20160101 Friday, January 1 2016
Hosea 09: The Seasons Of The Firstfruits

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers"

The Kingdom of Israel was created by the LORD (see The Identity Of The LORD God and The LORD God Our Saviour) as a living prophecy of the coming Kingdom of God (see What Gospel Did Jesus Preach? and The First And Last Nation). The Israelites were created from the people of the nations all around them, including Iraq, Syria, Cannan, Jordan, Egypt (see The Origin Of Israelites And Jews), in the same way that the Kingdom of God will be inhabited by people of all nations who have chosen to be there by truly following the Way of the LORD (see What Was The Lesson Of John 3:16? and Who Can Be Saved?; also Strait And Straight and Which Way Is Right And Left?).

The only difference, the only thing special about the physical nation of Israel, is that they were given the Law of the LORD, on a national basis, first. In so doing, the LORD thereby also made the physical nation of Israel the genesis of the Church of God, "the congregation in the wilderness," - the firstfruits of salvation (see the Fact Finder question below to understand the actual origin and true purpose of Pentecost).

"7:38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us." (Acts 7:38 KJV)

But the people of the Kingdoms of Israel (see A History Of Israel's United And Divided Kingdoms) repeatedly failed to live up to the prophetic task that the LORD assigned to them - the reason that the LORD repeatedly tore down their kingdoms when they became incorrigibly corrupt, and then started again with a later generation - a new crop, in a later year. That happened with the Exodus generation (see The Israelite Wanderland and Why A Book Of Deuteronomy In The Bible?) and it happened with the Kingdom of Judah who were given to return, seventy years later, from the Babylonian exile (see The LORD's Letter To The Exiles In Babylon).

"14:29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, 14:30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 14:31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. 14:32 But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. 14:33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness." (Numbers 14;29-33 KJV)

"29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 29:14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive." (Jeremiah 29:10-14 KJV)

Hosea was one of the true prophets of the LORD who was sent to declare the LORD's Judgment of the spoiled fruit, and to declare that the firstfruits harvest would be accomplished from new crop, at a later season.

"9:1 Rejoice not, O Israel! Exult not like the peoples; for you have played the whore, forsaking your God. You have loved a prostitute's wages on all threshing floors. 9:2 Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail them. 9:3 They shall not remain in the land of the LORD, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria. 9:4 They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the LORD, and their sacrifices shall not please him. It shall be like mourners' bread to them; all who eat of it shall be defiled; for their bread shall be for their hunger only; it shall not come to the house of the LORD.

9:5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festival, and on the day of the feast of the LORD? 9:6 For behold, they are going away from destruction; but Egypt shall gather them; Memphis shall bury them. Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver; thorns shall be in their tents. 9:7 The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad, because of your great iniquity and great hatred. 9:8 The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God; yet a fowler's snare is on all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God. 9:9 They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah: he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins.

9:10 Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved.

9:11 Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird— no birth, no pregnancy, no conception! 9:12 Even if they bring up children, I will bereave them till none is left. Woe to them when I depart from them! 9:13 Ephraim, as I have seen, was like a young palm planted in a meadow; but Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter.

9:14 Give them, O LORD— what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. 9:15 Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal; there I began to hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels. 9:16 Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, I will put their beloved children to death. 9:17 My God will reject them because they have not listened to him; they shall be wanderers among the nations." (Hosea 9:1-17 KJV)

Fact Finder: What is the true prophetic purpose and meaning of Pentecost?
See Pentecost: The Christian Feast Of Weeks