Hosea

(748-690 B.C.)

6

 

     The Northern Tribes continue to ignore the word of the Lord, and so the Lord says to Hosea:

 

Hosea 1:6        Name her Lo-ruhamah; for I will no longer accept the House of Israel or
                        pardon them.  (But I will accept the House of Judah.)

 

     Lo-ruhamah is Hosea's daughter. The Lord (probably Melchizedek) is telling Hosea that the Northern Tribes have gone too far and have entered on a path that will result in destruction and dispersion. Judah, the Southern tribes, has not yet become so depraved and is spared for the time being. Again, we now jump into the distant future.

 

Reunion

 

Hosea 2:1-2    The number of the people of Israel (Northern Tribes) shall

                        be like that of the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured

                        or counted; and instead of being told, "You are not my people,"

                        you shall be called Children of the Living God. The people of

                        Judah and the people of Israel shall assemble together and

                        appoint one head over them.

 

     Here we have a future time when Israel (Northern tribes) and Judah (Southern tribes, Jews) will be reunited. Israel (lost ten tribes) will regain their lost identity and will return to join Judah (present-day modern "Jewish" Israel).  They, the lost ten tribes, will be called "children-of-the-living-God."  Consider that the Urantia revelation teaches us about the individual personal relationship between God our Father and ourselves, his sons and daughters. This prophetic children-of-the-living-God concept, from 2,700 years ago, fits nicely with the current spiritual understanding of our modern time as revealed in The Urantia Book.

     Also, notice the phrase "sand of the sea." This term and the "innumerable stars in the sky" phrase in Genesis are used to refer to the vast numbers of a future people who will compose the re-identified Israel (lost ten tribes) in the messianic, end of the age time period (now). Note these similar uses of this phrase:

 

Covenant

 

Genesis. 22:17       I will bless you (Abraham) and I will multiply your

                             descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the

                             seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies

                             (militarily superiority over enemies)…

 

Genesis.32:12       But thou didst say, "I (Lord) will do you good, and make your

Amplified              descendants as the sand of the sea, which are too numerous to count."

Bible

 

Isaiah 10:22         For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only

                           a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing

                           with righteousness.

 

     Therefore, if this is the end of the age as postulated, where are all these innumerable people that were prophesied to be here?  Has Melchizedek’s promise to Abraham been forgotten? Perhaps the prophets were wrong?  Who could these greatly numerous people of the Lost Ten Tribes (Israel) be?  The Jews are a very sparse people in our modern world, numbering approximately sixteen million, a small fraction (.1%) of the global population of over six billion.

     Also note that these numerous future descendants shall "possess the gate of their enemies" meaning that they will be dominant militarily.

     Lastly, we see that of these vast numbers of people (descendants), "only a remnant" or small number will return to Canaan to reconstitute the renewed Israel at the culmination of the age.

 

     Now, back to Hosea, we slip again into events that are still in the future to us:

 

Hosea 2:20      In that day, …
                        I will let them (Israel) lie down in safety.
                        And I will espouse you (Israel) forever: …
                        Then you will be devoted to the Lord

 

Hosea 2:23      In that day,
                        I will respond …
                                          -declares the Lord.

 

     Finally, the renewed Israel will "lie down in safety…forever."  "Forever" is our clue that this is a reference to the messianic, latter day period.

     Notice here the use of the phrase "in that day."  Similar phrases — "at that time," "in those days," "the latter days"— are used to designate events that occur at the ends of ages, such as the Babylonian destruction of Judah (586 B.C.); the Assyrian destruction of Israel (Northern Tribes) (745 B.C.); the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D; and, lastly, the end of the present age.  (The end of this present age is also the end of a larger age; i.e., the end of the age of sole human sovereignty, which began with Adam and Eve’s default, and the beginning of the age of Melchizedek’s sovereignty.)  By noting carefully the context of these end of the age phrases, one can infer the specific end of the age that is being referenced to. Also, it is important to note that all the ends of the various ages have the same general conditions and types of people; for example, lawlessness and the disappearance of justice; deceit and corruption of the leaders; the people’s blindness and loss of respect for truth; the trampling of those without power; the overt rebelliousness to God; the focus on material wealth; the overindulgence of biologic drives; the inversion of values (good is bad and bad is good). These characteristics have been present at all ends of all ages. The cause of these degenerate conditions is the forsaking of God.  The prophets offer the unique understanding that the fall of civilizations is a result of the inner disconnection of man to God.  The Urantia Book tells us that:

 

UB 1220          The advances of true civilization are all born in this inner world

                        of mankind. It is only the inner life that is truly creative.

                        Civilization can hardly progress when the majority of any

                        generation devote their interests and energies to the materialistic

                        pursuits of the sensory or outer world.

 

UB 1013         True religion must ever be, at one and the same time, the

                        eternal foundation and the guiding star of all enduring

                        civilizations.

 

     We now can understand that the problems of our outer world have their origin in the world within us.  Now, back to Hosea again as he speaks to "the people" of ancient Israel:

 

The People

 

Hosea 4:1        Hear the word of the Lord
                        O people of Israel!
                        For the Lord has a case
                        Against the inhabitants of this land
                        Because there is no honesty and goodness
                        And no obedience to God in the land.

 

Hosea 4:2        False swearing, dishonesty, and murder,
                        And theft and adultery are rife;
                        Crime follows upon crime
                        For that the earth is withered;
                        Everything that dwells on it languishes—

 

     The earth is withered implies drought, which is caused by the spiritual and moral degeneracy that exists in ancient Israel.

 

Hosea 4:11      Wine and new wine destroy
                        The mind of my people.

 

Hosea 4:14      A people that is without sense must stumble.

 

Hosea 6:4        Your goodness is like morning clouds,
                        Like dew so early gone?

 

Hosea 6:6        For I desire goodness, not sacrifice
                        Obedience to God, rather than burnt offerings.

 

Hosea 7:4        They commit adultery, all of them (Israel)

 

Hosea 7:8        He (Ephraim/Israel) is rotting away.
                        Strangers have consumed his strength.
                        But he has taken no notice,
                        Also, mold is scattered over him.

 

Hosea 7:10      Though Israel’s pride has been humbled
                        Before his very eyes,
                        They have not turned back
                        To their God the Lord;
                        They have not sought Him
                        In spite of everything.

 

Hosea 8:2        They do not cry out to Me sincerely
                        As they lay wailing.
                        They debauch over new grain and new wine,
                        They are faithless to Me.

 

Hosea 8:3        Israel rejects what is good;
                        An enemy shall pursue him.

 

     Although this was written by the prophet about ancient Israel, the same recurring events and cycles go on. America can easily be substituted for Israel in the modern version of the above. Shall we not take heed?  Hosea continues:

 

Hosea 8:7        They (the people) sow wind,
                        And reap the whirlwind

 

Hosea 9:1        For you have strayed from your God:
                        You have loved a harlot’s fee.

 

Hosea 10:4      They (ancient Israel) conclude agreements and make covenants (contracts)
                        With false oaths, And justice degenerates into poison weeds,
                        Breaking out in the furrows of the fields.

 

Hosea 12:7      You must return to your God;
                        Practice goodness and justice,
                        And constantly trust in your God.

But so as not to cause despair, The Lord says:

 

Hosea 14:5      I will heal their affliction,
                        Generously will I take them back in love
                        I will be like dew to Israel;
                        He shall blossom like the lily.

 

     The prophet ends on a word of hope for a restoration that is still yet to come. Israel here (14:5) can be read as denoting the people of God who have strayed from home. The time frame jumps way into the future to the time of messianic restoration at ages’ end that is upcoming.  The prophet himself is probably unaware that this is a distant future event, knowing only that it will occur, but not when.  Finally:

 

Hosea 14:10    He who is wise will consider these words,
                        He who is prudent will take note of them.
                        For the paths of the Lord are smooth;
                        The righteous can walk on them.

     Are we, "the people" of today’s world, wise and prudent?

     Next in the chronological line of prophets is Isaiah, the very pinnacle of prophetic utterance.