830 - Les Feldick Bible Study - Lesson 1 Part 2 Book 70 - Lo-ammi, Not My People - Part 2

https://lesfeldickbiblestudy.com Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 1 * PART 2 * BOOK 70 LO-AMMI - NOT MY PEOPLE – PART 2 Hosea 1:1–2:18 Okay, it’s good to have you back. I guess you all got served your coffee and everything. For those of you joining us on television, again, we thank you for being with us. We thank you for your kind letters. My, mail time just seems to be getting better every day. We just praise and thank the Lord for it. We thank you for your financial help. In fact, as we noted in our newsletter, you’ve all been so good that we were able to take on a few more stations. We’re not going to hoard the money. When it’s available, we’re going to use it for God’s glory. You know, I always appreciate the fact that when people come by to visit us, they suddenly realize we don’t live any different than our neighbors up and down the road. Don’t expect a mansion when you come to visit Les and Iris Feldick, because we’re not into that. We’re just as common and ordinary in our lifestyle as anybody else. We appreciate everything that you do for us, so that we in turn can serve the Lord in what He has given us to do. All right, we’re in the Minor Prophets. We’re starting with Hosea. For a little recap, in case we’ve got somebody that missed our last program, Hosea writes in the same vein as Isaiah and Jeremiah. It’s all a warning to the Nation of Israel to either come out of their idolatry and their unbelief or God’s wrath is going to fall. As we were just discussing at break time, that’s the way God has dealt with Israel over and over. Then after the chastisement comes the blessing. I guess it was Dick that said, “Well, now I can’t quite figure that out.” I said, “Well, what do you do with a kid that’s disobedient? You whip his little rear end and hope that it’ll straighten him out.” Well, that was the way it was with Israel. She had to have a good whipping once in a while. It would have its results, and then it wouldn’t be long and down they’d go. In fact, in the Book of Judges that’s just what it is. It’s a roller coaster. They’ll go up to a time of tremendous blessing and they’re obedient. Then down they go and in would come the hard times. The enemies would overrun them, and they’d cry out. In would come a righteous judge, and up they’d come. That’s Israel’s history. Well, Hosea is living at a time, as we pointed out, only about 200 years after King Solomon. The Northern Ten Tribes have already gone as far into idolatry as a nation of people could go. Consequently then, with Hosea living in Judah, which is still close to the Temple, so they’re not as prone to idolatry as the Northern Kingdom. Hosea is instructed to go up to idolatrous Israel and take a wife. That’s what I pointed out then in our last half hour - he did not go to a house of ill repute like a lot of people think the language implies. No, he went up to idolatrous Israel to take a wife, because God is going to show, symbolically, the future of Israel. All right, so back in Hosea chapter 1 we’ll repeat verse 2. Hosea 1:2 “The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms (the idolatrous Northern Kingdom) and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.” Now, lest you think that I am barking out of left field, let’s go up to the New Testament a minute. I wasn’t going to do this, but I think maybe we should. Go up to Colossians; all the way up to Paul’s little letter to the Colossians chapter 3 verse 5. Remember from our last program we were stressing that the very first of the Ten Commandments was “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not bow down to them.” So, idolatry and unbelief, I guess, are the two biggest controversies that God has with the human race. Not just with Israel but with everyone. All right, now look what Paul writes to the Gentiles at Colossi. In Colossians chapter 3 verse 5 and I’m making the point why God hates idolatry. Paul, of course, is writing to you and me as believers, and he says: Colossians 3:5 “Mortify (or put to death) therefore your members which are upon the earth; (That is, the members of this physical body – the appetites of it – put it to death. And what are they?) fornication, (That, of course, is sexual immorality.) uncleanness, inordinate (or unnatural) affection, evil concupiscence, (In other words, just constantly thinking and talking on the wrong side of the coin. And here it comes--) and covetousness, which is (What?) idolatry.” Have you ever thought of it that way? Have you ever thought of it that coveting is idolatry? Why? When you covet, what do you show? What you want. When you covet something, you want it. #LesFeldick #BibleStudy #Bible