App
Hosea 7 thru 14
Fred R. Coulter | January 2, 1999
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The purpose of going through the book of Hosea is to show that he was the first prophet after that 75-year period when there were no known prophets that we know of written in the Bible He was prophesying about 80-90 years before Israel went into captivity. In going through this, we need to understand that not all Scripture in the prophets are dual!
I think that's one mistake that we made in the past. We always said that all prophecy is dual. No!
- some prophecy is specific for that very time
- some of the fulfillments are only for that time
- some prophecies are dual and apply
- some are continuous; they always apply
We found in Hos. 6 that if you're going to be the people of God and forsake the Law of God, God is going to forsake and reject you. That always applies, not just at that particular time. There are those prophecies that can apply all the time, though they apply at a particular set-point.
- there are prophecies that are dual
- there are prophecies that are strictly future, the second coming of Christ
Obviously, when we get into those prophecies concerning the Millennium, that is future, yet to come.
HOSEA 7:
Hosea 7:1: "When I would have healed Israel…" this shows God's grace:
- God is willing to be merciful
- God is willing to forgive
- God is willing to overlook
Always remember that God would have spared Sodom for ten righteous people. God would have spared Jerusalem for one person. Always remember in this that God is gracious and merciful! Though it's not revealed in the way that we have in the New Testament, where we have the blessing and privilege of a direct relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ.
When I would have healed Israel…" So, God is not anxious to kill and destroy. We need to understand that even in the prophecies here in the Old Testament, God is not anxious to kill and destroy, though He has to.
"…then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered, and the wickedness of Samaria, for they have worked falsehood. And the thief comes in, the troop of robbers plunders outside. And they consider not within their hearts that I remember all their evil. Now their own doings have hemmed them in; they are before My face" (vs 1-2).
Here's a good Scripture showing that 'as you sow, so shall you reap.' But there's always a chance for repentance along the way, remember that.
Verse 3: "They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the rulers with their lies." You can take this one Scripture and you can say that this specifically applies to Israel and the kings that they setup in Samaria at that time. But also it is a principle that can apply to any leader of any country at any time.
So, today you could read this, and you could apply it to some of our Presidents and the men who are around him. God's Word is true and it applies. This is one that is more universal.
Verse 4: "They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by the baker; he stops stirring, from kneading the dough, until it is leavened." In other words, they are going about doing things that spoils the product. We'll see that it's talking about how that Ephraim is like an 'unbaked loaf.' Or a cake baked on one side.
With pancakes you pour the batter in the skillet and you wait till the bubbles start coming up and then you turn it. Well, if you just leave it and cook it on one side, all the bubbles pop and you've got holes in it. That's like a cake baked on one side.
Verse 5: "In the day of our king, the rulers have sickened themselves with the heat of wine…. [physically and spiritually] …He stretches out his hand with scorners, for they have made ready their hearts like an oven… [burning to do evil] …while they lie in wait. Their baker sleeps at night… [just the fire going by itself, no one is tending it] …in the morning it burns like a flaming fire. They are all hot as an oven, and devour their judges. All their kings have fallen; there is none among them who calls to Me" (vs 5-7).
Showing that when you just life a life that is adamantly set to go against God, that things are going to go that way. The children of Israel did that. There are some people who just adamantly set their way against God!
Verse 8: "Ephraim mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake that is not turned. Strangers have eaten up his strength, and he does not know…."
That happened then. This could be a dual prophecy for Ephraim today, for Israel today. We could look at that and say, yes, this applies to what we see in Britain and America today, no question about it.
"…Yea, gray hairs are here and there on him, yet, he knows it not. And the pride of Israel testifies to his face. And they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek Him in all this" (vs 9-10).
In other words, God is saying that after all this evil, you would think that they would repent. You would think that there would be a heart that they would return to God.
It's kind of like we would say today: How many times must you shoot yourself in the foot before you feel the pain?
Verse 11: "Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart; they call to Egypt; they go to Assyria." Egypt at that time that's what they were doing. Egypt was very close to the Mediterranean and you just got on a ship right there in what we would call Tel Aviv today and you can be down in Egypt the very next day. So, they called to Egypt, and they had these alliances and would go to Assyria. Here's the biggest Assyrian Empire getting stronger and stronger, and Israel getting weaker and weaker.
What do you do in that case? Well, instead of turning to God, they turned to Assyria!
Verse 12: "When they go, I will spread My net upon them; I will bring them down like the birds of heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation has heard." God is saying here that He's going to foil their attempts.
Whenever you try to work it out yourself instead of going to God, it's not going to work. It will never work! As their congregation has heard, because they were told and they knew:
Verse 13: "Woe to them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction unto them—because they have sinned against Me. Though I have redeemed them… [out of Egypt] …yet, they have spoken lies against Me. And they have not cried to Me with their heart, when they howled on their beds; they gather themselves for grain and wine, and they rebel against Me. Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet, they think evil against Me. They return, but not to the Most High…." (vs 13-16). It's kind of like the repentance of the world. They return, but not to God.
"…They are like a deceitful bow; their rulers shall fall by the sword from the rage of their tongue. This shall be their scorn in the land of Egypt" (v 16).
We're going see prophecies saying that 'they shall return to Egypt,' and there are prophecies saying that 'they shall not return to Egypt.' How are we going to figure that out? This is a contradiction! Here it is that "….This shall be their scorn in the land of Egypt."
This is when the Egyptians finally see the Israelites finally go into captivity to the Assyrians, the Egyptians are going to be in derision. That is they are going to be happy to see them go, because they look back on the history of what God did to Egypt when He took the children of Israel out. That's what that has a reference to.
HOSEA 8:
Hosea 8:1: "Put a ram's horn to your mouth. He comes like an eagle against the house of the LORD… [Israel] …because they have transgressed My covenant and have rebelled against My Law." That's important to understand and realize, that there are two things.
When you transgress against the covenant, what are you bringing upon you? Remember what a covenant is; remember Israel at Mt. Sinai (Exo. 24). They said, 'All that the Lord has said, we will do!' It was written in the Book of the Covenant and put in the side of the Ark. It was sealed by the sacrifice of animals.
What have we learned concerning the sacrifice of animals in any covenant sacrifice? When you say yes, you are saying that what will happen to me is what has happened to these animals being killed, because I was unfaithful in the covenant! That's what you're saying.
You need to think on that in baptism, because that's actually what you have done in baptism. That's why, when you are buried under the water, it is a symbolic death for you, a covenant death. Christ gives you life! That's why you come out of it. But you are saying that 'if I do not become conjoined to Christ, into His death and let that apply to me—the covenant death of Christ—this covenant death in the watery grave of baptism, so likewise will I did.
When you transgress the covenant, that is more fatal than just transgressing laws! I hope you understand the difference. You can sin and transgress laws, but not transgress the covenant, if you repent and come back to God. So, God is indicting them on two accounts. "…have transgressed My covenant and have rebelled against My Law." He shall come as an eagle.
God gave them a witness of what He would do if they transgressed the covenant; Deuteronomy 28:43: "The stranger dwelling among you shall get up above you very high…" This happened to Israel back in the days of Hosea, and it's going to happen to Israel again at the end of he age. Are we not living in the time that is taking place step-by-step? Yes, it is!
It says, "…very high…" So, how bad is it going to get? I don't know, but I don't think we've reached he pinnacle of it, yet! We see all that happening in front of our eyes where strangers are coming in; strangers within our borders are increasing by leaps and bounds.
I made a statement back in the late 1960s, in going over this—strangers will ge very high above you—what would happen if the Latino population in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas reached the majority and they decided and appealed to the United Nations to have a plebiscite to sever those states from the United States and put it into Mexico?
That may sound farfetched, but I look at it now as within striking range. All that used to belong to Mexico. All of that used to be Catholic. That's part of restoring the Catholic Church; to get all of these things back that the Vatican has lost. So, it's possible.
"…and you shall come down very low…. [How low is low? I don't know!] …He shall loan to you, and you shall not loan to him. He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. And all these curses shall come on you, and shall pursue you and overtake you, until you are destroyed…" (vs 43-45). Kind of like wave after wave.
You can see this within society, within agriculture, and if the population of the United States doubles by 2025, then all the food we're exporting will have to be eaten here in America, just to keep the population in America going. At that point, if it happens according to this, then America will no longer be America as we understand the United States of America, though it may have that as a name.
The whole substance of the nation and the whole custom of the people will be totally changed. This is part of the propaganda that is happening now, that we are called a pluralistic society! Whereas, back in the 1900s, even the Supreme Court said that 'we are a Christian nation.'
A pluralistic society means that we have temples to every god from every country under heaven. Now they're finding that they need to coordinate more the holiday season, because you need to have Hanukkah, Ramadan, Christmas, the Hindu feast, the Vietnamese feast, the Chinese feast all converging together. How low is it going to get? I don't know!
"…because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes, which He commanded you. And they shall be on you for a sign and for a wonder, and on your seed forever" (vs 445-46)—both! The blessings and commandments on the one hand, and the curses and troubles on the other hand.
When we think of promises of God, we like to think of all the good promises and the blessings. But some of the promises of God have to do with His curses, because He promised it.
Verse 47: "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things."
Look around and, my, we've got abundance of everything! What happens, people are more disgruntled, mentally disturbed, marriages falling apart, etc., etc. Just watch kids in a store. I hate to go to the store when there are little kids in the store. What happens? They're spoiled brats! Give me this, that, the other thing!
When that generation grows up, they're going to be such spoiled brats. There's nothing worse than an adult spoiled brat, but that's what's going to happen. That's why we always need to be thankful for what God has given us.
Verse 48: "Therefore, you shall serve your enemies, which the LORD shall send against you in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in the want of all things. And he shall put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. The LORD shall bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth as the eagle flies…" (vs 48-49).
When it talks about the eagle in Hos. 8, that's referring directly to the Assyrians at that time, but this is also referring to a future time in Deut. 28, which is going to come.
"…a nation whose language you shall not understand, a nation fierce of countenance who shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young" (vs 49-50)—especially if they have it in their heart to avenge against all of these rich people who have had everything all of their lives and 'now we are going to take it from them.'
Verse 51: "And he shall eat the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your land, until you are destroyed. He shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, neither the increase of your livestock, or flocks of your sheep until he has destroyed you. And he shall besiege you within all your gates…" (vs 51-52)—within!
That's why those people who have the maps showing where the various United Nations' troops are stationed in America, understanding some parts of the Bible, are alarmed at the number of UN troops that are there. All you need is a national emergency! All you need is a President who will ask the UN to send in troops. Needs no authorization from the Untied States at all. They get a Security Council resolution and here they come.
We're sitting in times of a realistic fulfillment of that just down the road in the future. We need to realize that when we're reading some of these things that wherever Israel is, when it comes to a critical time in the history of Israel, God is going to bring that about.
Hosea 8:2: "Israel shall cry to Me, 'My God, we know You.'… [But the truth is, they didn't!] …Israel has thrown off good; the enemy shall pursue him. They have set up kings, but not by Me; they have made princes, and I knew it not. They have made themselves idols with their silver and their gold, so that they may be cut off. Your calf, O Samaria…" (vs 2-5).
- Who made the calf?
- Where does that go back to?
That goes back to Jeroboam; he made two calves: one for Dan and one for Bethel. Bethel was the place where Jacob stayed and it was called the house of God;that's what Bethel means. But where did the two calves from Jeroboam come from? They came from the calf of Aaron, which came from Egypt!
Verse 5: "Your calf, O Samaria, has cast you off…." In other words, their religion with the golden calf cast them off from God. When Jeroboam made those calves, he said to the people, 'Look! These are the gods who brought you out of Egypt, O Israel.' He probably appealed to the history back when Aaron was the high priest and Levite of God made a golden calf. So, because of that:
"…My anger is kindled against them. How long shall they be incapable of innocence?" (v 5). How long is going to take correction, purging, punishment, depravation to get all of these ideas of strange gods and strange religions out of their system? When is it that you're going to come to innocency and really turn to God?
That's why the Church of God needs to have, as far as understanding other religions in the world, we need to understand it so that we retain our innocency before God! That we keep the purity before God!
When we study some of these things, it's not to find out how they do it so that we'll do it the same way, it's how they do it so that we can avoid doing it the same way! Entirely different thing.
Verse 6: "For from Israel it came also—the craftsman made it, but it is not God; for the calf of Samaria shall be broken into shivers. For they sow to the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind…." (vs 6-7). There is a famous Scripture. This applies:
- to any person at anytime in history
- to any nation at anytime in history
- to Israel and later Judah at anytime in their history
That's why the Bible is called the living Word of God. But God, specifically right here, is going to apply it this time to them.
"…It has no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal; but if it does yield, strangers shall swallow it up" (v 7).
Kind of like the cartoon Robin Hood with the sheriff of Nottingham when they finally brought some gold pieces into the church and they put in the little box for the poor. The sheriff of Nottingham came in and he found it and took it. So, even the little bit was taken from them. Then those who had any coins in their pockets or hats—he turned them upside down and shook them out—and thanked them very much for it and walked out the door singing 'tootle-loo I've got all the gold.'
Verse 8: "Israel is swallowed up; now they shall be among the Gentiles…" This is where they lost their identity. After the fall of Jerusalem in 70A.D. the knowledge of where Israel was virtually lost to all historians. You have two elements to lose The ten tribes of Israel:
- the Gentiles who do not want to acknowledge Israel
- the Jews who claim that everything of Israel belongs to them
Those two things combined virtually hid the history of where Israel was down in time until later we find from other histories how that Israel migrated into Western Europe and on into Britain.
"…as a vessel in which there is no pleasure; for they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey alone by himself. Ephraim has hired lovers" (vs 8-9).
- What happens if you don't turn to God in repentance and you try to work it out your own way? You hire a lover!
- What happens when you're committing adultery and fornication? Your lovers always turn on you!
That's the whole point that God is making here!
Verse 10: "Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now I will gather them. And they shall sorrow in a little while under the burden of kings and princes. Because Ephraim has multiplied altars to sin, altars shall be to him for sin. I have written to him the great things of My Law, but they were counted as a strange thing" (vs 10-12).
This is also a living principle: God has sent His Word to people and there are great things in the Law of God, in the Word of God! I just wished I knew Hebrew as well as I know Greek, then I could know a little more. So, I guess that's something if I get time I will try to learn about Biblical Hebrew.
There are great things in the Laws of God; there are marvelous things, and we'll try and understand that when we get into the prophecies of Christ.
Psalm 119:18—David prays: "Open my eyes so that I may behold wondrous things out of Your Law."
- there are great things in the Law of God
- there are wondrous things in the Law of God
That's why we need to study it day and night; let it become a part of us. Let us think with the Word of God! That way we then develop the mind of Christ.
I don't want anyone to follow me because of me. I want you to follow Christ and God the Father, and the Word of God! That's what's going to bring you eternal life.
In the meantime, if I can do the same thing, which I'm trying to with everything that is in me, and I can teach you things and help you, what I want to do is do as Christ said: It's sufficient that the disciple become as the teacher!
In other words, anyone who is teaching is not to teach from the point of view that 'I have great knowledge and now I'm going to give you a little bit of this so that you must be dependent upon me.' NO! the teacher is to say, 'Here is what it is, and I want you to learn it so that you can learn as much as you can. We've seen through the years in doing that it gives us a continuous growing cycle.
- we're always growing and learning more
- we understand God's Word more
- we look at God's Word and see some of the great and wondrous things in the Word of God
It's very inspiring, and this is what God wants it to be. That's the kind of relationship that I want to have with the brethren. I don't want to have people following me because my name is Fred.
- I want them to follow Christ because He's our Savior!
- I want them to have the created relationship that God the Father intended between you and God the Father and Jesus Christ!
That is the important thing; that is where it is at!
Hosea 8:13: "They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of My offerings, and eat it…" Instead of going to God, it was a fake sacrifice and they would turn around and eat it.
"…but the LORD does not receive them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. They shall return to Egypt" (v 13).
A little later on we will read that they shall not return to Egypt. What is He talking about here? They shall return to Egypt! That is spiritually speaking! What God is doing is sending them back to the religions of Egypt so that they get their absolute fill of it in hopes that they will repent!
What does it say in Rev. 11 where it describes the city where Christ was crucified? It is referred to as Sodom and Egypt! I think it's very interesting that in Britain today you have some of the greatest Egyptian museums in the world! So, there's another fulfillment of this. That's how you can return to Egypt without necessarily going there physically to the land of Egypt.
Isn't it interesting how much of the Egyptian religion now filters in with beliefs that people have today? It doesn't come identified as ancient Egyptian religion, it comes in as spiritual ideas from other people. That's how it's put in there.
Verse 14 confirms it: "For Israel has forgotten his Maker, and builds temples. And Judah has multiplied cities. But I will send a fire on his cities, and it shall burn up her palaces."
HOSEA 9:
Hosea 9:1: "O Israel, rejoice not for joy, like the people, for you have gone whoring away from your God; you have loved a reward upon every grain floor. The threshing floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her" (vs 1-2).
In other words, all the physical things that are going to happen to you when you reject God.
Verse 7: "The days of her judgment have come; the days of vengeance have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is insane because of the multitude of your iniquity and your great hatred."
They ended up hating God! We have the same thing today! "…the prophet is a fool…" Why? Because they're not prophesying according to the Word of God!
I predict that we're going to have so many crazy prophecies come along. We're going to have so many weird things come along it's unreal!
"…the spiritual man is insane…"—mad!They get so involved in spiritualism of the world, they become insane! That's what it's talking about. "…because of the multitude of your iniquity and your great hatred."
Verse 9: "They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in days of Gibeah. Therefore, He will remember their iniquity; He will punish them for their sins."
You can read all the verses in between, v 17: "My God shall cast them away because they did not hearken to Him. And they shall be wanderers among the nations."
Yet, God prophesied that not one seed of Israel would be lost, though they migrated and wandered through the nations.
HOSEA 10:
Hosea 10:1: "Israel was a luxuriant vine…" (KJV says empty vine). Let's see the true vine. We don't want to happen to us what happened to Israel. What was the vine to do? It was to bring forth fruit! Here is the spiritual vine:
John 15:1—Jesus says: "I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman. He takes away every branch in Me that does not bear fruit; but He cleanses each one…" (vs 1-2)—takes is away (KJV).
Who makes the final judgment to remove it? God does! That's why when we see some of the things that have transpired within the Church of God, where we see people who have supposedly were following God at one point. We knew them; we thought they were. Or some minister that we thought was. Then, lo and behold, the strangest things come out of their mouths today.
- Who removes them?
- Who makes the final judgment to remove them?
We hope that in being removed that they may repent at the last minute. But why does God the Father do it? Because it has to do with salvation! No man is going to do it! That's why God the Father does it.
"…but He cleanses each one that bears fruit, in order that it may bear more fruit" (v 2). That's what you do every year with the vine, you prune it so that it brings forth more fruit. And every year greater and better fruit.
Considering wine: Some of the best wine comes from the oldest trunks of the grapes. The older the trunk for the grape—which has been pruned year after year—brings forth the most mature fruit. Better quality and so forth.
Noah had to plant his vines and wait, and he was over anxious and he drunk the red wine and it wiped him out—the new wine. After being on the ark for a year, I don't know how much wine they took with them, but apparently he ran out long before the vines produced.
This is important; no one can take you out of Christ except God the Father! That's why it says in John 10 that 'no one can take them out of My Father's hand.' But it does not say that the Father cannot take them out of His hand. It says right here that He can.
Verse 3: "You are already clean through the word that I have spoken to you…. [they had just finished with the Passover] …Dwell in Me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, but only if it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you are dwelling in Me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. The one who is dwelling in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; because apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not dwell in Me… [whom the Father removes] …he is cast out as a branch, and is dried up…" (vs 3-6).
When the withering is complete, because you can revive it for a while. You can take a vine that has been cutoff and if it isn't withered too much, you can put it in a jar of water and it will sprout and come back again. You can even create a new grape plant that way, because it will sprout roots. But if it's withered so much that there's nothing left, it's just old, crinkly, dry and dead:
"…and men gather them and cast them into a fire, and they are burned. If you dwell in Me, and My words dwell in you… [because it's a living Word of God] …you shall ask whatever you desire, and it shall come to pass for you" (vs 6-7). Now, compare that with Hos. 10:1; Israel is an empty vine.
Hosea 10:1: "…which produced fruit freely…. [to himself, not to God] …According to the multitude of his fruit, he has increased the altars. Accordingly, they have made beautiful images after the goodness of his land. Their heart is divided…" (vs 1-2)—claiming God on one hand, but worshipping idols and pagan gods on the other hand. This is an unstable man. James calls it a 'double-minded' man.
- Isn't that the way Israel is today?
- Isn't that the way the United States is today?
No doubt about it! They call on God, but their mind is divided! They call on God on one hand, but they're set to do everything their own way on the other hand.
James 1:2: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you are beset by various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But let endurance have its perfect work…" (vs 2-4)—complete.
In other words, when you're going through a trial, understand that while you're in the midst of the trial you may not understand it. But look to God 'knowing that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose' so that you may be perfect. That's why we go through these things.
"…so that you may be perfect and complete, not lacking in anything. However, if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to everyone freely and does not reproach the one who asks;and it shall be given to him. But let him ask in faith, not doubting at all because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven by the wind and tossed to and fro" (vs 4-6). Water is so unstable.
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When I do my water therapy, I get into the water where it's at my shoulders and I bring my arms forward and back and the water is just like waves. Water is unstable if the wind blows or an earthquake takes place. It's just unstable, it goes wherever. It has no form, no shape, just wherever the wind would blow it or circumstances will take it.
Verse 7: "Do not let that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways" (vs 7-8). That's true and a living principle.
When Hosea talks about his mind and heart is divided, this is what we are talking about. He mouths God out of one side of his mouth and worships Satan out of the other side of his mouth. We could use the two extremes.
Hosea 10:2: "Their heart is divided; now they shall be guilty…. [doesn't that sound like James 1; double-minded] …He shall break down their altars, and He shall spoil their images, for now they shall say, 'We have no king because we did not fear the LORD; what then should a king do to us?' They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant. Thus judgment springs up like hemlock in the furrows of the field" (vs 2-4).
Hemlock is deadly poison. "…swearing falsely in making a covenant…." That's what they were doing with these gods.
Verse 5: "Because of the calves of Beth Aven, the people of Samaria shall fear, for its people shall mourn over it, as well as its idolatrous priests who rejoiced over it for its glory, because its glory has departed from it."
It's amazing how they make these temples and pagan things just beautiful, gorgeous, great art work and all that sort of thing. All the artwork that is in the Vatican, as far as artistically, people say that it's beautiful. Well, God is going to destroy all of that. That's what it's talking about here.
Verse 6: "It shall also be carried to Assyria for a present to King Contentious…. [taken as spoil] …Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel."
Verse 12: "Sow to yourselves in righteousness… [rather than all this foolishness you've been doing] ….reap in mercy… [a call to repentance] …break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, until He comes and rains righteousness on you. You have plowed wickedness; you have reaped iniquity; you have eaten the fruit of lies because you trusted in your way, in the multitude of your mighty men. Therefore, a tumult shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be spoiled… [God is going to take them all down] …as the ruin of Beth Arbel by Shalman in the day of battle. The mother was dashed in pieces with her children. Thus He does to you, Bethel, because of your great wickedness. In a morning the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off" (vs 12-15).
A prophecy of it begin taken away right there when they were taken off into captivity.
HOSEA 11:
This is true, too. Think of it in relation to families, children, mothers and fathers.
Hosea 11:1: "When Israel was a child, then I loved him and called My son out of Egypt. The more they called them, the more they went from them. They continued to sacrifice to the Baalim, and burn incense to graven images. I also taught Ephraim to walk; I took them on My arm. But they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love; and I was to them as those who take off the yoke on their jaws, and I gently gave food to him. He shall not return to the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king…" (vs 1-5).
So, on the one hand we saw how that spiritually they returned to Egypt through the golden calf. Physically now they're going to be removed into Assyria, which happened.
I imagine that when Adolph Hitler was born, his mother loved him. I can't imagine otherwise. All mothers love their children. But when he grew up and came what he became, if she were living do you suppose she would have loved him for all the evil and hatred that he brought upon the world? We could take that and apply that to Stalin, Mao tse Tung, Manson who is in prison, any of those people who gives himself over to evil.
Everyone who gives himself over to evil was born a little infant and was loved. God is saying the same way with Israel. When Israel was young and depended on God, followed God, then He did good things for them. But they turned and went their own way. Now they're going to go into the land of the Assyrians.
"…because they refused to return to Me" (v 5). That implies repentance, to come back to God. There's always a great penalty in going through all of these things. But there's one thing that we can really learn: God is interested in repentance, and through all of it, He wants repentance!
So, in our own lives, when we come up to obstacles or sins that we need to overcome, God wants repentance! He'll be merciful, kind and gracious!
But if you refuse to return, v 6: "And the sword shall remain on his cities, and shall destroy his branches, and devour them because of their own counsels. And My people are bent on backsliding from Me…." (vs 6-7). That's the nature of Israel. Isn't that one of the famous things that Protestants get into? They're all backsliding.
I think that if you want to see a good example of taking the name of God on one hand, and following through all the pagan things on the other hand, you can watch some of these 'gospel sing-a-longs' on TNN. You get some of these country singers, 'Yes, we're with the Lord,' and they turn around and walk out do their own thing.
That's the way Israel is, backsliding, but calling on the name of the Lord. Calling on the name of the Lord, not to repent, but to give endorsement to what they are doing.
"…Though they called to the Most High, none would at all exalt Him. How shall I give you up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver you, Israel?…." (vs 7-8). God is lamenting what to do. He doesn't want to.
"…How shall I make you like Admah? How shall I set you as Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassions are kindled together" (v 8).
In other words, God is saying that He's grieved at heart. 'I love you so much I don't know what to do. But you keep provoking Me. Every time I think I'm going to give you correction, I repent of it and don't do it. Now all of My repenting that I have done are burning me up within. What shall I do?' God says.
Verse 9: "I will not carry out the heat of My anger; I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not man… [even in His correction He holds back His hand] …the Holy One in your midst; and I will not enter into the city. They shall walk after the LORD; He shall roar like a lion. When He shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west" (vs 9-10). He's getting into a prophecy when He's going to redeem them.
Verse 11: "'They shall tremble like a bird out of Egypt, and like a dove out of the land of Assyria. And I will place them in their houses,' says the LORD." Right there in the midst of it, you've got a prophecy into the Millennium, just two verses.
Then it drops back to the current situation. This is what is so critical in going through the prophecies of the Old Testament. It will talk about current conditions and then it will shoot forward to something way in the future. Then the next verse will come back to what is currently taking place. Then the next verse will go forward to a fulfillment in the next year or two that's going to happen, then come back and talk about something in the future. That's what's happening here.
Verse 12: "Ephraim circles around Me with lying, and the house of Israel with deceit. And Judah is still wayward toward God… [has not yet sinned enough to be gotten rid of] …and toward the Holy One, Who is faithful."
HOSEA 12:
Hosea 12:1: "Ephraim feeds on wind and follows after the east wind…." What happens when you feed on wind?
Try this some time: When you get real hungry take a deep breath and tell me how much nourishment you have. Does it get rid of your hunger? No!
"…follows after the east wind…." I find that interesting if you apply that to all the Eastern religions as it's happening now. They had Eastern religions then. No doubt about it.
"…He daily multiplies lies and desolation. And they make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt" (v 1).
This could be a prophecy of Britain today. It's been taken that way many times. It's very possible. Instead of making a covenant with God, they made a covenant with the Assyrians.
Verse 2: "The LORD also has a quarrel with Judah and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings He will repay him. He took his brother by the heel… [Jacob] …in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God" (vs 2-3).
It's starting by going back to Jacob. Look at where you started from with your father, look what he did with God. That's what it's referring to.
Verse 4: "Yes, he wept and cried to Him, and he had struggled with the Angel…"—when Jacob wrestled with God all night; the One Who became Christ. What did He do? Just to show that God has all power, He took Jacob's knee out of the socket so He could get away.
"…and he prevailed. He found him in Bethel, and there He spoke with us…" (v 5). That's where Jacob took the stone, laid the stone down and it became the pillar stone and he saw the stairway going up to God and he called it the house of God.
"…even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is His name. Therefore, return to your God; keep mercy and judgment, and wait for your God continually" (vs 5-6).
So, right in the midst of all these things, what does God do? He goes back and reminds them where they came from, who their forefather was and how Jacob had standing with God and this is what He wants with them. But they won't do it.
Verse 7: "He [Ephraim] is a merchant; the balances of deceit are in his hand; he loves to oppress. And Ephraim said, 'Yet, I have become rich, I have found much wealth for myself. In all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that is sin'" (vs 7-8)—total self-righteousness. So, instead of being like Jacob, Ephraim is acting like the fool!
Verse 9: "And I the LORD, who have been your God from the land of Egypt, will yet make you to dwell in tents as in the days of the appointed feast." Right smack in the middle of it is a prophecy going to the Millennium.
Verse 10: "I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions and have used parables by the hand of the prophets."
This is really telling us that all during the period that we have no history recorded in the Bible of different prophets, what do we have? God is saying that He had prophets all the time! Never without a witness! That's really something to understand that God never leaves His people without a witness of some kind.
Verse 11: "Is there iniquity in Gilead? Surely they are altogether vanity; they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal. Yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields. And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep" (vs 11-12).
This is talking about when Jacob went in and got his wife. He had bargained for Rachel and got Leah. In the morning he says, 'You tricked me, Laban.' I knew that! If you will labor for another seven years you can have Rachel! So, Jacob had work 14 years for Laban, and in spite of everything, God blessed Jacob.
You can read the account about he sheep and the goats, the ring-tailed and he spotted, and how God caused everything to come out the way that He wanted it.
Verse 13: "And by a prophet… [Moses] …the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt…" Moses said of Christ: The Lord will raise up a Prophet from your brethren like unto me! Moses was referring to Christ.
"…and by a prophet he was kept. 'Ephraim provoked Me to anger most bitterly; therefore, his blood shall be cast upon him, and his Lord shall return his reproach unto him'" (vs 13-14). In other words, God is going to give back to them exactly as they treated Him.
I think it's very interesting how many times you go through these prophecies and right in the middle of it, God goes back to the beginning, back to when Moses brought Israel out, when Jacob was called, to remind them what they need to be doing and where they came from.
With an overview this is not meant to be an in-depth study.
HOSEA 13:
Hosea 13:1: "When Ephraim spoke there was trembling. He exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal worship, he died."
What does this mean? There was chance with Jeroboam! When Ephraim spoke in trembling, 'We'll separate from Rehoboam and all of the oppression. There was a chance right then! Jeroboam was told. When the prophet took the twelve pieces of cloth and gave ten to Jeroboam and said that these are the ten tribes:
'If you will listen unto Me and keep My commandments and do all that I command you, then I shall make you a house like unto David.'
In other words, he would have given a guaranteed throne to the descendants of Jeroboam just like He gave a guaranteed throne to the house of David. They didn't do it. But when Jeroboam offended in Bethel by making the two calves, he died! It sealed his fate. The wages of sin is death! It was talking about that Ephraim did not literally die, but he died before God because of sin.
Verse 2: "And now they sin more and more, and have made themselves a molten image of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen. They say of them, 'Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves.'"
Like kissing the toe of the supposed statue of St. Peter in the Basilica. It's actually a statue of Jupiter, not Peter in black marble. All the faithful Catholics, when they go there, kiss the toe. Over the years it has been worn down because of the kissing of the toe. Saliva works slowly but surely. I wonder how many cases of flu were transmitted! Kiss the calves! Can you imagine going up to an idol of a calf and kissing it and saying, 'This is my god'?
If you think about India today, their gods are cows, and their dung is 'holy,' and their urine is 'holy water.' Think of the big bull—the statue—on Wall Street. All of the Wall Street traders love the bull and kiss the bull when the market is going up. They literally have the running of the bulls, a takeoff of what they have in Spain before the bullfight. That's amazing! That fits in!
Verse 3: "Therefore, they shall be as the morning cloud and as the early dew that passes away, as the chaff storm driven from a threshing floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney." Just like a passing phenomena.
Verse 4: "Yet, I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God but Me, for there is no Savior besides Me." That's the lesson that He's going to teach them:
- to send them off into captivity
- to give them over to their evil until they repent
Verse 5: "I have known you in the wilderness, in the land of great dryness. When they were fed, they became full. They were filled and their heart was exalted. Therefore, they have forgotten Me" (vs 5-6). Isn't that true whenever luxury comes along?
You can put there the Laodiceans (Rev. 3:14-21)—seven perfect verses saying what the Laodiceans… Laodiceans were not invented with the Laodicean Church. Backsliding Israel always finds itself falling into a Laodicean way with God.
"…Therefore, they have forgotten Me" (v 6). Isn't that true when you get so many things going, so much being done, so many activities taking place, you forget God!
Now you know why when they want to subvert a church they up all the activities to take you away from God. They don't tell you that, but that's what happens.
"…for there is no Savior besides Me" (v 6) applies to Christ Who was going to come as the only Savior. It also applies to God Who would save them in their circumstances at that time, if they would turn to Him instead of their lovers. They were turning to their lovers, turning to other people.
- there's a time when you need to turn to God, not to other people
- there's a time when you need to really come to God
That's what He's showing here.
Verse 7: "Therefore, I will be as a lion to them; as a leopard by the way I will watch…. [prowling and stalking, watching their sin] …I will meet them like a bear that is bereaved of her cubs, and will tear open their chests. And there I will devour them like a lion—as the wild beast would tear them. O Israel, you have destroyed yourself; but in Me is your help" (vs 7-9).
The Millennium, v 10: "Where is your king now, that he may save you in all your cities; and your judges of whom you said, 'Give me a king and princes'?" In other words, they're finally going to come to the point that they realize that:
- politics isn't going to save them
- other people won't save them
- false religions won't save them
- only God will
But God will give them over to their own devices, turn them over to sin and iniquity so they can learn. That may sound like a cruel thing to some people who want everything to go well in life.
What God is aiming for is that they would repent. So, if you're sinning, God says, 'All right, I'm going to turn you over and let you sin worse, so that you are going to find that the wages of sin is death, and the only hope is in Me.'
Verse 11: "I gave you a king in My anger, and took him away in My wrath." Quite a statement! All right you can have your king! Then He had to remove him; go back and read the story of Jeroboam. He was angry with Solomon, split the kingdom and gave them Jeroboam; gave them a chance. Then Jeroboam became the epitome of evil! Jeroboam the Son of Nebat, king of Israel. 'Took him away in My wrath.'
Verse 12: "The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hidden. The pains of a woman in travail shall come upon him. He is an unwise son; for he should not delay long at the time of the breaking forth of children" (vs 12-13). I don't know how that works out exactly.
Second resurrection (note: Ezek. 37); v 14: "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Grave, I will be your destruction! And compassion shall be hidden from My eyes."
In other words, He's not going to repent of doing away with death; He's not going repent of destroying the grave or destroying death.
Verse 15: "Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind shall come…." Notice how these prophecies mixed in and out of present and future. Here's part of it here, a future time in v 14, then we're talking about the present time.
"…The wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up…. [that's just cutting off all life] …He shall plunder the treasure of all desirable vessels. Samaria shall become desolate, for she has rebelled against her God. They shall fall by the sword. Their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women shall be ripped up" (vs 15-16). That's pretty vicious correction.
If there weren't the second resurrection to solve these problems then that really would, indeed, be evil. But God is going to undo all of that; we need to realize that.
HOSEA 14—the final plea to Israel:
Hosea 14:1: "O Israel, return to the LORD your God…" All the way through, God loves Israel, God loves Ephraim, but why do they make themselves the enemies of God over and over again with their backsliding?
"…for you have fallen because of your iniquity. Take with you words, and return to the LORD…." (vs 1-2). I'm sure this has to do with the words of God.
"…Say to Him, 'Take away all our iniquity, and receive us graciously, that we may repay with the sacrifices of our lips…. [the worship of our lips; they're now going to worship God with their lips] (here is their confession): …Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses. Nor shall we say any more to the work of our hands, "Our gods"—for in You the fatherless finds mercy.'" (vs 2-3). This is the kind of repentance that God wants. It didn't happen then, and it hasn't happened, yet. This is a future prophecy.
God says, v 4: "I will heal their backslidings; I will love them freely… [future Millennial] …for My anger has turned away from him. I will be as the dew to Israel; he shall blossom as the lily and cast out his roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. Those who dwell under his shadow shall return…" (vs 4-7).
This means that Ephraim is going to be instrumental in bringing people to God during the Millennium.
"…they shall revive like the grain, and grow like the vine. Their scent shall be as the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim shall say, 'What have I to do any more with idols?' I have heard him and watched him; I am like a leafy cypress tree. Your fruit is found from Me." (vs 7-8).
Verse 9: "Who is wise? He shall understand these things. Who has understanding? He shall know them, for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them; but transgressors shall fall in them."
It's quite a plea to God, and I think what is really interesting and profound is the love of God is demonstrated all the way through. So, when we get excited about things happening at the end and God is going to punish, God doesn't want us to stand up and wield the punishment mallet over people's heads and joy in the destruction that God is going to bring.
No! He wants us to be sorrowful, and help those, if we can, who are going to be subjected to this, that they could repent.
It's quite a story in the book of Hosea, and I'm sure here's a lot more in there. But, with an overview, this gives us a good indication of what God was doing.
All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version
Scriptural References:
- Hosea 7:1-16
- Hosea 8:1
- Deuteronomy 28:43-52
- Hosea 8:2-12
- Psalm 119:18
- Hosea 8:13-14
- Hosea 9:1-2, 7, 9, 17
- Hosea 10:1
- John 15:1-7
- Hosea 10:1-2
- James 1:2-8
- Hosea 10:2-6, 12-15
- Hosea 11:1-12
- Hosea 12:1-14
- Hosea 13:1-16
- Hosea 14:1-9
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Exodus 24
- Revelation 11
- John 10
- Revelation 3:7-21
- Ezekiel 37
FRC: bo
Transcribed: 11/24/17
