GRACE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP | 恩道堂

Scripture Reading        : Hosea 6:4-7

Theme                          : God’s Sorrow over Israel’s Sins

1. Sorrow Over Their Heart Condition (6:4-11). God laments over’s Israel’s love for Him. Their love is like morning cloud and dew, unstable and fickle. So God sends His prophets to correct Israel’s wayward heart. God tells the people that He desires faithful love to Him, not faithless and heartless sacrifices and works of righteousness. Sacrifices are important, that’s why God instituted them, but they are useless if offered without love in God that is a result of faith in God. The spiritual adultery of the Jews is even more treacherous and grievous in light of the fact that the Jews sin knowingly against God, not unknowingly like gentiles, just as Adam committed spiritual adultery against God knowingly.

2. Sorrow Over Their Domestic Condition (7:1-7). As result of their adulterous hearts, the whole society is full of violence, chaos, fear and evil. The whole society promotes a culture of death and destruction. Even the rulers of the nation promote death and injustice, and rejoice in it with mockers. Their adulterous hearts cause them not just to lust over sex, but also over power. Their passion is liken to an oven, that causes them to murder leaders and cause chaos to descend on the whole society. Israel has experienced many assassinations of leaders. But they still won’t return to God.

3. Sorrow Over Their Foreign Condition (7:8-16). Their relationship with foreigners also grieves God. They allow foreigners to live with them and worship their idols. As result they are worthless like a “cake not turned,” that is over cooked on one side and not cooked on the other side. This relationship is wakening and killing Israel but they don’t know it. They are like a naive dove that will be trapped by foreign nations and be killed by them. This will be fulfilled when Assyria conquers the northern kingdom. Even though the whole society is suffering, sadly it still will not turn to God.

Praying the Scripture

1. We see how God is sorrowful over the unstable and fickle love of the Jews towards Him, even after all that God has done for them. They took God’s love and grace for granted and forsook Him. This is great betrayal. God will also be sorrowful if our love is unstable and fickle toward Him, even after He sent His beloved Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. This will be the greatest betrayal in the world. May we not be ungrateful and unthankful, for this is shameful and ugly. May we live in a manner that is worthy of God’s love for us.

2. Sin brings sorrow and tragedy. These sorrow and tragedies are meant to cause us to cry out for God and lead us to Him. The sufferings of Israelites from their sins did not cause them to cry out to God, instead they continue to hate and mock God, and continue to commit adultery against Him. This is a sad picture of rebellious human heart. Sadly, this kind of rebellion continues to be played out every day. People insanely pursue sins that will hurt them, such as drunkenness, gambling, and pornography, yet they will not turn to God. Let’s pray for those suffering from sins to cry out to God for help. May we be heartbroken, as God is, over the sins of people and develop a compassion to be kind to them and share the gospel and pray for their salvation.

Scripture Reading        : Hosea 4:1-6:3

Theme                          : Indictment and Warning

1. Indictment of Israel’s Sins (4:1-19). God indicts Israel’s sins in detail. First, God indicts the people in general, who lack faithfulness and love, which is contrary to the being and nature of God. They do not know and acknowledge God. They are full of murder and adultery (1-3). Second, God indicts the priests and the prophets (1 Kings 12:31; 13:33), the spiritual leaders of the people, similar to today’s pastors. They do not teach and lead people to God, instead they profit off of people’s greed and sins (4-10). Third, God again indicts the people for their spiritual adultery through worshipping of idols, practicing divination and cult prostitution and drunkenness. God warns Judah not to follow Israel in calf worship (11-19).

2. Warning against Israel’s Sins (5:1-6:3). After laying bare the ugly and shameful sins of Israel, God warns the priests, the people and the royal leaders of His coming judgment. God will not relent because they are unrepentant. Their spiritual corruption is so deep that they cannot change. Their only hope is in the Lord, but they deal falsely with Him. Their attempt to reconcile with God is through bribery, which makes their offerings repugnant to God. Instead of forsaking their spiritual adultery and return to God, they bribe God with their good works and offerings. Therefore, God will demolish them because of their filth. Judah will also eventual follow the adultery of Israel and will likewise be destroyed by God. None of their lovers, foreign neighbours, will be able to save Israel or Judah because God is stronger and is determined to bring wrath upon these filthy people. His justice will be accomplished. Salvation to Israel will only come when they put faith in God and repent by acknowledging their adultery, and confidently and humbly ask God for forgiveness (5:15-6:3, see Heb. 4:16).

Praying the Scripture

1. Oh God, we see the ugliness and shamefulness of sin through the Israelites. We see how a life without you brings hell. People turn their shame into their glory. They glory in swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. Such sins are natural results of rejecting you, for to reject you is to reject the standard of righteous, faithfulness, love and grace. Such ugly sins deserve the ugliness of wrath that comes from your glorious justice. We agree with you that those Israelites deserve your righteous, just punishment. We thank you that even in your judgment you are faithful, by not completely rejecting Israel. You will restore them and fulfil your promises (Rom. 11:26). We thank you because through Israel we see where our sins would lead us if you did not give us grace in Jesus Christ. Thank you for humbling us and causing us to rely on your provided righteousness through Jesus, and not on our own righteousness, which is but a filthy rag. May we not be like the Israelties, who seek to bribe you by earning salvation through their offering and works. We know that salvation can only be found when we humbling place our trust in your provision of Jesus, and not our works, which we had put our identity and worth in. May we offer our spiritual offerings through faith in Jesus (1 Pet. 2:5).

2. We see massive spiritual adultery in Christendom today. Many have turned away from God like the adulterous Israel, while they claim to worship Jesus. Religions like Catholicism, Mormonism, prosperity gospel and cults dominate Christendom. The corrupt leaders in the massive prosperity gospel movement are like the corrupted priests of Israel, who profit from the greed and sins of the people instead of calling people to righteousness. We pray that God will vindicate His glorious name. We also pray that you give us compassion to share the true gospel to those who are snared in spiritual adultery.

Scripture Reading        : Hosea 3:1-5

Theme                          : Reconciliation of Gomer and Israel

1. Reconciliation of Gomer (1-3). Because of Gomer’s adultery, Hosea separated from her, as symbolized by God’s separation from Israel in 2:2. In order to illustrate God’s eventual reconciliation with adulterous Israel, God commands Hosea to reconcile with adulterous Gomer who lives for delicacies (cakes of raisins) and pleasures. In order to take Gomer back, Hosea must redeem her by paying a price in silver and barley. This redemption price is analogous to the price that God must pay to redeem Jews and gentiles by sending Jesus to die for their sins (1 Pet. 1:18-19). The redemption price is not the end of Hosea’s grace. He will also love Gomer again by commanding her to leave her treacherous adultery and come live with him as in the past.

2. Reconciliation of Israel (4-5). Just as Hosea and Gomer were separated for a period of time, so God and Israel will be separated for a period of time. This separation is characterized by the loss of three pairs of things. First pair is no king or prince, meaning no autonomous and glorious Davidic ruler (2 Sam. 7:10-16). Second and third pairs are no sacrifice (OT rituals) or pillar (pagan worship), and no ephod (worn by high priest) or household gods, which means no proper and improper worship. This will only be partially fulfilled by the imminent exile, but the complete fulfilment will be during the seven years of tribulation (Dan. 9:26-27). In that latter days, God will reconcile with adulterous Israel, just as Hosea reconciles with adulterous Gomer. Israel will repent of her adulterous sin, like Gomer, and be restored to God and be under David, who will be Jesus because He is the promised Davidic ruler (2 Sam. 7:13).

In just three chapters, God emphasized three times that even though He will judge treacherous Israel, He is still faithful and will restore Israel. God wants us to know that He is still splendidly faithful. Today, the existence of the state of Israel is a testimony to the divine truth of the Bible. Nations, big and small during biblical times, come and go, but Israel, a small nation that has suffered so much, still exists today. This can only be explained by divine sovereignty and faithfulness.

Praying the Scripture

1. Let us praise God for His majestic faithfulness for this is the emphasis of these three chapters. Let us be faithful just as God is faithful. Faithfulness involves loyalty and commitment. This faithfulness should be lived out in all our relationships: in marital and parental relationships, in our commitment to Jesus’ church through brotherly love, and even in our work places. Let us reflect the majestic character of God and rejoice in this honour, glory and beauty.

2. Thank you God for being faithful to Israel and to your church, of which we are part of. Your undeserving and mind-blowing love amazes us. It is better than life (Ps. 63:3) and all the pleasures that this world has to offer. We have tasted your goodness and we seek more of you (Ps. 34:8). May your Spirit continue to revive our heart for you. May we see sin for what it truly is: ugly, shameful, deceitful, meaningless and dangerous. May we abhor sin so that we may not be deceived by sin like Gomer, who lived for cakes of raisins and worldly pleasures instead of you. May we love you with all of our strength.

Scripture Reading        : Hosea 2:2-23

Theme                          : The Judgment and Restoration of Israel

1. Israel’s Judgment (2-13). The word “plead” in ESV has the meaning of contend or rebuke (NKJV). Mother symbolizes the nation of Israel, while children in v. 4 represents individuals. God commands every individual Jew to repent of spiritual adultery and to rebuke and exhort others to repent also, or else He will annihilate the people. Israel had become rich and proud through trading with their pagan neighbours (lovers in v. 7) and with it: the worship of their gods. Like their pagan neighbours, the Jews have attributed their wealth to these gods. But in reality, it was God who gave them their wealth and provision. To punish the Jews for their unthankfulness and betrayal, God will destroy the Israel in the presence of all the pagan nations (lovers) and no nation (lover) will be able to stop God (10). He will terminate the Jews’ sinful celebrations.

2. Israel’s Restoration (14-23). After God’s severe wrath against Israel, He will one day restore the nation completely. This ultimate restoration will be like the first exodus. God will call her out to the wilderness like the first exodus and restore His relationship with Israel and then bring them back to the land. This concurs with the prophecies of Jesus (Matt. 24:15-22) and other prophets (Dan. 9:26-27), when Israel will again experience a great tribulation and exile, but will be restored by God. We believe this will happen during the seven years of tribulation (Dan. 9:24-27; Rev. 6-19). The restoration of Israel will be complete spiritually and nationally. Spiritually, Israel will no longer worship idols (16-17), but will be faithful to God forever (19-20). The earth will be restored to Edenic conditions (18, see Is. 11:6-9; Rom. 8:21-22). The nations will stop fighting against each other (18, see Is. 2:4; Micah 4:3). God will completely reverse His judgment against the nation of Israel as symbolized by the names of Gomer’s three children. Here, Jezreel is a symbol of death and captivity, but will be a symbol of life and abundance. God will again have mercy on the nation and call them “My people” (22-23). All of these blessings will be fulfilled during the Millennial Kingdom (Rev. 20:1-6).

Praying the Scripture

1. The Jews worship Baal, while they claim to worship the LORD and even call the LORD, my Baal. Today, many false religions claim to worship Jesus, but like the Jews, they are worshipping an idol, a Jesus of their own imagination, not the Jesus who revealed Himself in the Bible. Let us not be fooled by these religious swindlers, of which the prosperity gospel is the greatest. Let us be faithful to God by examining their false claims according to the Bible.

2. Let us be reminded of the hideousness of spiritual adultery. The ugliness of spiritual betrayal deserves the ugly and severe wrath of God. Let us learn to be repulsed by sin, for all sins, to some degree, is spiritual adultery. Let our hearts be kept from idols (Col. 3:5). Let us also be rigorously thankful to Jesus who has delivered us from the wrath of God, which we deserve like these Jews.

3. Just as God’s wrath is exacting, so His faithfulness is equally exacting. He will never forsake the nation of Israel, whom He promised to love and cherish (11:8). His love and faithfulness is so exacting and amazing that He is willing to sacrifice His only Son to save Israel and the world. Let us praise Him for His glorious faithfulness (Ex. 34:6-7). His glorious faithfulness guarantees the return of Jesus and the complete restoration of the world. Blessed be His glorious name.

Scripture Reading        : Hosea 1:1-2:1

Theme                          : Israel’s Spiritual Adultery Illustrated

Hosea is the first book of the twelves minor prophets. His ministry extended about 755-710 B.C. He ministered to the northern kingdom, referred as Israel or Ephraim, in contrast to the southern kingdom, referred as Judah. During his ministry, Israel was prosperous but full of grave spiritual adultery. Hosea’s message was to exhort the people to return to their God, to warn of future judgment for their sins, and the faithfulness of God to fulfill His promises to the nation despite the sins of the current generation. Hosea’s contemporaries were Amos, Isaiah and Micah.

1. Israel’s Unfaithfulness Portrayed (1-9). God illustrates Israel’s relationship to Him through the marriage of Hosea and Gomer. When Hosea married Gomer, she was chaste just as Israel was chaste when God called Israel out of Egypt (2:15, 9:10). But Gomer later became an adulterous woman, just as Israel later became a spiritually adulterous nation by worshipping Baal (2:8, 16, 13:1) and the calves in Dan and Bethel (8:5; 1 Kgs 12:29). Spiritual adultery was followed by moral and civil evil (4:2; 14). Adulterous Gomer produces “children of whoredom” who will be like their mother just as Israel’s spiritual adultery will produce generations of spiritually unfaithful people to God (2:4). The symbolic names of Gomer’s three children illustrates Israel’s broken relationship to God and God’s impending judgment on Israel, which was fulfilled when Assyria sacked Israel in 722 B.C., about 30 years after Hosea’s first message.

2. God’s Faithfulness Promised (1:10-2:1). Despite the sins of this generation of Jews and the coming exile by the Assyrians, God will still be faithful to fulfill all His promises to the nation and to Abraham (Gen. 22:17). He will unite the divided kingdom and bring back His Jewish people to the promised land and restore their relationship with Him. The nation will experience a second exodus (They shall go up from the land, see 2:15) and return to the land spiritually and physically blessed (great shall be the day of Jezreel, meaning sowing, see 2:22). All of these promises will ultimately be fulfilled during Jesus’ second coming when He will restore Israel spiritually, physically and nationally (Zech. 12:10).

Praying the Scripture

1. Today’s greatest spiritual adultery committed by self-proclaim Christians is the prosperity gospel. This false gospel is sweeping the globe. Just as Israel served both God and Baal, so today’s Christians’ are serving both God and money (Matt. 6:24). More precisely, they are using God to get money and status. Let us pray that we are abhorred by this spiritual adultery and are heartbroken for those who are in it and seek to give them the true gospel.

2. Let us be amazed by the sovereignty and faithfulness of God and give Him praise. No sins of people, no plans of man can ever thwart His promises to Israel and His church. He will always be faithful to His people no matter what satan does and no matter what the people of the world will do to us (Matt. 28:20).