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Hosea
May 24, 2009 15:18:18 GMT -6
Post by charlescameron on May 24, 2009 15:18:18 GMT -6
1:1-3:5 - ‘Hosea’ means ‘salvation’. Married to ‘an adulterous wife’, Hosea spoke with great compassion to ‘the land’ which was ‘guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord’ (1:2). He brought God’s Word of love to the people: ‘I will show My love to the one I called, “Not My loved one”’. He spoke to them of the life-changing power of God’s love: ‘I will say to those called, “Not My people”, and they will say, “You are My God”’ (2:23). He brought a Word of hope to God’s people: ‘The Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God... They will come trembling to the Lord and to His blessings in the last days’ (3:5). His words of hope point us to our Saviour, Jesus Christ - ‘In these last days, God has spoken to us by His Son’ (Hebrews 1:2). ----- More notes at www.christinallthescriptures.blogspot.co.uk/
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Hosea
Sept 15, 2009 14:16:15 GMT -6
Post by veterinarian on Sept 15, 2009 14:16:15 GMT -6
Jesus' story: words of hope, indeed!
He died, rose again, and is our Saviour.
Turn to Jesus, for the time remaining is very short.
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Hosea
Sept 15, 2009 15:55:50 GMT -6
Post by charlescameron on Sept 15, 2009 15:55:50 GMT -6
Thanks for your comment, We reads the words of Hosea. Our attention is directed to Jesus. We read the words of the prophet. We hear the voice of the Spirit. We read the words of God's servant. We give glory to God. Best wishes. Charlie
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Hosea
Sept 15, 2009 15:58:03 GMT -6
Post by charlescameron on Sept 15, 2009 15:58:03 GMT -6
Learning from the prophet Hosea as we explore other parts of Scripture - Genesis 43, Exodus 33, Ezekiel 19, Matthew 2, Acts 17
Joseph had a special affection for Benjamin (Genesis 43:30). In the love of Joseph for Benjamin, we see God’s love for us: ‘My compassion grows warm and tender’ (Hosea 11: 8); ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’ (Jeremiah 31:3). ----- Filled with ‘the fear of the Lord’, Moses was fearless before men. God’s Word to sinners is clear: He warns them (Proverbs 29:1); He calls them to repent (Acts 2:38); He invites them to return to Him (Hosea 6:1). Moses’ faithful and fearless preaching emerged from his closeness to God: ‘The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend’ (Exodus 33:11). Moses prayed; God heard; God answered (Exodus 33:17). Moses prayed for a revelation of God’s glory (Exodus 33:18). God revealed Himself as the good God, the God of grace and mercy (Exodus 32:19). Let us go up to God and bring down all that is needed to build the Body of Christ that God may take pleasure in it and that He may appear in His glory (Haggai 1:8). ----- We have joy in the Lord - ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’ (Philippians 4:4). There is also ‘great sorrow’ in our hearts when we think of those who refuse to come to Christ for salvation. This ‘sorrow’ leads us to pray: ‘My heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved’ (Ezekiel 19:1, 14; Romans 9:2; 10:1). Let us pray for our ‘dry and thirsty land’. Pray that God will come to our ‘wilderness’: ‘He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth’. Pray that people will ‘return to the Lord’. Pray that they will ‘press on to know the Lord’ (Ezekiel 19:13; Hosea 6:1-3). ----- God’s saving purpose prevails over Herod's Satanic schemes. Herod dies. Jesus lives. The purpose of man is defeated. The purpose of God prevails. Jesus’ time in Egypt is full of prophetic significance (Matthew 3:15; Hosea 11:1. Egypt was the place of bondage. God turns everything around, making it the place of protection (Exodus 1:11; 13-15). The emphasis is not on the place. It is on what God is doing, as He fulfils His purpose. From Bethlehem to Egypt and then to Nazareth - the young Jesus is being taken from place to place - all in the perfect plan of God. Again, the emphasis is not on the place but on God’s purpose. Nazareth was a humble place, dignified by the fact that God chose it to be the home of His Son. Our concern is not with wise men or famous places. ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus’. ‘Stand amazed in the presence of Jesus’. ----- Notice the importance of the Scriptures for both public ministry - ‘reasoning with them from the Scriptures’ - and private devotion - ‘examining the Scriptures every day’ (Acts 17:2, 11). We need the Word of the Lord on the Lord’s Day. We need the Word of the Lord every day. God is not the ‘unknown God’. He has made himself known to us. For many, He seems to be the ‘unknown God’. We must seek to lead them beyond a vague awareness of ‘the God who made the world’ to a real knowledge of Jesus Christ who died and rose again for our salvation (Acts 17:24, 3). When our faith is grounded in the Scriptures, we will not think of God as the ‘unknown God’ about whom we can know very little. We will make it our ambition ‘to know Christ and the power of His resurrection’ (Philippians 3:10). ‘Let us press on to know the Lord’ (Hosea 6:3).
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Murph
Moderator
Be kind to your web footed friends. Amen?
Posts: 69,000
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Hosea
Sept 15, 2009 17:47:56 GMT -6
Post by Murph on Sept 15, 2009 17:47:56 GMT -6
Hey Charlie!
I been wondering where you were. Good to see you continuing with the commentaries!
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Hosea
Sept 20, 2009 17:34:34 GMT -6
Post by charlescameron on Sept 20, 2009 17:34:34 GMT -6
Thanks, Duck.
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