Hosea 1
COMMENTARY:
: 2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea, And the LORD said to Hosea, Go take to you’re a wife of whoredoms, for the land has committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD. (2183 “whoredoms” [zanuum] means adultery, fornications, prostitution, idolatry, commerce, or the figurative extension of an illicit relationship to a pagan deity.)
DEVOTION: We are told to share our toys with others. We are told that we need to give to others. These are lessons we need to learn early in life. God wants us to share our possessions with those who are less fortunate.
God doesn’t like to share one thing WORSHIP. HE wants to be the only one HIS people worship. The children of Israel or the ten tribes set up two golden calves to worship because Jeroboam didn’t want the people of the ten tribes to go to Jerusalem to worship the LORD. He thought if he gave a substitute to worship the people would stay home. And he was right. They not only worshiped the calves but also the other false gods of the land.
HE was married to Israel and they were not faithful. God wants us to be faithful to our spouse and to HIM. Unfaithfulness robs us of blessing. It robbed Israel of blessing and brought judgment because they continued in it for years.
We can confess our sin of wanting to share worship with other things. What do we worship? Right now it could be football, baseball, or any other sport. We worship some of our possessions as we look at them as more important than God. HE knows who and what we worship and HE will at times take it from us to show us that HE wants us to totally worship HIM alone.
CHALLENGE: How close are you to the LORD today? Does HE have our undivided attention?
: 4 And the LORD said unto him, Call his 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 the kingdom of the house of Israel. (6485 “avenge” [paqad] means attend to, visit, appoint, make a search, take up the cause of, call to account, assign, or punish.)
DEVOTION: Memory of the LORD is good. HE doesn’t work in our time but in HIS time. HE gives many warnings to the children of Israel of coming judgment because of their worship of false gods.
Here HE remembers the blood that Ahab spilt to obtain the land of Jezreel. His wife ordered the killing of the owner of the land because Ahab wanted it for a garden.
God used Jehu to call to account the household of Ahab. They were all killed but Jehu went too far in his killing of those he didn’t like. He killed people the LORD didn’t order him to kill. There was going to be a judgment even if it took a while. The children of Israel were going into captivity because of their unfaithfulness to the LORD.
The nation of Israel or the ten tribes would be no longer. When they returned from captivity it was a blend of Israel and Judah that returned to rebuilt Jerusalem.
The LORD is long suffering but HE is just. HE is being longsuffering with us as a nation but also with us as a church. We are not as faithful to our responsibilities as HE would like us to be. Our first assignment was to go into all the nations with the gospel of salvation. We seem to have lost our drive to serve the LORD in that way. All believers are to be witnesses for the LORD.
The book of Revelation lists seven churches. Only one is praised. It was the missionary minded church that was reaching its neighbors for the LORD. Our church needs to be doing this today or the longsuffering of the LORD might end in America.
CHALLENGE: Are we attending a Biblical church that is faithful to the LORD on a regular basis?
: 7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen. (3467 “save” [yasha] means be delivered, help, preserved, rescue, to be liberated, or be victorious.)
DEVOTION: Hosea is given a message to the nation of Israel before they are taken into captivity. Israel made up the Northern ten tribes of the children of Israel. The Northern tribes had revolted against the son of Solomon. They had set up the golden calves to worship instead of worshipping in Jerusalem.
Hosea is commanded to marry a woman who would in the future not be faithful to him. They would have children with names that show the present relationship between the LORD and Israel. Israel had departed from the LORD and was worshipping idols on a regular basis. They were unfaithful to the LORD.
Judah was presently held in the hand of the LORD in mercy. The LORD promises to save Judah from their enemies, but not by any normal means. Remember the fight is always the LORD. We read that the LORD delivered Judah from Assyria by killing 185,000 soldiers in one night. It was HIS way of helping Judah.
After Hosea and Gomer had three children that have negative names there is a promise of a future restoration. This future restoration will take place after a time of captivity. They would seek HIM again. They would be called the sons of the LIVING God.
HE has promised that whatever situation we find ourselves in HE is with us. HE has promised never to leave us or forsake us. HE is the one who gives us daily strength.
Who are we? It is all those who have chosen to follow Jesus. Isn’t it great to know that we have a LIVING GOD we can trust in for our daily needs? Hosea believed in a living God. How alive is our God in our daily walk with HIM?
Our nation is departing from the LORD. It is evident in the laws that are being passed in our courts. It is evident in our homes and schools. In spite of it all we need to realize the LORD is with those who are faithful.
CHALLENGE: Dependence on the LORD is the key to understanding the Bible. Israel didn’t and Judah did at this time. Our time is now. We need to depend on the LORD fully in the coming months. HE knows what is happening in our nation.
:10 “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said to them, You are not MY people, there it shall be said to them, You are sons of the living God.’ (2416 “living” [chay] means alive, perhaps with respect to the God of Israel as having absolute being, life, vigorous, flourishing, prosperous, exist, or fresh.)
DEVOTION: Hosea is a book of God’s judgment on Israel. He is telling the two tribes of Judah about what is going to happen to Israel (the ten tribes) because of her worship of false gods. It is a warning to Judah that they too will go into captivity if they continue to worship other gods.
However, this first chapter ends with a promise of hope in the future. The children of Israel will return from captivity as one nation again. They will be forgiven and renamed the “sons of the living God.”
Our God is a forgiving God. HE is not waiting for us to fail so that HE can judge us for all the wrongs we are doing. HE wants us to serve HIM and if we don’t HE will send chastening.
After the chastening has turned us back to serving HIM, HE will bless us. Here is a promise to Israel that they will return in great numbers. They will have one head. This could be the time period when the Messiah will reign as king during the Millennium.
Isn’t it great to move from being judged for sin to a position of being called the “sons of the living God?” Wow, we serve a forgiving God. HE knows we will never be perfect but HE does expect change as we mature in HIM.
Those who are New Testament believers will know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and will have a desire to serve HIM for the rest of their life. If there is a time when we sin and need correcting HE will sent it to bring us back to HIM. If this fails HE will cause us to die because of our unrepentant spirit. HE wants to bless but HE will not bless us if we continue to sin without confession.
CHALLENGE: We serve a living God who watches over us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We are not to grieve the Holy Spirit’s work in our life.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of the LORDverses 1, 2
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 1, 2, 4, 7
I will avenge the blood of Jezreelverse 4
I will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israelverse 4
I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreelverse 4
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name)verses 6, 7, 9, 10
I will no more have mercy on the house of Israelverse 6
I will utterly take them awayverse 6
I will have mercy upon the house of Judahverse 7
I will save the house of Judahverse 7
LORD their Godverse 7
I will not save by bow, sword, nor by battle by horses or by horsemenverse 7
Living Godverse 10
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
House of Jehuverse 4
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Whoredomverse 2
Departing from the LORDverse 2
Worshiping false godsverse 2
Departing from the LORDverse 2
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Mercyverses 6, 7
Saveverse 7
Sons of the living Godverse 10
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Hosea – song of Beeriverses 1, 2
LORD told him to take a wife of whoredoms
Uzziah – king of Judahverse 1
Jotham – king of Judahverse 1
Ahaz – king of Judahverse 1
Hezekiah – king of Judahverse 1
Jeroboam – son of Joash – king of Israelverse 1
Israelverses 1, 4-6, 11
Gomer – wife of Hosea – wife of whoredomverse 3
Bare Hosea a son: Jezreel
Diblaim – father of Gomerverse 3
Jezreel – son of Hoseaverses 4, 11
House of Jehuverse 4
Kingdom of the house of Israel – ceaseverse 4
Valley of Jezreelverse 5
Loruhamah – daughter of Hoseaverses 6, 8
weaned
Lo-ammi – son of Hoseaverse 9
means: you are not MY people
I will not be your God
Children of Israel shall be numbered as the sand of the seaverse 10
You are the sons of the living Godverse 10
Children of Judahverse 11
Children of Israelverse 11
Day of Jezeelverse 11
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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