Many of the prophesies given to Hosea have been fulfilled.
The removal of Israel as a nation and it’s restoration. The removal of Baal from the lips of Jewish people, a name now forgotten among them, and the grafting in of the Gentiles into faith.
Eloquently, Hosea reveals the valley of troubles needed for Israel to become a nation once again. Of course we now know it was the holocaust.
It has taken centuries for these prophecies to become fulfilled.
There were two outstanding reasons for the destruction of ancient Israel.
God separates the people or brethren of Hosea from the Nation itself. The mother or nation had become corrupt through trade with other nations. Through that trade the nation had become dependent.
They saw trade as the means of existence rather than the fruitfulness of the land God had given them. They no longer glorified God but instead found strength through their status in the world and desire for foreign goods.
Secondly, they started to diversify by accepting foreign gods. The names of the Baals, the piercing of the ears and noses which signified who they spiritual served.
In their desire to diversify they had accepted and interchanged the name of Baal with the name of God. They began worshiping Baal and ascribing that name to God.
God said they will no longer call Me by the name of Baal. (Hosea 2:16)
God had revealed Himself from the days of Abraham, till today, through many names which revealed His character and nature.
Now Israel gave God a name and He called it idolatry.
The Kingdom of God is progressive. He has unveiled Himself by His actions throughout the existence of man and in the process attributed a name to the actions.
Human progressiveness found in any nation outside the realm of God’s Kingdom leads to an acceptance of sin and a distortion of God’s character or outright denial of His existence. It leads to celebrating the distortion in individual identity. It becomes idolatry in its most vile form, the worship of self.
The prophecy found in Hosea 1:10 “You shall be called the Sons of the Living God,” will not apply.
God’s progressiveness is found in the revelation of Himself to man and the power of the revelation to bring personal identity to the individual.
In these last days the full revelation of God’s nature and character was revealed in and through Yeshua, or in
English, Jesus. There is no other name given among men in which they can be saved, or in other words find and walk in created purpose for living.
It should not surprise a christian when they hear the name of Jesus being used as a curse. It only reveals the heart of the person vainly using His name. Disobedience to the first commandment (do not use my name vainly) can only be done by using Jesus Christ.
His name is used daily worldwide both as a blessing and power to change and vainly as a curse. No other name is used in such a way. This gives us both joy and grief. When a believer hears the name of Jesus being used vainly his or her heart is grieved because of the Spirit within them. But it also proves the very nature of Jesus as God. The disobedience of another can actually build our own personal faith.
Jesus was very clear in stating anyone can be forgiven for misuse of His name and that of The Father. We should not make final judgment of a person misusing Jesus name, but our judgment should be of their personal need for salvation.
In closing, Hosea has much to say to our world today. The power of prophetic relevance, the tendency for a nation to be corrupted by its leadership and not by it’s people, progressiveness which is born from the human heart rather than the revealed nature of God brings destruction to personal identity.
There are many gods in this world but only One true God and He is found through and in the name of Jesus Christ the Redeemer and Deliver of all mankind; any other name given as way to God is idolatry.
Be Free & Stay Free
(This post was written, and shared with permission, by my husband, Jim Kessler.)
