Joel 1:8

Joel 1:8 says, Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.  I believe that Joel was calling the people of Judah to lament, or to mourn, because they had lost the husband of their youth, or their relationship with God.  The analogy of God, or in the New Testament of Christ, as the Groom and His people as the bride should be familiar to God's people.  Judah had turned away from their covenant relationship with God, and that should have caused them to mourn for that lost relationship.  If we are outside the complete will of God, we should mourn for that lost relationship. Verse nine adds, The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD’s ministers, mourn.  Since the people of Judah had rebelled against God, their sacrifices to Him were cut off.  This should have led the priests, God's ministers, to mo urn.  We must realize that just because we offer a sacrifice to God, that does not obligate Him to accept it.  If we are offering a sacrifice while not following God's will in our life, we are sacrificing in vain.  As followers of Christ, we acknowledge the priesthood of all believers, so if we see false worship going on around us, we should be in mourning.  Following God's will means putting Him first in all aspects of our lives, and not just in the words we speak.  Our words and actions must be consistent.  Verse ten continues, The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.  This is a continuation of the warning of the destruction of the land of God's people.  God had given them the land, but since they had turned against Him, they were going to lose it.  We can be sure of the same thing.  Verse eleven states, Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.  Having failed to live up to their commitment with God, their crops had failed, and they were told they should be ashamed.   When we are outside of the will of God, then anything we have looked to for success will ultimately fail, and for this we should be ashamed.  Through Christ, God has already given us victory in all situations if we rely on His strength.  Verse twelve adds, The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.  When the people were not following God, there was no true joy.  Today, our joy can only come through a right relationship with God.  Verse thirteen continues, Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.  It was time for God's people, even the priests, to genuinely repent.  When offerings were withheld from the altar of God, only genuine repentance could restore the m.  When we withhold things promised to God, we must likewise truly repent with broken hearts for our lack of faith.  Only then can we be fully restored to God.

Joel 1:1

Joel 1:1 says, The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.  This is where all true prophecy has to begin.  This is also where our proclamation of the gospel has to begin.  The word of the Lord must come to us.  As followers of Christ today, we must also acknowledge that God's word to us is going to be consistent with His written word, the Bible.  If anyone proclaims some new revelation that goes against the Bible, we need to stay away from them.  God's revelation of Himself to the world was completed in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Even though we are given some signs to look for before Christ returns, that should not be our emphasis.  Christ as Savior and Lord is our message today and always.  Verse two adds, Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?  Joel was referring to the destruction of their crops.  He was asking if the old men could remember a time when things were so bad.  Today, we hear about how bad things have gotten in the world, and the older people especially tend to say that things have continually gotten worse, especially from a moral aspect.  When the people of the world refuse to acknowledge God, the world will indeed continue to get worse.  Verse three continues, Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.  I believe that the people of Judah, who were still a part of God's chosen people, were being instructed to teach the coming generations about the destruction that comes when God's people are out of God's will.  We, all these generations later, still need to understand this. Verse four states, That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.  Joel was telling the people of Judah that their crops were going to be totally destroyed.  Though they had not acknowledged it, God had protected them from this destruction and had provided for them.  The same is true today.  God protects His people from destruction and provides for their needs when they follow His will. Anything that we sow outside of His will ultimately will be totally destroyed.  Verse five adds, Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.  Israel was called on to awake from their drunken state. They were going to be cut off from their new wine and would howl in need of it.  When we are out of God's will today, we need to awake from our stupor and quit looking to anything else to bring us peace and happiness.  Verse six continues, For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.  Not only were their crops to be destroyed, but they were to lose their freedom to another nation.  Without God, Judah was helpless.  Today, without God, we are helpless.  If we allow the things of this world to become more important than the will of God, we are likewise helpless.  We must always seek God's guidance first, or we can be overcome by the evil in the world.  Verse seven concludes, He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.  Destruction of earthly things that God's people relied on outside of following His will would be complete.  Even though we as followers of Christ have everlasting security, if we are attempting to rely on anything in this world other than God for security, whatever that is will ultimately be utterly destroyed.

Hosea Review Continued

Today, I am going to continue to review some of the things the Bible has taught us, not only in Hosea but in all the books.  It may seem that I am always putting Christians in a negative light, but nothing could be farther from the truth.  Today we as Christians need to be stronger than ever in our faith if we are going to be effective in reaching the world for Christ.  Just as God's people did throughout history, we cannot afford to look to the world for security.  This was something that Israel, God's chosen people, forgot over and over.  When they found themselves successful in the eyes of the world they tended to forget God and look to the world for security.  We today can be just as guilty.  Our success or failure does not rest in riches and the power of any government, but in our relationship with God.  From the nation of Israel's first desire for an earthly king, they began to continually fall out of their covenant relationship with God.  When we look to earthly rulers for security, and feel that God and His standards are unimportant, we begin to fall out of God's will for us.  Whether at any time in the history of Israel or in the world today, we must put God first in all things.  We also see that sacrifices made outside the will of God are more than useless, even if they are supposedly made to God.  They are an insult to God instead.  Again, we cannot just add God's name to what we are doing and expect Him to accept it if we haven't asked for His guidance to start with.  We need to remember that anything we give to God is His to start with.  Finally, we must acknowledge that God wants restoration with His people, and not punishment of them.  God stands ready to forgive everyone, but He leaves it up to each individual to accept that forgiveness.  God is not vindictive but merciful, and He awaits to forgive those who call on Him for forgiveness.

Hosea Review

Today, I will review what I believe the book of Hosea is telling us today.  The first thing is that following the will of God is not easy.  Hosea was a prophet of God, but he was instructed to take a wife who was not the person Hosea would have likely chosen on his own.  We like Hosea must put God's will first even if we do not fully understand why He is asking us to do a particular thing.  When we do know what God is directing us to do, we like Hosea must do it without question.  Hosea was also telling the people of Israel something they did not want to hear.  They thought they had everything planned out, and they did not need God's protection.  They were going to rely on the powers of the world to protect them and worship the gods that everyone else worshipped.  We as followers of Christ today must never feel that we are so successful that we really don't need to look to God for direction daily.  If we become indifferent to God at any time, we are likely to find ourselves worshipping some other god.  False gods do not have to be statues but can be anything that comes between God and us, such as self-pride or material success.  Hosea reminded Israel that they were not God's people by physical birth or earthly merit, but that they were His people because He chose to enter into a covenant relationship with them.  God could have chosen the most powerful nation to reveal Himself to the world through, but He chose Israel, a basically insignificant group of people.  God does not call us today because we are strong, but He calls us because without Him, no matter how strong we may feel that we are, we are weak and insignificant without Him. We enter into a covenant relationship with God through accepting Christ, and only then can we call ourselves God's people.  We may wonder how Israel, those who called themselves God's people, could have fallen so far out of His will, but it occurred a little at a time, not all at once. Whenever we let anything come between God and us, no matter how small that thing might be, unless we repent and turn again to God, we will be subject to falling more under the power of sin.  For the people of Israel, that meant that they were God's people in name only but were spiritually no more His than the rest of the world.  When we come to God through faith in Christ, we will always be His, but we can become ineffective servants when we allow the things of the world to come between God and us.

Hosea 14:5

Hosea 14:5 says, I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.  Verse four had given the good news that God had not abandoned Israel forever, and verse five begins to give Israel the results of following God again when they returned to Him.  God's people would again find true comfort by their relationship with God.  This restoration came through Jesus Christ, and it is a spiritual restoration, not an earthly one.  Jesus did not come to be an earthly ruler, but a spiritual one instead.  When Israel was once again in the right relationship with God, they would once again find success.  God would daily revive them, like dew does plants.  When we are in God's will, He will likewise daily revive us spiritually.  I cannot say that everything will always go well in earthly terms, but they will in spiritual terms, which is the only way that counts.  Verse six adds, His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.  Olive branches are usually associated with peace, and I believe God was telling His people that they were to bring His peace to the world.  They were to be deeply rooted in their faith in God, as are we today.  Deeply rooted trees are not easily blow over, and deeply rooted faith is the same.  We should not have our faith falter at the first sign of trouble but must stand fast in all the storms of life.  Verse seven continues, They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. I believe that Hosea was promising the remnant of true believers that they would be restored.  Those who truly believed God and lived by faith in Him were not spared the earthly defeat and captivity, but as His people, they were promised ultimate victory.  We may at times feel that the world is being victorious over us but as followers of Christ, we can be sure of an everlasting victory through our faith in Him.  Verse eight states, Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.  Ephraim, and all the people of Israel, would eventually realize that there was no hope or protection in the things of this world and would return to God.  We today must realize the same thing.  We can never find hope and security in the things of this world but can find them in God alone.  Verse nine adds, Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.  The people of Israel were asked a question, Who is wise and will understand these things of God? When we look for wisdom, it can come only from God.  If we are prudent, we will put our faith in Him.  Hosea reminded the people of Israel that the ways of God were right and that the just would walk in them.  Those who did not walk in the ways of the Lord would fall.  Hosea warned the people of Israel of their coming destruction, but he left them with hope if they returned to God.

Hosea 14:1

Hosea 14:1 says, O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.  Hosea here begins to call on the people of Israel to return to God.  There was hope for them beyond the coming destruction if they simply returned to putting their faith in God.  God has overcome the destructive power of sin, and all we have to do is put our faith in Him to claim that victory.   Verse two adds, Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.  God was not going to force the people of Israel to return to Him, but He still called to them and stood ready to forgive them.  God calls us today, but He still does not force Himself on us.  We must willingly respond to His call.  Verse three continues, Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.  Israel would come to understand that there was no hope of an everlasting relationship in the things of this world.  Idols and riches would fail them, just as they will fail us today.  They were to show the mercy of God to the world.  Until Israel accepted their true relationship with God, they would be as Fatherless spiritually as the rest of the world.  Idols made by hand can never be a real spiritual Father.  Through God alone can we have everlasting security.  Verse four concludes, I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. Even as God was allowing Israel to suffer for their sins, He was giving them hope.  If we fall into sin as followers of Christ, that does not leave us with no hope.  God awaits for our forgiveness and restoration, even if we suffer spiritually from not following His will completely.  Once we are saved through faith in Christ, our salvation is not then dependent on our works, but is still ours forever through our acceptance of that salvation once and for all time.

Hosea 13:9

Hosea 13:9 says, O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.  God tells Israel in no uncertain terms that they had destroyed themselves.  When we are out of God's will, we are setting ourselves up for the destruction of our works.  God reminded them that He was the true source of their help.  God stands ready to help us today if we only acknowledge Him as the Lord of our lives. This does not mean parts of our lives, but every aspect of our lives.  Verse ten adds, I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?  God was to be their King, but the people of God wanted an earthly king that they could follow, and that had now led to a divided kingdom and a rejection of God.  No matter where we live in the world today, God must be our King, the One Who directs our lives.  Verse eleven God continues, I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.  An earthly king was never what God intended for His people, but He allowed them to select one, and they chose wrong from the start.  Today, if we live where we really have a choice, we need to select leaders under God's guidance if we are followers of Christ.  Verse twelve states, The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.  God may not have yet acted to punish them for their sins, but the sins were not forgotten.  Sin can only be dealt with when we ask God's forgiveness for it.  Though we may prosper while sinning and think we have gotten away with it God binds sin up to be dealt with ultimately.  Verse thirteen adds, The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.  A woman who is expecting a baby knows that eventually the birth of the baby will bring pain to her.  I believe Hosea was telling God's people that sin was the same way.  Sin would result in pain, and for that reason alone it made no sense to remain under the power of sin.  This has not changed today.  Verse fourteen continues, I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.  God promised a way to overcome the penalty of sin, which was death, everlasting spiritual separation from God.  We know through Christ God fulfilled that promise.  We must simply repent of our sins and accept God's gift of salvation by faith.  Verse fifteen says, Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.  God's people might have been prosperous while worshipping other gods, but it was temporary.  We may feel that we are doing so great in life that we don't need God, but if we are not following His will for our lives, it is only a temporary success.  Verse sixteen adds, Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.  God had been the source of the success of His people, and due to their rebellion, He was removing His protection, and they would be destroyed. We as followers of Christ are protected by God's power, and as long as we remain faithful to Him, we can never be spiritually destroyed, no matter what happens to us in this life.