The Names of Hosea's Children (Hosea 1:3-9)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/31/2015 9:14 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  The Names of their Children

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hosea 1:3-9

            Message of the verses:  “3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 And the LORD said to him, "Name him Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 “On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel." 6 Then she conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. And the LORD said to him, "Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I would ever forgive them. 7 “But I will have compassion on the house of Judah and deliver them by the LORD their God, and will not deliver them by bow, sword, battle, horses or horsemen."  8 When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son. 9 And the LORD said, "Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people and I am not your God."”

            This is not the first time that the Lord has been the One to name an offspring of One of His followers for we read the following in Isaiah 7:3 and also 8:3 “Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller’s field,”  “So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.” 

            When God names someone He has a reason for doing so and when we look at the names that He uses we can figure it out most of the times He names people.  The first son was called Jezreel as seen in verses 4-5 and this name means “God sows” or “God scatters.”  Dr. Wiersbe points out that Jezreel was a city in the tribe of Isaachar, near MT. Gilboa, and is associated with the drastic judgment that Jehu executed on the family of Ahab (2 Kings 9-10; and see 1 Kings 21:21-24 and 2 Kings 9:6-10).  So zealous was Jehu to purge the land of Ahab’s evil descendants that he murdered far more people than the Lord commanded, including King Ahaziah of Judah and forty-two of his relatives (:27-10:14).” The problem with when a person kills many people can be that they want to continue to do so and that is what Jehu did.  I don’t believe that David had such a problem for he wanted to obey the Lord. 

            Now the reason that God named Hosea’s son Jezreel was that He was going to avenge the innocent blood that was shed by Jehu and then put an end to his dynasty in Israel.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that this happened in 752 BC, and this was forty years before the Assyrian’s defeated Israel, the Northern Kingdom. It was in 752 BC that Zechariah was assassinated who was the great grand-son of Jehu which ended his dynasty. 

            Child number two was a daughter as seen in verses 6-7 of Hosea chapter one and her name was Lo-ruhamah and this means “unpitied” or “not loved.”  The following statement from Dr. Wiersbe is very important:  God had loved His people and proved it in many ways, but now He would withdraw that love and no longer show them mercy.  The expression of God’s love is certainly unconditional, but our enjoyment of that love is conditional and depends on our faith and obedience.  (See Deut. 7:6-12 and 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1.)  God would allow the Assyrians to swallow up the Northern Kingdom, but He would protect the Southern Kingdom of Judah (Isa. 36-37; 2 Kings 19).”  I think it is important to look at the verses in both Deuteronomy and also 2 Corinthians.  6 “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 “Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10 but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. 11 “Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them.  12 "Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers.”

 “14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. 17 “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. 18 “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me," Says the Lord Almighty.  1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

The last child was named Lo-ammi and is found in Hosea 1:8-9 and this also was a son and his names means ‘not my people”  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Not only would God remove His mercy from His people, but He would also renounce the covenant He had made with them.  It was like a man divorcing his wife and turning his back on her, or like a father rejecting his own son (See Ex. 4:22 and Hosea 11:1).” 

John MacArthur writes the following on verse nine in his study Bible:  “The name means ‘not My people’ and symbolizes God’s rejection of Israel.  ‘I am not your God.’  Lit. ‘I am no longer’ I am’ to you.’  The phrase gives the breaking of the covenant, a kind of divorce formula, in contrast to the covenant or marriage formula ‘I AM WHO I AM’ given in Ex. 3:14.” 

5/31/2015 9:50 PM

Hosea's Marriage (Hosea 1:2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/30/2015 9:04 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Hosea’s Marriage

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Hosea 1:2

            Message of the verses:  “2 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the LORD."”

            I have already mentioned that there are problems in the eyes of some about whether or not Hosea actually did take Gomer as his wife or are the first three chapters seen as an allegory, which is what some believe.  John MacArthur writes the following in his Study Bible from the introduction part of Hosea under the category of “Interpretive Challenges.”  “That the faithless wife, Gomer, is symbolic of faithless Israel is without doubt; but questions remain.  First, some suggest that the martial scenes in chapters 1-3 should be taken only as allegory.  However, there is nothing in the narrative, presented in simple prose, which would even question literal occurrence.  Much of its impact would be lost if not literal. When non-literal elements within the book are introduced, they are prefaced with ‘saw’ (5:13; 9:10, 13), the normal Hebraic means of introducing non-literal scenes.  Furthermore, there is no account of a prophet ever making himself the subject of an allegory or parable.

            “Second, what are the moral implications of God’s command for Hosea to marry a prostitute?  It appears best to see Gomer as chaste at the time of marriage to Hosea, only later having become an immoral woman.  The words ‘take yourself a wife of harlotry’ are to be understood proleptically, i. e., looking to the future.  An immoral woman could not serve as a picture of Israel coming out of Egypt (2:15; 9:10), who then later wandered away from God (11:1).  Chapter 3 describes Hosea taking back his wife, who had been rejected because of adultery, a rejection that was unjustifiable if Hosea had married a prostitute with full knowledge of her character.

            “A third question aeries concerning the relationship between chap. 1 and chap.3 and whether the woman of chap. 3 is Gomer or another woman.  There are a number of factors which suggest that the woman of chap.3 is Gomer.  In 1:2, God commanded to ‘Go, take,’ in 3:1, however, His command is to ‘Go again, love,’ suggesting that Hosea’s love was to be renewed to the same woman.  Furthermore, within the analogy chap. of chap. 1, Gomer represents Israel.  As God renews His love toward faithless Israel, so Hosea is to renew his love toward faithless Gomer.  For Hos. 3 to denote a different woman would confuse the analogy.”

            In Warren Wiersbe’s commentary he writes some very similar things about the views, but like John MacArthur he believes that this is not an allegory, but literal. 

            We again need to mention that prostitution is a symbolic of idolatry and unfaithfulness to God as seen in Jeremiah chapters 2-3 and also Ezekiel 16 and chapter 23.  Now the following is a bit of a disagreement from John MacArthur’s writings as Warren Wiersbe writes “Since the Jews were idolatrous from the beginning (Josh. 24:2-3, 14), it seems likely that Gomer would have to be a prostitute when she married Hosea; for this would best symbolize Israel’s relationship to the Lord.  God called Israel in the idolatry; He ‘married’ them at Mt. Sinai when they accepted His covenant (Ex. 19-21); and then He grieved over them when they forsook Him for the false gods of the land of Canaan.  Like Gomer, Israel began as idolater, ‘married’ Jehovah, and eventually returned to idolatry.”  Now the NLT reads as follows “When the LORD first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the LORD and worshiping other gods.’’”

            Dr. Wiersbe goes on to write “But could God ask His faithful servant to marry a defiled woman?  Why not?  We might as well ask, ‘Could God permit Ezekiel’s wife to die?’  Though marrying a prostitute might not be the safest step to take, such marriages were forbidden only to priests (Lev. 21:7).  Salmon married Rahab the harlot who became the great-grandmother of King David and an ancestress of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:4-5).”

            For what it means I do believe that Gomer was a harlot when Hosea married her, for no other reason than so was Israel doing these kind of things when God married them at Mt. Sinai. I see a great deal of love in the heart of Hosea which in the case of this book represents the love that God has for all sinners which is why He sent His Son to die in our place.

5/30/2015 9:39 PM

  

Introduction to Revelation 12

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/30/2015 8:54 AM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  Introduction to Revelation 12

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Revelation 12:1-6

            Message of the verses:  “  1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2  and she was with child; and she *cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.”

            These are the verses that we will be looking at over the next few days as we begin the second half of the book of Revelation.  John MacArthur entitles this chapter in commentary “The War of the Ages PT-1:  The Prelude.”  I can say that I am excited to begin this twelfth chapter because I have learned where this chapter and also chapters 13-14 fit into the chronological part of the book of Revelation.  We learned that chapters 12-14 are a review of what we have been seeing happen through the eyes of the Antichrist, while chapters 6-11 were seen through the eyes of the Lord.  We are not going to be looking at the “beast” or the “Antichrist” and see more about him and also more about Satan, and I believe that we will also be looking at the “False Prophet” which is the sidekick of the Antichrist.

            Proverbs 16:18 says “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.”  We then read in the 14^th chapter of the book of Isaiah “12  "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! 13 “But you said in your heart, ’I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14 ’I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”  This of course is speaking of Lucifer who after the sin recorded with these five “I wills” became Satan as he committed the first sin against God.  Lucifer was the highest Cherub, but he forfeited that position because of His sin.  Ezekiel writes in 28:14 “"You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.”  All of these things that we are reading about that concern the fall of Satan happened before man was created on planet earth.  Now I must say that this is my opinion, but my opinion also is that it did not happen too far in advance of the creation of man.  The timetable for these events is not exact but there can be made some conjectures as to when this happened by studying the Word of God.

            After man was created the fallen Lucifer, now Satan brought his temptation to Eve in the garden of Eden and we learn that Adam also fell, and in fact was responsible to God for this sin as we see from New Testament writings. 1Ti 2:13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.  1Ti 2:14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.”

            As we look at “The War of the Ages” we see that it began in heaven as we saw when we looked at the chapters from both Isaiah and Ezekiel and with that war one third of the angelic beings followed Satan.  This left two thirds of them to be with God.  God created many angels as we can see from the numbers given in the book of Revelation.  We saw two hundred million demons come on to the earth “Re 9:16 The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.” 

            Next this war came to earth and Satan claimed the kingdom of earth from man when he caused the first couple to fall into sin.  And thus the war of the Ages was off and running. We are now going to begin to look at the final battle, which will end with Satan, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and all the demons along with unregenerate man to be cast into hell, a place where God said was created for the devil and his angels.  John MacArthur writes “The sounding of the seventh trumpet will proclaim the triumphant victory of the Lord Jesus Christ over the usurper, Satan:  ‘Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever’ (11:15).  There will be joy I heaven because Christ has defeated Satan and established His eternal kingdom.  Thus, the outcome of the war between Satan and God is not in doubt.  Christ ultimate triumph is certain.”

5/30/2015 9:22 AM    5/30/2015 12:52 PM

            MacArthur concludes and also previews what we will be looking at in these six verses:  “Before describing that final war, the inspired apostle John first introduces the main characters involved in it:  The woman (Israel), the dragon (Satan), and the male child (Jesus Christ).”  In the next few days we will be looking at these different characters to see what their roles will be in the Tribulation Period.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the prophetic truth that is found in the Word of God.  While putting the spiritual armor one of the pieces is the “helmet of the hope of salvation” which is actually spoken of in “1Th 5:8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.”  Putting on that helmet is saying that we understand that Jesus Christ is coming again and that will help me throughout the day by knowing this.  “Tit 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to live in the love of Christ.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Elim” Exodus 15:27.”

Today’s Bible question:  “Who pleaded with Joseph in behalf of  Benjamin, when the silver cup was found in Benjamin’s sack?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/30/2015 1:04 PM

             

 

           

The Distinctiveness of Believers' Destiny (1 Thess. 5:9-11)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/12/2014 9:18 AM

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  The Distinctiveness of Believers’ Destiny

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

            Message of the verses:  “9  For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10  who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

            Not only is our behavior different than that of unbelievers, but our destiny is also different from unbelievers.  Paul says that we are not destined for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, and the reason for this is because He died for us and it makes no difference if our bodies are asleep in the grave or if we are alive when the Lord comes in the Rapture of the church, we will be with Him forever, and this gives us reasons to encourage one another and also build up the faith in one another.  The Thessalonians were going through persecutions at this time and this was something that they needed to hear.

            In our study of 1 Thessalonians so far we have gone over the order of what will happen in the end times, but for sake of review I will briefly mention it as it has to do with what we see in these three verses.  First of all we know that the Lord Jesus Christ came to planet earth a little over two thousand years ago as He was born to Mary His earthly mother who was a virgin.  We do not know much about His growing up years other than what little we see in Luke’s gospel, that He grew up: Luke 2:51  “And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”  Jesus came the first time to die on the cross for our sins, which He accomplished.  While on earth He told His disciples that He would return again to first of all gather those who were a part of the Church age, and then come in judgment at the end of the age.  These are the things we have been looking at while studying this letter to the Thessalonians, and will continue to study when we begin the second letter Paul wrote to them. 

The Old Testament has prophecies of both the first and second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but as we look at it, it can be compared to looking off in the distance and seeing two mountain tops, but not realizing that between them lies a valley, and that valley represents the age of the Church, for it was not seen by the OT prophets, but was in the plan of God all of the time. 

Nothing has to happen in order to have our Lord return for His Bride, the church, with the exception of having the last person saved in order to complete the Church.  However as we learned earlier there are things that have to happen in order for the Day of the Lord to take place, and we saw that first of all there will be a falling away from the Lord, and things that do with the Lord, and then the antichrist will be revealed so that he and his false prophet along with Satan will bring the word to the point of destruction, and then the Lord will return to stop the last battle, the battle of Armageddon. 

Paul tells the Thessalonians that they were not destined for this wrath that was to come, but for salvation.  Now we know that persecutions have been happening to believers ever since the Lord left to go to heaven, and they will continue as seen in different parts of the world today, but this is not the Day of the Lord, and all true believers will go in the Rapture and thus will not be a part of this event.  Warren Wiersbe writes about “The nature of the Tribulation.”  “This is the time when God will judge the Gentile nations and also purge Israel and prepare her for the coming of her Messiah.  The ‘earth-dwellers’ will taste of God’s wrath (Rev. 3:10) and not those whose citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20).  God will judge the earth-dwellers for their iniquity (Isa. 26:20-21).  But He has already judge believer’s sins on the cross.”

Now that we know how things will end Paul writes that we are to encourage one another, and we are also are to tell others about what the Bible says will happen.

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  If there is one thing that I enjoy doing it is telling others about what the Bible has to say about the end times, and how they can become a part of the Rapture so that they will not have to go through the tribulation period. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I have been thinking about doing another Bible Study on the end times in the neighborhood that I live in, and thus I need to pray about this before I just jump right into it.  I desire to pray about this.

Memory verses for the week:  Colossians 3:1-5.

1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  2 Set you mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.  3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.  5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amount to idolatry.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Israel” (Genesis 32:28).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Why were the Sadducees especially grieved by the teaching of the Apostles?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/12/2014 10:46 AM 

 

The Distinctiveness of Believers' Destiny (1 Thess. 5:9-11)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/12/2014 9:18 AM

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  The Distinctiveness of Believers’ Destiny

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

            Message of the verses:  “9  For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10  who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

            Not only is our behavior different than that of unbelievers, but our destiny is also different from unbelievers.  Paul says that we are not destined for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, and the reason for this is because He died for us and it makes no difference if our bodies are asleep in the grave or if we are alive when the Lord comes in the Rapture of the church, we will be with Him forever, and this gives us reasons to encourage one another and also build up the faith in one another.  The Thessalonians were going through persecutions at this time and this was something that they needed to hear.

            In our study of 1 Thessalonians so far we have gone over the order of what will happen in the end times, but for sake of review I will briefly mention it as it has to do with what we see in these three verses.  First of all we know that the Lord Jesus Christ came to planet earth a little over two thousand years ago as He was born to Mary His earthly mother who was a virgin.  We do not know much about His growing up years other than what little we see in Luke’s gospel, that He grew up: Luke 2:51  “And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”  Jesus came the first time to die on the cross for our sins, which He accomplished.  While on earth He told His disciples that He would return again to first of all gather those who were a part of the Church age, and then come in judgment at the end of the age.  These are the things we have been looking at while studying this letter to the Thessalonians, and will continue to study when we begin the second letter Paul wrote to them. 

The Old Testament has prophecies of both the first and second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but as we look at it, it can be compared to looking off in the distance and seeing two mountain tops, but not realizing that between them lies a valley, and that valley represents the age of the Church, for it was not seen by the OT prophets, but was in the plan of God all of the time. 

Nothing has to happen in order to have our Lord return for His Bride, the church, with the exception of having the last person saved in order to complete the Church.  However as we learned earlier there are things that have to happen in order for the Day of the Lord to take place, and we saw that first of all there will be a falling away from the Lord, and things that do with the Lord, and then the antichrist will be revealed so that he and his false prophet along with Satan will bring the word to the point of destruction, and then the Lord will return to stop the last battle, the battle of Armageddon. 

Paul tells the Thessalonians that they were not destined for this wrath that was to come, but for salvation.  Now we know that persecutions have been happening to believers ever since the Lord left to go to heaven, and they will continue as seen in different parts of the world today, but this is not the Day of the Lord, and all true believers will go in the Rapture and thus will not be a part of this event.  Warren Wiersbe writes about “The nature of the Tribulation.”  “This is the time when God will judge the Gentile nations and also purge Israel and prepare her for the coming of her Messiah.  The ‘earth-dwellers’ will taste of God’s wrath (Rev. 3:10) and not those whose citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20).  God will judge the earth-dwellers for their iniquity (Isa. 26:20-21).  But He has already judge believer’s sins on the cross.”

Now that we know how things will end Paul writes that we are to encourage one another, and we are also are to tell others about what the Bible says will happen.

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  If there is one thing that I enjoy doing it is telling others about what the Bible has to say about the end times, and how they can become a part of the Rapture so that they will not have to go through the tribulation period. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I have been thinking about doing another Bible Study on the end times in the neighborhood that I live in, and thus I need to pray about this before I just jump right into it.  I desire to pray about this.

Memory verses for the week:  Colossians 3:1-5.

1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  2 Set you mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.  3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.  5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amount to idolatry.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Israel” (Genesis 32:28).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Why were the Sadducees especially grieved by the teaching of the Apostles?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/12/2014 10:46 AM 

 

God Speaks to Babylon (Jeremiah 50:29-51:4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/2/2014 8:58 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  God Speaks to Babylon

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Jeremiah 50:29-51:4

            Message of the verses:  “29 “Summon many against Babylon, All those who bend the bow: Encamp against her on every side, Let there be no escape. Repay her according to her work; According to all that she has done, so do to her; For she has become arrogant against the LORD, Against the Holy One of Israel. 30 “Therefore her young men will fall in her streets, And all her men of war will be silenced in that day," declares the LORD. 31 “Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one," Declares the Lord GOD of hosts, "For your day has come, The time when I will punish you. 32 “The arrogant one will stumble and fall With no one to raise him up; And I will set fire to his cities And it will devour all his environs."

    “33 Thus says the LORD of hosts, "The sons of Israel are oppressed, And the sons of Judah as well; And all who took them captive have held them fast, They have refused to let them go. 34 “Their Redeemer is strong, the LORD of hosts is His name; He will vigorously plead their case So that He may bring rest to the earth, But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon. 35 “A sword against the Chaldeans," declares the LORD, "And against the inhabitants of Babylon And against her officials and her wise men! 36 “A sword against the oracle priests, and they will become fools! A sword against her mighty men, and they will be shattered! 37 “A sword against their horses and against their chariots And against all the foreigners who are in the midst of her, And they will become women! A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered! 38 “A drought on her waters, and they will be dried up! For it is a land of idols, And they are mad over fearsome idols. 39 “Therefore the desert creatures will live there along with the jackals; The ostriches also will live in it, And it will never again be inhabited Or dwelt in from generation to generation. 40 “As when God overthrew Sodom And Gomorrah with its neighbors," declares the LORD, "No man will live there, Nor will any son of man reside in it. 41 “Behold, a people is coming from the north, And a great nation and many kings Will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth. 42 “They seize their bow and javelin; They are cruel and have no mercy. Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, Marshalled like a man for the battle Against you, O daughter of Babylon. 43 “The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, And his hands hang limp; Distress has gripped him, Agony like a woman in childbirth. 44  "Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan to a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will make them run away from it, and whoever is chosen I will appoint over it. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can stand before Me?" 45 Therefore hear the plan of the LORD which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them. 46 At the shout, "Babylon has been seized!" the earth is shaken, and an outcry is heard among the nations.

    “1 Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I am going to arouse against Babylon And against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai The spirit of a destroyer. 2  "I will dispatch foreigners to Babylon that they may winnow her And may devastate her land; For on every side they will be opposed to her In the day of her calamity. 3 “Let not him who bends his bow bend it, Nor let him rise up in his scale-armor; So do not spare her young men; Devote all her army to destruction. 4 “They will fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, And pierced through in their streets."”

            Dr. Wiersbe begins “The first command had been ‘Declare among the nations!’  but now the command was ‘Call together the archers!’  God ordered the armies of the Medes and Persians (and later the Greeks) to shoot to kill and allow no one to escape.”  I have to say that I believe that some of the verses that we will cover in today’s SD also speak of the destruction of Babylon that is spoken of in Revelations 17 and 18.  I realize that Alexander the Great destroyed the city of Babylon and after that there was hardly anyone living in it, but it is hard for me to understand if that was the fulfillment of this prophecy or if the prophecy will be fulfilled at a later point.  If I had to guess I would say that it was fulfilled after Alexander the Great destroyed Babylon.  However, as I said it is hard to completely understand when all the prophecies will of have been fulfilled.  One thing for sure we know that God will fulfill all that He has spoken of about Babylon, both the Religious Babylon and also the governmental type of Babylon, for both are evil.

            Let me give a quote from the John MacArthur Study Bible from verse 40 of chapter 50:  “What befell Sodom (cf. Gen. 19) was sudden and total destruction, not like the Media Persia takeover, but like an example for the future devastation that will overtake the final Babylon (cf. Rev. 17-18).” 

            Now we see from verses 31 and 32 that God was against Babylon because of their pride.  In the 4^th chapter of Daniel we read about the pride of Nebuchadnezzar, and what God did to him because of his great pride, but the problem was that others from Babylon did not remember what the Lord did to him, and they became very prideful because of the city that they lived in.  Babylon was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  It had an early form of air-condition in it, and the walls were very tall and very wide, and also the Euphrates River ran through the center of it so there would always be water.  Because of all of this they became prideful, but remember Daniel chapter 5 where we read that Babylon fell in one day.

            Another reason for their destruction was the way that they treated the Jews, and we spoke about this in our last SD.  We know that the Jewish exiles could not free themselves, but the Lord could and did free them, for God is all powerful. 

            Verses 35-38 show the first picture of what Babylon could expect, and that was a sword going through them cutting down the people, and it would even attack the waters and dry them up because of their idol worship.  A former Pastor of mine studied extensively about Babylon, and we know that Babylon is modern day Iraq, and he learned that the people of Iraq have said that the world would come to them for water some day. 

              I have mentioned before that the nations mentioned who will attack Israel according to Ezekiel chapters 38-39 did not include the Babylonians, or modern day Iraq.  I mention this because I think that because the Lord will destroy all of the nations that come against Israel that He spares Babylon so that He can destroy it at the end of the tribulation period as seen in Rev. 17-18. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  God is in charge of the destruction of Babylon and one reason for Him destroying it is because that total system is against God.  I do not know when this will happen, but I do know that it will happen because God has said it will happen.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust the Lord for the work to be done on our roof today, that it will be done to His glory.

Memory verses for the week:  Colossians 3:1-7.

 

1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.  5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6  For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Priests.”

Today’s Bible question:  “What was the second plague that God placed on Egypt.”

Answer in our next SD.

9/2/2014 9:37 AM

 

The Times Hosea Lived In (Hosea 1:1)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/29/2015 8:52 AM

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  The Times of Hosea

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Hosea 1:1

            Message of the verse:  “¶  The word of the LORD which came to Hosea the son of Beeri, during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.”

            Just to warn you we did go over some of the things from this verse in our introduction to the book of Hosea, but hopefully we will add some more insights. 

            We learned that Hosea named four kings of Judah and one king of Israel in this first verse to indicate when it was that he ministered to the God’s people and spoke a little bit about who these kings were.

            Let us take some time to look into more detail on who these kings were.  Now we know that all of the kings of Judah were descendants of King David as God has promised David that there would always be a king on the throne from his family.  Now remember we have just studied that Israel went into captivity as we looked at the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and also Daniel and we have also learned that the Lord Jesus Christ is a descendant of King David and thus is the King that will reign forever.  When we studied these OT prophets along with books like 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles we learned that many of the kings of Judah were wicked and all of the kings of the Northern Kingdom were wicked.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes on what happened to Israel after Jeroboam II died:  “his son Zechariah reigned only six months and was assassinated by his successor Shallum who himself was assassinated after reigning only one month.  Menahem reigned for ten years; his son Pekahiah ruled two years before being killed by Pekah who as able to keep the throne for twenty years.  He was slain by Hoshea, who reigned for ten years, the last of the kings of Israel.  During his evil reign, the nation was conquered by Assyria, the Jews intermingled with the foreigners and the Assyrians brought into the land, and the result was a mixed race known as the Samaritans. 

            “What a time to be serving the Lord!  Murder, idolatry, and immorality were rampant in the land, and nobody seemed to be interested in hearing the Word of the Lord!  On top of that, God told His prophet to get married and raise a family!”

            Tomorrow we will look at who Hosea married, which is one of the themes of this book.  But as we read of what was going on in Israel and also Judah during this time we know that it was soon after all these things that were evil that went on come the destruction of both Israel and then Judah.  God’s patience had run out.  I fear as I look at some of the same things happening to our country as our country is becoming a very dark place spiritually to live.  As things get darker in our country the bright light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ needs to shine so people will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

5/29/2015 9:10 AM

Promise of Communion (Rev. 11:19)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/29/2015 8:10 AM

My Worship Time                                                                          Focus:  Promise of Communion

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Revelation 11:19

            Message of the verses:  19 And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.”

            We have reached a milestone in our SD for today as this one is the last SD for the first half of the book of Revelation.  As you know I have been following the outline from John MacArthur’s commentary on the book of Revelation and with SD we end the first commentary from him all 321 pages of it and then we will move into chapter twelve and the next half of his commentary on Revelation.

            MacArthur writes “Bound up in the seventh trumpet is the promise to believers of unbroken fellowship with God forever.  That fellowship is symbolized by the imagery of verse 19.  The opening of ‘the temple of God which is in heaven’ (the place where His presence dwells; cf. chapts. 4, 5) revealed ‘the ark of the covenant.  The ark symbolizes that the ‘covenant’ God has promised to men is now available in its fullness.  In the midst of the fury of His judgment on unbelievers, God, as it were, throws open the Holy of Holies (where the ark was located; (Ex. 26:33-34; 2 Chron. 5:7) and draws believers into His presence.  That would have been unthinkable in the Old Testament temple, when only the high priest entered the Holy of Holies once a year (Heb. 9:7).” 

            When we look at the Ark of the Covenant we see that this is where the High Priest put the blood on it once a year as seen in the OT and also in the book of Hebrews.  There are two cherubim on the top of the Ark of the Covenant and they look at each other.  Now here is something that I have heard a long time ago and still believe that this could very well be true.  One of the cherubim may in fact represent the wrath of God while the other represents the love of God and when the blood is placed on the ark then God is satisfied that sin has been covered.  Perhaps the Lord Jesus Christ did this after His resurrection to the one in heaven.  I wrote in an August SD the first time that I studied Revelation that I did not believe that there was a temple in heaven, but then added a note saying that I have changed my mind and no believe that there is a temple in heaven.

            MacArthur concludes by writing “But along with the ark in the heavenly temple ‘there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.’  Similar events are associated with God’s majestic, glorious heavenly throne in 4:5.  In 8:5 and 16:17-18 they are associated with judgment.  Heaven is the source of vengeance on unbelievers, as well as covenant blessings for the redeemed.

            “The message of the seventh trumpet is that Jesus Christ is the sovereign King of kings and Lord of lords.  He will one day take the rule of the earth away from the usurper, Satan, and from earth’s petty human rulers.  History is moving inexorably toward its culmination in Christ’s earthly reign.  When He returns, He will bring covenant blessings to the redeemed, but eternal judgment to those who reject Him.

            “In light of that sobering truth, Peter exclaims, ‘What sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness’ (2 Peter 3:11)!”

            I mentioned that looked at my SD on this verse in August of 2005 and after I read it I learned that I truly did not have much to say about this verse as I could not find out from different commentators what this verse meant.  I am thankful for the teaching and preaching ministry of John MacArthur who has made many things clear to me in this wonderful book of Revelation including Revelation11:19.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Trust the Lord to see me through this day of things that I find difficult to do, that God will continue to give me His wonderful grace and mercy to accomplish what He has for me to do today.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to fear the Lord and to live in His love.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “John the Baptist” (John 1:29).

Today’s Bible question:  “Where did the children of Israel find twelve wells and seventy palm trees?”  (Hint:  The answer is in Exodus.)

Answer in our next SD.

5/29/2015 8:41 AM

  

Introduction to Hosea

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/28/2015 9:32 PM

Introduction to the book of Hosea

            I want to take a few minutes to write an introduction to the book of Hosea.  Perhaps many are familiar with this book, which is the first of what is called the Minor Prophets.  Now just because they are called minor does not mean that they are unimportant, but they are mentioned this way because they are shorter in length that the first four prophet books.

            Let’s us briefly take a look at the first verse in Hosea so that we can get the general time period that it was written for in that verse it gives the names of the kings of both Israel and also Judah while Hosea prophesized.   “1 ¶  The word of the LORD which came to Hosea the son of Beeri, during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.”

            Let us take a look at some things from the John MacArthur Study Bible’s introduction so we can get some help with this introduction to Hosea.  It is the belief of John MacArthur that Hosea probably was a native of the northern kingdom of Israel because he shows some familiarity with the history, circumstances, and the topography of the north.  Let us look at Hosea 4:15 and also 5:1, and 13 but there are other verses we could look at like 6:8, 9; 10:5 12:11, 12; 14:6.  “15  Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Do not let Judah become guilty; Also do not go to Gilgal, Or go up to Beth-aven And take the oath: "As the LORD lives!"”  “1 Hear this, O priests! Give heed, O house of Israel! Listen, O house of the king! For the judgment applies to you, For you have been a snare at Mizpah And a net spread out on Tabor.”  “13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb. But he is unable to heal you, Or to cure you of your wound.”

            MacArthur writes “Hosea had a lengthy period of ministry, prophesying ca. 755-715 BC.” 

            The time that Hosea began his ministry was under King Jeroboam II, and it was at this time that the nation was enjoying prosperity as far a material things but bankrupted as far as Spiritual things.  After Jeroboam died in 753 things went downhill in all facets of the country.  Judah was pretty much the same as Israel.  It was during this time that Uzziah usurped the priesthood and the Lord gave him leprosy.  Hezekiah was next in line to be king and although there was a revival it did not last very long.

            We now want to look at what MacArthur calls “Historical and Theological Themes” from the book of Hosea.  He writes “The theme of Hosea is God’s loyal love for His covenant people, Israel, in spite of their idolatry.”  “Hosea was instructed by God to marry a certain woman, and experience with her a domestic life which was a dramatization of the sin and unfaithfulness of Israel.  The marital life of Hosea and his wife, Gomer, provide the rich metaphor which clarifies the themes of the book:  sin, judgment, and forgiving love.”

            Warren Wiersbe writes about what Hosea is about by saying “What was this all about?  It was vivid picture of what the people of Israel had done to their God by prostitution themselves to idols and committing ‘spiritual adultery.’  Since God’s people today face the same temptation (James 4:4), we need to heed what Hosea wrote for his people.  Each of the persons in this drama—Hosea, Gomer, and the three children—teach us important spiritual lessons about the God whom Israel was disobeying and grieving.” 

            It is my belief that Hosea did exactly what God told him to do and not as some people believe that this is an allegory.  What was happening in Israel at this time was real and so what Hosea did was real too as far as I am concerned.

5/28/2015 10:04 PM

 

Plan for Judgment PT-2 (Rev. 11:18b)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/28/2015 11:11 AM

My Worship Time                                                                          Focus:  Plan for Judgment PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                               Reference:  Revelation 11:18b

            Message of the verses:  “and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth."”

            In our last SD on this topic we looked at how the OT and even some of the NT verses spoke of the judgment that was going to come upon the world because of the sinfulness of mankind and because of their failure to understand the simple truth of the Gospel.  Now remember what we said about where we are at in the Tribulation Period as we look at this 11^th chapter of the book of Revelation.  We are actually very near the end of the Tribulation Period as what we see here is the angel sounding the seventh trumpet which brings on the last seven judgments called the bowl judgments, but then we will look at the career of the antichrist in chapters 12-14 before we again catch up with when these bowl judgments will happen.

            John MacArthur writes “Not only will the seventh trumpet signal the outpouring of God’s wrath on earth; it will also indicate that ‘the time’ has come ‘for the dead to be judged.’  Time translates kairos, which refers to a season, era, occasion, or event.  The establishing of Christ’s kingdom will be a fitting time for the dead to be judged.”  Now we are not talking about the “Great White Throne Judgments” in this section as that is in chapter 20:11-15, but instead we are talking about what our Lord speaks of in the 25^th chapter of Matthew where we read:  “Mt 25:32  "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; Mt 25:33  and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.”  Now this will happen soon after the Lord returns to set up His kingdom for 1000 years on planet earth.  John MacArthur writes on this judgment from Rev. 11:18b “It is best to see the reference to judgment here as a general reference to all future judgments.  The elders in their song make no attempt to separate the different phases of judgment as they separated in the closing chapter of Revelation.  They simply sing of future judgments as though they were one event, in the same way that other Scriptures do not distinguish future judgment from each other (cf. John 5:25, 28-29; Acts 17:31; 24:21).”  Now this statement does not conflict with the judgments mentioned in Matthew 25:32-33.  I also believe that this will be the time when the OT saints will be resurrected as seen in Daniel chapter 12, and they will also be judged for their good works that they did as believers in the salvation that God would provide when their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ would suffer and die for their sins as well as ours in the church era, and for that matter in the Tribulation Period and also in the Millennial Kingdom.

            We see the phrase “the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints” which speaks of all who have proclaimed the truth of God throughout redemptive history even from the tome of Moses and including the two witnesses that we saw at the beginning of this chapter. 

            Next we look at the saints which are mentions after the prophets in verse 11:18b and further defined as “and those who fear Your name, the small and the great.”  Now I don’t want to pick on any established religion here but I want to define the word “saint” so we know exactly what John is speaking of here. 

            “AV-holy 161, saints 61, Holy One 4, misc 3; 229

 

Holy, characteristic of God, separated to God, worthy of veneration

1) Its highest application is to God himself, in his purity, majesty and glory. {#Lu 1:49 John 17:11 Re 4:8}

1a) Of things and places which have a claim to reverence as sacred to God, e.g. the Temple: {#Mt 24:15 Heb 9:1}

1b) Of persons employed by him, as angels: {#1Th 3:13 marg. } prophets, {#Lu 1:70} apostles, {#Eph 3:5 }

2) Applied to persons as separated to God’s service:

2a) Of Christ: {#Mr. 1:24 Ac 4:30 }

2b) Of Christians: {#Ac 9:13 Ro 1:7 Heb 6:10 Re 5:8 }

3) In the moral sense of sharing God’s purity: {#Mr. 6:20 John 17:11 Ac 3:14 Re 3:7 }

4) Of pure, clean sacrifices and offerings: {#1Co 7:14 Eph 1:4}” This comes from my Online Bible dictionary.  Every person who has been born again from the OT to all of those in the NT church age are called saints.  Let us take a look at a few of the many verses that have the word saint in them at the beginning of some of the letters that Paul writes and we will see that he calls those who are true members of the church, those who have been born-again saints, even those who were a part of the churches that were have problems like the Corinthian church.  “Ro 1:7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  “1Co 1:2  To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.”  “2Co 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia.”  “Eph 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus.”  “Php 1:1 Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.”  “Phm. 1:7 For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.”  Okay I think that we understand that when Paul uses the word “saints” or “saint” that he is speaking to believers, all believers.

            The last part of verse eighteen says “and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”  Now I mentioned in an earlier SD that when I studied this book using Hal Lindsey’s commentary and way back in the 1970’s when I would listen to his tapes on his sermons on the book of Revelation that he would use this portion of verse 18 to say that God would use mankind in the judgments and thus that is why John writes this portion of the verse.  I am not saying that God cannot use man and man’s weapons to bring about some of these judgments, but the more that I study this my thoughts have changed and I believe that God is the one who will bring about these judgments the way He wants to, for we have seen that men curse God for bringing these judgments on planet earth.  With that said this portion of the verse is about judgment, judgment for those who have destroyed the earth in sinful ways.  This verse in not something that the environmental people can cling to, but I am not saying that believers should not care for the earth that God created, but in the end God will destroy or perhaps “un-create” planet earth along with the entire universe and we have learned this truth from the second letter that Peter wrote.

            John MacArthur writes “Given stewardship and dominion over the earth (cf. Gen. 1:28), man instead fell into sin and throughout his history has continually corrupted the earth (cf. Rom. 8:19-21).  When that corrupting reaches its apex, God will destroy the earth and create a new one (21:1; Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:12-13).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The reason that Peter writes what he writes in 2 Peter 3:12-13 is that he is telling his readers that we are to live in a way that glorifies the Lord while we live in these temporary bodies on this temporary planet.  Take time to tell others what is going to happen in the future so that they can be taken out of the mess that the tribulation will bring.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to say that the stressfulness of yesterday for me was full of answers to God’s people who had prayed for me, and the day, as I look back on it, I believe brought glory to my Lord Jesus Christ, which in the end is what I wanted it to be.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Seventh” (John 4:52).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world’?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/28/2015 12:19 PM