Previously, we’ve seen that after the death of King Solomon, Israel split into two regions: Israel in the northern region, and Judah to the south (see Rebellion of God’s Children). Both regions turned to paganism.
In part one, part two and part three of this series, we saw that God sent prophets to both regions (Joel and Amos) to speak for God in order to try to get His children to return to Him, and another (Jonah) to the Gentile Assyrian city of Nineveh to successfully get them to turn from their sinful ways.
God sent one last prophet to try to save Israel from their imminent destruction that He promised would come to pass at the hands of the Assyrians. His name was Hosea, who also brought hope to their darkness.
Hosea prophesied during the final years of Israel before their captivity (753 – 722 B.C.). Simultaneously, the kingdom suffers its last six corrupt kings.
The people of Israel had descended into absolute unrepentant depravity – even to the extent of sacrificing their own children to pagan gods. Jehovah had tried to turn them from their wicked ways (without violating their free will), but to no avail.
Indeed, listen to how God calls Hosea to his task:
“Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the LORD and worshiping other gods…in fact, I will bring an end to Israel’s independence…for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel of forgive them.” Hos. 1:2, 4 & 6. NLT
So, God is telling Hosea to mirror Israel’s spiritual prostitution by marrying an unfaithful prostitute and by taking care of the children she would bear from her transgressions – in the spirit of repeated forgiveness, bringing her home after she strays. That is one blatant metaphor…
Why is God so upset? Why is He sending the Assyrians to take the Israelites captive?
This disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshipped other gods. The sinned against the LORD their God…They had followed the practices of the pagan nations… 2 Kin. 17:7, 8. NLT
They even sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire. They consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the LORD’s anger. 2 Kin. 17:17, 18. NLT
Hosea, speaking for God, declares a conviction against Israel:
Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel! The LORD has brought charges against you, saying, “There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land. You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere – one murder after another. Hos. 4:1, 2. NLT
Israel was morally bankrupt; and Jehovah laid some of the blame on the priests – rejecting them in the process:
My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Hos. 4:6 NLT
Without spiritual guidance, the Israelites turned to the ways of the world:
They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols. Hos. 4:7 NLT
…when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. Hos. 13:6 NLT
Israel separated themselves from God, and it changed them:
The LORD says, “O Israel, when I first found you, it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season. But then they deserted me for Baal-peor, giving themselves to that shameful idol. Soon they became vile, as vile as the god they worshiped.” Hos. 9:10 NLT
Nevertheless, like the loving Father that He is, God continues to plead with His wayward children. And in so doing, we get a glimpse of the anguish that the Israelites had caused Him:
“I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him. I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck, and I myself stooped to feed him. But since my people refuse to return to me, they will return to Egypt and will be forced to serve Assyria.” Hos. 11:3 – 5. NLT
Do you see the similarities in the people who reject God in our time? This is why we study the Old Testament as well as the new. Being ignorant of the past will only bring the curse of repeating it…
God is a loving Creator, and He continues to declare that love:
I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. Hos. 6:6 NLT
‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’ Hos. 10:12 NLT
Unfortunately, Jehovah’s entreaties for love fall upon deaf ears and defiance:
For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor me. Hos. 11:7 NLT
Yes, they rejected God and had to pay the price. God warned them for 70 years. He is always true to His word:
The people of Israel have been swallowed up; they lie among the nations like an old discarded pot. Hos. 8:8 NLT
In 722 B.C., Israel was decimated, and its people taken captive by the Assyrians. Yet God’s mercy is far greater than we can ever hope to comprehend. He cannot abide with unrepentant sin, so the Israelites were punished. However, our merciful and faithful God makes a promise to raise up a future generation of Israelites and re-establish Israel – thus keeping His promise that He made to Abraham so long ago:
“Yet the time will come when Israel’s people will be like the sands of the seashore – too many to count! Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God.’ Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite together…when God will again plant his people in his land.” Hos. 1:10, 11. NLT
“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever.”
Then God leaves a message for all of us:
I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O grave, I will be your destruction! Hos. 13:14 NKJV
What can we bring home from this?
First, it is that Jehovah loves us so much, regardless of what we have done. But it is up to us to maintain our love-connection with Him by walking in His word to the best of our ability.
The Israelites had hope brought to their darkness through the prophets. Today, we have the entire Bible; we get to see the whole divine plan.
God knows that His children will perish if they don’t stick to His plan; but He is also acutely aware that we are human. That means we will fall repeatedly. I believe that a tear falls down the face of Jehovah every time that happens. Yet He waits patiently for you to ask for His forgiveness so that He can wipe the tears off of yours.
Our heavenly Father only asks us to do our best, and then enlist His aid to bridge that gap where we fall short, so that our ‘best’ can materialize.
The world is a messy place because so many people reject God. Those who wallow in the world want you to do so as well – so that they don’t feel convicted for their ungodly thoughts and actions. That is why it is vital that you marinate in God daily, so that you don’t become one of the walking dead.
Our Creator wants to love His children forever in an intimacy of miraculous proportions:
“When that day comes,” says the LORD, “you will call me ‘my husband,’ instead of ‘my master.” Hos. 2:16 NLT
On that day I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky and the animals that scurry along the ground so they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land…so you can live unafraid in peace and safety. I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the LORD. Hos. 2:18 – 20. NLT
Such love…
Goodnight and God bless.
So precious!!! Thank You, LORD JESUS CHRIST, for Your amazing sacrifice on the cross and Your triumphant victory over death, hell, and the grave! I am YOURS, FOREVER!!!!