WE ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH OUR PHONE A CHURCH, AND HAVE NO SERVICE SINCE MAY 26TH. TODAY ANOTHER VERIZON REPAIR TECH WAS HERE AND SAID BY MONDAY IT WILL BE RESTORED. IMAGINE IF IT WAS AN EMERGENCY!
IF YOU HAVE NOT SENT IN YOUR 2018 STEWARDSHIP PLEASE DO THAT TODAY.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS TO BECOME MEMBERS OF OUR PARISH COUNCIL. PLEASE THINK ABOUT HELPING ST. JOHN IN A DEEPER AND MORE GIVING WAY!
WE WILL NOT HAVE VESPERS FOR THIS COMING SATURDAY EVENING FOR THE HOLIDAY OF THE BIRTH OF ST. JOHN ON SUNDAY. SO PLEASE BE ADVISED.
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HOSEA THE PROPHET!
There are many Books contained in the pages of the Holy Bible. Between both the Old Testament (39 Books) and New Testament (27 Books) we experience the journey that humankind has traversed with the help and guidance of God. However, we must add to the list the other 17 Books written during the "silent centuries" from 400 BC to 27 AD called the Apocrypha Books that some Bibles do not contain.
The totality of these 66 + 17 = 83 Books perfectly set down the truths about the history of the Chosen, and those who have Chosen to be People of the Monotheistic God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. One Book in particular written by Prophet Hosea stands out and reflects the same attitude that people of today have about and against what God has instructed His Chosen People to emulate.
The Prophetic Books in the Old Testament are broken down into two divisions, Major and Minor Prophets. The categories between Major and Minor Prophets are not symbolic of importance and should not be understood as Major over Minor. The divisions only refer to the length of the Books. As a result, Hosea is categorized as a Minor Prophet of the Northern Kingdom during the second half of the 8th century B.C.
His emergence on the scene tells a story of how the Jewish People left Yahweh (the name for God in the Northern Kingdom), for other religions popular in the North. This is all well and good, but the irony here is that Prophet Hosea is told by God to marry a woman named Gomer, who will eventually commit adultery after their second child.
Hosea's Book contains only 14 small chapters in its entirety, but the parallels between his personal life and God's relationship with Israel are striking. The Israelites have left the God who brought them out of Egypt for pagan deities (Baal & Ashtoreth). Both his wife and Israel are unfaithful, but in the end, both return to their senses and repent. After Gomer's return, she and Hosea's have a third child that God directs him to name Lo-Ammi, which means "Not My People."
Therefore, because Israel has adopted other pagan deities Yahweh has rejected His Chosen People and it reflects in Him calling Hosea's third child Lo-Ammi. This is Israel's ongoing relationship with God, and it illustrates the Love that God has for His Chosen People if they would only repent. God persists continually in hopes that they will return to Him and believe that He is the only true God. Each one of Hosea and Gomer's children is given names by God that represent His dissatisfaction with Israel. The first child is named Jezreel, which means "God sows" (Judgment); the second child is named Lo-Ruhamah, which means "Unpitied" or "No Mercy;" and the third Lo-Ammi, which means "Not My People." So by looking at each name in series, it represents a gloomy picture for Israel.
Finally, if we need an archetype of God's love for humanity it is with Hosea the Prophet who is told very clearly that if Israel does not repent and give up worshipping pagan deities He will not be their God and protector. Hosea must have gone crazy telling everyone in the Northern Kingdom of the impending judgment of Israel by God if they do not return to Him. Consequently, we learn from history that the Northern Kingdom of the Israelites met their doom by the hand of those they hated the most, the Assyrians in 722 B.C. Those who had the ability to flee went down to Jerusalem in order to survive and join the other two tribes. The refugees from the Northern Kingdom conveyed stories of what happened to them and their downfall to the other Tribes in Jerusalem. However, their words did not ring true to their ears, and seemed like idle talk, meaning God will always protect them. As a result of their hubris, two hundred years later the Southern Kingdom fell as well by the hands of the Babylonians, who they also hated, in 585 B.C. Let us hold true in our hearts and minds the Word that God has given us so that we are not pulled away by modernity and new age theologies from Him who Created All in His name. Amen!!