Fritha Dinwiddie 7/26/26 Fritha Dinwiddie 7/26/26

THE WRATH OF GOD

#678 THE WRATH OF GOD

(According to the Prophet Amos)

Scripture Amos 3:2, NIV

Orig. 11/1/1964

Rewr. 10/5/1977

Passage: “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”

Introduction

William Blake, the English poet, has a classic statement dealing with anger, and how to handle it. “I was angry with my friend, I told my friend, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe, I told it not, my wrath did grow.”

In those supple lines, this 18th Century poet sees into the very heart of God, as He determines that His people shall know when they suffer under His hot displeasure. It is in the knowing that proper steps can be taken to correct our errors.

Not much bitterness could survive if we went as quickly to those with whom we are angry, for nothing dissipates so quickly as anger not fed on resentment.

Even so, the Lord calls upon His prophet to be a spokesman to His people in their rebelliousness. Who the prophet is, is unimportant. The message of judgment and redemption is of utmost importance.

In our first lesson the various words for “prophet” were considered. Ro’eh—to see; chozeh—seer. Navi (9 of 10)—to announce. Specific meaning to specific people escapes us. I Samuel 9:9, “He who is now called the prophet (navi)was formerly called the seer.” Jeremiah 28:28, “Let the prophet (navi) who has a dream tell his dream, but he who has my word, let him proclaim it faithfully.”

I. God’s Wrath is Made Perfectly Clear through Human Instrumentality. 1:1,2, Amos identifies his prophetic calling. 3:7, Surely, the Lord will do nothing without revealing it to His servant the prophets.

· Adam forewarned that as there was a tree of life, even so a tree of death.

· Noah discovered in ample time to make the necessary provisions that there would be a flood.

· Both Abraham and Lot learned of the impending judgment upon Sodom.

· Moses delivered God’s message of the blood-atonement that would ward off the death angel in Egypt.

· Jonah was even sent to forewarn the Ninevites of their danger.

· Amos also was sent from Judah to Israel less than ½ century before fall of Samaria. Only Hosea would follow him.

II. God’s Wrath is Universal in Scope. Chapters 1 & 2 define this with absolute certainty.

· Damascus—to the northeast of Israel

· Gaza—to the west of Judah

· Tyre—to the north of Israel

· Edom—to the south of Judah (the descendants of Esau)

· Ammon—to the east of Israel

· Moab—to the east of Judah

· Judah

· Israel

Some observations about the impending judgments.

· They sinned with impunity until no escape.

· The judgment would be one of fire (Israel--Genesis 15:17; Exodus 3:2; Deuteronomy 4:24; Isaiah 33:14; Malachi 3:2).

· The rebuke is at the point of cruelties to other people.

III. The Wrath of God has as its Primary Target, God’s Own People. 3:2, Key verse, You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore I will punish you for your iniquities.

I Peter 4:17, For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God, and if it begins first with us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?

IV. The Ultimate Source of God’s Wrath is Found in the Idolatry of His People. 4:4, Come to Bethel and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression. (Bethel—House of God.)

· Genesis 28:17-18, Jacob’s ladder—How dreadful is this place? This is none other but the house of God, . . . the gate of heaven.

· Judges 4:5, Deborah judged Israel from near Bethel.

· I Samuel 7:16, Samuel’s circuit—Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpah.

· I Kings 12:29-30, And he (Jeroboam) set one in Bethel. . . . And this thing became a sin.

· I Kings 13, Prophet from Judah rebukes Jeroboam and curses his altar at Bethel.

· II Kings 2:2, Elisha follows Elijah to Bethel.

· II Kings 23:15, Reforms of Josiah begin with Bethel.

V. God’s Wrath is Directed Toward the Restoration of Righteousness. 3:12, As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued.

9:14, And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them. . . .

Conclusion

Julia Ward Howe’s moving “Battle Hymn of the Republic”:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored,

He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword,

His truth is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never sound retreat,

He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat.

O, be swift my soul to answer Him, be jubilant, my feet:

Our God is marching on.

Fritha Dinwiddie 7/25/26 Fritha Dinwiddie 7/25/26

CARDINAL PRINCIPLES OF A COMMITTED PROPHET

#353 CARDINAL PRINCIPLES OF A COMMITTED PROPHET

Scripture Amos 3:2, NIV

Orig. 1/22/1967 (10/1981)

Rewr. 11/7/1986

Passage: “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”

Purpose: Following revival, to give my people opportunity for serious soul-searching to determine the working of grace in their own lives.

Keywords: Forgiveness Responsibility

Grace Revival

Introduction

What is the link between faith and the way we live? Are acquaintances able to read by our actions and our words that being a Christian brings some pronounced changes in our lives?

The story is told of two [men] who were riding a train together. One punched his friend, pointed toward a man sleeping a few seats from them, and said, “Isn’t that the evangelist that preached that arbor revival last summer?” The other looked as carefully as he could and replied, “Well, it does look like him, but I don’t believe it is ‘cause he don’t have on one of those loud coats.”

Well, they got into an argument. One was sure it was. The other was sure it wasn’t. Finally, one who raised the question pushed it further, “I bet you $50 that that is Rev. Ambusher.” After getting his friend’s consent he went up to the sleeping man, awakened him, and asked if he were the reverend. The awakened man lit into the questioner. He was angry because he had been awakened, and told the man in no uncertain terms how he felt. In fact, he called the man by some very unpopular names.

The one who initiated this scene sheepishly returned to his seat. He declared to his friend. “The bet’s off! He wouldn’t tell me his name! I don’t know if he’s Ambusher or not!”

It is a sad day indeed, when one cannot substantiate differences in the lives of so-called believers from those around them.

I. The First Principle is that Grace is Extended. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.”

Grace is extended through election. Deuteronomy 7:7, “The Lord did not set His love upon you and choose you because you were more in number than any people, for you were the fewest, . . . but because the Lord loved you.”

Do our rich gifts mandate a worthiness? Am I worthy of health when tens of thousands face lingering deaths? Do I deserve the pleasures of family when so many are alone? Were there no others who would have been more receptive of the miracle of forgiveness than I?

By so many important considerations, we are recipients of undeserved grace. Little boy on Today Show, born without arms, stubs for legs, but this glorious attitude about life. Veteran who lost legs to land mine; in Boston marathon, took five days to finish, born-again Christian—“First step is hard, afterward you’re on your way home” (Bob Wieland).

Some home types we have known.

It was a grace that was to be reflected in human righteousness. Psalm 23:3, “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalteth a nation. Sin is a reproach to any people.” Matthew 5:10, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

It was to be reflected in worship and praise of God. Some think that non-tongues speakers can “praise” God. Isaiah 60:18, “Thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.”

It was to be a reflected grace in terms of social justice. Amos 5:15, “Hate the evil and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate.” 5:24, “Let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.”

II. The Second Principle is When Grace is Extended, Responsibility is Demanded. “. . . Therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

It is the requirement of His sovereignty to punish sins. But understand punishment in God’s use of the concept. We think of punishment for the drugged rapist, or the child abuser. Whatever it takes to protect. (Little interest in reforming.) With God, punishment is redemptive: Meted out to effect human good—ultimately on the back of Jesus, “With His stripes we are healed”; meted out to change society.

Yet, how ready we are to prevent this redemptive punishment. Jesus worked closer and closer with the disciples. They were more and more included in Jesus’ life and works. Yet, when told of His approaching death, the ready response was, “Master, this shall not be.”

Such punishment is the only thing that will bring the human ego to the point of spiritual awareness. Most of us wax soft on capital punishment—biblically sound; rationale the criminal mind understands; to punish by taking human life is inhumane.

But there is no doubt that such pending punishment keeps us spiritually aware. Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, “He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.”

III. The Final Principle is that God’s Judgment is Rendered in Mercy.”

Listen to a further word of the prophet.

· 5:1, “Hear ye this word of Lamentation.”

· 5:18, “Woe to you that desire the day of the Lord.”

· 7:8, “Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel.”

· 8:3, “. . . The songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day.”

But listen as the book is concluded. 9:11-15, “11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this. 13 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed. . . . 14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them . . . . 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up. . . .”
The highest of principles illustrates

· First, God’s judgment, meted out in the person of His only son Jesus: John 10:11, “The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep”; I Peter 3:18, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.”

· And second, in the midst of moral perversity, [that] God’s redemptive judgment is at work.

Conclusion

The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown:
. . . It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice.

. . . in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy.

Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act IV Scene I

Fritha Dinwiddie 7/23/26 Fritha Dinwiddie 7/23/26

JOEL’S CALL FOR REPENTANCE

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#675 JOEL’S CALL FOR REPENTANCE

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Scripture Joel 2:12-18, NIV

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Orig. 9/7/1977

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Passage: Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand—2a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come.

‍ ‍

3 Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste—nothing escapes them. 4 They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry.
5 With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble,
like a mighty army drawn up for battle. 6 At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale. 7 They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers.
They all march in line, not swerving from their course.
8 They do not jostle each other; each marches straight ahead. They plunge through defenses without breaking ranks. 9 They rush upon the city; they run along the wall.
They climb into the houses; like thieves they enter through the windows. 10 Before them the earth shakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine. 11 The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty is the army that obeys his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?

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Rend Your Heart

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12 “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” 13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. 14 Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing—grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.

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15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. 16 Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”

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The Lord’s Answer

18 Then the Lord was jealous for his land
and took pity on his people.

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Introduction

‍ ‍ Joel, like Elijah and Elisha before him, enters the scene of history and destiny with no letters of credit. They lived in the two generations just prior to him, and served in Israel while Joel’s ministry was undoubtedly to Judah. Other dates besides the 8th Century are offered for him, but only that date satisfies all of the internal evidence. He is called Jo’el, meaning “Jehovah is God,” and is identified as the “son of Pethu’el.”

‍ ‍ He was doubtless a deeply spiritual man. His knowledge of Jerusalem and the Temple mark him as a man who knew what was going on around him and who was gravely concerned about what this was doing to the people. The contemporary enemies are identified. They are the nations of Phoenicia, Philistia, Edom, and Egypt. After establishing what is happening, and the part Israel’s sin has in this, Joel gives a spiritual object lesson using the invasion of locusts as a metaphor of what their enemies are doing.

‍ ‍ Finally, he calls attention to the ultimate judgment the peoples of the earth must face in the will of God, and that it is now His purpose for them to be delivered through repentance to the abundant blessing which He has ever been holding out to His people.

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I. The Plague of Locusts. 1:1-2:27.

‍ ‍ There are successive plagues and droughts that bring some unparalleled devastation. Some say the vastness of locusts prove that this is apocalyptic.

‍ ‍· “Locust” burner of the land.

‍ ‍· Reported to have caused the death of 80,000 in North Africa. W.M. Thomson1, “The Land and the Book”—“took four days to pass . . . consuming every green thing in their path.”

‍ ‍‍ The debilitating effect will be to all kinds and classes of people. V5, The drunkard without his drink; v8, the new bride bereft of her husband; v9, the priest denied the offerings of ministry and livelihood; v11, the farmer watching crops wither.

‍ ‍ The prophet calls upon the people in their dark hour to repent. Vv 12-14. (The event seems to be II Chronicles 2/II Kings 8.) Under Jehoram, Edom revolted.

‍ ‍ Next come spiritual application of literal events, 2:1-27. The “day of the Lord” is no longer imminent, it is there. 2:1 and 2:11. The “day of the Lord” is expressed in terms of the locust invasion. The people are called to repent. “Rend your heart and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God.”

‍ ‍ The effect of change in them will have the appearance of God changing. God will work to bless rather than to bring to repentance. Then will be seen God’s ability to redeem and restore. 2:18-27.

‍ ‍· Material blessing—v19, I am sending you; v20, I will remove; v23, and He will cause to come down for you the rain; v25, I will restore the years; v27, I am the Lord your God.

‍ ‍· Spiritual blessing.

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II. The Blessing and Judgment of God, 2:28-3:21.

‍ ‍· Sidelight from the Hebrew, 2:28-32 seen as 3:1-5.

‍ ‍· The Messianic Prophecy, read 2:28-32.

‍ ‍· Fulfillment in Acts, read 2:16f.

‍ ‍· Joel tells what is yet to be, 3:1-21. Judah and Jerusalem will be avenged, vv1-8; v2, in the valley of Jehosaphat, II Chronicles 20:26; v3, cast lots for my people; v8, what you did will be done to you.

‍ ‍· War and Judgment upon the Nations, vv9-16; we supply our best, v9; God will supply the rest, v11.

‍ ‍· God’s everlasting Blessing upon His people, vv8-21.

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References

________________________

1Thomson, W.M. (2019, January 30). The Land and the Book. https://archive.org/details/39020001828188-thelandandthebo

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Fritha Dinwiddie 7/10/26 Fritha Dinwiddie 7/10/26

A MISSIONARY IN HIDING

‍ ‍#512 A MISSIONARY IN HIDING

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Scripture Jonah 1:1-3; 3:1-3, NIV

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Orig. 8/11/1968

‍ Rewr. 12/7/1990

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Passage: 1:1The word of the Lord came to Jonah‍ ‍son of Amittai: 2"Go to the great city of Nineveh and

‍ ‍preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." 3But Jonah ran away from the Lord and‍ ‍

headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee‍ from the Lord.

‍ ‍3:1Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2"Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you." 3Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a‍ very important city—a visit required three days.‍

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Purpose: To share a message with my people during a major mission emphasis of our perceived concern for our mission responsibility.

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Keywords: Commitment Missions Revelation Disobedience

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Timeline/Series: Mission Promotion

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Introduction Pro 2-90p23

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On May 20, 1987, a strange item was read in our newspapers. A West German youth had leased an American-built Cessna airplane and started the first leg of an unbelievable journey. Extra gas tanks were placed in the rear, and he flew first to Helsinki where he filed a final and fictitious flight plan. He wasn’t going where he said he was going.‍ ‍

In fact, he wound up a few hours later looking literally down the barrels of the armor of Soviet warplanes. With fool-hardy abandon, he flew his little craft toward the most heavily guarded city in the world.‍ ‍

He flew on to the city of Moscow with a bevy of these Russian fighters following his every move. He located Red Square, and literally flew around the Kremlin, the seat of government. Unbelievably, he then landed the Cessna on the cobblestone pavement of Red Square.‍ ‍

Surprisingly, he was not fired upon. He left the airplane, waved to the surprised crowd, and as he was arrested and taken away, he explained that he just wanted to talk to the Soviet people. I am not sure what he wanted to say. Perhaps just “Hello! How are you?”‍ ‍

Jonah had something he didn’t want to say. It was a message of great importance, urgency even, but he thought better of it. Instead of dangerously running into the face of the enemy, he just as dangerously went the other way. God called him to a task, and his inclination was to get by, callously hiding his missionary credentials.

‍ ‍‍ ‍I. First, There is a Clear Mandate from God. V5, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.”

‍ ‍ A mandate to a chosen messenger. God effects a sovereign choice. Jonah can be easily perceived as a mistake, a malcontent, a rebel. But then, others whom God has chosen were not that different. Moses: reared in luxury, accepted responsibility, ran from it, married a Gentile, made all those excuses. David: of huge ego, proud, became immoral, enamored of himself. Simon: bold, brazen, little patience, no culture.

‍ ‍ He is still choosing His messengers. Either, He has saved you or in the attempt you spurned it. We’re still enamored of ourselves. We use the same stale excuses.

‍ ‍ Not only was the messenger chosen, the message was made clear. The West German youth just wanted to be chummy, to say, “Hallo!” Jonah was to tell Nineveh that their sins stank, but, more importantly, that God loved them and wanted to forgive them.

‍ ‍ People get caught up in the whale. Did he/didn’t he? Could he/couldn’t he? When we make our peace with God, and His love, such things as whales are neither intellectual nor emotional ___. You see, for the believer, the whale becomes an instrument for deliverance. ‍ ‍

But if this exacting message was to get through, a committed messenger would be required. Somewhat more is required than belief. Jonah clearly believed. He believed so strongly that God would forgive that he went elsewhere. He presumed wrongly that he could keep it from happening.‍ ‍

With belief is the need for conciliation. God’s judgments are just. The best investment that I can make in my life is to yield to His will.‍

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II. Next, Is a Missionary in Hiding. V3, “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

At the outset, it is simply a refusal to comply with this mandate to serve. Jonah was the sovereign choice of God for the redemption of Nineveh. The Hebrew people lost sight of the intermediary posture of being “chosen.” Through them God had chosen the way that He would affect world-wide reconciliation.‍ ‍

Many are yet like Isaac, taken as he was with Abraham to Mt. Moriah: Helping to prepare the altar, he asked, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Most of us are no more willing than Isaac “to be offered up.”‍ ‍

Missionaries tell of methodology of the church in India. The convert being baptized is required to place his own hands on his head saying, “Woe unto me if I preach not the gospel,” I Corinthians 9:16.

‍ ‍ There are various ways that we accommodate such seclusion in our lives:

‍ ‍· Refusal to give up hidden sins of the flesh—Not something that we struggle with without effect; a recognized indiscretion that we refuse to part with.‍ ‍

· One of the works of the Holy Spirit is to convict of sin—To deny Him right of reproof is to willfully exclude God.‍ ‍

· To refuse opportunities for growth as Christians is to hide our witness—List the avenues in your life that are directly related to your faith; list the things that go on in your church of which you have no part. Do you want your community to perceive of you as Christian? Other?‍‍ ‍

The most obvious now is to deny stewardship opportunity. Is regular financial support an integral part of my faith? Am I doing what I can? Should?‍ ‍

How seriously do I take the idea of participation in Jesus’ birthday? Lottie Moon goal is $86 million. Participation at 20-25%. What could we do if our best? Do you remember who Lottie Moon was? After 40 years, perceived her Chinese friends starving, began to go without food until [she] fell seriously ill, put on a boat to USA. Died at sea.‍

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III. The Final Note Is One of Ministry. 3:3, “So Jonah arose and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.”

There are social responsibilities that are not to be denied. We are to feed and clothe the destitute. We are to protest injustice. We are to champion unpopular but righteous causes.

The responsibility to share the gospel creatively is just as demanding. Jesus championed social causes. He died for the sin of men and women,

‍ ‍ Jesus left a message through John that we deliberately downplay. Religious leaders reacted negatively to His claim to be “the living bread.” Those who “ate His flesh and drank His blood” had eternal life. John 6:66, “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him.”

‍ ‍ He, of course, did not literally mean to cannibalize Him, but to be at one with Him in life and death.

‍ ‍ Are you “at one” today with Jesus? Or, are you a believer taking the easy road to faith?

‍ ‍ You believe the gospel, but you don’t want it to cost you anything? You didn’t place your hands on your head and say “Woe unto me if. . .”?

‍ ‍ It’s easier being “a missionary in hiding,” or is it?‍‍ ‍

Conclusion‍ ‍

During WW2, workmen were building a cathedral in a city on the coast of England. The city was bombed again and again. “Why do you continue to build when the next bomb may destroy all?” ‍ ‍

“Everytime those bombers come this way, we want them to see the spires of this cathedral, and to know that we still have faith in eternal things.”

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Give us, O God, the strength to build

‍ ‍ that city that hath stood

Too long a dream, whose laws are love,
Whose crown is servanthood.‍ ‍

Already in the mind of God ‍ ‍

That city riseth fair‍ ‍

Yea, bids us seize the whole of life ‍ ‍

And build that city there.1

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1 https://hymnary.org/hymn/EH1982/583

1 Public domain: Bowie, WR. O Holy City, Seen of John. (1910). In HYMNS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, Harper & Row.

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Fritha Dinwiddie 7/10/26 Fritha Dinwiddie 7/10/26

A PROPHET RESIGNS

#101 A PROPHET RESIGNS

Scripture Jonah 1:1-2:10, NIV

Orig. 7/1/1964

Rewr. 5/17/1989

Passage: 1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.

6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.” 7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)

Purpose: Beginning a two-part series on Jonah, here telling the story of a prophet who resigns his commission.

Keywords: Bible Study Disobedience

Series: Old Testament Prophets

Introduction

The story contained here is relatively simple. God calls a man by the name of Jonah to go to a place called Nineveh to denounce her wickedness. Nineveh was a real place, Jonah was a real prophet. But instead of occupying himself with what God has called him to do, Jonah, for reasons of his own, chooses to disobey. In fact, he acts upon the call by going in the opposite direction.

His reasoning does not reflect deep spiritual insight, but it certainly does reflect the posture of man who believed in God’s power to redeem. It was potential to success that drove him to other considerations.

On board that ship, they encounter a storm. Jonah is thrown overboard as a compensation to Jehovah, and is at once swallowed by a “great fish.” Three days later he was disgorged back near where he boarded the ship. The three days had given him time to re-think his position, and when the call came to him again to go to Nineveh, he concurred. True to God’s original expectation, when Jonah preached, the Ninevites repented.

Jonah left Nineveh in a huff, found a place to observe what would happen, and angrily waited. He wanted God to give them what they deserved. A small plant grew up and shaded the prophet. Then the plant died, and Jonah again became angry. He then had to face up to the principle teaching of the book that God, unlike Jonah, was more interested in the needs of the people, than he was for the tenure of a worthless plant.

I. There are Background Questions to Consider. V1, “Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying. . . .”

We need to authenticate Jonah. II Kings 14:25, “According to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gath-hepher.”

Amaziah is dead, Uzziah comes to the throne. Jeroboam II in the northern kingdom. Thus, we learn he is a real person, that his home was in Galilee, and that he lived about 800 B.C. He comes from a devoted family. Jeroboam’s reign was one of material success. In fact, it seems to have been Jeroboam II who kept Assyria at bay.

We do not need to prove that Jonah wrote the book. It doesn’t contain oracles or visions. It contains life episodes told in the third person. Could have been written immediately after Jonah’s time, or 200 or more years later.

The book has a strong historical following: The book of Tobit (14th Century, BC); Josephus; Philo (1st Century Jewish philosopher). The early church accepted it. Christ quoted it (Matthew 12:38f—“no sign except”).

It is important to deal with the book as a possible allegory. Those who say it is spurious, a fake, we will ignore. There is spiritual truth given on occasion through allegory. There is no other Biblical event where a historical figure was used in allegory, telling a story figuratively or symbolically. Jonah stands for Israel/Has been commissioned to make Yahweh known to Gentiles/Refuses/Is swallowed up in exile/Repents/Given a 2nd chance.

Where the grumps have a problem, of course, is with the fish. Most refer to it as a “whale” though the text indicates “great fish” (special). Baxter calls it a “prepared” fish. Greek of Jesus refers to sea-monster which indicates Jesus’ belief. There are stories of whales taken in which were human remains. One seaman, James Bartley, disgorged stated he could have lived to starve.

We need to think through his possible reasons for refusal to go to Nineveh.

· A natural fear of another culture. Their inhumanity was well-attested.

· People, then and now, have a deep protestation against other religions.

· The prophet wanted to be among the known of Israel, not wasted in Assyria.

· Believing God to be a redeeming God, he would not be the instrument of delivery.

· To escape God, “flee from the presence of the Lord,” v3. Psalm 139:8, “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in sheol, behold, thou art there.” At home, reminders are everywhere. At Tarshish (?)

· Simply, he did not want Nineveh spared. 4:2, “I fled . . . for I knew that thou art a gracious God.”

We can piece together what Jonah’s rationale must have been.

· Prophesied during Jeroboam’s reign.

· Jeroboam II’s son Zechariah reigned six months.

· Assassinated by Shallum (1 month).

· Assassinated by Menahem (10 years).

· But early on, Assyria is mentioned.

· Later prophets will point to struggles with Assyria.

· There is an earlier struggle with Syria. See II Kings 13:5f. See Bib. Illus. Sp83p82.

· Apparently, Jonah reacted against what would be a nation of power.

Fritha Dinwiddie 5/22/26 Fritha Dinwiddie 5/22/26

HOSEA—PROPHET OF GRAPHIC INTROSPECTION

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#682 HOSEA—PROPHET OF GRAPHIC INTROSPECTION

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Scripture Hosea 2:1-23, NIV

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Orig. 10/26/1977

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Passage: [a]“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’

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Israel Punished and Restored

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2 “Rebuke your mother, rebuke her,
    for she is not my wife,
    and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous look from her face
    and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise I will strip her naked
    and make her as bare as on the day she was born;
I will make her like a desert,
    turn her into a parched land,
    and slay her with thirst.
4 I will not show my love to her children,
    because they are the children of adultery.
5 Their mother has been unfaithful
    and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
    who give me my food and my water,
    my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
    I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
7 She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
    she will look for them but not find them.
Then she will say,
    ‘I will go back to my husband as at first,
    for then I was better off than now.’
8 She has not acknowledged that I was the one
    who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,
who lavished on her the silver and gold—
    which they used for Baal.

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9 “Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens,
    and my new wine when it is ready.
I will take back my wool and my linen,
    intended to cover her naked body.
10 So now I will expose her lewdness
    before the eyes of her lovers;
    no one will take her out of my hands.
11 I will stop all her celebrations:
    her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
    her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.
12 I will ruin her vines and her fig trees,
    which she said were her pay from her lovers;
I will make them a thicket,
    and wild animals will devour them.
13 I will punish her for the days
    she burned incense to the Baals;
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
    and went after her lovers,
    but me she forgot,”
declares the Lord.

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14 “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
    I will lead her into the wilderness
    and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
    and will make the Valley of Achor[b] a door of hope.
There she will respond[c] as in the days of her youth,
    as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

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16 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “you will call me ‘my husband’;
    you will no longer call me ‘my master.[d]’
17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
    no longer will their names be invoked.
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
    with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
    and the creatures that move along the ground.
Bow and sword and battle
    I will abolish from the land,
    so that all may lie down in safety.
19 I will betroth you to me forever;
    I will betroth you in[e] righteousness and justice,
    in[f] love and compassion.
20 I will betroth you in[g] faithfulness,
    and you will acknowledge the Lord.

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21 “In that day I will respond,”
    declares the Lord—
“I will respond to the skies,
    and they will respond to the earth;
22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
    the new wine and the olive oil,
    and they will respond to Jezreel.[h]
23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
    I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.[i]’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,[j]’ ‘You are my people’;
    and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”

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Introduction

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Approximately half a life-time would pass between the death of Jeroboam II and the Assyrian invasion that would spell the end of the northern kingdom. Hosea, then, probably reached adulthood soon before the death of that king. He was sensitive enough to know what was going on among the people. Little could he imagine, however, that he would be called upon to be the prophet of graphic introspection. Hosea would be called upon to do things for the purpose of spiritual introspection for the nation.

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Because they [would be] unfaithful brides, Hosea would be called upon to wed a woman of harlotry. Because God’s spiritual children were being directed to the gods of the nations, the prophet’s children, at least the children of the prophet’s wife, would be given names by which Hosea would call them, that proved that they were not his children. Because the nation had chased off after other lovers, Hosea would stand by helplessly as his wife left him to return to his lovers of the past. It would be commonly accepted knowledge the wife of the prophet was unfaithful to him and publicly flaunted it.

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Finally, because God was in the business of bringing His people to repentance, and because He would willingly receive them back to Himself again, the prophet would willingly open his life again to this woman without virtue who comes back to him only when she has nowhere else to go. And Hosea would do it all gladly, so that the people would understand the love of God.

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I. Hosea’s Marriage: The Symbol of Crisis, Chapters 1-3.

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Hosea’s character is questioned. Gomer was his chosen bride. Her harlotry could have preceded. It could have followed her marriage.

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The children of the union [were] Jezreel (“God shall sow”), Lo-ruhamah (“not loved” [or] “no mercy”), and Loammi (“not my people”).

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The names of the two children are called back to our attention in chapter 2. “Say to your brothers, ‘My people’; to your sisters, ‘Objects of my mercy.’” 2:22f, “The fruit of the earth shall answer for Jezreel. Israel shall be my new sowing in the land, and I will show love to Lo-ruhamah, and say to Loammi, ‘You are my people,’ and he will say, ‘Thou art my God’” (NEB). And in 14:3, “Neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, ‘Ye are our gods’; for in Thee the fatherless find mercy.”

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No way this could be an allegory. Certainly much can be made of the symbolic names. No symbolism in using "Gomer.” A prophet was chosen in whose life and experience the sin of the nation could be revealed.

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Dealing with sin realistically: Gomer has sinned and she must pay. The nation likewise. Only after proper restitution is paid will restoration be made. The offended party goes in search of the offending one. Love finds a way.

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Jeremiah 3 has an interesting parallel.

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II. Israel’s Sin—The Indictment of Evidence, Chapters 4-7.

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Hosea 4:1, The Lord has a controversy with the people of the land because there is no truth, mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. Religious leaders—“Like people, like priest” (4:9). Princes—“Give ear, O house of the king” (5:1). People—“They sacrifice on the top of the mountains, and make offerings upon the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth because their shade is good” (4:13). Their foreign policy—“Ephraim is like a silly dove. . . . They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria” (7:11).

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II Kings 15:19, Menahem; 17:1, Hoshea; 18:13-15, kings of Judah (Hezekiah).

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III. Israel’s Punishment—The Judgment of Compromise, Chapters 8-10.

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The judgment upon Samaria’s false religion, Hosea 8:6. The calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces. Jeroboam I had arranged to keep them away from the temple.

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Judgment upon their lifestyle, Hosea 9:6. Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver; thorns shall be in their tents. Hosea 10:1, Israel is a luxuriant (empty) vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built.

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IV. Israel’s Restoration—The Yearning of Covenant Love, Chapters 11-14.

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The love of the father for his child. Hosea 11:1, When Israel was a child, I loved him.

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Love of the husband for his wife. Hosea 11:4, How shall I give thee up?

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Love of the parent in the regret of necessary punishment. Hosea 12:9, I that am the Lord thy God from the Land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles.

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It is the Love of One who has chanced all on the outcome of love and has won. Hosea 14:8, Ephraim shall say, what have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him and observed him: I am like a green fir tree, from me is thy fruit found.

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Fritha Dinwiddie 5/22/26 Fritha Dinwiddie 5/22/26

AS THE HEBREW WORLD TURNED

#681 AS THE HEBREW WORLD TURNED

Scripture Hosea

Recapitulation, 10/19/1977

Introduction

With the coming of Hosea upon the scene, we approach the end of an era. It was pointed out last week that Hosea would be the last prophet to the people of the Northern Kingdom, called Israel or Samaria (the capital). Before we conclude the history of the prophets as related to the ten northern tribes, an overview of the contemporary scene is in order. We need to understand, before Israel is phased out, what was happening in the world of the Hebrew complex.

Our study will move into a neutral gear at this point: The contemporary Hebrew complex tonight; the prophet Hosea next Wednesday, the Lord willing; and a review of the structure as related to the prophets the week after that. We may well be taking a break at that point. Wednesday nights during November and December have a preliminary priority. There will be an extra business night, a mission emphasis, Thanksgiving, some Christmas music, etc. We will probably continue after the first of the year, and Isaiah will be our first subject. I will be happy to have the extra time to capsulize such a prophet as he.

Let me encourage you to read ahead. Hosea for next Wednesday. (Pass out outlines.) Start Isaiah for completion in December. If the interest is sustained, we will continue with the other eleven prophets.

I. The Political Scene: From Stability to Chaos.

Following the great years of the united kingdoms under David and Solomon, came division, 922BC. Next, a century and a half of deterioration. In 786BC, Jeroboam II became Israel’s king. 783BC, Uzziah became Judah’s king. These two men would reverse the trend.

It was a time of peace and prosperity. No foreign nation strong enough. The only warfare of the period was Israel and Judah in expansion rumblings. Prosperous trade agreements. Forward reaching agricultural progress. 2 Chronicles 26:10 Uzziah—towers, wells. Amos “winter and summer house.” External peace and prosperity overshadowed internal spiritual sickness.

It would do the Western nations much good to consider their own plight. Amos: For 3 transgressions and for 4. Amos 3:2, You only have I known, therefore I will punish you.

Hosea 4-7, Israel’s sin. 4:1, Hear the Word of the Lord ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

II. A Pinpoint of Political Upheaval.

You can mark down the year, 746BC. As long as even the corrupt Jeroboam lived, there was stability. In twenty-six years—six kings total, unrelated—most assassinated. Each with his own foreign policy (Hosea 5:13 / 7:11 / 12:1). Religious inequities undermined (Hosea 4 / 8:13 / 13:1-3).

But don’t overlook what happened outside. 745BC Tiglath-Pileser III (Pul) seized the Assyrian throne. Within two years he was secure and ready to conquer the world. Pact between Syria-Rezin and Israel-Pekah (2 Kings 15:29-16:10 / 2 Chronicles 28 / Isaiah 7). Ahaz-Judah appeals to Tiglath-Pileser. Assyrian record indicates Hoshea who was assassin.

Pekah was in fact appointed by Tiglath-Pileser. He was a proper vassal king until Tiglath-Pileser’s death. He tried to pull away (II Kings 17:1f).

Shalmaneser summoned and imprisoned Hoshea and marched on Samaria [in] 724BC. Late in 722BC, Samaria fell. Records indicate 27,290 leaders [were] deported. Captives from Babylon, Hamath came in. Hosea 5:7 [shows] dealt treacherously.

Conclusion

The circumstances of these years caused the prophets to wear heavily the judgment of God. Moral corruption, social injustice, religious ritualism demand the prophetic message. Israel’s sin is intolerable—God is Holy. Israel’s sin shall be punished—God is just. Israel shall be restored—God is Love.

The ten tribes will be definitive no more. The Northern Kingdom will cease. The remnant will survive.

· Amos 3:12, “As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s [mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued].”

· Hosea 13:8, “Devour like a lion.”

· Hosea 14:4, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.”

· Hosea 14:7, “They that dwell under his shadow shall return.”—God, Messiah, but probably is a reference to the kingdom promise of covenant. The repentant of any age and clime and circumstance can believe that God will restore the penitent.

Fritha Dinwiddie 5/21/26 Fritha Dinwiddie 5/21/26

THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA

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#572 THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA

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Scripture Hosea 1:2-5, NIV

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Orig. 8/22/1971; Rewr. 6/21/1989

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Passage: 2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” 3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

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4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”

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Purpose: Continuing a Prayer Meeting study in the Old Testament prophets, here examining background material as it relates to a prophet and his call.

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Keywords: Bible Study Love of God Judgment Unfaithfulness Restoration

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Timeline/Series: Sequential

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Introduction

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Though Hosea appears first among the minor prophets, called the “twelve,” chronologically, he does not appear until after Joel, Jonah, and Amos have already appeared. They were more or less contemporary, called the “Eighth Century prophets.”

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Joel prophesied to the people of the Southern Kingdom. Jonah was sent from the Southern Kingdom to address the sins of an up-and-coming power that would confront the Northern Kingdom. Amos went up from the Southern Kingdom to proclaim God’s word to the people in Samaria.

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Hosea only of the prophets was native to the Northern Kingdom. He joins Amos as the only other who would prophesy to the people of the Northern Kingdom—Israel or Samaria.

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You, perhaps, are aware that his name means “Yahweh delivers,” and as such is identical with the name “Joshua.”

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What is unique about Hosea is not so much his message as his method. He was chosen, out of a context of marital infidelity, to be an example to the people of their unfaithfulness to God. When he lived is no problem. He, himself, describes the time (V1). He is mentioned only here. His father is mentioned nowhere else. Some describe him to be the fruit of some other prophet’s imagination. He is merely an allegory put to use to make a point. Not so! It is the story of compromised love under the stress of the times.

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We have described previously the time of Joel and Jonah and Amos. It was a time of material imbalance. The rich grew richer. The poor, poorer. God’s word must touch the lives of all of them.

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I. Examining the Prophecy in Profile. V1, “The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, son of Joash.”

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There were no more than fifty years between the death of Jeroboam and the Assyrian invasion. Hezekiah was on the throne in Judah. A kind of renewal was taking place. But in the north, debauchery was everywhere.

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George Adam Smith, “It is not only as in Amos, the sins of the luxurious, of them that are at ease in Zion, which are exposed; but literal bloodshed, highway robbery/murder, abetted by the priests . . . . Israel’s self-reliance is gone. She is as fluttered as a startled bird; ‘They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria,’ (Hosea 7:11). But everything is hopeless. Kings cannot save. For Ephraim is seized in the pangs of a fatal crisis.”

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One named Jehu had been the instrument of judgment upon the earlier sins of Israel. Jehu’s sons to the fourth generation were to come to the throne. II Kings 10:30; II Kings 15:12: “And so it came to pass.” Jehoahaz (17), Jehoash (16), Jeroboam II (4), and Zechariah (6 mo.) From the time of Jeroboam II, a grim picture comes into view. Of Jehu and his descendants evil “departed not from the sins of Jeroboam.” II Kings 10:31, 13:2, 13:11, 14:24, 15:9 (6 mo.) The rest of the story is one of assassination. Zechariah (6mo), Shallum (1mo), Manahem (10 y died), Pekahiah (2y), Pekah (20y), Hoshea (9y captivity).

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Sidlow Baxter

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“Things were even worse morally and spiritually than they were politically. Ever since the days of the first Jeroboam, when the ten tribes had disrupted from the house of David to form a separate kingdom, the worship of the golden calf at Bethel had been a snare to Israel. Although the Bethel calf was supposed at first to represent Jehovah, yet more and more the idol itself became the object of worship. . . . Thus the way was paved for the coarse, cruel nature-worship associated with the names of Baal and Ashteroth, with all the attendant abominations of child sacrifice and revolting licentiousness.”

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II. Hosea’s Marriage Became the Symbol of the Crisis. V2, “Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms.”

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Thus is established the insensibility of sin. Hosea is pictured as from a faithful remnant of spiritual people. He chooses a woman named Gomer as wife. He is directed to take a prostitute for a wife.

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Zanah—fornicate, apostatize; or, he is told to take a woman out of such a culture.

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Eretz—land (with its inhabitants).

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He chooses one with a propensity to moral failure. Some thus call it an allegory. The marriage produces three children: Jezreel—“God sows”; Lo-ruhamah—“not loved” (uncertain); Loammi—“not my people” (no doubt).

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God will assess their sin and punish it: They will respond as a people not loved (Proverbs 13:24); separated from God they become foreigners. But the heart of God is revealed here and the intent of the book. V6, “I will have mercy, . . . I will take them away.” V10, “In the place where it was said unto them, ye are not my people. . . .”

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The guilt of sin at every age is going to be measured and manifested. Gomer was guilty as charged. She pays. Her sin is like the sin of the nation. They, too, must pay for their sin. Once restitution has been made, restoration is in order. Hosea 2:23, “And I will say to them which were not my people, ‘Thou art my people’; and they shall say, ‘Thou art my God.’”

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The supreme criterion of relationship is love. Gomer accepts Hosea’s proposal. For a time the marriage is wholesome, v3. In boredom she seeks other pursuits, 2:5. Hosea seeks her out and redeems her from so-called friends who enslaved her. He seeks to do, not as the law allows, but as love demands. Jeremiah 3:1, “. . . ‘Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me,’ saith the Lord.”

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III. Israel’s Sin: The Indictment of Circumstance. Hosea 4:1, “Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.”

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It is with the nation. Four of last five commandments (4:2). The land will be affected by this human distraction (4:3).

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It is with the religious leaders: striving between people/priest (4:4); priests have forgotten the law; prophets “fall” used both figuratively and in relation to their roles; people/priests (4:9) instead of strengthening are enticing to ruin. Hosea 5:1, “. . . and my people love to have it so.”

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There is a mediating word to Judah (Hosea 4;15). Be different in worship (v15). Be different in obedience (v16).

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Stopped at Animal Land near Dallas. Children’s zoo revealed a pesky goat trying to feed anywhere, whatever. A lamb nearby waiting docilely to be fed.

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The next chapter reveals that Judah will not heed this warning (Hosea 5:5).

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They have therefore sinned and are marked for judgment. God waits for sincere repentance (Hosea 5:15). He is not moved by their insincerity. Hosea 6:4, “goodness as a morning cloud”; 6:6, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” Three things in Israel that God hates: Compromise (7:7,8a), limited development (7:8b), unconscious decay (7:9).

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IV. Israel’s Punishment: The Judgment of Compromise. Hosea 8:4-10, “They have set up kings,, but not by me. They have made princes, and I knew it not: . . . they have made them idols. . . . Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off. . . .”

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There is judgment on compromise in political life. Hosea 8:4, “They have set up kings, but not by me; they have made princes, and I knew it not. We will do well to remember that we do not surprise God. The sense of “knew it not” is that God had not been sought for direction.

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There was judgment on compromise in religious life. 8:5, “Thy calf, O Samaria.” 8:11, “Ephraim hath made many altars to sin.” 8:12, “I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.”

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There was judgment on compromise in economic betterment. 8:14, “Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I shall send a fire . . . and it shall devour the palaces thereof.” 9:2, “The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.”

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There was judgment on compromise in family life. 9:12, “Though they bring up their children yet I will bereave them.” 9:16, “Though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.”

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V. Israel’s Restoration: The Yearning of Covenant Love.

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It is the passionate love of a true father for the child. Hosea 11:1, “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.” Same word “love” used by God of Abraham for Isaac (Genesis 22:2). The weight of spiritual/moral things should be pressed upon parents. Getting them involved in drug alert.

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More, it is the burning love of a husband for his wife. See 11:7-12 picture of betrayal and rebellion. 11:8, “How shall I give up, Ephraim?” Isaiah 62:4,5, portrays this idea. The pastor is allowed to look in on great love affairs.

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It is the love of a parent in the deep regret of some necessary punishment. This is going to hurt me more than you. Tough love. Hosea 12:9, “And I that am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles.”

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It is the love of one who has chanced all on the outcome of love. 14:8, “Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree: from me is thy fruit found.”

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Isaiah 58:11, “And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden.”

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Links and References

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Smith https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Adam-Smith

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Baxter https://www.abebooks.com/9780801012747/Sidlow-Baxter-Heart-Awake-Authorized-0801012740/plp?ref_=ps_ms_267691761&cm_mmc=msn-_-comus_dsa-_-naa-_-naa&msclkid=44c75692fc1f135ed4373c9a7a986da2

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#572 THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAH

Scripture Hosea 1:2-5, NIV

Orig. 8/22/1971; Rewr. 6/21/1989

Purpose: Continuing a Prayer Meeting study in the Old Testament prophets, here examining background material as it relates to a prophet and his call.

Keywords: Bible Study Love of God Judgment Unfaithfulness Restoration

Timeline/Series: Sequential

Introduction

Hosea only of the prophets was native to the Northern Kingdom. He joins Amos as the only other who would prophesy to the people of the Northern Kingdom—Israel or Samaria.

You, perhaps, are aware that his name means “Yahweh delivers,” and as such is identical with the name “Joshua.”

We have described previously the time of Joel and Jonah and Amos. It was a time of material imbalance. The rich grew richer. The poor, poorer. God’s word must touch the lives of all of them.

Sidlow Baxter

II. Hosea’s Marriage Became the Symbol of the Crisis. V2, “Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms.”

Thus is established the insensibility of sin. Hosea is pictured as from a faithful remnant of spiritual people. He chooses a woman named Gomer as wife. He is directed to take a prostitute for a wife.

Zanah—fornicate, apostatize; or, he is told to take a woman out of such a culture.

Eretz—land (with its inhabitants).

III. Israel’s Sin: The Indictment of Circumstance. Hosea 4:1, “Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.”

It is with the nation. Four of last five commandments (4:2). The land will be affected by this human distraction (4:3).

There is a mediating word to Judah (Hosea 4;15). Be different in worship (v15). Be different in obedience (v16).

Stopped at Animal Land near Dallas. Children’s zoo revealed a pesky goat trying to feed anywhere, whatever. A lamb nearby waiting docilely to be fed.

The next chapter reveals that Judah will not heed this warning (Hosea 5:5).

V. Israel’s Restoration: The Yearning of Covenant Love.

Isaiah 58:11, “And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden.”

Links and References

Smith https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Adam-Smith

Baxter https://www.abebooks.com/9780801012747/Sidlow-Baxter-Heart-Awake-Authorized-0801012740/plp?ref_=ps_ms_267691761&cm_mmc=msn-_-comus_dsa-_-naa-_-naa&msclkid=44c75692fc1f135ed4373c9a7a986da2

Fritha Dinwiddie 5/22/25 Fritha Dinwiddie 5/22/25

IN COVENANT TO GROW

#472 IN COVENANT TO GROW

Scripture Ecclesiastes 12:10-14; Acts 10:35 NIV Orig. 3/3/1968

Rewr. 10/1969, 9/20/1976

Passage:

Ecclesiastes 12:

10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.

11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd.[a] 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

13 Now all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
    for this is the duty of all mankind.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
    including every hidden thing,
    whether it is good or evil.

Acts 10

35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.

Introduction

I read an article last week that began, “The old taboos are dead or dying. A new, more permissive society is taking shape.” One man was quoted as saying, “The emphasis is on the senses and the release of the sensual. All the old codes have been broken down.”

Let me tell you about two men whom I knew. About 15 years ago one was working on the then-new Red River Bridge in Alexandria. He lost his balance and fell 86 feet to the river bank, not into the water, or soft mud, but onto a pile of plywood sheeting that had been used on pier forms. I saw him a few months back, and one who didn’t know would say “the law of gravity has broken down.”

Another, not yet old enough to vote, jumped from a plane as a paratrooper only to look up and face the horror of an unopened chute. To see him today one who didn’t know would say “the law of gravity has broken down.”

I, for one, am glad that prudery and hypocrisy in morality are dead or dying. But to think that we can exist without morality and codes of conduct is as foolish as saying that we can exist without gravity and natural law.

Let us not think that out of the ashes . . . (illegible).

I. Growing in Community Consciousness. Psalms 15:1-33, “Lord, who will abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.”

Walking circumspectly. The word “circumspectly” means looking about cautiously in all directions. It is like the soldier on patrol—the needing to keep in contact with his unit, his primary duty is to search for hidden danger. Not an injunction to search for inconsistencies in others. A warning to stay away from threats, temptations.

Just in our dealings. A word with many meanings. For our use here it is to be consistent, impartial. We are to treat all men fairly. We are to take advantage of none. Romans 12:17, Provide things honest in the sight of all men. I still get amused at these movies that continue to beset us. The Indian chief speaks to the army major and says, “White man speaks with forked tongue.” It is too often true.

Faithful in our engagements. We could begin by saying it is an injunction for the deacon to take the office seriously. Active, energetic, faithful. We could call attention to laity on part of church workers—absenteeism about 25%. Sometimes I think preachers have created some of the problem. We left impression that the record is tithing—the very Sunday you lay out may be the Sunday God needed you for something great.

Exemplary in our deportment. God does not call us to go on crusades against the sins of the world until we have learned to deal with our own sin. But God is not ashamed to have any forgiven sinner, no matter how heinous his sin, to speak a word for Him.

Christlikeness is the order of the day. Living so as to reveal God’s love to those around us and those we chance to meet.

II. Growing in Family Faithfulness. Genesis 18:19, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do what is right and just.”

Maintain family devotions. This does not refer to grace at meals. Let us observe grace at home and abroad in the land. It is a time of planned Bible devotion. A parent or parents and children, reading together the word of God. Praying together for greater grace. (More strength to use prevailing grace.) It is one of the most difficult acts of Christian consciousness. I don’t know how often we have started on a few days, and some interruption or other [gets in the way]. Teaching our families to love and respect, but not worship, the Bible.

Religiously educate our children. It is first of all a job to be done at home. Most tragic verse in Bible is Jeremiah 7:18, “The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.” We stop helping them in school work when they get beyond our school experience. Could this be the reason you do not help them in their spiritual exercises?

Then there is Sunday School. Sunday School is a Bible teaching organization—the sincere application of Bible truth is the teacher’s first responsibility. Gossip handled tactfully and discreetly. Training Union is Training for Christians. You say “I don’t get anything.” Of course not, you don’t give anything. You don’t enjoy it. You enjoy Ed Sullivan more.

Missionary organizations—115 million lost Americans above age of accountability.

Avoid all tattling, backbiting, excessive anger. This does not refer to temporary occasions of misunderstanding: husbands and wives, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, teachers and parents, neighbors, relatives, any two people who spend time in association or chancing a misunderstanding.

This speaks directly to the person who delights in someone else’s troubles. It also directs us to seek accord when occasions of misunderstanding arise, and room is left for anger, but not excessive anger.

III. Growing in Personal Perceptivity. Haggai 1:7, “Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, consider your ways.” I Corinthians 11:31, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”

Maintain secret devotions. A time of reverent study. I Timothy 4:13, “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” A time of quiet meditation.

Seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances. This you must settle at home in quietness of your own life.

Abstain from the sale of and the use of intoxicating beverages. Anything that limits our performance as a person, anything that weakens our witness. New Orleans pot party—2-year-old killed on Friday—mother reported him missing 7 hours later. Charged with negligence.

Closing

Morality is the way a man reacts in regard to his fellow human beings. For the Christian, morality is the effort to advance the Kingdom of our Saviour.

Article 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice—A man is chargeable and punishable for bringing discredit upon the military establishment.

Paul’s admonition to Timothy—Endure as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Fritha Dinwiddie 4/26/25 Fritha Dinwiddie 4/26/25

THE PARABLE OF THE TABERNACLE

#605 THE PARABLE OF THE TABERNACLE

Scripture Exodus 25:1-9; Hebrews 9:6-14 Orig. 2/17/1973

Rewr. 8/27/1990

Passage:

Exodus 25:1-9

25 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give. 3 These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; 4 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 5 ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather[a]; acacia wood; 6 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 8 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.

Hebrews 9:6-14

6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

The Blood of Christ

11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here,[a] he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining[b] eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[c] so that we may serve the living God!

Purpose: Continuing a PM series on Old Testament parables, here describing the tabernacle and its latent type teaching fulfilled in Christ.

Keywords: Symbolism of Christ Hebrews History Tabernacle

Old Testament Parables

Timeline/Series: Old Testament Parables

Introduction

Recall of the function of the Hebrew High Priest is surely appropriate here. Yearly, on the 10th day of the 7th month (October), the Day of Atonement was celebrated as the most sacred day of the year.

On this one day, the High Priest took the fresh blood of sacrifice into the Holy of Holies, where he alone was permitted to enter. He renewed Israel’s covenant with God by sprinkling the blood upon the ‘throne of Jehovah,’ the Mercy Seat covering the Ark of the Covenant. Contained herein were their most treasured relics: the urn of manna, the rod of Aaron, and the two tablets of the covenant. (See Hebrews 9:4, Numbers 17:10.)

Returning from this mediatorial act, the High Priest then chose a living animal (goat), placed both of his own hands on the head of the goat and confessed the sins of the people. The animal was then driven away to suffer death at the hand of providence, thus becoming the blood offering wrought at God’s hand for all the sins of Israel.

The blood offering in the Holy of Holies covered unwittingly committed sin in the Holy Place. Consciously committed sin of the people was transferred to the scapegoat (Leviticus 16:10), for the transference of their guilt to the goat.

The parable (Hebrews 9:9—parabolē) calls to mind all the rich imagery of the Hebrew religion, but it will also graphically depict three underlying differences that we will consider momentarily.

I. A Brief Exposition of Exodus 25-31. Exodus 25:8, “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.”

1. Basically, there are three themes covered in this second book of scripture.

a. Chapters 1-18 cover the Exodus, itself. The people are set free.

b. Chapters 19-24 present the law in its basic form. (Chapter 20—Ten Commandments.)

c. Remaining chapters describe every aspect of the tabernacle. (Chapters 25-40.)

i. Sanctuary, above, meant holy place.

ii. The word came to have meaning relative to material of the sanctuary.

S. Baxter (E15p76): “. . . the problem with which the various philosophies of life seek to deal is that of human freedom, responsibility, and privilege. Liberty without law is license. Responsibility without freedom is bondage. Liberty and responsibility together, without privilege—without rewards and punishments—lack motive and meaning. Here, in the Exodus, the Law, and the Tabernacle, we see these three things—in the Exodus, liberty; in the Law, responsibility; in the Tabernacle, privilege.”

2. The construction and refinement of the tabernacle was forced into two parts.

a. Moses was given the design (Exodus 25-31);

b. Idolatry invaded the camp and the plan is suspended. (Exodus 33:7)

i. Temporary replacement (Exodus 33:7)

ii. God descends in covenant.

c. The tabernacle is completed. Exodus chapters 35-40. Baxter, p95, “The Tabernacle was not designed with a view to any merely architectural impressiveness. It was designed to be a symbolical and typical expression of wonderful spiritual truth.”

II. A Description of the Tabernacle. Exodus 25:9, "According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, . . . even so shall ye make it.”

1. There was to be an outer court on a west to east axis 100 by 50 cubits (150 by 75 feet).

a. Total of 60 pillars—5 cubits apart.

b. Each would stand 5 cubits high.

2. Within this outer court was to be a sanctuary (divided).

a. Oblong (10 x 30 cubits on same axis).

b. A veil would separate the two parts.

i. Holy Place—priestly function

ii. Holy of Holies—High Priest on Day of Atonement

III. The Furnishings of the Tabernacle are Seven. Exodus 25:9, “According to . . . the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.”

1. Interestingly, there are seven times in scripture when this is reiterated. Exodus 25:9,40; 26:30; 27:8; Numbers 8:4; Acts 7:44; Hebrews 8:5.

a. New Testament words fashion or pattern: both Greek tupos

b. 5179 in HGSB—prototype

2. There are two articles in the Outer Court.

a. Brazen Altar—the first approach to Holy God is through atoning sacrifice.

b. Next is the Laver—sacred water for priestly cleansing.

3. Only thusly is the Holy Place entered by the priests.

a. On the right (north) is shewbread—here is both bread and drink decreeing sustenance in the spiritual life.

b. On the left (south) is the seven branched candelabrum—declaring spiritual illumination.

c. Deeper in the room is the Golden Altar of Incense—incense has always represented supplication (prayer).

4. Before us now is the veil separating the Holy of Holies.

a. Remember, only the High Priest enters here, and he only once a year on Day of Atonement.

b. The Throne inside consists of two parts.

i. The Ark: a gold-covered acacia chest—declaring the covenant.

ii. Above the Ark, the Mercy seat with cherubim—representing God’s presence.

IV. That Leaves Us to Determine What is Represented for the Future, Hebrews 9:8, “. . . The way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, . . . which was a figure for the time then present.”

1. The seven articles represent seven symbolic teachings.

a. The altar—atonement

b. The laver—forgiveness

c. Shewbread—sustenance

d. Candlestick—illumination

e. Incense—supplication

f. Ark—covenant relationship

g. Mercy Seat—access to God

Job 13:3, “Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.”

Job 40:2, “Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him?”

Thus, there stands the critical issue of approach to God.

Job 42:5, “My ears have heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.

2. Look for a moment at a parallel to these seven teachings in John’s gospel

a. The Brazen Altar—John 1:29,36, John beholds “the Lamb of God!”

b. The Laver—John 3:5, “Except a man be born of water, and of the spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

c. Shewbread—John 4:10, “living water,” and John 6:51, “living bread.”

d. Candlestick—John 8:12, “I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness.” See John 9:5.

e. Altar of Incense—

i. Just outside the veil—John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”

ii. Intercession—John 14:13, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified . . . Son.”

f. Jesus approaches as High Priest—John 17:1, “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy son also may glorify thee.”

g. Covenant—John 20:17, “I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” John 20:19, “Peace be unto you.” John 20:22, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” John 20:29, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou has believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet . . . believed.”

3. Time has permitted us only to look at the Tabernacle and its furnishings.

a. They have revealed a likeness in even small detail to Christ.

b. They illustrate the person and work of the Redeemer.

c. There is type-teaching as well in the offerings, in the priesthood, etc.

Conclusion

The Post-Exilic Temple contained a Holy Place, and a Holy of Holies, but it was empty. No Ark, no tablets, no rod, no manna, no Mercy Seat, but the High Priest kept up his seduction. Hebrews 9:14, “. . . how much more shall the blood of Christ . . . purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” “Jesus Christ has revealed the living God whose Spirit inhabits not dead places and things, but the hearts of His believers.” (B74p141)

Links

Baxter: https://www.preceptaustin.org/exodus-25-commentary