Conclusion

It's the day before Thanksgiving, 2011.  I want to thank God for each of you who have walked with me through this study focusing on some of the Minor Prophets.  It has not been easy, no?!  But you have faithfully stayed the course. 

On my wedding day in 1969, my Dad had slipped into my room early in the morning and left a written prayer on the pillow beside me for me to find when I awoke.  That piece of paper is precious to me!  Through that venue, my Dad allowed me to see a part of his heart toward me.  It revealed to me his dreams for me, his child, as I entered marriage. 

I see scripture as just such a "revealing" - though on a much more profound level.    ALL of scripture allows us to get a glimpse of the heart of God toward us.  And this study of Minor Prophets ... difficult as it has been ... allows us to see the heart of God.

When we closed our day class last week, I asked each person to focus on a primary "take away" lesson from the series and share that with us.  Wonderful lessons surfaced ... important truths ... anchors for our souls.  Things such as ...

Our God is truly an AWESOME God!

God means what He says.

Amazed at the patience of God.

God wants our hearts ... He did then ... He does today.

Erosion is what happened to Israel.  It can happen to me.

Beware lip service and religious ritual ... it can subtlely take the place of God.

What is yours?  What has God impressed upon your heart as you have studied these little and powerful books?  What will you "take away" that will effect your life?  What will make a difference?  Those of us involved in this online study would love to hear from you! 

Our next study will be the book of Philippians.  It will begin the second week in January.  May God richly bless your holiday season with things that matter.  Watch for His presence and His hand in your days.  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus ... the author and perfecter of your faith.  And let the joy of the Lord be your strength!



Restoration - Hosea 14 (Week 10 - Post 3)

Our reading today is Hosea 14.  Watch for the hope ... watch for the healing ... watch for the grace.

Has sin marred your life?  Are you bearing consequences for ungodly choices that have marked your days and years?  Do you ever wonder if it will ever be better?  This chapter offers a most beautiful description of the joy of restoration that comes from our God.  Remember, Israel would bear the consequences of her rebellion and idolatry.  BUT ... to quote Paul Harvey ... here is the rest of the story!  The end of the story is in chapter 14.  And, if you belong to God, if you are part of His people, it is your story as well. 

Notice with me God's artistic descriptions of the joy of restoration ...

verse 5 ... "he will blossom like a lily" ... God will restore beauty to Israel.  Sin is ugly and brings ruin and destruction.  God promises beauty.  God can, and will, restore beauty.  And He wants to restore beauty to your life ... in Him.



verse 5 ... "like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots, his young shoots will grow" ... God will restore strength to Israel. Sin weakens us. It prohibits growth and it saps us of all strength. God can, and will, restore strength. And He wants to restore strength to your life ... in Him.



verse 6 ... "his splendor will be like an olive tree" ... God will restore value to Israel. Sin robs us of our worth. It devalues us ... makes us worthless. Olive oil in Hosea's day was a precious commodity. It would be comparable to petroleum in our day! God can, and will, restore value. And He want to restore value to your life ... in Him.



verse 6 ... "his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon" ... Fragrance is all about pleasure. It is about delight. God will restore pleasant fragrance to Israel. Sin produces a stench in our lives. It is more than unpleasant ... it is the stench of death. God can, and will, restore fragrance to life and make it a delight. And He wants to restore fragrance to your life ... in Him.



verse 7 ... "he will flourish like the grain, and blossom like a vine" ... God will restore abundance to Israel. Sin robs us of abundant life. We can have a great deal of money ... but be in poverty of spirit. Jesus told us that He came so that we could experience "abundant life". God can, and will, restore abundant life to Israel. And He wants to restore abundance to your life ... in Him. Abundance means fullness in Him ... plenty ... overflowing ... "my cup overflows" (Psalm 23) kind of life.



So ... Hosea ends his message by asking, "Who is wise?" "Who is discerning?" He answers his own questions ... it is the man, the woman, who knows that the ways of the LORD are right. It is the man, the woman who intentionally chooses to walk in them. Do you? Will you?



God promises restoration to His people who will return to Him with their whole hearts. That's my prayer for myself today ... and you ... it is time to seek the Lord.

Our Father, thank you for revealing the intensity of Your love for Your people through these messages from Hosea. Thank you for revealing the seriousness of idolatry and arrogance. We say together, with one heart and one mind, from every corner where this prayer is read ... You are righteous. You are worthy of all praise and adoration. You are the only living God. You alone we worship.

 

Humble Beginnings - Hosea 12 - 13 (Week 10, Post 2)

Today, read Hosea 12 - 13.  Hosea recounts, one more time, the case God presents against His people. 

Why does history matter?  What purpose is served by looking back to the past and remembering your roots and your ancestry?  I am writing this the week before Thanksgiving, 2011.  There will be family gatherings all around our country next week.  Some will be pleasant and bring great joy.  Some will radiate pain and loss.  Some will reopen wounds that have never healed.  But in them all will be a remembering of past - a remembering of people no longer present at the table - a remembering of history for each family. 

God does that for Israel in Hosea 12.  He walks the people back through their heritage ... back to Jacob.  Jacob was a man who came from a family where competition and jealousies had played a significant role.  He was a deceiver ... had to run from home to protect his own life ... he cheated and lied.  He then became the recipient of cheating and lying from his future father-in-law.  But when he matured ... he had a tenacity for God that marked him, a hunger for God that drove him.  So God reminds Israel of those humble beginnings ... certainly not rich and noble and gentrified!

He then reminds them that they had even been slaves.  They had even been nomads living in tents with no land to call their own.    Such humble beginnings for a people.  But they had forgotten.  They had become arrogant.

Hosea 12:8  "Ephraim boasts, 'I am very rich; I have become wealthy.  With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin.'" 

You see ... they equated material wealth with favored position with God.  They had forgotten their weakness and their dependency upon God.  That nation of people had evolved to the point of thinking that THEY were something! 

Our beginnings in this country were humble as well.  We were formed by outcasts from other lands.  And we, like Ephraim, have forgotten.  Our behaviors often mirror the words of Ephraim in Hosea 12:8.  We are very rich ... so no one can find any fault with us ... right?! 

I believe that God would call to us ... as He did to His people so many centuries before ...

Hosea 12:6  "But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always."  The New American Standard version translates these words with "observe kindness and justice." 

Since you and I have no power to invoke those principles on a national level ... I suggest we practice them within our own small circles! 

My prayer for me this day and this coming week ... my prayer for you ... is that we practice kindness and love with all we encounter, even those that are difficult to love.  May we practice justice and fairness in our interactions this coming week.  And when you feel that you just cannot do it ... remember from where you came ... remember your history ...

"I've been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live but Christ lives in me."  (Galatians 2:20) 

And, my friends, Christ CAN do it!  Let Him live through you ...

A Father's Love - Hosea 11 (Week 10, Post 1)

We are in the final week of this particular study.  And today we begin the last section of Hosea. 
Read Hosea 11.

God has carefully, forcefully and dramatically explained to Israel what is going to happen to them and why it will happen.  No one will be able to say, "But I didn't know.  No one told me."  Over and over we have read of the prophets telling the people.  It seems that God knows the "point of no return" is very close for Israel ... and if He does not bring the severe discipline and judgement now, all will be lost for her.  So God tells them through Hosea that the time is now.  Justice demands destruction.  BUT ...

The tone and mood completely changes in chapter 11.  God also shifts metaphors.  He began the book using the picture and the real life illustration of a husband loving an unfaithful wife.  In chapter 11, God chooses a different picture.  He describes Himself as a father with a beloved son.  Did you feel the pathos and the deep grief as you read?  God is a parent whose heart is broken over the rebellion of his child.  You may have been there.  You may know that pain. 

Two of my daughters have given birth to new sons this fall.  As I watch them mother and care for those precious babies, I think about the things God said to Israel through Hosea.  These new little boys don't realize right now that they would die without their moms feeding them, caring for them.  They would die.  They are completely helpless on their own.  That's the picture.  God says, "they did not realize ..." 

And while justice demands destruction, it is as if we can hear God wail, "But how can I give you up?"  He has a plan ... a way ... to meet justice (because He is just) and to save His people (because He loves). 

We get a clear picture of God's plan from the pen of the apostle Paul.  Listen to him from Romans 3: 21 - 26: (New International Translation)

"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."



         God is God ... and not man.  Therefore, He can be both "just and the justifier" at the same time! 

Hosea did not see the details of how God would deal with what appeared to be a contradiction.  Hosea was reporting the message as it was delivered to him.  He did not get to see how God could be pure justice and still not permanently give over His people to destruction.  But we DO get to see.  We live this side of the cross.  We have the privilege of seeing Jesus (God in flesh) take the destruction upon himself. 

Our God ... both 'just and justifier' ... through Jesus. 

Samuel Shoemaker has said:  "Eternal life does not begin with death; it begins with faith."   Close today's thoughts with me today in prayer ...

You are our Healer, our Deliverer, and our Provider.  Because You do all things so well and so bountifully, it is easy for us to overlook Your goodness or take it for granted.  Forgive us when we are careless or cavalier about your care and provision.  You woo us to Yourself with kindness.  If we reject Your invitation, if we resist Your call, You will not give up on us.  In Your great compassion You will drive us to Yourself through adversity.  We praise You, O God, that even in Your discipline You do not deal with us out of cruely, but out of love.  Today ... we want to hear and respond to You ... to Your love.  So today ... just as we are ... we come. 

The Vine: Hosea 10 (Week 9 - Post 3)

Today, read Hosea 10. 

The chapter begins with the description of Israel as a 'luxuriant vine'.  That imagery is very familiar to the Israelite people.  Let's just look at a couple of other references to the metaphor.

Isaiah 5: 1 - 2, 7  I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard.  My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.  He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines.  He built a watchtower in it and cut out a wine press as well.  The he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.  ...  The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight.  And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Jeremiah 2: 21  I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock.  How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? 

Israel was the vine of God ... and was to be beautiful and fruitful.  Fruit in the eyes of God is always related to His character.  It always refers to bringing His very presence into the life of a person.  Israel, with all her advantages, all her protection and provision, had failed ... she had become a wild, useless vine. 

As we have read this third message from Hosea, there are three primary sins that are repeated over and over.  There is the unfaithfulness ... which is a lack of love for God.  There is the falsehood, the believing and living in lies ... which is a denial of the truth revealed by God.  There is the unrighteousness, the sin ... which is rebellion against God. 

Is that not the same scenario that played out in the Garden of Eden?  Adam and Eve did not love their creator enough to stay faithful to Him ... they were intrigued with what 'other' was offered.  God was not enough for them.  They wanted more, they thought.  Israel did as well.  Do you and I?

Adam and Eve believed the lie of Satan.  They believed that God was holding out on them, keeping them from something splendid.  So they exchanged the truth of God for a lie.  Israel has done the same thing - believing that other gods would somehow add to their religious experience, make them wiser, more god-like.  Do you and I?

Adam and Eve chose unrighteousness.  They decided to do the thing that God had forbidden.  Why?  Because they believed a lie.  Because they loved something more than they loved God.  And so sin enters.  Rebellion.  Disobedience.  Israel has followed the same path.  Do you and I? 

We began today with the vine imagery - imagery which was very familiar to Jewish people.  After all, they WERE the vine of God!  When Jesus enters time and space history centuries after Hosea's time, he uses the same imagery.  However, as he so often did, he takes the Old Testament imagery and brings it full circle to the revelation of what the image was to portray. 

Go to John 15 and here Jesus say to these Jewish followers, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  ... I am the vine; you are the branches." (John 15: 1, 5)    He wants us all to know that belonging to Israel does not make you belong to God.  It's being in the true vine that connects you to God.  It is being 'in Him'.   He goes on in this passage to let us know how to stay away from the sin, the rebellion, the fate of the Israel in Hosea's day ... "REMAIN IN ME", He says.  "REMAIN IN THE VINE",  He says. 

Remain ... abide ... live in ... make your home in ... nest in ... stay in ... never leave ... Me.  Jesus is our hope - our only hope - to live free from fear of failure, free from anxiety over sin.  Remember, He paid the penalty for your sin.  He carried it so you would not have to.  Why in the world would we want to live anywhere else!  Which idol that this world offers is more desirable than that security? 

Israel WAS a luxuriant vine ...
Jesus IS a luxuriant vine ...

And He invites you to be "in Him" and live a life of fruitfulness to the glory of God.  Have you "chosen"?!  Are you "remaining"? 

Reap the Whirlwind: Hosea 8 - 9 (Week 9 - Post 2)

We are continuing our study of the 3rd section of Hosea.  Today, read Hosea 8 - 9.

Two thoughts come to mind as we read these chapters that continue the litany of offenses that Israel has committed against God. 

First ... in 8:7 the language uses the metaphor of the whirlwind for Israel's condition.  Living on the Gulf coast, we know hurricanes.  I have just read an historical novel by Erik Larsen, "Isaac's Storm".  It is about the deadly hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900.  The destruction is almost unbelievable ... as the entire path for a city was changed. 

In 1961, Hurricane Carla was forming and strengthening in open waters.  I was in Galveston with my best friend and her parents.  We were playing in the surf - myself, my friend, and her mom.  Moment by moment news channels and weather stations were not common usage yet.  We did not know.  So we played.  My friends dad was sleeping on the beach.  After a period of time we realized how far we had drifted from his location in our oblivious fun.  So we decided to head back in his direction.  Problem ... we couldn't!  The undertow was strong ... and it took us.  It carried us deeper until we were in water over our heads - no more feet on the bottom.  We tried swimming directly for the beach ... we couldn't.  It continued to carry us out.  Galveston has these long, granite fishing piers that reach far into the ocean.  Mercifully, we were carried toward one and finally slammed against one of those granite piers.  That allowed us to crawl out of the water.  The barnacles cut our hands, knees and feet.  People on shore had seen the struggle so an ambulance was on site and a few spectators had gathered.  We were hauled out of the ocean, checked over and pronounced 'fit' as well as 'fortunate'!  A few days later, Hurricane Carla came ashore at Port Lavaca, TX - a whirlwind that left destruction in its wake. 

As I consider Israel in these messages, I see her like I was in Galveston that day ... just playing and seemingly unaware that destructive winds were just off shore.  These prophets are the warning system!  And Israel continued her romp at the beach in spite of the blasts from the sirens saying, "Get out ... get home!" 

The second thought that pricks my heart is in Hosea 8:14.  The phrase in the NIV says, "Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces ...".  The word translated 'forgotten' actually means 'neglected'.  Israel knew God intellectually.  But she had pushed Him aside.  Other things were more important. Listen to the words of James Boice:
So ... you and I ... let's not neglect our God this week!  Each day ... go to Him.  Each day ... think on Him.  Each day ... talk with Him.  Each day ... listen to Him.  Each day ... submit to Him.  Each day ... offer yourself as a living sacrifice to Him.  Your life, my life, are nothing without Him.  They are as meaningless as jumping a few waves in the shallows of the ocean ...

Not only had Israel not forgotten God - she still knew that He existed and even thought that she was worshiping Him - it is actually the case that no one ever forgets God in the absolute, intellectual sense.  It is our inescapable knowledge of God coupled to our unreasonable and sinful rejection of that knowledge that makes us guilty before Him.  (Read again Romans 1: 18 - 20) 

Phony Repentance: Hosea 6 - 7 (Week 9 - Post 1)

The third section of Hosea begins with Hosea 6:4 and closes at the end of chapter 10.  In this section, God reveals to Israel the result of her sin which has been so thoroughly described.  This section reveals the cost of rebellion - the cost of idolatry and ignoring Jehovah God - the cost of breaking covenant.  The time is ripe, the judgment is here.  We will study it in 3 posts.  Today, read Hosea 6:1 - 7:16.  As you read chapter 7, look for the metaphors.

What appears at first to be repentance (6:1 - 3) proves to be less than actual repentance.  It is phony ... surface ... almost cavalier!  The people say, "Let us acknowledge God" but there is no mention of their sin.  There is no evidence of hearts broken over their rebellion and idolatry.  They have no interest in obeying God, but they would like to have prosperity!  They don't even mind going through some ritualistic religious exercise.  They would be religious ... and continue to live the way they want. 

What about America and her Christianity?  In his commentary on Hosea, James Montgomery Boice reports an interview between a reporter and a prominent evangelical pastor.  The interviewer asks:  "If evangelicals really are as numerous as the polls indicate, why is it that there seems to be so little impact upon the country?  Crime continues to increase.  Divorce statistics climb.  It is the same in all other areas so far as we are able to judge.  Is it that there are really not as many evangelicals as you claim, or is it the case that being 'born again' actually makes no difference in how a person lives?"  Oh my!!  Could we be in the same place with the same attitudes and minds as the inhabitants of Israel at Hosea's time?  Yes, we give lip service to acknowledging God and going through religious exercise, but so often our hearts are far from repentant over sin ... far from obeying God ... far from the heart of God.  I think that we need to "hear" the message of Hosea as much as those early Israelites needed to "hear"!  Are we listening? 

Did you find the metaphors that are used in chapter 7?  God uses vivid pictures to describe the way He sees people who play at repentance ... who continue to confess the name of God all the while continuing in their self-focused, idolatrous living.  The picture is vivid ...

          1.  the "oven" whose fire does not need stirring ... even in secular writings this image is one of sexual lust and passion.  In this context, no doubt the spiritual adultery rampant in Israel.
          2.  a half-baked cake ... a flat cake not turned over ... I can see a pancake that I forgot to turn until it is too late!  As long as I keep the burned side 'down' on the plate, it looks fine.  But one bite and you know it is not fine - it is ruined. 
          3.  a dove ... in this context the image is one of a helpless bird that is easily deceived.
          4.  a faulty bow ... a weapon that is designed to do one thing but is misshapen and cannot accomplish what is was originally designed to do. 

Any antidote for this calamity?  YES!  Israel was past the point of return ... but whatever remnant that was left in her was not.  What about you?  What about me?  What about our country? 

Genuine repentance is the turning point.  It can't be phony.  It can't be outward form only.  It requires a heart ache that sends us falling on our faces before our God.  The apostle John addresses the same question ...

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.     1 John 1: 8 - 9

The secret of restoration?  Heart level confession of sin, genuine repentance and an appeal to God on the basis of His abundant grace.  And the God of mercy and grace WILL heal our wounds. 

Antidote - Hosea 4:1 - 6:3 (Week 8 - Post 3)

We are still reflecting on Hosea 4:1 - 6:3.  The first section of Hosea is the first 3 chapters and is the visual and experiential picture of God and His relationship with Israel.  He pictured it through the experience of Hosea and his wife, Gomer.  In the second section of the book, God is bringing His case against Israel. 

We looked into the core of the problem - there was no knowledge of God left in the land.  The people had ignored the Word of God so long ... they had gone their own way so long ... they had chosen their own wisdom and desires so long ... that any knowledge of God was gone.   The people had intentionally chosen to claim the idols of the surrounding nations for themselves rather than undivided devotion to the God who had brought them out of slavery, protected them, led them in battle and victory, provided for them. 

God gave the gift of free will to man at creation and even He will not violate it.  Man has the freedom to choose his path.  William Barclay has written:  "Before man there stands an open choice; and it has to be so.  Without choice there can be no goodness and without choice there can be no love.  A coerced goodness is not real goodness; and a coerced love is not love at all." 

We watch as the men and women of Israel consistently choose to go the way of idolatry.  And with that continual choice ... they are 'given over' to the "wrath".  The "wrath" is the consequence of going the way of sin.  It is the way God built the world.  For example, if a farmer violates the laws of agriculture, his crop will fail.  If a builder violates the laws of architecture, his building will collapse.  In like manner, if we violate the codes of morality, we will die. 

The see the exact same principle described in New Testament times, the time of the Greco-Roman world and the Roman Empire, read Romans 1: 18 - 32.  You will see the same pattern.  The same loss of knowledge of God.  The same slide into depravity.  Can you see any parallels in our own country, our own land? 

So where does that leave us? 

First ... it leaves me flat on my face saying with Paul in Romans 7: 25 - 8:2  "Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!  ... There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

Secondly, this slide into ignorance of God and the subsequent depravity seems to be the way of fallen humanity.  I desperately DO NOT want to go down that road!  I want to protect myself, my children.  I want to guard my heart.  Remember ... we are the "But As For Me" girls!  So how are we to live? 

The antidote to this deadly path is found in the book of Philippians from the pen of the apostle Paul.  Philippians 4: 4 - 8 ...

Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. 

There is the antidote.  There is joy in the Lord - in knowing Him - in being known by Him - joy that overcomes and overrides any circumstance in my life.  I will rejoice in Him.  I will treat others with a gentle, meek spirit.  My God will fight my battles for me.  I will not fret in anxiety over my life ... or my health ... or my finances ... or the condition of my world or country.  I will do what I can ... and I will take all my concerns and my fears to God through prayer.  I will rest there.  I will ask for His wisdom.  I will ask for His path.  And I will do it with a spirit of thanksgiving.  Giving thanks in all circumstances.  Because God is worthy of my thanks.  And I will focus my mind on the good.  I will stop obsessing over the ugly, the obscene, the worldly, the profane.  I will focus my mind on things of God.  With my free will, I CHOOSE TO LIVE THERE!  And the peace of God will guard my heart. 

HALLELUJAH and AMEN!!