Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,  “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.’ ” - Leviticus 23:23–25 

“I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion,  And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord.  

“It will come about in that day that I will respond,” declares the Lord. “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth,  And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and to the oil, And they will respond to Jezreel.  

“I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’ ” 

Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.” Hosea 2:19–3:1

HOSEA-II

The blowing of trumpets ushers in our second study of Hosea, in the days of Rosh Hashanah—-the observance of this time originally legislated ( our first text ) as the Feast of Trumpets, marking the kickoff of the High Holy days leading up to Yom Kipppur ( The day of Atonement) , culminating in the joyous harvest festival of the Feast of Sukkoth ( Booths or Tabernacles ).

Israel as a stand-in for mankind, is an exemplar of both the Lords Favor, Justice, and Love for a broken mankind.

We ALL have sinned against a Holy God, who made us in His Image & Likeness, male and female created us, blessed us, and gave us dominion over the planet, and an everlasting relationship with Him.

Our turning away to choose evil instead of good MUST surely redound on our heads. The LORD provides for mankind and beast alike ( light, heat, rain, food ), but he has not stepped in to RULE us, and many of mankind’s greatest misfortunes are self-inflicted. We have the power and desire to fix this, but seem to lack the ability…

In Chapter 1, we saw the beginnings of Hosea’s family, born of one that sells her gift ( her body ) for money as a living metaphor for people who have turned the Grace of God into a chasing after material things. The three children of Hosea were named, and the naming was a statement of judgment — Jezreel — God will sow ( both judgment and salvation as we have seen ), Loruhamah— not pitied, Loammi—- not my people. Even at the time the words were said, we saw that they were accompanied by a promise to restore… Hallelujah!!

Chapter two begins with the names invoked again, exhorting Israel to ask for mercy, and warning of the judgment to come.

“ Say to your brothers, “Ammi,” and to your sisters, “Ruhamah.” Contend with your mother, contend, For she is not my wife, and I am not her husband; And let her put away her harlotry from her face And her adultery from between her breasts, Or I will strip her naked And expose her as on the day when she was born. 

I will also make her like a wilderness, Make her like desert land And slay her with thirst. Also, I will have no compassion on her children, Because they are children of harlotry. 

For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, Who give me my bread and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’ Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns, And I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will seek them, but will not find them. 

Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband, For it was better for me then than now!’ For she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine and the oil, And lavished on her silver and gold, Which they used for Baal. 

Therefore, I will take back My grain at harvest time And My new wine in its season. I will also take away My wool and My flax Given to cover her nakedness.  And then I will uncover her lewdness In the sight of her lovers, And no one will rescue her out of My hand.” - Hosea 2:1-10 

… and more judgments are pronounced later on regarding the TAKING AWAY OF FEASTS ( pagan and Levitical ) … before AGAIN, speaking words of comfort and restoration culminating in our second text.

And here we see a marvel of restoration prophesied by a “minor” prophet!!! 

CH Spurgeon writes ( in his Morning & Evening series for this date ) of this marvel as well, and it should be a source of rejoicing for all ( Jew and Christian, and all mankind ), we will leave him to say the rest.

“ To be a partaker of the divine nature is not, of course, to become God. That cannot be. The essence of Deity is not to be participated in by the creature. Between the creature and the Creator there must ever be a gulf fixed in respect of essence; but as the first man Adam was made in the image of God, so we, by the renewal of the Holy Spirit, are in a yet diviner sense made in the image of the Most High, and are partakers of the divine nature. We are, by grace, made like God.

 “God is love”; we become love—“He that loveth is born of God.” God is truth; we become true, and we love that which is true: God is good, and he makes us good by his grace, so that we become the pure in heart who shall see God. 

Moreover, we become partakers of the divine nature in even a higher sense than this—in fact, in as lofty a sense as can be conceived, short of our being absolutely divine. Do we not become members of the body of the divine person of Christ? Yes, the same blood which flows in the head flows in the hand: and the same life which quickens Christ quickens his people, for “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” 

Nay, as if this were not enough, we are —married unto Christ. He hath —-betrothed us unto himself in righteousness and in faithfulness, and he who is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 

Oh! marvellous mystery! we look into it, but who shall understand it? 

One with Jesus—so one with him that the branch is not more one with the vine than we are a part of the Lord, our Saviour, and our Redeemer! While we rejoice in this, let us remember that those who are made partakers of the divine nature will manifest their high and holy relationship in their intercourse with others, and make it evident by their daily walk and conversation that they have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. O for more divine holiness of life!” - CH Spurgeon, Morning & Evening ( Sep 16 )

We wish all our jewish friends a very sweet New Year!!

Hallelujah!!