Hosea 11:1

Hosea 11:1 says, When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.  When Israel was as a child, looking to God for their deliverance, God called them His children.  God had delivered them out of Egypt, not just with their lives, but with a purpose.  They were to show God's love and mercy to the people around them and rely on God for their strength.  We, as followers of Christ, have been freed from the power and penalty of sin, becoming children of God.  Yet too often we place ourselves back under the power of sin.  The penalty has been paid by Christ, but we can still put our lives under the power of sin.  Anytime we fail to follow God, Who has redeemed us by His mercy, we allow sin to have power over us once more.  We must remember that the devil cannot make us do anything, but we can choose to give in to the temptation that he leads us to.  Verse two adds, As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images. The temptation of the world, of those false gods, called to God's people, and they followed.  God through His power had made them His people and protected them, but they wanted what they thought was more that was promised by false gods.  We today may be tempted to chase after any number of false gods, but we need to remember that through God alone can we find true peace and purpose.  Verse three continues, I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them. God was reminding His people that He had delivered and healed them, but they no longer acknowledged this.  We cannot become so self-satisfied that we begin to feel that we do not need God. So often, when we think we have accomplished something great in life it is because God has been working through us without our even realizing it.  God was the reason for the success of Israel, but they didn't acknowledge it.  Verse four states, I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.  God was continuing to remind the people of Israel of all that He had done for them.  We shouldn't need that reminder.  When we are following God's leadership, we will always know that He is the reason for every good thing in our lives.  Verse five adds, He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return. Israel was not going back to Egypt, but since they refused to return to God, they were going away into captivity.  When we turn away from God as followers of Christ, we do not go back under the everlasting death sentence of sin, but we do put ourselves back under the power of sin.  We cannot be neutral.  We either follow God or we follow sin.  Verse six continues, And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.  When Israel followed their own council instead of the council or leadership of God, they were destroyed.  As followers of Christ today, when we follow our own council instead of the council of God, we will have the things that we accomplish ultimately destroyed.  Only those things that we do under the leadership of God will bear everlasting fruit.

Hosea 10:8

Hosea 10:8 says, The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.  God was telling the people of Israel what was to come of their worshipping idols.  The high places where they committed the sin of idolatry were to be destroyed.  Soon, there would be no evidence of their existence.  The thorns and thistles would overtake them.  The same is true of any idol we allow to come between us and our relationship with God.  One day, they will no longer be remembered in the world or in heaven.  Still, Israel, those chosen to be God's people, would be looking to those high places for deliverance instead of returning to God.  If we allow things to get between God and us, we must look to God for forgiveness, and never be guilty of looking to those things that have failed us.  Verse nine adds, O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.  I believe Hosea was telling the people of Israel that God saw that their iniquity was greater than those of their forefathers.  As God's people, they were to represent Him to the world and lead the people around them to God.  Instead, they chose to be led by the world and bring dishonor to God.  As followers of Christ, we need to make sure that we lead the world to Him and never allow ourselves to be lead away from God.  Verse ten continues, It is in my desire that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows.  God did not desire their destruction but was going to allow them to be chastised for their disobedience.  When we are out of God's will, He will allow us to be chastised so that we might look to Him again for our strength.  Verse eleven states, And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods. I believe God was telling the people of Israel that they were all to become slaves to other nations.  They had been free to enjoy the fruits of their labor, but now were to be yoked to labor for others.  Verse twelve continues, Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.   God was calling for them to return to Him.  Their coming captivity was a result of their disobedience to God, but He stood ready to forgive them whenever they repented and returned to Him.  If we stray from God, He stands ready today to forgive and restore us.  We need to sow righteousness so that we may reap mercy.  I don't believe this means we are to work for restoration with God, but that when we return to Him righteousness will flow from us as we claim His mercy toward us.  Verse thirteen states, Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.  God's people were living wicked lives filled with iniquity because they had believed the lies of the world instead of the truth of God.  They put their faith in mighty men instead of God.  Verse fourteen adds, Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.  Israel was to be left without God's protection, and they would be completely destroyed.  If we allow anything to come between God and us, the results of our labor will ultimately be completely destroyed.  Verse fifteen continues, So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.  The kingdom of Israel was to be without a king and cease to exist as a separate nation because of their failing to keep their covenant relationship with God.  Through Christ, we enter into a covenant relationship with God, so we need to strive to live for Him.  When we do, we need not fear anyone or anything in this world. We are God's for time everlasting.

Hosea 10:1

Hosea 10:1 says, Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.  Though the people of Israel might have been prosperous, the prosperity was empty since it was based on their own strength and not God's power and protection.  The people of Israel had built many altars, but they weren't built to worship the one true God.  In our prosperity today we may build up many altars that we worship at, but unless they are built for glorifying God, they are empty altars.  Verse two adds, Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.  The heart of the people of God was divided.  This speaks of the nation as a whole. Their hearts no longer belonged to God alone, but they were attempting to make Him no more than just another God.  We today cannot serve God effectively if our heart is divided between God and the world. If we are to be a Christian nation, then we must put God first in all things.  Verse three continues, For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us? The people of Israel seemed to know that their problems came from not fearing God.  Again, this does not mean that they should have been trembling because of what God might arbitrarily do to them, but that they should have had an awesome respect for Him.  There was a time when Israel demanded an earthly king, someone that other nations could see, but now they were questioning what good it did to have a king.  If we begin to put our faith in earthly rulers and forget about God, we will soon be asking the same question.  Verse four states, They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.  Israel still claimed to be in a covenant relationship with God, but their words were empty or meaningless.  Unless we as followers of Christ are lead by the Holy Spirit in all that we do, we too are guilty of not living up to our covenant relationship with God.  If we are out of God's will then what we do will be like poison to our relationship with God.  Verse five adds, The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.  Israel was to mourn, not over breaking their covenant relationship with God, but over the failure of their idols to protect them.  Verse six continues, It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.  The idols that they built and worshipped were going to be given to the king of Assyria as a present.  Anything that we allow to become an idol in our lives will ultimately go to someone else.  Anything we put more faith in than what we put in God will never last.  It would be best if we tear down these idols, but if we don't, we can be sure that they will ultimately be torn down.  Verse seven concludes, As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water.  The earthly kings that Israel put their faith in were no more than foam on the water and would ultimately be destroyed as well. All that oppose God will ultimately be destroyed.

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.