HOSEA
The Minor Prophets:
Hosea 1
1 The word of the LORD (Jesus) spoken to Hosea, son of Beeri, when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah and when Jeroboam, son of Joash, was king of Israel.
Jeroboam--the second; who died in the fifteenth year of Uzziah's forty-one years' reign. From his time forth all Israel's kings worshipped false gods: Zachariah ( 2 Kings 15:9 ), Menahem ( 2 Kings 15:18 ), Pekahiah ( 2 Kings 15:24 ), Pekah ( 2 Kings 15:28 ), Hoshea ( 2 Kings 17:2 ). As Israel was most flourishing externally under Jeroboam II, who recovered the possessions seized on by Syria, Hosea's prophecy of its downfall at that time was the more striking as it could not have been foreseen by mere human sagacity. Jonah the prophet had promised success to Jeroboam II from God, not for the king's merit, but from God's mercy to Israel; so the coast of Israel was restored by Jeroboam II from the entering of Hamath to the sea of the plain ( 2 Kings 14:23-27 ). (Jamieson)
2 When the LORD (Jesus) began to speak to Hosea, the LORD (Jesus) told him, "Marry a prostitute, and have children with that prostitute {some of her children will be born to you from other men.}. The people in this land have acted like prostitutes and abandoned the LORD (Jesus)."
4 The LORD (Jesus) told Hosea, Name him Jezreel. In a little while I will punish Jehu's family for the people they slaughtered at Jezreel. Then I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.
Jezreel--that is, "God will scatter"
6 Gomer became pregnant again and had a daughter. The LORD (Jesus) told Hosea, Name her Lo Ruhamah(Unloved). I will no longer love the nation of Israel. I will no longer forgive them.
7 Yet, I will love the descendants of Judah{Israel}. I will rescue them because I am the LORD (Jesus) their GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). I won't use bows, swords, wars, horses, or horsemen to rescue them.
Judah is only incidentally mentioned to form a contrast to Israel.
9 The LORD (Jesus) said, Name him Lo Ammi [Not My People]. You are no longer my people, and I am no longer your GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
10 Yet the time will come when Israel will prosper and become a great nation. In that day its 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 (Elohim-The Family of God).'
11 Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite under one leader, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be -- the day of Jezreel -- when GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) will again plant his people in his land.
Hosea 2
Continuation of Chapter 1:
Continuation of Chapter 1:
1 So call your brothers Ammi [My People], and call your sisters Ruhamah [Loved].
2 Plead with your mother; plead with her. She no longer acts like my wife. She no longer treats me like her husband. Tell her to stop acting like a prostitute. Tell her to remove the lovers from between her breasts.
3 If she doesn't, I will strip her as naked as she was on the day she was born. I will leave her to die of thirst, as in a desert or a dry and barren wilderness.
4 And I will not love her children as I would my own because they are not my children! They were conceived in adultery.
5 For their mother is a shameless prostitute and became pregnant in a shameful way. She said, 'I'll run after other lovers and sell myself to them for food and drink, for clothing of wool and linen, and for olive oil.'
6 But I will fence her in with thornbushes. I will block the road to make her lose her way.
7 When she runs after her lovers, she won't be able to catch up with them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think, 'I might as well return to my husband because I was better off with him than I am now.'
8 She doesn't realize that it was I who gave her everything she has -- the grain, the wine, the olive oil. Even the gold and silver she used in worshiping Baal were gifts from me!
9 That is why I will take back my grain when it has ripened and my new wine when it's in season. I will take away the wool and the linen that I gave her to cover her naked body.
10 I will show her naked body to her lovers, and no one will rescue her from my power.
11 I will put an end to all her celebrations: Her festivals, her New Months, her Sabbaths-- All her appointed feasts.
God has taken the knowledge of the true Sabbath and Festivals from Israel (USA & England)
12 I will destroy her grapevines and fig trees. She said that they were gifts from her lovers. I will turn her vineyards into a forest, and wild animals will devour them.
13 I will punish her{the Church} for all the times she deserted me, when she burned incense to her images of Baal, put on her earrings and jewels, and went out looking for her lovers, says the LORD (Jesus).
14 But then I will win her{the Church} back once again. I will lead her out into the desert and speak tenderly to her there.
15 I will give her vineyards there. I will make the valley of Achor [Disaster] a door of hope. Then she will respond as she did when she was young, as she did when she came out of Egypt.
It shall be a second exodus song, such as Israel sang after the deliverance at the Red Sea ( Exodus 15:1-21 ; compare Isaiah 11:15 Isaiah 11:16 ); and "the song of Moses" ( Revelation 15:2 Revelation 15:3 ) sung by those who through the Lamb overcome the beast, and so stand on the sea of glass mingled with fire, emblems of fiery trial, such as that of Israel at the Red Sea.
16 On that day she will call me her{the Church and Israel} husband," says the LORD (Jesus). She will no longer call me Lord(Baali).
"my Husband . . . no more my Lord." Affection is the prominent idea in "Husband"; rule, in "Lord." The chief reason for the substitution of Husband for Lord appears in Hosea 2:17 ; namely, Baali, the Hebrew for my Lord, had been perverted to express the images of Baal, whose name ought not to be taken on their lips ( Exodus 23:13 , Zechariah 13:2 ).
17 I will cause her to forget the images of Baal; even their names will no longer be spoken.
18 At that time I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds and the animals that scurry along the ground so that they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords and bows, so you can live unafraid in peace and safety.
19 Israel, I will make you my wife forever. I will be honest and faithful to you. I will show you my love and compassion.
20 I will be true to you, my wife. Then you will know the LORD (Jesus).
21 On that day I will answer your [prayers], says the LORD (Jesus). I will speak to the sky, it will speak to the earth,
22 and the earth will produce grain, new wine, and olive oil. You will produce many crops, Jezreel.
23 I will plant my people in the land. Those who are not loved I will call my loved ones. Those who are not my people I will call my people. Then they will say, 'You are our GOD (Elohim-The Family of God)!'
Here we see God comparing our unfaithfulness to that of adultery. Most of us that have felt the unfaithfulness of a loved one, can better understand how awful God feels about our behavior! We are made in the image of God, and what we feel as sorrow, God feels too! We are to realize that we have all been like this unfaithful wife to our God and how deeply we have hurt them, both the Father and Jesus!
Hosea 3
1 Then the LORD (Jesus) told me, "Love your wife again, even though she is loved by others and has committed adultery. Love her as I, the LORD (Jesus), still loves Israel even though the people have turned to other gods, offering them choice gifts.
15 pieces of silver or about 23 ounces
The price paid is too small to be a probable dowry wherewith to buy a wife from her parents; but it is just half the price of a female slave, in money, the rest of the price being made up in grain ( Exodus 21:32 ). Hosea pays this for the redemption of his wife, who has become the slave of her paramour. The price being half grain was because the latter was the allowance of food for the slave, and of the coarsest kind, not wheat, but barley. Israel, as committing sin, was the slave of sin ( John 8:34 , Romans 6:16-20 , 2 Peter 2:19 ). The low price expresses Israel's worthlessness.
3 Then I told her, "You must live in my house for many days and stop your prostitution. During this time, you will not have sexual intercourse with anyone, not even with me. "
(compare Deuteronomy 21:13 ). As Israel should long remain without serving other gods, yet separate from Jehovah; so Jehovah on His part, in this long period of estrangement, would form no marriage covenant with any other people (compare Hosea 3:4 ). He would not immediately receive her to marriage privileges, but would test her repentance and discipline her by the long probation; still the marriage covenant would hold good, she was to be kept separated for but a time, not divorced ( Isaiah 50:1 ); in God's good time she shall be restored.
(Jamieson)
4 In the same way, the Israelites will wait a long time without kings or officials, without sacrifices or sacred stones, and without ephods or family idols.(without ephod or teraphim)
The long period here foretold was to be one in which Israel should have no civil polity, king, or prince, no sacrifice to Jehovah, and yet no idol, or false god, no ephod, or teraphim. Exactly describing their state for the last nineteen centuries, separate from idols, yet without any legal sacrifice to Jehovah, whom they profess to worship, and without being acknowledged by Him as His Church. So KIMCHI, a Jew, explains it. The ephod was worn by the high priest above the tunic and robe. It consisted of two finely wrought pieces which hung down, the one in front over the breast, the other on the back, to the middle of the thigh; joined on the shoulders by golden clasps set in onyx stones with the names of the twelve tribes, and fastened round the waist by a girdle ( Exodus 28:6-12 ). The common ephod worn by the lower priests, Levites, and any person performing sacred rites, was of linen ( 2 Samuel 6:14 , 1 Chronicles 15:27 ). In the breast were the Urim and Thummim by which God gave responses to the Hebrews. The latter was one of the five things which the second temple lacked, and which the first had. It, as representing the divinely constituted priesthood, is opposed to the idolatrous "teraphim," as "sacrifice" (to Jehovah) is to "an (idolatrous) image." "Abide" answers to "thou shalt abide for me" ( Hosea 3:3 ). Abide in solitary isolation, as a separated wife. The teraphim were tutelary household gods, in the shape of human busts, cut off at the waist (as the root of the Hebrew word implies) [MAURER], ( Genesis 31:19 Genesis 31:30-35 ). They were supposed to give responses to consulters ( 2 Kings 23:24 , Ezekiel 21:21 , Margin; Zechariah 10:2 ). Saul's daughter, Michal, putting one in a bed, as if it were David, proves the shape to have been that of a man.(Jamieson)
5 After that, the Israelites will turn and look to the LORD (Jesus) their God(Elohim/Theos) and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD (Jesus) for his blessings in the last days. {THE MILENNIUM}
Hosea 4
1 Listen to the word of the LORD (Jesus), you Israelites. The LORD (Jesus) has brought these charges against those who live in the land: There is no faith, no love, and no knowledge of GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) in the land.
1 Listen to the word of the LORD (Jesus), you Israelites. The LORD (Jesus) has brought these charges against those who live in the land: There is no faith, no love, and no knowledge of GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) in the land.
Israel--the ten tribes here, not Judah. The USA and Great Britain
2 There is cursing, lying, murdering, stealing, and adultery. People break [My Law], and there is one murder after another.
3 That is why your land is not producing. It is filled with sadness, and all living things are becoming sick and dying. Even the animals, birds, and fish have begun to disappear.
4 Don't point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! Look, you priests, my complaint is with you!
5 {As a sentence for your crimes}, you will stumble in broad daylight, just as you might at night, and so will your false prophets. And I will destroy your mother, Israel.
6 I will destroy my people because they are ignorant. You have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be my priests. You have forgotten the Law(Torah) of your GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), so I will forget your children.
Torah=Law= 1st Five Books of Moses
7 The more priests there are, the more they sin against me. So I will turn their glory into shame.
8 They feed on the sins of my people, and all they want to do is commit sin[lawlessness].
9 So the priests will be punished like the people. I will punish them for their wicked ways and pay them back for what they have done.
10 They will eat, but they'll never be full. They will have sex with prostitutes, but they'll never have children. They have abandoned the LORD (Jesus).
11 Prostitutes, old wine, and new wine have robbed them of their senses.
12 My people ask their wooden idols for help. A piece of wood tells them what to do. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray. They commit adultery by sinning against their GOD (Elohim-The Family of God)
13 They offer sacrifices on mountaintops, and they burn incense on the hills under oaks, poplars, and other trees. They think that these trees provide good shade. That is why your daughters become prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
14 Yet, I will not punish your daughters when they become prostitutes or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. The men go to prostitutes and offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes. These foolish people will be trampled.
15 Israel, you act like a prostitute. Don't let Judah become guilty too. Don't go to Gilgal. Don't go to Beth Aven. Don't take the oath, 'As the LORD (Jesus) lives....'
16 The people of Israel are as stubborn as a bull. How can the LORD (Jesus) feed them like lambs in an open pasture?
17 The people of Ephraim have chosen to worship idols. Leave them alone!
18 When they're done drinking their wine, they continue to have sex with the prostitutes. Their rulers dearly love to act shamefully.
19 The wind will carry them away in its wings, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.
Hosea 5
1 Listen to this, O priests! Take heed, you nation of Israel! Open your ears, royal family! This is my decision about you. You set traps[worshiping idols] at Mizpah and spread out nets on Mount Tabor.
2 You are deeply involved in sin. So I will punish all of you.
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel isn't a stranger to me. Now, Ephraim, you are acting like a prostitute, and Israel is unclean.
4 The wicked things that the people have done keep them from returning to their GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). They have a spirit of prostitution, and they don't know the LORD (Jesus).
5 The people of Israel's arrogance testifies against them. Israel and Ephraim stumble because of their sins, and Judah stumbles with them.
6 They go with their sheep and their cattle to search for the LORD (Jesus), but they can't find him. He has left them.
7 They have been unfaithful to the LORD (Jesus), because their children do not belong to him. Now their New Month [Festivals] will devour them and their fields.
8 Blow the shofar (ram's horn) in Gibeah. Blow the trumpet(shofar) in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth Aven, you descendants of Benjamin.
9 Ephraim will become a wasteland when the time for punishment comes. I will make the truth known among the tribes of Israel.
The United States will become a wasteland for we are Ephraim
10 The leaders of Judah are like those who move boundary markers. I will pour my fury on them like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed--crushed by punishment, because its people are set on chasing idols.
12 I will destroy Ephraim as a moth destroys clothing. I will destroy the nation of Judah as rot destroys wood.
13 When Ephraim saw that he was sick and when Judah saw his own wounds, Ephraim went to Assyria {Germany} to ask the great king for help. But the king couldn't cure them or heal their wounds.
14 I will be like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the nation of Judah. I will carry [them] off, and no one will rescue [them].
15 I will go back to my place until they admit that they are guilty. Then they will search for me. In their distress they will eagerly look for me.
Hosea 6
1Come, and let us return to the LORD (Jesus); For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, he will bandage our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us. On the third day he will raise us so that we may live in his presence.
Jesus was raised from the dead on (at the end) of three days..compare Matthew 2:15 , with Hosea 11:1 ), raised on the third day ( John 2:19 , 1 Corinthians 15:4 ; compare Isaiah 53:10 ). "He shall prolong His days." Compare the similar use of Israel's political resurrection as the type of the general resurrection of which "Christ is the first-fruits" ( Isaiah 26:19 Ezekiel 37:1-14 Daniel 12:2 ).
3 Let's learn about the LORD (Jesus). Let's get to know the LORD (Jesus). He will come to us as sure as the morning comes. He will come to us like the autumn rains and the spring rains that water the ground.
4 What should I do with you, Ephraim? What should I do with you, Judah? Your love is like fog in the morning. It disappears as quickly as the morning dew.
5 I sent My prophets to cut you to pieces. I have slaughtered you with My words, threatening you with death. My judgment will strike you as surely as the break of day shines bright.
6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) more than burnt offerings.
(Joel 2:13 , John 6:27 , 1 Timothy 2:14 ). As God Himself instituted sacrifices, it cannot mean that He desired them not absolutely, but that even in the Old Testament, He valued moral obedience as the only end for which positive ordinances, such as sacrifices, were instituted--as of more importance than a mere external ritual obedience ( 1 Samuel 15:22 , Psalms 50:8 Psalms 50:9 , 51:16 , Isaiah 1:11 Isaiah 1:12 , Micah 6:6-8 , Matthew 9:13 , 12:7 ).
as Margin of KJV, "like Adam," Job 31:33 . For the expression "covenant" is not found elsewhere applied to Adam's relation to God; though the thing seems implied ( Romans 5:12-19 ).
8 Gilead is a city of sinners, tracked with footprints of blood.
9 The priests are like gangs of robbers who lie in ambush for a person. They murder on the road to Shechem. Certainly, they have committed a crime.
10 I have seen horrible things in the nation of Israel. Ephraim is acting like a prostitute, and Israel is unclean.
Hosea 7
Concerning The United States and Great Britain-END DAYS:
1 Whenever I want to heal Israel, all I can see is Ephraim's sin and Samaria's wickedness. People cheat each other. They break into houses and steal. They rob people in the streets.
2 They don't realize that I remember all the evil things they've done. Now their sins surround them. Their sins are in my presence.
3 They make kings happy with the wicked things they do. They make officials happy with the lies they tell.
4 They are all adulterers. Like an oven heated by a baker-- He ceases stirring the fire after kneading the dough, Until it is leavened.
5 On the day of the king's celebration, the officials become drunk from wine, and the king joins mockers.
6 They become hot like an oven while they lie in ambush. All night long their anger smolders, but in the morning it burns like a raging fire.
7 They kill their kings one after another, and no one cries out to me for help.
8 Ephraim mixes with other nations. Ephraim, you are like a half-baked loaf of bread.
A prediction that the United States would intermarry with other races and nations!!!
9 Foreigners are using up your strength, but you don't realize it. You have become a gray-haired, old man, but you don't realize it.
Yet another prediction of The United States being destroyed by aliens
10 Israel, your arrogance testifies against you, but even after all this, you don't turn to the LORD (Jesus) your GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) or look to him for help.
11 Ephraim, you are like a silly, senseless dove. You call for Egypt and run to Assyria[Germany] for help.
12 When you go, I will spread my net over you. I will snatch you out of the air like a bird. I will punish you for all the evil things you have done.
13 How horrible it will be for these people. They have run away from me. They must be destroyed because they've rebelled against me. I want to reclaim them, but they tell lies about me.
14 They don't pray to me sincerely, even though they cry in their beds and make cuts on their bodies while praying for grain and new wine. They have turned against me.
15 I trained them and made them strong. Yet, they plan evil against me.
16 They don't return to Me- the Most High. They are like a defective bow. Their officials will die in battle because they curse. The people in Egypt will ridicule them for this.
Hosea 8
1 Sound the alarm(shofar)! He[the enemy] shall come like an eagle against the house of the LORD (Jesus), Because they have transgressed My covenant And rebelled against My Law(Torah).
2 Israel will cry to Me, 'My God, we know You!'
3 Israel has rejected the good; The enemy will pursue him.
4 They set up kings, but not by Me; They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them. From their silver and gold They made idols for themselves-- That they might be cut off.
See Ezekiel 21:26: I think this is a prophecy about England's monarchy that may not be the right line of David on the throne! Like the Robin Hood Story!
5 Your calf [idol] is rejected, O Samaria! My anger is aroused against them-- How long until they attain to innocence?
6 Samaria's calf-shaped idol was made in Israel. Skilled workers made it. It is not a GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). It will be smashed to pieces.
7 The people of Israel plant the wind, but they harvest a storm. A field of grain that doesn't ripen will never produce any grain. Even if it did produce grain, foreigners would eat it all.
8 Israel will be swallowed up. It has already mixed in with the other nations. It has become worthless.
9 The people of Israel went to Assyria[Germany]. They were like wild donkeys wandering off alone. The people of Ephraim sold themselves to their lovers.
10 Even though they sold themselves among the nations, I will gather them now. They will suffer for a while under the burdens of kings and princes.
11 The more churches that the people of Ephraim build to make offerings to pay for their sins, the more alters they have for sinning.
12 I have written for him the great things of My law, But they were considered a strange thing.
my law--as opposed to their inventions. This reference of Hosea to the Pentateuch alone is against the theory that some earlier written prophecies have not come down to us.
13 For the sacrifices of My offerings they sacrifice flesh and eat it, But the LORD (Jesus) 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 has built temples; Judah also has multiplied fortified cities; I will send a fire on their cities and burn down their palaces.
Hosea 9
1 O people of Israel, do not rejoice as others do. For you have been unfaithful to your GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), hiring yourselves out like prostitutes, offering sacrifices to other gods on every threshing floor.
2 There won't be enough grain to feed people. There won't be enough wine to go around.
3 The people of Ephraim won't stay in the LORD (Jesus)'s land. They will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
In Germany, and even in America, the people of Israel have learned to love pork, ham and other unclean meats and seafood. Hosea 11:5 it is said, "He shall not return into . . . Egypt." FAIRBAIRN thinks it is not the exact country that is meant, but the bondage state with which, from past experience, Egypt was identified in their minds. Assyria was to be a second Egypt to them.
4 They won't pour wine offerings to the LORD (Jesus), and their sacrifices won't please him. Their sacrifices will be like the food that mourners eat. All who eat this food will be unclean. Their food will only satisfy their hunger. It will not be brought [as an offering] to the LORD (Jesus)'s temple.
5 What will they do on the day of an appointed festival or on the LORD (Jesus)'s festival days?
6 Even if they escape without being destroyed, Egypt will capture them and Memphis will bury them. Weeds will grow over their silver treasures. Thorns will grow over their tents.
7 The days of punishment have come; The days of recompense have come. Israel knows! The prophet is a fool, The spiritual man is insane, Because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity.
the prophet is a fool--The false prophet who foretold prosperity to the nation shall be convicted of folly by the event.
8 Prophets are GOD (Elohim-The Family of God)'s watchmen over Ephraim. Yet, traps are set on every prophet's path, and people are hostile in the temple of their GOD (Elohim-The Family of God).
The watchman . . . was with my God--The spiritual watchmen, the true prophets, formerly consulted my God ( Jeremiah 31:6 , Habakkuk 2:1 ); but their so-called prophet is a snare, entrapping Israel into idolatry.
9 People have deeply corrupted themselves as they once did at Gibeah. GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) will remember their wickedness and punish them because of their sins.
10 [The LORD (Jesus) said,] When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first figs of the harvest. But they went to Baal Peor and worshiped shameful idols. They became as disgusting as the things they worshiped.
11 Ephraim's glory will fly away like a bird. There will be no more pregnancies, births, or babies.
OR: from the birth . . . womb . . . conception--Ephraim's children shall perish in a threefold gradation; (1) From the time of birth. (2) From the time of pregnancy. (3) From the time of their first conception.
12 Even if they bring up children, I will take those children away before they grow up. Yes, how horrible it will be for them when I leave them.
13 I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place. But the people of Ephraim will bring out their children to be killed.
14 LORD (Jesus), give them what they deserve. Make the women miscarry, or else make them unable to nurse their babies.
15 [The LORD says], All Ephraim's wickedness began in Gilgal; I hated the people there. I will force them out of my temple because of their wickedness, and I won't love them anymore. All their officials are rebellious.
16 The people of Ephraim are like sick plants. Their roots are dried up. They have no fruit. Even if they were to have children, I would kill their dear children.
17 My GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) will reject them because they refused to listen to him. They will wander among the nations.
Hosea 10
1 The people of Israel are like vines! He brings forth fruit for himself. According to the multitude of his fruit He has increased the number of churches; According to the bounty of his land They have embellished his sacred pillars.
2 They are hypocrites. Now they must take their punishment. GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) will tear down their altars and destroy their stone markers.
3 So they'll say, "We have no king because we didn't fear the LORD (Jesus). Even if we had a king, he couldn't do anything for us."
4 They say many things. They lie when they take oaths, and they make promises they don't intend to keep. That's why lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.
5 Those who live in Samaria fear the calf [shaped idol] at Beth Aven. The people will mourn over it. The priests will cry loudly because its glory will be taken away into captivity.
6 The thing itself will be carried to Assyria as a present to the great king. Ephraim will be disgraced. Israel will be ashamed because of its plans.
7 The king of Samaria will be carried away like a log on water.
8 The illegal churches of Aven will be destroyed. Israel sins there. Thorns and weeds will grow over those altars. People will say to the mountains, "Cover us!" and to the hills, "Fall on us!"
Revelation 6:16
9 Israel, you have sinned ever since the incident at Gibeah. You never change. War will overtake the wicked people in Gibeah.
10 [The LORD says] I will punish them when I'm ready. Armies will gather to attack them. They will be punished for their many sins.
11 Ephraim is like a trained calf that loves to thresh grain. I will put a yoke on its beautiful neck. I will harness Ephraim. Judah must plow. Jacob must break up the ground.
12 Break new ground. Plant righteousness, and harvest the fruit that your loyalty will produce for me. It's time to seek the LORD (Jesus)! When he comes, he will rain righteousness on you.
13 You have planted wickedness and harvested evil. You have eaten the fruit that your lies produced. You have trusted your own power and your many warriors.
14 So your army will hear the noise of battle. All your fortresses will be destroyed like the time Shalman destroyed Beth Arbel in battle. Mothers and their children were smashed to death.
15 This is what will happen to you, Bethel, because you have done many wicked things. At daybreak, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
Hosea 11
GOD's Eternal Love:
1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt.
2 As they called them, So they went from them; They sacrificed to the Baals, And burned incense to carved images.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ropes of love. I removed the yokes from their necks. I bent down and fed them.
5 They will not return to Egypt. Instead, Assyria will rule them because they have refused to return to me.
Prediction of Germany as the end time captor of Israel
7 My people are determined to turn away from me. Even if they call to the Most High, he will not pardon them.
8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboim? I have changed my mind. I am deeply moved.
9 I will not act on my burning anger. I will not destroy Ephraim again. I am GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), not a human. I am the Holy One among you, and I will not come to you in anger.
10 For someday the people will follow the LORD. I will roar like a lion, and my people will return trembling from the west.
FROM THE WEST: Even more proof that after the return of Christ, Israel is to be found in the Western Hempishere! More proof that The United States is Israel and Jesus is going to gather us together from the WEST!
11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt and like doves from Assyria. I will settle them in their own homes," says the LORD (Jesus).
12 Ephraim(The USA) surrounds me with lies. The nation of Israel surrounds me with deceit. Judah rebels against GOD (Elohim-The Family of God), against the Holy One who is faithful.
Hosea 12
1 The people of Ephraim try to catch the wind and try to chase the east wind all day. They are very violent and destructive. They make treaties with Assyria and cut deals with the Egyptians.
2 Now the LORD (Jesus) is bringing a lawsuit against Judah. He is about to punish Jacob for all his deceitful ways.
3 Before Jacob was born, he struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) {and prevailed}
Israel means “He fought with God and prevailed”
4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. {There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him --}
5 That is, the LORD (Jesus) GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) of hosts. The LORD (Jesus) is His memorable name.
6 Return to your GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). Observe mercy and justice, And wait on your GOD (Elohim-The Family of God) forever.
7 [The LORD (Jesus) says,] The merchants use dishonest scales. They love to cheat people.
8 The people of Ephraim say, 'We're rich. We've made a fortune. With all this wealth, no one will find us guilty of any sin.'
The people of the USA always boast that they are the richest nation in the world. Now, we are in debt to the world!
9 I am the LORD (Jesus) your GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). I brought you out of Egypt. I will make you live in tents(tabernacles) again as you did during your appointed festivals.
Feast of Tabernacles in the future!
10 I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions. I taught lessons through the prophets.
11 But Gilead is filled with sinners who worship idols. And in Gilgal, too, they sacrifice bulls; their altars are lined up like the heaps of stone along the edges of a plowed field.
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram and earned a wife by tending sheep.
13 By a prophet [Moses] the LORD (Jesus) brought Israel out of Egypt, And by a prophet he was preserved.
14 The people of Ephraim made the LORD (Jesus) bitter. He will hold them guilty of murder. The LORD (Jesus) will pay them back for their insults.
Hosea 13
NO SAVIOR BUT THE LORD(Yahweh) JESUS:
1 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled. The people of Ephraim were important in Israel. Then they became guilty of worshiping Baal, so they must die.
2 Now they sin more and more, And have made for themselves molded images, Idols of their silver, according to their skill; All of it is the work of craftsmen. They say of them, "Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!"
3 Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist, like dew in the morning sun, like chaff blown by the wind, like smoke from a chimney.
4 I am the LORD(Jesus) your God(Elohim/Theos). I brought you out of Egypt. You have known no God(Elohim/Theos) but Me. There is no savior except me.
5 I took care of you in the desert, in a dry land.
6 When I fed you, you were full. When you were full, you became arrogant. That is why you forgot Me.
7 So I will be like a lion. Like a leopard I will wait by the road to ambush you.
8 Like a bear that has lost her cubs, I will attack you. I will rip you open. Like a lion I will devour you. Like a wild animal I will tear you apart.
9 You are destroying yourself, Israel. You are against me, your helper.
10 Where, now, is your king, the one who is supposed to save you? Where in all your cities are your judges? You said, 'Give us kings and officials!'
11 I gave you a king when I was angry, and I took him away when I was furious.
12 Ephraim's wickedness is on record. The record of the people's sins is safely stored away.
13 They have the opportunity to live again {by the resurrection of the dead}, but they are not smart enough to take it. They are like a baby who is about to be born but won't come out of its mother's womb.
14 I want to free them from the power of the grave. I want to reclaim them from death. Death, I want to be a plague to you. Grave, I want to destroy you. I won't even think of changing my plans.
Jesus Christ, by His death and resurrection is the way we are freed from our graves and given a new life. It is AFTER He returns, that the graves open up and the dead in Christ come back to SPIRITUAL LIFE (1 Corinthians 15) and not before. After the 1,000 year reign of Christ, then all of the graves will be opened and everyone will have a chance to live again (in the flesh). Jamieson writes “Applying primarily to God's restoration of Israel from Assyria partially, and, in times yet future, fully from all the lands of their present long-continued dispersion, and political death (compare Hosea 6:2 , Isaiah 25:8 , 26:19 , Ezekiel 37:12 ). God's power and grace are magnified in quickening what to the eye of flesh seems dead and hopeless ( Romans 4:17 Romans 4:19 ). As Israel's history, past and future, has a representative character in relation to the Church, this verse is expressed in language alluding to Messiah's (who is the ideal Israel) grand victory over the grave and death, the first-fruits of His own resurrection, the full harvest to come at the general resurrection; hence the similarity between this verse and Paul's language as to the latter ( 1 Corinthians 15:55 ). That similarity becomes more obvious by translating as the Septuagint, from which Paul plainly quotes; and as the same Hebrew word is translated in Hosea 13:10 , "O death, where are thy plagues (paraphrased by the Septuagint, 'thy victory')? O grave, where is thy destruction (rendered by the Septuagint, 'thy sting')?" The question is that of one triumphing over a foe, once a cruel tyrant, but now robbed of all power to hurt.”
15 The people of Ephraim have become important among their relatives. However, the LORD(Yahweh-Jesus)'s scorching wind will come from the east. It will blow out of the desert. Then their springs will run dry, and their wells will dry up. The wind will destroy every precious thing in their storehouses.
16 The people of Samaria are guilty as charged because they rebelled against their God(Elohim/Theos). They will be killed in war, their children will be smashed to death, and their pregnant women will be ripped open.
The rejection of Israel for a time, is signified by the name of another child: call him Lo-ammi, not my people. The Lord disowns all relation to them. We love him, because he first loved us; but our being cast out of covenant, is owing to ourselves and our folly. Mercy is remembered in the midst of wrath; the rejection, as it shall not be total, so it shall not be final. The same hand that wounded, is stretched forth to heal. Very precious promises are here given concerning the Israel of God, and they may be of use to us now. Some think that these promises will not have accomplishment in full, till the general conversion of the Jews in the latter days. Also this promise is applied to the gospel, and the bringing in both the Jews and Gentiles to it, by St. Paul, Ro 9:25,26, and by St. Peter, 1Pe 2:10. To believe in Christ, is to have him for our Head, and willingly to commit ourselves to his guidance and government. And let us pray for the coming of the glorious day, when there shall be one Lord through all the earth. Matthew Henry
Hosea 14
GOD'S RESTORATION:
1 O Israel, return to the LORD (Jesus) your GOD (Elohim-The Family of God). You have stumbled because of your lawlessness.
2 Return to the LORD (Jesus), and say these things to him: "Forgive all our sins, and kindly receive us. Then we'll praise you with our lips.
3 Assyria cannot save us. We won't ride on horses anymore. We will never again say that the things our hands have made are our gods(elohim/theos). You love orphans."
4 [The LORD (Jesus) says,] I will cure them of their unfaithfulness. I will love them freely. I will no longer be angry with them.
5 I will be like dew to the people of Israel. They will blossom like flowers. They will be firmly rooted like cedars from Lebanon.
6 They will be like growing branches. They will be beautiful like olive trees. They will be fragrant like cedars from Lebanon.
7 They will live again in GOD (Elohim-The Family of God)'s shadow. They will grow like grain. They will blossom like grapevines. They will be as famous as the wines from Lebanon.
8 The people of Ephraim will have nothing more to do with idols. I will answer them and take care of them. I am like a growing pine tree. Their fruit comes from me.
9 Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; The righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them.
EPILOGUE, summing up the whole previous teaching. Here alone Hosea uses the term "righteous," so rare were such characters in his day. There is enough of saving truth clear in God's Word to guide those humbly seeking salvation, and enough of difficulties to confound those who curiously seek them out, rather than practically seek salvation. (Jamieson)
stumble and are offended at difficulties opposed to their prejudices and lusts, or above their self-wise understanding (compare Proverbs 10:29 , Micah 2:7 , Matthew 11:19 , Luke 2:34 , John 7:17 , 1 Peter 2:7 1 Peter 2:8 ). To him who sincerely seeks the agenda, God will make plain the credenda. Christ is the foundation-stone to some: a stone of stumbling and rock of offense to others. The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. But their fall is the most fatal who fall in the ways of God, split on the Rock of ages, and suck poison out of the Balm of Gilead.
