Flight HOS01 - Part A

God was demonstrating through the prophet, not just proclamation, not just prediction. That's included in this book as well. But God was demonstrating his love under the worst possible circumstances. Today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Pastor Skip begins a message from the Old Testament book of Hosea.

It's all about the love that God was showing his people through prophecy. But first, here's a resource that'll help you understand God's design for fatherhood. America is reaping the whirlwind of bad fruit from a generation of young men who lack the influence of a father. We desperately need to educate men of all ages and stages of life to begin to turn this destructive social trend.

Listen to Skip Heitzig. Where's dad? That's a crucial question in our world today. When fathers abandon their children, a series of dominoes begin to fall with devastating results. We see young men rampaging through streets destroyed by drugs, then continuing the vicious cycle by creating fatherless homes. We need to educate boys and men of all ages about how dads make a difference. And that's the theme of our current resource package that includes my full hour video documentary called Where's Dad, plus seven of my most important messages to men.

I hope you'll order your copy now. Dads Make a Difference. That's the title of a critical issues package you can order now. The Dads Make a Difference package includes seven of Skip's most important messages to men and the full hour video documentary Where's Dad, hosted by Skip. I think it's pretty easy to see from just a reading through of scripture that it is dad's responsibility to set the moral, spiritual tone in the home. Remember it was Joshua who said, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Get this package in either digital download or CD and DVD when you support Connect with Skip with your gift of $50 or more. You'll be joining us as we take Skip's Bible teachings into more major cities.

Request the Dads Make a Difference package online at connectwithskip.com or by calling 1-800-922-1888. Now we're in Hosea 1 as we begin today's lesson. Back in 1936, King Edward VIII of England, who incidentally was only on the throne less than one year before he abdicated the throne, gave a speech that was going to be carried and was carried not only in England but all through the United States via a radio station in New York City that was going to broadcast it and feed it to others. So in 1936 when King Edward was about to give that speech just minutes before the speech that would go to the United States as well, somebody in the radio station in New York City tripped over the main radio wire that was connecting the feed from England and the reception to the United States. So the communication was broken. It was a radio signal.

They didn't know how they were going to patch it up. They just had really seconds before the king was going to go live. A very quick thinking engineer in that engineer in that studio took one hand and grabbed one part of the broken wire and with the other hand took the second part of the broken wire and the speech was given by the king and the signal was transmitted literally through the body of that engineer. That radio signal, low power radio signal, was carried through his body.

His body became in part the transmission of the king to his people and our people. Now that little illustration is what a prophet is all about. A prophet hears from God and a prophet speaks for God. A prophet is like a radio. It receives transmission from heaven and then it broadcasts or transmits that reception to others. So they're like spiritual radios.

They bridge the gap between heaven and earth. Now sometimes the prophets, their style is proclamation, pure preaching. They are speaking about issues that are dealing with the day and age in which they are living. They're proclaiming forth God's word. At other times, it's not just proclamation, it is prediction. They are foretelling the future, future events, some in the near future, some in the far future, all the way to Christ's coming or second coming. Sometimes the prophets aren't about proclamation or prediction but demonstration. They want to get the people's attention and so they play a part. They act a role and in so doing, the people who are around them are able to see what the message is the prophet will later on then speak.

So we've already discovered that. Jeremiah did that a few times. Ezekiel did that but of all of those who were called to be prophets, of all of the prophets I wouldn't want to be, the one that would top my list would be Hosea. I mean Jeremiah had a bad, Ezekiel had a bad, some of the things God called him to do not good, very difficult but Hosea was told by God to demonstrate God's love for his people in the worst situation possible. God told him to marry a wife who would then go out on him and have an affair with other men, become a prostitute. Then God would instruct that prophet Hosea to bring her back again and support her and forgive her and help her raise the children that they produce together. God was demonstrating through the prophet not just proclamation, not just prediction, that's included in this book as well. But God was demonstrating his love under the worst possible circumstances.

When you have an unfaithful spouse. It's interesting that the name Hosea is the same Hebrew name as Joshua or Yeshua or Jesus and he in his agony and his pain shares God's great love for the people of Israel. Now we are dealing with what are called minor prophets when we begin the book of Hosea and finish out the Old Testament. This is the 32nd week in this series called the Bible from 30,000 feet.

We're flying over it and we try to do a book a week. Good news there's only 14 chapters in this little book and I know what you're thinking you're thinking yeah but you're the preacher Skip and there were only 12 chapters in Daniel and it took you two weeks but this book is highly unique and different from the book of Daniel. Daniel itself was was a standalone book. We call the minor prophets only because of the size of the book itself not because of importance or significance. They're not any less than Isaiah or Jeremiah or Ezekiel or Daniel. They're minor only because they're brief books.

They have a major message but we call them minor prophets not because of inferiority not because of superiority but simply because of brevity. You know size can be misleading. An espresso is a tiny cup of coffee but it packs a wallop and it's a lot stronger than a pour over or an Americano or a standard cup of coffee.

A small cup can bring huge results. Another thing about size my mom was about five foot. She could pack a wallop. She could handle four boys quite easily.

So size can be misleading. The book of Hosea and the rest of what we call the minor prophets have some incredible messages. Let me divide it up for you. The book falls naturally into two divisions although I'm going to give you four. It falls naturally into the first three chapters and then the second 11. The first three are personal chapters. Private chapters is about his own personal life as God is forming this messenger and then the second part those last 11 chapters deal with his public life his prophetic ministry to the nations but I've sliced Hosea up into four sections chapters one and two is about a faithless wife.

You're going to be introduced to her in a moment. Then chapter three is about a future restoration as God takes the illustration of the first two chapters and announces something he's going to do in the future and then third chapters four through ten is about a fickle nation the nation of Israel. Even though Israel and Judah are both mentioned primarily he is a prophet to the northern kingdom and then finally a faithful God in chapters 11 12 and 13.

The book of Hosea is a heartfelt message by a heartsick prophet about a heartbroken God. He is the prophet of the last hour. The northern kingdom is months away from destruction from captivity by the Assyrians. The southern kingdom Judah will have some more time. We're going to see that in our text as he predicts that. Well we begin in chapter one verse one and of course we're just going to take select verses as we go through the book.

We begin with the faithless wife. The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Biri in the days of Uzziah Jotham Ahaz and Hezekiah kings of Judah. So those are southern kings and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel that is a northern king.

The book begins by giving us a reference point so we know when and how long this prophet ministered. He's going to talk to the 10 northern tribes the two southern tribes. Primarily his message is for the north.

Secondarily it's for the south. Now remember Solomon died in 930 BC. After he died his son took over. His son eventually split the kingdom. The kingdom is now in two different parts. Israel sometimes in this book called Ephraim.

I think like 36 times in this book. The northern kingdom is referred to under the largest tribe title Ephraim. So when you read Ephraim think Israel the 10 northern tribes and then Judah. So it's given us the reference of time in verse one and if you were to add up the kings that are mentioned and you look at the length of time Hosea ministered he ministered about 50 years in total. Verse two, when the Lord began to speak by Hosea the Lord said to Hosea go take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry. He is now predicting what is going to happen to her. She probably was not a harlot when he married her. I say that because based upon the law of the old testament and how prophets roll they don't marry harlots and the children were born afterwards. So the idea is that I know what is going to happen to this woman that you're going to marry. She is going to turn out to be unfaithful. Go take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord. Hosea I've got a difficult mission for you.

I want you to marry a wife who's going to have an affair on you. Now God knew that Hosea didn't. God lets him in on it to sort of preview the kind of heartbreak that he is going to experience as an object lesson.

Think of it this way. As hard as it sounds, as difficult as it would be, God invited Hosea into a pageant, a play. Hosea you're going to play the part of me, God. Your wife is going to play the part of Israel, the harlot. Just as she went out on you, the nation of Israel has continually had affairs on me by worshipping other gods. So when your wife leaves you Hosea, you're going to experience personally the kind of pain I have been experiencing for years with my people. Nobody would want that task.

Nobody would want that call. It sounds too difficult to bear. And yet let me just say that Paul the apostle in the New Testament has a very interesting verse. When he cries out that he might know the Lord, he said that I might know him and the fellowship of his suffering being made conformed even to his death. Do you remember that prayer of Paul and Philippians?

Lord I want to know you so well that I have fellowship with you even in the deepest, darkest times of suffering. Hosea was able to suffer in like manner as God himself suffered. Verse 3, so he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim and she conceived and bore him a son. Now that's sort of like red flag number one. That's bad in and of itself to have to marry a woman by the name of Gomer. I'm guessing because I'm thinking Gomer Pyle.

That's just where my mind goes. That's her name, his sweet wife Gomer. And she conceived and bore him a son that she bore him a son. Then the Lord said to him call his name Jezreel. Jezreel is a valley in Israel called after Jezreel. Jezreel means God sows like you sow seed or better yet God scatters because the sower or farmer would throw seed out in the field scatter the seed for sowing. So call his name God scatters Jezreel for in a little while I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu and bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.

Now here's something I think would be helpful. In the Hebrew language there is word play that we don't get in English. There's a play on words. In Hebrew the word Israel and Jezreel they sound a little bit similar to us in English but they're almost identical in Hebrew. In Hebrew and in Hebrew for Jezreel. Very similar in spelling, very similar in sound. So it's a play on words.

Notice this. Verse five it shall come to pass in that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. So God is going to take Israel the nation and he's going to Jezreel them. He's going to scatter them.

What does that mean? 722 BC the Assyrians will take them and scatter them. Now a Syrian strategy when they took over a nation wasn't just to occupy the nation but to displace the people. They would take people out of a conquered country send them into various other countries they conquered take all of those other people from the countries they conquered scatter them all so that the northern kingdom of Israel eventually had people scattered sewn in with all of the population so that the marriages would be mixed and so that the strength of identity would be weakened. That was their strategy and Israel was scattered throughout the world. Verse six she conceived again and bore a daughter and God said to him call her name Lo Ruhamah which means no mercy for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel but I will utterly take them away yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah.

See how he makes the difference between north and south? I will save them by the Lord their God and will not save them by bone or by sword or battle by horses or horsemen. Now in verse seven that little word yet brings the glimmer of hope not for Israel in the north but for Judah in the south. Israel is going to be scattered yet Judah for a hundred and thirty six more years is going to be preserved by God. They will not go into captivity and when they do it won't be by the Assyrians it will be by the Babylonians 586 BC. Remember all those dates we gave you so this is a glimmer of hope for the nation of Judah yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah. Now push the pause button in your mind think back to our studies in the book of Isaiah in chapter 37 of Isaiah the Assyrians had surrounded Jerusalem and the king of Assyria announced to Hezekiah the king of Judah don't trust in your God he's not going to save you every nation that thought their gods could deliver them didn't work your dead meat basically.

So Sennacherib was the one who made that announcement. You remember what Isaiah did he tore his robe he prayed he grabbed Isaiah the prophet said pray for us Isaiah the prophet prayed and then Isaiah said hey because you turned to the Lord at this time when the Assyrians are gathered and you humbled yourself God is going to spare you hence this prophecy and for 136 years they were spared. Now according to history Sennacherib the ruler heard rumblings of an issue that happened on another front in Judah so he moved he and part of his army up to Lakish where he heard about the the the uprising going on there when he was removed he kept some troops a lot of troops around Jerusalem still. Isaiah 37 says that an angel of the Lord went through the camp of the Assyrians and killed in one night 185,000 Assyrians. So this brings weight to the statement of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane when he says Peter put your sword away man don't you know that I could call 12 legions of angels to take care of this little band of merry men from the Romans and now if one angel can can put out 185,000 enemy imagine what 12 legions could do it could it could destroy everyone and everything so God preserved Judah. Verse 8 now when she had weaned lo Ruhamah about two or three years after their birth they were completely weaned in that culture in that day she conceived and bore a son and she was a son of the son of the son of the Lord then God said call his name lo Ammi which means not mine or not my people for you are not my people and I will not be your God. Now you notice something but before the words of these names lo dash Ruhamah lo dash Ammi you read that it's because the word lo means no in Hebrew if you read it today somebody will say can that means yes but somebody says lo that doesn't mean get down it means no so lo means no in Hebrew it's also a negative prefix so when you have that word before a word it negates it so mercy is Ruhamah or Ruhamah and when you want to say no mercy lo Ruhamah if you want to say mine Ammi if you want to say not mine lo Ammi it's not mine so it's the negative that prefix that that turns the word around yet verse 10 yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea which cannot be measured or numbered and it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them you are not my people there it shall be said to them you are sons of the living God now there's another yet you read in verse 10 like the one in verse seven another glimmer of hope another ray of mercy just when we think there's no hope you know before the commercial break it turns the story shifts yet the number of the children of Israel will be as the sand on the sea that wraps up today's message from pastor Skip from the series the bible from 30 000 feet find the full message as well as books booklets and full teaching series at connectwithskip.com now let's go in the studio with Skip and lenya with news about a trip to Israel you can take i'm guessing that many of you have thought about talked about maybe even dreamed about visiting israel well let's make that happen lenya and i are taking a tour group to israel next summer in 2024 and i can't wait we'll start in tel Aviv head north to nazareth the sea of galley and the jordan river we'll spend several days in jerusalem and see the garden of gethsemane the upper room and so much more and we'll wrap it all up with a swim in the dead sea now i've been to israel many times like over 40 in fact i can honestly say though that visiting the places where the scriptures unfolded where jesus lived out his earthly ministry it never gets old no it doesn't the incredible sightseeing will be punctuated by times of worship and teachings that you'll never forget and jeremy camp and ad camp will be with us to lead worship make plans to join us next summer in israel see the itinerary and book this israel tour with pastor skipp heitzig at inspiration cruises.com slash c-a-b-q that's inspirationcruises.com slash c-a-b-q and did you know there's a great biblical resource available right at your fingertips through your mobile device you can access several of skips bible reading plans in the u-version bible app and dive deeper into several books of the bible to gain new insights just search Skip heitzig in the u-version bible app tune in again next week for more verse by verse teaching from god's word with Skip connect with Skip heitzig is a presentation of connection communications connecting you to god's never-changing truth in ever-changing times