The Book of Hosea: Chapter 8

Israel and Judah have forsaken the Lord...

Verse 3

The Lord says that "Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him". Israel declined to follow and worship the Lord, and therefore they lost his protection.

Verses 8-9

Again, Israel's stubbornness is described using a stubborn animal...a "wild ass". Israel did not want to do what the Lord wanted them to do, instead they chose their own way and followed after their own hearts.

The "lovers" described in this verse refer to Ephraim's many attempts to find friends and security through political alliances, instead of doing this through obedience to God.

Verse 13

The first part of this verse indicates that the Lord did not accept their sacrifices. The reason he didn't accept them is because they were only the shell of the sacrifice, or the physical act of completing the sacrifice. Their hearts were not in it and their spirits were not in it. This applies to the offerers and the priests.

The Lord also indicates that they will return to bondage in Egypt. Egypt is used as a general term for bondage. Assyria would be the actual nation that would be involved this time.

The Book of Hosea: Chapter 7

Further descriptions of Israel's (Ephraim's) wickednes...

Verse 2

I like how it says "their own doings have beset them about". For Ephraim and for us, many times we place our own sins as stumbling blocks in front of us.

Verse 7

This verse says "there is none among them that calleth unto me". It appears here that the entire Northern Kingdom of Ephraim (Israel) had turned against the Lord.

Verse 8

The Lord described Israel as a "cake not turned". Because Ephraim was so idolatrous due to mixing in with other heathen nations, they had not completely fulfilled the requisites for the conquest of Canaan. This would basically describe them as half-baked. We can all apply this to our own assignments and callings. We can't simply start out great and let the excitement fizzle. We have to be "finishers" as President Monson says. In Hosea's day, cakes were baked upon red-hot stones. The cakes would bake on one side and then they needed to be turned over to bake on the other side. If the baker forgot to turn the cake, one side would not be cooked and one side would be burnt. The Lord was telling Israel (Ephraim) that their lifestyles, due to the heathen rituals and idolatry, was causing their progression to be stopped and damage was being done to them. They did not obey the Lord's full commandment of ridding themselves of all heathen nations, therefore the idolatry found it's way into their midst and they would suffer spiritually because of it.

Verse 9-11

When the Lord says "they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria" he means that Ephraim was looking to worldly powers and worldly strength to deliver them. The would trust in worldly armies before they would trust in God. Hosea believed, and tried to convince others, that God would protect them if they trusted and loved him. Specifically, Ephraim had paid tribute to Egypt and Assyria, weakening their own economy.

Verse 14

The LDS Old Testament manual says that the people crying for corn and wine means that they would use these things to cope, or take away the hurt. They would not pray to God for help, but instead would use worldly means to try and cope.

Verse 16

The Lord describes Ephraim as a "deceitful bow". Stringing a bow can be dangerous and a deceitful bow is one that flies back or breaks during stringing, and hits the archer. This coincides with the "backsliding heifer" analogy. The archer is trying to do something constructive with the bow, but the bow reacts negatively and resists.

The rest of the chapter describes how Ephraim had turned from the Lord and nothing seemed to soften their hearts. Because of this the Lord said their princes would fall by the sword. Ephraim's hearts were set upon idolatry and worldliness therefore they would have no protection from the Lord.

The Book of Hosea: Chapter 6

Chapter 6 starts with a few prophecies and also indicates a few more wicked things that Israel was guilty of.

Verses 1-3

The LDS scholars that created the institute manual for the Old Testament referenced one of the popular beliefs that one of the Lords days is a thousand of ours. This would cause this verse to be translated as "after two thousand years will he revive us (restore); in the third thousand years  he will raise us up and we shall live in his sight. This would then most likely refer to the gathering of Israel and the Millennium. Verse 3 is another interesting point. Here is the explanation of the latter and former rains. To the farmer in Israel, there are two rains that are very important to raising a good crop. The former rain softened the earth enough to plow it for planting. The latter rain gave the crops nourishment so they could grow. We are essentially told that the Lord will be to us a duel blessing also. He will help prepare us for hearing the Gospel and he will also nourish us and help us grow in the Gospel.

Verse 4

In this verse Israel's goodness is compared to the "early dew" that "goeth away". Just as dew doesn't last long after the sun comes up to evaporate it, Israel's goodness did not last long (not much of a compliment).

Verse 6

 Hosea probably was not condemning sacrifices and burnt offerings, but more likely indicating that the point of the offerings was being missed...mercy and knowledge. The Israelites had come to a point where they were only doing the outward motions of the rituals and sacrifices and were not benefiting spiritually from them. 

Book of Hosea: Chapter 5

Chapter 5 continues with the Lord pointing out Israel's sins and what the consequences would be for those sins.

Verses 1-2

The priests are compared to nets and snares used for hunting, and the mountains named (Mizpah and Tabor) were famous for for hunting. A "revolter" was someone who drove an animal into a camouflaged pit to catch it. All of these scenarios describe hunter and prey situations and the Lord is putting the priests in this same category. The priests were spiritually killing their prey.

Verse 6

This is a very sad verse that shows the consequences of ignoring the Lord. If we've done something (like Israel) to cause the Lord to withdraw Himself from us, we may have a situation where we will seek Him and not find Him. Only through a mighty change of heart and true repentance would we be able to find Him again.

Verse 7

The "strange" children in this verse refer to those ungodly children born of wicked Israel. They do not know the Lord and He does not know them. Obviously He knows them but the scripture means that they arw wicked and not His people.

Verses 10-11 (Landmark example pictured above)

The princes (or rulers) of Judah were likened to "them that remove the bound". For the explanation of this phrase see Deuteronomy 27:17.  During that time in Israel, property boundaries were marked by using landmarks. These could either be natural landmarks or man made landmarks. An evil practice in the day was called removing the bound. This would be the equivalent of moving the fence that separates you and your neighbor closer to them, making your own property bigger. This was considered the same as stealing. The Lord was saying that the princes and rulers of Judah were altering the spiritual boundaries involving the worship of Himself. The rulers were condoning and encouraging the worship of baal and other false gods and goddesses, making it confusing for many to know what was right and what was wrong. Just like a moved boundary would be confusing for some to know what belongs to who. However, the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim is specifically pointed out in verse 11 because they willingly walked after these false commandments, making their punishment more severe.

Verse 13

The Lord gave the reminder that at one point Ephraim tried to pay tribute to the Assyrians (Tiglath-Pileser III) but it only worsened the problem. The Lord says "yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound". When the root of the problem is sin (sometimes we may think the problem is something else) the only person to go to is the Lord.

The Book of Hosea: Chapter 4

Chapter 4 is a series of consequences foretold by the Lord for Israel. We should understand that these are consequences brought upon Israel by themselves, just as we sin and bring upon us those consequences. The Savior will be as merciful to us all as He possibly can be, but justice will also need to be served.

Special Note: Often when Judah and Ephraim are the only two tribes mentioned, the reference is to the Northern Kingdom (Ephraim or Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah). Though all of the tribes are involved they are often referred to as two groups because the line was naturally drawn this way when each tribe took sides.

Verse 3

Hosea tells Israel because of their wickedness "the land shall mourn and everyone that dwelleth therein shall languish". We can also see this when we read Leviticus chapter 26 and Deuteronomy chapter 28. The Israelites were told that their wickedness would come back to haunt them in the form of spiritual and temporal hardships. This is also the case for us. It doesn't mean that bad things won't happen to good people, and vice versa, but generally speaking there is a relationship between sin and consequences. Consequences not felt in this life, whether good or bad, will be had in the next life.

Verse 8

In this verse the Lord says that the priests "eat up the sin of my people and they set their heart on their iniquity". This means that the priests delighted in the iniquities of the people and hoped they would do more sinning. They did this because in Leviticus 6:26 we see that the priests were commanded to eat the flesh of the sacrifice to wipe away the sins of the people. The priests delighted in the sin of the people because they hoped to be continually fed by the good sacrificial meat.

Verse 12

Stocks and Staffs: The Lord points out that the people ask council of the stocks and staffs. Stocks were small wooden idols used in idolatrous worship and staffs were diving rods used to see the future. They did not pray for guidance. They did not search the scriptures. They did not fast to get themselves more in tune with the spirit. Instead, they sought these other methods and other gods for counsel.

Verse 13

The sacrifices "upon the mountaintops" is describing pagan alters.

Verse 16

Hosea first calls Israel a backsliding heifer. This is easy enough to understand since it is literally like a stubborn heifer that refuses to follow when led. The heifer pulls back and digs in her feet to make pulling her difficult. Israel was doing this with the Lord by resisting His gospel and His righteousness. "A lamb in a large place" is symbolic of Israel. A lamb in a large place is unprotected and prone to predators. Israel would be left alone and also prone to conquering armies because of her transgressions.

The Book of Hosea: Chapter 3

Chapter three explains the symbolism of Hosea buying a woman. In Middle Eastern cultures at the time, a woman was considered a man's property so they could be bought and sold. Keep in mind that the woman represents Israel and Hosea represents the Lord. Hosea is freeing the woman from her bondage just like the Lord would eventually suffer through the Atonement for all mankind thus paying the price of our slavery to sin. Verse 3 describes Hosea telling Gomer to abide with him and not play the harlot. This is the price she must pay to him now that he has paid the price to take her out of bondage. Similarly, Jesus paid the price for our sins. We need to abide with him and repent to pay our price to Him. He paid the price of our sins so we are indebted to Him. The price we must pay Him is a broken heart and a contrite spirit, through repentance. 

A Quick Look at Baal

I don't want to go into too much detail here, but just enough to get an idea of what the Israelites were doing with reference to their worshipping of Baal. The name Baal basically means lord, which explains the importance they placed upon Baal. Baal was seen as a god of weather and fertility, both of which were very important at the time (and are still both important). Hosea 2:5 indicates that the people considered important things such as food, water, wool and linen as coming from Baal. Israel was tempted by the rites and rituals, the titles of those conducting the rituals, the shrines, the focus on earthly idols and treasures, etc... In addition to the sins of idolatry, they were also involved with rituals that included cultic tattoos, self-laceration and forms of ritualistic prostitution. The worst part is that the Israelites didn't see the differences between Jehovah and Baal. In fact, many considered themselves worshippers of both and didn't understand (or perhaps some did) that it was impossible to truly follow both at the same time. Often people would actually carry small idols, such as the one pictured, with them everywhere they went.

The Book of Hosea: Chapter 2 Metaphors

Here are some explanations of some of the metaphors used in chapter 2. These explanations come from the LDS institute Old Testament manual.

v1) Ammi is "my people"

v1) Ruhamah is "having obtained mercy" or "those who have obtained mercy"

v2) your mother is the nation of Israel

v3) wilderness is the captivity of Israel

v5) lovers are the priests, priestesses and idols of the Canaanite temples or any one person that someone loves more than God

v5-9,13) bread, corn, wool and jewels are worldly valuables and treasures

v9-10) her nakedness and her lewdness refers to Israel's sin

v11-14) allure her means that Jehovah still cares for Israel and will try to win her back

v15) Valley of Achor, near Jericho means the Lord will restore Israel to great blessings

v16) Ishi is Hebrew for "my husband" eventually Israel will accept God as her Lord and Savior

v16) Baali is Hebrew for "my master"

v19-20) betroth thee unto me forever means the fullness of the new and everlasting covenant will be restored to Israel in the last days and eternal blessings will result from Israel's faithful marriage to Jehovah

v22) Jezreel means "God will sow" or "God will scatter"

I think it is important to note that Israel will eventually see the error of their ways and the Lord will take her back. This has already begun to be fulfilled. I think it is also important to note in 2:14 where Jesus says "I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her". I think this is good insight into how Jesus feels about us. Adultery was one of the few justifiable reasons for divorce. However, Jesus did not divorce Israel. It's possible for us to sin, be horrible people and even betray him significantly, and he won't give up on us. He'll still love us and try to help us.

The Book of Hosea: Symbolic Names

The symbolic names given to the children in chapter one are important. It's also important to understand that just like the symbolic marriage of Hosea to his harlotrous wife would result in unfavorable judgements, the things we set our hearts upon, if evil, will also result in unfavorable judgements for us. This applies to us as individuals or as nations.

Hosea's symbolic children represent the judgements that are to come to Israel for their wickedness and betrayal. 

Jezreel (Pictured Above)

The first child was called Jezreel. "Jezreel" means "God will scatter" or "God will sow". Jezreel is a valley that has seen many bloody battles. It is also the future sight of the Battle of Armageddon. The scattering and sowing could mean two things (and possibly both). 

1) The scattering of the tribes of Israel for wickedness

2) When a crop is sown and then nourished, it grows into a fruitful plant. This prophecy could be talking about both the negative immediate future of Israel and the positive future state of Israel.

Lo-ruhamah

The second child is called Lo-ruhamah, which in Hebrew means "not having obtained mercy". The justice of God must always be met. The Lord would eventually pay the price for the sins of mankind, but the price we then must pay is repentance, a broken heart and a contrite spirit. The Atonement was as effective then as it is now, but Israel was not taking advantage of it. They were not repenting and not forsaking. Therefore, they would not receive the mercy they could have received.

Lo-ammi

The third child is called Lo-ammi, which in Hebrew means "not my people". This sounds pretty harsh but we know that the Israelites were not acting in a manner that made it seem like Jehovah was their God. In fact, they were openly worshipping other gods. A great parallel to this is found in Matthew, chapter 25, verses 1-12, the parable of the Ten Virgins. The 5 that were wise took oil from their lamps and the 5 that were not wise did not take oil. This is representative of being prepared to meet God. Realizing they didn't have any oil, and after unsuccessfully trying to get oil from the 5 wise virgins, they went away to buy oil and while they were away the bridegroom came and the door was shut. Then in verses 11 and 12 it says "Afterward came also the other virgins (unwise) saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not." Unfortunately, the Lord will not consider us His people or His children if we don't serve Him in our lifetimes.

But, for a more positive end to the post, see Hosea 1:7 & 10 for some promised blessings to Israel, not blessings they'll receive in their sinful state, but blessings they'll receive after they have become righteous.

The Book of Hosea: Chapter 1

When you read the book of Hosea you may be surprised to see in chapter 1, verse 2, the Lord commanding Hosea to "go take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms". As mentioned in the Introduction to Hosea, infidelity was a sensitive subject with the Lord. He had made a covenant with Israel to be their God and they would be His chosen people. Again, we are reminded of the bride and the bridegroom relationship. Only, this is the perfect bridegroom we're talking about. The one bridegroom in all of history that does not deserve to be neglected. He had done so much for Israel yet they still sought other gods. So was Hosea really commanded to marry a wife of whoredoms? 

Sidney B. Sperry said "The Lord's  call to Hosea to take a harlotrous woman to wife represents the prophet's call to the ministry - a ministry to an apostate and covenant-breaking people. The evil children of this apparent union represent the coming of the judgments of the Lord upon Israel, warning of which was to be carried to the people by the prophet. 

So I think it's pretty clear the Lord would never give instructions for His prophets to do things that are immoral. Symbolically, Hosea's wife represented the disloyal and harlotrous Israel that he saw in his day and he was called to be the voice of warning to them.

Introduction to Hosea

In the KJV of the Bible Hosea is the first minor prophet. The name 'Hosea' means "help", "deliverance" or "salvation". He lived in the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) and most likely ministered there between the years of 755 BC to 725 BC. Since I like to compare times in the Bible to Book of Mormon times, this would be about 125 to 155 years before Lehi left Jerusalem. He was a prophet "in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, Kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel". Hosea was a contemporary of Isaiah, Amos and Micah. During this time the Israelites were greatly influenced by the ways the Canaanites were worshipping their gods and goddesses. Many of the rites and rituals were lewd and immoral, and all were forms of idolatry. Some were involving fertility rituals. Israel covenanted with God on Sinai to become a righteous people so His anger is understandable as Israel was seeking after other gods and goddesses. All throughout the scriptures the Lord uses a marriage to describe His relationship with Israel. He is the bridegroom and Israel is the bride. Just as an unfaithful bride commits adultery with a person other than her husband, Israel committed adultery by choosing other gods. 

Bruce R. McConkie said "In a spiritual sense, to emphasize how serious it is, the damning sin of idolatry is called adultery. When the Lord's people forsake Him and worship false gods, their infidelity to Jehovah is described as whoredoms and adultery. By forsaking the Lord, His people are unfaithful to their covenant vows, vows made to Him who symbolically is their Husband" (Mormon Doctrine, pg. 25). 

Israel was in this wicked state during the life of Hosea. Baal was worshipped more than Jehovah and the religious rites and rituals were immoral and sometimes even murderous. Hosea delivered his message to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Ironically, it wasn't until after the fall of Samaria (the Northern Capital) that Hosea's prophesies were transcribed to scrolls and considered prophecy.

The Minor Prophets

The "Minor Prophets" can be seen in the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament. In the Hebrew Bible, all of the Minor Prophets are located in one book, but the Old Testament gives them each their own book. Also in the King James Version of the Holy Bible, they are the last twelve books of the Old Testament. They're called "minor" prophets because the size or length of the books, not because of their importance. A few of them have more than ten chapters but most have around one, two or three chapters only.

The Minor Prophets are as follows:

• Hosea
  
• Joel
  
• Amos
  
• Obadiah
  
• Jonah
  
• Micah
  
• Nahum
  
• Habakkuk
  
• Zephaniah
  
• Haggai
  
• Zechariah
  
• Malachi
  

Although this is the end of the Old Testament, this is the beginning of my blog. I'll start with each of the Minor Prophets in turn and then go from there. The posts will very likely be in a different order than the books of the Old Testament. I chose to do this for personal study because these books are the ones I know the least about, excluding Jonah. I figure I've started reading the Old Testament about ten times and only finished a few. So why not start at the end.

New Scripture Study Blog

I often like to talk with Raechal about things I study in the scriptures, specifically things I learn or insights I have that I've never had before (or that I've had but forgot). The other day after sharing some of these thoughts with her, she told me I should make a blog about my scripture study. After discussing it with her and thinking on my own about it, I think it is actually a good idea. Even if nobody else reads it I'll hopefully learn a little more by putting my thoughts into words after my scripture study (since teaching helps you learn). If anyone happens to read it and wants to get involved with a discussion...even better. Another bonus is that I can use labels to describe the categories that a particular post fits under. So when I have to give a devotional or a talk...I've already done some of my research. I just have to search for it on my site. I think I'll enjoy the process and if anyone wants to join in the discussion, ask questions or answer my questions, I think it will be much more enjoyable. Once I get the blog set up, I'll start posting.