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Scripture Reading        : Hosea 13-14

Theme                                    : Sin, Judgment and Salvation

1. Sin and Judgment (13). The whole book of Hosea constantly repeats the theme of sin, judgment and then salvation. Chapters 13-14 repeats this theme again. God does not want the reader to isolate each element by itself, but see all three elements as relating to each other. One cannot understand the harshness of God’s judgment against Israel, without understanding their gross adultery and evil. Israel even practices human sacrifice, just like the Canaanites whom they had driven out of the land. One cannot understand the faithfulness and sovereignty of God in judging Israel without understanding God’s promise of future salvation to Israel.

2. Ultimate Salvation and restoration (14). In the future, God will save Israel by giving them a spirit of faith and repentance (see Zech. 12:10). God will initiate this salvation, as He initiated the incarnation of Jesus. When God initiates Israel’s repentance, Israel will become truly repentance not by ignoring their sins, but by acknowledging their sins (14:2-3). They will finally see the wickedness of their sins and the foolishness of relying on horses and human means to save them from their sins. They will stop worshipping idols and stop calling their idols by God’s name. In return, God will again be their God and He will restore their spiritual and physical well being. Israel will fulfill God’s original intention, which is to be a kingdom of priests to the nations (Ex. 19:6, see Zech. 14:16-21). All the earth will be blessed (Rom 11:15). In that day, Israel will be truly glorious and its fame will cover the earth forever. Unlike the fading and shameful glory of its adulterous ways.

Praying the Scripture

1. We see that modern Israel continues to rebel against God by rejecting their Messiah, Jesus. We are sorrowful over their sins, just as God is sorrowful over their rebellion. Our hearts’ desire is to share the gospel with these Jews, so that they may forsake their sin of adultery and embrace their only Saviour, Jesus. The Great Commission is the church’s main role to Israel and to the world. We pray that all will heard the gospel and the return of Christ will be realized soon (Matt. 24:14). We look forward to a new world order where Christ reigns and righteousness shines. Let us live wisely for this glorious eternal world, and not the fading glory of this world.

2. We need to understand that Israel’s repentance, and our repentance, is not relying on our works of righteousness to earn God’s forgiveness. Repentance, like faith, is turning away from spiritual adultery and rely completely on God for salvation. Repentance and faith are a commitment to a relationship with God and a desire to remove hindrance to that relationship. Righteous obedience is a result of this relationship. Chapell states, “True repentance must include awareness of the magnitude of our spiritual destitution; therefore real repentance must begin with recognition of God’s incomparable and unachievable holiness.” Our works can never save us or earn God’s favor. Our obedience will always fall short, God graciously accepts our imperfect obedience because of our faith in Jesus. Just as a father graciously accepts his three year old’s ugly drawing on father’s day because the child’s gift is from love. In the end times, Israel will acknowledge their adultery. They will desire a renewed relationship with God and will desire all hindrances and sins to that relationship be casted away.

Scripture Reading        : Hosea 11-12

Theme                          : God’s Compassion for Israel

1. God’s Love and Israel’s Apostasy (11). As God prophecies a coming exile of Israel, He also prophecies a coming of Israel’s ultimate and complete salvation, which will be completely fulfilled during the end times. His zealous love for Israel will accomplish Israel’s salvation. Just as God saved Israel from the first exile in Egypt, so God will save Israel again from exile in the end times (Zech. 14:2). Just as God used the prophet Moses to lead the people out of first Egypt, so He will lead His people out of the second Egypt. The beginning of this fulfilment was accomplished in Jesus (Matt. 2:15), who is the new Moses. 11:10-12 alludes to Numbers 23-24, where God predicts the Messiah will lead His people from another exile. We believe this will ultimately be completed when Christ returns at the end of the seven years of tribulation (Matt. 24:15-31; Is. 11:11-12).

2. God Exhorts Israel to Repent (12). All that Israel was doing was a chasing after the wind. Their adultery was meaningless and foolish. God exhorts Israel to triumph over their sins by coming to Him boldly and humbly for salvation (Heb. 4:16), just as Jacob was triumphant by coming to God boldly and humbly when he wrestled with God and obtain God’s promise (Gen. 32:9-12, 25-29). This promise still holds true for both the nation and individual Jews, as well as the whole world, no matter one’s race, religion, social status or past sins. If God can forgive adulterous and wicked Israel when they return to Him, He can forgive anyone, even evil Manassah (2 Chron. 33). But if Israel continues to be unfaithful to God, they will continue to suffer and live in pain just as their forefather, Jacob, lived a very difficult life in exile in Aram.

Praying the Scripture

1. God’s truth and prophecies in the Bible are completely trustworthy and inerrant. Each book of the Bible and each chapter of the Bible fit with other parts of the Bible, both in the OT and the NT. Matthew 2:15 use of Hosea 11:1 is no exception. If we understand the OT rightly, we will see that it is inerrant and completely trustworthy. If we see an apparent error, it is our stupidity and fault, not God’s. For the Bible consistently and overwhelming testifies to its divine origin and inerrancy in so many different ways. We need to humble ourselves and admit we do not understand everything if we see an apparent error in the Bible. To declare the Bible to be errant, like so many so called evangelicals have done, reveals lack of reverence for God and their foolishness.

2. God is a just God. All His ways are right and just (Deut. 32:4). When He judges, He judges righteously. When He puts calamity before non-believers, it is to exhort them to return to Himself, like He exhorts the Israelites. May they not think it is unjust of God to do such thing. When God puts trials before believers, it is to grow their faith and draw them closer to God (James 1:2-4). May believers not think it is unjust, or unloving by God, to do such thing. May we forever trust the gloriously faithful God, who is willing to send His beloved Son to die for wicked Israel and gentiles like us.

Scripture Reading        : Hosea 8-10

Theme                          : God Punishes Israel

1. Coming Judgment (8). In these three chapters, God will focus on describing the punishment He will incur on Israel, even as He continues to indict their sins. One like a vulture refers to Assyria, which will soon devour Israel. When God destroys Israel through Assyria, they will cry to God, but it will not be a cry from a genuine faith, but a cry of desperation like Cain (Gen. 4:13-14). Israel will continue to reject God’s Davidic kings, and will continue to commit adultery with pagan nations (their lovers) and their gods. This is their double iniquity (10:10). God will send them to “Egypt,” meaning Assyria will be their future “Egypt”, where they will be exiled and mistreated just like their first Egypt.

2. Coming Exile (9-10). While Israel is temporarily entertained by their sins, their joy will be turned into sorrow and death when God exiles them. In that day, their feasts, false worship and merriment will end. God had patiently and compassionately warned them of the coming judgment through His prophets. Instead of listening to His prophets, they think His prophets are fools, madman, and they even tried to kill them. Their sins are like the gross sins of the men in Gibeah (Judges 19-20). Therefore, God will bring down their glory and desolate Israel. The population of Israel will decrease through war. Sadly, in that day, people will not mourn of their sins, but will mourn for their idol calf. Everything they have lived for will come to a violent and tragedy end, marked by death, starvation, pain, murder and killings from war. All the things they trusted to protect them, their armies, will not save them. Their ugly and shameful sins will result in an ugly and shameful end. This is what they deserved for their evil.

Praying the Scripture

1. Ironically, the very idols that the Jews adore: the pagan nations and their idol worship, will be the very source of Israel’s destruction and sorrow. One of Israel’s lovers, Assyria, will destroy Israel. In life, people will find that the idols they worship, will be the very source of their ruin and sorrow. Just look at those who worship money, sex and power. Look at Hollywood and all its dysfunctional families, deaths and tragedies. It is true what one song says, “The more money we have the more problem we have.” Study shows pornography destroys a person’s ability to have a real and meaningful relationship with the opposite gender. Idols may temporarily entertain for a while, but it brings emptiness, shame, destruction, and God’s judgment. Let us pray that we will not be deceived by sin, but to gaze upon the glory of God and worship Him alone.

2. God is a glorious God who is perfectly righteous. All sins will be reckoned and punished. The deceitfulness and foolishness of sin blinds people to God’s inevitable judgment on sin, like the Israelites, who think warnings of judgment from God’s prophets are foolish and madness. Sin also dulls people’s sense of sin’s evilness, shamefulness and ugliness. May we never forget the awfulness of sin and God’s just and glorious punishment against sin. We should always agree with God that, apart from Jesus, His punishment of our sins are just and righteous (Ps. 51:4). We will only appreciate God’s salvation in Jesus when we understand sin’s wickedness and God’s glorious judgment against sin. No matter how spiritual you are, you should always grasp your own sinfulness and then humble yourself and rejoice in the salvation of Jesus every day (Rom. 3:23) and long for heaven when you will be fully delivered from the presence of sin.

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.