Overview
Hosea: Hosea calls for the people to return to the Lord for healing from his punishment. He will revive them in two days and raise them up on the third to live before him. He urges them to make an effort to know the Lord and he will shower blessings on them.
The Lord asks what he should do with Ephraim and Judah. Their love is fickle and disappears. Therefore, he will judge them and punish both Israel and Judah. He wants love, not sacrifices, knowledge, not burnt offerings. But they violate the covenant just like Adam in all their sins.
He will restore them and heal them of their evil. But they don’t think the Lord will remember their evil that the king and princes enjoy. The evil smolders and bursts into flame killing the rulers that don’t call on the Lord.
Ephraim mingles with the nations so that their strength is sapped. They slowly degenerate and don’t realize it. They don’t turn back to seek the Lord. They go to Egypt and Assyria for help, but the Lord will snare them like birds and discipline them. They will be destroyed and the Lord would redeem them but they lie about the Lord. They only complain about their loss of provisions but not to the Lord. They look to their idols and devise evil. They will fall by the sword.
When disaster comes for rebelling against the Law, they cry to the Lord but still don’t do good. They made their own kings and idols. The Lord’s anger burns against Samaria and its idols. They look to other nations and idols which is like sowing to the wind. The result is like getting a whirlwind back by bringing more trouble. They still sacrifice to the Lord, but he does not accept them because of their sins. Israel has forgotten his maker and along with Judah have built palaces and cities for themselves.
They should not rejoice over forsaking the God. The land will not provide for them and they will be taken to Egypt and Assyria. Their offerings and sacrifices will not be to the Lord and they will be defiled by them. They won’t be able to have their festivals in Egypt and their riches will be gone.
Their punishment has come and then the prophet will know he is a fool. They were supposed to be watchmen for Israel but have corrupted themselves and will be punished.
Israel was like God’s grapes in the wilderness but the first of them worshipped Baal at Peor. Because of their sins they will be barren. The Lord will take away children that are born. Their children will be killed when Ephraim is punished.
Psalm: When the Lord restored Jerusalem, people were joyful and proclaimed how much the Lord had done for them. The Psalmist asked the Lord to again restore their fortunes so they could be like those who sow in sorrow but reap bountifully with joy.
Proverbs: Rulers that pay attention to fake news will have wicked officials. When oppressors come face to face with their victims, the Lord gives them understanding. When a ruler looks out for the interest of poor people, they will be forever rewarded.
3 John: John is writing to his dear friend Gaius. He prays that Gaius is in good health physically just as his soul is healthy. He is greatly glad that Gaius is walking in the truth for it brings him joy knowing those in his care are doing this.
He commends Gaius for his hospitality to Christian strangers. These itinerant preachers need support because they don’t take offerings from unbelievers (Gentiles).
John wrote to Gaius’ church but Diotrephes doesn’t accept John’s authority and has taken over. When John comes, he will confront the church about Diotrephes’ slander. He also doesn’t welcome other Christians and if anyone does, he kicks them out of the church.
John tells Gaius not to imitate that wicked behavior but only good behavior which is what people from God do. People who do evil don’t know God. Now, Demetrius is respected by everyone and by the truth. John agrees with them and Gaius knows that John’s endorsement is true.
John had much to write but will not do that and wait until they can talk in person. John sends his peace and greetings from his friends to Gaius and the others.
What Stood Out
Hosea: “Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth” (Hos 6:3).
Psalm: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad” (Ps 126:3).
Proverbs: “The poor man and the oppressor meet together; the Lord gives light to the eyes of both” (Prov 29:13).
3 John: “Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth” (3 John 8).
Insight
Hosea: Before Hosea pronounces more doom and gloom for Israel (Ephraim) and Judah, the Lord has him throw in some very encouraging verses. In Hosea 6:1-3, we find a plea to return to the Lord for healing. It is an acknowledgement that their punishment is due to them leaving the Lord. It is also a Messianic prophecy of Jesus’ resurrection after three days. It is amazing that out of all this sin and horrid stuff going on among God’s people, he would put this hope in the middle of it. It is a message to all of us to keep on in our battle against our own sinfulness to know the Lord better and better.
This is echoed by Paul when he tells us that he hasn’t become perfect in his walk with the Lord, but that he presses on in his upward call in Jesus Christ (Phil 3:13-14). It is a reminder to all of us that our call is upward and not horizonal. Israel sought relief from their enemies by going to Egypt and Assyria instead of looking upward to the Lord. We do the same thing when we look to the comforts of the world to satisfy our needs and our wants. Those things will never bring us satisfaction but will only be like whirlwinds blowing dirt in our eyes. Instead, we need to turn to the Lord to satisfy our desires. When we do, we can’t be fickle like the morning dew because the Lord wants our love for him to be steadfast, just like his love for us is steadfast.
Psalm: When things are going the way we think they should, when things are “right,” we are happy and joyful. But that isn’t all there is to life. We need to consider that times of sorrow often are the times when we grow the most; it is only after that happens that we understand and have joy that surpasses the frivolous joy that come from a life of ease. The way to develop real joy is by looking at things from God’s perspective. James told us to consider it all joy when we have trials (James 1:2) and Paul told us that we should rejoice when we suffer because that is building character and hope in us as the Lord pours out his Holy Spirit in us (Rom 5:3-5).
Proverbs: I’m going to forego my comments on Proverbs 29:12 and 14 because I think they say enough about our current political environment without my comment. However, Proverbs 29:13 can be viewed in two ways.
If an oppressor and poor person meet with each other, the Lord can work in ways to resolve the conflict because he will give them understanding into each other’s situation. That is the way I would like it to see it work and I’m sure it would please the Lord as well.
The other way to look at this is that when the two meet together, the Lord will let them know the kinds of people they are. The oppressor may see the plight of the poor man, but will not necessarily have pity on him. The poor man will see that the oppressor is totally evil and he will get not relief. Hopefully the poor man will instead place his trust in the Lord.
3 John: One characteristic of a church that the Lord blesses is one that has a solid missionary emphasis. When they are providing the financial, prayer, and spiritual support for missionaries, it is done because they know the word of God. They know that they need to support those who are preaching the word all around the world (3 John 8).
I’ve seen churches that may be thriving financially and member-wise, but there is something wrong with them. They don’t have missionaries. You can’t find a mission board that tells where they are supporting people who are struggling to make ends meet while bringing the gospel and hope to some dirty forlorn slum or village where people are dying physically and spiritually. What you do find is that the pastor of this church is living in a mansion, has many luxuries, and tells you that you can have the same thing if you just have enough faith.
Application
How then should we live? I want to strive to have a reputation like Demetrius who was respected by all. I want to attempt to do good and above all, press on to know the Lord. When I do that I’ll be eager to continue to support missionaries and Christian agencies or other that are serving the Lord out of steadfast love and not for gain.
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