DECEMBER 7
Hosea
6-9
So, if you understand God's pattern in
Hosea, He gives a pronouncement of judgment followed by a declaration of
salvation and hope for the millennial future of Israel. Since we're reading a
one-year Bible this pattern is broken. For example, today we will begin with
the salvation and hope declaration from yesterday's judgment.
Just for your information, the third
cycle of judgment/salvation is: 4:1-5:14 (judgment) and 5:15-6:3 (salvation).
Today we'll begin a fourth cycle of judgment (6:4-11:7) and salvation and hope
(11:8-11). Tomorrow we'll finish Hosea and it will end with hope.
You might not get all of the imagery or
nuances from Hosea or the other minor prophets, but at least when you get to
heaven and you bump into these guys, you can say you read their books. And for
here and now, the Spirit will give you what you need, this year and in the
years to come.
One thing to think about as you read
this is that what we have written here were probably different sermons or
messages that Hosea gave to the people. Can you imagine what it would have been
like to hear this stuff? At first some people might have made fun of him
because his wife was a whore, but once they understood that she stood as an
image for the people, I'll bet the snickering ended. After all the years of God
working with Israel, heroically trying to win the people back, God is
expressing through Hosea what it has felt like trying to lead these people, and
mankind in general.
Yet, in the end there is salvation;
therefore, it is very intriguing that Hosea is quoted in a couple of
interesting places in the New Testament having to do with God's plan of
redemption.
Hosea 6
Vs. 1-3 This is the hope from the
previous declaration of judgment we read yesterday.
V. 1 Notice how God had just talked
about tearing Ephraim and Judah like a lion, but now God will bind up what He
has torn.
V. 2 This is an interesting reference
to being raised on the third day.
I'll bet that is exactly what it means.
V. 3 This is a spectacular verse that
will be on the lips and in the hearts of that generation in the Tribulation
that turns to the Lord. You might wonder how this supernatural change will come
upon Israel. Compare Isaiah 55:10-11 with this verse.
Vs. 4-11 Judgment for Ephraim (the
northern kingdom) and for Judah (the southern kingdom).
V. 6 Notice what God really wanted.
This is the same as the first commandment, to love God. Also, this is quoted by
Jesus to the Pharisees of another adulterous generation at Matthew's party in
Matthew 9:13, Go and learn what this
means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners.
V. 11 This could be pointing to the
fact that Judah came out of their exile, or it could be referring to the place
of eminence this tribe will have when the Kingdom is established.
Hosea 7
This seems to be exclusively written to
the northern kingdom. Notice that God mentions their lack of crying out to or
seeking the Lord. This is a sign of the depth of their blindness, especially
when you consider that the ministries of Elijah and Elisha were exclusively to
the northern kingdom. Along with this lack of crying out was their hopeless
religious confusion. They thought that crying out involved burning incense on
hills and "bowing down" to Baal.
Vs. 1-7 They were totally corrupted,
like bread that was totally leavened.
V. 7 Not one king of the north was a
godly man. Notice that none of them called upon God.
Vs. 8-10 Notice that you can see a
pattern, in that this block begins with a declaration about Ephraim and ends
with their lack of returning or seeking or knowing God. So, what does God focus
on here?
Vs. 11-13 What is God's focus here?
What do you think God meant that they spoke lies against Him?
Vs. 14-16 This seems to summarize this
lack of seeking God. Notice v. 14. They cry out to God, but what they really
desire is a return of wine and grain. They are not crying out for Him or to Him
alone. I think that's a lot like us. If someone asked us what could happen that
would really make us happy and feel good, it would look like a million dollars,
recognition, computers, cars, media stuff, a house, etc. Could any of us be
happy in a hut with the presence of God, but no food that we knew of for the
next day - no job, no insurance, just the presence of God? Especially in the
west, our spirituality is thinner than we think. We would be crying out like
these people and our desire wouldn't be for God per se; it would be for the
"stuff" of God.
Hosea 8
The emphasis of this part of God's
judgment seems to be how the people outwardly claimed to know God, but never
followed His Word.
Vs. 1-3 This is interesting because it
is saying that the sign of judgment is in the sky above them. Crying out with
idolatrous and adulterous hearts seems to be the focus. The more I read what
Jesus said, the more I find Him telling people not just to hear what He said,
but to do it.
Vs. 4-6 They chose their own kings and
gods according to their desires. How could they say they knew God?
Vs. 7-10 The first part of this verse
is famous. They would not only reap what they sowed, but God would punish them
by intensifying what they wanted. If they wanted to go away from God, He would
show them the result. Without His care and protection, there would be no food.
Not only that, the countries to which they ran for help would use and
disappoint them.
Vs. 11-14 What a funny contrast, even
though they were sacrificing, they didn't understand God or His Word.
V. 14 This is what the people sought
instead of God to make them feel secure. God would remove everything, until
eventually, He was all that remained for them.
Hosea 9
At the root of their rebellion was the
satisfying of their needs. Again, it is interesting how much teaching Jesus
gave to His disciples on not being anxious about life, seeking Him first and
being rich toward God.
Notice how often the mention of wine,
food and offerings is mixed together. They were religious, but if God is only a
tool for us to get fed and have comfort and satisfy our desires, our desires
are really our god. And God isn't fooled by our religiousness.
Vs. 1-3 This is what drove their
religion and their actions, a prostitute's wages, food and clothing. Notice
that Ephraim returned to Egypt looking for help, but was dragged away to
Assyria. Even those who ran to Egypt for help were eventually confronted and
killed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
V. 4 God is not mocked. He wouldn't
accept their worship.
Vs. 5-6 In fleeing the Assyrians, the
Egyptians would take them and abuse them.
Vs. 7-8 In the day of their need, their
lying prophets were no help to them.
Vs. 9-10 The seeds of their corruption
were seen back in their history. Gibeah was the town in Benjamin, at the end of
Judges, filled with homosexual men who killed the traveler's wife. This
launched a civil war.
Baal-peor came while the people were
still being led by Moses in the wilderness, when the presence of God was
visible in the cloud and the manna was being given every morning. Sin is a
spiritual disease in us that defies every rational thought.
Vs. 11-17 Notice that this is all
directed to Ephraim, the northern kingdom, and the result will be exile. As far
as we know, these people were lost to Israel forever. There were some of the
people, the remnant, whom God might have kept track of, but it seems from
Chronicles, that the only Israelites who survived from all of the tribes were
those who heeded warnings like this and moved south into the land of Judah.
Those people went into exile with the southern kingdom into Babylon and were
restored to Israel.
When you read what God says about
Israel, you realize that they are representing all men. We are all fallen and
we are all this sinful. Sin is awful and utterly awesome in us. Sin will
dominate us if we desire anything other than God, and the only way we can
desire God is through Jesus. In Jesus we are forgiven, and the Holy Spirit
gives us a newly created life, residing in us so we can follow Christ. Israel
tried to fulfill their desires and passions and sort of give lip service to
God. Sin is too powerful for that kind of life and deception. This is the same
for us even as Christians. If we desire anything more than Jesus, it takes
over. When Jesus told His disciples to take heed and beware of all coveting of
anything, He wasn't being religious, but vitally real. He was trying to protect
them and us. The reformers said "Sola Scriptura" (only the
Scriptures). As disciples our cry has to be, "only Jesus." Our focus
on Him and following Him in His Word and in the harvest is the only way we can
really live to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul,
with all our strength and with all our mind. Paul told Timothy this in 1
Timothy 6:12, Fight the good fight of the
faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which
you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. If we don't
take hold of it, something else takes hold of us.
3
John
V. 1 From v. 5, it appears that Gaius
was a respected man in the church and had some influence in terms of leadership
and making disciples.
Vs. 2-4 Probably as a result of Gaius,
there are people walking in the truth. This guy is someone John knows and
trusts.
Vs. 5-8 As in all the churches, there
were traveling preachers and workers who were passing through and going on to
other lands. The gospel was new and there was a world to reach. Gaius was one
of those people who supported this work, in spite of false teachers.
Vs. 9-10 Here is the reason this is
being sent to Gaius and not the entire church. Diotrephes was stopping the
church from supporting outsiders. Under Diotrephes, the church was
becoming an isolated fortress. It appears that Diotrephes was overly
conservative and held a very self-centered, authoritarian view of leadership.
In the early church, there was a spectrum of error, but most of the deep
problems faced by Paul came from the very conservative, exclusive, law-driven
side of the church. It seems that Diotrephes was so law and authority-oriented,
that he didn't even recognize the authority of the apostle John.
Vs. 11-12 This is the other reason John
is writing Gaius personally, so that he would welcome and help Demetrius. In
fact, some think it was Demetrius who carried this letter.
Vs. 13-15 Again, this letter was
intentionally short because of the need for Demetrius to be helped, and because
John was hoping to come personally and tend to the situation.
We are used to seeing Paul having to
defend himself and his apostleship, but even John, the disciple whom Jesus
loved, was not counted as worthy by a guy like Diotrephes. Sometimes the
church is just more fun than you can stand. Thankfully we know the Lord of the
church.
Psalm
126
This song, sung by the worshippers
coming to Jerusalem, could have been written during many periods of Israel's
troubled history. Since the psalm is talking about the fortunes of Zion being
restored and the city being a testimony among the nations, it could be that
this song was sung by those who returned from the Babylonian exile with
Zerubbabel.
Vs. 1-3 I can't imagine what it was
like for these people who returned, or even for a man like Daniel, to know that
the Lord had allowed the people to return to Jerusalem. It was a miracle.
Vs. 4-6 These verses sound like what
Jesus said to His disciples in John 4:36, Already
the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so
that sower and reaper may rejoice together. Today we work in the harvest
following Him, denying ourselves, taking up our cross, choosing to hunger now,
being poor now and mourning now for this lost world. Someday we will fully
understand the work that He did through us, by making disciples and bringing in
the sheaves, and we will rejoice.
Proverbs 29:12-14
I guess if I had to put all three verses together, I would
camp on v. 13. The poor man and the oppressor owe God faithfulness, since He
gives both of them their life and understanding. In God, they are both equal
and so, I guess, the oppressor ought to be humbled.
To deny our debt of gratitude would be v. 12, with the
result that light leaves the land and it is ruled by darkness, like in Ephraim,
the northern kingdom.
To respond in faithfulness to God is v. 14, with the result,
as God showed to David, that God will further bless that faithfulness. Our real
faith and trust in God is seen honoring God in the small things. The Lord
notices. (Luke 16:10)
If you’re reading along
and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these
comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in
growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see
the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting
weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make
disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we
have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused
on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to
provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of
redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us
focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in
these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others
to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making
disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a
complete description of this model of being and making disciples you can find
it in my book: Simply Disciples*Making Disciples.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
If you would like a more
descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the
Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is the
commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never
hurts.
I am not endorsing any
particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte
Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with
us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their
own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular
tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to
criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has
written to us, as I understand it. Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like
documents containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download these to use on your computer or to
print.
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