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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
Gen. 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)…
Gen.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
Isa.
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.
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