Hosea 2:8

Hosea 2:8 says, For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.  It was a very sad testimony to the people of Israel, God's chosen people, that they did not even recognize where all the good things in their lives came from.  We today as followers of Christ must never think that the good things that we have in life are a result of our own actions. God gives us all that we need to be secure in this world, because nothing here can ever last. What will last is our relationship with God.  We must never feel that what we have in this world is a result of our own efforts and therefore have nothing to do with God.  The people of Israel had lost sight of the fact that God was their provider, and had started to attribute their success to the false god's of the world.  Verse nine adds, Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.  God gave them a warning.  They may have felt secure in their position in the world, but they had forgotten God. They may have felt all that they had was theirs and had nothing to do with God, but God was about to remind them everything in this world is His.  When God removes His protection and provisions from us, we are truly stripped bare.  As God's people, we must always acknowledge that everything we have belongs to God.  It is by God's love and mercy that we have our needs met daily, and we must always give Him the praise and glory. Verse ten states, And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.  God was giving Israel notice that they could no longer hide their idolatry.  God also told them that their false gods could not save them.  We must understand the same thing.  When we become committed to false gods, God will let us know that He is aware of it, and the false gods will not be able to save us.  Verse eleven adds, I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.  I believe that God was telling the people of Israel that there could be no lasting joy through false religious practices.  God is the One Who can bring true peace and joy, and when we turn against Him, He removes that peace and joy in life.  Verse twelve continues, And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.  Though the people of Israel were giving credit for their physical well-being to other gods, they were warned that God was about to remove His protective hand from them. We may feel that we or some other group are responsible the blessings that we have in life, but as followers of Christ, we must always acknowledge that we owe it all to Him.  Verse thirteen concludes, And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.  The people of Israel had turned to false gods, but they still called themselves God's people.  We today must be careful that we aren't guilty of the same thing.  God said they had forgotten Him, but He was to remind them that He was the true God.

Hosea 1:8

Hosea 1:8 says, Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.  Verse two adds, Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.  After a time, when their daughter was older, they had another son.  Hosea was told to name him Loammi, which means for you are not My people.  So far, the only prophecies that we have recorded of Hosea were his marriage and the birth and naming of his children.  As followers of Christ today we need to acknowledge that God reaches out to the world through our lives.  We need to live our lives so that even the ordinary, everyday events are a witness to God.  Loammi means you are not my people.  This was a message to those who prided themselves on being Gods people, but then refused to follow His leadership.  God did not forsake them but allowed them to suffer the consequences of abandoning Him. We need to understand today, that as followers of Christ, if we stop following God in everyday life, we will be allowed to suffer the consequences of that failure.  This does not mean that we are no longer saved, but it does mean we become ineffective in our witness for Christ.  Though they still thought of themselves as the people of God, simply by the fact of their birth, God said that by their actions they proved themselves to be not His people.  The way we live our lives today should show Christ to the world.  Verse ten adds, Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.  God still had not forgotten His promise to Abraham.  The promise was made in relationship to the covenant between God and those seed of Abraham who followed God in faith.  The number of those who were following God faithfully might have dwindled, but there was coming a day when God's way to redemption would be put in place, and then the followers of God would come from all people in all the world, not just the nation of Israel.  This had been the role of Israel, to proclaim God to the whole world, but they had become exclusive, feeling superior to the Gentiles.  God promised that in that place where it was said that they were not His people that they would become much more, being called the sons of the living God.  We know that this is what happened when Christ came to redeem all mankind, and the gospel went to all people.  Verse eleven concludes, Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.  Though Judah and Israel were now divided, there was coming a day when they would again be united into one nation.  The Jews would be reunited, but the gospel would go to the Gentiles as well.  The descendants of Abraham were to be God's people by faith in Him, but they had come to believe that they were His simply by being born into nation of Israel or Judah, in this case. When Christ came, He came to save everyone who believed in and professed Him as Savior and Lord. We as followers of Christ must be careful that we don't start believing that we are God's children based on where we were born or any other factor except faith in Christ.

Hosea 1:6

Hosea 1:6 says, And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. We are still looking at God working through Hosea's family live to reveal His prophecy for Israel.  We should be closely aligned with the will of God today so that He can work through us to reveal Himself and His will to the world.  Hosea and Gomer had a second child, a daughter, who Hosea was instructed to name Loruhamah, which means not beloved or not having obtained mercy.  If we were instructed by God to name a child with a name such as this, would we do it?  They now had a son and a daughter, and both were named to signify God's displeasure with His chosen people, Israel.  The sons and daughters of Israel had all gone astray from the will of God.  God told Hosea that He would have no mercy on the house of Israel, but He would utterly take them away.  God had not failed in His covenant with the people of Israel, but they had failed in their covenant with Him.  As followers of Christ, we are in a covenant relationship with God through accepting salvation through the sacrifice of Christ.  We need to take care that we never allow the circumstances of the world to come between the will of God and us.  In their time of success, Israel had turned away from God.  Verse seven adds, 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.  The people of God were divided at this time into the nation of Israel and the nation Judah.  God had not divided the kingdom, but the people had.  Here, God tells Hosea that He will have mercy on the house of Judah.  God was going to save them, not by their own military might, but by His mercy.  We may often look for our security to our worldly power, but we can truly find security only in the sustaining power of God.  We might be the most powerful nation in the world, but if we do not rely on God's mercy for our redemption and strength, then we are doomed to ultimate failure.  The people of Israel thought God would protect them, even if they did not follow His laws.  They were mistaken, and so will we be if we have the same attitude.  To be God's people requires that we are His in everything we do.  It is only by the mercy of God that we have hope.

Hosea 1:1

Hosea 1:1 says, The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.  We are not told how the word of the Lord came to Hosea, only that it did and that Hosea recognized it as God's word.  Hosea was called to be a prophet at a young age and prophesied for many years.  Verse adds, The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.  This is really not what we would expect as a way to follow God. Hosea was told by God to go and take a wife who was a prostitute, and that this would be representative of the relationship between God and His chosen people.  They were chasing other gods, and not remaining true to the One real God.  If we felt that God was leading us to do the same thing today, would we obey, knowing without a doubt that it was indeed God directing us?  Hosea had a relationship with God that was close enough for him to know God's voice, however he heard it.  We need that same closeness with God today.  Verse three continues, So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.  Hosea obeyed God, and took Gomer to be his wife, and they had a son.  Hosea was a young prophet, and could have questioned the word of God, but instead he chose to obey it.  We as followers of Christ today must be willing to carry out God's will for our lives, even if we do not understand why God directs us to do certain things.  Hosea could have thought he certainly misunderstood God's instructions, but instead simply obeyed.  I believe Hosea loved Gomer, just as God loved His people even as they were chasing other gods.  We know that Hosea and Gomer's relationship was to be representative of God and His relationship to His chosen people.  Though Hosea may have known that at first, it was only truly revealed as he lived in obedience to God's call.  We are not assured that we will always understand what God is doing through us as we follow Him in obedience to His will, but if we fail to follow, we will never understand.  Hosea obeyed God, and so must we.  Having just finished the book of Romans, we know that God's people continued to rebel against Him.  Verse four concludes, 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. God told Hosea what to name his soon and the significance of that name.  Jezreel signifies the seed of God, but also can mean the scattered of God.  Those who were the seed of God through the promise to Abraham were about to be scattered because of their disobedience to the will of God.

Romans Review

There are some important things pointed out to us in Romans.  I believe one is that we don't always get to do what we want to do in serving God.  Paul wanted to go and preach the gospel where it had never been preached before, but was often threatened or imprisoned instead.  As followers of Christ, we must make sure that we are obedient to the will of God, even when it does not agree with our plans. We must continue to witness for Christ, no matter our circumstances.  Had Paul given up when threatened or imprisoned, we would not have much of the scripture of the New Testament.  Paul tells us that he was not ashamed of the gospel, and neither should we be.  We may be mocked or even persecuted for our faith in Christ, but we are never to be ashamed or afraid to present the gospel of Christ to the world. We can be certain that God is with us for time everlasting.  We are to boldly present His salvation plan to the world.  Paul also tells us that we are to work together as followers of Christ.  Everyone has a purpose, and God will make that purpose known to us.  When all believers work together, each filling their own role, we will be much more effective than if we all attempt to do what we want to do instead of what God called us to do.  When one person does not fulfill their calling, that does not mean that proclaiming the gospel will stop.  It will be as with the parable of the talents. The one who attempts to bury his talent, or calling, will lose it, and it will be given to someone who will use it.  The one who doesn't follow God's call for the way he or she is to serve simply loses the joy that their service would bring.  Paul tells us we are to present ourselves to God, as living sacrifices, which is a reasonable demand.  God does not force salvation on anyone, and that He asks us to be His willing servants is a very reasonable request, since He sent His only begotten Son to die to bring salvation to mankind.  Christ died for us, so we are asked to live our lives for Him if we are His followers. Salvation is inclusive, not exclusive. Christ did not die to take away the sins of some of the world, but for all the sins of everyone for all time.  The only thing we must do is accept this in faith.  Once we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, then we are commissioned to share the gospel with everyone, even those that we may not like and those who may hate us.  Paul tells us that we are to obey the law.  I believe the qualifier would be unless it goes against God's law.  Then, we should be willing to face the consequences of not obeying as we stand firm in our faith.

Hosea 2:1

Hosea 2:1 says, Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah. There was to come a day when the people of God, those in both Israel and Judah, would again be called His people after they were delivered by His mercy.  This promise was not just to the Jews, but to the Gentiles as well.  Verse two adds, Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;  We have to remember that the church is called the bride of Christ, and the seed of Abraham were also to be in a relationship with God based on that same spiritual closeness.  God had entered into a relationship with Abraham and made promises to him based on Abraham and his descendants being faithful to Him. He alone was to be their God, but they became adulterous, chasing after other god's.  God asked those who were truly His to plead with those who had started chasing after other god's to return to Him.  The people of the nation of Israel at that time were not God's people due to their idolatry, but God waited to restore them to that right relationship if they would return to Him.  There are people today who are relying on earthly things to make them right with God, but it can only happen through a spiritual relationship based on faith in Christ alone.  Verse three continues, Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.  I believe that God was warning His people, those who professed to be His in name only, that He was going to remove His protection from them.  When we are no longer protected by God's mercy, we are indeed stripped bare of all defence against the evil of this world.  Since Christ is the living water that will keep us from thirsting again, we will die of spiritual thirst without Him.  Verse four states, And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.  God was warning the people of Israel that He was no longer going to have mercy on them, because they were no longer His children spiritually.  We today need to be wary of allowing ourselves to profess to be followers of God when we are still chasing after the things of this world.  Verse five adds, For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.  Though this may have been what was occurring in the life of Hosea, it was a message to the people of Israel about their relationship with God.  They were looking to the world to provide their needs and rejecting their relationship with God.  We may think that we can find security in material possessions and not really need a close, personal relationship with God, but we only deceive ourselves.  Verse six continues, Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.  We need to remember that this was a call to the people of God to return to Him spiritually.  God hedges us from sin if we allow Him to, but sin can become a hedge between us and God's will if we allow it to.  Verse seven concludes, And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.  I believe God is telling us that we will never be able to find satisfaction thorough any false god, and only when we realize this and return to Him will we find true satisfaction in this world.  Nothing but obedience to the will of God can accomplish this.  God had not deserted the nation of Israel, but they had deserted Him.  We cannot be God's people if we are still serving the false gods of this world.

I will take a break from the study today to speak once more of Momma, Nadine Rice Dobbs.  A year ago today, she took here final breath here on earth and drew her first one in heaven.  She was in a lot of pain the last few months here, but that pain is no more.  She had a lot of difficulty even walking, and the last few weeks couldn't even walk at all.  I think about how now she is walking free and easy on the streets of gold, with no back pain and strong legs that easily carry her where she needs to go.  She hated to give up her Sunday School class, but now she can learn at the feet of the Savior.  Time has moved on for those of us left behind, but for her time no longer has meaning.  She was not restored to wholeness only to get old and start suffering again.  Through her faith in her personal Savior, Jesus Christ, she is victorious over not only death but also all the pains of this cruel world.  By the way, that is the only way to victory over death, through a personal relationship by faith with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Momma traveled more the last few years of her life than even sho would have thought possible.  Yet, all that pales in comparison to the trip she embarked on a year ago.  I cannot tell you exactly where heaven is located, but I can tell you that it is far removed from this old world.  We go by the grave site from time to time.  My wife was there yesterday.  The truth is though, since the first of July last year, momma has never been there.  Since daddy and momma had their graves and headstones already in place, she had seen it before, but not since that day a year ago. She has no need to see that last date inscribed on the head stone, because that is the day her everlasting life started with no barriers, and time ceased to have any bearing.   There were over eleven years of time that passed here between the time that daddy died and momma died, but for them as they stroll around heaven, the time has no meaning.  We have gone through many firsts without momma, but she is always at the first of her everlasting life.   My spell check keeps asking me if I want to add momma to the dictionary, but I choose not to.  It is the name my brother, sister and I always called her by, and it is in my heart, so it doesn't matter if my dictionary acknowledges it.  So, as another day leading into another year begins here, I just want to say that even though you are missed by many, I am glad you are in your home of everlasting joy and peace, Momma.  Love always, from your number two son.