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HOSEA1
Lesson #02
SPIRITUAL IDOLATRY AND FATHERLESS CHILDREN
· MemoryVerse: Job 4:8
· ReadHos 1:1-11
o Godspeaks in time:
§ Inthe Old Testament God spoke to His people through prophets. Today God speaks through JesusChrist and His Word. (Heb 1:1-2)
§ inthe days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, andHezekiah, kings of Judah (1)
· Whydid God mention these kings of the Southern Kingdom of Judah when Hosea was a prophet tothe Northern Kingdom of Israel?
o Thekings of Judah were the legitimate lineage of kings after Solomon. Therefore, God wants tomake sure we understand this point, that the kingdom was divided. Hosea was a prophet tothe lineage of kings outside the direct will of God.
§ ThenGod mentions, in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash,king of Israel. (1)
· Itis the Northern Kingdom of Israel on which God is going to focus His attention in thisbook.
· JeroboamII was a very evil king.
o Read2Kin 14:23-29
§ Go,take unto thee a wife of whoredoms (2)
· Thereis a great deal of disagreement about the interpretation of verse 2. Was Gomer a harlotbefore her marriage to Hosea or only after they were married?
o Partof the problem is timing.
§ =1=Did Hosea know and fall in love with Gomer before he knew she would turn to prostitution?Or was Gomer already a prostitute when Hosea met her?
· Accordingto verse 2, Gomer probably came from a family of prostitutes. Her mother was also probablya prostitute. However, some interpreters think that verse 2 relates to her children andnot her ancestors.
§ =3=Did God command Hosea to marry her, knowing she would eventually turn to prostitutionwhen, at the time he married her, she was not a prostitute?
· Evenif Hosea did not know she was a prostitute, God informed Hosea of her lifestyle in verse 2before he married her. Therefore, Hosea knew about her immoral desires before he marriedher.
o ReadLev 21:7
§ Accordingto the Law of Moses, God commanded his people not to marry prostitutes.
o ReadJam 1:13-15
§ Accordingto James, God does not tempt His people to do evil.
o Whydid God tell Hosea to break the Law of Moses by marrying a prostitute?
§ Theanswer to these problems of understanding verse 2 depends on ones understanding ofthe role of a prophet.
· WhenGod called a man to be a prophet, it was a very heavy burden that He placed upon a man.
o Theprophet had to dedicate his whole life to the Lord.
o Theprophet had to become the living example of his message to Gods people. Themessage was not only in the words he spoke to the people but in the actions that he didand in the lifestyle that he lived. Therefore, the prophets presence among hispeople was a constant reminder of Gods words to them.
o Theprophet had to bear the reproach of men that did not want to hear Gods words. Attimes, the prophet became like God to the people. (Jer 6:10-11)
§ Forthe most part, the people reacted to the prophets in the same way they reacted to God:rejection, hatred, and murder.
§ Theprophet not only spoke Gods words but felt Gods feelings and expressed thosefeelings to the people.
§ Theprophet had to bear the reproach of God as he took on himself the sinful burden of hispeople, in much the same way, though more limited, as Jesus Christ took our sins uponhimself on the cross and bore the reproach of God. (Mic 6:16)
§ ReadEze 12:10-11
§ Ezekielbecame the sinful people being taken in captivity under the judgment of God. Hedramatically acted out his message as though he were the people.
§ Hoseais called by God to act out the sins of the people. In the same way as Ezekiel, to becomethe sinful people of Israel. In this way, the people could see their sins and theconsequences of them played out in Hoseas life.
· Therefore,because we interpret the Bible literally, we can interpret verse 2 as exactly what itsays. God told Hosea to marry a prostitute so that Hosea would become exactly like theIsraelites in their relationship to God. God knew she was a prostitute and so did Hosea.
o forthe land hath committed great whoredom, departingfrom the LORD.(2)
§ Godtells us His reason for this command to Hosea.
§ Goduses matrimonial words to describe His relationship to His people, the Israelites.
· Justas Hoseas wife was the child of harlotry (2) with prostitution as a way of life inher family for generations, Israel was unfaithful to God for many generations.
o ReadLev 20:5-7 (Deu 31:20)
§ BecauseIsrael worshipped other gods, God called her a harlot.
o ReadIsa 54:5 (Jer 3:20)
§ Godspecifically says that He married Israel. She was His wife. Therefore, when Israelworshipped idols, she was in spiritual adultery and prostituting herself with idolatry.
§ Noticethat this spiritual adultery committed by Israel adversely affected the people and evenpolluted the land.
· Theland of Israel was to be Gods tangible means of blessing His people. Because theIsraelites did not serve God, God could not bless them through an abundance that wouldcome from the land. Therefore, God finally took them out of the land of promise as aconsequence of their sin. (Jer 16:13 Lev 18:20-23)
o Hoseamarried Gomer, the prostitute:
§ Thename, Gomer, means = Corruption. Her surname, Diblaim, means = two lumps of figs (an itemof luxury). Therefore, the message through themeaning of her name is that Israel is corrupted by materialism, luxury, and sensuality.For this corruption, she will reap judgment.
§ Youcan imagine the gossip in Hoseas neighborhood. People probably ridiculed him fortaking this woman in marriage against the Law of Moses, but it illustrated how the peopledid not live according to the Law of Moses.
o Callhis 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 thekingdom of the house of Israel. (4)
§ Gomergave Hosea a son. God told him to call the son Jezreel.
· Thename Jezreel means = God scatters; God sows.
o Jezreelis also the name of a city and a famous plain in Israel. It is the Plain of Meggido orArmageddon, also called the Valley of Esdraelon.
§ Thisis a very bloody valley where many famous wars through history were fought.
· Inthe Northern Kingdom during the reign of evil King Ahab and Jezebel, the prophet Elijahprophesied judgment over Ahabs descendants. When Ahab heard the prophecy, he humbledhimself before God and God delayed the judgment until after Ahab died. (1Kin 21:17-29)Many years later the prophet Elisha anointed Jehu to be king over Israel. FollowingGods direction, Jehu carried out Gods original judgment on Ahabsdescendants in the valley of Jezreel. However, Jehu went farther than Gods commandand executed King Ahaziah of the Southern Kingdom.
· Throughthe birth of Hoseas child, Jezreel, God was reaffirming His judgment on thehousehold of King Jehu. Jehu was the King of Israel (886 857 BC)
§ Inthe future, the battle of Armageddon will be fought there at the end of the tribulationperiod. Then the final war of Gog and Magog will be fought there at the end of theMillennial Kingdom of Christ.
o Throughthe name of this child, Gods message is of reaping that which you sow and Israelsowed idolatry. She would reap a bloody destruction as a consequence of those evil seeds.
o Thename of this child is a prophecy about the end of Northern Kingdom that would occur inthis valley when the Assyrians would come to destroy the Northern Kingdom and take thepeople captive to Babylon.
§ Thisprophecy of the destruction of the nation was a direct consequence of Israelsidolatry and its first fulfillment occurred in 721 BC.
§ Thesecond fulfillment of this prophecy will occur in the battle of Armageddon at the end ofthe tribulation period.
o adaughter. And God said unto him, Call hername Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterlytake them away.(6)
§ Hoseassecond child was a daughter, named Loruhama, which means = she never knew a fatherspity.
· Eventhough this child was born in Hoseas home and he acted like her father, Hosea wasprobably not her biological father. The implication is that she did not know who herfather was, and probably Gomer did not know who the father of this child was.
· Themessage through this child is that because of their idolatry, Israel cut themselves offfrom God, their loving father. God could not deal with them mercifully with compassion asa father deals with an obedient child. He must deal with them as a rebellious child withstrong chastisement and punishment. That is what the Babylonian captivity was, a strongchastisement, to rid them of their idolatry.
o Israelstepped over the spiritual line where they could not experience Gods mercy andforgiveness.
§ NewTestament believers can also step over this spiritual line. But notice that God stillconsidered that the Israelites were His children.
o ButI will have mercy upon the house of Judah (7)
§ Godpromised mercy for the Southern Kingdom of Judah. When the Northern Kingdom fell to theAssyrians, the Southern Kingdom was spared and continued to exist 135 more years. WhenSennacherib, the Assyrian, attacked Jerusalem in 701 BC, God miraculously saved them tofulfill this part of Hoseas prophecy. (Isa 37:21-36)
· Finallyeven the Southern Kingdom of Judah reaped the consequences of their sins when they fell tothe Babylonian invasion in 586 BC.
o andwill save them by the LORD their God…(7)
§ Theultimate prophetic promise of salvation of Gods people, the Jews, will be at thesecond coming of Jesus Christ. (Zec 12:9-11)
o Thensaid God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.(9)
§ Thethird child born into Hoseas troubled household was a son named Loammi.
· Loammimeans = not my people; or not my child.
o Whileno one was quite sure whether Hosea was the biological father of Gomers daughter,there was no doubt about the biological father of Loammi. The father was definitely notHosea.
§ Withthe name of this child, all of Hoseas neighbors knew that Hosea was aware that hewas not the father. They were aware that Hosea did not acknowledge his parentage for thischild.
§ Themessage to Israel was that they had abandoned their relationship with God and acting asthough they had no heavenly father.
· Thereis a popular false doctrine that says God has abandoned Israel and replaced Israel withthe New Testament Church. This false doctrine says that the church has inherited theunfulfilled promises that God originally gave to Israel. This false doctrine is called ReplacementTheology.
· Itis important not to base a complete doctrine on one verse, because if we read verse 10 and11, we see that God has not permanently abandoned His people.
o whereit was said unto them, Ye are not mypeople, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. Then shallthe children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together (10-11)
o Therefore,while God sets them aside for a period of time because of their spiritual adultery, Godhas not finished with the Jews. (Rom 11:11-15) He will literally fulfill His promises tothe Jews in the Millennial Kingdom of Christ when they turn to Him at the second coming ofChrist.
§ Noticethat God repeats the promise He made to Abraham that His people would be, asthe sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered. (10)
§ Noticethat God will plant the Jews in the land again to become a unified nation and they willgrow up like a plant (11), even though first He must remove them from the land in theBabylonian Captivity.
§ Noticethat the prophetic promise says that God will unite Israel. The nation will not be adivided kingdom in the Millennium. The Southern Kingdom of Judah and the Northern Kingdomof Israel will be united into one nation.
§ Noticethat verse 11 says they will agree to have one leader. That leader will be Jesus Christ atthe second coming to establish His kingdom on earth for 1000 years.
· Inthe millennial kingdom, God will call Israel ammi (my people) and ruamah(having obtained mercy).
· greatshall be the day of Jezreel.(11)
o Thefinal victory will be Gods. He will take His people through chastisement and plantthem back in the land of Israel under the leadership of Jesus Christ to fulfill all thepromises He gave to Abraham.
· Summaryand Application:
o Thisstory of a man of God bound to a woman of questionable reputation should remind us of theNew Testament story of Joseph and Mary.
§ Josephwas committed to a marriage with Mary when he discovered that she was expecting a baby.Because she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, God told Joseph to marry her in spite of theridicule. He was obedient to God just as Hosea was.
· WhileMary was innocent of the tainted reputation as an immoral woman, Gomer was not soinnocent.
o Themessage for the Christian today is this:
§ SometimesGod calls us to bear ridicule for the sake of the Gospel. It takes strength and commitmentto live this kind of life in obedience to the Lord.
§ Wealso see in this chapter the out-working of Gods principle of reaping what you sow.Many times Christians think this principle does not negatively refer to them, but only tonon-believers. That is what the Israelites thought. In the book of Hosea, we see thefallacy of that thinking. God did not spare Israel.
· ReadRom 11:21
HOMEWORK
HOSEA 2
Thisis a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher for correction.
· Applicationof Hos 1
o Whatin your life has the potential of reaping something bad?
o Whatwill you do to make sure you reap blessings?
· Preparationfor Hos 2
o ReadHos 2:1-23
§ ReadDeu 22:21-27 and Deu 23:17-18
· Accordingto the Law of Moses, what were Hoseas options in dealing with an unfaithful wife?
§ Whatcharacteristics do you learn about God?
· MemoryVerse: Jeremiah 3:20
