King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Saturday, July 19, 2025
Chapters: Hosea 1-7
Message: Hosea: Adulteress Israel
Hello My Friend,
As we take a pause from Isaiah, we come to the reading of Hosea and learn that God sees His relationship with His believers as a relationship between a husband and wife. When they are faithful to Him they are blessed, even through affliction, but when they are unfaithful, He sees them as an adulteress and yet tries everything to restore their marriage. However, for those who are unresponsive to His endless calls for repentance will suffer until they repent or mercy runs out.
[James 4:4-10 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.]
The book of Hosea contains fourteen chapters, the author of the book is Hosea and it was written to Israel. The timeline for these events were approximately 790BC to 725BC, the same as when Isaiah prophesied in Judah. The purpose of the book was to alert Israel to her sinful condition and bring her back to God. What we are to learn from the book is that, God longs for the return of backsliders, pleads with them and makes every effort to hear their repentance, [Hosea 5:15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.]
Hosea, is the first of the minor prophets and said to be of Bethshemesh, and of the tribe of Issachar. He prophesied for nearly ninety years and lived to see the Northern Kingdom being captured by Syria. The moral and religious condition of Israel was very corrupt, God and His Word were ignored; the kings and princes were murderers and oppressors of the people, and the idolatrous priests maintained their shameful rites in all parts of the kingdom. The children of Israel had their ups and downs in their faith with God, but now it has gotten out of hand, God, has had enough of their turning their backs on Him, and worshiping false gods. To show Israel how displeased He was with them, God, has a strange request for Hosea.
[Hosea 1:1-4 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. 2 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. 3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. 4 And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.]
[Jezreel; Seed of God.] Most of Israel, except for Judah, had pretty much forsaken God, He tried to get them to return to Him time and time again, but they turned to the false gods instead, even sacrificing their own children, So in other words, He was avenging the blood of His seed. Now, there is something else here written in between the lines, God, will avenge of the blood of His own Son, but there is more. As we continue in this chapter, Gomer, has two more children. First, a girl named Loruhamah.
[Hosea 1:6-9 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. 7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen. 8 Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. 9 Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.]
[Loruhamah; the uncompassionated] The two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which retained the true worship of God among them, even though they too at one point would turn on Him for a time and be sent captives in Babylon, He returned them again after seventy years: God, has had an astounding amount of mercy, grace, and compassion on the Israelites, sparing them time after time, yet they continuously turned on Him. God, will always have mercy on Judah, who is the tribe of David, and from which is own Son would descend in the flesh, but notice how He will save them, [save them by the LORD their God,]. Without Christ, we cannot be saved, [John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.]
[Loammi; Not my people] Wow! How much does it take for God to become so angry that He will reject someone? Israel, prides themselves on being God’s people and yet they follow every god imaginable and wonder why He is angry with them. Nevertheless, He did make a covenant with them that He promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He intends to keep and even though many will be rejected a few will come to the realization that Christ is their Messiah and return to Him. In this incredible prophecy we learn of the day that all of Israel will unite and become one nation of God.
[Hosea 1:10-11 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. 11 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.]
Great is the day of God’s seed! When all true members of Christ’s Church, those whom have acknowledged Him as their Saviour will gather together for this great union of both Jews and Gentiles, accepting that He is their Messiah, LORD, Saviour, and KING, [Romans 8:15-17 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.]
God, rejecting Israel at this time had nothing to do with Him not loving them anymore, but He could not just watch them killing their babies and worshiping false gods. He sees them as an adulteress wife that He wants to divorce. Through Hosea, He goes on to tell them of how displeased He is about their adultery.
[Hosea 2:1-5 Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah. 2 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; 3 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. 4 And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms. 5 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.]
[Ammi; My people] This was the name foreshadowing God’s reconciliation to His people, in contrast to Loammi. [Ruhamah; Having obtained mercy] This was the name foreshadowing God’s reinstating His mercy on His people, in contrast to Loruhamah. However, at this point He is disgusted by their seeking other gods to supply their need. There does come a point when God will tire of the constant seeking of other means to get the things they have need of instead of seeking Him, and if they get into trouble that is on them, but that is when they actually return to Him. Through Hosea, God, goes on to tell them that while He will take away everything that they forsook Him for He will allure them back.
[Hosea 2:7,13-16 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. 13 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. 14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. 15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. 16 And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.]
[Allure; To attempt to draw to; to tempt by the offer of some good,] A true believer will come to understand that trusting in Christ does more than save their soul from hell, it saves their lives from the life they lived. There truly is no freedom like what is given by receiving Christ as our Saviour, [John 8:31-32 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.]
[Ishi; Salvation. Baali; a symbolical name of Jehovah: my master.] Think about it, would you rather know God as just the Great I Am or your Saviour as well? Christ, is salvation for all who come to Him willingly, and once we accept Him as our Saviour, we join in that union with Him. Through Hosea, God, confirms this.
[Hosea 2:19-23 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. 20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD. 21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; 22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. 23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.]
This is the very promise that God gives all who come to Him through His Son. This is actually a foreshadow of Christ and His believers becoming His bride. The second that we believe in and accept Him as our Saviour, we are betrothed to Him in righteousness, [Romans 5:17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)]
Sadly, so man people are oblivious to the blessings of God and how they are dependent upon our faithfulness to Him. He knows we are going to sin, but He wants us to be repentant, not use our salvation to justify our sin. To prove this, again, using Hosea’s wife, God shows Israel that He still loves them and wants them back. After Gomer had their children she left Hosea and went back to her life as a prostitute. God, sends Hosea to her and he ends up purchasing her.
[Hosea 3:1-5 Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. 2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. 4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.]
People are oblivious to the blessings of God. Sadly, more and more children are growing up not even knowing that God exists, and thanks to the world, and public schools pushing evolution as fact, they have no idea that life does not end here. One thing we should realize is that God knows what His people are capable of, when we turn away from Him, He turns away from us, He never leaves us, but He will not watch us living in sin. God, chooses to deal with Israel as well as all the rest who are worshiping Him under false religion, as though they are an adulterous spouse. Through Hosea, God, addresses this.
[Hosea 4:1-5 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. 3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. 4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. 5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.]
They not only are destroyed because they have no knowledge of how to be saved, they do not want to know how to be saved. This is why they will die and end up in hell and will have no one to blame, but themselves for their fall. Through Hosea, God, goes on to describe the horrible fate of those who through this lack of knowledge die in their sin.
[Hosea 4:6-7,9,12,15-16 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. 7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. 9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. 12 My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God. 15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth-aven, nor swear, The LORD liveth. 16 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.]
Is that not the truth! So many people are in hell right now and are headed there solely for the fact that they lack the knowledge of how to get saved. If you ever wondered why God does not intervene in the lives of those who have no understanding of His Son this is why and also something called freewill. Ignorance, saves no one and not wanting to know certainly does not, we are all given a choice. He still requires all to come to Him, and gives all an opportunity seek Him and to be saved.
[Hosea 5:1-5 Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor. 2 And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all. 3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled. 4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD. 5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.]
This is not about following every command written in the Law of Moses, it is about seeking God’s face. Those who seek God’s face actually find Christ, and once they do they will spiritually gravitate toward God’s will for their lives as the Holy Spirit works in them.
[Hosea 5:6-7,10-12,15 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them. 7 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions. 10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water. 11 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment. 12 Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. 15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.]
Believe it or not, it takes affliction in order for us to truly understand repentance and the need for Christ in our soul. We only have now to receive or tell someone about Christ before the times comes when no one will be able to find Him,
God wants to help us, He does not want to see us going through unnecessary suffering, but we must first admit our sin and come to Him willingly. God’s purpose in showing Israel all this was to show them that they were living an adulterous life with the idols they created, and He was going to remove Himself from their presence. Until we acknowledge God, and come to Him through His Son, there is nothing He can do to intervene. Hosea, literally pleads with them, but they refuse to listen.
[Hosea 6:1-4,6-7 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. 3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. 4 O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. 6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. 7 But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.]
This is an illustration of those who lead people astray through their false religion, they are literally killing souls as they lead them straight to hell. So many people reject God because of false religion making near impossible for someone to be saved. God, never asked us to be perfect because He knows we are not. What He asks is that we love Him, acknowledge Him, and make Him a part of our lives. Through Hosea, God goes on to explain that He would have saved them all if they would have just come to Him.
[Hosea 7:1-2,10,13-14 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. 2 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. 10 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. 13 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. 14 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.]
This is addressed to the ones whom have gotten saved and are leading people down the path of hell through their false doctrine. I believe Jesus said something about this, [Revelation 2:4-5 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.]
Today’s Prayer: God, While we may not always understand Your will, there will come a day when we will see the purpose of it, and if not, the important thing to remember is that we trusted You. No matter what we go through, whether it is joyous or grievous, we will be blessed and find meaning in life as we remain faithful to You. Lord, give us Your power, wisdom, and guidance to live in Your will, help us to understand and know if the things we are doing is Your will or something we are doing ourselves. Give us Your strength, mercy, grace, and patience to see it through as we grow closer to Your Son. Let us seek Your face and whenever we get weary, remind us that we belong to You, and one day, all the pain and sorrow will be no more. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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