Day 188: Hosea 9-11

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Bible Dept. – Day 188: Hosea 9-11

Introduction

In Episode Day 188 of The Bible Dept., hosted by Dr. Manny Arango from ARMA Courses, listeners embark on an in-depth exploration of Hosea chapters 9 through 11. Designed as part of a 365-day Bible reading plan, this episode delves into the complexities of Israel’s spiritual decline, the consequences of idolatry, and the unwavering love of God despite human unfaithfulness. Whether you’re a long-time Bible enthusiast or new to Scripture, this episode offers rich insights and practical applications to deepen your understanding of Hosea’s prophetic messages.

Overview of Hosea 9-11

The episode begins with the co-host setting the stage for the discussion:

[01:47] Co-Host: "Welcome to day 188. We are in Hosea chapters 9, 10, and 11. Three chapters for you. Chapters 9 and 10 are gonna sound real sad, real depressing, but chapter 11 is full of God's love for his people and so you gotta kind of stick around for the ride."

Dr. Arango provides a comprehensive breakdown of each chapter, highlighting the themes of corruption, idolatry, and divine compassion.

Context Clues

Understanding the historical and cultural backdrop is crucial for interpreting Hosea’s prophecies. Dr. Arango emphasizes the significance of specific references within the text:

[05:30] Dr. Manny Arango: "When they came to BAAL Peor, but all peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol. What happened at BAAL Peor? ... Israel got seduced by Midianite women into worshiping fertility cults."

He further explains the metaphorical use of locations like Egypt and Assyria, clarifying that references to Egypt symbolize a return to slavery rather than a literal migration:

[03:15] Dr. Manny Arango: "Egypt is a metaphor. It's not a literal returning to Egypt. It's a returning to slavery, returning to bondage."

Nerdy Nuggets

The episode is packed with fascinating details that bring the Scriptures to life. Dr. Arango explores the deeper meanings behind Hosea’s symbolism and prophetic statements:

[12:45] Dr. Manny Arango: "Bethel means house of God, yet Hosea calls it Beth Aven, which means house of wickedness. ... Jeroboam's idolatrous worship of Yahweh through the calf corrupted this once holy site."

He also connects recurring themes across the Bible, illustrating how Hosea aligns with other prophetic books like Kings, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.

Insights and Thematic Analysis

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on Israel's moral decay and the consequences of their idolatry. Dr. Arango draws parallels between historical events and Hosea’s warnings, making the ancient text relevant to contemporary listeners:

[10:20] Dr. Manny Arango: "They have sunk deep into corruption. As in the days of Gibeah, God will remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins."

He elaborates on Hosea’s portrayal of God’s dual role as both righteous judge and compassionate father, emphasizing the prophet’s message of divine love amidst judgment.

Timeless Truths

The episode culminates with profound reflections on God’s enduring love and the possibility of restoration despite human failures:

[19:28] Co-Host: "Hosea shows us the heart of God. A faithful, loving husband or father who is faithful to his covenant and so is duty bound to bring judgment on Israel when they break it."

Dr. Arango underscores the transformative power of God’s love, hinting at a future where humanity is renewed to live in a loving covenant relationship with God:

[17:50] Dr. Manny Arango: "Hosea is really the first of the prophets that starts to hint not just at the restoration of God's relationship with Israel, but really with the human's ability to love Yahweh back."

Conclusion

Day 188 of The Bible Dept. offers a thorough and engaging examination of Hosea chapters 9-11, blending historical context, scriptural analysis, and practical application. Dr. Manny Arango and his co-host guide listeners through the sorrowful indictments of Israel’s unfaithfulness while highlighting the profound and unwavering love of God. This episode not only enriches your understanding of Hosea but also encourages a deeper, more meaningful connection with Scripture.

Join the Journey

If you’re inspired by this episode and eager to continue your Bible reading journey, don’t miss out on downloading the 365-day Bible reading plan available at thebibledept.com/plan. Subscribe to The Bible Dept. podcast and immerse yourself in daily insights that make Scripture approachable, clear, and transformative.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• [05:30] Dr. Manny Arango: "Egypt is a metaphor. It's not a literal returning to Egypt. It's a returning to slavery, returning to bondage."
• [10:20] Dr. Manny Arango: "They have sunk deep into corruption. As in the days of Gibeah, God will remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins."
• [12:45] Dr. Manny Arango: "Bethel means house of God, yet Hosea calls it Beth Aven, which means house of wickedness."
• [17:50] Dr. Manny Arango: "Hosea is really the first of the prophets that starts to hint not just at the restoration of God's relationship with Israel, but really with the human's ability to love Yahweh back."
• [19:28] Co-Host: "Hosea shows us the heart of God. A faithful, loving husband or father who is faithful to his covenant and so is duty bound to bring judgment on Israel when they break it."

Stay Connected

For more enriching content and to dive deeper into the Bible, visit thebibledepartment.com and follow them on Instagram at @thebibledepartment. Access a free library of courses to enhance your Bible study experience.

Transcript

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango and I'm your host for the Bible Department podcast. Powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan.

[Unnamed Co-Host]

We created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan.

[Unnamed Co-Host]

And join the journey.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

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[Unnamed Co-Host]

Family. Welcome to day 188. We are in Hosea chapters 9, 10 and 11. Three chapters for you. Chapters 9 and 10 are gonna sound real sad, real depressing, but chapter 11 is full of God's love for his people and so you gotta kind of stick around for the ride. We'll go through all three chapters. If you've done the reading for today, congrats. Good work. If you haven't done the reading yet. Hey, stop the video. Stop the audio. Go do the reading. We believe that a daily diet of God's word will change your life. That is a daily diet of you hearing me talk about God's word. But we want you to read God's word for yourself. So Hosea chapter 9, 10 and 11. Like always, I'm going to give you context clues. I'm going to give you as many nerdy nuggets as I can fit into the episode. And I'll always leave you with a timeless truth. So let's dive in Hosea, chapter nine as soon as we start, the chapter says, do not rejoice, O Israel. Y' all ain't got no reasons to be happy. Do not rejoice. Do not be jubilant like the other nations for you have been unfaithful to your God. You love the wages of a prostitute. So the theme of prostitution is continuing throughout the duration of this book. Okay, God's not gonna let go of that metaphor anytime soon. Now we are going to start to see. Hosea is going to specifically prophesy that the people are going to get carted off to Assyria, that they are going to get exiled by the Assyrians. We're going to see that prediction over and over and over again. It's actually right here. And I'll try to give you some context so that you kind of understand exactly what's happening. It says in verse three, they will not remain in the Lord's land. So straight up, the people are not going to stay in God's land. They're not going to stay in Israel. But then the next line may make it confusing. It says, ephraim, that's the northern tribe of Israel, the northern kingdom. Ephraim will return to Egypt. Wait a second. They're not going to go to Egypt. Then the next line says, and eat unclean food in Assyria. So which one is it? They go into Egypt, they go into Syria. What is it? Well, Egypt is a metaphor. It's. So it's not a literal returning to Egypt. It's a returning to slavery, returning to bondage. Okay. Egypt represents the years that they spent in captivity. And they are going back into captivity, but they're not going back to the same nation that held them captive from first time. They're going to a new nation that is going to give them an old experience and eat unclean food in Assyria. So this is straight up a prediction about 7 22, where the Assyrians are going to come in and they are going to completely siege or besiege and take captive the northern tribe of Israel. Okay. As we continue kind of working through the chapter, we're gonna get to verse nine, and we're gonna get multiple cities that are going to get listed. And you have to have context to kind of understand what God is actually saying. So chapter nine, verse nine. And chapter ten, verse nine. Okay, chapter nine, verse nine. And chapter ten, verse nine. I'll read chapter nine, verse nine. It says they have sunk deep into corruption. As in the days of Gibeah, God will remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins. And then let's just go to the very next chapter 10, verse 9 says, since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Do not war, overtake the evildoers in Gibeah. Okay, so why is God talking about Gibeah? This is actually one of three instances where you kind of have to have context to know what is God talking about in order to properly interpret the text. So you may remember this, you may not remember this the story or the. The key story where Gibeah is the location that's highlighted. It's found in Judges, chapter 19. And this is the Levite who has a concubine, okay? And the concubine is raped. And then the Levite proceeds to cut this concubine into pieces and sent it out to everybody in the land. And this is one of the most horrific stories in all the Bible, really. Like, it's. It's designed to kind of make you sick to your stomach. And the story illustrates just the moral decay of Israel at this time in Judges, chapter 19. And so what is God saying here in Hosea, chapter nine? He's saying they have sunk deep into corruption as in the days of Gibeah. He's saying, hey, Israel is just as bad today as they were back when Levites had concubines, and those concubines were getting raped and assaulted and cut into pieces. Like, if anybody thinks that y' all don't deserve for the Assyrians to come in here and completely take y' all away as slaves, then you're confused, okay? Because this is just as bad as the days of Gibeah. You guys are completely corrupt and completely evil. So the next verse is actually chapter 9, verse 10. When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert. When I saw your fathers, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to BAAL Peor, but all peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol. What happened at BAAL Peor? Okay, this is another spot where you need context to really understand what's going on. And the context here is numbers, chapter 25. Baal Peor is where Israel got seduced by Midianite women into worshiping fertility cults. And it happened through sex and sexual immorality. So a lot like Gomer, to be completely honest, that sexual immorality and idolatry go together. Remember, this is actually the place where the prophet Balaam is paid to prophesy against the people of Israel, but he's not able to. And so since he's not able to prophesy against the people of Israel, he just goes, wait, why are we trying to prophesy against them? Just send some women down there to seduce the Men and they'll worship other gods. And Balaam is completely correct. So God is going, hey, this is. I want you to have Gibeah and BAAL Peor at the front of your mind when you're thinking about how wicked and how evil you guys have become, how idolatrous, how adulterous, how sinful and corrupt the nation of Israel has become. Next we're going to get one Last 1. Chapter 9, verse 15. Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal, I hated them there. And Gilgal, this is probably connected with Yahweh's rejection of Saul. Now this could be a throwback to something in the past, just as with Gibeah and Baal Peor, okay? Gibeah is really based on judges, chapter 19. Baal Peor is based on numbers, chapter 25. And Gilgal could be based on 1st Samuel, chapter 15. But it also could be what's happening in modern day Gilgal because there's idol worship happening at Gilgal. So that's that. Chapter 10, verse 5 is absolutely fascinating. And it says the people who live in Samaria fear for the calf idol of Beth Aven. Now we got to talk about Beth Aven, because that's actually been brought up multiple times, okay? Beth Aven and the word the town is actually Bethel, okay? Bethel. The name of the place where the temple of Yahweh where the calf was worshiped was Bethel, okay? The place where Jacob had met with God. Bethel means house of God, yet Hosea calls it Beth Aven, which means house of wickedness. Jeroboam's idolatrous worship of Yahweh through the calf in which all leaders of Israel followed, corrupted this once holy site and turned Bethel, house of God into Beth Aven, house of wickedness. So one of the ways that Hosea insults the people who have gone astray is by renaming the town Beth Aven instead of Bethel. Okay? So it's a bit of an inside joke. It's good context in order to really start to interpret what's going on. So let me give you some nerdy nuggets, okay? That's context that you kind of have to have in order to understand fully what's going on. And now let's. Let's talk through some nerdy nuggets, okay? Also right there in 10, verse 5 is a prediction that Jeroboam's calf is going to get taken, okay? Hosea describes the people mourning its loss. So imagine how sad that is that an idol that you're not even supposed to have in the first place, that you have so much emotional attachment to it that although the Assyrians have come to cart you off as slaves, you're not mourning because you've broken Yahweh's heart. You're not mourning because you've broken faithfulness with Yahweh. You're not mourning because you're going to get taken off into captivity. You're mourning because the idol that you have fallen in love with has now been torn down by the Assyrians. I'll just go ahead, read chapter five. Sorry. Chapter ten, verse five says, the people who live in Samaria fear for the calf idol of Beth Aven, house of wickedness. Its people will mourn over it, and so will its idolatrous priests. Those who had rejoice over its splendor because it is taken from them into exile. So, hey, your idol's about to go into exile with you. You want to go? You. You want to worship this idol? Then guess what? You and your idol can both go off into exile. It will be carried to Assyria as tribute for the great king. That's verse six. Ephraim will be disgraced. Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols. So again, a clear prediction that Israel is going to go off to Assyria and that Assyria is going to take this golden idol as tribute. So this is a throwback, actually. Like, this is a theme that keeps coming up over and over again. This is in either yesterday or the day before's episode that by worshiping worthless idols, they became worthless. Okay, That's a throwback to kings. That's a theme that we have here in Hosea, and it's actually here in Hosea, chapter 9, chapter 9, verse 10. It says, When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the deserts. When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. On the fig tree. But. But when they came to BAAL Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved. Okay? So again, your worth is always attached to what you worship. Your value begins to degrade as you begin to love and worship and adore worthless idols in your life. Okay, so that's. This is a consistent theme. I just wanted to kind of highlight that as. Hey, the. The Hosea is in agreement with what the prophets are saying in the Book of Kings, chapter 10, verse 14. Okay? Our theme really, from yesterday is carried over. And it says this. This is halfway through verse 13, chapter 10. It says, because you have depended on your own strength, and on your many warriors, the roar of battle will rise against your people so that all your fortresses will be devastated. Because you have depended, okay? Same as trust, okay? So depended and trust, interchangeable words. Because you have trusted. Because you have depended. Since you didn't depend on me, then there's nothing that I can do to actually save you. Chapter 11 is gonna be like the. The bright hope, okay, of this whole section. When Israel was a child, I loved him. So immediately you're gonna get like, oh, man. This God who is clearly angry, clearly upset, is angry and upset and disappointed. And all of these emotions are rooted in great love. When Israel was a child, I loved him not. Of Egypt, I called my son. But the more they were called, the more they went away from me. They sacrificed the Baals, and they turned and they burned incense to images. It was I who taught Ephraim how to walk, taking them by the arms. But they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. I need you to get this image, okay? To them, I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them. It's like God's such a father man to this little child. Will they not return to Egypt? So we're going to get that theme again. And will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent? So Assyria is seen as a new Egypt, okay? A new Egypt. A sword will flash in their cities. It will devour their false prophets and put an end to their plans. My people are determined to turn from me. Even though they call me God Most High, I will by no means exalt them. How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim? My heart is changed within me. All my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God and not a man, the Holy One among you. I will not come against their cities. They will follow the Lord. They will roar like a lion when he roars. His children will come trembling from the west. They will come from Egypt trembling like sparrows from Assyria, fluttering like doves. I will settle them in their homes, declares the Lord. So one of the things that the prophet Hosea begins to prophesy is that Israel will not just be restored because of God's covenant faithfulness, but Israel is going to be changed. And they're going to get changed at the heart level, that there's something about the human nature that is going to actually get changed, that God is going to do something that's going to transform the human into the kind of person that can actually live in a loving covenant relationship with Yahweh and Hosea is really the first of the prophets that starts to hint not just at the restoration of God's relationship with Israel, but really with the human's ability to love Yahweh back. And Jeremiah is going to pick up on that theme, Ezekiel is going to pick up on that theme, that God's going to give them a new heart, that God's going to place a new spirit within the human, that really, that somehow some way we're going to start to see humans to 2.0, that we're going to get some new breed of humans. And this is a theme that Hosea is actually going to start. And it's going to start real, real, real small. By the time we get to prophets like Ezekiel and Jeremiah going to be full blown family. The wait is over.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

My brand new book, Crushing Chaos is out now and available everywhere.

[Unnamed Co-Host]

Books are sold, literally.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Today I walked into a Barnes and Noble and I signed a bunch of copies at a physical location. So you can grab this book at a physical Barnes and Noble or you.

[Unnamed Co-Host]

Can go to a Books A Million.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Or Amazon or anywhere books are sold.

[Unnamed Co-Host]

And grab a copy. If you enjoy reading the Bible from an ancient perspective, if you understand that the beauty of scripture is actually knowing it in context, then you'll love this book.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

And if there's any chaos in your personal life, I think that reading the Bible from an ancient perspective can actually help to crush the chaos in your life.

[Unnamed Co-Host]

I think this book is going to be a New York Times bestseller. I really do. I think we wrote a good one.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

I think you should get a copy today. All right, back to the episode.

[Unnamed Co-Host]

All right, let's get into our timeless truth for the day Hosea shows us the heart of God. A faithful, loving husband or father who is faithful to his covenant and so is duty bound to bring judgment on Israel when they break it. Yet his steadfast love of Israel never changed and their sin broke his heart. God is love. God is life. To sin is to separate from that love and that life. Yet that love, that life is ever longing to bring us back into its arms. So the book of Hosea is really designed to platform the great love of this father, this husband, this God, to platform the love of Yahweh. That he loves us like. Like the same way that I'm passionate about my wife and my son. God is passionate about his people, and he's passionate about bringing his people back into right relationship with Him. And at no point does God glory in the punishment that he has to bring them, but the punishment that he brings them is actually in line with his covenant faithfulness and his covenant loyalty. But the prophets have a way of communicating the love of God because it's poetry and it's passionate. And the language lends itself towards the imagery and the metaphors and the language lend itself towards understanding how loving God truly is more than pros or more than a list of commands. But the fact that God's like, you were a child, and as a dad, I guess I resonate with this. And so we surrender to the Lord, not because we're simply scared of him, but because we are reciprocating the love that he's shown to us. And that is a timeless truth forever. That's not just culturally bound or historically bound by context, but that's timelessly true. And tomorrow we're going to dig into day 189. We got Hosea chapter 12 to 14, and hopefully you are enjoying the Book of Hosea. And if you're on a streak, don't break it. If you're not on a streak, today's a great day to start one. I'm so proud of you. I love you. I'll see you right here tomorrow as we finish out the Book of Hosea. We're going to be in Hosea, chapter 12, 13, and 14. I love you so much. See you tomorrow. Peace.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Thanks so much for joining us on.

[Unnamed Co-Host]

The Bible Department podcast.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

You can find us online and learn more about the show at thebibledepartment.com and on Instagram hebibledepartment. If you enjoyed this episode and want to dive deeper into the Bible, you can get free access to our library of [e-mail] we'll see you back here tomorrow.