When God is Silent

Malachi 4:1-6 are Jehovah's last words to His people before the four hundred years of divine silence. 

When God is silent, strangely silent and there is a seemingly endless void between you and Him, turn to Him in faith and cling to His promises.

"I wait for Jehovah, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope" (Psalm 130: 4; ASV).

Hidden In My Heart

"He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:24; NKJV)

The Last Verse of Hosea

Hosea 14:9; NKJV

Who is wise?
Let him understand these things.
Who is prudent?
Let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right;
The righteous walk in them,
But transgressors stumble in them.






Jehovah is still looking for wise folks who will understand His will.  Prudent people who will know that the ways of Jehovah are right and who choose to walk in them. 

Be wise and understand the will of the Lord (Ephesians 5:17). 

Walk in His truth and love (2 John 4-6)

Hosea 13:14 & 1 Corinthians 15:54-55

Hosea 13:14; NKJV

"I will ransom them from the power of the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
O Death, I will be your plagues!
O Grave, I will be your destruction!
Pity is hidden from My eyes."

1 Corinthians 15:54-55; NKJV

54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." 

55 "O  Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?"

He Will Help Us Repent

"So you, by the help of your God, return; Observe mercy and justice, And wait on your God continually." (Hosea 12:6; NKJV)

When we sin against God He calls us to repent.  Sometimes repentance is hard.  Hosea helped Gomer repent (see Hosea 3).  Jehovah promises to help us.

"...and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come." (1 Thessalonians 1:10; NKJV)

The Difference Between Gomer and Israel

Gomer was willing to repent when Hosea offered her forgiveness.

Israel was unwilling to repent when Jehovah offered her forgiveness.

"He shall not return to the land of Egypt; But the Assyrian shall be his king, Because they refused to repent" (Hosea 11:5; NKJV).

Be willing to receive the forgiveness that Jesus offers at Calvary:  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37; NKJV)
 

A Divided Heart

"Their heart is divided; Now they are held guilty.  He will break down their altars; He will ruin their sacred pillars." (Hosea 10:2; NKJV)

Jehovah would have us love Him with a single heart.  Their can be no divided loyalties.  We must love Him and Him alone in order to glorify Him and Him alone.

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24; NKJV)

Hidden In My Heart

"Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain." (Psalm 127:1; NKJV)

The Days Have Come

"The days of punishment have come; The days of recompense have come.  Israel knows!  The prophet is a fool, The spiritual man is insane, Because of your iniquity and great enmity." (Hosea 9:7; NKJV)

The days of punishment and recompense were upon the northern kingdom of Israel in the time of Hosea.

These are days that you do not want to come upon you.  These days are coming again.  We can escape them only through the Lord Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; NKJV
 
7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 

8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 

10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
 

Sowing the Wind

"They sow the wind, And reap the whirlwind." (Hosea 8:7; NKJV)

Choices have consequences.  We are free to choose, but slaves to the consequences.  Choose wisely.

The Law of Sowing and Reaping

1.  I have to sow to reap - Proverbs 20:4

2.  I will reap the same kind as I sowed - Genesis 1:11; Job 4:8; Proverbs 22:8

3.  I will reap more than I sow - Hosea 8:7; Mark 10:29-30

4.  I will reap in proportion to what I sow - Luke 6:38; 2 Corinthians 9:6

5.  I will reap in a different season than when I sowed - James 4:7; Numbers 32:23; 2 Peter 3:10

"Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy..." (Hosea 10:12; NKJV)

    

Though I Redeemed Them

"Woe to them, for they have fled from Me!  Destruction to them, Because they have transgressed against Me!  Though I redeemed them, Yet they have spoken lies against Me." (Hosea 7:13; NKJV)

Hosea redeemed Gomer and she repented of her sin.

Jehovah redeemed Israel and they fled from Him, transgressed and spoke lies against Him.

What will you do with the redemption that is in Christ Jesus?

Jehovah's Desire

"For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." (Hosea 6:6; NKJV)

Desire - to be pleased with

Mercy - kindness, faithfulness

Sacrifice & Burnt Offerings - worship without Godly living

The Knowledge of God - a proper understanding of and experiencing of the true and living God

Remove Not the Ancient Landmarks

"The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark; I will pour out My wrath on them like water." (Hosea 5:10; NKJV)

Landmark - a boundary, a border

Physical Landmarks
Real Estate – boundaries of an individual’s property.
Stop Signs – bring order to our traffic system – if removed confusion results.
Lose land, lose life...the equivalent to stealing.

Spiritual Landmarks
Serve to help one distinguish between right/wrong – if removed confusion results.
Lose soul...

"Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set." (Proverbs 22:28; NKJV)

Redemption

Hosea 3:1-5; ASV

3 And Jehovah said unto me, Go again, love a woman beloved of (her) friend, and an adulteress, even as Jehovah loveth the children of Israel, though they turn unto other gods, and love cakes of raisins.

2 So I bought her to me for fifteen (pieces) of silver, and a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley;

3 and I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be any man's wife: so will I also be toward thee.

4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without pillar, and without ephod or teraphim:

5 afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king, and shall come with fear unto Jehovah and to his goodness in the latter days.

Hosea redeemed Gomer.  He bought her back.  He did this to illustrate the love of Jehovah for Israel.

Christ redeems us.  He buys us back with His precious blood.  He does this to illustrate the love of Jehovah for spiritual Israel. 

A Door of Hope

Gomer has been unfaithful to Hosea.  Israel has been unfaithful to Jehovah.  The longing of Jehovah and His will for Hosea is that they both find reconciliation with their loved ones.

"I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt" (Hosea 2:15; NKJV).

There was "a door of hope" for Gomer and Israel.  Whether they walked through it was up to them.  Walk through "the door" that is Jesus and be reconciled to God today (see John 10:9).

The Unsung Hero of the Bible

Jehovah told Hosea to "Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry" (Hosea 1:2; NKJV). 

So Hosea went and took Gomer and she began bearing kids.  Jezreel was Hosea's son.  Lo-Ruhamah may or may not have been Hosea's daughter.  Lo-Ammi was not Hosea's son.

Jehovah commanded a hard thing.  Hosea obeyed.  When you are faced with a hard commandment in your life, remember the unsung hero of the Bible and submit to the glory of Jehovah.

Ephesians 1:3-14

Ephesians 1:3-14 is one sentence in the Greek language.  What a sentence it is!  Jehovah is to be praised because He has accomplished salvation for His people.  The Father purposed, the Son acted, and the Spirit seals those who accept this great salvation.

As we read Hosea this week see how much Jehovah loves us.  See the great lengths He is willing to go to see us saved.  See that you allow Him to save you the way Gomer allowed Hosea to save her.

Ephesians 1:3-14; NKJV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Hidden In My Heart

"Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain." (Psalm 127:1; NKJV)

A Place in His Family

Ruth was a Moabite.  She was "grafted" into the family of Jehovah because of her faith (see Romans 11).  She was not a member of God's family by birth, but by new birth.

If you ever wonder whether there is a place for you in the family of Jesus Christ, look no further than page one of your New Testament.

Matthew 1:1-17; NKJV

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king.

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.   8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

Kinsman-Redeemer

Kinsman-Redeemer - Hebrew - goel

to redeem, act as kinsman-redeemer, avenge, revenge, ransom, do the part of a kinsman

by marrying brother's widow to beget a child for him, to redeem from slavery, to redeem land, to exact vengeance

to redeem (by payment)

to redeem (with God as subject)

individuals from death
•Israel from Egyptian bondage
•Israel from exile (BDB)

A Hebrew term which comes from the word ga'al ("to redeem"), hence meaning "redeemer", which in the Bible and the rabbinical tradition denotes a person who as the nearest relative of another is charged with the duty of restoring the rights of another and avenging his wrongs.

"kinsman", "redeemer", and "avenger” (KJV)

To redeem the relative from slavery, if the latter had been obliged to sell himself into serfdom (Leviticus 25:48-49)

To repurchase the property of a relative who had had to sell it because of poverty

To avenge the blood of his relative

To marry his brother’s widow in order to have a son for his brother, in case the brother didn’t have a son to pass his name forth (Deuteronomy 25:5-6)

And to receive the restitution if the injured relative had died (Numbers 5:8)

The Kinsman-Redeemer must...

1.Be related by blood to those he redeems (DEUT 25:5, 7-10; JOHN 1:14; ROM 1:3; PHIL 2:5-8; HEB 2:14-15).

2.Be able to pay the price of redemption (2:1; 1 PETER 1:18-19).

3.Be willing to redeem (3:11; MATT 20:28; JOHN 10:15, 18; HEB 10:7).

4.Be free Himself (Christ was free from the curse of sin).

Loving Wings

Ruth 2:12; ASV

Jehovah recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of Jehovah, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge.

Boaz understood who Ruth was, where she had come from, and to whom she had placed her hope.  He desired that Jehovah would repay and reward her work for Naomi.  He acknowledged her making Jehovah her refuge.

Follow Ruth's example.  Take refuge under His loving wings.  He will protect you.

"Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings" (Psalm 17:8; NKJV)

"How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!  Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings" (Psalm 36:7; NKJV)

Ruth and Naomi

Ruth 1:16-17; NKJV
 
Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God. 
Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The LORD do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me.

Many wedding ceremonies have included these words of Ruth to highlight the commitment involved when a man and a woman become one flesh.  Yet these words were spoken from a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law.  These words were spoken from a Moabite to an Israelite.

In the days of the judges a faithful Israelite woman taught her Moabite daughter-in-law Jehovah and the things of Jehovah.  Through Naomi's teaching and example, Ruth was converted.  What happened then can happen today.