#1129 Hosea 11 My Holy One

 

When Israel was a youth I loved him,

And out of Egypt I called My son.

2 The more they called them,

The more they went away from them;

They kept sacrificing to the Baals

And burning incense to idols.

3 Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,

I took them in My arms;

But they did not know that I healed them.

4 I pulled them along with cords of a man, with ropes of love,

And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;

And I bent down and fed them.

5 They will not return to the land of Egypt;

But Assyria—he will be their king

Because they refused to return to Me.

6 And the sword will whirl against their cities,

And will destroy their oracle priests

And consume them, because of their counsels.

7 So My people are determined to turn from Me.

Though they call them to the One on high,

None at all exalts Him.

8 How can I give you up, Ephraim?

How can I surrender you, Israel?

How can I make you like Admah?

How can I treat you like Zeboiim?

My heart is turned over within Me,

All My compassions are kindled.

9 I will not carry out My fierce anger;

I will not destroy Ephraim again.

For I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst,

And I will not come in wrath.

10 They will walk after the Lord,

He will roar like a lion;

Indeed He will roar,

And His sons will come trembling from the west.

11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt,

And like doves from the land of Assyria;

And I will settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.

12 Ephraim surrounds Me with lies

And the house of Israel with deceit;

Judah is still unruly against God,

Even against the Holy One who is faithful. Hosea 11 NASB

Hosea 11

1-4 Out of Egypt I called My Son - What beautiful words, and they come together in such fullness and understanding at the advent of Christ. It is the call of the Father through the Son wherein we are made alive by the Holy Spirit to be adopted as sons. Here, He speaks of Israel, but it is through Christ, the Old Testament is the story of redemption, the foretelling of Messiah, the history of man's fall from relationship with God, a falling away from righteousness and truth. Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me." Every promise of the Old Testament was dependent upon the atoning work of Messiah, by Whose stripes we are healed, and Who without we have no righteousness, and history ends back in the garden, but even the breath of the unredeemed is purchased by Jesus, till the fullness of their wrath is come. We remember His death, but we forget, that the eternal Son of God, walked out of Egypt, the land from which Israel was set free, to walk before the Father in a way that Israel could not. His steps were holy before the Father, living the life that I was born a stranger to, in perfect harmony to the will of God, fulfilling all things.

…14So he got up, took the Child and His mother by night, and withdrew to Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” 16When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.… Matthew 2: 14-16

16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. 17Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 18For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.… Matthew 5: 16-18

…14But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15“Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him. 16As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him.…

17And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Matthew 3: 14-17

They kept sacrificing to the Baals - Israel kept after the gods of a fallen and depraved mind, idols, paper weights. This is why a body had to be prepared for Christ, for the infinite to walk the steps that the finite, the corrupt, could not. They did not even recognize the time of their visitation, that salvation was wrapped in swaddling clothes, growing in favor in the sight of God and man. This was God adding humanity to His deity, yet they worshiped the idols of their neighbor's imaginations. 

5Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: 6Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.… Philippians 2: 5-7

5-7 Because they refused to return to me - When people walk into hell, when you have wanted your own way, yet God has turned you over to it, but not without warning of where it leads, yet will you cry unfair? You were told about God, but hated the very idea, looked hard for another god, an idol, your mind, "the science", but even when your models were flawed you still clung to them. Fair is a funny thing, I will not ask God for that, remember, you didn't want God, so you got fair, and it is His world, life comes from Him, yet you would try to steal from God.

…27Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,… Romans 1: 27-29

8-11 Admah - 

Admah and Zeboiim were two cities near Sodom and Gomorrah that were also destroyed (Deuteronomy 29:23). God says, “I can’t bear to allow My people to be caught up in the destruction that will come upon all the nations, as Admah and Zeboiim were caught up on the destruction that came upon Sodom and Gomorrah.” - Enduring Word

I will settle them in their houses - This has Millennial connotations, when Israel comes to look upon Him Who they pierced, they remember and mourn for Him like an only Son. They have that new heart and renewed spirit. What forgiveness.

Even against the Holy One Who is faithful - Isaiah demonstrates the response that Israel will have for the Holy One, their Messiah, their healer. The only One Who can make things right, satisfy the law, will be held in low esteem. 

…2He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him. 3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 4Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted.… 

…2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. 4Because you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you and nations in place of your life.… Isaiah 43: 2-4

…26Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will dwell in hope, 27because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay. 28You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’… Acts 2: 26-28

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#1128 Hosea 10 Keep Saying Grape

Israel empties his vine;

He brings forth fruit for himself.

According to the multitude of his fruit

He has increased the altars;

According to the bounty of his land

They have embellished his sacred pillars.

2 Their heart is divided;

Now they are held guilty.

He will break down their altars;

He will ruin their sacred pillars.

3 For now they say,

“We have no king,

Because we did not fear the Lord.

And as for a king, what would he do for us?”

4 They have spoken words,

Swearing falsely in making a covenant.

Thus judgment springs up like hemlock in the furrows of the field.

5 The inhabitants of Samaria fear

Because of the calf of Beth Aven.

For its people mourn for it,

And its priests shriek for it—

Because its glory has departed from it.

6 The idol also shall be carried to Assyria

As a present for King Jareb.

Ephraim shall receive shame,

And Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

7 As for Samaria, her king is cut off

Like a twig on the water.

8 Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,

Shall be destroyed.

The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars;

They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us!”

And to the hills, “Fall on us!”

9 “O Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah;

There they stood.

The battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity

Did not overtake them.

10 When it is My desire, I will chasten them.

Peoples shall be gathered against them

When I bind them for their two transgressions.

11 Ephraim is a trained heifer

That loves to thresh grain;

But I harnessed her fair neck,

I will make Ephraim pull a plow.

Judah shall plow;

Jacob shall break his clods.”

12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;

Reap in mercy;

Break up your fallow ground,

For it is time to seek the Lord,

Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.

13 You have plowed wickedness;

You have reaped iniquity.

You have eaten the fruit of lies,

Because you trusted in your own way,

In the multitude of your mighty men.

14 Therefore tumult shall arise among your people,

And all your fortresses shall be plundered

As Shalman plundered Beth Arbel in the day of battle—

A mother dashed in pieces upon her children.

15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,

Because of your great wickedness.

At dawn the king of Israel

Shall be cut off utterly. Hosea 10 NKJV

Hosea 10 Plenty

He brings forth fruit for himself - There is an exercise I make myself do over and over again, that is to walk something backwards, to acknowledge the steps to here, and to then go beneath, peel back the veil, the skin of each step. You are eating your fruit, drinking your wine, did I invent the grape, and what caused it to grow, where did the soil come from, the ground beneath my feet, the mind that knows to till? The further you go the grander the scale, the smaller you become, or am I still too big, what will tomorrow find but a spec, a finite grain, invisible from not much distance at all. God still sees me, even the hidden me, in the most guarded and darkest reaches of my heart, and so I thank Him for His grapes, they are far more than I deserved. Oh forgive me for forgetting to look past the plenty.  

…20They exchanged their Glory for the image of a grass-eating ox. 21They forgot God their Savior, who did great things in Egypt, 22wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.… Psalm 106: 20-22

…17They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear. 18You ignored the Rock who brought you forth; you forgot the God who gave you birth. 19When the LORD saw this, He rejected them, provoked to anger by His sons and daughters.… Deuteronomy 32: 17-19

According to the bounty of his land - They saw the harvest and paid tribute to gods that cannot provide, cannot create, they entered and drove their children toward a dark age.

…9In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation. 10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines— 11though on the day you plant you make them grow, and on that morning you help your seed sprout—yet the harvest will vanish on the day of disease and incurable pain.… Isaiah 17: 9-11

Their heart is divided - Like Gomer's heart, she makes the vows of faithfulness, but she belongs to many. 

i. Their heart is divided: The word divided is halaq, which has the ideas of “divided” (Genesis 14:15, 49:7), of “smooth” (Genesis 27:11, Psalm 55:21) or of “flattering” (Psalm 5:9, 36:2). So, it may be accurate to translate this phrase as their heart is divided, but it may also be that God meant to say that Ephraim has a “smooth, flattering,” insincere heart.  - Enduring Word

We have no king - Not of your own, not from your own people, but you have no God because you refuse the only one there really is, and now you will have foreign kings to match your foreign gods. 

As a present for King Jareb - Your idol, your golden calf is now the present of a foreign king. What a light you are to the lost, now he thinks this is somehow tied to the God of Abraham and Isaac, that he and his gods have trampled the Creator of the Universe, because you twist true worship, and teach apostasy. You mourn for the very calf that is part of the reason you are bound for Assyria, and returning to Egypt, slaves of your own doing, forever protecting the lie upon the pedestal. 

Cover us, fall on us - So bad will be these days, the sieges, the famine, the malnourished babies, mothers eating their own flesh and blood, complete devastation. As bad as this is, cry out, for maybe you will be heard, beg for a different heart, ears to hear, sincerity to repent, a desire to know God for Who He is, rather than the calf you want Him to be. You say this religion was a disappointment to you, that you tried it out but it didn't deliver, well then, I say, quit trying religion and come to God through Christ, bringing Him the offering of your sin, that's all you have, be the beggar that you are, a broken and contrite heart He will not turn away. Come while you still can, for holiness is a dreadful thing, you will not stand on your own two feet, you will not question God like you think. 

…15Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”… Revelation 6: 15-17

12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. 13But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.…

…15As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.” 16For who were the ones who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17And with whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?… Hebrews 3: 12-17

The battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity - So we talked some of this before in Hosea, but will include a link to both chapters surrounding this incident.

Judges 19 The reason for war

Judges 20 The War

Break up your fallow ground - Like the publican, pound your chest, see your sin as the rightful cause of all this, beg to hate it. What good is it to waste wisdom upon deaf ears, who can teach a man that knows everything, that is right even when he is wrong? Tell me again how great an investment it will be to sow seed upon this field that you have every day neglected to till. It has not been cut by the Word of God, turned by honest meditation before the mirror of the law, there is not so much as a scratch, far less than a tear; it is like planting the pavement in a parking lot. The seed will go nowhere, be eaten by the crows.

…7But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. 9And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.… Matthew 3: 7-9

You plowed wickedness - You reap what you sow, they did surface plowing, used God's name, but blended Him in with their sin, their idolatry. He was not special to them, for they loved those that were not their husband, who did not bring the rain, did not make the seed or the soil. They said, "God", but their definition did not match, their description was an idol, and that they preferred for the idol would not confront their sin.

Because you trusted in your own way - You are more like Nebuchadnezzar, the earth is filled with men and women who think more highly of themselves than they ought to think. The world is billions of narcissist thick, who can't stand the thought of a God above their feelings and notions. Who sees themselves the way they really are, who could stand the sight of that all at once? I beat my chest, Oh God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

1The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases. 2All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart. 3To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.… Proverbs 21: 1-3

14The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus. 15So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God. Luke 16: 14-15

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#1127 Hosea 9 Grapes and Figs

 

Do not rejoice, Israel, with jubilation like the nations!

For you have been unfaithful, abandoning your God.

You have loved the earnings of unfaithfulness on every threshing floor.

2 Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them,

And the new wine will fail them.

3 They will not remain in the Lord’s land,

But Ephraim will return to Egypt,

And in Assyria they will eat unclean food.

4 They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord,

Nor will their sacrifices please Him.

Their bread will be to them like mourners’ bread;

All who eat it will be defiled,

Because their bread will be for themselves alone;

It will not enter the house of the Lord.

5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festival

And on the day of the feast of the Lord?

6 For behold, they will be gone because of destruction;

Egypt will gather them together, Memphis will bury them.

Weeds will take possession of their treasures of silver;

Thorns will be in their tents.

7 The days of punishment have come,

The days of retribution have come;

Let Israel know this!

The prophet is a fool,

The inspired person is insane,

Because of the grossness of your wrongdoing,

And because your hostility is so great.

8 Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet;

Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways,

And there is only hostility in the house of his God.

9 They are deeply depraved

As in the days of Gibeah;

He will remember their guilt,

He will punish their sins.

10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness;

I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.

But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame,

And they became as detestable as that which they loved.

11 As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird—

No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!

12 Though they bring up their children,

Yet I will bereave them of their children until not a person is left.

Yes, woe to them indeed when I depart from them!

13 Ephraim, as I have seen,

Is planted in a pasture like Tyre;

But Ephraim is going to bring out his children for slaughter.

14 Give to them, Lord—what will You give?

Give them a miscarrying womb and dried-up breasts.

15 All their evil is at Gilgal;

Indeed, I came to hate them there!

Because of the wickedness of their deeds

I will drive them out of My house!

I will no longer love them;

All their leaders are rebels.

16 Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up,

They will produce no fruit.

Even though they give birth to children,

I will put to death the precious ones of their womb.

17 My God will reject them

Because they have not listened to Him;

And they will be wanderers among the nations. Hosea 9 NASB

Hosea 9

We now perceive the meaning of the Prophet. Israel, he says, rejoice not thou with exultations like the people; that is, “Whatever prosperity may happen to thee, though God may seem propitious by not afflicting thee, but kindly bearing with thee, — nay, though he may bountifully nourish thee, and may seem to give thee many proofs of paternal favor, yet there is no reason for thee to felicitate thyself, for vain will be this joy, because an unhappy end awaits thee.” Thou hast committed fornication, he says, against thy God This warning was very necessary. This vice, we know, has ever prevailed among men, that they are blind to their sins as long as the Lord spares them; and experience, at the present day, most fully proves, that the same disease still cleaves to our marrow. As it is so, let this passage of the Prophet awaken us, so that we may not rejoice, though great prosperity may smile on us; but let us rather inquire, whether God has a just cause of anger against us. Though he may not openly put forth his hand, though he may not pursue us, we ought yet to anticipate his wrath; for it is the proper office of faith, not only to find out from present punishment that God is angry, but also to fear, on account of any prevailing vices, the punishment that is far distant. Let us then learn to examine ourselves, and to make a severe scrutiny, even when the Lord conceals his displeasure, and visits us not for our sins. If, then, we have committed fornication against God, all our prosperity ought to be suspected by us; for this contempt, in abusing God’s blessings, will have to be dearly bought by us. - John Calvin

1-6 Do not rejoice with jubilation like the nations - We see in the next lines that they have been unfaithful to God and also dishonest in their gain. The scriptures warn us about idolatry, unjust weights and measures, but there is in the use of the word "unfaithful" much direction as to their harlotry. It would seem that they sought, like those that baked cakes, for their harvest and threshing floors to be filled/blessed by other gods, idols. They attribute the things that God made, and the abundance of those, by which processes He also created, as from the benevolence of others. They wanted material things and would accept false doctrines, idolatry and all other forms of compromise to get it. We know this from looking back through Hosea; Israel was unfaithful to the true God, and easily mistook prosperity for sound thinking, like Job's friends associated it with righteousness. 

14 And they do not cry to Me from their heart

When they wail on their beds;

For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves,

They turn against Me. Hosea 7:14

5 For their mother has played the harlot;

She who conceived them has behaved shamefully.

For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,

Who give me my bread and my water,

My wool and my linen,

My oil and my drink.’

6 “Therefore, behold,

I will hedge up your way with thorns,

And wall her in,

So that she cannot find her paths.

7 She will chase her lovers,

But not overtake them;

Yes, she will seek them, but not find them.

Then she will say,

‘I will go and return to my first husband,

For then it was better for me than now.’

8 For she did not know

That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil,

And multiplied her silver and gold—

Which they prepared for Baal. Hosea 2: 5-8

Will not feed them - The present abundance of the threshing floor and wine press is a lie.

Hence he says, The floor and the wine-press shall not feed them, and the new wine shall disappoint them, ( mentietur illis — shall lie to them;) — that is, the vineyards shall not answer their expectation. It is the same as though he said, “As these men regard only their stomach, as they deem nothing of any moment but provision, therefore the floor and the wine-press shall not feed them; I will deprive them of their support, that they may understand that they in vain worship false gods.” Let us take a common similitude: We see some boys so disingenuous as not to be moved either by disgrace or even by stripes; but as they are subject to the cravings of appetite, when the father deprives them of bread, they nearly lose all hope. Stripes do no good, all warnings are slighted; but when the boy who loves excess sees that bread is denied him, he finds out that his father’s displeasure ought to be feared. Thus God corrects men addicted to excessive indulgence; for they are so insensible, that no other remedy can do them any good. - John Calvin

They will not remain in the Lord's land - You are rejoicing like the heathens around you, who cut themselves and dance for rain, but it is God, Who causes His rain to fall on the just and unjust. The lost around you had no covenant, no access to the grace bestowed upon you, except by way of the light that should shine through you. You were not a light, but rather chose their darkness, so you have broken the covenant and shall not remain in the land. 

Like mourner's bread - Those that came into contact with the dead were considered unclean.

…13Then you shall declare in the presence of the LORD your God, “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commandments You have given me. I have not transgressed or forgotten Your commandments. 14I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done everything You commanded me. 15Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers—a land flowing with milk and honey.”… Deuteronomy 26: 13-15

7-9 The days of punishment have come - Wrath has been stored up, like the accumulative winds they had sewn from the last chapter, now it is time to reap the whirlwind. Men think there are no limits to their depravity, no set time for their judgment, yet it is given to men once to die and then the judgment. 

…4Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? 5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”… Romans 2: 4-6

…15You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age. 16In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” 17When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses.… Genesis 15: 15-17

The prophet is a fool - Who are you, Hosea? Everyone hears about this rain, this flood that is coming, but they laugh at Noah for 120 years as he builds the ark. Today they look back and say God is unfair, or I won't have such a God, but there is only that one God that created all things, that holds the right to speak into and out of being all things. They called Elijah a troubler of Israel, yet it was always their own sins, the sins of their kings. "Rain, it's sunny outside, there is a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage."

“They said in effect, ‘Who in his right mind would prophesy a judgment like this when we are in the midst of such a bountiful harvest, in itself a proof of God’s blessing?’” (Boice)

As in the days of Gibeah - This is similar to comparisons that others make with Sodom. Gibeah was a city in Benjamin and the whole city had fallen into sexual immorality. The men of the city came to take a man who was a traveler, passing through, a man whose concubine had run off from him but was now returning home with him. The Benjamites wanted to know him in carnal fashion, but he put out his concubine instead, who they raped to death. This lead to a heated war when the tribe of Benjamin would not turn over the guilty murderers, rapists, and the tribe was almost wiped away from the land of Israel. They had become quite hardened in their iniquity, and would neither take correction nor allow those in the wrong to be confronted. Here is a link to the passage and story below.

Gibeah of Benjamin

10-14 Like grapes in the wilderness...earliest fruit on the fig tree - He took that much delight in them, as something sweet and untended in the wilderness, a wonderful discovery. Their fathers were the first fruits, and a fig has two fruiting seasons in the year, and so there was the expectation of more. 

12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

...20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” Mark 11: 12-14 & 20-21

5No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” 6Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’…

…8‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year, fine. But if not, you can cut it down.’” Luke 13: 5-9

Is planted in a pasture like Tyre - Tyre was a kingdom on the sea, north of Israel, part of it on the mainland and then some on an island fortress. John Calvin makes a good argument that it is in reference to what pains and difficulties the people of Tyre took in growing various trees upon the island, a place that would need much topsoil brought there to support such growth. If you wanted lush gardens on this barren, rocky soil, pelted by salt air, then it was at great expense. Tyre was also known for her pride, a great city of commerce, wealthy, arrogant, and brought down.

The meaning is, that Ephraim was like tender trees, preserved by men with great care and with much expense; but that they should hereafter bring forth their children for the slaughter. This bringing forth is set in opposition to the house or dwelling. They had been kept without danger from the cold and heat, like a tender tree under cover; but they would be constrained to draw forth their children to the slaughter; that is, there would be no longer any dwelling for them to protect them from the violence of their enemies, but that they would be drawn forth to the light.

We now see that the words harmonise well with the view, that the people of Israel in vain flattered themselves because they had hitherto been subject to no evils, and that God had preserved them free from calamity. There is no reason, the Prophet says, for the people to be proud, because they had been hitherto so indulgently treated; for though they had been like tender trees, they would yet be forced to draw forth their children to be killed. And this comparison, which he amplifies, is what often occurs in Scripture. ‘If Jehoiakim were as a ring on my right hand, saith the Lord, I would pluck him thence.’ (59) Men are wont to abuse even the promises of God. As king Jehoiakim was of the posterity of David, he thought it impossible that hid enemies could ever deprive him of his kingdom; “But it shall not be so; for though he were as a ring on my hand, I would pluck him thence.” So also in this place; “Though the Israelites had been hitherto brought up in my bosom, and though I have kindly given them all kinds of blessings, and though they have been like tender trees, yet their condition hereafter shall be entirely different.” - John Calvin

15-17 Gilgal - The grape and the fig were no more found there, it had turned to apostasy. It is seen in our day when men no longer regard the Word of God as equal to their feelings, their desire, and the Scriptures are handled carelessly by those with only surface interests. False prophets abound.

a. All their wickedness is in Gilgal, for there I hated them: As mentioned before in Hosea 4:15, God despised the city of Gilgal as a center of idolatry in Israel. At one time, Gilgal was a place where prophets were trained under Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 2:1; 4:38). But in Hosea’s day it had become a center of false worship (Hosea 4:15, 12:11; Amos 4:4, 5:5). - Enduring Word

They will produce no fruit - Fertility was a big deal back then, and it is even now in certain groups among different people. There is still a sense of parent in the natural, a biological clock, though large families are now considered less desirable, but it was huge then, and meant growth, added numbers and strength. This punishment against them, that reclaims the life which belongs to the Creator of life, is fitting to the idolatry they participated in, the sacrifices and debauchery associated with the fertility gods. 

…7to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house. 8I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols. 9Behold, the former things have happened, and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”… Isaiah 42: 7-9

And they will be wanderers among the nations - For so long.

14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. Deuteronomy 30: 14-18

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#1126 Hosea 8 Carrion And It's Effects On Raptors

 

Set the trumpet to your lips!

One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord,

because they have transgressed my covenant

and rebelled against my law.

2 To me they cry,

“My God, we—Israel—know you.”

3 Israel has spurned the good;

the enemy shall pursue him.

4 They made kings, but not through me.

They set up princes, but I knew it not.

With their silver and gold they made idols

for their own destruction.

5 I have spurned your calf, O Samaria.

My anger burns against them.

How long will they be incapable of innocence?

6 For it is from Israel;

a craftsman made it;

it is not God.

The calf of Samaria

shall be broken to pieces.

7 For they sow the wind,

and they shall reap the whirlwind.

The standing grain has no heads;

it shall yield no flour;

if it were to yield,

strangers would devour it.

8 Israel is swallowed up;

already they are among the nations

as a useless vessel.

9 For they have gone up to Assyria,

a wild donkey wandering alone;

Ephraim has hired lovers.

10 Though they hire allies among the nations,

I will soon gather them up.

And the king and princes shall soon writhe

because of the tribute.

11 Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning,

they have become to him altars for sinning.

12 Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands,

they would be regarded as a strange thing.

13 As for my sacrificial offerings,

they sacrifice meat and eat it,

but the Lord does not accept them.

Now he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins;

they shall return to Egypt.

14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker

and built palaces,

and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;

so I will send a fire upon his cities,

and it shall devour her strongholds. Hosea 8 ESV

Hosea 8 Assyrian Vulture

1-6 Set the trumpet to your lips - This is the call to Assyria, to come and take the northern tribes. Look, they are week, confused, vulnerable. 

One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord - Some translations have it as an eagle, which is a bird of prey, yet both will scavenge. I have seen one eagle chase a dozen vultures off a carcass more than once. They are both birds of opportunity, and  when a nation becomes weak like this, they see it afar off, the vultures circle above waiting for the victim to die, while the eagle would be more inclined to come before it's dead. Often an eagle will watch an osprey catch a fish rather than try for his own, he will wait, then come to bully and steal the other's catch. It says the vulture is coming, circling because they transgressed the covenant and broke the law. 

My God, we -  Israel - know You - This is a rather blended and tainted plea, as God will demonstrate throughout this chapter that they don't really know Him, nor do they want Him for Who He is. He is one of many gods to them, and their view is degrading, they think to appease Him so that He will give them their way. God has defined Himself through His revelation, given to us in His word, but they have rejected that for their own formula. As we discussed in prior posts, Samaria is the capital of the northern kingdom, and in Jesus time He tells the Samaritan woman that she doesn't know who she worships, their religion was not only a diluted version of Judaism, but it was also defiant.  

…22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’ 24Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.… Matthew 7: 22-24

Israel has spurned the good - When a nation calls good what God has called evil, and evil what God has called good. They have been offering their children to Molech, worshiping idols, violence and greed abound. If you "know" Him than you would know that He is holy and has condemned all these things. 

…4traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these! 6They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women who are weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions,… 2 Timothy 3: 4-6

They made kings but not through Me - Once you are turned over to depravity you get to live in the times of the "Emperor's New Clothes", you know longer choose integrity, and you will even pass on it in favor of voting for free stuff in a democracy. We have people here that vote as they did during the times of slavery, to keep their slaves, which are now the unborn, the people marked for convenience. What does God look for, what does His word say? Many of these people claim to know Him, but their actions say to the contrary. Israel chose kings that appealed to their carnality, and how frightening is it that God turned them over to such men. 

“To choose leaders without the direction of God is not only sinful, it is foolish. Those who follow their own wisdom in the choice of leaders inevitably get what they deserve” (Boice).

…20So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until He had banished them from His presence. 21When the LORD had torn Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat king, and Jeroboam led Israel away from following the LORD and caused them to commit a great sin. 22The Israelites persisted in all the sins that Jeroboam had committed and did not turn away from them.… 2 Kings 17: 20-22

I have spurned your calf, O Samaria - So the northern kingdom selected not only their own king, but even priests, and their king decided upon a national religion. Now they said they worshiped the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, yet they made images to do so, so this is more of a problem than people then and now like to admit. Remember, Christ told the Samaritan woman that she didn't even know who she worshiped. We have to be more than just hearers of the Word, but also doers, and it would seem that they didn't even hear, for one of the first deplorable acts of those in the wilderness was to take their gold and silver jewelry and make a calf. Listen carefully, they said they worshiped the same God that Judah worshiped, the God of Scriptures, yet they did so in a forbidden manner.

Jeroboam, what was he thinking?

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry. Exodus 32: 1-6

Exodus 32 calf crafting

It is not God - God will not accept it as a form of worship to Him; it's not Him, He was not made with hands nor with the imagination. God has to reveal Himself for us to know Him, and He has even given direction on the approach to Him. Those who had read the Book of the Law should have pointed out that God said not to make any graven image, and there were those who fled from this apostasy, for it was a power play, a way to keep the people from going to Jerusalem, a way to control them, just like the Roman Catholic church did not want the Bible printed in other languages, thought the Latin Vulgate was not the original, and when you look at the Bible it was originally written in at least Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek; the language was not important, but keeping with the Author's intent was. There are many groups today that claim extra Biblical revelation, new revelation, that is contradictory to God's word, but fits nicely with what they want to believe, but it's beyond Strange Fire, and offers another Christ, another gospel, it is not the door, nor can it be lumped in with the "Door".

Strange Fire, Nadab and Abihu approaching their own way

5“Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”… John 14: 5-7

7-10 They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind - In times of prosperity they judged themselves okay with God, and in times of famine they complained against God, yet He told them early and often that the wages of sin was death. They did not care if evil befell their neighbors, and they had a system that revered those financially well off as spiritually good. Sin though, that they did not hate, and rich or poor, that was more precious to them, and like a gentle breeze it came forth from their hearts, gentle in the night of their lack of understanding, but now it returns to them, hundreds of years visited upon them in a day, week, time, times and half a time. They have filled up with every false breath the chamber of winds, and now the warm breeze of sins honey moon has become a tornado, the finger of God, "but why"? they ask.

…6Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word must share in all good things with his instructor. 7Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. 8The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.… Galatians 6: 6-8

For they have gone up to Assyria - They admired Assyria's wealth, power, and even religion, but for God their priorities are all wrong, for He puts a much hire premium upon truth. This is before their captivity, they are actually courting those that will become their captors.

Because of the tribute - Not because of shame or sinfulness, but much like many so called Christians today, they will not bother to stand for the truth of God, but taxation is a different story. Hit them in their pocket book and now Assyria doesn't look so wonderful, but Assyria is use to the tribute now, and they know you are weak because you came to them instead of humbling yourself before God. Assyria will not accept their defiance, and they are know for their violence. The whirlwind is coming.

11-14 They would be regarded as a strange thing - They have calves that they consider consistent with worshiping the true God, altars, men called priests, but the words of the true God they wouldn't recognize. Strange fire has become normal fire for them, and the true God sounds like a foreign God. Remember, Hosea said before this, My people die for lack of of knowledge. When you reject the truth you can't know the truth, you aren't set free, but remain a prisoner to ignorance and sin, following the nose of pride you become even more lost. 

1Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises. 2I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else. 3On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.… Psalm 138: 1-3

14Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin. 15Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth. 16But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,… 2 Timothy 2: 14-16

Precepts and Commandments

Sola Scriptura

“If this be the Word of God, what will become of some of you who have not read it for the last month? Most people treat the Bible very politely… When they get home, they lay it up in a drawer till next Sunday morning; then it comes out again for a little bit of a treat and goes to chapel; that is all the poor Bible gets in the way of an airing. That is your style of entertaining this heavenly messenger. There is dust enough on some of your Bibles to write “damnation” with your fingers.” (Spurgeon)

They sacrifice meat and eat it - It was without understanding, so without truth, not in the spirit to which it was prescribed, so they were basically conducting a heathen ritual, amounting to a ceremonious dinner theatre. 

…4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. 6In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight.… Hebrews 10: 4-6

They shall return to Egypt - This is symbolic of captivity, slavery, yet some did flee to Egypt, but the majority were taken into captivity in Assyria.

Judah has multiplied fortified cities - Just in case God doesn't come through for us, and we need to protect our sinful nation, build the fortresses, make the walls of Jerusalem impenetrable. That didn't work out so well.

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