Let me add my welcome to Mark.
It's good to see you here this morning on this day of Jezreel. Glad you're here. I'll be explaining
a little bit later about that, but good to see you here. I titled this message, The Day
of Jezreel, and you'll understand a little bit later on in this
first chapter of Hosea, kind of an introduction, a summary
of the whole book of Hosea. If the Lord willing, I'll be
preaching a series from this book in the days to come. America chose July the 4th, 1776
to declare our independence from Britain. The desire and resolve
to be free from bondage and oppression by the British government set
America on this course to become the greatest advocate of freedom
in the world. So we love Independence Day. After the Japanese bombed Pearl
Harbor on December the 5th, 1941, President Roosevelt declared
that day as a day that would live in infamy. And for those
of us who can remember and can still see the pictures of it,
it is certainly that, a day that will live in infamy. And then
on September 11th, 2001, another such day. when America was attacked on
our homeland for the first time by extremists, it would destroy
the freedom of the world. Well, such is the days of our
lives, and we trust God that there will be few of those bad
days for us. But then there's another day
that I want to talk about today that's probably more important
to mankind than any of these, or all of them put together,
and then Hosea, chapter one in verse 11, Hosea calls it the
day of Jezreel. And we'll see why that's important
in the study of this morning and in these lessons to come
later on. Hosea has been grouped in what
is called the minor prophets. And of course, there's nothing
minor about his message except the brevity of it. He served
for about 70 years as a prophet of God. And his message is timeless,
as is all the prophets who preach salvation based on the imputed
righteousness of Christ. And he was a resident of what
the scriptures call the 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom. And
I'll explain a little more of that a little bit later on. So
look at verse one. Hosea was called of God to prophesy
what would be the future of Israel and Judah. Verse one says, the
word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri 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. God called Hosea to be his voice
to Israel. And Hosea, in the Hebrew, is
the word Oshiel, and it comes from the word Yahshua, which
means Jesus, our Savior, God's deliverer. And as it is with
any prophet sent from God, Hosea brought the words of the Lord
to the people of Israel. And unto some, these words are
a saver of life unto life, and to some, they are a saver delivering the word of the Lord.
It says here that he was of the household of Beeri. And that
word means my will, meaning a bountiful supply, suggesting that Hosea's
father was a man of great means. And it was to him that the word
of the Lord came. And what was that word? Look at verse two of Hosea. the
beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said
unto Hosea, go and take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and
children of whoredoms, for the land hath committed great whoredoms,
departing from the Lord. So God's instructions here is,
to Hosea, is to go and take a wife. And when God gives a man a wife,
his instruction is to love that wife. Husband, love your wives,
as Christ loved the church. Hosea did love Gomer, his wife. Well, we know that Hosea is a
type here. His role as a husband of his
wife typifies Christ, the bridegroom of his bride, the church. To
him, God the Father said, go and take a wife. And Christ left
the glories of his father and the house of bounty in heaven
where his father abides. And he came and tabernacled among
men. with not where to lay his head,
according to the scriptures. This man, who had nothing of
this world's possessions, had all of everything needed to redeem
his people and secure their salvation. So the scripture says, when the
fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made
of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under
the law. And the angel said in Matthew
121, call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from
their sins. Look at verse three of Hosea chapter one. So he went,
Hosea went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblim, which conceived
and bear him a son. Hosea's wife was Gomer. That
word in the Hebrew means consummate. The word Gomer in the Hebrew
means consummate. Consummate means complete in
every detail and this word consummate comes from the root word corrupt
So Gomer was consummate in corruption She was a woman of whoredoms
her children would be Children of whoredoms she was given totally
to idolatry is what that means because look at look at the latter
part of verse 2 it says The land hath committed great whoredoms,
departing from the Lord." That's what whoredom is, is to depart
from the Lord. And how did this happen? Let
me give you a little history. If you remember, when Solomon
died, the kingdom of Israel was split. The tribe and a half of
Judah and Ephraim in the south remained, and the other 10 tribes
went to the north, and they were called Israel. They worshiped in Israel at the
man-made altars of Bethel and Dan, if you remember. They constructed
a temple in these two cities in Israel. They forsook the Lord's
temple in Jerusalem and took up the practice of idolatry in
Bethel and Dan. The Lord God told Hosea, You
go and take this adulterous woman, Israel, for your wife, even though
they worship at the altar of Baal, and Hosea was faithful
to do that. You know God designated one place
to worship in Israel. That was at the temple in Jerusalem
when Solomon built that temple the glory of the Lord came in
and God says okay. This is where I'll meet with
you in worship and Of course when they built the altars in
Bethel and Dan they abandoned the true worship and took up
the idol worship veil They called it worship. God called it spiritual
order Well, isn't that the case with us today? Millions of people
today are worshiping at some temple, a pagan worship, an idol,
worshiping an idol of their imagination. God has only one altar, one sacrifice,
one high priest, and one offering for the sacrifice of sins. And
of course, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. When we meet at any other
place than any other altar than Jesus Christ the righteous, we're
engaged in spiritual order. First John 2, one says this,
my little children, these things write on to you that you've said
not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the father,
Jesus Christ, the righteous. It is he, it is Christ alone
that determines whether our worship is of the true and living God,
or if it's idol worship. So Gomer, This wife of Hortum's
would, over a period of several years, bear three children of
Hortum, and they too would be idolaters. And like Hosea, Gomer
is a type herself. Her role as wife of Hosea typifies
the nation Israel, itself a type of spiritual Israel, the church.
Her lifestyle was not one that any husband would choose, if
given a choice, and yet, Gomer, Hosea chose Gomer, and Christ
chose his wife. And even though Christ chose
a woman, a bride like Gomer, that does not contradict the
holy character of God. Why would Hosea choose such a
wife, you think? Why would God choose such a bride
as us, me especially? Why did Hosea choose such a wife? Well, she's a sinner, first of
all. And Jesus said, I came not to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Why did God choose
us? Because she was a harlot. And he said, publicans and harlots
will go into the kingdom of God before the Pharisees. Gomer was
depraved. And the scripture says, who can
find a virtuous woman? There's none righteous, no, not
one. She was an idolater. She departed from the Lord and
went and served idols. She prayed to a God that couldn't
save. She was qualified to be his wife because God justifies
the ungodly. And she was the object of God's
love. Jeremiah 33. 31 verse 3 says this the Lord
hath appeared unto me of old saying yea I have loved thee
with an everlasting love therefore with loving kindness I have drawn
thee Why would God choose a sinner an ungodly sinner a harlot a
depraved? Person an idolater because that's
all that's what we all are if he saved anybody he'd have to
say though And I'm glad that God is no respecter of persons
It was of Gomer that God said, it was, said, Hosea, go take
her for your wife. Christ didn't hesitate in his
choice of a wife. She was the one God the Father
had given him in the everlasting covenant of grace and placed
all the responsibility for her salvation squarely on Christ. And he willingly assumed that
responsibility, knowing the cost that it would incur for her final
glory in heaven. The scripture says, he came and
took. So God said to Hosea in verse
two, go take a wife of Hortums and children of Hortums. And
God gave prophetic names to Gomer's children, which signified that
God was displeased that he would disown and abandon Israel. And
these prophetic names are interpreted by God, and we'll look at them
in a little bit. So we have three prophetic names which divine
which defined the day of Jezreel to be, first of all, a day of
retribution for Israel, secondly, a day of redemption for Judah,
and thirdly, a day of reconciliation for God's church. So let's look
at these three names right here and these three meanings. Verse
four says this, and the Lord said unto Hosea, Call your first son's name Jezreel
for yet a little while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon
the house of Jehu and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house
of Israel. Jezreel in the Hebrew means scattered. Israel means stability. Israel,
confident of their portion and their position in the promised
land would be rooted out. They would lose their inheritance
they would lose even their identity, and they would be scattered as
the farmer scatter seeds all over the world because they parted
from the Lord. The glory of the Lord would depart
from them. The blood of Jezreel mentioned here has connection
with the death of Ahab, who was the king of Israel and his entire
administration. I don't know if you remember
the story. You can read it sometime in 2 Kings 10, His whole family, his whole administration,
all his religious leaders and even the worshippers of Baal
were totally wiped out by this Ban Jehu. So, and we'll look
at that in just a minute. Let me say this, the Valley of
Jezreel is located in the plains of northern Israel. The city
of Jezreel in this valley was where Ahab had his palace. He built an ivory palace in the
in the city of Jezreel. And also located in this valley
was the temple of Bethel and Dan. Ahab was a very successful
king. He expanded the territory of
Israel and increased in power and wealth and great influence.
But he had one fault. He led the people in the worship
of Baal. And for this God commanded Elisha
to anoint Jehu king in his place and commanded Jehu to destroy
everything about Ahab and the worship of Baal. So look at what,
look in second Kings chapter 10 in verse 28 and we read of
the accomplishment of that. In second Kings 28, 10, 28, thus
Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel, howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam,
the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from
after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel and
that were in Dan. And the Lord said unto Jehu,
because thou hast done well in executing that which is right
in mine eyes, and hath done unto the house of Ahab according to
all that was in mine heart, thy children to the fourth generation
shall sit on the throne of Israel, And God commended Jehu for his
obedience here in destroying the ministry of Ahab and his
whole house. But look at verse 31. But Jehu
took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord, God of Israel, with
all his heart, for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam,
which made Israel sin. What is it about the worship
of the idols in Bethel and in Dan? Jehu had obeyed God's command
to destroy Ahab and his whole house and everything that he
stood for, even the worshipers of Baal. But what Jehu so zealously
pursued in the destruction of the house of Ahab, he was of
himself guilty of the same thing. God set forth for Israel a place of worship, and Ahab
worshiped in another place. He offered blood on the altars
in Bethel and Dan. In other words, his sacrifice
was a mockery of the sacrifices God set forth for Israel in the
proper place of sacrifice, and they appointed high priests to
offer them. In other words, he had no respect
for the blood or the life of the offerer. and he had no respect
for God and for his way of worship. When Jehu was installed as king
in Israel, 2 Kings 10 31 says that he followed Ahab's sin of
offering up blood on the same altar. This is the blood of which
God said in verse four, I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon
the house of Jehu. For Jehu's refusal to repent
of idolatry, God would avenge the blood Jehu offered to his
idol in Jezreel upon Jehu. Jehu would learn that God is
a just God, that sin has its consequences. He would learn
that the penalty of sin must be paid. Since Jehu had no advocate
with a father like God's people do, he must answer for himself.
He was charged with sin and he had no ability to pay. And since
he refused to repent of his idolatry, a just God and a savior had no
recourse but to bring retribution upon him for his idolatry. And
what was that retribution? He said in verse 4b, I will cause to cease the kingdom
of the house of Israel, of which Jehu was the king. So look at
the land committed great whoredoms and Jehu led his people in that,
in that they departed from the Lord. Look at verse five now. And it
came to pass in that day, the day God avenged the blood of
Jezreel on the house of Jehu, that I will break the bow of
Israel in the valley of Jezreel. What is God talking about here,
breaking the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel?
The word bow is the word kisheth, and it means to bow down. Well,
to what was Israel bowing down to? Were not they bound to the
idol in the place of Bethlehem? What held the ten tribes there?
It was those golden calves of Bethel. Jeroboam reasoned this
way, if I allow my people to go back to Jerusalem on the set
days to worship God like God commands, their heart will be
drawn back to Jerusalem and they'll go back and I'll lose my kingdom
and my people. So I'll build them an altar here
in Bethlehem and Dan, and I'll keep them in ignorance and idolatry
and superstition, and keep them worshiping an idol. And isn't
this Satan's design and plan for us is to keep us in ignorance
and idolatry concerning what God's way is for us? But God
says, I'm going to break break away into the evil and the ignorance
of these people and show them and expose the sin that Jehu
is committing by holding them in this false religion. Understanding
Jehu's sin and God's hatred for it and our own practice of it
by nature is the Spirit's work to deliver us from Jehu's sins. You see, we've been guilty of
the same thing that Jehu is. But in the day of Jezreel, God
came to us and he convinced us of this sin. And that's what
he's doing here. He's showing Jehu the sin that
you were so adamant to get rid of. And Ahab, you're guilty of
the same thing yourself. But of course, his warning was
not heeded by Jehu, who continued in idolatry along with the nation
Israel. And what happened, verse six,
is that God withdrew his mercy from Israel. Look at verse six.
Gomer conceived again and bare a daughter, and God said unto
him, Hosea, call her name Loharuma, for I will no more have mercy
upon the house of Israel, but I will utterly take them away.
Because of Jehu continued in his idolatry, God withdrew his
mercy and said, I'll take them away. So, In verse four where
God says, I will avenge the blood of Israel upon Jehu that day. He did so because Jehu succumbed
to the sin of which he killed Ahab and in which he led Israel
himself. So God through the prophet Hosea
prophesied the fall and complete ruin and annihilation of the
nation Israel. They would become captives later
on as we know from study to the Assyrians. And through their
intermarriage with the Assyrians and assimilation into the Assyrian
culture, they lost their identity completely. Israel was no more. They became the hated Samaritans
of the New Testament in Jesus' day. So we have a warning here
by the writer of Hebrews for any who would go the way of Jehu.
Hebrews chapter two in verse one says this, therefore, we
ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have
heard lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word
spoken by angels was steadfast and every transgression and disobedience
received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if
we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be
spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him? The day of Jezreel was a day
of retribution for Israel. God weighed Israel in the balances
and found them wanting, and Israel received her just reward. The
kingdom of the house of Israel was totally annihilated, ceased
to be. Well, the question for us today,
has retribution been made for your sins? Has someone put away
your sins? Has someone paid for your sin?
If it has then, The second point is the day of Jezreel is a day
of redemption for Judah and for you. Look at verse seven. But I will have mercy upon the
house of Judah and will save them by the Lord their God, and
will not save them by the bow nor the sword, nor by battle,
by horse, nor by horsemen. Why did he have mercy upon Judah
and not Israel? What made the difference in Israel
and Judah? What makes the day of Jezreel
a day of retribution for some and a day of redemption for others?
Were not they both sinners? Was not Israel and Judah both
sinners? Why did God have mercy on one
and not another? I don't know. Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight. But I do know this. Israel was an idolatrous people.
They had no respect for the honor of God's redemptive glory and
salvation. Their idolatry revealed this
to be so, and God withdrew his mercy from her, but he had mercy,
verse seven, upon Judah. And I think there are two reasons
here in verse seven why God had mercy upon Judah. He said, I
will have mercy on the house of Judah. In other words, I will
propitiate. I will make satisfaction for
the house of Judah. In other words, I will be satisfied
with Judah and her worship of me. And the other one is in the words,
I will save them not by bone, not by horse, but by the Lord.
I will save them by the Lord their God. Because of the substitutionary
work of the Lord to satisfy God's law and justice against Judah
and establish a righteousness for her, which God freely imputed
to her, God could look on her with favor. Zechariah chapter
four, verse six, sums it up. Not by might nor by power, but
by my spirit, saith the Lord. So this is the reason why God
spared Judah and not Israel. Another reason is given in verses
8 and 9. Look at verse 8 and 9. Now, when
Gomer had weaned Lerumah, she conceived and bore a son. Then
said God, call his name Loammi, for ye are not my people, and
I am not your God. God was not Israel's God, and
Israel was not God's people. This was not so because of anything
Israel did or didn't do. It was simply a matter of God's
choice. God chose a remnant of his own
free choice. Look at Deuteronomy chapter seven
with me. Deuteronomy chapter seven and
verse seven. The Lord did not set his love
on you, Israel, nor choose you because you were more in number
than any people, for you were the fewest of all people. But
because the Lord loved you and because he would keep the oath
which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought
you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house
of bondmen from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know therefore
that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which
keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his
commandments to a thousand generations, and repayeth them that hate him
to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack to him that
hateth him. He will repay him to his faith.
Paul the Apostle quoted God in Romans 9.15 with these words,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion, and whom I will I'll harden.
We have another reason why God saved Judah, and that was to
maintain the lineage through which the lion of the tribe of
Judah would come and redeem his people. God would save Judah,
not based on anything done in her or by her, but based solely
on what her high priest, Jesus Christ, the lamb of the tribe
of Judah, would come and do for her in establishing that righteousness
that she needed. So the day of Jezreel, The day
of retribution for Israel was a day of redemption for Judah. The question is, have you experienced
Judah's redemption? If you have, then the third point,
the day of Jezreel is a day of reconciliation for the church. Verses nine through 11, let's
read these. Hosea chapter one, verse nine. Then said God, call his name
Lo-Ammit, for you are not my people, and I will not be your
God. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand
of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered. And it shall come
to pass in that place where it was said unto them, ye are not
my people, there shall be said unto them, ye are the sons of
the living God. Then shall the children of Judah
and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint
themselves one head, and they shall come out of the land, for
great shall be the day of Jezreel. The day of Jezreel, and that
word Jezreel means scattered, will be a great day when God,
who said of them in verse nine, you are not my people, and I
will not be your God, will say to them in verse 10, you are
the sons of the living God. These sons of God will gather
out of every kindred, tongue, tribe, and nation. And he says
here, though more than the sand of the sea in number, yet a remnant,
according to the election of grace, will come. And this assembly,
if you notice, includes both Judah and Israel. Well, since the northern kingdom
ceased to exist, I believe he's referring here to spiritual Israel,
the church. the Church of God, both Jew and
Gentile. In fact, I believe he's saying here that we're living
in that day of Jezreel, the day when the scattered are called
back by the gospel from all over the world, that gospel which
declares that the middle wall of partition has been broken
down, that there's not Jew and Gentile, there's neither bond
and free, but we're all one in Christ. And I think that's what
he's talking about when he says, speaking of the one head that
we will choose, he's speaking of Christ, the head of the body,
his church, who through this death wrought peace, thereby
reconciling sinners unto himself. Now, through the gathering together
of the children of Judah and the children of Israel, We see
this taking place through the preaching of the gospel today,
and that prophecy is being fulfilled when sinners, under the gospel
that we preach here, hear of God being reconciled based on
the blood of Christ, are themselves reconciled to God based on that
same basis. And the woman of Samaria, if
you remember, is a good example of this. She was one of those
who suffered retribution at the hand of God. She lived in Israel. in one of the northern tribes
of Israel. And when Bethel and Dan were
overrun, she was taken to Assyria. And she became one with the Assyrians, and she
was a Samaritan. And she was confronted by Christ,
if you remember, at the well of Jacob. And she was converted. And it was
there that she appointed Christ her head. And Scripture says
they came up out of the land. Well, she was one of those that
came up out of the land in repentance when she was converted by Christ. So she's a good example of how
one who suffered the retribution for her sin also enjoyed the
Redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So we see here that though
great was the day of Jezreel's affliction, great also is the
day of Jezreel's glory. That day is the day in the life
of a scattered seed, one of the lost sheep of the house of Israel
is brought to life under the preaching of the gospel and made
to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That's
why Jesus said, you remember in John 4, verse 4, I must needs
go through Samaria, because this was one of his sheep, this woman
at the well. And God, the Father, told him to go take a wife of
Horton. So he went to Samaria and took
this woman who was waiting for her day of Jezreel. So the day
of Jezreel is a day of retribution for the wicked, for those who
worship. The day of Jezreel is a day of
redemption for the lost. It is a day of casting off the
filthy rags of self-righteousness for his spotless robe of righteousness. And the day of Jezreel is a day
of reconciliation between the sinner and his God and sinners
in general. It is a day when those sinners
who are not my people shall be called the sons of God. It is
a day It is the day they see their oneness with God based
on the work of their substitute and representative, who in casting
away their sins behind God's back, remembers them no more.
It is a gathering together in one gospel, one faith, with one
goal, and one motive, under one head, the Lord Jesus Christ.
So this is the prophecy of Hosea. God has a people. And though
some were cast off, cut off, and cast off, and others grafted
in, yet a remnant, according to the election of grace under
the gospel, shall come up out of the ground." So Gomer was
unfaithful to Hosea. Israel was unfaithful to God.
But our covenant God will not abandon his people to the enemy
of the church to have way with it. God remembers his covenant
with the fathers, and he calls his scattered out of every kindred,
tongue, and nation. When it is all said and done,
there will be but one God, the Father, of whom are all things,
and we in him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things,
and we by him. We are in God the Father by Christ. Well, the question is, if you
experienced the day of Jezreel, has Christ taken away your retribution?
Has he satisfied the law's charges against you? Are you clothed
in his righteousness? Are you reconciled to God based
on his reconciliation to you? Then great will be the day of
Jezreel for you because God has avenged the blood of Christ upon
the enemies of God and broken Israel's bow in the valley of
Jezreel. And Hosea will further expand
this subject in the lessons to come. Maybe we should make the
day of Jezreel a national holiday.