James R. White comments: "If we ask Isaiah, 'Whose glory did you see in your vision of the temple?' He was sitting on his throne, high and exalted, and his robe filled the whole Temple. O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity., Hosea 14:5.

274. We live at a time when the drums of war cause many people to debate whether or not we ought to make alliances with other countries in self-defense. She would go alone into Assyria and be swallowed up by the Gentiles. In fact, she may have grown to resent it.

In Hoseas narrative Gomer bore her husband three children: two sons and a daughter. 1:2). 13 It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. The Israelites were unfaithful to the Lord because they sought after false gods. WebThen the LORD said to Hosea, Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. The world today exhibits many of the same social ills that existed in Gomers time. We try to forgive, but a few days later its right there again, preying on our consciousness.

Characteristics How can I recognize that my heart is growing hard?

1. In this case Hoseas life was an enacted parable, and the phrase wife of whoredoms (Hosea 1:2) refers to what Gomer became. Failing to trust the Lord, Israel has sought security in foreign powers and false gods. We do not discipline each other, but we can discuss steps that will help us avoid these same pitfalls in the future. 3. This was not a story about a business deal between partners, nor about business law. In Gods love, He chased after His people, and in Gods love, He disciplined His people to steer them away from the things that brought them harm, back into His loving arms. Hosea 1:2 For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble in them.(Hosea 14:9). Your calling may cost you everything relationships, reputation and money. They could point the finger of scorn at him and say, You are as guilty as we are; dont preach to us. (Voice of Israels Prophets, p. God tells us how much our sin grieves Him. During the time of Hosea, the Israelites were influenced heavily by the worship and ways of the Canaanites. Israels fidelity, then, was that of a fickle woman. How could Jesus have said, Forgive them; for they know not what they do? In either case, it is obvious that she was a woman who had been deeply affected by the moral laxity of her society, and God intended to use the prophets personal relationship with her as a penetrating object lesson of His own relationship with His unfaithful people, Israel. he would reply, 'Yahweh's.' For you, the story of Gomer testifies of hope and a Redeemer who longs to have you restored to the close relationship you once had with Him (see Hosea 3:12). No other messenger gives so complete an outline of the ways of God with His earthly people as does Hosea: 1) God suffers when His people are unfaithful to Him; 2) God cannot condone sin; 3) God will never cease to love His own, and, consequently; 4) He seeks to win back those who have forsaken Him. Go, take yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord. 1. Like the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Hosea purchased Gomer in order to redeem her from slavery and told her that she must no longer be a prostitute. 6:1; 14:1). They will eat but not have enough; they will play the harlot, but not increase, because they have stopped giving heed to the Lord. (Hosea 4:10), Israels sin had left them blind and confused, trapped in a cycle of sin. The princes are revolters (v.15). Let the big nations fight their own wars; little nations that elected to mix up with them were sure to be worsted. Each chapter contains at least one metaphor, and all need to be seen against the background of Israels history and tradition to be understood. God chases after His runaway bride and is eager to restore and even renew the relationship. Elder HenryB. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles commented on his experience years before teaching Hosea to his early morning seminary classes: The book of Hosea, like the writings of Isaiah, uses what seem to me almost poetic images. their longing desire, to the transgression of the people; in other words, that they wished the sins of the people to be increased, in order that they might receive a good supply of sacrificial meat to eat. (Commentary, 10:1:7879.). Web"I think you call it fate, God or whatever," said Engelbert, who was among the first officers to respond. How many times should a husband or wife forgive? Enduring or overcoming trials in proving your repentance and faithfulness will require your greatest efforts in prayer and acts of obedience to Gods laws. We can think of each as having been living people, or we can apply the second analogy where Hosea represents God and Gomer represents a nationIsrael.

O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? It might be helpful for each of you to finish the following statements: I feel loved when you or I am saying that I love you when . That covenant was renewed with Moses people at the foot of Mount Sinai (see Exodus 19:48). When the grave is conquered, however, and the judgments rendered, there will be no more sin; hence, no more repentance because all will be assigned to a kingdom whose laws they can obey. Or have you ever been loved and trusted by someone but then, in weakness, betrayed that trust and damaged the relationship and thus know the yearning to be loved and trusted again? The teraphim were worshiped by the Canaanites as givers of earthly prosperity and deities who revealed the future. Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. Read them and underline the ones you like in your Bible. The illustration was both powerful and purposeful, made relatable through Hoseas personal experience. Shalman may be Shalmaneser and Beth-arbel may be the Armenian city Arbela, which Shalmaneser destroyed while still a general under Tiglath-pileser (see Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes, 4:645). Hosea is primarily a love story, specifically one of redemptive love.

1:2 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the LORD.. for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away., Hosea 8:7. After Gomers desertion, God clarified the calling. The best guess is that 50% of both men and women have sex outside of marriage at least once. Commentators believe that these objects of Canaanite worship were included with objects from the worship of Jehovah to show the people that the worship of idols would also be lost. 5:25), and Hosea is an outstanding biblical example of that kind of love. O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? WebGod responded to the prayer of Elijah the prophet and sent fire from heaven. At Willow Creek Steve has taught adult classes on spiritual gifts, life purpose, and spiritual disciplines. It was another boy. But the people paid Hosea: The Prophet and the Prostitute. Hosea tried to tell them that wasn't so. He said that God was a God of love and that his doing this was the very activity of love; that God wanted them to see what they were doing to themselves and that the only way he could get them to listen was to make things rough for them. But Gomer seemed less and less interested in his ministry.

For the past 25 years Steve has attended and been a member of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington and Northfield, IL. Therefore, return to your God. We can trust God, or power, or friends, or money; but what we receive will depend on what we trusted (see also Hosea 8:7). They had forgotten His law and instructions. In their captivity Israel would suffer without Gods help until she purified her life. (1958 More, 9. A backsliding heifer is one who refuses to follow when led and sets her feet and slides in the dirt. They do not seek that which brings the Lords help. Rather, mercy is granted (because of the grace, love, and condescension of God), as it is with all blessings, to those who comply with the law upon which its receipt is predicated. God told Hosea to name his They had three children whose names were also symbolic. That law is the law of righteousness; those who sow righteousness, reap mercy. 248. WebDespite God's promise to Abraham that His descendants would bring blessing to the world (Gen. 12:13), the old covenant community, as a whole, tried to keep the See also Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, in which the Lord outlines the relationship between the bounties of the land and the righteousness or wickedness of the people. He was convinced that his marriage would be better than ever with this little one to brighten their home. She did not share her husbands love for God. The answer was right there in Gods instructions to Hosea, even as the Lord loves. Only one who knows the love and forgiveness of God can ever love this perfectly.

So Israel would spread the net of destruction over herself. The former herdsman of Tekoa thundered Gods warning of imminent judgment, but the nation paid little attention. While Gods punishment was severe, His A husbands preoccupation with his work may be the major contributing factor to the cleavage. How many would choose to remain in such a one-sided, adulterous relationship? Even those who have been grossly unfaithful to God can reestablish their relationship with Him if they will but turn back to Him with full purpose of heart. Forgiveness does mean, however, that we will pay for the other persons offenses. Remember, As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. If you think as a celestial being, you will be a celestial being. 70:18. A variation of the interpretation in number three is that Gomer was not an actual harlot but was a worshiper of Baal; therefore, she was guilty of spiritual harlotry. 086 079 7114 [email protected]. The list reads like twentieth-century America: swearing, lying, killing, stealing, adultery, drunkenness, perversion, perjury, deceit, and oppression, to name but a few. The word here refers to captivity or bondage in general; thus, Assyria is the new Egypt. We read of the loss of opportunity to participate in sacred acts of worship (v. WebThe prophet Hosea indicts the Northern Kingdom of Israel for covenant unfaithfulness and announces imminent judgment and exile, but he also promises that God will restore his people fully and finally in the eschatological future. Even their grown-up sons shall be cut off. That is what divine discipline is all about.

Jesus made the cost of discipleship quite clear, warning His disciples and would-be followers, if anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me(Matthew 16:24). | 5,417 views. Dealing with the feelings that come with betrayal may be one of the greatest trials of your life. Keil and Delitzsch write that it is a very natural supposition that at that time an ephah of barley was worth a shekel, in which case the whole price would just amount to the some of which, according to Ex. The need for open and honest communication would demand that we share what we think and how we feel, what the wrong has done to us, and how our mates can help us get over it. Matthew saw the emergence of Israel from Egypt as a type or pattern of Jesus coming out of Egypt (see Matthew 2:15). (Ex. In either case, the archer can be wounded. Historically, Hosea would have been the younger contemporary of the prophet Amos and ministered around the same time of Isaiah and Micah, who were hard at work ministering to the Southern Kingdom in Judah. (D.&C. If you sow seeds of petting, immorality, and promiscuity, you will harvest destruction to your godlike attributes. Web"I think you call it fate, God or whatever," said Engelbert, who was among the first officers to respond. Hosea would eventually, however, buy her back as his bride, reflecting the redeeming nature of Gods love for Israel, His bride, who He would also work to buy back (Hosea 3). Its a spiritual fact. In gospel terms, the good shepherd searches for his lost sheep. Richard, was a 1954 graduate of Wheaton College, and received his Th.M. Secularism and materialism captured the hearts of the people and sin ran rampant. 130:2021.) Sometimes he goes his way and she goes hers. Webnancy spies haberman kushner. He was pastor of Emmanuel Faith Community Church in Escondido, CA from 1972 to 1993 when the Lord called him home. Required fields are marked *. They understood that the Lord was teaching them, through this metaphor, an important principle. The Old Testament speaks frequently of Israel whoring after or playing the harlot with other gods (e.g., Deut. 2 Around him flaming creatures were standing, each of which had six wings. 28586.). 3:3). Gomer certainly knew how her affairs were tearing at Hoseas heart. WebAnswer (1 of 19): How would an atheist respond to the question why do atheists hate God? For more reasons than I can explain, during those days teaching Hosea, I felt something new, something more powerful. If one plants or does works of righteousness, he reaps mercy and the blessings of obedience (see D&C 130:2021). This word is exceedingly difficult to render into English. And as far as family goes, Gomer bore Hosea three children, each given tragically symbolic names that reflected Gods temperament, even warning of coming events. The stocks were wooden idols. Whatever her past, there may have been some evidence of genuine repentance and faith in Jehovah. He explains: The Lords call to Hosea to take a harlotrous woman to wife represents the prophets call to the ministrya ministry to an apostate and covenant-breaking people. Some believe that God was commanding Hosea to marry a woman who had formerly been a prostitute. Feeding on the wind (see Hosea 12:1) is believing that which has not truth or substance. Like the Jezreel Valley, they have great potential and will be resown and made fruitful by the Lord.

2. In the first and third chapters of Hosea the Lord commands His prophet to marry. This was the last straw. Jeroboam II was on the throne of the northern kingdom of Israel, and his military exploits had extended Israels borders farther than they had been since the days of Solomons glorious kingdom. He called him Jezreel, because it was at Jezreel that King Jeroboams great grandfather Jehu had first come to the throne by ambitious crimes of bloodshed and violence. Judges 6:1124 records Gideons call to serve as Israels next judge. It is a valley overlooked by Megiddo (New Testament Armageddon; see Revelation 16:16) and famed for crucial battles past and future. If you want a celestial life, you will have to plant celestial seeds. ), Because Ephraim (the Northern Kingdom) had mixed with other nations, worshiped their idols, and learned their ways, she had only fulfilled half the requisites for the conquest of Canaan, or she was only half baked., Israel had thereby become a cake not turned. The fulness of the new and everlasting covenant restored to Israel in the latter days and the eternal blessings that will result from Israels faithful marriage to Jehovah. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. What positive steps can you and your mate take to keep certain sins from repeating themselves in your lives? 10:12.) [The image in Hebrew is of] a cake baked upon hot ashes or red-hot stones, which, if it be not turned, is burned at the bottom, and not baked at all above. ) (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. Another way of saying the people were committing immoral acts (see Numbers 25:13; Psalm 106:28). Eventually Israel will accept God as her Lord and her true husband. How could God still have loved Israel?

Related Topics: Christian Home, Marriage, Love, Richard L. Strauss authored nine books, and served as pastor of churches in Fort Worth, TX, Huntsville, AL.

The dangers are great when a husband and wife have few interests in common. 11:1). Gomers adultery hurt more than just Gomer. As noted in Hosea 3:3, Gomer had to purify her life before she could feel Hoseas love. When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt., Hosea 11:8. Like the biblical saints, Noah, Abram, Jonah, David and Peter, who wound up in the wrong places and sinned, we also wind up in the wrong places and we look to Elijah for the answer. The Lord called Hosea to marry an adulterous woman, like Israel had married foreign gods. However, while the life of Hosea served as an illustration of Gods faithfulness and endless love for His people in the midst of their unfaithfulness, today, there are lessons to be learned from the book of Hosea that should challenge and encourage believers in their relationship with God. Hence Yahweh [Jehovah] scorned the existing forms of worship: For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6, We probably should not press Hoseas words to mean that he was opposed to formal worship. Deuteronomy 27:17 says, Cursed be he that removeth his neighbours landmark (see also Deuteronomy 19:14). Both grapes and figs were viewed as choice fruits by the people anciently.

Worst of all, sin had caused them to forget their God and the knowledge of His love. Matt. Carrying oil into Egypt (see v.1) represents the attempt to get protection through tribute from an alliance with Egypt. Session Twelve. Hosea 5 gives us the characteristics of a Hard Heart. WebAnswer: Contribution. How was Hosea called by god? Hosea obeyed the Lord and married a prostitute named Gomer. These statistics are a sad reflection on fidelity in marriage; but the worst part is that the results are no different among Christians. 32, it was possible to purchase a slave, and was paid half in money and half in barley. If you love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, you will reap Gods love. Or it may be a wifes growing involvement in outside activities and subsequent neglect of the home.

He goes on (through verse13) to describe the punishment she deserves, and then comes a remarkable change in the verse that follows. Their immoralities, added to those already prevalent in Israel would, in time, wreck the nation. Ishi (Hebrew for my husband) and Baali (Hebrew for my master). Hosea is a prophet whom God uses to portray a message of repentance to God's people. Hosea repeats it throughout his book. He longed for her to come home. About two miles away, detective Michael Collazo and detective Sgt. Hoseas message is harsh. Hoseas message is tender. Hoseas message is heartbreaking. Its the story of God and the unfaithful nation He loves anyway. Then the LORD said to me, Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes. At the very least, Gomers adultery would have been treated as a social disgrace. When one considers Gomer as symbolic of Israel, the purchase price implies that Israels freedoms had been or would be lost, and in addition she suffered the slavery of sin, which also requires a purchase price before Israel can be reconciled with her Savior. Hosea desired to purchase his wife from slavery just as Heavenly Father seeks after His children to redeem them from Satans power with the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.

How Can We Overcome Doubt and Believe the Miracle of Easter? Nephi said that to understand the writings of Isaiah, one has to understand the Jewish way of prophesying (see 2Nephi 25:1). WebHe said that God was going to raise up the Assyrian nation to punish this people and that fierce and ruthless army would sweep across the land like a scourge. Web168 views, 4 likes, 0 loves, 7 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Stonebriar Community Church: Scripture: Matthew 21:111 What did Jesus come to do? Judges 6:1124 records Gideons call to serve as Israels next judge. Big wounds sometimes take longer to heal. Throughout the Old Testament, God used the prophets to warn the people of their sin and infidelity, but with Hosea, He decided to take a more personal approach, conveying His anger and personal heartbreak in terms they might understand. Mercy is not showered [indiscriminately] upon mankind, except in the general sense that it is manifest in the creation and peopling of the earth and in the granting of immortality to all men as a free gift. WebHe had good reason to expose their corruption and complacency, and God had given him the authority to censure them.

In the book of Hosea we can see two applications for the symbols Hosea and Gomer. 31:16; Judg. Hoseas prophetic ministry launched when God gave him the puzzling assignment to find a wife among the unfaithful, immoral young women of Israel: When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of What one does is a result of where one puts ones trust. As a people, the Israelites had also broken their covenant with God. At times, however, many of us are too stubborn, too afraid, or too prideful to admit when we need help, but the truth is, we all need rescuing, and that is an eternally good thing when we know who is coming to our rescue. - 8 Days of Easter You Need to Know.

The most noteworthy thing we learn about Hosea early on is that he was called by God to marry a woman named Gomer, who Scripture says was either a prostitute before they got married or would become a prostitute at some point later on (Hosea 1:2). Answer 2 people found it helpful TansoGaming Called by God: Hosea What percentage of those married commit The prophet Hosea was called by God to minister to the Northern Kingdom of Israel from around 755 B.C. Egypt was the land of the first captivitybetween the times of Joseph and Moses.

WebThe word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel: Hoseas Wife and Children - When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an The Lord will restore her to great blessings. How can you still love someone who has betrayed you? For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind., Hosea 10:13. Commit some to memory to use as a spiritual thought or short sermon. Someone you know well may betray your trust. One response to Gods conviction is that we harden our hearts against His conviction. Have you ever given love and trust, or even made solemn covenants, and then been betrayed?

Ultimately, in Hosea, we discover from his writing is the heart of a man who was compassionate, committed to his God and wife, and keenly aware of how his tragic marriage mirrored the tragedy of Israels infidelity.

It undoubtedly alludes to the overthrow and scattering of Israel. Jezreel means God shall sow, or scatter abroad, since anciently sowing was done by casting handfuls of seed. In Hoseas native language, Israel lacked hsed. David their king (v.5) is one of the titles of the Messiah or Jesus Christ (see Notes and Commentary on Isaiah 11:1). When a person shows hsed to another, he is not motivated merely by legal obligation but by an inner loyalty which arises out of the relationship itself. God is faithful, God is good, God is loving, and God is just; and if God is faithful, good, loving, and just, His plans for us are the same, even when they dont make sense, arent fun, or arent easy. The whole experience came to Hosea in a dream or vision. Note Gods agony over the impending captivity. 6.7K views, 303 likes, 397 loves, 3.1K comments, 204 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from EWTN: Starting at 8 a.m. how did hosea respond to god's call. He was, then, a contemporary of three other great prophets, Isaiah, Amos, and Micah. (SidneyB. Sperry, The Voice of Israels Prophets, p. With the last two symbolic names, the Lord predicted the negative results of sin (see Hosea 1:6, 9), but in the next verses He held out a promise of hope (v.7, 10). The circumstance that the prophet gave no more for the wife than the amount at which a slave could be obtained, and that this amount was not even paid in money, but half of it in barleya kind of food so generally despised throughout antiquity was intended to depict still more strikingly the deeply depressed condition of the woman. While God used prophets like Hosea to minister to the people of Israel in the north, the people of the Southern Kingdom were not immune to idolatry and betrayal either. Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. WebWhy did God break the heads of sea monsters (Psalm 74:13-14)? Hosea was referring to false prophets who were saying that all was well in Israel and that their enemies would not come against them. The Northern Kingdom shall see no conception, no pregnancy, no birthEphraim will be left totally desolate.

Despite Israels spiritual adultery, Gods invitation was clear. You see, Peter had asked the Lord this same question: Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? But his heart said No. He could not give her up. 6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. But even that spiritual message could not soothe the prophets troubled soul. The unconditional nature of Gods agape is revealed in the words while we were still sinners.. 4. Thus, as used here, Judah means the Southern Kingdom, and Ephraim the Northern Kingdom. Christian husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ loved the Church (Eph.

WebAnswer (1 of 19): How would an atheist respond to the question why do atheists hate God? The roaring lion (verse 8) had stimulated the voice of prophecy in Amos because repentance for the people of Israel was still possible. In the symbolic marriage covenant, God is the husband and Israel, the covenant people, is the bride. until 747B.C. By reason of numerous allusions in the prophecy to the Northern Kingdom, it is commonly supposed by commentators that Hosea was a native of that commonwealth. Now you know the longing to be loved and trusted again. In chapter five of Hosea, God pronounced judgment on Israel; He This figure suggests Israels being scattered among the Gentiles. The same is true of Hosea because he, like Isaiah, made extensive use of metaphors and symbolism (see Old Testament Student Manual: Genesis2Samuel [religion 301, 2003], pp.