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. Well, why do you want it? Because it’s almost a god to you! So, it just snowballs. All right, let’s back up a little ways to Ephesians chapter 5 verse 5.
Ephesians 5:5
“For this ye know, that no whoremonger, (or an immoral person) nor unclean person, nor (What?) covetous man, (See the categories, how they all stick together?) who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Have you ever caught that before? So, why do suppose the Apostle said that the sin that really got him to consider his sinfulness was which one? Which one did he mention? Coveting! It’s the worst of all.
I’ve made mention of it down through the years. You stop and think. Can you break any other of the nine commandments without coveting first? You can’t do it. Coveting is the root cause. That’s why God hates it so. It’s the thing that leads to idolatry. Okay, read this verse again. “…nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” They’re not going to be there. Now, we’ve made the point before, Paul doesn’t speak of people going to the Lake of Fire. He just uses the other approach that they’re not going to be in Glory. Well, if they’re not in Glory, then the Lake of Fire is their destination.
All right, let’s come back to Hosea, if I’ve established that God hated idolatry! Now, I guess I’d never really thought of it before until I was making preparation for this the last several months, I guess, off and on. When Israel was in Egypt, when the whole Nation of Israel had finally found their way down to Egypt because of Joseph and the food that was available, what were they surrounded with already in Egypt? Idolatry!
I know when I taught Exodus and we came to the plagues, I made the point that every plague that God brought on Egypt was one of Egypt’s gods. That’s what made it such an object lesson for the Egyptians. In other words, when He turned the Nile River into blood, what was the Nile River in the religious life of Egypt? It was a god. They worshipped it! The flies? They worshipped them! The frogs? They worshipped them! Practically anything that lived and moved the Egyptians had already made into a god. Well, that’s what Israel had been surrounded with.
So you see, when they got down around Mt. Sinai, as we mentioned in the last program, and Moses was up in the mountain, they didn’t know what had happened to him. They’d forgotten all about the miracle of the Red Sea. So, they come to Aaron, who was the secondary leader, and say what? Make us a god like we had in Egypt. Oh, it…it’s insidious!
Just because we’re living in a culture that has nothing to do with gods of silver and gold and stone and so forth, doesn’t mean that there’s nothing that can be an idol. Everything around us can become an idol. That’s our whole materialistic situation today. It really boils down to an idolatry that takes all the thoughts of God away from their mind. And my, we’re seeing it all around us, aren’t we? Okay, back to Hosea. So, he goes up to Israel, verse 3.
Hosea 1:3-4
“So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; who conceived, and bare him a son. 4. And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the House of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.”
Now, you’ve got to know your Old Testament. Who ruled and reigned in Jezreel? Ahab and…Jezebel! Jezebel – the most wicked woman that ever lived! She had such control over the Jewish people of Israel that they had gone just as deep into it as she had gone. So, what’s the warning? You’re going to be punished just as severely as she was. Now, I’m not going to repeat on television what the end of Jezebel was. Well, it wasn’t pretty. If you don’t know what it was, go look it up when you get home tonight. You probably won’t sleep. But anyway, God is warning them: As Ahab and Jehu and Jezebel – that’s what’s coming for you if you do not turn around.
Hosea 1:5
“And it shall come to pass (God says) at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.” Now today we call it the Valley of Esdraelon or even the Valley of Megiddo. It’s that beautiful valley about, oh, just a few miles north and west of Galilee. It stretches all the way over to Mount Carmel, which is just a little ways from the city of Haifa, which is in the news lately.
But it’s a beautiful valley! My, we stand on the high cliffs of Nazareth and look out over the Valley of Megiddo, and it is just unbelievable the beauty of that valley, especially now that it’s been brought back into production. Okay. So, that was the whole symbolic purpose of the birth of this first son. That he will be a picture of the horrors of Ahab and Jezebel who inhabited Jezreel. Okay, now verse 6.
Hosea 1:6
“And she conceived again, (She’s going to have a second child.) and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, (That is unto Hosea.) Call her name Lo-ruhamah: (The name means – I’ll not have pity.) for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.” Now, before we get judgmental against our merciful God, turn back with me to II Kings chapter 17. Now, this Scripture makes it explicitly clear why God has to take such stringent disciplinary action against the Ten Tribes of Israel. II Kings 17 and, oh, my goodness, I’d like to read it all. But I’m always afraid if I read too much Scripture somebody might grumble and lose attention and so forth. I’m just going to hit some of the highlights. Let’s drop down to verse 7.
II Kings 17:7-9a
“For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, (the same God) who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, 8. And walked in the statutes of the heathen, (That would be the Canaanites after they went in under Joshua.) whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. 9. And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities,…”
Now, I’ve got to stop, because I’m afraid a lot of times people don’t stop and think. Why do you suppose idolaters always built their places of worship on the highest elevation possible? Have you ever thought about that? To get closer to God – wherever He’s at! So they’d always go to a high place to worship their dead idols. Yet they were recognizing that there was someone higher. All right, come back again to the text.
II Kings 17:9b-10
“…and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. 10. And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:” Does that tell you something? The land was covered with idols and places of worship of those idols.
What a travesty! God’s chosen people! And the Temple is still down there in Jerusalem! Many of them probably went down and worshipped at the Temple. Now, what does that do? That makes it even worse! Now they’re mixing idolatry with the worship of the true God. That’s worse than a faithful husband, after years of a loving marriage, going and having an affair. It’s devastating. This is what broke the heart of God.
I think it wouldn’t have been nearly as bad had they lost the Temple, forgot the priesthood, and then with no alternative going into idolatry. That would have been one thing. But they mixed them. Now, I’m just having a thought. What am I thinking? What are we doing today? What are denominations and churches doing today? Same thing!
You know, I’ve always used the illustration, and I’m going to use it over and over. I used it not too long ago in the very vestibule of a home where I was going to spend the evening. I just had the right opening, and I shared this with them. I want every one of my listeners to have it on the tip of your tongue, because this makes it so plain. There is no room for argument. You’ve heard me do it, but I’m going to do it again.
In the last verse of Genesis chapter 1, God looked at creation and what did He see? A perfect creation. Not a flaw. There was not one speck in all of creation that He could look at and say, “Wait a minute, I’d better…I’d better change that a little bit.” No. It was perfect. So, what does He do in chapter 2 verses 1 and 2? Sat down! He rested. Well, why not? There wasn’t anything else to do. Everything was perfect.
All right, now we jump all the way up to Hebrews chapter 1. I’ll let you look at it. Oh, I wish people could just get through their spiritual thinking that this is where it’s at. Hebrews chapter 1 – might as well look at verse 2, because then verse 3 will be completely explained.
Hebrews 1:2a
“(The God of verse 1) Hath in these last days…” Now, I always have to stop and remind people. Remember that Christ’s first advent was the beginning of the last days according to the Old Testament prophecies. All right, so the God of the Old Testament prophecies–
Hebrews 1:2-3a
“Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he, (God, the Triune God) hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he (the Son) made the worlds; 3. Who (God the Son) being the brightness of his glory, (He was God! He was the Creator with all the power of the Godhead. All right, so He was–) and the express image of his person, (that is of the Godhead) and upholding all things by the word of his power,…”
Now, do we establish who Jesus Christ was? I hope it does! The God of Creation. The God of Glory. All right, now then, when this great God of Creation, with all the power of the Godhead–
Hebrews 1:3b
“…when he had by himself purged our sins,…” Now, stop a minute. Where was that accomplished? At the cross! That’s why when people jump on me as being too Pauline, how can you be too Pauline when all you know is the preaching of the cross? I’ll never back down. They can scorn all they want. I will never back down. It’s the preaching of the cross that Paul is constantly emphasizing. All right, here it is again.
Hebrews 1:3c
“…when he had by himself (the work of the cross) purged our sins (What did He do?) sat down…” Why? For the same reason he sat down in Genesis chapter 2. The work of the cross was so perfect. It was so flawless that there was nothing that could be corrected. There was nothing that could be added to it. It was complete. It was all sufficient. So, He could sit down and rest. It’s finished.
And immediately, as soon as it was revealed I feel primarily through the Apostle Paul, what’s the first thing mankind starts doing? Mixing other stuff with it! Mixing it, mixing it! Most of my people across the country now realize the word is – blenderize. They put it all in the blender, and they turn it up on high, and they parcel it out. Then they wonder why we get sick to our stomach. Now, is that a finished work? No. It’s adulterated.
It’s been adulterated by–whatever. I don’t have to name them. All I do is create enemies if I do that. So, I’ll let you do it. But, oh, Beloved, it was so complete. Now what God asks us to do with that finished work of the cross is believe it! Believe it! Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose again!
Then repentance will follow. Absolutely! My, we hear it every day, where ungodly men – and I’m just thrilled that we get so many letters from the men. Ungodly men say that when they believed this their whole life was changed. Well, a changed life is a what? It’s a u-turn. And what’s the u-turn? Repentance. But, can you make a u-turn in the flesh? No way. You cannot repent in the flesh. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to make that u-turn. But, oh, once you make that u-turn, everything changes. Everything is different. All right, so here we have it that twice God did something so perfect that nothing dared be added to it.
All right, now I guess I just about forgot why I came back here. But I came back to–go ahead and turn to Galatians chapter 1. Remember, I’m dealing with the fact that Israel was mixing idolatry with the worship of the true God of Abraham. They hadn’t forgotten the Temple. They hadn’t forgotten the work of the priests, but rather than traipse down to Jerusalem, they thought it was better to embrace an idol.
All right, now today we’re dealing with the same thing. That’s why I’m here in Galatians chapter 1 verse 6. I don’t see how anybody–and I know I’ve got a lot of pastors and preachers listening to me. I’m addressing them just as well as anybody else. Beloved, look at what the Book says, not what Les Feldick says. What does the Scripture say? As I said here not too many programs back, so far as I’m concerned, Paul’s epistles could just as well be written in red, because every word he writes came from where? The ascended Lord Jesus Christ. Never forget that. This isn’t Paul speaking his own mind. This is Paul speaking the very words of Christ.
Galatians 1:6-7a
“I marvel (I’m amazed) that ye are so soon removed from him who called you into the grace of Christ (Out of their paganism, they’d turned their back on all that. They had made some headway in this life of forgiveness and grace. But then what? They succumbed) unto another gospel: 7. Which is not another;…” These false teachers didn’t come in with something totally different. They just said, well, that’s okay. You rest on what you believe, but you’ve got to be circumcised. You have to keep the law. You have to eat right. You have to do this right. That’s what you have to do. And they fell for it. All right, now read on.
Galatians 1:7
“Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” What’s the other word for pervert? Adulterate! Where are you, Angelo? We were just talking about it yesterday. Adulterate means you bring in things that don’t belong. All right, and so he says:
Galatians 1:8
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Why? Because they’re adulterating that perfect work of the cross! And God won’t have it.
Oh, they can have glowing experiences. They can probably even have glowing testimonies. But if they have mixed something with that finished work of the cross, I think they’re wasting their breath. I think God’s going to be a lot more particular than most people think. And it’s scary. Because if He has done a job so perfectly and has made it known and we walk it underfoot, then what?