Lesson #06

Related Articles

Hosea

September 21, 2015

Lesson #01

January 6, 2010

Lesson #02

January 6, 2010

RETURN TO SYLLABUS

HOSEA 5
Lesson #06
THE GUILT OF THOSE IN AUTHORITY: The Guilt of God’s People

• Memory Verse: Hos 5:15

• The current situation in the days of Hosea:
• After Hosea went into the city and paid money to buy his wife out of prostitution, he thought finally he would have a stable home. However, she ran away and RETURN ed to prostitution.
• Likewise, God paid the price (the blood of a lamb) to buy Israel from slavery in Egypt (Exodus). This is what we call redemption. Israel RETURN ed to spiritual prostitution through the worship of idols.
• Read 1Cor 6:20
• In the same way New Testament believers are purchased by the blood of Christ to be in the family of God and serving Christ, the bridegroom of the church.
• However, like Gomer in the book of Hosea, some Christians run back to the world (backslide).
• Read 2Pet 3:17-18

• Read Hos 5:1-7
• What responsibility has a nation’s leaders for taking the nation into idolatry?
• God will specifically judge a nation’s leaders, religious and civil, for how they guide the nation into following God and justice. This was true through the Old Testament, and is still true today. Israel is not the exception. (Mat 25:22-23)
• King Jeroboam I was the first king of the Northern Kingdom. He was the first to establish a different style of worship in Israel when he forbade his people to go to Jerusalem to worship God in the temple. (2Kin 10:29)
• However, even though the leaders bear a heavy responsibility, all the people have contributed to the national guilt and therefore will share in the national judgment.
• “…ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.”

(1)

• Mizpah was a high city in the southern most mountains of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The name Mizpah means = watchtower. They were supposed to watch and guard against the enemy.
• Tabor was the mountain in the north east part of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
• These two places were geographical locations in the mountains where they built temples to Baal.
• Therefore, by this verse we come to understand that idolatry existed everywhere in the country. It was either initiated or tolerated by all the kings of the Northern Kingdom. (1Kin 16:31-33 2Kin 10:19-36)
• There were no priests in the Northern Kingdom that objected to the idolatry.
• Under King Ahab and Jezebel, there were hundreds of prophets and/or priests of Baal and the other pagan gods. (1Kin 18:19)
• The mentality of worldly government:
• When a government does not seek God and guide the nation by God’s standards of justice, God will judge that nation for their worldly perspective.
• What is the worldly perspective of government?
• Deception to achieve power by any means. (1,3)
• Greed and violence. (2)
• Pride through self-determination. (4-5)
• “I know Ephraim…”

(3)

• The tribe of Ephraim was the tribe that led the rebellion that caused the kingdom to separate into two kingdoms under King Jeroboam I. As a result, the name Ephraim was another name for the Northern Kingdom.
• The tribe of Ephraim was the beginning and the center of idolatry.
• The first golden calf was established by King Jeroboam I in Bethel, which was located in the territory of Ephraim.
• Remember that Bethel means (house of God) but called it Bethaven (house of wickedness.)
• The second center of idolatry was in Samaria which was also located in the territory of Ephraim.
• It was to this center of false religion that Jesus visited when he spoke to the woman at the well in John 4.
• Eventually all the Northern Kingdom and all the Southern Kingdom became defiled by idolatry.
• Therefore, God must judge both the Southern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom, but not at the same time.
• God did not judge the Southern Kingdom until 135 years after the Northern Kingdom.
• As a last resort, the Israelites would seek God, but they would discover that God had withdrawn from them temporarily. (6)

• A Spiritual Principle:

It is possible to cross over a spiritual line for which there is no RETURN . (1Sam 28:3-7, Heb 6:4-6 Heb 12:17)

• What are the “strange children” in verse 7?
• When those in authority establish the model of secularism (the lack of religiosity) or idolatry in society, the next generation does not receive proper teaching in the knowledge and worship of God. Therefore, each subsequent generation finds itself farther and farther away from God.
• The strange children are the subsequent generations that do not know God. They are strangers to God.
• The words, “strange children” relates to those who worship the “strange gods” in idols. (Jer 5:19)
• “…now shall a month devour them with their portions.”

(7)

• The destruction will come quickly.

• Read Hos 5:8-14
• Gibeah, Ramah, Bethaven (Bethel) = These were three cities located just north of Jerusalem.
• Gibeah and Ramah were strategic cities in the territory that God gave to the tribe of Benjamin.
• The tribes of Benjamin and Judah were the two tribes of the Southern Kingdom.
• Bethel (which means house of God) is changed to Bethaven (which means house of wickedness). It was a strategic city in the territory that God gave to the tribe of Ephraim that led the rebellion to break the kingdom into two nations.
• Therefore, the warning is given to both the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom.
• God had warned the people and rebuked them for their idolatry, but they would not listen.

• A Kingdom Principle

: Before God sends judgment or chastisement, he always first gives a warning. The longer the delay to correct the situation, the stronger the warning becomes until finally God’s patience is at an end and judgment comes.

• This principle is true throughout the Old Testament and is true in the lives of New Testament believers.
• “…the day of rebuke…”

(9)

• This phrase refers to the time of extreme chastisement of God’s people.
• This phrase has a prophetic significance.
• =1= The first prophetic fulfillment of extreme chastisement on the people of Hosea’s day was the destruction of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC by the Assyrians and the destruction of the Southern Kingdom in 586 BC.
• =2= The second prophetic fulfillment of extreme chastisement on God’s people, the Jews, was the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD by the Romans.
• While Bible prophecy has a double fulfillment, as we have just seen, when there is another similar prophecy given between the first fulfillment and the second fulfillment, there must be two subsequent fulfillments after that.
• Read Mat 24:16-21
• =1= Jesus Christ gave this prophecy before the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. Therefore, the first fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy is 70 AD.
• =2= The second fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy will be the tribulation period that is yet to come.
• “…them that remove the bound…”

(10)

• The tribe of Judah that represented the Southern Kingdom attempted to move the boundary between the Southern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom. Specific territory was given by God to each tribe. There was a curse on anyone that changed these boundaries. (Deu 19:14 Deu 27:17)
• This act of taking advantage of a group of their own people caused God’s anger against Judah. Even though the nation was already divided into two kingdoms, the Northern Kingdom called Ephraim and the Southern Kingdom called Judah, God considered both of them His united people.
• “…he willingly walked after the commandment.” (11)
• The people of the Northern Kingdom obeyed the command of Jeroboam I to worship the two golden calves placed in Bethel and Dan. (1Kin 12:28-29)
• The moth in Ephraim and the rottenness in Judah (12)
• A moth does his damage to clothing very quickly.
• Therefore, the figurative speech of this prophecy is that the fall of Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, will occur soon.
• Rottenness does its damage gradually and is not at first observable.
• Therefore, the figurative speech of this prophecy is that the fall of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, will be delayed.
• Rottenness works its destruction gradually in the foundation of a nation until the society, the government, and the religion are undermined beyond restoration.
• It is at this point that God permitted the destruction of the Southern Kingdom by Babylon because in order to restore, you must start over and rebuild the foundation, and then rebuild the nation.
• The destruction and the Babylonian captivity for 70 years were to sweep the nation clean to enable God to begin again after the 70 years to rebuild and restore the nation of Israel.
• The fulfilled prophecy of the misguided remedy and an unholy alliance: (13)
• A nation or a people without God will seek all ways to solve their problems, except the path of humility and the acknowledgment of God. Why?
• The pride of self-determination will keep a people and a nation blind to seeking God’s mercy.
• When problems began to overwhelm the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom, the enemies’ threats became greater and greater, they looked for solutions to save the nation.
• What did the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim do to solve its problem as the kingdom of Assyria grew larger and more powerful?
• They sent diplomatic politicians to Jareb of Assyria. What do we know about Jareb?
• Jareb literally means = warrior king” and was probably an Assyrian title, like Caesar, Emperor, or King, and not a name. The name of this king was Tiglath-pileser III (745-727 BC).
• He was the most powerful Assyrian leader and conquered the area around the city of Babylon and the territory to the north (Uratu). As his armies began to move west conquering all territory in his path, both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah became worried.
• Like other nations around Israel, the Northern Kingdom made a non-aggression treaty with Assyria in exchange for money when the Assyrian armies made small attacks on the Northern Kingdom during the reign of King Menahem (771 – 761 BC).
• In other words, they went to the enemy and promised to pay extortion money every year to Assyria if they did not attack.
• The Northern Kingdom raised this tribute money through a tax on every wealthy person in the nation. (2Kin 15:19-20)
• However, the succeeding king in the Northern Kingdom was Pekahiah, his son (761 – 759 BC). He was assassinated by a military captain named, Pekah, who then became king.
• King Pekah (759 – 739 BC) did not like paying money to Assyria. He made an alliance with the King Rezin of Syria against Assyria and attempted to force the Southern Kingdom to join he alliance against Assyria.
• Instead of joining this alliance against Assyria, the Southern Kingdom begged Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria to stop this alliance. (2Chr 25:5-8 Isa 7:1)
• Because Tiglath-pileser III did not like this rebellious attitude by Syria and the Northern Kingdom, he attacked the cities of Philistia and Gaza to make sure Egypt did not join the alliance. Then he destroyed the Syrians, took control over much of the territory of the Northern Kingdom, and then replaced the king of the Northern Kingdom with Hoshea. (Not the prophet Hosea). Hoshea was a vassal king subject to Assyria, who killed King Pekah. (2Kin 15:30)
• Finally in 724 BC, when King Hoshea rebelled against Assyria, Shalmaneser V (727-722 BC), the son of Tiglath-pileser III, destroyed the Northern Kingdom and took all of the people captive to Babylon after a 2 year battle (722 BC). (2Kin 17:3-6)
• These unholy diplomatic treaties and alliances could not cure the spiritual sickness in the Northern Kingdom, or the festering wound in the Southern Kingdom.
• “…I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah…”

(14)

• God permitted the destruction of the Northern Kingdom. When the Southern Kingdom saw the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, it was supposed to be a warning to them that the same sins existed in Judah as existed in Ephraim. The cute little lion cub (Babylonia) would one day grow up and be just as vicious in the Southern Kingdom as the mother lion (Assyria) in the Northern Kingdom.
• Like a lion that takes its prey back to his den, Assyria will take the Israelites back to Babylon.
• “…till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.”

(15)

• God always gives a glimmer of hope, a promise of forgiveness and restoration, after he warns of punishment and judgment.
• When will the Jews seek God?
• This verse tells us that they will seek God in their affliction.
• They did not seek God while they were in the Babylonian captivity or when God RETURN ed them to the Promised Land after the captivity.
• They did not seek God after they were scattered throughout the Roman world in 70 AD or even in the Holocaust of World War II under Hitler. They did not seek God when He RETURN ed them to the Promised Land in 1947.
• They still do not seek God. What will it take for the Jews to finally wake up and seek God?

• “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be”.

(Mat 24:21)

• The tribulation period of 7 years that will come to this earth will put extreme pressure on the Jews to force them to their knees, and then Christ will come at the second coming.
• This is the affliction in which they will finally seek God and accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah. (Zec 12:9-13)
• The prophecy says “they will seek me early” (15)
• After all these thousands of years, it does not appear that the Jews will seek God “early”.
• The meaning of the word early is not necessarily early in time but early in the event.
• The Jews will seek God early in the event of the Battle of Armageddon that ends the tribulation period, when it would appear that the Antichrist is about to destroy all the Jews. This is when Christ will RETURN to earth to save His people.
• Summary and application:
• What is God’s basic attitude toward a nation that will not acknowledge Him?
• God will permit the consequences of sin to bring destruction. Why?
• Because God permits man to exercise free will, he will permit the consequences of sin to work destruction. It is the sowing and reaping principle in action. Seeds of rebellion and idolatry always reap destruction in the end.
• God will chastise nations by permitting their enemies to gain victories over them. Why?
• Men and nations must realize that the wisdom of the world never produces victory. The only true victory for man and for nations is to seek God’s wisdom because man’s strength is insufficient. A nation that fails to gain the victory over her enemies has not put their trust in God.
• God will permit a rebellious people to have their own way for a time. Why?
• Men and nations must learn the lessons of rebellion the hard way, through defeat.
• God will permit destruction even though they are God’s people. Why?
• The greatest deception among God’s people in the Old Testament and today is that just because we are God’s people, He will spare His people from chastisement or punishment for sin.
• Read 1Pet 4:17.

HOMEWORK
HOSEA 6
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of Hos 5
• What are the areas of sin and rebellion in your own life?
• Of what situation in our nation today does the situation in Israel in Hosea’s time remind you?
• Pray for forgiveness of your own sins and for the forgiveness of sin in your nation.

• Preparation for Hos 6
• Read Hos 6:1-11
• Of what New Testament event does verse 2 remind us?
• What is the symbolic meaning of the rain in verse 3?
• What spiritual attitude is expressed in verse 4?
• What are God’s greatest desires?

Memory Verse: Hos 6:6