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Join Dr. J. Vernon McGee as he delves into the profound depths of Hebrews 7, bringing to light the significance of Christ as the ultimate fulfillment of the dispensations. This episode guides listeners through the complex shift from law to grace, portraying how this transition reflects on contemporary Christian faith. Discover our current age of grace and the challenges faced by the early church in reconciling their legal past with the liberating truths of the gospel.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome to Through the Bible. Dr. J. Vernon McGee picks up our study in Hebrews 7. But first, here's another intro on how God works over times and seasons.
SPEAKER 01 :
I want to continue that which I began some time ago about the dispensations, that it's necessary to understand the dispensations of Scripture, and especially when we come to an epistle like we're studying now, the epistle to the Hebrews. This is an epistle that was directed to a nation that had been under law. And it was answering questions for them. It was saying all the way through that Israel, with all the ritual that God had given them, and he'd given them a great deal, all of that is being fulfilled in Christ now. In other words, Christ is the end of the law in the sense he's the one that the law was really pointing to. You see, God gave to Israel what we call a mosaic system. And that mosaic system was just for a period of time. I'll see that in a moment. It wasn't a permanent arrangement at all. And it was in three parts. Actually, there were the commandments. They governed Israel's moral life. And then there were the judgments, which governed Israel's civic life. And then there were the ordinances, which governed Israel's religious life. And that is the way God has dealt with man. God is a holy God. He demands certain things of his creatures, and he has demanded certain things of man, and he's put him under these different economies, these different administrations. And they are actually in contrast. Law and grace are definitely in contrast. And we see that this nation that had been under that are now told that Christ is the fulfillment of everything that had gone before. And that God now was saving men by what Christ had done for them. And it was very difficult, may I say to you, for them to get that. Then after the age of grace, there was to be the age of the kingdom, the dispensation of the kingdom. And that kingdom is coming upon this earth. And we saw that there are those today that run ahead, but not seeing the great movement in the gospel of Matthew. They run ahead and they try to put the church under the kingdom. And we're not there yet. So that's in the future. Now, there's another group of folk. They attempt to keep us back under the law. They say there was no change of dispensation, that the law is still for today. And they, of course, like to say, well, can you break the Ten Commandments? And the very interesting thing is that if you're a child of God, you can't break the Ten Commandments because God hadn't got rid of the Ten Commandments by any means. But that's not the method of salvation for today. You can be sure of that. And so we have these different systems that have been given to mankind. And we are under this dispensation of grace today. Somebody says, well, if we're under grace, then we could break the Ten Commandments. Well, the very interesting thing is that every one of the Ten Commandments, with the exception of the Sabbath day, is mentioned in the epistles as applying to us too, you see. God says, thou shall have no other gods before thee. First commandment. And we are told by Paul, we preach unto you that you should turn from these vanities, that is idols, unto the living God. And thou shall not make unto thee any graven image. And John, in his first epistle, 1 John 5, 21 says, Little children, keep yourselves from idols, and thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. And James wrote and said, But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath. And then the Sabbath day, well, that's just never been given to Christians at all. and then honor thy father and thy mother. We are told in Ephesians 6, 1, children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right, and thou shall not kill. First John 3, 15, seeing whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Thou shall not commit adultery. And Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6, 9, and 10, neither fornicators nor adulterers shall inherit the kingdom of God. Thou shall not steal. And then Paul says in Ephesians 4, 23, steal no more. Thou shall not bear false witness. Paul said in Colossians 3, 9, lie not, and thou shall not covet. And in Ephesians 5, 3, we read, covetousness, let it not be once named among you. So friends, the Ten Commandments there, with the exception of the Sabbath day, and may I say somebody's going to raise the question about the Sabbath day. Aren't we to keep the Christian Sabbath? Sunday, no, the Christian is not given a Christian Sabbath at all. We are told very definitely in Colossians, let no man judge you in respect. to these ordinances and ceremonies and days and months and that sort of thing. And Paul says one man observes one day and another another day. And we today are pleased to observe the first day of the week because that's the day the Lord Jesus came back from the dead. And every Sunday ought to be a resurrection day for a Christian and celebrated in that way. We are now in this marvelous age Wonderful age of grace. And I just can't emphasize that enough. You see, the church didn't come into existence until the day of Pentecost. In fact, there could never have been a church before Pentecost at all. And we today have one group of people that want to put us back in the Old Testament, dispensation. And then others that are hyper-dispensational, they want to divide up this dispensation in several different groupings. And may I say to you, if we just follow the Scripture, we won't fall into either trap. There could not have been a church until Pentecost because of the fact that there couldn't be one until Christ died. that our relation to that event is the basis of our salvation. And there could be no church until Christ rose from the dead to provide resurrection life for us. And we are told that there could be no church until he ascended up on high to become head of the church, the new creation. And there could mean no church on earth until the Holy Spirit came in our ministry to call out the church, which he did on the day of Pentecost. So there could have been no church. The law actually was temporary. We're told in Galatians 3.19, Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come, until the promise was made, to whom the promise was made. May I say to you, it was temporary, you see. And it was done away with in Christ when he came to this earth and went to the cross and died on the cross. And therefore, we belong to a new creation. And a new creation needs a new date of commemoration. May I say to you, the Sabbath day represents the old creation. It was given under the law. It was a special arrangement of God with the nation Israel. So that we today are in a unique dispensation. And if I get time while we're still in this epistle, I want to talk to you about how marvelous this dispensation is. And that is exactly what Paul was saying. in the fourth of Hebrews, where actually that's the only reference in the epistle to the Sabbath day. And as we saw at that time, what he's talking about is rest. And under the law, a man, as I see it, could never have been at rest. He never could have felt that everything's worked out. He continually must go and make these sacrifices. Today, we are to enter into a rest, and that's the rest of redemption. that Christ has provided for us. And if we have time later, I want to come back to that. But today, we'll have to come to our study now. And I want you to have this background because it's so important to the understanding of these people who came out of law into grace. It was a difficult change for them and an altogether different way. And that's what he's trying to tell them in this marvelous Hebrews epistle.
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Let's pray. Father, help us to see the glory of Jesus Christ in all that we're learning. It's in his name we pray. Amen. Let's study Hebrews 7 on Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
SPEAKER 01 :
Now I'm going to begin reading again here in verse 2 of the 7th chapter of Hebrews. to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being by interpretation king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, which is king of peace, without father, without mother, without descent, that is, without pedigree, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God, abideth the priest continually. May I say to you that this man Melchizedek is going to be a type of Christ. He's going to represent him in several different ways. He's king of peace. He's king of righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ is a king. He is righteous. He's been made unto us righteousness. And he also is priest of the Most High God. The Lord Jesus Christ is our great high priest. Now he is a picture and a type of Christ in another way. The Lord Jesus comes out of eternity, moves into eternity, has no beginning, has no ending. He is the beginning. He is the end. And you can't go beyond him in the past. You can't get ahead of him in the future. He encompasses all of time and all of eternity. Now, how are you going to get a man that would fit into that? Well, here we're in a book, the book of Genesis. And this man, Melchizedek, is in a book that gives pedigrees. Adam begets so-and-so, and so-and-so begets so-and-so, and so-and-so begets so-and-so. Abraham beget Isaac, Isaac beget Jacob and his brethren. This one beget this one and this one. And you follow the genealogies down and it's a book of the families. But this man, Melchizedek, in a book that gives genealogies, he just walks out on the page of Scripture out of nowhere into the everywhere, and then he walks off the page of Scripture into the everywhere, and we don't see him anymore. There's a prophecy in Psalm 110, and now we're in the interpretation of it, and he's a picture of Christ in that he is the eternal God. That is, the Lord Jesus is, and he is a priest because he's the Son of God, and he's a priest continually. That is, he just keeps on being a priest. There'll be no change in his priesthood. Now, let's come back and look here at Melchizedek again. He came out at the right time, the right moment, because Abraham's going to be tested. And he needed someone to encourage him, to strengthen him. And he came out with bread and wine. And he was priest of the Most High God. That's the first time he's called the Most High God. That'll be used several times. And it's going to be quoted here. In fact, we're told in this particular chapter that he's the Most High God. That is, that he is the God of creation. That he's above everything. Now, that's going to figure in this very prominently. Then the king of Sodom came to Abraham with a proposition. He said, now, Abraham, it was nice of you to recover Lot and the rest of the people. And we appreciate that. And I know you don't want to make them slaves. Give us the people and you keep the booty. Because according to the Code of Hammurabi in that day, the law of warfare meant that the booty belonged to Abraham. Said, you keep it. It's yours. Abraham said, why, I won't do that at all. Because you couldn't give me a shoestring. You couldn't give me a piece of thread. That's really getting it down, friends. He says, I won't receive anything of you. Then God appeared to Abraham and said, I'm your exceeding great reward. The Lord Jesus Christ is a great high priest, and he ministers to us today. And friends, I want to be very frank with you. If he doesn't minister to you and doesn't bless your heart and life, it's because you're still a little babe and you haven't grown up. And you haven't entered into this great truth that is here. How about it, Christian friend? Have you gone through trials, deep waters? And then has Jesus ministered to you? Has he helped you? Are you conscious of the fact that he blesses you every day? And notice what happened here. And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth. I live in a universe that belongs to him. He owns it. And he has said that all things are ours. You enjoy a sunrise. I saw the sun come up this morning. Let me tell you what I did. I went out on the golf course by myself. I saw the sun come over the Sierra Madre Mountains this morning. And he did that just for me. What a performance he put on, friends. He's wonderful. And what a glorious day it was. My, he's so wonderful, friends. He's the living Christ. And I just thanked him again for bringing me to another day. And I thanked him for being so good to me. And I told him I loved him. May I say to you, the living Christ, the under God's right hand. How real is he to you today, friends? Now, I'm going to keep reading here because it's very important. And this is not what you'd call deep theology. T-bone steak doesn't have to be the doctrine of predestination. In fact, that's not T-bone steak. If you ask me, that's pablum. But here is something very simple. And I want to read this now because we've been over this. I'm reading verse 3 again. Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God, abideth the priest continually. Now, why did God in a book where he gave the pedigrees leave Melchizedek out? Because he's going to become a type. of the Lord Jesus Christ and his priesthood. That's the reason. And that's the reason all of these things have been given to us. You remember I read last time that all these things happen unto them for tithes, and they're written for our admonition. Do you get a message out of all the Bible? This is written primarily to Hebrew Christians. Well, it sure is slanted toward us too. I'm reading verse 4. Now consider how great this man was. Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. Now, Abraham gave a tenth. He worshipped him and he paid tithes to him. He recognized that he was above him, that he was a priest of the Most High God. And verily, they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham." Now, in Abraham, they paid tithes to Melchizedek. And he's superior, therefore, to Aaron and to his family because of that. My friend, one of the ways that you recognize the lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ is when you come and make a gift to him. And every gift ought to be not just to a church or to a radio program, but it's a gift to the Lord Jesus Christ. You recognize his lordship, and you're a priest worshiping when you do that. You're recognizing his superiority. Now, verse 6, "...but he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham and blessed him that had the promises." Well, you'd think Abraham would be superior to Melchizedek, but he's not. Here's a Gentile who's the priest of the Most High God. Now, where'd he get his information? Now, let's not let this out, please. Not to these critics that write me, because even they think I know a few things. I don't even know where he got his information. I do not know the background of this man. And if anybody tries to tell you He's guessing. He doesn't know either. I can just say it. As a matter of fact, I don't know. But he's the priest of the Most High God. And I can't explain a whole lot of things about the Lord Jesus, because he's God, but he's my great high priest today. And that's all I need to know. That's enough. Verse 7, "...and without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the better." When you worship the Lord Jesus, you recognize his superiority when you bow to him. Verse 8. And here men that die receive tithes, but there he receiveth them of whom it's witnessed that he liveth. And he'll receive you. You can offer yourself to him. Now, when I offer myself, he doesn't get much. But I have offered it to him, and I'm thankful that he will accept it. Now, verse 9. And as I may so say, now a great many people also kid me for repeating certain things. I have certain expressions that I use. My wife gets after me about them. I use the expression today. And she says, why in the world do you say today so much? Well, I said, I say it's today because it is today. And when I say today, that's a fact. That's probably the biggest fact I utter is today. And then I have another thing. And as I may so say, now, I have good authority for saying, may I say, man down here near San Diego, he's a retired college professor. He said, I listen to you, McGee, but says, why in the world do you keep saying, may I say? You're going to say it anyway, and you don't have to ask that of me. I'm going to listen to you. Well, friends, it's just an expression we use, and I've got good scriptural authority for it. Here it is. Verse 9 of the 7th chapter of Hebrews, write it down. And as I may so say, he says it. I'm going to say it too. Levi also who receiveth tithes, payeth tithes in Abraham. Oh, does that open up a new line of truth. That means that back yonder when Adam sinned, I sinned. In Adam all die. The reason I'm going to die, if the Lord tarry and you're going to die, you're in Adam. And I sinned in Adam. I was in Adam. And today, I'm perfect. Do you want to know that? I'm in Christ. God sees me in Christ. And I'm perfect in Christ. I'm accepted in the Beloved. Friends, this is scriptural. This is a great truth here. It's stated in simple language. For he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law, what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek and not be called after the order of Aaron? In other words, the thing that characterized the Aaronic priesthood is it was incomplete. It never brought perfection. It never gave redemption and acceptance before God to the people. Therefore, we need Christ. For the priesthood being changed, there's made a necessity, a change also of the law. We're not under the Mosaic law. The Mosaic law belonged to the Aaronic priesthood, where they offered bloody sacrifices. They go together. We are now in-lawed to Christ, indwelt by the Spirit of God. Verse 13, "...for he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar." And the Lord Jesus came after the tribe of Judah. And there's no priest there. He could never be a priest here on earth. Verse 14, For it's evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah, of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. And it is yet far more evident, for that after the similitude of Melchizedek there ariseth another priest. That's what the prophecy said in Psalm 110 of the Messiah that was coming, who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment, that is by some laying on of hands, but after the power of an endless life. He became a priest by his resurrection from the dead. Verse 17, "...for he testified, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, for there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof." The Mosaic system went out of style. It wore out. It never gave what man must have, perfection. For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw nigh unto God. We now come to God through Christ. I break off the reading there, and I'll pick up at verse 20 of chapter 7 next time. Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
SPEAKER 02 :
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Join us on the Bible bus as we delve into the profound messages found in the book of Hosea. This episode uncovers the deeper meanings behind the prophet Hosea's life and name, emphasizing the theme of salvation through history and biblical context. Through a poignant letter from a listener in Oregon, we explore the difficult questions of morality, justice, and faith in our modern world, linking these struggles to the book of Hosea and its timeless counsel.
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The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent word.
SPEAKER 01 :
Here's an interesting fact for you. The name Hosea, who is God's spokesperson in the book that we're studying right now on the Bible bus, is another form of the name Joshua, which is the Hebrew version of the Greek name Jesus. Hosea, Joshua, Jesus. All their names mean salvation. The Old Testament men named Hosea and before him Joshua were pictures of what Jesus Christ embodied in the flesh, God's salvation. Welcome to Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee. I'm Steve Schwetz and I'm welcoming you aboard the Bible bus as we continue together our five-year journey through God's entire word. Now, Dr. McGee begins our program by sharing a letter from a concerned listener. No doubt we all will be moved by this issue we still deal with, and it all comes down to what we'll hear about in our study of Hosea 3 and 4, that people follow destructive ways because they don't know or understand God, and that individual tragedy naturally leads to despising the truth and withholding mercy. Let's listen now to this letter from Corvallis, Oregon.
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As the chairman of Corvallis Right of Life, I have been involved lobbying state legislators concerning several bills. One bill we are concerned with has to do with handicapped babies being denied food and water after birth to hasten their death. In talking to legislators, the feeling among them seemed to be that it is better to let the child die, whatever the methods, to spare the family the burden of a handicapped child. After talking to them, doubt began to creep into my mind. Maybe it's better for such a child to die. Maybe God would have it this way. But I still felt sure that starvation and dehydration weren't the way. As this was happening, a baby girl was born in an Oregon town severely deformed, right to life, knew she would soon die, but fought for nearly a week to legally secure food and water. It wasn't easy. The night the baby died, I was led to read in Lamentations. Before I went to sleep, this scripture made an impact. And it's from Lamentations 4, 3 and 4. Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young. But my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert. Because of thirst the infant's tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth. The children beg for bread, but none gives it to them. And that's the end of that quotation. The next morning at 7.30 a.m., I switched on the radio and there you were, reading the very same scripture. I took it as a sign from God to me, that this was indeed a heartless thing that is happening and removed any doubt I had. I thank you for your part in reaffirming to me what I am certain God was trying to impress on me. I also thank you for the words of your own that morning, denouncing abortion as a major evil of our time, You're probably not surprised to hear that the clergy in this community do not share your strong convictions against abortion. But with the help of God, we continue our fight against it. May God bless your ministry as it opens the eyes of many like me who are seeking answers in the Bible but stumbling along through it. We need your help so much. I appreciate that letter, as you can well understand. And may I just say this one word, regardless of the condition of the baby, to take that baby's life as murder and to say that you can take that baby's life, you're taking the place of God. And God doesn't like to share his place with anyone, by the way.
SPEAKER 01 :
Let's give the Lord his proper place in our attention now. Pray with me. Heavenly Father, thank you for your great love, for giving us what's best even though we don't always understand it. Please help your word to quicken our hearts to bring comfort and instruction and conviction. Thank you, Lord, for its truth that helps us discern truth and obey you. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, it's time. Let's open to Hosea 3 as we go through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
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Now, friends, today as we come to the fourth chapter of Hosea, we're now coming to a section where we're leaving the private life of Hosea. It fades into the background, and the emphasis now is upon the Lord and Israel. But I would just like to back up for just a moment, therefore, to chapter 3 at verse 1, because this, I believe, is very important. Here we read again, "...then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love cakes of raisins." Now, four times in this little verse here, you have the word love mentioned. Great many people think you have to get to the New Testament before you find anything about love. I believe that if you'd examine it carefully, you'd probably find that there's more said about love in the Old Testament than in the New. That is because, of course, the Old Testament is much longer. And there's more of it than we have of the New Testament. But it is interesting to note that there's a great deal about love. Now, I was thinking after I made the broadcast last time that this first verse here is actually an equation, a mathematical equation. And it puts it like this. God's love equals Israel's sins. And I shouldn't say equal, but God's love times Israel's sin equals Hosea's love times Gomer's sin. So you see that we do have an equation here. And out of that home, he comes now to speak to the nation, and he knows how God feels about them. Now, everything up to this point has been in the way of generalization. God has said they've sinned, that they have played the harlot. They've been unfaithful to him. Now he's going to spell it out. And you can make a comparison actually between this particular chapter and the first chapter of Isaiah. And you ought to compare it there because Isaiah spoke to the southern kingdom and then he spelled out God's charge against the nation. Now, here again, God brings them into court. He makes certain charges and he proves them. That is the message of chapter 4. In fact, chapters 4 and 5, he's saying now to Israel, you are playing the harlot. And Israel in this chapter is guilty of lawlessness, immorality, ignorance of God's word, and idolatry. And we see here in this first verse, the Lord confronts Israel with the fact that they have no knowledge of God. And then in verse 2, he spells out their specific sins. Now, will you listen to it? 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. Now, he says these three things here. There's no truth, there's no mercy, and there's no knowledge of God in the land. In other words, these people have been brainwashed with idolatry. And as a result, there was actually no mercy. And God had instructed them to be merciful. In fact, he said, when the stranger comes into your land and the poor, they are permitted to go in and glean. And God says, I take care of them this way and you're to do this. Why? Because he says, I am the Lord your God and I'm a holy God. They'd forgotten that. They were no longer being merciful. And there was actually no knowledge of God in the land. Oh, there's a great deal of religion, but no knowledge of God in the land. Now, they were breaking the Ten Commandments. Listen to this. By swearing and lying and killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break out and blood toucheth blood. Now, each one of these things that he mentions, they were breaking the Ten Commandments. Go back to the 20th of Exodus and read it. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery." And all of this was even among their relatives, blood touching blood. They were committing all of these sins. They actually were breaking the Ten Commandments. I want to say something very carefully at this time. And will you listen very carefully? God gave the Ten Commandments which is only part of the Mosaic system, to the nation Israel. But in that, God expresses His will. The church today is not put under the Ten Commandments as a way, that is, that is not living the Christian life if all you do is keep the Ten Commandments. Now, that doesn't mean you break them. It just simply means he's called you to a higher plane, and you're called to live in the power of the Spirit of God. Now, God is not asking the unsaved world anything, but he does have a great deal to say about nations. And the nation Israel that he chose and dealt with them furnishes a pattern to the other nations of the world. Now, we have had what has been so-called a Christian civilization in Europe. It never was really Christian, but it had the semblance of it. The laws were patterned after this. And these are laws for a nation. I shall not kill. I shall not commit adultery. Among those are other things. God condemned drunkenness. God condemned homosexuality. And he has the strongest language for that. He says when a people or an individual indulges in that, and I don't care what you call it, my friend, God says he gave them up. He gave up this nation. They were guilty of that. They were guilty of indulging in these sins. We today are guilty of the same thing. There's no knowledge of God in this land. Oh, I know there's a church on every corner, and Sunday morning you can hear church bells everywhere. But of course, a very small percentage of the population go to church, and very few are actually being reached with the Word of God. There is a Gideon Bible in every hotel room and motel room in this country. As far as I know, the first thing I do when I go to a new hotel or a new motel to stay, I look around for the Gideon Bible. And I've noticed recently it's been out on the table. That is, it's been out and opened up so you can see it. Now, I do not know how much it's being read. The Gideons say they receive many letters telling of conversions. But I'm sure that a great many of those Bibles are not ever opened. I know I've been to several places where I'm convinced that the Bible had never been opened before. We're a nation of biblical ignoramuses. We do not know the Word of God today in this land. But the Watergate hearings in Washington certainly turned the spotlight on our government and actually not the one political party but to both political parties that there's corruption in this land of ours. And I wasn't quite sure whether all of the liars were sitting in the witness stand or were on the other side on the committee. And I think you'll find them in both parties. I think that you will find corruption today in this land in both parties. And the chairman of the committee was greatly disappointed in him, the way he not only misquoted Scripture, he misinterpreted it and said that the four Gospels contradicted each other. And that went out on television. And may I say to you, I, for one, protest that. Because I felt like demanding equal time, everybody else demands equal time to answer that, that there is no contradiction in the four Gospels. And when a man says that, he reveals a woeful ignorance of the Word of God. Now, I'm saying all of this to say this, that our land is in the same kind of a condition that these people were in in that day. I'm going to take just one particular phase. We're told that a few years ago that in Washington, there were 128 cocktail parties every day. And again, the spotlight that's been turned on these hearings reveals that there's drinking probably in Washington. Couldn't be more in Los Angeles, but there's been a great deal of it there. Now, I want to share with you today some facts and figures, and there are a few brave editors today in this country, but most of it's the liberal press. They follow one particular line, and just like Israel was brainwashed, Our nation today is being brainwashed by nothing in the world but propaganda and liberalism. But down in San Diego, the local paper down there had a headline, and this goes back to January the 11th, 1972. It was on the front page of the paper, bottom of the page, but it was a headline, Alcoholics Cost Area Businesses $10 Million." May I say to you, people cry out about the high cost of living, cry out about the high cost of war and high cost of government. All of that is true. But who's crying out against liquor today? No one's crying out against it. What do you suppose that has to do with what you buy at the store today? They say, preacher, this is none of your business. It's my business in several different ways. And I wish there were more crying out against this sort of thing. The pulpits become extremely silent in these matters. And when I go to the store, I'm paying a higher price for things because government, And the nation, we are engaged in gross immorality today, breaking these Ten Commandments. You don't get by with it as a nation. These commandments have been the basis of every so-called Christian civilization. And I'm not going to debate that point with anyone. Now, will you listen to this? Today they're saying alcoholism is a disease. And this has been answered by a doctor. He says, alcoholism a disease? If so, listen to this. It's the only disease contracted by an act of the will. It's the only disease that is habit-forming. It's the only disease that comes in a bottle. It's the only disease causing hundreds of thousands of family disruptions. It's the only disease promoting crime and brutality. It's the only disease contributing to hundreds of thousands of automobile accidents. It is the only disease playing a major part in over 50% of the more than 50,000 annual highway deaths. It is the only disease which is sold by license. It's the only disease that's bought in grocery stores, drug stores, and Wellmark retail outlets. It's the only disease that is taxed by the government and on and on. There's more to this. I'll just read that to you today. May I say to you, our eyes are shut to this because we've been brainwashed and the liquor interests have this tremendous control today. And as a result, our nation sinks lower and lower because we have what's called a new morality. It wasn't new at all. Israel was practicing it way back yonder. In about 700 B.C., and I wouldn't call it new morality back there by any means, they were breaking all these commandments and God condemned them for it. And homosexuality was practiced even back as far as Sodom and Gomorrah. It's the reason he destroyed these places. He judged them. And today, actually, some of the legislatures filled with men ignorant of the Word of God ignorant of this thing which has been basic for this nation of ours, and they pass legislation that makes it so that two homosexuals can get married. The liberal church says that we should not consider them sinners, And I know I speak to many homosexuals. I'll get letters on this. May I say to you, the Lord Jesus Christ says that you've got to be born again. And he can deliver you from it. These things are not diseases today. But when they're treated as what they really are, sin, then God can deal with us. We are doomed as a nation, as much as Israel was condemned and sent into captivity. And after all, they were God's chosen people. We are not. By any stretch of the imagination, we can't make that claim. But this is the basis on which God judges nations. I spent a little time there and I got warmed up on that. I think somebody today needs to be saying something along this line. But the pulpit is strangely silent in this connection. Well, one reason they never study Hosea. You know, here's one of the forgotten prophets. Now I'm going to keep on reading. Verse 3. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth in it shall languish, with the beasts of the field, with the fowls of the heavens, yea, the fish of the sea also shall be taken away." The land will languish. All of a sudden we found out that we're polluting everything today. When I was a boy, I went swimming in a swimming hole in a creek in southern Oklahoma that was as clear you could see, 25 feet to the bottom. My friend, may I say to you, it smells to high heaven. We polluted the land today. The land here is mourning. And then another very interesting thing is a few years ago, it was plenty. All of the granaries were filled with grain. It was plenty of everything. And may I say today, we're hearing something about scarcity. You see, when God judges a nation, the land is involved, and even the beasts and the fowls have to suffer for the sin of man. And they are suffering also today because of man's sin. Verse 4, Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another. For thy people are as they that strive with the priest. What has happened? Why, the priest in that day was not doing his duty. Not warning the people. And God had raised up the prophet. What about that? Verse 5. Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. That is the nation. Why? Because now even there were the false prophets that were rising up and telling people, well, everything's going to be all right. This thing's going to work out. We live in a new day. The Bible is an old book in the Ten Commandments. They belong to the past, to our grandfathers and grandmothers. But we today have reached a very high plane. May I say to you, we are a dirty lot. We have sunk very low today as a nation and as a people. Now, verse 6 is probably one of the most quoted verses. It's considered to be one of the most familiar verses. I'm reading now Hosea 4, verse 6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. That's the reason we're teaching the Bible today. That's the reason we're going into a book like this, is because, my friend, it's the ignorance of the Word of God. They're destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I'll also reject thee, that thou shall be no priest to me. You see, God intended the whole nation. to be priests unto him. And in the millennium, they will be that. But God says, you're not even going to have priests at this particular time. Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. That is, even the people of the nation, now God says, I will also forget you. Because you've forgotten me. In other words, they've come to the time of judgment because they've gone through a long sordid history of departing from the Lord. Now, I'll have to leave off there today. But you can see how important this chapter is. And we hope, though, to finish it next time. Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
SPEAKER 01 :
It's a sobering reality that we see the people of Israel in Hosea's time and also in our culture turn their backs on God. Augustine said it so well. Spend some time thinking about what we've studied. And as you do, why don't you confess to the Lord how, at many times, you've forgotten Him as the priority of your life. And then tell Him that, as of now, He's first place again. You know, there's more to learn from this great book of Hosea. And as always, if you'd like to listen to this study again, or any other study from our five-year journey through the whole Word of God, all of Dr. McGee's studies are available in our app or online. Just visit ttb.org to listen now. to your many options. Or you can call us at 1-800-65-BIBLE for help in finding what you're looking for. Now as we go, I'd ask that you join me in reading through the rest of Hosea 4 before tomorrow's study. It always helps with the program to have read the passage in advance. to read ahead each day and prepare your heart for what God wants to teach you through His Word. You can download our free Bible reading schedule at ttb.org or just call us at 1-865-BIBLE to receive it by mail. Again, that's ttb.org or 1-865-BIBLE. You can also write to Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. In Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. I'm Steve Schweitz. For all of us at Through the Bible, we're praying that you walk with God until we meet again. See you next time.
SPEAKER 03 :
Jesus came in all, all to be my own. Sin had left the prince unsaved. He washed it white as snow.
This episode brings an intriguing discussion on the Book of Hosea, exploring Israel's prophecies and their relevance in our modern world. Delve into the lives of individuals transformed by faith and understand how these ancient scriptures apply to our lives today. With heartwarming testimonies and prophetic insights, we invite you to learn and grow in faith as we anticipate the Lord’s return.
SPEAKER 02 :
The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith.
SPEAKER 03 :
The story is told about a wonderful problem a Christian home for children with special needs was having. A chapel speaker told the children about how one day soon Jesus was coming in the clouds and he would gather up his children to meet him in the air. Ever since then, said the schoolmaster, we've had a terrible time keeping the windows clean. The children are glued to the glass, watching the sky. Well, welcome to Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee. I'm your host, Steve Schwetz. And, you know, I love that story. We can learn a lot from those kids. So full of faith and ready for the Lord to call us to be with him in the clouds. Well, in this study, we're also fixing our hope on the soon return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We're about halfway through the Old Testament book of Hosea in chapter 3. Beginning in verse 4, you know, the last words that Jesus gave us just as he was ascending into heaven were words of instruction about what we should be doing while we wait for his return. Acts 1 8 records them. He says, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me. And you know, we're doing that now as we take the whole Word of God out to the whole world, and you're helping us. Followers of Jesus are being built up in their faith, and those who don't yet know Him as their Savior, well, they hear of the hope and assurance of everlasting life with God. So before we jump into our study, I want you to hear from a few of those whose lives are being changed by the whole Word of God here on Through the Bible. First, we got a note from Jim in Illinois. I've really enjoyed going through the Bible for several years, Jim says. And then he goes on. I'm recently divorced, living in Illinois, and unable to attend church due to the fact that I gave up my only vehicle to my ex-wife, and there is no public transportation to my house on Sundays. I would like to eventually be a chaplain somewhere. I know I am called to some sort of ministry. I'm 63 years old, but still planning my future with God. I'll keep riding the Bible bus as long as I have ears to hear." Well, it's great to have you with us, Jim, and I'll be sure to save your seat on the Bible bus. Now, here's a note. This one's from Stephanie. She's in Maryland. I came to Christ in November 2014 while listening to Dr. McGee in my car on my way to work. I was so lost and searching for the truth, but through you, God showed me the truth. God changed my life and, as a result, changed my two daughters' lives as I raised them in Christ. My husband told me that he could not take me being a Christian any longer because He said I was very different, didn't drink, and didn't even listen to the same music since I'd started listening to Christian music. Over time, he became very abusive and was cheating on me with multiple women. Sadly, I received a protective order against him and a divorce. But not to feel sad for me, but praise God because he held my hand the whole 18-month process. Without Jesus, I would have been just as wicked throughout the process as my husband was. Instead, I await the return of Jesus. Thank you for sharing your story and your journey, Stephanie. We're glad to have you as part of our Through the Bible family. Now, our final note comes from a listener in Kenya who joins us on the Bible bus in his language of Swahili. He says, My family and I heard your programs and chose to follow Jesus Christ. I'm an old man now and cannot read, but listening, I am growing in faith and teaching my family. We fellowship in the house after dinner and pray together. You are in our thoughts and hearts. Isn't that great? If you want to learn more about how you can pray for listeners like these worldwide, visit ttb.org forward slash pray. And to share the story of what God's doing in your life, contact us in our app, also by email at BibleBus at ttb.org or write to us at Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. in Canada Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1, or call and leave a message at 1-800-65-BIBLE. We really do love hearing from you, and we're not the only ones. When we share a story of how God is moving in the lives of His children and those seeking Him, everyone listening is blessed. So please consider reaching out. Let's pray together now and get to our study. Heavenly Father, we're grateful for your grace and how you extend your blessing across the earth, drawing people from every tribe and every nation to yourself. Please deepen our understanding of your word as we listen. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Open to Hosea 3 as we go through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
SPEAKER 01 :
Now, friends, we're back in this third chapter of Hosea. Now, this is a very brief chapter, has only five verses here, yet this is actually one of the great prophetic passages in the Word of God. And you will find that you have here the past dealings of God with Israel, His present dealings with Israel, and His future dealings. Many of you were with us when we went through Romans. You will recall that I consider chapter 9, 10, and 11, being the dispensational section, deals with the nation Israel. And you have in the ninth chapter the past of Israel, and in the tent, the present of Israel, and in chapter 11, the future for the nation Israel. Now, these two verses right here, you've got this all compacted into one, and they say what? Precious things come in little packages? Well, may I say that powerful things do too. Take the atom bomb and take these two verses here. They're tremendous verses. Now, I got to the fourth verse and got into it, and I want to deal with this now. manner in which I did last time because I didn't have time to even finish it. He says, for the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king. Now, we mentioned the fact here of this problem of many days, and we were going to talk about it today. If you'll notice, it doesn't give the number of days. And this is unusual because the children of Israel were told that they were to be put out of that land three times, and they would be returned three times. And each time God put them out of that land, he told them how long they would be out except the last time. Now, he said, first Abraham, I'm going to put your children out of the land. I'm going to give you this land. It's yours. But I'll put you out of the land for 430 years down in the land of Egypt. Then you're going to come back. They did. That was fulfilled, literally. Jeremiah said to them, because of your sin, you're going to be sent into captivity to Babylon. You'll be down there 70 years. Now, Hosea is speaking to the northern kingdom because they actually never return. And there's many days. They'll abide many days. Well, how long is many days? Well, right now we have some that are saying that the Lord's going to come by 2000 A.D., And I don't know where they get that. I always feel like these fellows must have a private line in the heaven that I don't have. And I guess maybe I'm a little jealous because I'd like to have that private line also, or at least know what the number is. But they got the number. Some say now 2,000. And there are others saying, I know one, I have a tape of a message he gave. And he says that This generation living today is the one that's going to see the coming of Christ. I'd like to know where you get that. May I say to you, that sounds good today to a lot of untaught Christians and those that are sensational mongers today. And we have those. We have a lot of prophecy mongers about today. But the children of Israel shall abide many days. How many days? And why didn't the Lord give the number here? Because in this interval, while they're out of the land, and they went out in 70 AD. And they actually have never returned to the land according to the word of God. Now, hear me very carefully, because this is very important to see. They have returned to the land today, and it's remarkable what has happened over there. But it's not the fulfillment of prophecy, because the prophecy says when they return, they'll return to God. And it's the belief now of several outstanding prophetic students, that is two men I know, that believe they may be put out of that land again before you have really the fulfillment of prophecy of their return to the land as a nation. And when they return, they'll return to God. Now, will you notice here, they have no king. The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king. We mentioned that last time, without a prince. We mentioned that. And without a sacrifice. And that's where I left off. And that's where, really, I want to put in today. Now, a great many people are saying to me, they said, well, Dr. McGee, you have quoted the scripture in Luke 21. that Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. We must be at the end because now Israel has Jerusalem. Now, guess where I want you to hear me very carefully. So easy today to jump to conclusions, you see. Now, I want to say, first of all, I believe we're living in the last days. And somebody says, well, you mean then the Lord will be coming soon? I don't know how soon, because we've been in the last days for 1900 years. And the Lord Jesus said, behold, I come quickly. And that is 1900 years ago. So I'm not prepared to say it'll be tomorrow or next week or next year or in this century. I just don't happen to know. But I do believe we see the setting of a stage today. when action will begin when the church is removed from this earth. Now, the reason the date's not given here is that the church is dateless, nameless, timeless. You see, we're a heavenly people, have no name, but some of you folk thought it was Baptist, and some others of you thought the name of the church was Presbyterian, and even some of you thought it was Methodist, and some of you thought it was independent. But I have news for you. Church has no name. Never was given a name. Ecclesia just means a called out body. And he's calling out a body that's going to be his bride. I could make a suggestion to you. The church in the parable of the pearl of great price, the church is, I think, the pearl that this merchant man, Jesus, came and he bought it. And he paid a big price for the church. And I'm not going to go into that today other than to say this, that the word for pearl is margaritas. And if the church has any name at all, it's Margaret. That may astound you. I bet you never heard of a church that was named Margaret, the Margaret Church. Somebody says, what church you go to? I told a fellow one time, I said, I go to the Margaret Church. He thought I was kidding him. I really was serious about it. I think that's the name of it. And it was down here, Daedalus. If you had met Simon Peter an hour before the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, Why? And you'd said, do you know what's going to happen here in a little while? He'd said, no, what's going to happen? He didn't know. Church came in existence, dateless. The birth was announced, but not the date of it. And the time of the rapture, you are not given any date concerning it. And because of that, the children of Israel are going to abide many days without a king, without a prince, without a sacrifice. Now, let's come back to this. Do they have Jerusalem today? Well, may I say this to you? All of the holy places in Jerusalem, old Jerusalem, are in the hands of either the Muslims, either the Russian Catholic, the Greek Catholic, the Armenian Church, or the Roman Catholic. And they've all built cathedrals or churches over all these spots. And Israel doesn't have them. Israel doesn't dare touch those sacred spots. I said to a guy that I got acquainted with, and he's become a Jewish friend of mine. I said to him, why don't you go up there? You've got Jerusalem now. And tear down that mosque of Omar and put up a temple. He says, what do you want us to do? To start World War III? It'll sure start it, friends. Be no question about that. May I say to you, they don't have the temple area. They don't have a sacrifice today. The only place they've gotten to is the weeping wall. They're still at the weeping wall, friends. That's where they are today. And they do not have a sacrifice except the one that we have today. And that's when Jesus died. 1900 years ago outside the city. But he has been raised from the dead and he's at God's right hand. They do not have a sacrifice and without an image. Now, the idea here of an image is the fact that God didn't give them, very frankly, God never gave them any images, if you'll notice, no likeness at all. But he did give them many things, for instance, without an ephod or without teraphim. And teraphim are these little things that they carried around, little objects. And actually, they were little idols that they were carrying around, and they began to worship those things. Now, God says they're going to get away from idolatry. They won't have an image. And there's one thing you can say about Israel over there. They're not in idolatry. They've not turned to God, but they certainly have turned away from idolatry. Now he says here, afterward. Now, afterward doesn't mean 2000 A.D., I don't know when it is. "'Afterward shall the children of Israel return.'" Now, they are going to return. And when they return, this is the way they'll return to the land. "'And seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.'" Now, the latter days are yet in the future, because I think the latter days here refers to the nation Israel. And it refers, beginning with the great tribulation, goes through the second coming of Christ into the millennium. So that they have returned, but they have not turned to the Lord. Now, I'm going to say something to you that's very startling. Because my last trip over there, I learned more than any trip I ever took before. And this is one of the things that we can not only show you, but we can demonstrate it. Over there, there's no turning to God at all. Well, when they celebrated, for instance, some time ago, their anniversary, they had a big motto. I have a picture of it. It says that science will bring peace to this land. Well, I thought the Messiah was going to, but they're not turning to the Messiah. It's to science. Now they've added something to that, and that is prosperity. That is economics. And while we were over there, while they were having a great economic conference, one of the Rockefellers was there. One of the Fords was there. And a hundred outstanding men put up a million dollars each to invest in that land. And they said they just wanted a hundred. They could have had 500. And they're building over there like mad. You've never seen anything like it. Now, may I say this to you? Economics today is that. And there are two missionaries that I know over there that I consider very reputable. And these two missionaries have made this very clear. One of them, and he was asked the specific question, how many really Christians are there in this land today? Now, this man is an intelligent man. He speaks several languages. He's been a professor over there. And he's become a Christian and he's doing missionary work. And he made this statement. There are less than 300 Israelites that are real believers in Israel today. Now, that I know is going to cause a great deal of discussion and disagreement. For the very simple reason that there are some that are giving out propaganda today that hundreds are turning to Christ in that land. That just does not happen to be true. Now, there are actually more Arab Christians in Israel than there are Jewish Christians. That may also amaze you. And there are fine works among Arabs that are being carried on over there today. But missionary work in Israel is really a tough job. And there are very few missionaries over there to tell the truth. So that they have not returned to God today. And this prophecy... Right here, this verse 5 is an evidence of the fact that this present return to the land is not the fulfillment of the Word of God. Now, I know this is different than what you're hearing today. Have you ever heard any of these folk take the prophecy of Hosea or any of the prophets? And we take the whole book, friends, so we have to face up to it. They don't. They can always edge around these verses like this. And you can pull out a few verses that say, well, we've got this ridiculous thing going. And I mentioned it too. We heard some time ago that they were shipping Indiana stone over to Israel to build a temple. to that land, you know one thing that they don't need is stone. Jerusalem is on a rocky place, and every hill around it, including the Mount of Olives, are just loaded with rocks. Now, if Indiana wants to buy some stone, I can tell them where they can get it. Israel would be glad to export stone. Now, there's another prophecy that they talk about. They say, now, oranges are growing in that land, and that means that these are the strange slips that Isaiah said would grow in that land. Well, may I say to you, the orange tree in that land is not a strange slip. Actually, in the Song of Solomon, where it speaks of apples, the apple tree, it's the orange tree. Oranges grow in that land, and it's the belief now of some that oranges were taken from there to Spain and from Spain to Florida and to California. And today, that's the land that grows oranges and they're not a strange slip, my beloved. How ridiculous these things are becoming today. Friends, let's stay close to the Word of God. And if we do, we will not become one of these prophetic fanatics that are abroad in the land today. Now, I've spent a long time on this passage of Scripture. Five verses, and somebody says, my, but do you see how important it is? These last two verses are very important. Now we're not going to be talking anymore, or not very much at least, about Hosea's private personal life. We're moving now into the beginning here with verse 4 of chapter 3. We move into the prophetic section. And when we get here to chapter 4, where we're coming to right now, We are finding we're in the prophetic section, and he's going to talk a great deal about the faithless nation now that has been playing the harlot. Just as the church today, there are a lot of wonderful churches. Don't misunderstand me. Oh, they're wonderful, fundamental churches across this land. Thank God for them. But liberalism has taken over in so many places today, outstanding places, and the gospel is not given. And I say again, God says this nation has become a brothel and you're a bunch of prostitutes. What do you think Jesus would say today to his church? He'd walk in some of the churches today. I think he'd call them brothels. My friend, may I say to you that this is very strong language. And it's going to be too strong for some folk. They've already tuned me out. Now, chapter 4 and chapter 4 and 5, we have Israel plays the harlot. And here in chapter 4, we have Israel guilty. of lawlessness, immorality, ignorance of God's Word, and idolatry. Now, I believe that you could put that down today on this nation in which we live. These are the sins of the nation. Now, it's true that the nation Israel was God's chosen people, and he gave the law to them. But let's understand one thing, that his pattern for any nation that wants to be blessed by is along this same line. And therefore, we find here this nation guilty of the same things, or our nation, that the nation Israel was when God judged them and sent them into captivity. Now, somebody will disagree with me and say, well, we're not idolatrous. Well, covetousness is idolatry. And I do not know of a nation that is more greedy, more worshipping the almighty dollar, and believe me, it's not worth worshipping today, than this nation of ours. May I say to you, the judgment of God was upon this nation. But we might read this and point a finger at them and say it is a shame about how they turn from God. Look around you today and see if the same thing may not be true of us. Now, I can only read one verse. Just get a foot in the door, chapter 4. 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. By swearing and lying and killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break out and blood toucheth blood. And my friend, God judges these things. We're going to look at these things next time. Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks so much for joining us. And we've got some more great teaching by Dr. McGee ahead in Hosea. But in the meantime, if we can help you find a Bible study resource by Dr. McGee to deepen your own personal study of God's Word, just call us. The number is 1-865-BIBLE. You can always visit our website, ttb.org, where you'll find an entire library of materials, including our most recent newsletter that contains additional content from Dr. McGee, as well as tips that will help you apply what you're learning. And that's always good to do. Again, the newsletter is available anytime at ttb.org or call 1-800-65-BIBLE if we can help you sign up. This is Steve Schwetz, and I'm looking forward to beginning with you again as the Bible bus comes around your corner for another great study in God's Word. Until then, may God bless you as you walk with Him.
SPEAKER 02 :
All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, ride the Bible bus for five years and you'll be amazed at what God teaches you from his word about what it means to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. It's a blessing that keeps on going. That's what we believe at Through the Bible.
In this episode, we explore the intriguing story of Hosea, a prophet commanded to marry a harlot, and the enduring lessons his life teaches us about God's unwavering pursuit of His people. With commentary from Dr. McGee, we delve into the personal trials and divine promise within Hosea's narrative, relating it to the ancient Israelis' struggles and victories. We also touch on listener experiences and prayers, highlighting the universal theme of turning back to faith and finding solace in spiritual practices.
SPEAKER 03 :
The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome to Through the Bible. Early in this study, Dr. J. Vernon McGee shares with us about how to get victory in the spiritual life. He mentions how Joshua's army got the victory at Jericho because God led the charge. But the next battle was over the small city of Ai, and the army thought they could handle that one on their own without trusting God. But of course they were wrong. Dr. McGee says a great many people think they can live the Christian life in their own strength, which always means defeat. We're in Hosea 2, where God says, I'll take the name of Baal out of your vocabulary. And you know, he did. In fact, after 70 years as prisoners of war, the Jews finally broke their addiction to worshiping foreign gods. Where the word of God is not honored, worshiping other gods is a common thread. But spiritual victory is possible. And you know, the book of Hosea has some surprising lessons for us. But as we learn, the most painful lessons are in our relationships, aren't they? Specifically in our homes. And you know, many of our listeners have recently reached out asking for prayer in their heartbreak, and others are praising him at the same time for bringing them through. So as you find your seat on the Bible bus, I want to share a couple of letters. First, we're going to hear from a wife in Algeria who writes... My husband is an alcoholic, and most of the time I have no idea where he is. We go long periods of time without seeing him. He does not have a job and pushes us into more debt. I have a daughter to support, and there is no one I can talk to about this situation. Thank you for the program, which is my only friend. Next we hear from Mike. He's in the U.S. Like so many, I found TTB by accident on the radio, where I first heard a program that seemed to be spending time on a book not often covered in detail, 2 John. Then I heard Steve mention this was a five-year study of each book of the Bible, and I was hooked. I listened for many years until I fell away. A few years later, after about a depression and divorce, I began listening again. Praise God, the Bible bus was still there. Jesus, incredibly patient, yet powerful and loving. He stood by me, and I realized he's permanently in me and I in him. If he is for me, who can be effective against me? I love you, Jesus, and I praise you for using the many men and women who bring your word throughout the world for your glory. And thank you, Steve, Greg, and all my brothers and sisters all over the world. Well, Mike, thanks for that encouraging letter. Thanks for sharing your story too. Now, our last letter comes from Berenice in Brazil. I wanted to share with you what God has been talking to me about these past few days. I've been divorced for two years now. About a year ago, I started listening to your programs. I already knew you since my grandmother listened when I was a child. Through your teaching, God has been transforming my life, my way of thinking, and my character. I returned to the ways of the Lord and put my life in his hands. For a few weeks, I have been talking to my ex-husband again. I ask you to pray for us. I wrote this while crying and asking God to restore my marriage. Well, would you join us as we pray for the families of our fellow Bible bus passengers? And then also that we would praise God for the work that he's already doing in their lives. You can do that by signing up for our world prayer team in our app or online over at ttb.org. Let's pray together now. Father, thank you for the gift of studying your word together. We lift up those whose families are hurting and broken. You know the pain, Lord. You know the division. You know the struggles that they face. We would ask that you would bring healing, that you would mend what has been torn apart. Bring comfort to those who are hurting and reconciliation where there is strife and hope where there is despair. May your peace be with all those who need it today, Lord. In Jesus' name. Here's Dr. J. Vernon McGee with our study of Hosea 2 on Through the Bible.
SPEAKER 01 :
We are in this section of Hosea. That is the personal section. This is that section. That deals with the personal life, the home life of this man who was told to do a rather unusual thing, to say the least. And that is he was to marry a harlot. Apparently a girl, he'd fallen in love with her and she had gone bad. And so we find now that God asked him to go and marry her. And we'll see she'll become unfaithful again. And God again insists that he go and take her. Now, we have here, and I'm going to backtrack here to verse 15 of chapter 2. He says to this nation of Israel there to be restored. And as I said last time, and I probably will say it several times, you cannot read this prophecy. That is, take the whole prophecy and come to any other position than God is not through with the nation Israel. I don't care what your theology is, friends. The Word of God is the important thing. And you might be able to spiritualize this, but I don't think you can do that. Because when God speaks here, he's using a great deal of geography. And I think that when God says Israel and Ephraim, He's talking about a definite people, and He's not talking about you and me. But there are tremendous lessons here for us, not only as individuals, but I think for the nation, for that matter. And there was a time when this nation would hear the Word of God, but they've long since passed that stage. I'm reading verse 15 again, and God says, "...I will give her her vineyards there." and the valley of Achor were a door of hope. Now, you will recall when the children of Israel came into the land, there were actually three major enemies in the center of that land that had to be eliminated so Joshua could divide the enemy and then concentrate on one section at a time. The first was Jericho. Jericho represents the world. And then he made an attack upon Ai. That represents the flesh. He thought that was easy. And a great many people today think they can live the Christian life in their own strength by means of the flesh. And that always means defeat, by the way. And Joshua was defeated at Ai. But a great lesson was learned there. And God brought them down to the valley of Achor. And Achan was found there to be the one who had sinned at the destruction of Jericho. God told him not to touch any of the unclean things there. And those people were eaten up with venereal disease. And God had a reason for it. But this man disobeyed. And old Joshua, you remember, went down on his face and cried out to God. And he was as pious as I've been at times complaining to the Lord. Lord says, get up off your face. Israel hath sinned. You have to deal with sin before you can have a victory. And God says, now you deal with the sin. And they dealt with it in the valley of Achor. And from then on, it was victory for this man, Joshua. When you deal with the sins of the flesh, it'll mean victory. And therefore, he says here, and the valley of Achor, a door of hope. God says again, I'll judge your sin. And after I've judged your sin, there'll be a glorious, wonderful hope for you in the future. And she shall sing there as in the days of her youth and in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. So he's definitely referring to that period. And we'll read on now. It shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shall call me Ishii, and shall call me no more Baali. And you have in that the word Baal, but it means Lord. You see, they were running around calling God Lord, Lord. And they were worshiping God at the same time, at least they thought they were. And they were worshiping Baal. You can't do both, by the way. And God says, though the day is coming that thou shall call me Ishi. And that is intimate. Oh, how intimate that is. That speaks of a husband. You will call me my husband. And that speaks of intimacy, speaks of love. Oh, it speaks of that which is on the highest plane that's imaginable. And even the name of Baal will be forgotten, you see. Now he says, verse 17, "...I'll take away the names of Balaam out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name." In other words, they'll turn from idolatry. Now, he says in verse 18, "...and in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, with the fowls of the heaven, with the creeping things of the ground, and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely." Now, even the animals in that land, as in our land today, There's a danger of many a species becoming extinct. Some already have. God says that the animals have a right to this world. He created them and put them here. And he says in that day, he's going to make a covenant with the beasts. And that's when the lion and the lamb are going to lie down together. Now, today they lie down together, but the lamb's always inside the lion. But in that day, they'll lie down together. That is something we think very little of today. And all of a sudden in this country, we've taken an interest in what is known as ecology. That is the land and the animals that are in the land. And have you ever noticed that all the way through the Word of God, that God is considering the animals and also he's considering the land itself, blessing to the land? Man, you know, is a polluter. He's a sinner on the inside and he's a sinner on the outside. And everything that man touches is nothing in the world but sin. And today they're trying to get us not to throw things along the highway around, not be a litter bug. And it's now a fine if you do that. And it's a good thing it is. I remember driving out from a hunt that a couple of friends of mine had several years ago out on the Mojave Desert. We were coming down the highway and the sun was going down and it was hitting the side of the road, and on both sides there was just a beam, a flash of light. I've never seen anything like it. You know what it was? Broken beer bottles and whiskey bottles and I guess a few bottles of soda pop. But man, he's a polluter everywhere he goes. God says, I'm going to also take care of this earth here. And thank God for that. I don't think men are going to be able to do it. Now, in verse 19, he goes on to say here, and I will betroth thee unto me forever. Yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness and in justice and in loving kindness and in mercies. And I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord. Now, we're coming to something that is very wonderful here. Actually, the word betroth here means to woo a virgin. It means to court a girl. Many of you men can remember your wife when she was a girl, how pretty she was and how you courted her. And by the way, you ought to remember it more often. He said a lot of sweet things then. The other evening, my wife and I were sitting out on the patio. I made this when I was recuperating from my physical trouble. And we were just talking about the fact that we are getting old. And I took a look at her and I have to say she is getting old like I am. But I can remember that girl that I first saw down in Texas with hair as black as a raven's wing, those flashing brown eyes. She had a sultry look, let me tell you, because she's dark complexion. And I remembered back there how wonderful those days were. And we got just a little sentimental, by the way, as we thought back over those days, how we used to drive up to Fort Worth and we went to a restaurant up there and We got a stake and you know what you paid for it in that day? 50 cents apiece. And she was a school teacher and I was a poor preacher. And I made her pay for her own, even 50 cents. I tell you, she's made up for that, those cents. And I can assure you, to woo a virgin. What a beautiful, lovely picture this in. God says that I intend to win you, but how is he going to do this? I'm going to woo you in righteousness and in justice. And in loving kindness and in mercies, you see there was mercy under the Mosaic system too. You will find that there was love in law and there's law in love also. You just can't absolutely segregate one from the other. This is lovely. And this again is one of the reasons. that I do not think the present return of Israel to that land is a fulfillment of prophecy. Certainly not this one. God says, when I woo you and bring you back into that land, why, it'll be in righteousness and in justice and in loving kindness and in mercies. Israel is just like any other nation. Some think they are a little more brutal, but my friend, they're on the defense over there, you can be sure of that. And they have to exercise a strong defense system. They are not backing that land. in fulfillment of prophecy. They have returned to the land, but they have not yet returned to the Lord. When they return to the Lord, there'll be blessing. They have not yet done that. I'm going to talk about that just in a few minutes, at least if I get there today. Verse 20 now, chapter 2, I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness. Now, they never were faithful in the past. They're very much like the church in apostasy today. And thou shall know the Lord, and they sure don't know him today. Verse 21, it shall come to pass in that day. Now, that expression, in that day, is an expression that I think is a technical expression, and it refers forward to the time of the last days as it pertains to the nation Israel. It refers to the great tribulation period and the coming of Christ to set up his kingdom down here. It shall come to pass in that day. I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth. In other words, heaven and earth will be in tune, and Browning will be right in that day, and he's sure not right today that heaven and earth are in tune. Verse 22, And the earth shall hear the grain, and the wine, and the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel. Now, Jezreel meant God will scatter them. But in that day, God will regather them. Listen to him, verse 23. And I will sow her unto me in the earth, and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy. Not only will he regather them, but they will no longer be lo, Ruhamah, the unpitted daughter of Hosea and Gomer the harlot. But God will now have mercy upon them, and they will obtain mercy. And I will say unto them who were not my people, thou art my people, and they shall say, thou art my God. They are not saying that today, and today it's lo ami, not my people, but in that day it will be my people. God will say, you are my people, and they will say, You are my God. Now, that is not true today, friends. They are not turning to God, but they will turn to God in that day. All right, now we come down to chapter 3 here. In chapter 3, Hosea found out that his wife had proved unfaithful, but he's commanded to go and take Gomer again. Notice what he says. Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet. Love a woman, that is your wife, she's your woman, love a woman, beloved of her friend, you love her, though she's been unfaithful, yet she's an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love cakes of raisins. That is, they loved that which was part of the heathen worship of idols, the cakes of raisins. Actually, they were used in the sacrificial feast of the Canaanites of that day. And the children of Israel have adopted that. You can see God's making the application. He says to this man, Hosea, now you know how I feel. I want you to go and take Gomer again. She's been unfaithful to you, but you love her and you take her back. And God says, that's what I'm going to do with my people. Israel's been unfaithful to me, but I haven't cast her overboard. I'm going to punish her, but I have not gotten rid of them by any means. Now, will you notice what he says, verse 2? So I bought her for myself. Now, apparently she had sold herself. to some group of racketeers that were running brothels in that land, and he had to go buy her back. And I bought it for myself. And do you know that you and I have been redeemed? The picture's not very pretty. That's the reason it's not being preached more today. You can hear more today, even in fundamental circles, our conservative circles, about dedication, about commitment, and about the fact that you're to turn your life over to the Lord and you're to do this. My friend, the first thing you have to do is to come as a sinner to God He has to redeem you just as this man went and bought this harlot. That's the way God redeemed you and he redeemed me. And until you and I see that, we haven't seen anything at all. We haven't even gotten to first base until we see this. And he says, so I bought it for myself for 15 pieces of silver. and for a homer of barley and a half homer of barley. And she wasn't worth it. And you and I are not worth the redemption price because we were not redeemed with gold or silver or precious stones, but with a precious blood of Christ. He had to shed his blood. He had to suffer and die that you and I might be redeemed today. Why? Because we were lost sinners, sold under sin, if you please. We better learn to start there, friends. I heard a man, and he's a friend of mine. I heard him bring a message. I think he's a great preacher, but he's got soul. He doesn't mention the gospel. He didn't mention the fact that you have to come as a sinner. Oh, he told them, well, they ought to love Jesus. You ought to serve God. You ought to obey him and all that sort of thing. But friends, that's not where you begin. We are dead in trespasses and sins. And you just well go out the graveyard and say, listen, fellas and girls, Let's all of us start doing better. Let's all of us start committing our life to the Lord. We have no life to commit. Everybody out there is dead. They can't do anything. And you and I are dead in trespasses and sins until that matter is settled. And we are born again. We receive a new nature. We haven't got anywhere at all. Now, he says, "...and I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days." Thou shall not play the harlot. Thou shall not be for another man. So will I also be for thee. And a man told me a sad story not too long ago of how he found out that his wife was unfaithful to him and how he actually followed her. And he apparently had a detective. Imagine the feeling of that man. Oh, what a heartbreak it was to him to find out that she was unfaithful to him. Well, my friend, I can't think of anything worse than that. It broke up a home. It'll break up a home. But God says to his people, that's what you've been doing. You've been playing the harlot. You have gone after other gods and you've turned from me and you no longer serve me. Oh, you call me Lord. And the Lord Jesus said, many are going to say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, I'll say I didn't know you. Now, I'm going to say now probably the strongest thing that you've ever heard. And there's not one of these rock-ribbed fundamentalists even that criticizes me today. He's never said anything this strong. Did you know that in a church that has a building that has a steeple on it and a bell in it and a pulpit and a man stands up there who denies the Word of God denies the deity of Christ and denies that he died for sinners. And the people attend there and support that sort of thing. Do you know what you have? You don't have a church. You have a brothel, a spiritual brothel, my friend. And that's all in the world it is. And I didn't say that. God says that right here. This is the strongest language you can imagine. And you can understand why Hosea was not elected the man of the year. in Israel at that particular time. He didn't win the popularity contest in his hometown. You can be sure of that. Why? Because that's exactly what he's telling his people. You have become a brothel as a nation as you've turned to idolatry and turned from the living and true God. Now he said as a result, And I sure am going to have to save this until next time. I do want to talk about this. Verse 4 and 5. And I consider we've come to probably the most important verses right now for these students of prophecy today that are beginning to set dates. Listen to this. "'For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king,' without a prince, without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim. Now, will you notice, I'm going to talk about the many days next time, but they're going to abide many days without a king. Some claim in that land today they can tell you the tribe they belong to. I have my serious doubts about that, but at least they make the claims. But there is not an Israelite living today that can say, I'm in the line of David and I have a right to the throne of David. The only one that can claim that is right this moment, sitting at God's right hand. That's the Lord Jesus Christ, who's King of kings and Lord of lords. They're going to abide many days without a king. And they don't have one down here today. They've rejected their king and without a prince. That is, one to follow and without a sacrifice. Now, I'm going to have to say this until next time. Did you know that those there back in that land, had it ever struck you as being very strange that they actually do not have a temple and they do not have a sacrifice? Has that ever struck you as being unusual? Well, if it hasn't, then tune us in next time because we're going to talk about that, for that's very important. Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, Dr. McGee pursues that question in our next study. So until then, if you want to dive deeper into your study of God's Word yourself or to be in touch, you can download our app. And I know that I say it all the time, but it really is an excellent way to stay on the Bible bus. I use it every day. Or visit us at ttb.org or call 1-800-65-BIBLE. I'm Steve Schwetz, and I'm looking forward to meeting you back here for another great adventure in God's Word next time.
SPEAKER 03 :
All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.
SPEAKER 02 :
Through the Bible is a five-year study of God's entire word, and together we discover God's purposes in history and our lives, found only when we believe in Jesus Christ. Do you know him yet?
