My life, my dominion

Somehow this sounds more like the title of a Harry Potter novel but i can assure that it is much more profound and most importantly it is true.

The person in question is the Jewish prophet Hosea ( Ho-say-uh ). And i will attempt to cover the entire book of Hosea from the Old Testament of the bible in 3 parts.

I've been teaching this to my kids in church and it is really good. REALLY. So here I am trying to spread the good word around.

First I shall introduce the book and some background history.

Hosea is a prophet of God who was given the very uneviable task of rebuking the Jews and laying charges against them for their wrongs against God. Israel at this time is not whole anymore. The Promised Land has been split into two parts. The Norther nation of Israel comprising of the 10 northern tribes and the 2 southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin that form the nation of Judah.

This takes place after the Jews have fled Egypt and is after the great Kings David and Solomon's reign. The Israelites have turned from God after enjoying generations of blessings. They have taken for granted the peace and prosperity that God has given them and begun to worship idols such as Baal and other golden images.

Hosea's audience is largely Israel. For the rot has begun there, and this is particularly bad because Israel houses Jeuresalem, where the temple of God resides. The significance of the Temple of God is that it is the place where God resides on earth. It is a place where the Jews come to pray, make sacrifice and communicate with God. The following is Hosea's message to the Jews.

Interestingly enough, the book of Hosea start off not with God sending Hosea off to rebuke the Israelites but instead, it begins with God's instruction to Hosea.

Hosea 1 : 2
'When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, " Go, take to yoruself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD.'

That was God's first order to hosea, to take a known adulterer, possibly a prositute, as a wife.

WHAT?!

You would ask yourself, marry a prostitute? Why would God do that to a loyal servant like Hosea? Imagine the pain that Hosea would experience. Imagine the tarnish to his reputation. How would anyone listen to his words in the future? This is really an absurd this for Hosea to do.
But in verse 3 we read, ' So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.'

Hosea obeys the Lord for he knows that God has a plan and as a loyal servant of the Lord he must have faith and believe that God has this all planned out.

Darn it is rather late. Well i'll let you dwell on this if you read this before i continue. cya!

Okay, back finally to continue.

So yes, Hosea gets this instruction from God. Now what would you think God has in store for Hosea when he sent him on this mission?

Firstly, as mentioned, Israel had fallen into a state of absolutely waywardness. They were sinning on every level.

So instead of speaking out at them, God decided to use some imagery and thus Hosea became his example. Ultimately, God put Hosea through this ordeal to make him stronger and also to make Hosea the best possible speaker as he would be speaking from experience.

Essentially this first installment seeks to show
1. the need for discipline
and
2. God;s intended purpose for discipline.

After Hosea married Gomer, his life after which reflected the relaionship that God had with the Israelites.
Gomer was a adulteress (and possibly a prostitute); she had many lovers. Yet out of obedience Hosea loved her and treated her well by providing her with comforts. Yet she still ran to her lovers for pleasure.

Translate that to the relationship that God had with the israelites. God lvoed them and had protected them from their enemies for generations. He had given them a bountiful harvest and even had a covenant of the promise land with them. What do the Israelites do in return? They Worship Baal (an idol of foreign nations, it is also taken as a general name for all false gods). They offered it sacrfices. They participated in immorality. They went as far as to take the gold and silver that were in the Temple of God and melt it down to make images of their gods. They had very simply Failed to Acknowledge God.

Now you may think that this is just one time but history has shown that the Israelites have turned time and time again from God. On prime example is when Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the 10 commandments from God. He was only gone for a short while and yet when he came down, they Israelites were celebrating and dancing around the image of a golden calf and worshipping it. And while they were wandering around in the desert, they blamed God for taking them out of slavery when he had promised them a land of their own.

So despite loving them, the Israelites betrayed GOd. Just as Gomer betrayed Hosea.
How do you feel when you are betrayed by someone you love or hold dear?

How did God show his displeasure to the israelites through Hosea?
He told Hosea to name his children Jezreel (God will scatter), Lo-Ruhamah ( not loved, no compassion) and Lo-ammi (Not my children). In doing so God has outlined how he will punish the israelites. He will first scatter them (thus breaking the covenant He had with them of the promised land) , then he will not sho them love and thus remove his blessings, and finally he would ignore them and thus no even protect them from the enemies even should they cry out.

Now in doing so Hosea is bringing a point to his wife as God is showing the Israelites, because they/she disobeyed, they/she will be punished.

In Ver 6-10 we see the motivation behind God disciplining the Israelites. Although he had a tough future in store for them he showed them that should they repent he will reverse his judgement. This is show when he tells Hosea to reverse the names of two of this children. Although the names were given and thus signifying imminet judgement, they reversal of names gives hope for future redemption.

Yet as we see in ver 6-10, God's punishment in no selfish but comes of love. many a times we punish out of spite or anger or hatred, only wishing to cause harm. However, even though God place a harsh hand on Israel, he would subsequently raise it again and they would have peace.

As Hosea disciplined Gomer, he laid out the charges that she had committed.

First, he would block her way so that she could no longer walk on the wrong path.
Likewise, God would restrict us so that we would no longer be able to stray away

Second, he would deprive her of creature comforts. WHy? Because when she was devoid of pleasures she would see who was the one who really provided for her. Previously she had thought that her provider was her lovers. Yet when Hosea took that all away she would realise that he was her provider.

Likewise for the Israelites, once they stopped receiving blessing eventhough they prayed to Baal and their idols then they would see the error of their ways.

How about now? When we are devoid of pleasures two things can happen. We stop focusing on the material and start to focus on he who provides. Just as we only know the worth of somthing when it is gone, likewise, when we someone takes away something, then we know that that person has the power to provide and that we should be in awe and reverence of that person and not the blessing that they give. Often we tend to only know that we have to be good to be blessed, when instead we should be grateful to God for his blessing and not take forgranted that is it by his grace that we are alive.

For many Christians, we have come to take our Christianity and the fact that we are saved for granted. We do not make efforts to spread the word, nor do we lead Godly lives or serve. Instead, we see only the need to work harder for more material gain. When we take God out of the picture, life would become meaningless as when we die we end up losing everything.

Yet keep in mind, that usually when something is taken away from us when we are bad, it is returned when we are good. Likewise, God only punishes in the hope that we will return to him .

In Chpt 2 16-17, 19-23
God describes the future relationship he will enjoy with teh israelites.
Hosea says that Gomer will be wed to him again. And he does not use the word web but instead uses the word 'betroth'. The significance of this word is immense. When betrothals are made they are only made for virgins and now widows or women who are not 'pure' as such. When Gomer repents she will be reinstated in Hosea's eyes are a pure women despite all that she has done. And he will reinstate her with all that she deserves as his wife and will not treat her harshly.
Is she deserving?
God acts likewise when he says that his people will call him 'husband'. THe relationship between husband and wife is perhaps the closest of all relationships. And God is using this symbolism to portray that upon repentance, God will forget all and reinstate the people, and you and me to our former status as his children.
Are we deserving?

If the idea of a God that punishes is not a God that loves look at it from another point of view. The immense amount of attention, the great forgiveness, the subsequent blessing given are all symbols of God's love. If he did not love us at all, why go through all the trouble?

ANd secondly if he was bent on punshiment alone. why redeem in the end?
All these point to two very simple answers to our two earlier questions.

Why do we need discipline?
So that we know what is wrong.

What is the goal of discipline?
So that we will not follow the wrong path in the future

WHy do we need God to discipline us?
So that we will not sin?

Why does he discipline?
So that we will know what is wrong, and ultimately follow him so that we can enjoy his intimate relationship.

To all ye faithful who read my blog!
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!
Here's wishing you good health and happiness in the new lunar year.
Honestly i don't believe in wishing anything but happiness.

It comes in all forms so i guess asking for material things or success isn't exactly right, i think that happiness would be the best!

I have learnt a lot of things in the past 2 years, bu i think most importantly i have learnt how to be happy.

I have seen strife and come to appreciate rest.
I have seen treachery and learnt that goodness is the way to go.
I have met trials and learnt that my strength is not enough
I have done wrong and learnt the meaning of grace
I have been betrayed and learnt how to forgive.
I have heard lies and yet i will not lie.

There is more to this life than what we make of it.

When i think about it, i realise that everyone has so called eternal life. But somehow it struck me that everyone has an eternal existence. When we die our souls do not die but go either to heaven or hell. the promised gift of eternal life from God just not mean a continuation of our souls but that there is something worth living for even after the demise of our mortal flesh. Instead of the suffering of hell where all who are there wish for death, God offers eternal life in heaven that is full of meaning and can therefore be called a life!