The Core - Hosea 4:1 - 6:3 (Week 8 - Post 2)

We are in Hosea's second message ... Hosea 4:1 - 6:3. 

In Lesson 1 of our Hosea study, we observed that the people were perishing because there was no knowledge of God in the land.  Today, let's consider the responsibility carried by the priests for that condition.  I am not sure if the religious leaders go the way of the people ... or if the people go the way of the religious leaders.  In the NIV, verse 9 says, "Like people, like priests" which makes me think that the religious leaders just made themselves say and do whatever the people wanted.  In the New Testament, Paul describes that condition like this:  "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Timothy 4: 3 - 4)  Paul then tells Timothy "But you, keep your head in all situations ..."  That sounds a lot like our "But As For Me" group! 

It is a powerful temptation to say what we know people want to hear ... to make them feel good ... to be politically and culturally 'correct' ... even when it means softening or even mis-representing the Word of God.  The religious leaders in the days of Hosea did not speak the truth ... nor practice it.  They carried the responsibility for communicating the Word of God, the practices of God, the sacrifices that pointed to Messiah.  They were the ones to keep the people aware of their place in God's economy - their place as light for Jehovah to the world.  But ... there were so many things that they loved more than they loved God ... there was the ...

idols and the divination (4:12 - 13)

(idolatry - ANYTHING placed over God)

temple prostitutes (4:14)

(sexual sin)

financial benefit from people's sin offerings (4:8)

(the love of money)

love of strong drink to the point of losing understanding (4:11)

(my PLEASURE)



So God builds His case against Israel.  He lays out in this message the depth of Israel's depravity, the distance they have place between themselves and God.  He is clear in describing the depth to which Israel has fallen ... impossible to come back?  It seems that way in much of what Hosea says.  But God never leaves His people without hope.  NEVER.  In Post 3 we will focus on the hope that God offers - the future He promises. 

But for today ... let's think again about this issue of "first place".  We speak of it so often.  But we violate it so often!  Hear again the words of God ... and go to prayer ...

Exodus 20: 2 - 7       I Am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD you God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love  me and keep my commandments.  You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.

And from Jesus ...  Matthew 22: 37 - 38     Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment. 

It's foundational ... it's the core ... it cannot be disregarded ... it is not conditional ... it is not culturally dependent ... it was core for Israel ... and it is core for you and me. 

Lord ... forgive us for the times we have been more interested in the world than in You.  Forgive us for the times we have been lulled into thinking that a little church attendance, a little ceremony, a little sacrifice is what You want from us.  Today ... we give You ourselves again.  Wash us clean ... again.  Make us ... again ... a living sacrifice, wholly devoted to You. 

No Knowledge - Hosea 4:1 - 6:3 (Week 8 - Post 1)

The book of Hosea contains 4 messages, or sermons, from the prophet.  The first message is in chapters 1 - 3 which we considered in Week 7.   It describes the physical circumstances that God led Hosea through in order to picture the wretchedness of Israel's condition.

In Week 8 we will look at Hosea's second message.  Commentators disagree on where to place a break between messages 2 and 3.  For our purposes, we are going to follow the break point that is used by Kay Arthur in her Precept study on Hosea.  Therefore, we will consider Message 2 to be Hosea 4:1 - 6:3.  That is the assignment for today ... read Hosea 4:1 - 6:3. 

Israel has experienced a long, slow slide into spiritual adultery.  It is the principle of erosion.  Erosion is almost imperceptible to the eye.  Trees don't suddenly die ... there is a weakening process that leaves them susceptible to disease and death.  Then one day, we look at the tree and it is brown and our response is "When did that happen?"  Relationships don't suddenly die ... there is a slow disintegration of care and good conversation and concern for the other.  Then one day we realize that there is nothing left and our response is "How did that happen?"  Gardens don't immediately become overrun with weeds ... there is ignoring it, putting off care for another day.  Then one day we look and our garden is completely enveloped with weeds, the flowers are gone, and our response is, "How in the world did that happen?  It seems that just yesterday it looked great!"  Spiritual erosion follows the same pattern.  Put off thinking about it for another day ... then another ... then a week is past ... then a month ... has it been a whole year since we have been with the family of God?  I know we were there last Christmas.  This is October ... Wow, time flies!  But you know we are so busy.  I need Sunday to get my grocery shopping done and get ready for the coming week.  We will get re-connected later.  Always later ...
Erosion is a deadly process ... it is slow and steady decline.  Israel has eroded ... have you?

This erosive slide of Israel had taken them to a state that Moses and Joshua, that David and Samuel would not have recognized.  Did you catch it in verses 1 and 6?  There is no knowledge of God in the land!  And it is not because the knowledge was unavailable ... it is because the people had rejected it.  They didn't want to know what God was like ... they did not want to know what God's values are ... they did not want to know what God expected of them as His people.  They did not want to know because they wanted to do what they wanted to do when and how they wanted to do it.  Sound familiar? 

Remember Micah 6:8?  God had said, what I expect of you is to love mercy, act kindly, and walk humbly with me.  The people said, "Ummm ... no thanks.  Don't want to."

God had said, "Do not kill."  The people said, "Ummm ... don't think that works for me."

God had said, "Do not commit adultery."  The people said, "Ummm ... but I want to do this.  I need it."

God had said, "Have no other gods before me".  The people said, "Ummm ... but the peoples around us will think us strange.  They have some really cool and exciting gods.  The worship of them is incredibly stimulating!  Makes me feel really good.  Sorry, Jehovah ... can't do this one." 

And on and on ...

Until ... there is no knowledge of God in the land.  My friends ... I fear that our nation is on that same path. 

So today ... you and I ... may we remember the "But As For Me" club and determine that WE will not walk on that road.  I long to know Christ.  We are committed to growing ever deeper in our knowledge of God through His written word.  I appreciate you so much for walking with me. 

And hear again the words of Jeremiah the prophet as he speaks for God in Jeremiah 29:13 - 14a

You will seek Me and find Me,

when you search for Me with all your heart.

And I will be found by you, declares the Lord ...

All our hearts ... all.



Spiritual Adultery - Hosea 1:10 - 3:5 (Week 7 - Post 3)

Read Hosea 1:10 - 3:5. 

Hosea 1:10 begins chapter 2 in the Hebrew Bible so begin there as you read today's passage. 

Adultery is an horrific sin.  Any of you who have walked there know the pain.  Any of you who have watched people you love walk there know something of the pain.  Relationships are torn apart ... families are ripped wide open ... it is all about loss.  That is just on the physical level.  Hosea lives out the physical form so that Israel will have a live demonstration of the spiritual form.  As a nation ... as God's chosen people ... as His elected nation to show the world His character and love ... they have committed adultery against Him.

Yet ... in the face of such extreme violation and pain ... after the necessity of extreme discipline and pain ... we hear God say, "I will allure her ... I will speak kindly to her ... I will open a door of hope ... she will call me 'husband' not 'master' ... I will betroth her to me forever ... in righteousness, justice, loving kindness, compassion, faithfulness ... I will say 'You are My people!' And they will say, 'You are my God'!"

Such hope.  Such promise.  Such security.  Such love.  And that is OUR God!  A God who loves with such passion and steadfastness that He WILL NOT LET YOU GO!  He will allow sin to take its payment because without that ... we would never return to Him.  He will apply discipline because without that ... we would continue on our self-indulgent way to destruction. 

Spiritual adultery cause pain to the heart of God more deeply than even physical adultery causes pain to the hearts of men and women.  I desperately do not want to commit spiritual adultery!  Are you with me?!   To avoid something, we must know what it is.  So what is spiritual adultery anyway?

We know from our earlier readings of the Prophets that spiritual adultery is idolatry.  So how does that play out in our lives - in 21st century America?  I believe it plays out through worldliness ... our love of, even fascination with, the things of this world.  When the things of this world take precedence in our lives over God ... we are moving into an adulterous relationship with the world ... leaving our "first love".  Pray fervently for eyes to see yourself and where you are in this discussion.  Listen to these words from scripture ...

1 John 2: 15 - 17 "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."



This passage lets me know that Satan would have me focused on my own pleasure ... on my own wants and desires ... on my own accomplishments and status.  When I allow myself to put my focus there ... I am ripe for an adulterous relationship with the world as my lover.  Hebrews 12:2 says to "fix your eyes on Jesus."  That's the only antidote ..

James 4: 1 - 4   "What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?  You want something but don't get it.  You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.  You quarrel and fight.  You do not have, because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
                            You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?  Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."

This passage lets me know that my wants and pleasures lead me into all kinds of anti-God behaviors and attitudes.  It is pride that leads me to believe I deserve all I desire.  Am I willing to leave my God who loves me with the kind of passion and faithfulness that we read about in Hosea?  Am I willing to fight against my God who WILL NOT LET ME GO?  Friendship with the world progresses into a love relationship with the world ... and I walk willingly into spiritual adultery. 

Oh God ... I confess my own tendency to love the world and the things of the world!  Forgive me for violating your heart and my relationship with You.  My heart's desire is to have an honest, passionate relationship with You as my true love ... my true partner. 

I close with the words of T. O. Chisholm, written in 1905 ...

Only in Thee, O Savior mine,

Dwelleth my soul in peace divine,

Peace that the world, tho all combine,

Never can take from me.

Pleasure of earth, so seemingly sweet,

Fail at the last my longings to meet;

Only in thee my bliss is complete,

Only dear Lord, in Thee!

Only in Thee, dear Savior, slain,

Losing Thy life my own to gain,

Trusting, I'm cleanses from every stain;

Thou art my only plea.

Only in Thee my heart will delight,

Till in that land where cometh no night

Faith will be lost in heavenly sight,

Only, dear Lord, in Thee! 

Visual Aid? - Hosea 1 (Week 7 - Post 2)

Read Hosea 1. 

I can't help but wonder what in the world Hosea thought when this message came to him from God.  He knew the message was God given.  And so he did it!  He had to have been a remarkable man of faith.  Often God used symbolism through His prophets to hammer home a lesson.  And it always required sacrifice on their part.  Think about Hosea ... think about his decision ... think about marrying and knowing what was coming.  We learn later in our book that Hosea loved Gomer. 

I suspect there may be some of you reading this that know what it means to be betrayed by a spouse ... one you loved ... one you assumed faithfulness.  The pain is almost indescribable ... but Hosea KNEW!  He knew what would be because God gave him warning ... and told him to do it anyway. 

What kind of trust is required for that kind of obedience?  I have some lessons to learn about trusting God.  I want to have absolute security in the knowledge that the God of all the earth will do right.  And even when He asks me to difficult things, to go difficult places, to walk into circumstances that I cannot explain or understand ... God can be trusted.

Has God ever asked you to do something so incredibly difficult that you thought you couldn't do it?  He even does that through scripture.  And He asks us to trust Him enough to DO IT!  For example ...

Romans 14:13 - "Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another.  Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

Romans 15: 1 - 2 - "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.  Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."

Romans 15: 7 - "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." 

Ephesians 4: 29 - "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building other up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Colossians 3:9 - "Do not lie to each other ..."

Colossians 3: 12 - 13 - "As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

We could go on and on ... the things God tells us to do.  Why?  Because we are His.  Because He has a message to speak through us.  Symbolically, we are Christ in flesh again.  The world needs to see the Lord ... and God chooses for the world to see Him through us.  Amazing ...

Requires great trust ...

Requires great sacrifice ...

Requires being women and men determined to respond to the call of God ...

Are we listening?

Hosea (Week 7 - Post 1)

The final book of the Minor Prophets that we will study this session is the book of Hosea.  It is a bit longer than the others we have considered with its 14 chapters.  Today, let's just consider some introductory things about the book.  Then, the assignment for the next couple of days is to read the book of Hosea.  Remember in an overview reading you don't need to worry about details ... you are just getting a feel for the book - its flow and progression. 

Before you read ... here is some background and historical information that will enhance the understanding of the book. 


Hosea lived and ministered in Israel in the days of the Divided Kingdom. He preached during the later years of Jeroboam II, a time of great material prosperity (about 753–723 b.c.).



Hosea’s mission was both special and painful. He was called to experience the anguish caused by an unfaithful wife: a wife whose sexual adultery mirrored the spiritual adultery of the nation Israel, which had been unfaithful to the Lord by worshiping idols and rejecting the holiness in His Law. The names of his children were chosen by God as reminders of Israel’s unfaithfulness.
(Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher's commentary. Includes index. (451). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.)

And from Warren Wiersbe and his expository outlines on the Old Testament. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books:



The name Hosea means “salvation.” He preached in the Northern Kingdom (Israel, also called “Ephraim”) during a period of national decline. When Hosea started his ministry, Jeroboam II was king, and it was a time of great prosperity. But the nation was rotting away inwardly and getting involved with foreign alliances instead of trusting God to lead and protect them. Hosea lived to see Israel taken captive by the Assyrians in 721 B.C. Read 2 Kings 15–17 for some of the historical background.



Hosea’s message is to the nation of Israel, exposing their sins and warning them of coming judgment. There is also a message of hope for the future, as we shall see. But the unique thing about his message is that he had to live it himself before he could preach it to the people. The prophet had to experience deep agony in his own marriage because of the sins of his wife, but all of this was a divinely sent object lesson to him and his people.


One other comment before we begin ...

There is a wonderful novel by Francine Rivers titled "Redeeming Love".  The story is based on the story we are about to encounter in the book of Hosea.  If you like to read ... check out the book.  Let me know what you think. 

Lord, we ask for wisdom as we open this book.

Teach us what You would have us know.

Give us the wisdom to see applications for our lives,

and the courage to act on what You show us.

Let us learn from Your servant, Hosea.

The Meaning of Trust - Habakkuk 3 (Week 6 - Post 2)

Read Habakkuk 3 today.  If it has been several days since you were in Habakkuk, it would be advantageous to begin at the beginning of the book to refresh your mind on the flow of the dialogue.  Then come back ...

In chapter 1 of this book, we observe Habakkuk wondering and questioning.  He doesn't doubt God, he just doesn't understand.

In chapter 2, we observe the prophet watching and waiting for God's response and activity.  He knows that the righteous live by faith and he is willing to watch and wait - to live by faith.

Then we come to chapter 3 and we see this prophet worshiping.  He has moved from the questions and confusion through the decision to watch and wait all the way to adoration and worship.  You feel the humility, the awe of God, the reference for Him.  Verses 17 - 19 constitute one of the most beautiful statements of total trust in all of scripture.  And in that trust lies the secret to joy. 

Now ... take whatever circumstance you are having to walk through right now that is difficult.  Do you have it in mind?  Walk it through these three chapters .... 1) take your questions and confusion to God.  Ask Him about it.  Tell Him you don't understand why you must see or do this thing.  Then, 2) ask yourself if you are willing to watch and wait for God to act.  If you decide that you are willing, then you must practice!  And 3) spend your time in worship.  Tell God what you know of Him ... His splendor and mighty hand, His power and His righteousness.  Can you conclude as did Habakkuk, with the statement that even if things do not go your way ... even if circumstances do not work as you would have them work out ... even if things remain hard ... I will rejoice in God my Savior.  I will find joy in the Lord, not in the circumstance.  After all, the Lord is sovereign.  The Lord is all-knowing.  The Lord is all-wisdom.  The Lord is all-love.  The Lord is all-mercy.  I will find joy.  Not only joy ... but the strength to go on.  You will gain the strength to go on to be the best, the highest, you can be as long as you are allowing the strength of God, your trust in Him, to be the force that carries you.  The strength that enables you. 

Let's memorize these 3 verses ... they need to be in the warp and woof of our psyche. 

     Though the fig tree does not bud

          and there are no grapes on the vines,

          though the olive crop fails

          and the fields produce no food,

          though there are no sheep in the pen

          and no cattle in the stalls,

     Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

          I will be joyful in God my Savior.

     The Sovereign Lord is my strength;

          He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

          He enables me to go on the heights.

Faithfulness - Habakkuk 2 (Week 6 - Post 1)

As we continue our reflections on the book Habakkuk ... today read Habakkuk 2.

There are two familiar phrases in this chapter.  And in the midst of the "woes" against Babylon, they are like a fresh breeze of clean air blowing through.  Let's consider them both today ...

Habakkuk's second complaint to God (1:12 - 2:1) is all about why God would use the Babylonians (Chaldeans) to discipline Judah.  They were a blood-thirsty and violent, idolatrous people.  Couldn't God find someone else - someone less wicked?  God's response is to tell Habakkuk that he is just to wait ... and to remain faithful during the waiting. 

That's hard isn't it?  The waiting on God.  Many times we are called to wait on God.  It seems that the answers to our prayers are not forthcoming ... time passes ... circumstances don't get 'fixed' or even better.  We continue to pray ... and wait.  So the question becomes, "how do you wait?"  What is your attitude in the waiting?  Are you anxious, full of doubt, fearful?  David describes the attitude during waiting in Psalm 27: 13 - 14:

I am still confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

God tells Habakkuk "though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

And then in verse 4, one of the "fresh air" phrases of this chapter appears ... and is almost as an aside in the flow of the sentence.  How refreshing it is!  "But the righteous will live by his faith"  God tells us that we can indeed live well during the time of waiting ... how, by faith! 

What about this word, "faith"?  From the Shepherd's Notes Commentary:

The Hebrew word translated "faith" in Habakkuk 2:4 means "faithfulness", "steadfastness," or "trustworthiness."  It implies a continued state of being, a deliberate and conscientious effort to walk in God's ways.  It also includes the ideas of belief and trust which are more common to the New Testament concept of faith.  Quoting this verse three times, the writers of the New Testament recognized that saving faith was faith that believed in God but also resulted in faithful living.

The three places where Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted are:

1.  Romans 1:17  "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'"

2.  Galatians 3:11  "Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, 'The righteous will live by faith.'"

3.  Hebrews 10: 37 - 38  "For in a very little while, 'He who is coming will come and will not delay.  But my righteous one will live by faith.'"

How about you?  Is that the way you are living today?  In your current circumstances?  The righteous do that ... they live each day by faith.

The second "fresh air" phrase appears in verse 20.  These "woes" against Babylon have filled the chapter ... there are five of them and they are bleak indeed.  And then there is the "BUT" that begins verse 20.  In spite of all the gloom and destruction that is coming ... there is something else ... that is not the end of the story.  "BUT"! 

But what?  But ... the Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.

So, rest well, my friends.  The Lord STILL resides in His holy temple ... the Lord STILL commands the silence of reverence and awe in His presence. 

We can echo the heartbeat of David as he says ... "I am still confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." 

Yes, David.  Me, too.