This episode of Through the Bible brings listeners face-to-face with the realities faced by numerous biblical figures who walked by faith despite trials. Come, listen, and learn why enduring life's challenges with an unwavering faith is not just a biblical teaching but a transformative experience. You'll also hear letters from our prayer team, sharing their journeys and the profound impact this ministry has had on their lives—a testament to the persistent, uplifting power of faith.
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When you come to Jesus in faith, when your eyes are open to the gospel, and you find out who Jesus is and believe it, well, it's nothing short of amazing. But as great as that day is, when you pick up your cross every day and follow Christ faithfully over a lifetime, right to the finish line, that's just as amazing. But don't let anyone tell you it's easy. I believe that's why God is so gracious to include so much encouragement in His Word. Don't grow weary in Ephesians or fight the good fight in 2 Timothy. Press on. Persevere. Hebrews, our focus right now in our five-year journey through the entire Word of God, has encouragement for the weary, too. In a word, it's hope, a hope that's alive and real. Well, thanks for traveling with us on Through the Bible. I'm your host, Steve Schwetz, and our teacher is Dr. J. Vernon McGee, and he's in the Hope chapter of Hebrews, Chapter 12. We'll be encouraged to stay at it, to keep in the race that is the Christian life, and our motivation is none other than Jesus Christ himself. So grab your copy of God's Word and hop aboard the Bible bus. And while you find your seat, let's hear a few letters from our fellow passengers. First, we got an email from Lynn. I'm a World Prayer Team member, and I love hearing from people all over the world, Lynn says. She goes on, It's a joy to hear their letters telling us how much they love getting the truth from God's Word when they listen through the Bible. I love hearing how they listen and how God brought that method to them. He is so amazing. I'm so thankful God has provided for us so that we are able to support this great ministry. Well, thanks for that support, Lynn, and for the encouragement. Here's a letter. This is from Mayella, and she had this to share. Being a part of the World Prayer Team has brought great joy to me. I feel a part of the body of Christ as I join with believers all across the world, praying for others in places far and near. Since I don't have a local church to attend, I am blessed to be able to listen to your sound biblical teaching and to be a part of getting the gospel out. I look forward to the next destination. And you know, I always look forward to our prayer team destinations, so thanks for writing. Our next note comes to us from a listener in New York who says this. Being a member of the World Prayer Team has opened my eyes to how privileged we are in the United States to worship freely, at least for now. It has also shown me that many people in other areas will risk their lives and safety to know His Word. Finally, it makes me so very thankful for this ministry. Without it, I would still be in my ritualistic church and in total ignorance of the Bible and even right and wrong. May God continue to bless this ministry in its entirety until He comes. Well, would you like to join our world prayer team as we travel the world on our knees? Together, we pray for one country at a time, asking God to make himself known to all who hear his word. And I don't know if you picked up on it, but every testimony we read today, that person was on our world prayer team. To sign up, visit ttb.org forward slash pray or call 1-865-BIBLE for some more information. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word and our freedom that we have to study it. We ask that you'd help us to grasp the depth and breadth of your grace and then to find hope in Jesus, in whose name we pray.
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Amen.
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Here's Dr. J. Vernon McGee with our study of Hebrews 12 on Through the Bible.
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Now, maybe you do not need the review. But I do. You heard the program last time, and I made that some time ago. So I have to review, and you'll forgive me if I just bring us up to date. In the 11th chapter of Hebrews. we saw a list of men and women who, under all circumstances and all walks of life, under all conditions, in the different time periods of the history of this world, who lived by faith, who walked by faith, who had been saved by faith. by faith. And they're witnesses unto us. And now in the 12th chapter, it is the great hope chapter. You see chapter 11 is the faith chapter. Chapter 12 is the hope chapter. Chapter 13 will be the love chapter. And He calls us now to lay aside every weight and every sin and let's get out on the race course of life and let you and I live for God today, right now. This is real. This is reality we're dealing with. This is right now. We are the now generation. This is something you can incorporate in your life now. And we're to keep looking unto Jesus. And having said that to us, and having said what he did about him, in verse 3, where we begin today now, he says, "...for consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Now we are called to endure and we are to consider him. I am going to say something next time in connection with this section. But let me just mention this at this time. These people have come out of a religion that had a tremendous ritual and a great temple. The temple of Herod, though it was not completed, even up to the time it was destroyed in 70 AD, was a thing of beauty and awe-inspiring. And there was a great ritual that went with that. It had been a God-given religion at the beginning, and it had been debauched and prostituted by this time. But nevertheless, if you go in for religion, they had it. Now they are giving up all of that, and they don't go through all that religion. They have now come to consider him. That is, it's Christ and he is everything. He's the temple. He's the ritual. He's Christianity, friends. He's it all. And there was a simplicity about this. Next time, I want to talk a little about the simplicity that we hear today in Christ and all this believing-ism that's going around. But the important thing is there was this simplicity in Christ, and they now are to consider him. First of all, there to know he endured when he was down here, and he learned patience. And we were told at the beginning of this epistle, in that section that presented his humanity, that he learned a great many things down here, though he's God, but in the flesh. He learned something that actually God had experienced, and that was to take on our humanity and suffer for us. And he endured, and he learned patience. And now he says, "...consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Now, my friend, may I say this to you very candidly today? I want to be very careful. And it's this. Unless you stay close to the word of God, which will keep you close to the person of Christ, where the Holy Spirit can take the things of Christ and make them real to you, you're going to get weary in the Christian life and you're going to faint in your mind. That's the reason there's so many discouraged Christians around today. My friend, you come to the Word of God and get close to Jesus Christ, and you're going to be encouraged. And you're not going to be wearied about this life down here. We're living in the greatest days that there ever has been. Notice verse 4. He says here, "...ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." Now, that simply means this. At this time, the temple was not destroyed. Persecution that was going to come from the Gentiles, the Roman Empire, had not yet broken upon believers. And he's saying to them, you just haven't yet resisted under blood, though you're having your problems and trouble. The only cure for your weakness and your weariness and your faltering and your failing and your stumbling and your discouragement is to consider him. Consider Christ. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Now, verse 5, he continues this. And ye have forgotten the exhortation. which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. Now, there's several things here that I think we need to look at. First of all, he's quoting from Proverbs, the third chapter, verse 11 and 12. My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord. Neither be weary of his correction, for whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth, even as the Father of the Son, in whom he delighteth. Now consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners. And in doing that, he says, you've forgotten now their only resource was Christ and not a temple, not a ritual, not a religion. They were almost outcasts at this time. And he's saying here, don't forget this exhortation from God that he speaks to his children. And by the way, I would also say that the word children is used here. That's one word. And then we have five references now, and the word son is used. And that's a different word. Now, the word son is weos, and it means a full-grown son. There are a great many saints today that do not think they need to be disciplined. This is for mature saints, people that have been at this a long time. And this is where I came in, by the way. I came to the place that I didn't need to be disciplined anymore, that I'd come a long ways, and the Lord put me flat on my back and let me know that there was some more discipline to be done. But notice what he says. "'My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faith when thou art rebuked of him.'" Now, this is a marvelous verse. In fact, it's a great verse. And we need to notice another word here, and that's the word chastening. And that word chastening is a little different word than we think of it. We think that it's punishment. And I want to say this to you, that the word chastening here is paduo, and it means child training. or discipline. You see, the Lord disciplines his children. He's going to make that perfectly clear here, that he disciplines his own. So let me read this section here, and I'll come back to it. "...For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?" For if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons. That's strong language. But some of the church members need to hear this passage of Scripture today. It's an important passage of Scripture. Let me say this. The question is sometimes asked, and it's a very pertinent question, why do the righteous suffer? This is the thing that I got into during this period, which I've been confined to my home. And all I've been able to do is just lie flat on my back most of the time. And the rest of the time, I've been permitted to study. I want to go into this. I've done this in depth. And I would love to pass this on to you because I'm speaking out of an experience. God's children suffer. Let's put that down as an axiom of Scripture. The Bible doesn't argue that. The Bible just says that's true. Why do the righteous suffer? Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all. You remember in the book of Job, we're told that man's born under trouble as the sparks fly upward. And the Lord Jesus said, in the world, you're going to have trouble, but be a good cheer. I've overcome the world. And even Paul says, if any man will live a life today in Christ Jesus. He's going to suffer persecution. Why do God's people suffer? Now, there's no pat answer for that. No little one verse of scripture answers that at all. I have gone through the scripture and I have listed seven reasons why God's children suffer. I'm going to mention those. And I hope I'm able to cover all these today because I think they're very important. First of all, let me say that we, as God's children and as sons, mature sons, we suffer, many of us, for our own stupidity and our own sins. Let me read one verse of Scripture, 1 Peter 2.20. For what glory is it if when ye be buffeted for your faults, and that word's harmitano, that means a sin where you miss the mark. You just don't quite make it. Ye shall take it patiently. He says there's nothing to that. That's no value because a lot of times you and I suffer because we played the fool. How many of you listening to me today that years ago you invested some of your savings in a wildcat oil well down in Texas? I was pastor down there for many years. I can tell you about a whole lot of folk down there that have a dry well today. Actually, I know one man that he and his family are practically in want. He suffered, but he suffered because he actually played the fool. I know another man right here in Los Angeles. He came into me and he says, you know, McGee, I have certainly played the fool. Well, I said, what'd you do? Well, he said, my wife and I, we haven't been getting along too well recently, and in the office, she's not my secretary, she's a very attractive woman, she was very sympathetic with me, and she had to work one evening, and I had to work, and I'd call my wife, and I had to work, and all of a sudden it occurred to me it'd be nice if we went out for dinner. I said, frankly, we didn't do anything other than just go out to dinner. And he says, we sat and he said, very frankly, it was a very friendly sort of a dinner. And he said, the wrong person was in that restaurant and saw us and called my wife. And it never went any farther. It might have. But he said this to me, I played the fool. You know, a lot of saints suffer because of their stupidity. And then a second reason we suffer is for taking a stand for the truth and righteousness. And I'll guarantee you, if you take a stand for the truth and righteousness, you're going to suffer. And how many men and women could testify to that today? And that's in 1 Peter 3, 14. But, and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye, and be not afraid of their terror, neither be trouble. So that's another reason some of the saints are suffering today. They've taken a stand. They did it deliberately, and they're standing for God. Now you can play the fool in that connection. I know a man that came to me and told me that where he worked, everybody was his enemy, and it's because he stood up for God. Well, one of the men who was an official in that concern, I asked him about it because he was a Christian, and he told me what he did, how this man tried to lecture everybody, even during work hours. He'd go and begin talking to somebody who's busy, and that wasn't the place to witness. And he said that he'd made himself an absolute nuisance. Now, he wasn't really suffering because he took a stand for truth and righteousness. He was just stupid. That's all. I mean that you take a stand today for that which is right without making a fool of yourself. You don't have to do that. Take a stand for righteousness and you'll suffer for it. Now, there's a third reason. You can suffer for sin in your life. Paul says, if we would judge ourselves, we'd not be judged. Now, if you and I won't deal with sin in our life, I'll tell you this, if you're his child, he'll deal with it. He'll judge you. Now, the fourth reason you can suffer for the past sins of your life. Be not deceived, God's not mocked. Whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. If you sow to the flesh, you shall of flesh reap corruption. Now, he's talking to believers. Best illustration I have of that is one time that We had Mel Trotter. He was a converted drunkard years ago in Nashville, Tennessee. And after the service, went to a place called Candyland. Rest of us got big sodas, you know, malts. And he got a little glass of soda water. And they began to kid him about it. And he made this statement. When the Lord gave me a new heart, he didn't give me a new stomach. He was suffering because of that. And so that's another reason. And then there's a fifth reason. And that's a very lofty, high reason. And you find that in the book of Job. Job suffered because he was demonstrating to Satan and the demon world and to the angels of heaven that he was not a time server, that every man does not have his price, and that he loved God for himself alone. And I hope I never am put in that place. Then there is a sixth reason. We mentioned that before. It was in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. Some demonstrated their faith And there was great victories won. Some were delivered from the sword. But he also says some were slain with the sword. I think of the French Huguenots. They went into battle. They all knew they'd be slain. But they went into battle singing, If God be for us, who can be against us? You see, they suffered for their faith. Now I come to the seventh and the last one. That's what we have here. It's for whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Now, that's different. Word chasten, as we've said, is child training, means discipline. That's not punishment. You see, a judge punishes, a father chastens, and he does it in love. Punishment is to uphold the law. God uses chastening to demonstrate how much he loves you. And he makes it very clear you're an illegitimate child if you're not chastened to the Lord. A great many people say, oh, why did God let this happen to me? I must not be a Christian. My friend, the best proof you are a child of God is the fact that you suffer. And it's severe and it hurts. And that's what he goes on to say here in verse 11. Now, no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. We'll talk about that later. It's sort of like the boy that his father said to him before he whipped him. He said, son, this is going to hurt me more and it hurts you. And the boy says, yes, dad, but not in the same place. God chastens his children. I don't think he gets any particular joy out of it, but it's because you and I need that. Now, I want to give this personal testimony because this is such an important section that we're in. And then I'm through for the day. You will forgive me for being personal. When I had cancer several years ago, my first question to the Lord was, why? It didn't take me long to discover why. It was my Heavenly Father punishing me. That was punishment. I know that now. And I got things squared away with the Lord. I was a hard-headed child of God, you know. And so when I began this radio ministry, and everything has gone so wonderful, and I came back off this trip feeling so good, and then I'm knocked down With not only the diverticulosis, but hepatitis. And the doctor says, you stay there on your back. Don't you leave the place. And I stayed there for three weeks. I want to say to you, I learned something. I'd like to pass this on to you. He wasn't judging me this time. Because I keep my account short with God. I get him straightened out about every day. I fail him. And I'm still this hard-headed. I guess I ever was. But I go to him and I confess it. I believe I'm in the will of God. I went to him and cried this time. And I said, Lord, why in the world do you let this happen to me? I want to go on with my program. And he put me flat on my back. He says, you're my son. I'm your father. And there's a lot of things you don't know and a lot of lessons you haven't learned. You may have the notion that your ministry today is essential and that I can't get along without you. After all, how did I get along without you before you got here? And you think that these conferences that you had to cancel and I had to cancel? Friends, over a dozen conferences. Oh, I cried out to God because I wanted to make them all. Some of them up in the Northwest. And I love those people up there. And I wanted to go up there. And the Lord said, no, you're not going. You're going to lie here. You're going to learn something. You're going to find out something that I'm your father. And that you've got to learn to endure for me. You do not know how to rest. You do not know how to wait on me. And you know, I've been lying flat on my back most of the time looking up. And it took me a long time. I crawled up in bed and I said, all right, father, you want me to lie here? I'll lie here. I want to learn the lesson that you have for me. You know, he's a wonderful father. our Heavenly Father. And we're going to talk a little more about this next time, because personally, I think this is pretty important at this time. So until next time, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
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Some of you may also be lying flat on your back looking up. If so, you'll want to join us next time as we hear four possible reactions to the Lord's discipline in our lives and how to respond in a constructive way. In the meantime, a resource that may also be helpful for you is Dr. McGee's booklet, Why Do God's Children Suffer? It's available for free as a download at ttb.org. And while you're there, be sure to look up other booklets by Dr. McGee that are based on Hebrews 11. Another one is called Firm Up Your Faith, How to Have Confidence in God. In it, Dr. McGee asks some personal and pointed questions like, Have you come to God convinced intellectually, convicted emotionally, and have you taken the active step of trusting Him as your Savior? As we're learning in this five-year journey through God's entire Word, That is the definition of real faith. These are just a couple of the many resources we offer that we think will deepen your personal study of God's Word. So if you'd like to browse our entire library, you can download our app or visit ttb.org or call us at 1-800-65-BIBLE if we can help you find something specific. You can also write to Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. in Canada Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. I'm Steve Schwetz, and as we go, here are a few words from Hebrews 12 to encourage you. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. We're grateful for our committed listening family who faithfully pray and invest in Through the Bible as we together take the whole word to the whole world.
In this episode of Through the Bible, we delve into the powerful teachings of the book of Hosea as Dr. J. Vernon McGee guides us through the trials of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Ignoring God's word not only led to spiritual adultery but also brought about God's judgment in a dramatic and prophetic transition. As we reflect on the message shared by the evangelist D.L. Moody and stories from Dr. McGee's own ministry, we're prompted to consider the essential role of scripture in our everyday lives. Throughout Hosea chapter 4, we witness the consequences that befell Israel when they neglected their sacred texts. Dr. McGee draws parallels to modern times, illustrating how turning our backs on divine guidance can lead to moral decay and personal dissatisfaction. Whether through personal anecdotes or deep scriptural insights, this episode calls listeners to introspection and a return to God’s word. Join us as we uncover the inhibitors to spiritual fulfillment and the inevitable consequences of idolatry and sin. Whether you are a long-time believer, a part of our World Prayer Team, or someone in search of spiritual clarity, this study provides profound insights. Prepare to embark on this enlightening journey through Scripture with renewed understanding.
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The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith.
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The evangelist D.L. Moody was right when he said, The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible. Listening to and obeying God's Word is a protection over our lives. And that's one reason that I'm so glad that you're here at Through the Bible, ready to get into God's Word with Dr. J. Verna McGee. And as you know, we're in the book of Hosea on our five-year journey through the whole word. And in this study, we're going to learn how the northern kingdom of Israel turned away from God because they forgot his word. Well, not only did they forget it, they wanted nothing to do with it. They completely turned their backs on God's ways. And you know, that's when God's man Hosea stepped up and said, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge of God's word. And then he relayed God's chilling consequence. Because you forgot the law of your God, I will also forget your children. I will change your glory into shame. Wow. I don't know about you, but that sobering pronouncement makes me sit up and listen. We're in Hosea chapter four. So as you open your Bible, let's listen to Dr. McGee's introduction on why God will judge his people.
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Now God says that he must judge the nation. And he says that he will change their glory into shame. Now the glory of Israel was actually the temple with the Shekinah glory upon it and his visible presence with the nation and his definite leading of them. And they're witness to the world of that day of monotheism. In a world of polytheism, they worship the living and the true God. That was their glory. It brought the Queen of Sheba from the ends of the earth. Now what is happening is this. God says, I will remove my glory from you. I'll remove my blessing from you. And I will judge you. I'll let the enemy come in upon you and take you away. And of course, the enemy is going to be able to say, look, they said they were God's chosen people. And look what's happening to them. And apparently their God's not a very strong God. Friends, we're seeing today in this land of ours something very similar to that. God is judging many churches and he's closing many doors today. You can look about you in this land of ours and see that God is still judging. And we are inclined to say, isn't it a shame to see a decline in a certain church? Well, maybe God closed the door. We need to recognize that only God today can afford to judge his own people, and he does that.
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Before jumping into our study, I invite you to join our World Prayer Team. Together we pray for listeners like Nora in the Philippines who writes this. I heard your message and want to know if you will really be forgiven. I have sinned in the past and I have thought that I am unforgivable. I got involved with another man and our entire village knows. I'm hurting and crying right now, but your words in my language of Locano comfort me and give me hope. For the first time, I feel as if God might accept me as I am. Please tell me what to do next. Please tell me more about Jesus and how I can be redeemed. Are you ready to join us for the journey? Well, hop aboard as we pray for millions of listeners like this one all over the world by signing up at ttb.org forward slash pray. And let's do that now. Thank you, Heavenly Father. Thank you for the privilege of hearing your word. Help us to turn what distracts us and do what pleases you. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of sharing your word with the world. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're off to Hosea 4 on Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
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Now, we got down last time through the sixth verse of the fourth chapter of Hosea. And again, I'd like to say that this sixth verse here of this fourth chapter is considered one of the most familiar verses that we have. It's one that is quoted a great deal. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. And that's the way it opens. I went through it last time, and I'll not go any farther than that. But it was a lack of the knowledge of the Word of God that was the background of the sin of these people. The minute that Christian friend, you get away from the Word of God, you could not live a triumphant Christian life by any means. You could not live well-pleasing to the Lord. And I do not care how many of these method conferences you go to that have all these little gimmicks that if you do this and do that and do the other thing, that things are going to work all right for you in your home and in your place of business and in your social life, and everything will work out right. My friend, the Word of God makes it very clear that That's not by these little gimmicks, these little methods. It's by a knowledge of the Word of God. Now, that is as clear as the noonday sun in this book and certainly in other places. Now, will you notice as God continues to bring against the northern kingdom his judgment upon them, that is, he hands down a decision. He's going to judge them. And he has now proven that To them, his case, they broken the Ten Commandments. He went down the list and they had broken them. Now he says, as they were, verse 7, as they were increased, so they sinned against me. In other words, as the nation increased, God had promised to bless them by multiplying them. He told Abraham that. But all it did was just bring another sinner into the world. And after all, that's what happened when I came into the world. Just another sinner came into the world. But thank God, the grace of God reached down and somebody gave me the Word of God. And I was able to trust Christ as my Savior. But these people, they have an ignorance. They have no knowledge of the word of God. As they were increased, so they sinned against me. Therefore, will I change their glory into shame. God says, I'm going to turn your glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people. They set their heart on their iniquity. They not only sin, but they like to brag about it. As a young fellow, ran with a pretty fast crowd in the bank I worked in. And we always like, especially on Monday morning, to brag about our weekend, what we did. And you know what it was, either to get drunk or... some adultery or something like that. That's what you brag about. And they not only sinned, they bragged about it. And there, verse 9 now, chapter 4 of Hosea, and there shall be like people, like priests. The unfortunate thing is that the priesthood had sunk down to the level of the congregation. Now, I have always believed, and as you've heard me say, that I started out in the ministry. I wore a Prince Albert coat and a wing collar. I look like a mule looking over a whitewash fence. But I soon gave that up. I dress just like the man sitting out in the pew. And I'm no different than that man in the pew. But I want to say this, that I want in the pulpit to give out the word of God so that I don't sink down to the level of that which is the man of the world. And today there are many ministers. They're the good guys. one man boasted to me he says you know he says my preacher says you know he says he comes out to our golf club he plays golf and i'm for that i do that i think it's great to mix with folk like that says after the game says he goes in the bar room with us has a drink with us says you know said he's just one of the fellas says i sure do like him well I wonder what God thinks about him. Like people, like priests. And I'll punish them for their ways and reward them for their doings, for they shall eat and not have enough. In other words, famine is coming to the land. And who would ever have believed that this great land of ours, just last year, a few years ago, that there would be no scarcity. Whoever heard of it, that you couldn't buy meat at the meat market, you couldn't buy bread, that there would be a scarcity of anything. May I say to you, I'm not sure. I think God judged us in the dust bowl many years ago. That's when I entered the ministry. And nobody listened to God then. Then we had to fight World War II. God judged us. And we didn't come back to God even World War II. So we've been fighting somewhere ever since. Just can't give it up. They shall eat, not have enough. They shall commit harlotry and shall not increase. You know, there's one thing, friends, about adultery. And I know today that I'm talking to a great many people that have had this in their mind and their heart because we're living in this day. And you can take it from a fellow that one time in his life before he's saved, you can never, never enjoy in a way in which God really wants you to until you can enjoy it in marriage. And when you can put your arms around the woman that you have been loving and you can say to her, I love you. above everything else in the world. Now, I say when you can say that, my friend, then there'll be an increase. And it'll be wonderful. Oh, they were committing adultery then, and they're doing it today. But actually, there's really no satisfaction in it. It's just a sort of a temporary release. And you hate yourself after that. And I know that. And some of you know that, my friend. And God knows that because that's what he's saying here. God's spelling it out for you. They shall eat and not have enough. They shall commit harlotry, adultery, and they shall not increase because they have ceased to take heed to the Lord. Harlotry and wine and new wine take away the heart. Last time we gave you all these statistics about liquor in this country today. And nobody, and I mean nobody today, is lifting a voice against this. And I don't think I've said very much about it. But I sure have said a whole lot the past couple of days. And from time to time, we do mention it. Arlatrin wine and new wine take away the heart, my friends. And part of our problem in Washington today are these two sins, harlotry, adultery, and liquor. They're the two problems in our government today. That's the reason that men lie. That's the reason that men will do crooked things. And that is not confined to one party or just one group. The whole crowd is guilty today. One writer said that in Washington, you don't know who to trust. May I say to you, what a sad commentary on our nation today. Don't tell me the new morality is working. It didn't work for Israel. They got away from the word of God and they said, we try something new. And they went in for it. The northern kingdom, you see, they had sin galore. They put up two golden calves. And with that worship of Baal, I was connected with it, the grossest forms of idolatry and the Verse 12, my people ask counsel of their idols, and their staff declareth unto them, for the spirit of harlotry hath caused them to err, and they have played the harlot departing from under their God. Now he's speaking here of the harlotry, spiritual adultery, which is turning from God. They went to inquire of idols. And today, we find people running after the gurus of India. Well, they haven't done much for India, by the way. But yet, we've had a crowd running after them. And someone has said that one of them that came over here, he said that very candidly, he came for the money. And that it was nothing in the world but a religious racket as far as he was concerned. Yet people went after him. People are going off into this type of thing today. And there's actually the worship of Satan today. I have here a clipping that comes from Daytona Beach, Florida. A group of Satan cultists tortured and beat a 17-year-old youth to death, believing he was an undercover narcotics agent, police said Wednesday. May I say to you that worship of Satan today is certainly not helping morality by any means. And these people going into idolatry, idolatry was leading them into gross immorality. Now, let me keep reading here. And They sacrifice, this is verse 13 now, chapter 4. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains and burn incense upon the hills under oaks and poplars and elms because the shadow of them is good. That's where they put their idols, was on top of a hill under a grove. And you hear a great deal in scripture. And they found out today, archaeologists, that the center of worship of idolatry was in these groves. It was cool there, nice place to go. Therefore, your daughters shall commit harlotry and your spouses shall commit adultery. You see, the worship of idols, and we today have turned to idolatry, covetousness, All of this today, the greed of this country today has caused many a family to try to get on in the world. They want to move to a better neighborhood. They want a swimming pool. They want a boat to take down. And they say we're doing this for their children. And then all of a sudden their children take off and there are thousands. Thousands of young people today that are wandering up and down this country and all over the world. I saw them in Hawaiian Islands. I talked to three young people in Constitution Square in Athens, Greece. Two young men and a young lady. And I'm sure that none of them were beyond their teens. One of them could have been 20. And there they sat, and they were then under the influence of drugs. I tried to talk with them, and I tried to find out who they were. And they said, we're nobody. We don't count. We've dropped out. What's happened today, friends? What's taking place today? Why, the problem is back there in the home. We're idolaters. We're worshiping the almighty dollar. We've forgotten God. We've turned away from the living and true God, and we no longer worship him. And we've not turned to a savior that can redeem us and help us. Now, verse 14. He says, I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your spouses when they commit adultery, for they themselves are separated with harlots, and they sacrifice with harlots. Therefore, the people that doth not understand shall fall. God says ignorance, so the law excuses no one. And because these people have gone on, I'm not going to judge them for the sin they're committing right now. I'm going to judge them because they've turned from the living and true God and from his way. My friend, as I said to a man, and I met him on a golf course, by the way, and he said, joined our foursome he soon left us when he found out we were three preachers and this man made a statement well he said that he guessed that he was a sinner he'd done this that and the other said yes I guess I'll go to hell and I said brother you know you're not going to hell because you commit these sins he says what do you mean I'm not going to hell because I thought that's what you preachers said I said this preacher never said that I said you're going to hell because you've rejected Jesus Christ These people were being judged not because they had become harlots. They were judged because they've turned from the living and true God. Now, will you notice he says here, though thou Israel play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth-Avon or swear the Lord liveth. God says, I'm going to hold Judah back. I'll not judge Judah yet. And Judah, don't come up and worship these calves that they put up here. Now we come to something that's quite interesting. Verse 16. For Israel slideth back like a backsliding heifer. Now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place. Now, friends, let's look at what really backsliding is. A great many people think backsliding means that you have become a Christian, joined the church, and then you drop back into sin, and that's backsliding. Now, may I say to you, that's not backsliding the way it's used here. And God illustrates it so you can't miss it. For Israel slideth back like a backsliding heifer. Now, I'm very happy the fact that as a boy, I had the privilege of living in the country and in a little town. And I think I've mentioned this before. There's a live next door to us in southern Oklahoma in a little town. We lived in a rancher. He had a big ranch and he had two boys and they were both about my age. And we three played together. We used to ride these heifers out in the lot and they would, you know, tie a rope around. As we said in that day, a belly band we'd put on them. We'd hold on to that. And then they'd buck us off. Now, every now and then, this rancher would load up. This was in the days before the automobile. In a wagon, he would load up these heifers to take them to market or take them out to the ranch. And he had a great big board. That is, it was a thing constructed out of boards that he put up at the back end of the wagon. It was a runway that you just try to run the heifer up back. Well, what they'd do, you'd put a rope around the heifer, and then you'd push her from the back. And as you'd get the heifer up, she'd go a part of the way, then she'd stiffen those front feet. She'd just put them out stiff. And you know what would happen? You couldn't pull her. She'd start sliding backwards. That's what backsliding is. Backsliding heifer. They were stiffening their front feet. And instead of being led of God, they were slipping backward all the time. And backsliding means when you turn your back on God and you step on that little neck of yours and that little mind of yours and you say, I'll have nothing to do with God. You're backsliding when you do that. You see, when you refuse to go the way God wants to lead you. Now he calls Israel here a backsliding heifer. There are a lot of backsliding heifers today and bulls also, by the way. Now, let me read the next verse. Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone. Now, we come to another word here. The word backsliding is mentioned three times in this book, and you'll recall it's only Jeremiah and Hosea, and they spoke to a nation ready to go into captivity, accused them of doing this, refusing to be led of God, refusing to come to God. Now, Ephraim, that name occurs 36 times. He picks out one of the tribes of the 10 tribes in the north and applies it to all 10 of the tribes. And I frankly have never been able to figure out just how God uses that term. Is he using it in a way that is the term of endearment or is it a term of ridicule? Now, this time through Hosea, I've come to the conclusion that it's a term of endearment. It's a pet name. You see, Israel in the north had really no name as a nation. Judah in the south was really the nation. And these 10 tribes had revolted, you see. And now God gives them, I think, a pet name. And you'll find all the way through, it'll occur 36 times, Ephraim. And he says this in, I would say, a longing sort of way, but with a note of finality. He says here, Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone. God says there comes a day in a man's life that if he keeps on being in a backslidden condition, refusing to listen to God, there'll come a day when God no longer can speak to that man. Now he says to them, your drink is sour. You'll become an alcoholic if you keep at it, brother. And it's not a disease. It's a sin. Their drink is sour. They have committed harlotry continually. Her rulers love shame more than glory. And the sad thing today is that we have men in government in high places instead of using a language that is clean. And chase. They love to cuss. And they love to drink. They love the shame more than glory. The wind hath bound her up in its wing. They're carried away by every wind of doctrine. And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices. God says, I'm going to make them ashamed before it's over with. Well, that brings us to the conclusion of chapter 4. Begin chapter 5 next time. Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, Dr. McGee convinced me of the joy and peace found in living a quiet, righteous life before the Lord. How about you? We're midway through our study in Hosea now, so if you'd like to share these studies with a family member or friend, they're available on our app or at ttb.org. Or to purchase our Bible bus flash drive that conveniently holds all of Dr. McGee's five-year messages and also includes all of his notes and outlines for our studies and more than 100 of his booklets, you Shop our online store at ttb.org or call us at 1-865-BIBLE. And while you're at ttb.org, check out our new softcover Bible companions for the New Testament. Again, that's ttb.org or 1-865-BIBLE. And when you call us, please tell us how you listen. Is it by app or online? Is it YouTube, your local Christian radio station? There are so many different options. And you know, by sharing this little bit of information, you help us to be good stewards of the resources that God has so graciously provided through faithful listeners like you. Now, as we break for the weekend, join me for Dr. McGee's Sunday sermon. You can listen by app, online, or look at our radio station listing at ttb.org. I'm Steve Schwetz, and I'll meet you right back here next time as we continue to make our way through the Bible.
SPEAKER 02 :
We're grateful for the faithful and generous support of Through the Bible's partners, whom God uses to take the whole word to the whole world.
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.
SPEAKER 03 :
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.
SPEAKER 02 :
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.
SPEAKER 02 :
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.
