Lance Ponder's blog

Hos 5:15 I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.
 

Hos 5:13-14 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king [or “King Jareb”]. But he is not able to cure you or heal your wound. For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.

Hos 5:11-12 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, because he was determined to go after filth [or “to follow after human precepts”]. But I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like dry rot to the house of Judah.
 

Hos 5:8-10 Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth-aven; we follow you, O Benjamin! Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of punishment; among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure. The princes of Judah have become like those who move the landmark; upon them I will pour out my wrath like water.
 

Hos 5:5-7 The pride of Israel testifies to his face; Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt; Judah also shall stumble with them. With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them. They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord; for they have borne alien children.

Hos 5:3-4 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore; Israel is defiled. Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the Lord.
 
Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom, lies in the region of Ephraim.
 

Hos 5:1-2 Hear this, O priests! Pay attention, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For the judgment is for you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread upon Tabor. And the revolters have gone deep into slaughter, but I will discipline all of them.
 

Hos 4:12-14 My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore. They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good.

Someone recently asked me in an email if Israel existed at the time of Jesus. This is a very interesting question because the answer is, technically... no. Since I wasn't sure why this person was asking it seemed that a brief history and explanation was in order. I thought this might make an interesting post here since my experience is that many people don't really understand the flow of Israel's history very well. It is important in that it helps put scripture in perspective to grasp the bigger picture of history. To that end, here's a simplified account...

"Stupid is as stupid does." --- Forest Gump.

Short version: Priests get secularized. The people follow. For details, read on...

Personal Note: It has been a while since my last post. A great deal has been going on, but rest assured I have not forgotten the readership here and for those interested I do plan to continue this study of the minor prophets. What follows is the next installment in the Hosea series...

Hos 3:1 And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.”

In the previous post we read about what looks like God's wrath in exposing sin. The reason God exposes sin is so it can be dealt with - realization, repentence, and restoration. The previous passage dealt with realization. Anticipating repentence, the rest of this chapter of Hosea shows the mighty power of God in restoring the broken relationship. We broke it, but God alone is able to restore it.

Hos 2:10-12 Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one shall rescue her out of my hand. And I will put an end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts. And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, of which she said, ‘These are my wages, which my lovers have given me.’ I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them.

Help Was There All Along
Hos 2:8 And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for Baal.

Reaching Bottom
Hos 2:6 Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths.

A hedge is a barrier. God is going to put a barrier up to end Israel’s prosperity and thus its idolatry. Even today God blocks our way when we turn from Him so that we become miserable, sensing our loss, when we turn from righteousness to the ways of the world.

Hos 2:4-5 Upon her children also I will have no mercy, because they are children of whoredom. For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’

The second chapter of Hosea is written in poetic form. The language of this literary style is generally more figurative than straight prose. This does not mean we can take it less seriously, but it does mean that details may be more illustrative than concrete. The theme is what’s critical. In other words, the idea is to look at the forest, not the trees. The theme is God’s sovereignty in exposing sin and the people’s choice to accept sin’s exposure and repent or face exposure to conquest by a merciless enemy. Ultimately God sees at least some who rejected Him will return and be fully restored.

Jezreel – First Child of the Whore
Hos 1:4-5 And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

Hosea Commanded to Marry a Whore
Hos 1:2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.”

Hosea was a prophet who lived and prophesied in the last decades before the fall of Samaria. While the text does not say explicitly, it seems logical that Hosea lived in the Northern Kingdom (Israel) based on his detailed knowledge of the geography. The message appears directed toward Israel, but the lessons Hosea teaches were meant for Judah and ultimately for every generation.

There are dozens of prophets mentioned in the Old Testament. Some are credited with writing whole books. Moses was the first and greatest of the Old Testament prophets. He is credited with writing (or at least compiling) the first five books of the bible and probably the book of Job. Other great prophets like Elijah, Elisha, and Nathan did not contribute directly to the text of scripture, but were instead subjects of scripture. The period known as the “period of the prophets” was between the times of Solomon and Alexander even though God has used prophets before and since. This period is called the period of the prophets because this is when the books of the Major and Minor Prophets were written.

John’s Revelations

The book of Revelations is John’s written record of a series of prophetic visions. The first three chapters read as a series of messages to specific churches, but also seem to be prophetic descriptions of various ages of the church.

Introduction

The book of Hebrews is one of my favorites in the New Testament. There is considerable debate as to the identity of the author, but as far as I’m concerned there’s no doubt it is the inspired word of God. The book was written primarily to the Jewish believers. It holds many nuanced references aimed to reach out to Jews. Even so, its truths transcend the Hebrew people and benefit all Christ believers, be they Jew or Gentile. In the first chapter the position and role of Jesus Christ is identified, as are angels and man relative to Jesus.

About the Gospel of John

The book of John is probably my favorite book of the bible and definitely my favorite Gospel account. The other Gospels provide excellent detailed accounts of the life of the man, Jesus Christ. John puts far more emphasis on the deity of Jesus. John was known as the one loved by Jesus. Of all the apostles, he alone stood with Jesus’ mother at the cross and held her while he died. John was the only apostle to live into old age and he was the one who received and recorded the visions we in the book of Revelation.

Parables of Luke 14

Throughout the chapter Jesus speaks in parables. In the first parable (vv 1-6) Jesus questions the religious leaders about doing good deeds on the Sabbath. The parable of the wedding feast (vv 7-11) is the first of two that use different feast scenarios to illustrate heaven. In this one Jesus shows the importance of humility. The parable of the great banquet (vv 12-24) is really two parables in one. First Jesus says plainly why we should do good deeds that cannot be repaid by friends and family. In the second part he indicates that entry to heaven requires a person choose to be there, but also that the person can’t sneak or buy their way in.

About Hosea

Hosea prophesied near the end of the Northern Kingdom (before 722 BC). In earlier chapters God tells him to take an adulterous wife. Later God causes them to reconcile. Whoredom is often used in scripture to illustrate idolatry. When the people aren’t faithful to God, they “whore” around with false religion. Through Hosea God proclaims the impending fall of Israel. Even so, the lessons of Hosea are for all ages. Going beyond political reconciliation of Israel after its fall, as seen in the rebuilding of the Temple in Ezra’s era, Hosea depicts the greater reconciliation of man to Himself poetically and profoundly in Chapter 14.

Historical Perspective

Nahum prophesied circa 650 BC, more than 100 years after Jonah visited Nineveh. Since then, in 722 BC, Assyria attacked and conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel taking the Hebrews captive to Nineveh. A few decades after Nahum’s prophesy the events forecast were fulfilled in 612 BC. At the time of Nahum’s writing the Assyrians were regarded in the Southern Kingdom as brutal and oppressive heathens and a dangerous threat lying at the doorstep of Judah. Nahum prophesied the destruction of Nineveh and the resulting collapse of Assyrian power. They hoped for the return of the Jews exiled from the Northern Kingdom.

Historical Setting of Jonah

It was interesting to me that both Jonah and Nahum were prophets to Nineveh. Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria until it was destroyed in 612 BC. Nahum specifically prophesied the destruction of Nineveh. Jonah is mentioned in 2 Ki 14:25 as living during the reign of Jeroboam II. The events recorded in the book of Jonah likely took place during this period (ca. 793-753 BC) which was at least 3 decades before Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom.