WBS.274
Hosea 1:2 The beginning
of the word of IAUE by Hosea. And IAUE said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife
of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great
whoredom, departing from IAUE.
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which
conceived, and bare him a son.
4 And IAUE said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a
little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu,
and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow
of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel.
6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And Elohim said
unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house
of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save
them by IAUE their Elohim, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by
battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
8 Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a
son.
9 Then said Elohim, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my
people, and I will not be your Elohim.
(If you have not read the first three
posts in this current Q&A, please go back to Part 1 and read the lessons in
order. You will need that foundation to
understand this post properly.)
The life of Hosea was
literally a physical manifestation of his prophecy to the House of Israel. He was commanded to take a wife of harlotry which
typified the relationship between IAUE and the ten tribes of the northern kingdom
of Israel. As we have seen from prior
posts, IAUE divorced the House of Israel.
That putting away is exemplified in the children born to Hosea.
Jezreel – I will cause
to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
Loruhamah – I will no
more have mercy upon the house of Israel.
Loammi - You are not my people; and I will not be your
Elohim.
Do you remember where
this idea is expressed in the New Testament?
These verses in Hosea 1 are quoted both by Paul and by Peter; but the
contemporary Christian church does not seem to recognize its significance.
Romans 9:25 As he saith also in Osee
(Hosea), I will call them my people, which were not my people; and
her beloved, which was not beloved.
26 And it shall come to
pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people;
there shall they be called the children of the living Elohim (Hosea 1:11).
1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye
should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into
his marvellous light;
10 Which in time past were
not a people, but are now the people of Elohim: which had not obtained
mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Of whom were Paul and
Peter speaking? Were they speaking of
the pagan population of the world?
No. They were addressing the lost
ten tribes of the House of Israel. It
was the house of Israel that was declared to be not the people of IAUE, and not
recipients of His mercy. It was the lost
ten tribes of the house of Israel who were told that in the place where they
were told you are not my people, they shall be called the children of the living
Elohim. It was the lost ten tribes that
were the primary focus of the New Covenant.
Messiah himself declared this and we didn’t even notice it.
Matthew 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and
commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city
of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Matthew 15:24 But he
answered and said, I am not sent but
unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Even the Master was not yet
ready to reveal the mystery to his disciples.
Notice, he instructed them to avoid the cities of the Gentiles (pagans);
but to go to where the lost sheep of the house of Israel could be found. In that day, there were millions of people
who knew they were of the ten tribes that lived in Galilee and surrounding
areas. They lived as close to Jerusalem
as they could; but knowing they could never come “home” as it were, to the
center of Hebrew life. Yahushua came for the lost sheep of the house of Israel;
but they were not just in the neighboring areas of the Jewish population; they
were everywhere; and the farther they were away from Jerusalem, it would appear
the less they knew or remembered from whence they came. They were Gentiles for all they knew. They knew no better.
Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that
ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by
that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12 That at that time ye
were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and
strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without Elohim in
the world:
Here, Paul is reminding
the descendants of the lost tribes that they have been living just like the
Gentiles (pagans) and that they had rejected Messiah (“What
portion have we in David?”); that they were ejected from the unified
kingdom of Israel that was awaiting the rule of the Messiah. They were estranged from the covenants of
IAUE, hopeless, and not the people of Elohim.
They were the offspring of the divorced of IAUE. However, IAUE found a way to reclaim them, to
have mercy upon them once again; and once again for them to be called the
children of the living Elohim.
The Scriptures clearly prophesied
of the restoration of the house of Israel; but the Jews in the first century
church could not comprehend it. There was great animosity directed to the
dispersion. It was “a mystery” to them, hidden in Elohim awaiting the time of
its revelation. That revelation was
given to Paul. The ministry and mission of
Paul was prophesied by Isaiah.
Isaiah 49:5 And now, saith IAUE that
formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him,
Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of IAUE, and
my Elohim shall be my strength.
6 And he said, It is a
light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that
thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
7 Thus saith IAUE, the
Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom
the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise,
princes also shall worship, because of IAUE that is faithful, and
the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
8 Thus saith IAUE, In an
acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped
thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to
establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
9 That thou mayest say
to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness,(see 1 Peter 2:9 above) Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the
ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.
10 They shall not hunger
nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath
mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide
them.
11 And I will make all my
mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
12 Behold, these shall come
from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the
land of Sinim.
13 Sing, O heavens; and be
joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for IAUE hath
comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
Yahushua confirms this when
he tells Ananias to go pray for Paul in Damascus.
Acts 9:15 But the Master said unto
him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the
Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Paul confirms this again
when he offers his defense to the Jews who tried to kill him in Jerusalem.
Acts 22:21 And he said unto me,
Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
22 And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up
their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not
fit that he should live.
You can see from how
they reacted to this notion of reclaiming their lost brethren who had been
scattered throughout the nations that they had no comprehension of that
prospect. They were fiercely opposed to
restoring mercy to the tribes from whom the mercy of IAUE had been stripped…their
brethren who refused to worship IAUE or to keep the laws of IAUE. We see this same abhorrence for extending the
mercy of IAUE to the lost tribes of the house of Israel by the Pharisees that
contended with the Master.
John 7:34 Ye shall seek me, and
shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.
35 Then said the Jews among
themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the
dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?
They were so close to
understanding the mystery of the gospel; but their prejudice against the
dispersed tribes prevented them from seeing it even though they could quote the
verses of Scripture that told of IAUE restoring His mercy to them and once again
calling them His people. Probably fueling
this animosity were Isaiah’s words.
Isaiah 42:24 Who gave Jacob for a
spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not IAUE, he against whom we have sinned?
for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.
THE
GENTILES:
The first time the word “Gentiles”
is used in Scripture, it refers to the offspring of Japheth, son of Noah. Japheth’s
descendants spread out to the coastlands and to the isles of the earth.
Genesis 10:5 By these were the
isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his
tongue, after their families, in their nations.
It is interesting to
note that Isaiah’s prophecy of Paul’s ministry begins with verse 1 (not cited
above).
Isaiah 49:1 Listen, O
isles, unto me; and hearken, ye
people, from far; IAUE hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my
mother hath he made mention of my name.
The word “gentiles” just
means “a collective of people.” In the
Old Testament (gowy)
is translated, “nations, heathen, Gentiles and people.” In the New Testament (ethnos) means the same thing and
is translated the same way. The term later came to refer specifically to all
non-Hebrew peoples. Eventually, the term also included the dispersed Hebrews of
the house of Israel; because there was little difference between the two. They
lived among them. They were no longer circumcised. They worshipped their false
gods. They knew not IAUE. One might say they were so connected and
intermingled with the gentile races that you could not separate them without
tearing them apart. This was the dilemma; and this was the basis of the
mystery; and IAUE’s solution to this dilemma enabled Paul to discover the unsearchable
wisdom of IAUE (Romans 11:33). How can IAUE restore mercy to the
lost ten tribes of the House of Israel who had become inseparable from the
uncovenanted heathen of the world? How
can He again make them His people? This
was the mystery.
Next week: The mystery
solved.
No comments:
Post a Comment