The Church of Divine Guidance (CDG) Sunday morning adult bible study group is studying the book of Hosea. Israel's unfaithfulness to the Lord is depicted by Hosea in terms of a wife who has turned her back upon a faithful husband in order to follow evil lovers. These posts are my notes for each session. Please study with us. You can participate by asking your questions or making comments below. We welcome your thoughts, questions, comments, and prayers.
Review
Last week in chapter 4 we talked about Israel’s and the people’s lack of knowledge.
Hosea 4:6 (HCSB)6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons.
The knowledge that they lacked was knowledge of the word of God. The didn’t listen to the priests who were responsible for giving them that knowledge. They lack is the knowledge of God's Word verse 6 says they have forgotten the law of God.
This is an indictment of those today who are responsible for teaching the people of God, pastors, teachers, prophets, evangelists, apostles who have rejected the Word and twisted it, taken it out of context for their own gain.
Since the priest weren’t giving them the knowledge that they needed God told them that He would reject the people and the priests.
Hosea 4:9-10 (HCSB)9 ⌊The same judgment⌋ will happen to both people and priests. I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.10 They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have abandoned their devotion to the LORD.
He warned Judah not to follow in Israel's footsteps or the same judgement that would fall on Israel would also happen to Judah. History tells us that is exactly what happened. Israel was exiled to Assyria and later Judah to Babylon.
Let’s read the 5th chapter of Hosea
The Folly of Trusting in Man's Deliverance
Hosea 5:1-3 (HCSB)1 Hear this, priests! Pay attention, house of Israel! Listen, royal house! For the judgment applies to you because you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread out on Tabor.2 Rebels are deeply involved in slaughter; I will be a punishment for all of them.
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me. For now, Ephraim, you have acted promiscuously; Israel is defiled.
Verse 1 When God saw the sinful state of the nation of Israel, He saw that it was because the leaders did not lead in a godly way.It would be tempting for the priests to blame the people, but it was really the fault of the spiritual leadership (priests) and political leadership (house of Israel) of the nation.
The address, Oh priests, reminds us that the priesthood of Israel had been responsible for leading the people into idolatrous worship at the high places. The king and his courtiers had likewise rejected the message of Israel's prophets;
Verses 2 & 3 The real tragedy of Israel's sin wasn't so much that they stumbled. It was more so that they did not respond to God's rebuke when they did stumble. If a man knows how to humbly respond to God's correction, God can always work with him.
Hosea cites Mizpah and Tabor as examples of the idolatry which was practiced throughout Israel.
Israel's double desolation.
Hosea 5:4-9 (HCSB)4 Their actions do not allow ⌊them⌋ to return to their God, for a spirit of promiscuity is among them, and they do not know the LORD.5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them. Both Israel and Ephraim stumble because of their wickedness; even Judah will stumble with them.6 They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD but do not find ⌊Him⌋; He has withdrawn from them.7 They betrayed the LORD; indeed, they gave birth to illegitimate children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their fields.8 Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; raise the war cry in Beth-aven: After you, Benjamin!9 Ephraim will become a desolation on the day of punishment; I announce what is certain among the tribes of Israel.
Verse 4. Like all rebellion, Israel's rebellion was centered on pride. They arrogantly thought that what God said didn't really matter compared to their own opinions and desires.
When God promised to leave rebellious Israel alone it means that when they make superficial gestures of repentance, they will not find Him. Their repentance was superficial because they do not direct their deeds toward turning to their God.
In many ways today, people think they are seeking God when they really aren't. It's superficial. For example, a man might say, "I grew up in the Baptist church and couldn't find God there. So I went to the Methodist church and couldn't find God there. Then I went to the Pentecostal church, but couldn't find God there. Now I'm at the Presbyterian church and can't find God." You may imagine you have searched hard after God, but that is an illusion. The truth is that you are running away from God. When He started to get close to you at the Baptist church, you left it and became a Methodist. When He started to get close to you at the Methodist church, you became a Pentecostal. You've followed the same pattern - a superficial search for God that backs away when you really start getting close to God.
We can be so set in our sin and rebellion that God just leaves us to ourselves. We have free will and God isn’t going to force us to worship Him but turning your back on God comes with consequences.
Romans 1:24-25 (HCSB)24 Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves.25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 (HCSB)1 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,2 through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.
Because God has withdrawn Himself from them, they will find no help or refuge when the Assyrian army attacks. They will be made desolate.
Gibeah and Ramah were both high among the mountains of central Palestine. The sound of alarm from these places could be heard in both Judah and Israel. God would render a verdict of "guilty" against idolatrous Israel, and the armies of Assyria would be his instruments for punishing his faithless people. God had made known that which shall surely be. The impending judgment had been decreed by God. Therefore it was sure. - The Wycliffe Bible Commentary.
B. Israel's sinful trust in man for deliverance.
Hosea 5:10-13 (HCSB)10 The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary markers; I will pour out My fury on them like water.11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow what is worthless.12 So I am like rot to Ephraim and like decay to the house of Judah.13 When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, Ephraim went to Assyria and sent ⌊a delegation⌋ to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.
This means that the political leaders of Judah were corrupt and cheaters. They were the kind of men who would change property boundaries to their advantage if they thought they could get away with it.
Judah is pictured as awaiting the overthrow of Israel, after which she could cross the frontier and appropriate Israelite territory.
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary.
This reminds us that while Judah may have been better than Israel, they still had to repent.
The removing of landmarks was a crime under Israelite law.
Deuteronomy 19:14 (HCSB)14 “You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, established at the start in the inheritance you will receive in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
Deuteronomy 27:17 (HCSB)17 ‘The one who moves his neighbor’s boundary marker is cursed.’ And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
Proverbs 22:28 (HCSB)28 Don’t move an ancient boundary marker, that your fathers set up.
God reminds Judah that she has her own sin to deal with.
God will be the one who eats away and corrodes what Israel and Judah have. They will not be blessed, and they will not increase.
Israel was foolish enough to trust in man - her eventual conqueror - instead of trusting in God. Choosing a King Jareb instead of the LORD is always foolish and ends in ruin.
Conscious of her troubles, Ephraim sought help from the Assyrian, asking aid of king Jareb (Contentious), "the fighting king," perhaps Tiglath-pileser III. There was no king by the name of Jareb. - The Wycliffe Bible Commentary.
God's judgment and the goal behind it.
Hosea 5:14-15 (HCSB)14 For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. Yes, I will tear ⌊them⌋ to pieces and depart. I will carry ⌊them⌋ off, and no one can rescue ⌊them⌋.15 I will depart and return to My place until they recognize their guilt and seek My face; they will search for Me in their distress.
God's judgment would come against Israel and Judah in subtle ways like a moth … like rottenness as Hosea said in verse 11, but also in obvious, unmistakable ways exemplified with the lion that will tear them to pieces. Both a moth and a lion bring destruction, just in different ways.
The goal of God's judgment against Israel was for them to seek His face. The goal was not destruction, but restoration. Sadly, it is often only in our affliction that we earnestly seek the LORD. Why not seek the LORD now, before affliction forces you to?
Chapter 6 "Come, Let Us Return to the Lord"
A. A call to return to the LORD.
Hosea 6:1-2 (HCSB)1 Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn ⌊us⌋, and He will heal us; He has wounded ⌊us⌋, and He will bind up our wounds.2 He will revive us after two days, and on the third day He will raise us up so we can live in His presence.
The words contain an implied confession, for Israel had departed from the Lord in her idolatrous practices. The God who had torn in judgment could be expected to heal in mercy. Only God could bring new life to the wounded - The Wycliffe Bible Commentary.
Hosea is calling for a return to the Lord, instead of arguing or resenting His correction.
Hosea trusts the love of God, and sees His loving hand even in correction. Often, a rebellious child will complain that their parents do not love them. Of course, the parents do love the child, but in their rebellion and lack of submission, they can't receive or respond to that love.
God could not only be counted upon to deliver his people, but his aid would come quickly once they repented and returned to Him. That’s what was meant by the two and third day reference.
There is a shadowy prophecy of Jesus' resurrection on the third day. The context supports this wonderfully; on the cross Jesus was torn and stricken for our sake, yet He was also gloriously raised up on the third day. Which was also quick. 3 days to deal with the sin of mankind that had existed since Adam was fast.
The same kind of thing we read in Ezekiel about the dry bones.
Ezekiel 37:1-10 (HCSB)1 The hand of the LORD was on me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.2 He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry.
3 Then He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I replied, “Lord GOD, ⌊only⌋ You know.”4 He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!5 This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live.6 I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”
7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.8 As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man. Say to it: This is what the Lord GOD says: Breath, come from the four winds and breathe into these slain so that they may live!”10 So I prophesied as He commanded me; the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army.
2. Hosea was confident that when the nation returned to God that He was again bless them.
Hosea 6:3 (NKJV) Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
He is now saying pursue knowledge the lack of which was the Israel problem described as lack back in
Hosea 4:6 (HCSB)6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons.
Now Hosea is saying let’s fix this problem.
We should also know that when we pursue the knowledge of the Lord, He blesses it. It must be more than superficial, it must be a pursuit. But when we endeavor to know the Lord, especially through His word, He reveals Himself to us. We have to diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6 (HCSB)6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
In Israel, the only way crops were watered was by rain. So farmers waited for the rain with great anticipation.
When we anticipate and wait for God with this kind of earnest expectation, He answers and will come to us.
"Notice, again, it is a repeated gift. He shall give the former rain and the latter rain.
Clarke on the latter and former rain to the earth: "The first, to prepare the earth for seed; this fell in autumn: the second, to prepare the full ear for the harvest; this fell in spring."
For us that means that if we put our trust in God, even if we stray, when we confess and repent He will bless us at exactly the time that we need it. He will meet all our needs.
Philippians 4:19 (HCSB) And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
B. The sin of Israel and Judah.
Hosea 6:4-6 (HCSB)4 What am I going to do with you, Ephraim? What am I going to do with you, Judah? Your loyalty is like the morning mist and like the early dew that vanishes.
5 This is why I have used the prophets to cut them down; I have killed them with the words of My mouth. My judgment strikes like lightning.6 For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
It wasn't that there was no faithfulness among the people of God. It's just that whatever there was quickly dissipated like the early dew.
You make efforts at reformation, but they do not avail. The morning cloud is deceptive. It is a dense mass of vapor which the westerly winds of summer bear from the Mediterranean. The sun quickly dissipates them, and they produce no rain in the dry Palestinian summer. Similarly the early dew does not remain. Grammatically we should read, The dew (which) vanishes early. The dew provides no permanent relief from the summer sun. - The Wycliffe Bible Commentary.
God, complaining about the conduct of his people, says, Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets. God correct Israel by sending prophets. The prophets warned of the consequences of sin - The Wycliffe Bible Commentary.
At this time, God's people were still good at bringing sacrifice. But they had forsaken mercy, and they abandoned mercy because they gave up the knowledge of God and truth. God would rather have right hearts, full of truth and mercy than sacrifice.
Israel brought animals for sacrifice, but they never brought themselves as a living sacrifice.
Romans 12:1 (HCSB)1 Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.
They missed what God really wants: a deep, close relationship with Him. They also missed the heart of God, focusing on the wrong and superficial things.
Jesus twice quoted this passage of Hosea to the religious leaders of His day
Matthew 9:12-13 (HCSB)12 But when He heard this, He said, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do.13 Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 12:7-8 (HCSB)7 If you had known what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
2. (7-11) The transgression of idolatry.
Hosea 6:7-11 (HCSB)7 But they, like Adam, have violated the covenant; there they have betrayed Me.8 Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with bloody footprints.9 Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone, a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem. They commit atrocities.10 I have seen something horrible in the house of Israel: Ephraim’s promiscuity is there; Israel is defiled.11 A harvest is also appointed for you, Judah. When I return My people from captivity,
Israel has transgressed God's commandment as Adam did in the Garden of Eden.
Gilead, the district east of the Jordan, is cited as an example of particular infamy. Gilead is mentioned as a city in which murder was common. - The Wycliffe Bible Commentary.
The priests murder in the way by consent. Read rather, murder in the way toward Shechem. Shechem, situated on the road from Samaria to Bethel, had long been noted for its violence (cf.
Judges 9:25 (HCSB)25 The lords of Shechem rebelled against him by putting people on the tops of the mountains to ambush and rob everyone who passed by them on the road. So this was reported to Abimelech.
From heaven the Lord says, I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel. The abomination of Israel would bring judgment.
When the people of God came back into the land after the Babylonian exile, they mainly settled in the area of Judah. The harvest of returned exiles was mainly for Judah, not for Israel.
Next Week Chapter 7
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