Hosea 1 plus Lena's Journalin' Today

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God Bless You Today, Lena B

Hosea 1
1 The LORD gave these messages to Hosea son of Beeri during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, and Jeroboam son of Jehoash F1 was king of Israel.
Hosea's Wife and Children
2 When the LORD first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, "Go and marry a prostitute, F2 so some of her children will be born to you from other men. This will illustrate the way my people have been untrue to me, openly committing adultery against the LORD by worshiping other gods."
3 So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave Hosea a son. 4 And the LORD said, "Name the child Jezreel, for I am about to punish King Jehu's dynasty to avenge the murders he committed at Jezreel. 5 In fact, I will put an end to Israel's independence by breaking its military power in the Jezreel Valley."
6 Soon Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the LORD said to Hosea, "Name your daughter Lo-ruhamah—'Not loved'—for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them. 7But I, the LORD their God, will show love to the people of Judah. I will personally free them from their enemies without any help from weapons or armies."
8 After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she again became pregnant and gave birth to a second son. 9 And the LORD said, "Name him Lo-ammi—'Not my people'—for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God. 10 Yet the time will come when Israel will prosper and become a great nation. In that day its people will be like the sands of the seashore—too many to count! Then, at the place where they were told, 'You are not my people,' it will be said, 'You are children of the living God.' 11 Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite under one leader, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be—the day of Jezreel F3 —when God will again plant his people in his land.

FOOTNOTES:
F1: Hebrew Joash, a variant name for Jehoash.
F2: Or a promiscuous woman.
F3: Jezreel means "God plants."

Lena Journals to Hosea 1
The Lord always gives a message to a generation of people. The words come in season even when it seems out of season.
Being Out of season is when one is not ready to receive, embrace them and live the words. In season is when a person decides the words offered are for their use and they are willing to put them to use in their lives.
Hosea, as many a prophetic spirit, came in a time not at all unlike our time, or any other time that man has been alive and going about his cultural business.
We’ve been given the words of the Bible, that we’d learn from other men’s cyclical patterns, and not repeat them ourselves. Not engage in their same lfe’s lessons and mistakes.
Hosea means “salvation has come”. The offer to man is that man would be saved through the power of God, for man, even though he tries hard to, he cannot save his self from eternal destruction and the pain that separation from God lays out in day to day life. In Hosea’s day, as ours, there needed to be a clear very distinct sound, a sound that others could follow after, turn to, clearly hear in order to follow.
Man, as always, had the option to take a hold of a new way, walk along a different path. This way is the only way to perfection and peace and it could only be had the way God led man to go. Man cannot have this sought after peace with himself and with His God, without going this specific way.
Man always wants the easy street version and the benefits of the way, without having to change his direction, so he contends with the ways of God for a time. In that struggle, that contention, man can rise above with praise, and with discipline that makes one’s self do a refocusing on God, rather than his self and self will. God gives each man an offer. Generations of peoples, an offer, the offers are given by God, He did pave the roadway, making the path clear, yet there seems to be a huge barrier on that road, one that can easily be removed by each freewill. It is by mere determined decision making that barriers like this one can roll way. In this, willingness to go another direction in life, God has His way, but only if man agrees with Him and decides. This is victory that a man loves God back, does His will, while still a freewill earth being, who does not have to do anything anyone else ever says, clear or unlcear.
How do we translate “other gods” in our day? I mean we don’t bow to idols, or do we?
Anytime we do what we want, which is contending with what God wants, we have bowed to another. It could be ourselves we bow to, and serve. For self service is worship. Giving time and energy to another, is worship. Whatever we attend to most is our object of worship. When we value something or someone higher than we value our faith in God, and attend to more than we attend to the nurturing of that faith, in these subtle actions, we bow to other gods.
It’s so subtle, that unless we find it out, are willing to see it, and set out to keep the guard, we won’t see it.
What God sows in the earth, all of His offers given man, He expects to reap a harvest in and of. When the offers are made, again and again, and man does not respond, the mercy given us by God to do His good pleasure, runs out. God told Hosae to name his daughter – “no mercy”. He was tired and saddened by man’s lack of response to His offers.
Jezreel means God “has sown”. (Put His many offers to man “out there”)
Has He not sown seeds in our lives? We take so much liberty, rather than believing His words are commands to follow, many the people of God believe they are optional offers. Our “liberty” could become a bondage to us. The Lord says in this chapter, He put an end to man’s independence. Man’s independence works against the commands of God, the will of God, and the plan of God, for an assembled unified army, in the earth.
God has a vision, and man was set here to will to do it and to complete or perfect its work through the power and strength of Christ!
May many seeds God has sown into the garden of your life grow and sprout up toiday, or may those plants already growing, be nurtured and protected and become strong plants in anf for the hosue of god, that all nations may eat of their fruits. These are for the feeding and healing of nations. Seeds must growm and stay put that they can be strong enough to be a tree that people can eat from.
Amen
Trees of righteousness, the plantings of the Lord, that he could actually be given back glory through man.