THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL (7) A Call to Repentance

The 10 Northern tribes, that is the House of Israel, turned away from the ways of the Lord. To deal with this, God sent them prophets to call them to repentance, among which was Hosea…

HOSEA’S MESSAGE

God chose the prophet Hosea to speak to the House of Israel. The message was not sent by words alone, but by the prophet’s life.

What did God say He would do with the House of Israel?

(Hosea 1:2)  When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD." 

The union between a prophet and a prostitute was a social scandal in the Northern Kingdom. But God allowed it to serve as an example. If they were alarmed by this, then they should also be convicted for doing the same unto the Lord, since by their idolatry they had fallen into spiritual adultery.

(Hosea 1:3-9)   So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.  (4)  And the LORD said to him, "Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.  (5)  And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel."  (6)  She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the LORD said to him, "Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all.  (7)  But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen."  (8)  When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son.  (9)  And the LORD said, "Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God."

Hosea had three sons with Gomer, and their names carried with them a prophetic message to the House of Israel: If they did not repent, the Lord will no longer extend His mercy towards them and they would cease to be His people.

The rest of the book of Hosea gives the warnings God sent to the House of Israel (also known as Ephraim), if they did not repent…

* He would drive them out of the Promised Land and they would live like gentiles.

(Hosea 9:3)  They shall not dwell in the LORD'S land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.

* God would detach them from His divine calendar and they would no longer celebrate the biblical festivals.

(Hosea 2:11)  I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.

* They would not be fruitful or successful.

(Hosea 9:16-17)  Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.  (17)  My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

… among many other consequences…

God also sent other prophets to the Northern Kingdom (Israel) with similar messages:

* Ahijah’s Message:

(I Kings 14:15)  the LORD will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD to anger.

* Amos’s Message:

(Amos 9:9)  For behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth.

ASSYRIA CONQUERES THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL

Even in the face of so many calls and warnings, the House of Israel did not repent. Therefore, all that was warned came to pass…

(II Kings 17:21-23)  When he had torn Israel from the house of David, they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD and made them commit great sin.  (22)  The people of Israel walked in all the sins that Jeroboam did. They did not depart from them, (23) until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had spoken by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day.

Because of their disobedience and lack of repentance, even after decades of prophecies sent to warn them, the Lord allowed the enemy to conquer Israel (the Ten Northern Tribes). Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom and they were exiled.

 The Assyrian’s conquering method was to uproot the subdued people and to transfer them to another conquered region, with the purpose of exerting a greater influence over them. None of them would be in their own land, but living in a foreign land. This way, the Assyrians had greater control over them since it was less likely that they would rise up.

This is what happened to the House of Ephraim (called Israel): it was uprooted and exiled. Furthermore, since they had already lost their Hebrew identity when they abandoned the Torah and all their customs, they ended up totally loosing their identity during exile, as they were assimilated to the pagan nations to which they were sent.

HOUSE OF JUDAH

What happened to the Southern Kingdom (House of Judah)? Did they experience the same destiny as their northern brothers? Hosea also prophesied to the House of Judah. However, it was a very different message.

(Hosea 1:7)  But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.

After conquering the Northern Kingdom, the Assyrian army continue their way south. They reached Jerusalem and besieged it for many days.

There was nothing they could do to overcome. However, divine power is greatly above human power. It is God, not circumstances, the one who determines who will overcome and who will be defeated in battle. The House of Judah heard the words spoken by Hosea, Isaiah and the other prophets. They corrected their path… that is why God saved them.

(II Kings 19:32-37)  Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it.  (33)  By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the LORD.  (34)  For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David."  (35)  And that night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.  (36)  Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh.  (37)  And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.