone!

All adulterous people will face the “Judgment” of God.

Gomer was the wife of a prophet of God but she would still be judged. Not even the family of Hosea could escape the “Judgment of God”

Israel was established as the people of God and they were certainly judged.

AND, there is no means available on this earth or anywhere else, that can deliver any of those from the hand of and God’s Judgment!

Gomer strayed from her husband, dressed as a harlot, had immoral behavior, and committed adultery.

Israel had false worship, improper dress, immoral behavior, and turned away from the Living God.

Do we even need to look at the nation we live in today to see the similarities?

God warns us all: if we disobey the Word of God and commit illicit sexual acts, we will suffer at the hand of God.

The theme of Book of Hosea should not be missed and we certainly have no excuses, we have been warned and we are going through the disciplinary stages at this time and the next thing on God’s calender is then God’s “Judgment”.

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

We know that Satan uses many things to entice us into sin but here we see that God will also use His great benefits to entice us back to Him.

*****Hos 2:14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

Even after all these things Hosea would speak softly to his wife, and allure her, trying to renew the romance they once had.

In the wilderness they could be one on one with no distractions. Hosea would assure his wife that they could still have a loving and a wonderful relationship.

Hosea put forth every effort to reconcile all these things with his wife!

God did the same thing to Israel!

God has done the same thing to every sinner by Jesus Christ!

2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

How does God describe His reconciling with Israel?

*****Hos 2:15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
Hos 2:16 And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.
Hos 2:17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

Just as Hosea offered Gomer a great hope of a renewed marriage, God promised a renewed relationship with Israel!

God promised a day in the future which we know will be the Second Coming of Christ.

God would restore their property. The marriage bond of the children of Israel would be completely restored.

When Israel had first entered into the promised land the Valley of Achor had been the “valley of trouble” but the “Valley of Achor would now become the “valley of hope”.

No longer would Israel only think of God as “Master”(Baali) but would think of God as My Husband (Ishi).

The name Master (Baali) might remind them of those old false gods and that could never be a good thing.

God tells the Church to just say Abba Father or (Daddy) because to say God might cause some to remember their false gods.

Just as Hosea would do everything in his power to help Gomer forget her old lovers, God would do the same for Israel.

We can see that the intent of Hosea’s call was to remind Israel of all these things and not only Israel but all who are here today.

Hosea even promised Gomer a new environment.

*****Hos 2:18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

Only in the early days of Adam has there been true peace on this earth. Sin and the murder of Abel brought an end to true peace on this earth.

It was also sin that caused the disruption of trust between the animal world and mankind.

Very few animals are what you call domesticated and most of them only provide food for mankind.

We will all, including the animals, be vegetarians again in the restored earth, during the Millennial Reign of Christ.

The prophesies of the restored earth are to numerous to list them all but here are a few.

Isa 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isa 11:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Isa 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
Isa 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Jer 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Jer 23:7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
Jer 23:8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

Zec 14:7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
Zec 14:8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
Zec 14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Mic 4:3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Mic 4:4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

Psa 46:9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Psa 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psa 46:11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

These things cannot happen until the Prince of Peace returns:

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Hosea told Gomer that divorce would be totally out of the picture!

God told Israel they would have their day of renewed marriage!

God tells the Church, I will never leave you nor forsake you!

Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Heb 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Psa 37:28 For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
Psa 37:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

The marriage bond to our Lord cannot be broken!

*****Hos 2:19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
Hos 2:20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.

God has promised His people a new marriage.

It was always God’s intent for the marriage bond be unbroken!

In our world the marriage was to be to the end of one’s life.

God has promised a marriage bond that can never be broken.

God’s marriage bond, the Church to Christ, will never expire, not at death and not at this world’s ending!

God has promised an eternal union with those that love Him!

What is the truth about the nation of Israel today?

*****Hos 3:4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:
Hos 3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.

Since the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD there has been no place for Israel to offer sacrifices.

Since the destruction caused by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, there has been no King of Israel in the line of King David and there have been no prince’s to continue that line.

Israel was in exile with no place to worship, until May 14, 1948 when Israel was again established on only part of the land that God had given to them.

What we do know is that our King can never die, King Jesus is the rightful heir to the throne of King David!

We also know that there is no one who holds the position of High Priest of Israel since the time of the destruction of the Temple.

That position will also be filled by King Jesus who will be both King and High Priest not only of Israel but of this world.

These things are true now, even as we go through this lesson!

Our lesson today is about “redemption” and we can see that God’s heart is a heart of redemption!

This could be said to be “the goodness” of the Lord”!

In other words we have not seen “the best” that the Lord has to offer yet, it is still in all our future.

It is the “goodness of the Lord” that should bring fear to every sinner who rejects the Lord!

Hosea redeemed his wife with 15 pieces of silver, and a homer and a half of barley.

This was a substantial amount of money even in that day, for an adulterous wife who could have been executed by the laws of Moses.

A new slave could be bought for 30 pieces of silver!

But we must remember God paid a much greater price for our redemption!

Anyone that thinks Israel will never return to God, do not understand what God is saying. The same stumbling block for Israel is the same stumblingblock for the world.

1Pe 2:7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
1Pe 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

Not everyone in Israel will be saved but the nation as a whole will be saved.

Rom 9:6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Rom 9:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.

Rom 11:26 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:
Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

When Hosea brought his wife back home we can be sure he gave her some strict rules.

Hosea had been obedient to the Lord but Gomer would have to prove she could be trusted.

This is why God tests our faith from time to time to see if we truly love him like we say we do.

God has shown His goodness to this world by His own Son.

Psa 31:19 Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
Psa 31:20 Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
Psa 31:21 Blessed be the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.
Psa 31:22 For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.

God has already paid the ransom for our redemption, it’s up to us as individuals to prove our own trustworthiness.

Psa 34:22 The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
Questions?

Let’s Pray!

LESSONS IN GOD'S WORD

Taking time to read the Bible

Book of Hosea

Chastisement Because of Rebellion

Like this:

Restoration

Like this:

Forgiveness

Like this:

Chastisement

Like this:

Redemption, Lessons from the Book of Hosea

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: