MidnightCall Magazine
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News From Israel MagazineHosea 3:4
“For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim” (Hosea 3:4).
God does not leave out any details in His instructions to Hosea; therefore, we read repeated statements regarding Israel’s unfaithfulness, its transgression against God’s commandments, and the means God will use to punish the Israelites. Also repeated, however, is God’s grace revealed on the other side of the punishment. The result will be as is so often written: “Thou art my people and they shall say, Thou art my God.”
In verse 1, we read about another commandment from the Lord regarding an adulterous woman: “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 flagons of wine.” Many scholars believe this passage refers to Gomer, who is mentioned in Hosea 1:3. But the text does not disclose the woman’s name, nor does it say the “same woman” or “your wife.” It simply refers to “a woman.” What is important, however, is that God demonstrates His deep love for His people practically, although He also exposes their unfaithfulness.
“So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley” (verse 2). This harlot/wife is purchased for 15 pieces of silver. This appears prophetic, since the number 15 is often used to symbolize rest. Hosea paid this woman to stop committing adultery, to rest. That is grace.
Sustenance was provided for the woman in the form of 1 1/2 homers of barley—more than the weight normally carried by a donkey. Barley was readily available during biblical times and was used by the poor to make bread. With this demonstration, God was simply telling the people of Israel that they would have to wait, but that a provision would be made.
Nevertheless, there was a requirement: “And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee” (verse 3). Keep in mind that God was using Hosea and the harlot wife to show Israel its future.
We know, for example, that the children of Israel separated themselves from idol worship after they returned from Babylonian captivity. History and archaeology reveal that the Jews did not practice idolatry after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Next comes the prophecy quoted in the introductory verse: “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim” (verse 4). This unidentified time reminds us of Daniel’s prophecy: “after three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself” (Daniel 9:26). To help us understand this better, let’s read the Hebrew translation: “And after those 62 weeks, the anointed one will disappear and vanish.” The German Menge translation puts it this way: “After 62 year weeks, the anointed shall lose his life, but without judgment.” And the German Schlacter translation puts it this way: “After 62 weeks, the anointed shall be eliminated and there shall be nothing more.” This verse is obviously difficult to translate, but the message is clear: Jesus is the Anointed, 62 weeks is the time frame given, Jesus is unjustly killed, and then comes nothing.
Thus, politically, the Israelites were “without a king” who had no descendant; they were “without a prince.” Religiously, they were, “without sacrifice…without image…without ephod…without teraphim.” In other words, there will be no more sacrifice and no more priestly service. That scenario certainly has become a reality in the last 2,000 years. Israel was without a political leader and was legally forbidden to offer sacrifices because there was no temple in which to offer them.
Not much has changed since then. Although Israel presumably liberated Jerusalem from foreign occupation on June 7, 1967, the Jews still do not have the authority to do with the city as they please. The world would not be silent if Israel built its temple on Mt. Moriah.
Next comes the promise of Israel’s return: “Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days” (verse 5). Some people say Israel’s return to the land of its fathers in recent decades does not qualify as the fulfillment of this prophecy because the motive of the Israelites’ return was not so they could “seek the Lord their God.” In fact, the return of the Jews to Israel was strictly motivated by their desire to exist, to be independent, and to have security. They had just made it through the greatest tragedy of all time, the Holocaust, in which more than six million Jews were murdered.
Many documents describe the return of the Jews to the land of Israel, but their motive was not to seek the Lord God; it was for security. Furthermore, the Jews returned to Israel under a communistic philosophy, which, according to Karl Marx, included the provision of food, shelter, clothing, education and healthcare. It is ironic that communism, not Christianity, influenced Israel’s founding fathers. Nearly all their leaders were educated under Soviet communism. But that system had initially served them well. The Jews established communist communes where everybody—from trench diggers to doctors—shared their possessions equally. Thus, began the famous kibbutz movement patterned after communism. Israel’s sustenance as a nation was guaranteed.
During one of Midnight Call’s conferences in the early 1970s, Professor Pinhas Lapedi said, “A country can exist without politicians, even without schools and bankers, but it cannot exist without farmers. People must eat to sustain life.”
No one came to offer help when the nation of Israel was established in 1948. In fact, Britain and the United States had an arms embargo, yet communist Yugoslavia was willing to sell used World War II weapons to the newly founded State. Israel’s Air Force came packed in crates carried by boats, compliments of the communists.
This should suffice to show that the Jews were not seeking the Lord. Nevertheless, there is an undisclosed time between the return of the Jews and their seeking the Lord. We make a mistake when we think these events will happen at once. First, they will return, and more Jews are in fact returning each day. The Jews will seek the Lord at a future time. That is also the case with David, their king. Naturally, we know David died, but the Jews know the words of Isaiah inviting them to: “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David” (Isaiah 55:3).
How will it end? Israel “shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.” The fulfillment of that prophecy is still to come!