StudyGrowKnow

Hosea Speaks of Judgment on Israel

December 15, 2012 at 1:17 PM 3 comments

Fascinating.  Simply fascinating!  Take the time to read through the book of Hosea and when you get to chapter eight, you will likely see something happening that may remind you of the circumstances in the United States as well as other nations throughout the globe. Take the time to look specifically at Hosea 8:7-10, which I’ve reprinted here for you from the New American Standard Bible:

“For they sow the wind And they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; It yields no grain. Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up.⁸ Israel is swallowed up; They are now among the nations Like a vessel in which no one delights. ⁹ For they have gone up to Assyria, Like a wild donkey all alone; Ephraim has hired lovers. ¹⁰ Even though they hire allies among the nations, Now I will gather them up; And they will begin to diminish Because of the burden of the king of princes.”

I want to be clear here.  I am not taking these verses out of context to say that they are referring to America.  They are not referring to America or any other nation, except Israel.  But I would like to simply look at the text and see if there are any similarities between the then coming judgment against Israel’s northern kingdom and America today.

I understand that Hosea is speaking about and to Israel and the impending invasion of the Assyrian army, which was known for its fearlessness.  They were the most feared fighting force of their day and with good reason!

If we look at the first verse, it is clear what Hosea is speaking for God and He voices God’s complaint.  Almighty God is taking the time to warn Israel of what is coming and why it is coming.  The sinfulness of Israel had obviously reached a point where it had passed the point of no return with respect to God’s upcoming judgment.  Israel had no one to blame but themselves.

The first problem (as we learn in Hosea 8:1-3) was that Israel was being duplicitous through idolatry.  Yes, they were worshiping God.  However, they were also worshiping Baal.  At Bethel, the calf-idol still stood and Israel was involved in offering sacrifices through worship to this calf-idol.  In essence, though Israel said they knew God, they had actually rejected Him because they were trying to divide their time between the one, true God and the god of Baal, which is none other than Satan.

Because of this, God was sending judgment.  He did not create the nation of Israel so that they would worship Satan in any form.  God had created Israel for His purposes.  He and He alone was to be worshiped by the people of Israel.  He would not share His glory with another, (cf. Isaiah 42:8).  Because of this, God was warning the people through Hosea that they were basically sowing the wind (v. 7).  The meaning should be obvious, but for those who might not fully understand, God (via Hosea) is saying that though the wind appears to have life, ultimately, it provides nothing sustainable.  The wind gives the appearance of being alive, it is not.  Activity, in and of itself, is not life.

There is a great deal of religious activity in the world today and certainly here in the United States.  Every Sunday, millions of people all over the U.S. go to church.  They worship.  They sing songs to God.  They read from the Bible.  They put money in the offering plate.  Then, they go home and start living the coming week for themselves.  They don’t care about the things that God cares about.  It doesn’t matter to these individuals that millions of abortions are carried out each year here in America.  It doesn’t matter that politicians are corrupt and that our government continues to push us into wars that do nothing but serve the global elite.  It doesn’t matter that people want to hear things that tickle their ears, making them feel good.

In Hosea 8, we learn that the kings and princes of Israel knew that there was a great possibility that Assyria was going to attack and invade.  In fact, verse 9 tells us that these rulers “…have gone up to Assyria, Like a wild donkey all alone.”

Why were they doing that?  They were trying to make a deal with the nation that was going to invade them!  Just like a wild donkey that runs to and fro in an attempt to find food and water, the leaders of Israel were doing the same stupid thing!  Instead of turning to God and away from sin, they were turning to the very nation for help that was going to come in and destroy them!  How ludicrous is that?  They were trying to beg for terms of survival from Assyria.

But worse than this, we learn that “Ephraim has hired lovers” in the end of the same verse.  What does that mean?  Historically, we realize that just before Assyria had attacked Israel during this time, the leaders of Israel were also trying to work with other smaller nations to come to some type of agreement that would create an alliance so that when Assyria attacked, Israel would have help from these other nations against Assyria.  Ultimately, Israel was trying to literally buy “love” (loyalty) from these other nations (see also v. 10).

The latter part of verse 10 explains what God is going to do or allow to happen to Israel.  “And they will begin to diminish Because of the burden of the king of princes.”  This verse points out the fact that the population of Israel would begin to diminish and on top of that, the additional burden placed on them by their rulers would cause significant problems for them economically.  The “king of princes” here is referring not to Assyria, but to Israel’s own government!  God was allowing the nation to collapse from within.  They would be invaded, most destroyed or taken captive, then generations later, God would return them to the Land.  This is the way it has gone for Israel since their inception and it will continue this way until Jesus Christ physically returns.

So what does this have to do with America?  I’m amazed at how this country has steadily moved away from its biblical moorings since its founding.  I know that there are some who believe this nation actually had a covenant with God (as Israel has a covenant), but I disagree with that notion completely.

I do believe though that because our nation incorporated much of God’s law in our own laws and built a society in which God’s law was fully reflected, God chose to bless this nation.  It’s kind of like how the old woman was blessed when Elisha (cf. 2 Kings 4) was with her.  The old woman wasn’t part of God’s covenant with Israel, but God blessed her nonetheless because she opened her door to Elisha, the way the United States opened the door to God’s biblical principles.

I’ve talked about the fact that in the early 60s, prayer was removed from the classroom as were the Ten Commandments.  Shortly after that, abortion – the government-sanctioned murder of unborn children – became law.  Since that time, the United States has steadily moved away from any real willingness to even acknowledge God at all.

So here we are in 2012 and what do we have?  We have a government that has steadily grown more corrupt and this goes back for numerous administrations, each seemingly becoming more corrupt than the previous one.

We also have an administration that is over burdening the people of this country with taxes that are just unbelievable.  Those who do not have the responsibility of having a family to support will surely not comprehend just how bad these taxes will become until they themselves get there.  All of this reminds me of what happened with Israel in the book of Hosea.

The rulers of Israel were exceedingly corrupt and were also idolators.  So are ours.  Instead of turning away from their own corruption and idolatry, they continued to embrace it believing that they could solve their problems in their own strength and wisdom.  God said that would not work.  Our leaders are doing the same thing.

The rulers of Israel wound up taxing the people very heavily so that tribute could be paid not only to Assyria, but to other smaller nations that they hoped would come to their aid when Assyria attacked.  In some ways, this is similar to all the money that the Obama administration is demanding that is used solely for Muslim Brotherhood projects.

We are not only spending millions upon millions to fix mosques (and churches) in foreign lands, but Mr. Obama is going to proceed with the gift of up to 20 fighter jets to President Morsi’s Egyptian government.  Yes, this was promised some time ago (I believe during the Bush administration), however, with our own country in such dire fiscal shape, should we not be willing to pull back on all of our expenditures in order to help our suffering economy?

But that won’t happen because judgment is on its way to America, just as it is on its way to the entire globe.  God will not change his mind because leaders of the various nations of this world have no intention of changing their minds.

The leaders of the world’s nation do not appear to believe in the God of the Bible.  They also see themselves as demigods who are in charge of directing nations they oversee toward the new world order that is on the horizon.  It’s not just the United States.  It’s the entire world.

In spite of all this, I am encouraged for several reasons.  In spite of God’s looming judgment that is hanging over this planet on a single thread waiting to snap, I know that God has always cared for His own.  In fact, the obvious show of His patience is proof enough that He continues to wait for a sign that any leader will turn to Him.  And just as Israel was overpowered by Assyria, with many Israelites killed or taken captive, God continued to protect His Remnant, proving that He does not turn a blind eye to His own, in spite of the need for righteous judgment to fall. I believe the very same thing holds true for all of His people who have authentic salvation.  He will provide.  He will continue to guide us regardless of how bad things get here on earth before we are taken to be with Him.

We need to realize what time it is in God’s prophetic timetable.  We need to understand that God is preparing to unleash His judgment and it is not because the Church has not tried enough or done enough.  It is simply due to the fact that this earth is presently understood as Satan’s kingdom.  God is preparing to judge this kingdom and authentic Christians are here behind enemy lines.  Our job is not to change the world, but to introduce one person after another to the only One who can offer true salvation, thereby changing individual lives for all eternity.

It is getting dark.  There is no question about that.  In this day and age, it is tempting to wonder how we are going to get through the upcoming days, months, and years, especially since we do not know specifically what lies ahead.  We only know in generalities.  We begin to wonder about His ability to provide for us physically.  Yet, through the gospels and the writings of Paul, we learn that God has promised that we are more important to Him than the sparrow, yet He provides for that sparrow.

We learn in Romans 8 that not only are we not condemned, but He promises to never leave us.  God is with us and will continue to be with us in spite of what is coming.

I cannot imagine what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were going through in the book of Daniel (chapter 3) when Nebuchadnezzar ordered them into the fiery furnace.  Imagine trying to prepare yourself to face that!  It was part of their unique future, yet God gave them the ability to trust Him and not doubt.

I think that is going to be the most trying aspect of being an authentic Christian during these times; learning to trust God in spite of what we see happening across the face of the earth.  We really don’t have a choice, though, do we?

Judgment appears to be hanging over this nation of which we are a part.  I don’t believe we can change that and while some may believe I am simply doubting God’s ability (or being defeatist), please understand that I am not doubting His ability as much as I am recognizing the direction in which various leaders of the world are moving.

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