Hosea
Week 1 Day 2 Obedience
2 When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea:
“ Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For the land has committed great harlotry
By departing from the LORD.”
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.The next few days we are going to take a look at obedience. The one thing that really stands out to me about Hosea is his instant obedience. God told him to marry a harlot and the next verse we see Hosea carrying out the command. In Hosea’s case we do not see any arguing with the Lord, we do not see any hesitation in the timing. What we do see is instant obedience. How refreshing! But how not like the way I normally react. How about you?
I want to learn how to be obedient like Hosea so we are going to spend some time looking at what the Lord has to say about obedience.
Hosea 6:5-7
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by the words of My mouth;
And your judgments are like light that goes forth.
6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7 “ But like men they transgressed the covenant;
There they dealt treacherously with Me.
Here in Hosea, God tells us what about obedience?
Let’s compare some words to get a clearer picture of what is being said:
Mercy_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sacrifice_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Knowledge______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Burnt offerings___________________________________________________________
Transgressed____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dealt treacherously________________________________________________________
Looking at these words, what are you beginning to understand a little more clearly about obedience?
The argument had been throughout the prophets by the people of Israel was that they had made sacrifices and offerings but still they were having major problems. They could not understand why the Lord would punish them or fail to bless them, when they were going through the motions. Let’s take a look and see some of their behavior problems.
King Saul was the very first king of Israel. He was chosen by God to be their king because he looked the part. He was tall, handsome, physically fit and could carry himself in a kingly manner. At first, Saul was very humbled by being chosen. We even have a report that he was filled by the Spirit and able to prophesy just like the prophets but being king soon changed the way he felt about himself and his relationship with the Lord. He made the mistake of thinking much too highly of himself and treating the Lord casually, almost as an equal.
Read the story in 1Samuel 15 about King Saul and his failure to completely follow the Lord’s commands.
Thinking about obedience, why do you think this story is so important?
Is there anything in this story that you see as being unfair? (After all Saul did say he was sorry for doing things his own way. Do you think he was really sorry, or just sorry he got caught?)
What were the long term ramifications of Saul not obeying God completely?
Let’s look at Samuel’s response to Saul’s words of trying to justify his actions:
1 Samuel 15
22 So Samuel said:
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
He also has rejected you from being king.”
What are some of the things that Samuel is accusing Saul of doing?
Today is word day, so look up:
Rebellion________________________________________________________________
Witchcraft_______________________________________________________________
Stubbornness_____________________________________________________________
Iniquity_________________________________________________________________
Idolatry_________________________________________________________________
Rejected_________________________________________________________________
The next time you justify your actions to God for not completely obeying what it is you know you should be doing, think back to Saul.
BTW a descendant of King Agag is the Haman in the Book of Esther that was so determined to destroy all the Jews in Persia. So remember, there are always consequences to our disobedience, we may not be around to see them, but none the less, they are still there.
Tomorrow we will take a look at what Jesus had to say about obedience.
But for today, take time to write out how obedience is important in your walk with the Lord. Also, be real with yourself and write down some of the reasons that you have a hard time being obedient every time.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Hosea is called
Day 1 Know the Lord
We read in Hosea 4:6a
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Let’s start our study here. Hosea was called by God for a specific time and a specific place. He was called to be a living example of God’s love to a people that had forgotten all about their Lord. God says that their destruction was coming because of their lack of knowledge. What was the knowledge that they have seemed to have forgotten? Let’s look at a few of the verses in Hosea that deal with this problem.
Fill in the blanks:
Hosea 4:1
Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel, For the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land, Because there is no faithfulness or kindness or¬¬¬______________of God in the land.
Hosea 2:8
“For she does not ¬¬¬¬_________that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine and the oil, And lavished on her silver and gold, Which they used for Baal
Hosea 5:4
Their deeds will not allow them To return to their God. For a spirit of harlotry is within them, And they do not ________ the LORD.
Hosea 6:6
For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the __________________ of God rather than burnt offerings.
Hosea 7:9
Strangers devour his strength, Yet he does not __________ it; Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him, Yet he does not ___________ it.
Hosea 11:3
Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in My arms; But they did not _________ that I healed them.
Hosea 13:4
Yet I have been the LORD your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to__________any god except Me, For there is no savior besides Me.
So using these verses as a clue to the Israelites problems what do we see? First of all, they had forgotten who had blessed them in the first place. They were giving credit for their times of prosperity to the gods that the Canaanites had worshipped in the land before they came there. These were gods of fertility and the harvest and natural conditions, such as rain and sunshine. They were in essence taking the good things that the Lord God had given them and then and going and sacrificing these very things to the idols they had constructed. God called this spiritual adultery, because it would be like a wife enjoying what her husband had given to her as far as food, clothing and jewelry and then going to another man and thanking him for all she had by having sex (intimacy) with him instead of her husband.
Take a moment to write down any thoughts you may have about these verses and what spiritual adultery looks like. As we study further, it will be good to come back and look at what you have written here to see if there are any changes.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Let’s take a look at the definition The New Bible Dictionary has:
KNOWLEDGE. The Gk. ideal of knowledge was a contemplation of reality in its static and abiding being; the Heb. was primarily concerned with life in its dynamic process, and therefore conceived knowledge as an entry into relationship with the experienced world which makes demands not only on man’s understanding but also on man’s will.
The New Bible Dictionary goes on to give examples from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. If you have time, look up knowledge, understanding, and know (yada in Hebrew). You can find access to Bible dictionaries at websites such as biblegateway.com, bible.org, crosswalk.com, etc. Are you beginning to see the difference between our western idea of knowledge and the Biblical idea. In American Christianity I have heard it explained this way before. “I know in my head what the truth is, but it has not reached my heart”. This is usually said by someone that knows the Lord wants them to do or feel something but they have not. They usually feel that they will eventually have this truth reach their heart.
Think for a moment. Have you ever felt that way? Maybe you knew you were supposed to forgive someone who had hurt you, you may have even said the words, but you knew in your heart you had not forgiven them. According to the Hebrew way of thinking, you really did not KNOW this truth at all. You just had an idea that it was so.
Write down an example of something that is true but you do not yet fully know.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Take time to pray:
Lord, I am beginning to realize that I thought I knew what I was supposed to do but I am not allowing your knowledge to be a part of my heart and soul as well as my mind. I see now that is just an excuse to not obey your word to me. Jesus, I repent (am sorry) of this attitude and ask that your Holy Spirit would lead me in all knowledge of you and your ways. Just as I long to love you with my whole heart, body, soul, spirit and strength, I also want to have that intimate knowledge of you in all areas of my life.
Now take time for some positive praise. Write down some things that you know that you know that you know about the Lord God. If you need inspiration go to the Psalms.
I will start: (you can add to this list as more things are brought to mind throughout this study)
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you created the heavens and the earth.
I know that Jesus is God.
I know that the only way to God the Father is through Jesus.
I know that God’s plan will never fail.
I know that you created me uniquely and that I am called to follow you.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Day 1 Know the Lord
We read in Hosea 4:6a
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Let’s start our study here. Hosea was called by God for a specific time and a specific place. He was called to be a living example of God’s love to a people that had forgotten all about their Lord. God says that their destruction was coming because of their lack of knowledge. What was the knowledge that they have seemed to have forgotten? Let’s look at a few of the verses in Hosea that deal with this problem.
Fill in the blanks:
Hosea 4:1
Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel, For the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land, Because there is no faithfulness or kindness or¬¬¬______________of God in the land.
Hosea 2:8
“For she does not ¬¬¬¬_________that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine and the oil, And lavished on her silver and gold, Which they used for Baal
Hosea 5:4
Their deeds will not allow them To return to their God. For a spirit of harlotry is within them, And they do not ________ the LORD.
Hosea 6:6
For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the __________________ of God rather than burnt offerings.
Hosea 7:9
Strangers devour his strength, Yet he does not __________ it; Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him, Yet he does not ___________ it.
Hosea 11:3
Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in My arms; But they did not _________ that I healed them.
Hosea 13:4
Yet I have been the LORD your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to__________any god except Me, For there is no savior besides Me.
So using these verses as a clue to the Israelites problems what do we see? First of all, they had forgotten who had blessed them in the first place. They were giving credit for their times of prosperity to the gods that the Canaanites had worshipped in the land before they came there. These were gods of fertility and the harvest and natural conditions, such as rain and sunshine. They were in essence taking the good things that the Lord God had given them and then and going and sacrificing these very things to the idols they had constructed. God called this spiritual adultery, because it would be like a wife enjoying what her husband had given to her as far as food, clothing and jewelry and then going to another man and thanking him for all she had by having sex (intimacy) with him instead of her husband.
Take a moment to write down any thoughts you may have about these verses and what spiritual adultery looks like. As we study further, it will be good to come back and look at what you have written here to see if there are any changes.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Let’s take a look at the definition The New Bible Dictionary has:
KNOWLEDGE. The Gk. ideal of knowledge was a contemplation of reality in its static and abiding being; the Heb. was primarily concerned with life in its dynamic process, and therefore conceived knowledge as an entry into relationship with the experienced world which makes demands not only on man’s understanding but also on man’s will.
The New Bible Dictionary goes on to give examples from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. If you have time, look up knowledge, understanding, and know (yada in Hebrew). You can find access to Bible dictionaries at websites such as biblegateway.com, bible.org, crosswalk.com, etc. Are you beginning to see the difference between our western idea of knowledge and the Biblical idea. In American Christianity I have heard it explained this way before. “I know in my head what the truth is, but it has not reached my heart”. This is usually said by someone that knows the Lord wants them to do or feel something but they have not. They usually feel that they will eventually have this truth reach their heart.
Think for a moment. Have you ever felt that way? Maybe you knew you were supposed to forgive someone who had hurt you, you may have even said the words, but you knew in your heart you had not forgiven them. According to the Hebrew way of thinking, you really did not KNOW this truth at all. You just had an idea that it was so.
Write down an example of something that is true but you do not yet fully know.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Take time to pray:
Lord, I am beginning to realize that I thought I knew what I was supposed to do but I am not allowing your knowledge to be a part of my heart and soul as well as my mind. I see now that is just an excuse to not obey your word to me. Jesus, I repent (am sorry) of this attitude and ask that your Holy Spirit would lead me in all knowledge of you and your ways. Just as I long to love you with my whole heart, body, soul, spirit and strength, I also want to have that intimate knowledge of you in all areas of my life.
Now take time for some positive praise. Write down some things that you know that you know that you know about the Lord God. If you need inspiration go to the Psalms.
I will start: (you can add to this list as more things are brought to mind throughout this study)
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you created the heavens and the earth.
I know that Jesus is God.
I know that the only way to God the Father is through Jesus.
I know that God’s plan will never fail.
I know that you created me uniquely and that I am called to follow you.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Hosea is called...intro
Chapter 1 Hosea is Called
Hosea 1
1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
2 When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea:
“Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For the land has committed great harlotry
By departing from the LORD.”
Can you imagine what Hosea must have been thinking when this happened? And it looks like this was at the very beginning of his ministry as a prophet; one of his first, if not his first prophetic duty. Here he is following the Lord. No mean task considering how everyone is acting around him. He is trying to be the example of a Godly Jewish man, maybe he had been thinking, “You know, I am not getting any younger. I probably should find a good Jewish woman and settle down and raise a family. Maybe I will go talk to my Mom and Dad and see if they have anyone in mind for me”
Instead, his heavenly Father tells him to go marry a wife of harlotry. Really??? A wife of harlotry? Why not an Assyrian or Moabitess? Maybe a stray Egyptian needs marrying. Can you just imagine his mind doing all kinds of flip flops trying to understand what is being asked of him? But with Hosea we see instant obedience.
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim,
We do not see any hesitation. He went out and married Gomer. We do not even see him questioning God at all. That makes us ask a couple of other questions. Did he know of Gomer before this request? He certainly knew where to go find a prostitute…had she already been a prostitute or was she a prostitute in waiting.
Some questions to begin thinking about for this week:
1. What kind of things can expect the Lord to ask of us?
2. Is there anything that the Lord would not ask of his followers?
3. What does it mean to be a prophet of the Lord?
4. How would we react if God asked us to do something so unconventional?
5. How can we be more like Hosea?
Hosea 1
1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
2 When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea:
“Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For the land has committed great harlotry
By departing from the LORD.”
Can you imagine what Hosea must have been thinking when this happened? And it looks like this was at the very beginning of his ministry as a prophet; one of his first, if not his first prophetic duty. Here he is following the Lord. No mean task considering how everyone is acting around him. He is trying to be the example of a Godly Jewish man, maybe he had been thinking, “You know, I am not getting any younger. I probably should find a good Jewish woman and settle down and raise a family. Maybe I will go talk to my Mom and Dad and see if they have anyone in mind for me”
Instead, his heavenly Father tells him to go marry a wife of harlotry. Really??? A wife of harlotry? Why not an Assyrian or Moabitess? Maybe a stray Egyptian needs marrying. Can you just imagine his mind doing all kinds of flip flops trying to understand what is being asked of him? But with Hosea we see instant obedience.
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim,
We do not see any hesitation. He went out and married Gomer. We do not even see him questioning God at all. That makes us ask a couple of other questions. Did he know of Gomer before this request? He certainly knew where to go find a prostitute…had she already been a prostitute or was she a prostitute in waiting.
Some questions to begin thinking about for this week:
1. What kind of things can expect the Lord to ask of us?
2. Is there anything that the Lord would not ask of his followers?
3. What does it mean to be a prophet of the Lord?
4. How would we react if God asked us to do something so unconventional?
5. How can we be more like Hosea?
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Hosea and Gomer--just wondering
After Hosea took Gomer to be his wife, it reads like boom, boom, boom, she had three babies; one right after the other. One would get weaned and then another would be on its way. Can you just imagine her, like so many women; all of a sudden her whole life is consumed with motherhood. She was young and desirable one minute and the next she is up to her eyeballs in diapers. Not the glamorous life she had thought marriage would be.
Let’s make Gomer human and think about her without finger pointing.
• Did Gomer know why Hosea had picked her to be his wife
• Did she want to get married or was she even part of the transaction
• Was motherhood difficult for her or what she had always wanted
• Did the stress of three babies prove to be too much for her
• Did she desire to feel beautiful again
• Was being desired by men more important than fulfilling the desires of her children
• Was she searching for her youth or fleeing from feeling old
• Did she ever see the error of her ways and come to her senses
• When she was bought back by Hosea, what then was her attitude to husband and children
• Did she finally find love and fulfillment with Hosea
In Gomer then, we see a woman not too different from many young ladies around us, even ourselves at times. Our society values youth and beauty over just about everything. The only thing that is close is wealth, but that carries a double edged sword. Wealth from being young and beautiful is OK, but wealth from hard work is not fair to those that did not get the chance.
We all know that in order to sell products, advertisers go out of their way to make the product look like it will be fun, exciting and cause us to be youthful and beautiful and exciting as well. Sex sells and keeping us young sells. Millions are spent to entice us into buying products and services that will give us that edge. How often do we compare ourselves to the models and feel like a failure because there is no way we can ever be that beautiful or young or thin or wealthy or whatever…..
I was thinking the other day about modern day whoredoms in the church. For the most part, churches themselves do not have sexual orgies although members may be involved in sex sins. But what the church has recently sold them over to is the prosperity religion. The name it and claim it crowd has brought their brand of religion into the church and sold its members a bill of goods that has caused many to stumble.
We have made God our Genie who will bring us the money we need as long as we make our wish properly. Just like Israel, we expect God to take care of us financially and keep us healthy when we call out to Him, because, after all, we are called by His name.
If idolatry is putting anything or anyone before God and spiritual adultery is giving credit to someone or something for what God has done, how does that affect us in our daily walk with God? Is it even necessary to know the difference or to understand this concept?
God says over and over in His Word, “Let those that have eyes to see, see and ears to hear, hear”. So I feel that I am here to bring some of these things to light so that they can be seen and dealt with; that the truth can be heard, so that the lie no longer has any power. Is it necessary to know the difference? Not really. What is important is that we realize that there is something holding us back and the only way to have victory is with the power of the Holy Spirit. We can never let anything be more important in our life than Jesus. We must always realize that it is God that is in control and all things come under His command. That is what this study will strive to teach.
• God is God
• There is none like God
• God is in control
• We are not God
• We will never be God
• Only God can satisfy
• All is for the glory of God
• God will do whatever it takes
• God’s goal is to show His glory
Let’s make Gomer human and think about her without finger pointing.
• Did Gomer know why Hosea had picked her to be his wife
• Did she want to get married or was she even part of the transaction
• Was motherhood difficult for her or what she had always wanted
• Did the stress of three babies prove to be too much for her
• Did she desire to feel beautiful again
• Was being desired by men more important than fulfilling the desires of her children
• Was she searching for her youth or fleeing from feeling old
• Did she ever see the error of her ways and come to her senses
• When she was bought back by Hosea, what then was her attitude to husband and children
• Did she finally find love and fulfillment with Hosea
In Gomer then, we see a woman not too different from many young ladies around us, even ourselves at times. Our society values youth and beauty over just about everything. The only thing that is close is wealth, but that carries a double edged sword. Wealth from being young and beautiful is OK, but wealth from hard work is not fair to those that did not get the chance.
We all know that in order to sell products, advertisers go out of their way to make the product look like it will be fun, exciting and cause us to be youthful and beautiful and exciting as well. Sex sells and keeping us young sells. Millions are spent to entice us into buying products and services that will give us that edge. How often do we compare ourselves to the models and feel like a failure because there is no way we can ever be that beautiful or young or thin or wealthy or whatever…..
I was thinking the other day about modern day whoredoms in the church. For the most part, churches themselves do not have sexual orgies although members may be involved in sex sins. But what the church has recently sold them over to is the prosperity religion. The name it and claim it crowd has brought their brand of religion into the church and sold its members a bill of goods that has caused many to stumble.
We have made God our Genie who will bring us the money we need as long as we make our wish properly. Just like Israel, we expect God to take care of us financially and keep us healthy when we call out to Him, because, after all, we are called by His name.
If idolatry is putting anything or anyone before God and spiritual adultery is giving credit to someone or something for what God has done, how does that affect us in our daily walk with God? Is it even necessary to know the difference or to understand this concept?
God says over and over in His Word, “Let those that have eyes to see, see and ears to hear, hear”. So I feel that I am here to bring some of these things to light so that they can be seen and dealt with; that the truth can be heard, so that the lie no longer has any power. Is it necessary to know the difference? Not really. What is important is that we realize that there is something holding us back and the only way to have victory is with the power of the Holy Spirit. We can never let anything be more important in our life than Jesus. We must always realize that it is God that is in control and all things come under His command. That is what this study will strive to teach.
• God is God
• There is none like God
• God is in control
• We are not God
• We will never be God
• Only God can satisfy
• All is for the glory of God
• God will do whatever it takes
• God’s goal is to show His glory
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