What are the lessons we can learn from this incredible book of love and grace?

1. Nothing is able to quench God’s love for us
2. God suffers intense sorrow when men desert him:
3. The sacredness and sanctity of marriage typify our relationship with Jehovah.
4. The consequences of following unworthy teachers are tragic.
5. There can be no “double standard” of morals in God’s kingdom.
6. A nation declines rapidly when its leaders become corrupt:
7. Internal corruption in a nation is more dangerous to its existence than foreign enemies.
8. The greatest sin is that against true love.
9. There is a real danger of becoming like those we associate with (I Cor. 15:33).
10. The root from which all sins spring is unfaithfulness to God.
11. Genuine repentance will bring forgiveness and full restoration to God’s favor.
12. There is beauty in forgiving those who sin against us (Matt. 6:12-14).
13. The crushing blows of life can drive us to the arms of God.
14. “Who is he that he may understand these things? prudent that he may know them? for the ways of Jehovah are right, and the just shall walk in them; but the transgressors shall fall therein:” (Hosea 14:9).
15. Our goodness must be more permanent than the morning cloud — fog and early dew (6:4).
16. May we not be half-baked Christians — burned on one side, mushy on top — and therefore useless (7:8).
17. All “these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (I Cor. 10:11).
18. God still prefers goodness to heartless sacrifice (6:6):
19. May we, like Hosea, be a living demonstration of our message:
20. Corruption in politics is bad, but in religion it is inexcusable.
21. God is not willing that any should perish, especially his children (II Pet. 3:9).
22. “It appears to be a universal law of this sin-stricken world that God makes perfect through suffering, that redemption is wrought through sacrifice.”

In chapter 13, the reality dawns that God’s judgment on Israel, at the hands of the Assyrians, is coming.

No longer is it distant prophecies of some future Divine rebuke; the moment has come and will be accomplished as quickly as the morning dew disappears (13:3). Even in this God reminds His covenant people that He was the One who had delivered them from Egypt, sustained them in the wilderness and brought them into the Promised Land. It had been the Nation that had rejected God, demanded a king so as to be like the nations around them, and then taken all the blessings God had given and used them to indulge in immorality and idolatry (13:5-11)

God then reminds Israel that His patience, up to this point, should not be mistaken for indifference to their sin. God had collated all of their sin (‘bound up’) (13:12) and was ready to mete out the appropriate judgment. Sadly, many today think they can ‘get away’ with sin because God doesn’t judge them instantly. Yet God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life! (John 3:16). God also is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Ecclesiastes 3:15 also reminds us that God requires and account of things past. On that day how will you plead? Sin must be paid for, the wages of sin is death. Either you face God as judge and suffer the eternal consequences, or you face Him as LORD, in which case, your sin still has to be paid for. Only Jesus Christ offers a remedy; only Jesus Christ died in your place, taking the full force of God’s wrath for sin upon Himself  whosoever would accept His offer of Salvation.

Chapter 13 ends with the lamentable warning of what Israel would imminently experience:

• Yahweh would hold Samaria, a metonymy for Israel, guilty for rebelling against Him, her covenant lord and God (cf. Hosea 7:13; Hosea 8:1).
• Israel’s soldiers would die in battle (cf. Leviticus 26:25), her children would suffer unmerciful executions (cf. Deuteronomy 28:52-57; Deuteronomy 32:25), and the Assyrians would even cut open her pregnant women with their swords (cf. 2 Kings 15:16; Amos 1:13).
• This gruesome form of execution killed both the mother and the unborn child making it impossible for the coming generation eventually to rise up and rebel against the conqueror.
• These were curses that the Lord warned would follow rebellion against the terms of His covenant (cf. Leviticus 26:25; Deuteronomy 28:21; Deuteronomy 32:24-25; Amos 4:10). – Dr. Thomas Constable

However, this is not the end of the story. Chapter 14 closes the book of Hosea with the certain hope that Israel will finally return* – albeit after 2700 years, the Assyrian captivity, the Babylonian captivity, the Roman occupation and subsequent destruction of the land in A.D. 70, the diaspora from 132 A.D. when all Jews were forced to leave the Land, the subsequent wanderings of the last two millennia, the Holocaust and the coming Tribulation (time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7))  – But after all this, like a prodigal son, Israel will come to their senses and say: “Asshur (Assyria) shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. (v3)… What have I to do any more with idols? (v8)“

*Return (Shoob in the Hebrew) is used 21x in Hosea.

“In beauty of expression these final words of Hosea rank with the memorable chapters of the OT. Like the rainbow after a storm, they promise Israel’s final restoration. Here is the full flowering of God’s unfailing love for his faithless people, the triumph of his grace, the assurance of his healing-all described in imagery that reveals the loving heart of God”.  – Leon Wood

The book closes with an admonition from Hosea to pay heed to these things.

He who is well instructed will make a proper application of what he has here read; will tremble at the threatenings, and embrace the promises, of his God.

How instructive, how convincing, how awakening, and yet how consolatory, are the words of this prophecy!

Reader, lay them to heart. A godly mind cannot consider them in vain; such shall know them, and know that the ways of the Lord are right”. – Adam Clarke

May you blessed and encouraged to walk closer and deeper with the LORD our God through this study!

The post Hosea Ch13-14 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

In our verse-by-verse journey through Hosea we have seen God’s call to Hosea to take a wife of whoredoms and love her despite her unfaithfulness. This was to be a sign to the Nation of Israel of God’s love for His people even though they had gone whoring after foreign gods – that were not gods at all!

When Gomer, Hosea’s wife, had reached the lowest point, sold into slavery, stripped naked and put up for auction, Hosea came and purchased her, clothed her, took her home, treated her with love and affection, and promised to provide for her. This is what God has done for each of us. We had been unfaithful (loving the things of this world – the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh & the pride of life) and, as a result, lost everything. We were sold into the slavery of sin. Yet it was while we were still sinners that Christ came and died for us (Romans 5:8), paying the full price to secure our freedom, clothe us with His righteousness and promise to provide for us!

However, Hosea also records that God is a God of justice, and Israel’s sin (murder, immorality, injustice, idolatry) if not repented of, would be met with His swift judgment. But even in His judgment God’s mercy is seen; for by letting Israel be overcome by the Assyrians, being taken away from their land, and taken away from her idols, Israel would inevitably come to her senses, and, just as with the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), realise all she had given up and lost in pursuit of her sin.

In chapters 11-13 Israel are reminded that God had rescued them from Egypt – synonymous with the bondage and  slavery of sin – and had placed them in a fruitful land. Yet they had crossed a line, judgment was now inevitable.

God’s assessment of the Nation is summed up in Hosea 13:9-10 “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee[?]“.

There is a warning here to believers today. God is not mocked. You cannot carry on in sin, for God will not allow His children to utterly corrupt themselves, but because of His amazing love, may allow some crises, or personal tragedy, or attack on your life you were not expecting, then He will reach to the greatest depths to find you as you cry out to Him, rescue you and bring you home.

Never assume God will ‘overlook’ those living in rebellion against Him – particularly His own. Beware also of saying that God’s ways are too hard to live by (which is really just another excuse for continuing in sin).

Oswald Chambers states: “Sin is not man’s problem, but God’s. God has taken the problem of sin into His own hands and solved it, and the proof that He has is the Cross of Calvary. The Cross is the Cross of God. On the ground of Redemption I can wash my robes, and make them “white in the blood of the Lamb”. Pseudo evangelism has twisted the revelation and made it mean “now that God has saved me, I do not need to do anything”. The New Testament revelation is that now I am saved by God’s grace, I must work on that basis and keep myself clean. It does not matter what a man’s heredity is, or what tendencies there are in him, on the basis of the Redemption he can become all that God’s book indicates he should be.”

However there is an incredible New Testament principle underlying all God said through Hosea. It is found in Romans 2:3-4:

“And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”

As a last resort, God will bring judgment – as was the case for Israel on account of the magnitude of their sin, but God’s goodness is His preferred ‘discipline’. To love, then love more, then love yet more, then love even further until His love breaks through the hardness of our hearts, causing us to weep in repentance before Him.

So far has God’s Redemption gone that He states: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death” (Hosea 13:14). There is nothing-else and no-one-else who can do this. 

Note that God will ‘ransom them’ – literally pull them back from the precipice, setting them free from the power that had once exerted control over them. In redeeming God pays the price so that ‘sin and death’ no long have a claim over them. We have been bought with a price!

This is the story of Grace. It is the story of Hosea.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study

The post Hosea Ch11-12 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

In this study we continue the list of complaints God is listing against Israel, and the reasons He would allow the Assyrians to come and invade and carry away captive, the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C.

Chapter 9

• Captivity will come because of corruption (9:1-9)
• Fruitful Israel will be unfruitful (9:10-17)

Chapter 10

• Eighth Discourse: Repent or Perish (10:1-15)

–Another oracle pronouncing Israel’s judgment:     (10:1-8)

• 1. Her sins enumerated (10:1-4)
• 2. Assyria will destroy her kings and idols (10:5-8)

–God protests that Israel had sinned from the start (10:9-11)

–He pleads for them to “break up their fallow ground” and sow righteousness   (10:12-15)

Whilst the Historical narrative is important, there are many lessons for us today in these chapters – indeed, in the whole of Hosea!

Chapter 9 opens with a warning to not bury your head in the sand of ‘entertainment’ and hope everything will be ok! Know God, have a real relationship with Him, and then recognise the privilege and responsibility of being called by His name!

Another thing we see here is that God hates pretense! Religion and a  merely outward show does not impress God. With Israel,  God told them He would even remove the  opportunity for them to continue their sacrifices and offerings, because their hearts were far from Him. Albert Barns comments:

When man parts with the substance, his true honor, God takes away the shadow, lest he should content himself therewith, and not see his shame, and, boasting himself to be something, abide in his nothingness and poverty and shame to which he had reduced himself. 

The New Testament, as in the Old, states that God is not mocked! God will bring judgment on this unbelieving and unrepentant world as he did on Israel in the past. But neither will God sit idly by while His children, those who should know Him and walk with Him, embrace the ‘foreign gods’ of this world instead of  seeking Him. It is because of His love He chastens:

God “doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men” Lamentations 3:33. Grievous then must be the cause of punishment, when God not only chastens people, but, so to speak, longs to chasten them, when He chastens them without any let or hindrance from His mercy. Yet so God had said; “It shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and to multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you and to bring you to nought” Deuteronomy 28:63. – AB

Yet we see in these chapters that, despite Israel returning to Egypt – the epitome of sin and slavery – God Himself went to the farthest reaches (through the death of His Son whom He called out of Egypt) to bring home all who would return to His loving arms.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Hosea Ch9-10 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

We are going through a series of studies looking at the minor prophets – not minor in importance, but given the title of  ‘minor’ due to the books being generally smaller than the likes of Isaiah, Jeremiah etc. (the ‘major’ prophets). The minor prophets brought messages of hope, reconciliation, but also of judgment to Israel and her neighbours.

Hosea is writing toward the end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, around 730 B.C. and at a time when the nation had been given over to idolatry and immorality. It is bad enough to have a corrupt government, even worse when the people have lost their moral compass; yet when the priests, those who should take care and take charge of the nations spiritual well-being, give themselves over to deceit, hypocrisy, immorality, injustice and forsake God, judgment cannot be averted! Such is the state of the UK! Just as it was in Israel in Hosea’s day, this nation has embraced things that are an abomination to God – from the politician to the person in the street to the priest. What was once considered sin, is not only permitted, it is embraced as part of a culture that scoffs at the God of the Bible.

God warned Israel that time was up. Hosea was sent as a mouthpiece of God to sound the trumpet of alarm to the nation. The UK should get ready, for the trumpet that warns of impending judgment is but moments away from being sounded!

In chapter 5 we see Hosea highlight the evil behaviour of the Priests, the People, and the Royal Family (5:1-7), but the chapter ends in hope. God will wait, however long it takes, for Israel to come repentantly back to Him (5:8-15). Sadly, it will take the affliction of the coming Tribulation to shake Israel from her complacency and apostacy, but in her affliction, Israel will call out to her Messiah, whom she will finally realise is Jesus Christ, the One whom was pierced for her sorrows and bruised for her iniquities.

Chapter 6 opens with verse of profound prophetic significance, for it tells us that the Lord’s return is close, very close! The prophetic prayer of Israel in 6:1-3 (that is yet to actually be prayed) sees Israel acknowledge that, as a nation, they will live in the Lord’s sight for the Millennium, the literal period of 1000 years to come where Christ will rule on the Throne of David (fulfilling the promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David). The ‘two days’ prior to this seem to be representative of the last two thousand years, where Israel as a nation have been blinded on account of their rejection of Jesus the Messiah. In the remainder of chapter 6 Hosea further removed the veil on the sinfulness of both Israel and Judah (6:4-11).

Chapter 7 then exposes that the depravity in the Nation had run deeper than even the surface iniquity had shown. Israel had kept up the religious pretence, but there was no love for God in her actions. Furthermore, even the false gods Israel had turned to, had now been show to be worthless.  Ironside comments:

“It is their unconsciousness of their true condition which this section emphasizes. Like a cake placed upon the coals and forgotten by the house-wife, till, left unturned, it is all burned on one side; so they were quite indifferent to their actual state before God. The mass taking no heed to the prophet’s warnings, went carelessly on in their own way, taking it for granted that all was as it should be, when, in reality, everything was all wrong”. 

Regarding chapter 8, G Campbell Morgan states:

From this statement of the case the prophet turned to the pronouncement of judgment. This he did by adopting the figure of the trumpet lifted to the mouth, on which five blasts were sounded, in each of which some aspect of the sin of the people was set forth as revealing the reason for judgment.

• The first blast declared the coming judgment under the figure of a [swift] eagle, the reason being the transgressions and trespass of the people.
• The second blast emphasized Israel’s sin of rebellion in that they had set up kings and princes without the authority of Jehovah, and had made idols.
• The third blast dealt with Israel’s idolatry. She had set up the calf of Samaria, which Jehovah had cast off and broken in pieces. She had been guilty of sowing the wind, that is, emptiness; and therefore she must reap the whirlwind, that is, the force of emptiness.
• The fourth blast anounced Israel’s alliances. She had gone to Assyria like a wild ass, alone, and her judgment was that her hire among the nations had resulted in diminishing her.
• The fifth blast drew attention to the altars of sin which had been raised contrary to light, and by which sacrifice had been violated, and therefore judgment was announced.”  

Albert Barns, in his commentary, brings this closer to home and highlights that, as a nation, we are are little different – and as such, also deserving of divine judgment:

The prophets, as watchmen, were set by God to give notice of His coming judgments Ezekiel 33:3; Amos 3:6. As the sound of a war-trumpet would startle a sleeping people, so would God have the prophet’s warning burst upon their sleep of sin. The ministers of the Church are called to be “watchmen” . “They too are forbidden to keep a cowardly silence, when “the house of the Lord” is imperilled by the breach of the covenant or violation of the law. If fear of the wicked or false respect for the great silences the voice of those whose office it is to “cry aloud,” how shall such cowardice be excused?”.  

Hosea 8:8 is a verse to note, for it prophetically sums up the last two-thousand years for the Nations of Israel. They have been scattered around the world, and hated by all nations.

Finally Hosea points out that, rather than trusting in God, they had forges alliances with foreign nations – the very nations that would soon turn on them. This is how it is with sin!

Sin takes you further than you wanted to go, keeps you longer than you wanted to stay, and costs you mote then you wanted to pay!

We will continue our study in this timely book next week….

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Hosea Ch5-8 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

In this study we begin to see the list of ‘issues’ God raised with Israel for the way they had behaved toward Him. Hosea’s personal life will now fade into the background and the rest of the book is prophetic.

Out of the heartbreak in his own home, Hosea, as God’s mouthpiece, now speaks to the nation to spell out the specific charges against them. Principally these were:

• Lawlessness;
• Immorality;
• Ignorance of God’s Word;
• Idolatry. (Covetousness is idolatry, Col 3:5)

God will address the people, the priests (who should have been teaching the people)  and the royal family – who should have been leading the nation in a godly way.

Instead, the nation had been given over to idolatry, so God eventually says ‘let them have it their way!’

H.A. Ironside comments:

Nothing can be more solemn than this. It is as though God had exhausted every possible means for their recovery, save one, and that one the giving them up to learn, by bitter experience, what they would not take to heart in any other way. In the New Testament it answers to being “delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (See 1 Corinthians 5). “Observe: it is only after the failure of all other means to recover the wanderer that God so deals with souls”.   

There are many lessons in here for the church and for those who have grown cold toward God. God knows and sees.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Hosea Ch4 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

This study is our 2nd in our verse-by-verse review of the prophet Hosea – given by pastor Barry Forder on 1st August 2021 at Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

Chapter 3 of Hosea is one of the shortest chapters in the Bible, at just 5 verses; yet it’s content is profound. C. I. Scofield comments:

Chapter 3 is one of the classic Old Testament passages describing Israel’s past present and future. Her idolatrous past is illustrated by Gomer’s unfaithfulness to Hosea (v1-2) despite which Hosea is commanded to love her and buy her back ‘according to the love of the Lord toward Israel’ – a love which led Him to pay the purchase price of the blood of the cross to redeem Israel, the basis of her restoration. The present condition of Israel is illustrated and plainly prophesied in v 3-4. Her future is declared in v5, showing her repentance toward God who in his faithfulness will restore her.

Dr. Charles Feinberg, and outstanding Jewish believer and scholar, says of this chapter, “It rightfully takes its place among the greatest prophetic pronouncements in the whole revelation of God.”

Certainly, this chapter is worthy of our attention!

It contains a summary of God’s plan of salvation, as seen specifically though the relationship of Hosea and his adulterous wife Gomer, and as seen in a broader sense between the relationship of God with the Nation of Israel.

In verse 1 Hosea is told by the LORD to go and purchase Gomer back, even though she had been unfaithful to him. Evidently, Gomer had ended up in debt and had become a slave. Her new master was selling her and Hosea goes to buy her back – even though he was her husband! God tells Hosea to love her with the love He had loved Israel. God’s love is unconditional, and all love should be based on the love shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We cannot love other until we know the love of God ourselves. The world’s view of love is ‘what can I get?’. God’s love says ‘what can I give!’.

Exodus 21:32 tells us that the price of a salve is 30 shekels of silver. In verse 2 we find that Hosea pays 15 shekels of silver and one and a half  homers of barley. Ezekiel 45:11 tells us that a homer contained ten baths (also known as an ephah).  Keil & Delitzch comment “2 Kings 7:1; 2 Kings 16:18, that at that time an ephah of barley was worth a shekel, in which case the whole price would just amount to the sum for which, according to Exodus 21:32, it was possible to purchase a slave, and was paid half in money and half in barley”. In other words, the total value paid by Hosea was 30 shekels as required by the Law – the price of the Law was met, in full! 

John tells us that Jesus is the ‘payment in full’ for our sin, to redeem us from the requirements of the Law! (1 John 4:10).

The other significant thing to note here is that Hosea was only able to give 15 silver shekels, the rest had to be made up with barley. This tells us that Hosea didn’t have 30 silver shekels to begin with, meaning that he gave all he had (15 shekels) and then made up the difference with barley. That is exactly what Jesus did for each one of us! He gave all He had. He emptied Himself of everything, became of no reputation, took on the nature of a servant (even eventually being betrayed for 30 pieces of silver – the price of a slave).  Philippians 2:5-8 / 2 Corinthians 5:21

In verse 3 we get a glimpse of the heart of Hosea – reflecting the heart of God. Hosea purchased Gomer, clothed her, took her home, provided for her, assured her she would no longer be under a cruel master and that he would be for her. In the book of Romans Paul asks the rhetorical question, “if God be for us, who shall be against us?!” Romans 8:31

God has taken each one of us, paid the price to set us free, covered our shame, taken us home and promised to provide for us – exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think! – and that He will be for us!

Verse 4 is one of the most incredible prophecies in the Bible! It speaks of:

• The coming kingdom and throne of Israel
• The coming Messiah,
• The Jews sacrificial system and therefore Temple worship
• An end to idolatry and false gods
• The reestablishment of the priesthood

The Throne of Israel:

• From 587 B.C. Israel have been without a king
• Zedekiah was the last king of Judah
• He (and therefore the crown) were taken to Babylon
• While the Jews were in Babylon, Daniel was appointed chief of the Magi  (the Magi were a Persian sect renown for appointing kings!)
• Daniel entrusted them with a secret mission
• At a specific time, they were to carry the crown back to Israel and appoint the rightful king
• Over 500 years passed, then the saw a sign!
• It was a star that led them to Israel to declare the coming of Israel’s king!
• However, Jesus did not take the throne during His first coming; that was not His intention. First He came to offer His life as the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of man.
• But the second time He comes, He will come as the King of Kings and sit on the throne of David, fulfilling countless prophecies (see 2 Samuel 7 / Dan 2:44 / Luke 1:31-33)

The Coming Messiah

Hosea prophesied that Israel would not only abide many days without a king, but also whilst awaiting their Messiah. Jesus declared:

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!  

38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.  

39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Because of their disobedience, Israel are still waiting to see their Messiah – but they will not have to wait much longer!

The Jews sacrificial system and therefore Temple worship

Although the Jews were able to sacrifice again after they returned from Babylon,

From A.D.70 they have not had a Temple and have not been able to sacrifice

A Temple will be rebuilt soon on the Temple Mt in Jerusalem and the Jews will – for a short time – be allowed to begin sacrificing again after 2000 years!

An end to idolatry and false gods

Because they have been scattered around the world, Israel have been ‘robbed’ of their idols – i.e. lost the opportunity to worship them.

Sadly, many Jews have today turned to Atheism. It has been said: An atheistic Jew is one who knows what the God he doesn’t believe in requires of him!  – Anon

The reestablishment of the priesthood

Although Israel have been without and officiating priesthood for the best part of 2000 yeas, the priesthood will be re-established – initially to allow sacrifices to reconvene during the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation, then to serve the LORD throughout the Millennium.

The final verse (5) of this incredible chapter tells us that when Jesus returns, Israel will finally be regathered to their Land, God will be their God and they His people, and all these things will be complete. Jesus will rule over the house of Israel – and over the whole earth!

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Hosea Ch3 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

On Sunday we began a study of the minor prophets (the last 12 books of the Old Testament). They are referred to as ‘minor’ simply because most of them are short books – not because they are less important!

As a brief overview we find the themes of these books are Israel’s sin and disobedience, contrasted with God’s faithfulness and mercy, and ultimately His commitment to regather and bring them back into their Land in prosperity to fulfil the promises He had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, subsequently reiterated to King David.

Yet God is a God of judgment as well as a God of love, and these prophets foretell the judgment that God was to first bring on Israel for her disobedience, as well as the judgment that would befall her neighbours – specifically Assyria (Nineveh) and Edom.

As a summary:

• Hosea             – The Lord loves Israel despite her sin
• Joel                 – Judgment precedes Israel’s future revival
• Amos              – God is just and must judge sin
• Obadiah         – Sure retribution must overtake merciless pride
• Jonah             – Divine grace is universal
• Micah             – Bethlehem born Messiah will deliver
• Nahum           – Doom is to come on wicked Nineveh
• Habakkuk      – Justification by faith is God’s way
• Zephaniah     – The Day of the Lord will precede the kingdom
• Haggai           – Consider you ways! God must be no#1
• Zechariah      – Repentant Israel will see their Messiah
• Malachi          – Judgment is certain for the wicked

So, the first book in our series is the book of Hosea. Not a priest, nor a high-ranking official. Hosea was just an ordinary person who served an extraordinary God!

Hosea is a story of love and grace. It is also a warning of judgment for disobedience, the pain that comes from unfaithfulness, but also the healing and restoration that can be found in the God of the Bible.

G. Campbell Morgan said of this book: “We have in the Book of Hosea one of the most arresting revelations of the real nature of sin, and one of the clearest interpretations of the strength of the Divine love. No one can read the story of Hosea without realizing the agony of his heart. Then, lift the human to the level of the Infinite, and know this, that sin wounds the heart of God.”

George Robinson adds: “In all the world’s literature, there is no record of human love like that of Hosea.” 

Henrietta C Mears, in her classic book ‘What The Bible is All About” stated: “Hosea is one of the greatest lovers in all literature. We find his love so strong that even the worst actions of an unfaithful wife could not kill it” 

As we come to the book of Hosea, we find that the golden age of Jeroboam II in the Northern Kingdom of Israel was passing and a dark cloud hung over Israel. Following his death six kings followed in quick succession. Within 24 years 4 were assassinated.

Mid way through Hosea’s ministry a large part of the nation were carried away by the Assyrians and at the end of Hosea’s life the Northern kingdom of Israel finally came to an end with the fall of Samaria. Unlike many of the prophets in the Bible, Hosea (lamentably) lived to see some of his own prophecies fulfilled.

The outline of the book is as follows:

• Hosea’s call & The rejection of Israel 1:1–9
• The restoration of Israel promised 1:10–2:1
• God’s warning against Israel’s unfaithfulness and judgment prophesied 2:2–13
• A future of blessing foretold for Israel 2:14–23
• The redemption of Hosea’s wife a type of Israel’s ultimate return to God Ch 3
• God’s controversy with his people Ch 4–10
• In wrath, God remembers mercy Ch 11–13
• Israel urged to repent & enjoy blessing Ch 14

The key verses in the book are:

–14:1  “O Israel, return unto Jehovah thy God: for thou hast fallen by thy iniquity.”

–14:4 “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely…”

• Key Words:

–”Return” used 15 times.

–”Whoredom” used 16 times, referring not only to Israel’s immorality, but also to her unfaithfulness to God.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

– the PowerPoint (PDF) slides used in this study are available for free download

© Calvary Chapel Portsmouth 2021

The post Hosea Ch1-2 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

In this session, Pastor Barry gives an overview of the first four of the minor prophets, Hosea, Joel, Amos and Obadiah.   Each one of these prophets had something to say; the first three spoke directly to Israel, warning of the coming judgment for their disobedience, whereas Obadiah spoke to Edom (the descendants of Esau) of the judgment God would bring on them for the way their had treated Israel. Hosea speaks of the unfailing love of God, even for an adulterous people, and time and again we are reminded of His mercy. Joel, probably the earliest of all the prophets, has the longest reach and focuses both on the immediate situation, but also speaks way off into the future of the ‘Day of the LORD’ – something that for us now is just on horizon! Amos was a shepherd, and through his words we see the LORD, our Shepherd. He speaks of judgment, but also future restoration.

There are few books that reveal more of God’s character than these. May this overview prompt you to undertake your own study of these divinely inspired books.

The PDF slides are from the PowerPoint presentation used during the teaching session.
You can listen to the audio on this web page, or save it for later listening.

The post Session 29 – Hosea Joel Amos Obediah first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.