King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 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.]
Date: Wednesday, July 19, 2023
Chapters: HOSEA 1-7
Study: Seek Christ’s Face
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
A life without God is a lonely one. I always say that God will allow His people to go so far into sin that they will dangle there off the edge of it, but He will never let them fall completely. 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. While He never leaves us, He will not watch us living in sin, and therefore will turn His face from seeing it. That is until we repent and return to Him, [2 Corinthians 7:9-11 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.]
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, only by confession can we seek God’s Face and He will come to us, [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, the son of Beeri, is the first of the minor prophets being raised up before the time of Isaiah. The ancients say, He was of Bethshemesh, and of the tribe of Issachar. He prophesied for nearly ninety years and lived to see and lament the Northern Kingdom being captured by Assyria. 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 forsaking Him, worshiping false gods, and what was even worse, seeking Him with the false gods. To show Israel how displeased He was with them, God, has a rather strange request. He asks him to take a prostitute as a wife.
[Hosea 1:2-4 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.]
[Call his name Jezreel;] [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, instead they turned to the false gods, even sacrificing their own children, hence the avenging of the blood of the seed of God. There is something else here written in between the lines, God, will avenge of the blood of His Son. Oh, but that is not all, as we continue in this chapter, Gomer, has two more children.
[Hosea 1:6-10 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. 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 Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. 9 Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. 10 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.]
[Loruhamah; the uncompassionated] God, has had an astounding amount of mercy, grace, and compassion on the Israelites, sparing them time after time, yet from the time they stepped foot off Egypt they continuously turned on Him. Now, He has lost His compassion on them and would spare them no longer, but deliver them up into the hands of their enemies. God, will not be mocked, His mercies will endure, but only for a time if no sincere repentance is involved, [Galatians 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.]
[Call his name Loammi:] [Loammi; Not my people] How would you like for Jesus to say to you, “Depart from me! I do not know you!”? This is exactly what He says to those whom never received Him as their Saviour when they had the opportunity. We can associate unsaved believers of Christ as if they were engaged to Him, however, until they actually ask Him to save them, they are not saved. If they died before they received Him, He will not know them as they are not His people, [Luke 13:26-28 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.]
[Ye are the sons of the living God.] God, rejecting Israel at this time had nothing to do with Him not loving them anymore, but He just could not watch them killing their babies and worshiping these false gods as though they were worshiping Him. Sound familiar? There are so many nations losing God’s compassion on them for the very same reason. God, may have promised Abraham that his seed would be as the sand of the sea, but He did not promise that they would all be His. However, there is hope for them, one day they will be His once again. First, God, laments a bit over the state of His people, referring to them as an adulteress woman.
[Hosea 2:1-6 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. 6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.]
[Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.] [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. The Gentiles, who were once not God’s people, shall become His people, [Romans 9:24-26 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.]
God, never forgets His promise to save all who come to Him sincerely, and willingly, including Israel. Through Hosea, God, goes on to tell them that there will come a time when they will realize that He was the best thing to happen to them and He will not only allure them, but betroth them.
[Hosea 2:14-15,18-19,22-23 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. 18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. 19 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. 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.]
[I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness,] This is actually a foreshadow of Christ and His believers becoming His bride. The second that we believe in and accept Christ as our Saviour, we are betrothed to Him in righteousness, judgment, loving kindness, and mercy, [Revelation 21:2-3 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.]
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, and will turn His face from seeing it. Again, using Hosea’s wife, God, shows Israel that He still loves them and wants them back as she left Hosea and went back to her life as a prostitute.
[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.]
[love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress,] Israel, is dearly beloved of God, but they have committed adultery with Him with other gods and therefore He has divorced them. Nevertheless, He is not done with them, there will come a day when they will recognize Jesus as their KING, high priest, and the only sacrifice that will save their souls, [Romans 9:27-28 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.]
[So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver,] Do you see the resemblance here? A husband loved his wife so much that he was willing to pay the debt she owed for her freedom? This is an exact mirror of Jesus Christ, because we are sinners we owe a payment for our sin debt, and that payment is death and hell. However, God loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son and He made that payment with His blood, [John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.]
One day, all the children of Israel will come together and join the Gentile believers in His Kingdom, where Christ will reign as King. In the meantime, 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 4:1-6 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. 6 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.]
[My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:] 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. That is why Jesus sends His people out in the world, the lost needs to learn the truth somehow, and not many are just going to walk into a church on their own, they need direction, [Romans 10:13-15 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!]
[seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God,] 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. However, if anyone denies Him, He will deny them.
[Hosea 5:3-6,14-15 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. 6 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. 14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him. 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.]
[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, [Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.]
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 6:1-3,6-9 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. 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. 8 Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood. 9 And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.]
[After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up,] This is an illustration of Christ reviving the dead soul. The second that we receive Christ as our Saviour we are baptized from death to life, [Colossians 2:12-14 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;]
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. 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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