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HOSEA3
Lesson #04
GODS PLAN IN THREE ACTS
· MemoryVerse: Psalms 60:5
· Review:
o Theprevious chapter illustrates for us the entire book of Hosea and Gods plan forIsrael. There are 3 phases to Gods plan:
§ =1=Hosea charged Gomer with adultery and threatened punishment if she did not repent. Godcharged Israel with spiritual adultery with the Canaanite god, Baal, and threatenedjudgment if she did not repent.
§ =2=Gomer disregarded Hoseas pleas and RETURN ed to her lovers. Israel disregardedGods pleas through the prophets and RETURN ed to idolatry.
· Thisaction brought judgment on Israel by means of the Assyrians that destroyed the NorthernKingdom and took the people captive to Babylon in 721-722 BC. This punishment was only apartial punishment. The full punishment waits for the Tribulation period in the future.
§ =3=Hosea made a determination to woo Gomer with an abundance of love until she was restoredto her position in his home. God made a determination to pursue Israel with love until sheRETURN ed to God in repentance and restoration.
o Inthe previous chapter, we saw how Hoseas life paralleled Israels relationshipwith God. To continue that parallel we see the following likeness:
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The Unequal Yoke of a Faithful Husband, Hosea, Married to an Unfaithful Wife, Gomer |
God, the Faithful Husband, Married to Israel, the Unfaithful Wife (Isa 54:5 Jer 3:20) |
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Hoseas hope was for a united marriage realizing the husbands forgiveness for the wife and the wifes recognition of the husband as the head of the wife. (Eph 5:22) |
A hope in the future promise of restoration of Israel as Gods people having gained forgiveness of sin through mercy and the recognition of Jesus Christ as their Messiah. (1:10-2:3) |
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According to the Mosaic Law, the options of stoning or divorce were the natural options for a husband with an unfaithful wife. However, Hosea obeyed God and sought restoration. (2:2-5) |
Jesus Christ does not have to pursue the backslider nor did God have to continue to endure Israels unfaithfulness. However, God promised never to abandon His people. He will pursue His people for restoration. In the same way Christ will pursue the backslider for restoration. |
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The First Act of Love Separation |
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Hosea will allow Gomer the freedom to leave, but the way of a prostitute is difficult and without love. He prays she will come to realize that her life was better at home with her family. (2:6-8) |
God will permit the life of the backslider to be very difficult. This causes the backslider to realize that his provision was from God and that he gave up the blessings of God by his rebellion. |
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The Second Act of Love Deprivation |
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Hosea will not permit his provision, given by God, to be used to take Gomer further away or further into sin. Instead Hosea will deprive Gomer of provisions. (2:9-13) |
God will not permit His provision to be used to take the backslider further away from God or further into sin. He will permit the backslider to suffer deprivation. |
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The Third Act of Love A New Courtship |
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Hosea will court Gomer anew by following the steps in Rut 2-3 so that Gomer will re-establish the marriage relationship publically and privately. (2:14-23) |
God will woo Israel again so that she will call God her husband in the Millennium and re-establish a marriage relationship under the New Covenant of Jesus Christ. (Rev 2:5) |
· ReadHos 3:1-5
o Thechapter begins with the command to Hosea to go and show Gomer his love to win her heart.
§ Goddoes the same for Israel.
· flagonsof wine.(1)
o Thisphrase refers to little cakes commonly made with dried grapes as offerings to the paganCanaanite gods.
o Gomerbelonged to a group of prostitutes. Hosea went to buy her by paying the price for her tothe pimp that owned her.(2)
§ Silverin scripture is a symbol of redemption. Therefore, the price that Hosea paid for Gomer isthe price of her redemption.
§ Whatis it in the believers experience with Christ in the New Testament that verse 2reminds us?
· JesusChrist paid the redemption price for his bride, the church.
o Theconcept of redemption is a theme that flows through the Bible from the Old Testament tothe New Testament.
§ Wefirst see a full explanation of it in the book of Exodus when the blood of a lambpurchased Israels redemption from Egypt.
§ Wesee it in the book of Ruth, which is a book of redemption.
§ Wesee it here in the book of Hosea.
§ Thefulfillment of all these types and prefigures of redemption is in Jesus Christ, ourredeemer, who paid the redemption price with his own blood. (1Pet1:18-19)
§ Gomerwas not worthy of the price Hosea paid for her, just as Israel was not worthy of the priceGod paid for her. In the same way we are not worthy of the price that Jesus Christ paidfor our salvation.
· However,this is Gods plan from the beginning, and it is based on His great love.
o SignificantProphecy: (4-5)
§ Thisbook contains a very significant prophecy as important as those in Daniel and Isaiah.
§ For thechildren of Israel shall abide many days without a king (4)
· Noticethat there is no specific time mentioned. The words, many days make theprophecy vague for a reason.
o Threetimes God prophesied that the Israelites would lose the Promised Land.
§ Thefirst time God told Abraham they would wander for 430 years (from the giving of theAbrahamic Covenant to the giving of the Mosaic Covenant) which consisted of 215consecutive years in Egypt.
§ Thesecond time God said through Jeremiah that the Israelites would be captive for 70 years.That prophecy was given to the Southern Kingdom of Judah and referred to the Babyloniancaptivity that would come after Hoseas day. The Babylonian captivity ended after 70years and the Israelites RETURN ed to the Promised Land as a united nation.
§ Thethird time God speaks through Hosea to the Northern Kingdom. The reason there is nospecific time period mentioned is that when Israel RETURN ed from the Babylonian captivity,the Northern Kingdom was not restored as a separate nation with a king. The lineage ofkings from Jeroboam to Hoshea was never re-established.
· Thelineage of kings from the Southern Kingdom was not restored when they RETURN ed after theBabylonian captivity. They were continually controlled and governed by other nations.
· Eventoday the nation of Israel does not have a king.
· Themany days without a king will end at the second coming of Jesus Christ.
o JesusChrist will be the next king from the lineage of David. He will reign as King of Kings for1000 years on earth.
§ andwithout a prince (4)
· Israelhas no prince left in their lineage of kings. They have all died. Without a prince thatwill some day take the throne, there is no hope for a king.
· JesusChrist is called the prince of peace. Yes, He died but He resurrected from the dead. It isthis prince that will take the throne to become the King.
§ andwithout a sacrifice (4)
· TheJews can do animal sacrifice only in a temple in Jerusalem. When they RETURN ed from theBabylonian captivity, they rebuilt the temple according to the book of Ezra.
· However,their temple was totally destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
· Eventoday Israel has no temple in Jerusalem.
o TheJews reject the final sacrifice in Jesus Christ so today they remain without a sacrifice.
· Therewill be another temple constructed sometime near the beginning of the tribulation period.At that time they will begin animal sacrifice again.
§ andwithout an image (4)
· For hundreds of years Israel had many imagesof wood and stone that represented many different gods.
· However,the Babylonian captivity purged them of their idolatry. Never again in Israelshistory were they subject to idolatry.
§ andwithout an ephod… (4)
· The ephod was the breastplate of the high priest.When the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, it was an end of the priesthood.
· Inthe Millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ, there will be again a priesthood.
§ andwithout a teraphim. (4)
· Teraphimwere small objects or household gods that were used for the divination of future events.They existed all through Israels history and were always condemned by God.
· However,by New Testament times the Jews ceased to use them.
· Thereforeuntil they receive Jesus Christ, they are without direction from other gods or from theHoly Spirit.
o Afterwardshall 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. (5)
§ Theword, afterward means after the many days of verse 4.
§ Theend of verse 5 puts the prophecy of their RETURN in the latter days.
· Thephrase the latter days is a prophetic phrase that refers to the time period ofthe tribulation period and the second coming of Christ.
o Therefore,this prophecy does not refer to the RETURN of Israel after the Babylonian captivitybecause they did not seek God and receive Jesus Christ as their Messiah at His firstcoming.
o Thisprophecy does not refer to Israel becoming a nation in 1947 for they did not seek God atthat time and still remain a secular nation.
· Thisprophecy of their RETURN refers to the end of the tribulation period at the second comingof Jesus Christ. Then they will receive Jesus Christ as their Messiah and their King fromthe lineage of David.
o Howcan they RETURN to the land at the second coming of Christ when they are already inthe land today?
§ Inherentin this prophetic word is the concept that they will again lose the land some time in thetribulation period.
· Itis very possible that this will be in the last half of the tribulation period when theAntichrist rules the world and puts his image in the temple in Jerusalem. He will make waragainst the Jews and put them in captivity in Egypt. (Mat 24:15-21)
o ReadDeu28:64-68 (Isa 19:18)
· Then Christ willcome to earth to establish his earthly kingdom for 1000 years and restore the Jews to thePromised Land as His people, and He will be their God.
· Summary andApplication:
o In chapter three wecontinue our parallel between Hoseas personal life and Israels relationshipwith God.
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The Unequal Yoke of a Faithful Husband, Hosea, Married to an Unfaithful Wife, Gomer |
God, the Faithful Husband, Married to Israel, the Unfaithful Wife (Isa 54:5 Jer 3:20) |
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God commanded Hosea to love his wife with an unconditional love (agape) just as the New Testament husband is commanded to love his wife. (1) (Eph 5:25) |
God verifies his love for Israel in an unconditional manner without seeing any response from her. He promises never to give up trying to persuade her to love Him. |
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Hosea was to sacrifice his pride, his anger, his jealousy, his hurt feelings, and emotions for the purpose of restoring his wife to righteousness. |
Jesus Christ through humiliation paid the redemption price for both Jews and Gentiles on the cross for a final restoration of Gods people. |
o Whatcharacteristic in Gods character is expressed in His plan to win the Jews to Christ?
§ Theendearing characteristic of God is His unconditional love beyond measure, beyond abuse,and beyond time.
§ Thebeliever in Jesus Christ needs the same unconditional love flowing through his life toothers to win them to Christ.
HOMEWORK
HOSEA 4
Thisis a self-study. Plese do not send homework answers to the teacher for correction.
· Applicationof Hos 3
o Inwhat areas of your personal life will love practiced in an unconditional manner heal abroken relationship or improve or restore a faltering relationship?
· Preparationfor Hos 4
o ReadHos 4:1-5
§ Whatare the major legal charges against Israel in Gods courtroom?
o ReadHos 4:6-11
§ Whatis the source of Israels falling away from God?
§ Whoin Israel were the people with the most guilt?
o ReadHos 4:12-19
§ Whatone sin that caused Israel to be lost and separated from Gods forgiveness will causepeople today to be lost and separated from God for eternity?
· MemoryVerse: Romans 10:2
