Hosea 9:11

Hosea 9:11 says, As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.  The glory that Ephraim felt in their own ability apart from God's will was going to fly away like a bird.  God's people had been separated by God so that He might protect them as they followed His will.  They were now filled with self-pride and didn't feel the need for God, so He was going to remove His protection and let them fall.  They would no longer be a nation set aside for God from the time they were born but would be scattered throughout the land until they returned to Him.  We as followers of Christ are set aside for His purpose, not from the time we are born, but from the time we are born again through faith in Christ.  If we begin to stray from God's will, we will be allowed to suffer the consequences of that straying or rebellion.  Verse twelve adds, Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them! Children were still being born into the nation of Israel, and God had already told the parents that it was their responsibility to teach them about Him.  Since they had failed not only to teach them about God, but also led them to follow false gods, the nation was going to be destroyed.  We still have that responsibility today.  We are to teach our children about God, so that they will come to Him through faith in Christ.  Still, the responsibility for accepting Christ lies with them.  If we fail to reach the next generation, the church, the followers of Christ, will cease to exist.  Verse thirteen continues, Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer.  Those who were called God's people, but who had rejected Him in fact, were going to lose His protection, and without it, they were doomed.  When we decide to live by our own strength instead of under God's guidance and protection, we too will fail in this life, no matter how successful we think we are.  Verse fourteen states, Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.  The people of Israel were to be a great nation because of their relationship to God, but they had forgotten that.  We, as followers of Christ, are made great through our relationship to God, and never of our own worth.  We must never forget that fact. Verse fifteen adds, All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.  God said because of their wickedness, He would drive them out of His house.  Today, if we begin to give in to sin, though we do not lose our salvation, we may be driven out from under God's protection in this world.  As followers of Christ, God gives us abundant life, not just occasional peace and joy.  When we doubt Him, we lose these things.  Verse sixteen continues, Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.  God's people, when living under their own abilities, lost their claim to be God's.  Verse seventeen concludes, My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.  Though there is now a nation of Israel once more, they were indeed without a country for many centuries.  Though they continue to call themselves God's people, the still reject Christ as their Savior, and we must accept His salvation to truly be God's people.

Hosea 9:7

Hosea 9:7 says, The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred. Can you imagine how Hosea must have felt bringing this message to Israel?  They felt that they were so successful that they didn't even need to remain faithful to God, yet Hosea continued to tell them they were going to be destroyed.  Many false prophets prophesied of prosperity to come so they would be popular with Israel, but Hosea proclaimed the truth.  The days of destruction were at hand, and there was nothing the people of Israel could do to delay that fact, other than return to God, which they refused to do.  There would be no doubt to Israel that Hosea was accurate in his prophecy.  There are people today who promise that as long as we simply claim to be God's people, whether we are actually following His will and His teachings or not, that everything will be all right.  Being one of God's people, His children, requires more than simply speaking the right words.  It requires a whole new attitude and change of heart.  God said the prophets of Israel were fools and the spiritual men were mad, because they really were not seeking God's guidance and protection.  Their sin and hatred were great, and that was not what God had called them to be ruled by.  We today are called to witness to people with the love of God and not with hatred in our hearts.  Verse eight adds, The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.  God's prophets had been His watchmen over the people of Ephraim, and the whole nation of Israel.  Now, they were following false prophets who were snare to their relationship with God.  Instead of the house of God being a place of refuge and worship, it had become a place of hatred.  I believe this applied not only to the people's attitude toward others, but also to their attitude toward God.  We cannot not love with all our heart and hate those around us and the way His word teaches us to live.  Verse nine continues, They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.  God's people were special because He had called them into a covenant relationship with Himself, but now they were turning away from that relationship.  It had happened before, and Israel had suffered for their rebellion.  God was telling the people of Israel at this time that they were no better than those who had turned away from Him before.  It would be wonderful if God's people always were always devoted to following His leadership, but we know that is not always the case.  Still, when we do fail, we must acknowledge that failure and ask for God's forgiveness and restoration before we find ourselves totally useless to Him.  Verse ten concludes, I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.  God was reminding the people of Israel that they weren't God's people because they were special, but that they were special because He chose them to work through to reveal Him to the world.  They had been true to God at first, but now had separated themselves from Him to their shame.  When we start to live without daily seeking God's direction, we become separated from God in our effectiveness.  Again, this does not mean that we have lost our salvation, but we have certainly lost our effectiveness for God.  This should cause us to feel shame for our actions and to repent and return to God, which Israel refused to do.

Hosea 9:1

Hosea 9:1 says, Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.  God's people were warned that they should not rejoice in their idolatry.  They were sacrificing the things of God to idols.  If we are putting our faith in the things of this world instead of God, we certainly have no reason to rejoice.  We must rejoice in faith in God alone.  Verse two says, The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her. While God's people looked to other gods for their deliverance, they were again warned of their ultimate failure.  We may feel secure in our place in the world, but if we are allowing anything to come between God and us, we can be certain that whatever it is will ultimately fail us.  Verse three continues, They shall not dwell in the LORD’s land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.  God's people were promised that without their obedience to Him that they would not be allowed to live in His land and under His protection.  We today, when we follow Christ, live in His land and under His everlasting protection, no matter where we are in the world.  Hosea told the people of Israel that they were going to eat unclean things in Assyria. They were already eating things that were spiritually unclean, but now they were going to be at the mercy of Assyria for their food.  When we turn away from God, everything we eat can be said to be spiritually unclean, even if we have gone through the motions of asking God to bless it.  God does not bless half-hearted obedience. We have to put Him first if we expect to be blessed by Him.  Verse four states, They shall not offer wine offerings to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD.  This verse continues what was being said in verse three.  The people of Israel would no longer be allowed to offer sacrifices to God, and even if they went through the motions, the sacrifice would not be accepted, because they had turned their backs on God.  There was a second warning, that the bread of their soul would not come from God.  When we are not in God's will, we cannot expect to be spiritually filled.  Verse five adds, What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD? Now that Israel had turned away from God, and their sacrifices were no longer acceptable to Him, God asked them what they were going to do on those solemn days of worship. They weren't willing to acknowledge God, so what were they to do when they should have been worshipping Him?  We need to understand that just because we show up for religious services, that does not mean that God has to accept our worship if we are out of His will.  God might indeed ask us what we are going to do instead.  Verse six continues, For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant places for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns shall be in their tabernacles.  God told Israel in no uncertain terms that their nation was going to be destroyed.  The people would still live, but they would live under the authority and power of another nation.  We today when we reject God's will lose the freedom, He gave us through salvation and place our lives back under the authority and power of sin.  Though we may live, we are dead to the joy of salvation.

Hosea 8:7

Hosea 8:7 says, For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.  Israel turning away from God and turning to idols was compared to sowing the wind.  Israel could not expect to reap good crops by simply throwing seeds into the wind.  The worship of idols was as useful as throwing empty hope into the wind. There could never be any satisfaction in it.  Everything that the people of Israel thought they had gained would never bring satisfaction, and they stood in danger of reaping the whirlwind of God's destruction. We need not be fooled, because sin will always lead to destruction.  Verse eight adds, Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.  Hosea was warning the people of Israel that they were to be defeated and no longer a distinct nation of God.  They were to be under the rule of the Gentiles, because they had become a vessel that brought no pleasure to God.  We today, if we individually or as a nation, cease to follow God's direction, we will bring no pleasure to Him, and though if we are truly His through faith in Christ, we will ultimately be victorious over the evil of this world, we may find ourselves temporarily defeated.  God assures us that when we put our faith in Him that He will never let us be permanently taken away from Him.  Verse nine continues, For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.  God's people were compared to a wild ass.  They would not accept the guidance of God but went on headstrong in their own way.  They were attempting to buy friendship and protection from the Assyrians instead of remaining faithful to God.  We today can never find eternal security anywhere but through faith in God. Verse ten states, Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes.  The people of Israel were to experience sorrow because of their alliance with Assyria.  I believe that Hosea was giving them some hope with the statement that God would gather them again.  If we are God's through faith in Christ, if we stray, we may suffer a little while, but He will gather us again.  Verse eleven adds, Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.  God had instructed His people to build altars and make sacrifices to Him, but even though they had made many altars, they were not for God, but for the idols that they worshipped.  As God's people, we need to make sure that we are not sacrificing to false gods in our lives today.  Again, any time we put our faith in anyone or anything but God, we are guilty of worshipping at a false altar.  Verse twelve continues the basic problem, saying, I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.  God's people had His law, but they counted it not as a great truth, but as a strange concept.  We can never decide that what God teaches us through His word is something that we find strange and not worth following.  Verse thirteen says, They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the LORD accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.  Empty worship will never be acceptable to God.  The people of Israel were still going through the motions of sacrificing to God, but they were doing it without any faith in God.  God had delivered them from Egypt, but they had turned their backs on Him and now He was going to allow them to be overthrow again.  God through Christ has delivered us from the power of sin, but if we allow our faith in Him to waver, we will be allowed to suffer for it.  God wants more than empty worship from His people.  Verse fourteen adds, For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.  God's people had forgotten God, the Maker of all. They were putting their faith in the powers of the world, and God warned them that He was still the only source of strength and security.  We must put our faith in God alone, because everything else will ultimately fail.

Hosea 8:1

Hosea 8:1 says, Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.  God through Hosea was making His warning to His people very clear.  Israel was His in name only, but they had broken the covenant God had made with them.  When people who call themselves Christians add to or take anything away from salvation through Christ then God will give His warning.  If we are truly His followers and start to stray, God will sound the alarm in our hearts, and then we need to repent and return to following His will.  Verse two adds, Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.  Even as they rebelled against His covenant, Israel would cry to God that they knew Him.  Just professing to know God without accepting Christ as Savior and Lord does not make us His. We must allow the Holy Spirit to direct our actions and give us peace and security.  Israel cried that they knew God, but their actions denied it.  Verse three continues, Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.  Israel had cast of their covenant relationship with God, that thing that was good.  Anytime we look to the things of the world for strength and security instead of looking to God, we are casting off that which is good.  Verse four states, They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off. The people of Israel had set up kings without consulting God.  As followers of Christ, we need to consult God before we elect leaders.  We may not always have a very good choice, but we must ask God's direction in our choosing the person to vote for.  Israel had turned their silver and gold into idols, and though we may not actually build idols, we can start to worship our silver and gold.  We may want what is best for us financially instead of what is best for everyone, especially those who are less fortunate than we are.  Verse five adds, Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?  God told them that their idols had failed them and asked them how long it would be before they returned to Him.  They could only attain innocence through the mercy and forgiveness of God.  This is still true today.  If we stray from God, we need to look to Him for forgiveness.  Verse six continues, For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces. My God, we know thee.  Idols made by hand will never be God, and ultimately will be broken into pieces.  God alone is God, and anything else we put above Him will ultimately be destroyed.

Hosea 7:8

Hosea 7:8 says, Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.  God here refers again to Ephraim, one of the families, or tribes, of Israel.  Though not all of the tribes are singled out, they had all turned away from acknowledging God and following His leadership.  There is another analogy to baking.  Ephraim was like a cake that had not been turned, burning on one side and still doughy on the other.  They tried to follow God at times while still chasing after false gods.  They had allowed the world to guide them as they mixed with the people of the world.  They did not set themselves apart for God.  We have a commission to go into the world, but we can never allow the sinful nature of those we witness to become more important than remaining true to God.  Verse nine adds, Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.  I believe God was telling the people of Ephraim that the world had stolen their strength, which came from God, and they didn't even realize it.  They had gotten so far away from God and so committed to the world that they did not even realize that they had lost the source of their strength.  Today, we must always remember that as followers of Christ, God alone is the source of our strength. We need not look to the powers of the world for security, because our security rests in God alone.  Verse ten continues, And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this.  Israel had been pulled away from God by their own self pride.  They no longer looked to God for their strength, even as they were about to fall captive to another nation.  We must always look to God for our strength in the world today.  Verse eleven states, Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.  We equate a dove with peace, but Ephraim was called a dove without a heart.  They may have wanted peace, but they had no heart for God where peace could be found.  Instead of staying under the protection of God, they looked to Assyria for protection.  Verse twelve adds, When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.  God does not allow His people to wander away without warning.  God calls to His people with His mercy, but if they do not return, He will come to them in judgment.  As His people, when we do not follow God in our lives we should expect to be chastised.  Sin separates us from God, and when we allow sin back into our lives, looking anywhere other than to God for our safety and security, we need to have God correct, or to chastise us.  Verse thirteen continues, Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.  God's people had fled from Him, and destruction awaited them.  No power in the world could save them.  God had redeemed them, but they rejected Him. I believe this warning applies to us today.  If we claim to be God's people but look anywhere else for peace and security, we are headed for woe or disappointment.  Verse fourteen says, And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me. We have to wonder why God's people did not call to Him for deliverance, but we today as followers of Christ can be guilty of the same thing.  We look to the world for security and do not call on God.  We need to remain committed to God no matter what the situation of the world may be. Verse fifteen adds, Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me.  God had given the people of Israel their strength as a nation, but they looked on Him without respect.  They had more faith in the power of other nations than they did in the power of God. As followers of Christ, we need to look to God alone for strength and deliverance.  Verse sixteen continues, They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.  When God's people began to look to other nations for deliverance, instead of looking to God, they found themselves captives once again.  We must look to God in all that we do to avoid being taken captive by sin once again.  Though if we are truly followers of Christ, we will not lose our salvation, we can certainly lose the joy and peace that it should bring if we do not always put our faith in God.  No power in this world can bring true peace and security.  That can be found in God alone.

Hosea 7:1

Hosea 7:1 says, When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without.  God was waiting ready to restore Israel, but they chose to still live in wickedness and chase after sinful practices.  They committed a falsehood, in that they claimed to be God's people but did not follow His leadership.  Thieves and robbers were everywhere.  When we begin to take the things of God for our own purposes, then we are living a falsehood.  As God's people, we must acknowledge His will in all that we do.  Verse two adds, And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face.  The people of Israel might have thought that God did not know of their iniquity, but He was reminding them that there are no sins that are a secret to God.  God said that their sins were before His face, as are ours, where they will remain until they, and we today, come to Him in true repentance and He puts them out of His sight forever.  Only God can remove the stain of sin from our lives.  Verse three continues, They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.  The people of Israel were living to make the king and princes happy instead of living to make God happy.  When we start to live to make those in power happy instead of living to please God, we stand guilty before God.  Verse four states, They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.  The people of God were no longer leavened with God's word, but had become flat, useless to anyone, especially God.  They needed to be leavened, made alive again, by God's word.  Verse five adds, In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.  The leaders had become sickened with wine and were reaching out to those who scorned God.  Earthly pleasure and false Gods ruled them.  Verse six continues, For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.   Verse seven concludes, They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me.  I believe that God was telling them that they burned with the lusts of the flesh with no one to check the flame.  The priests and kings had turned away from God, and there was no one left of God's chosen people who called out to Him.  We need to make sure that our hearts burn for following the will of God, not the lusts of the flesh, or we too are in danger of having our witnessing for God burned away.