Chapter 1

Azab

Abandonement

Where Did We Go Wrong...

In His Scriptures, Yahuweh presents man’s history from Adam to Armageddon. It’s a dramatic and gut-wrenching journey from Beriyth to Azab - from relationship to separation. The river of life is serpentine, traveling from dawn to dusk through a twisting medley of raging rapids and clear, peaceful pools of reflection. Most of us float down this stream with our eyes closed so we miss the tour guides along the way. In Scripture, these guides are called prophets. They tell us what to expect around the next bend.

In David’s day, Israel was "led through the quiet waters, her soul restored." Now, she was nearing "the valley of the shadow of death." According to the prophet, it lurked just down stream. He was called, Hosea, a name which means "to deliver salvation," or, in a word, to be our "savior." Yet as with the ultimate Savior - the Messiah Yahushua - salvation is a participatory endeavor. The beneficiary needs to listen, heed, and act on the direction, council, and provision that are provided. The Yahudim of Hosea’s day were no more willing to do these things than were those of Yahushua’s time, seven centuries further down stream. Nor are we today, which makes Hosea’s warning and forecast relevant to America and the Church. In fact, Hosea’s prophetic council may be the most revealing account in Scripture of our time, condition and destiny.  

As a direct result of Solomon’s willingness to indulge in idolatry, and to covet all manner of things, the united kingdom of Israel broke into two. The northern kingdom, awash in the religion of Lord-Ba’al, was ravaged by the Assyrians, and the Southern kingdom of Judea was on the cusp of calamity. It is in this milieu of self reliance and impending doom that Yahuweh spoke to His people.

What you are going to experience over the course of this chapter should have a powerful impact on your relationship with God. Hosea is the prophet of Azab. His oracle resides between Beriyth and Yahushua - the suspension of the Old Covenant and the heralding of the Renewed. It is a story of unrequited love and divine justice, of a family and their painful divorce. It is a warning about trusting things, religious clerics and politicians. It is a prophetic tale from beriyth to azab and back to beriyth again. It is the story of man from God’s perspective. 

Hosea has a lot to say in his opening salvo: "The word (debar - message or account) of Yahuweh links (‘asher - relates and associates) I Am (ehayah - I am, I exist) with Hosea (salvation), the son (ben - male child) of Beeri, during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam (Yarabam - from rabab, meaning large or numerous; am, meaning national army; and yara, meaning terror) the son of Joash (Yahuash - Yah is light), king of Israel (Yisra’el - those who strive with God)." (Hosea 1:1)

The dabar or word of God is His way of speaking to us. Fully amplified dabar means: "a statement, message, communication, word, act of speaking an account, treatise, record, or rendering of an event in a systematic manner." That suggests Yahuweh’s Scripture is His message, His accounting, and His thesis delivered in a chronological and logical manner. Moreover, words are Yahuweh’s means of communing with us, warning us and saving us.

The Hebrew verb ehayah, which is usually translated "I Am," is the first person equivalent of hayah, meaning: "to be, to exist, to become, to make happen, to be done." Hayah is the root of Yahuweh’s name and it is often used to identify God.  

By using ‘asher Yahuweh is associating Himself, connecting and linking himself, with His words. But there’s more: in the book named "Salvation" Yahuweh is telling us that "I Am is, became, and exists as the Savior" - the Word. Therefore, Yahuweh became Yahushua, He exists as Yahushua, and is Yahushua. And this isn’t the only time Yahuweh uses ‘asher in reference to His Messianic mission. In fact it was ‘asher that caused me to become an advocate of literal and amplified translations of Scripture.

I was tracking down some of the most important Messianic prophecies for the "Playing the Odds" chapter of Tea With Terrorists because I wanted to project the odds against their chance fulfillment. But I ran into a problem in Second Samuel 7:12. There I found: "I [Yahuweh] will raise up your [David’s] descendant after you who will come forth from you, and I will establish His kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever. I will be a Father to Him and He will be a Son to Me. When He commits iniquity, I will correct Him with the rod and strokes of men." This is a Messianic prophecy predicting the arrival of Yahushua, the only eternal Son of God. A direct descendant of David, the Messiah established Yahuweh’s name, and for a time, Yahushua’s body was God’s temple, or house, on earth.

But the phrase "when He commits iniquity I will correct Him with the rod and strokes of men" is errant when applied to the Messiah. Yahushua didn’t sin, which is why He was the perfect Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world by way of submitting Himself to the strokes of men. So if "when He commits sin" is right, the Scripture is wrong. And that’s where ‘asher comes in. Correctly translated the passage reads: "When sin is associated with Him." That’s precisely what occurred. He bore our transgressions. Our sins were "linked to" Him.

So by taking the time to study the full and actual meaning of Yahuweh’s dabar, we have stumbled on some nuggets. We found a prophecy that says Yahuweh is, became, and exists as the Savior. And by tying up some loose ends we discovered that Yahuweh revealed the nature of His Messiah’s mission to David, a thousand years to the day He would feel those strokes on His back. It’s enough to make you want to cry Halleluyah.

The next subtle reference to the Messiah’s nature is the "Savior is the ben," or son. The definition of ben is a perfect description of Yahushua’s relationship to Yahuweh. Ben is "a term of endearment for persons with a relationship and the figurative extension of the love of a parent." Therefore, "Yahuweh connected I Am to the Savior, the Son" - the person with a relationship, the figurative extension of the love of the Father. This is a theme that we shall see play out throughout this chapter.

As the opening sentence progresses, we discover that Yahuweh’s name and His prophetic trademark permeate everything He touches. The king’s names would be symbolic of their reigns. Uzziah (Uzi-yah) means "Yah is my fortress." This king’s principal fixation was building an army. Unfortunately, feeling invincible, Uziyah became self reliant and was struck by leprosy for his pride. Israel would soon share in his shame, bearing an open wound as a result of national arrogance.

Jotham (Yahuwtam) means "Yah is perfect." In II Chronicles 27, we learn that he prospered because "he ordered his ways before Yahuweh." His reign was in keeping with his great, grandfather’s Psalm: "Yahuweh is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake."

Ahaz, the eleventh king of Judah, and the third in Hosea’s list, ruled from 735 to 713 B.C. His name means "he has grasped." We learn in the 16^th chapter of Second Kings that Ahaz grasped his own son and sacrificed him to Ba’al in typical Canaanite fashion. Then, in an effort to save his sorry soul from the Assyrian assault that had consumed the Northern Kingdom, Ahaz sought to rescue himself by appeasing the Assyrian King, Tiglath-pileser. He did this by grasping large portions of the temple treasury and handing it over to the pagan ruler. The despicable act is confirmed on a stone column dating to this day - a confirming treasure that was recently unearthed in Iraq. There are lessons here to be sure.

Fortunately, from this low ebb of national decadence there was a glimmer of hope - a national revival, albeit brief. Hezekiah (Chizqi-yah), a name which means "Yah strengthens," reversed Israel’s fortunes by reestablishing Judea’s relationship with Yahuweh. Good thing, because a couple of hundred thousand bloodthirsty Assyrians had just finished terrorizing and plundering every Israeli city save one - Jerusalem. So Hezekiah decided to give faith a chance. It worked. Yahuweh intervened, killing the warriors who had chosen to destroy His city.

Hezekiah’s story is relevant today because it is exemplary of what can happen to a person or a nation when we individually or collectively move from azab into beriyth. In the Scripture account, Hezekiah is shown to have formed a relationship with Yahuweh. He observed the Miqra, keeping Yahuweh’s seven convocations while banning the festivals and rituals of Lord-Ba’al. Hezekiah destroyed the competition, shutting down every satanic sun god altar and shrine in Judah. Now there is some handy advice for those who prefer the satanic festivals of Christmas and Easter to Yahuweh’s feasts of Tabernacles and Passover.

Yes, Hezekiah was intolerant. He banned all religious practices and symbols - the bronze serpents, the golden calves, even the mountaintop tree-altars that were worshiped as "mother earth" - part of pagan fertility cults. However, just up the road in Samaria, Lord-Ba’al had a glorious temple constructed in his honor. So when the Assyrians marched into town under the flag of Shalmaneser V in 722, which kingdom do you suppose Yahuweh protected?

Samaria was conquered by men because men were tolerant, even accepting, of the religions of men. Unaware and unrepentant, they were plundered again by Sargon II. With the Northern Kingdom in ruins, Sargon returned four years later and set up shop in Gaza, assimilating the Philistines into the Assyrian Empire by way of compulsion.

Hezekiah, however, was human. He made the same mistake the American State Department makes each day. He assumed that the enemy of his enemy was his friend. So Hezekiah formed a coalition with the Babylonians - Assyria’s enemy. It was kind of like America allying itself with Stalin to weaken the Nazis. It was like equipping Mao to fight the Japanese. It was like partnering with Saddam Hussein to torment the Iranians, or arming Osama bin Laden so that we, by way of proxy, could thwart the Russians. It was like enriching King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia to lash out at Iraq. Or it was like America giving $100,000,000,000 worth of our best weaponry to Egypt in hopes of buying Arab oil more cheaply and bribing them to make peace with Israel.

As a direct result of partnering with pagans, the Judean cities of Ekron and Gibbethon were destroyed and a century later, the Jews learned that the enemy of their enemy was not their friend. Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed by the Babylonians and most every Yahudim was hauled off into captivity. Had Americans read and understood Hezekiah’s history, had we heeded the advice of Yahuweh’s tour guides, we wouldn’t be in the mess we are today. But ignorant of Yahuweh’s prophetic witnesses, we have found ourselves in the topsy-turvy tumult of disorienting rapids unaware of the great fall that lies in our path.  

According to Scripture and confirmed by history, the Assyrians struck again in 705. The Canaanite/Phoenician cites fell first, followed by the last remnant of Philistia, even buttressed by Egyptian resistance. Sennacherib’s inscription reads: "I laid siege to 46 strong cities and walled forts and to countless small villages. I conquered them. I drove 200,000 people, young and old, male and female, and their cattle beyond counting. I considered them booty."

Turning on Jerusalem, Sennacherib’s pilaster tells us what Scripture confirms: "I made Hezekiah a prisoner in Jerusalem, like a bird in a cage." But: "That night a messenger of Yahuweh went forth and slew 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians, and..in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies." (II Kings 19:35) Yahuweh saved those who trusted Him. He still does. It’s interesting that in Matthew, Hezekiah is proudly listed in the genealogy that brought Salvation to the world - the Messiah. A little trust goes a long way.

Hosea’s introductory sentence concludes by saying that these four men were the kings of "Judah (Yahuwdah - sons of Ya’aqob), during the days of Jeroboam (Yarabam - from rabab, meaning a large or numerous; am, meaning national army; and yara, meaning of terror) the son of Joash (Yah-uash - Yah is light)." The reference to the "large national army of terrorists" is clear enough, and certainly appropriate for Hosea’s day and for ours, confronted as we are by a multitude of Islamic terrorists. But who was this man called "Yah is light?"

Joash was the youngest son of Ahaziah, king of Judah a hundred years before Hosea troubadoured Yahuweh’s message of divorce and salvation. After Ahaziah’s death, Joash’s mother, Athaliah, the queen of Judah, murdered each of Joash’s siblings, her own children, so that she could rule. But the infant Joash was saved by the queen’s sister, the wife of the Levite High Priest. The boy was hidden in the Temple for six years, so that in the seventh year he could be anointed king. Jehoiada, the Chief Priest, and husband of Joash’s rescuer, acting as defacto ruler, renewed Yahuweh’s Covenant with the nation and its people. His second act was to destroy the Lord-Ba’al cult that had grown in Judah. His third was to repair Yahuweh’s Temple. So while it wasn’t Joash’s doing, his salvation facilitated the return of Yahuweh’s light to Israel - not so coincidently, in the seventh day.

After the chief priest, Jehoiada died, the Judeans fell from beriyth to azab, lapsing once again into paganism. This prompted Jehoiada’s son, the prophet Zechariah, to call them to repentance, an act which cost him his life. Truth is seldom popular. Demonstrating a short memory and complete lack of gratitude, it was Joash himself who ordered the assassination of the son of the man who had saved him. I dare say, our memories and morals are no better today.

Painting a picture of what was and would be, God inspired Hosea to draw these words on a scroll: "When Yahuweh began speaking through Hosea, Yahuweh said to Hosea, ‘Go, take to yourself a wife (isah - woman or bride) of prostitution (zenunim - harlotry and idolatry) and beget children of harlotry and idolatry; for the people of this land are unfaithful prostitutes (zanah - whores committing despicable and loathsome acts), moving away from (min - abandoning and forsaking) Yahuweh.’" (Hosea 1:2)

Yahuweh put His messenger in His place so that he might have personal empathy and understanding for His plight, and thus speak more passionately to his nation. In a symbolic sense, Yahuweh had married Israel. He was the groom and His chosen people were His bride. They had become His children, His family. And yet they had become unfaithful - committing repugnant and abhorrent acts.

God wanted Israel to see what it was like to be married to a whore - to an idolatrous harlot - and to raise despicable children who willingly abandoned Him. Yahuweh wanted the Jews hear His words as they were proclaimed by Hosea, but He also wanted them to witness this paradigm and see it as an example of what they were doing to Him. Even more important, through this metaphor of an unfaithful marriage, Yahuweh was able to demonstrate why He had to divorce Israel and transition to the Renewed Covenant.

Israel in Hosea’s day had suffered a moral and spiritual collapse as a result of separating itself from God. The Yahudim had become polluted by the religion of Lord-Ba’al, a Satanic sun god cult. It had become popular, just as Islam has grown today, because it played to people’s lusts. With Lord-Ba’al, there were temple harlots with whom both men and women fornicated. With Lord Allah, the prostitutes are in paradise. Hosea’s wife was probably one of these - a "priestly prostitute" - an unfaithful, immoral, and idolatrous woman.    

Yahuweh had called the Yahudim to be a "people set apart" from Satanism, but now they preferred the Devil to God. Their mission of revealing Yahuweh’s nature, love, words, and salvation had become irreconcilably compromised.

"So he went and bought (yaqah - took, acquired, accepted, seized and married) Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; who conceived, and bore him a son. Yahuweh said, ‘Call his name Jezreel; for in a little while I will summon the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu (Yahu - Yah is He), and will begin an intermission (shabath - temporarily leave, put away, set aside for a rest) the dominion (mamlakut - supreme authority, celestial hierarchy and reign) of the house of Israel. And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the stubborn pride (sabur qeset - potency and power, shattering the rainbow or hope and peace) of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.’ " (Hosea 1:3-5)

Gomer’s name suggests that she was from what is today the Islamic regions of the Russian Federation. As a temple prostitute, Gomer had to be redeemed from slavery, just as we must be freed from sin. Calling their son "Jezreel" was akin to naming a child "Remember Vietnam" in today’s America. The Lord-Ba’al worshiping Omri dynasty had been exterminated by the house of Jehu in a massacre that had appeared justified in the beginning but had ultimately been fought in vain. By Hosea’s day, the Jehu king Jeroboam II was on the throne and Ba’al worship was as prominent as ever.

"Shabath" is the key to understanding Yahuweh’s transition away from His reliance on Jews as His witnesses to Gentiles and then back to Jews again in the final days. Yahuweh isn’t replacing the Yahudim with Gowym; He is just leaving them for a while, setting them aside until they are ready to come home. While Jews remain the "chosen people," they were soon to be pulled off center stage, and forced to wait in the wings - the very distant wings - of Yahuweh’s theater and for a very long time. Call it an intermission - the literal meaning of shabath. They had earned a demotion in the celestial hierarchy. Their stubborn self-reliance had to be broken for them to be conduits of Yahuweh’s light, peace, and salvation.

"She conceived again, and bore a daughter. He said, ‘Call her name Not-Pitied for I, because of repetition will only revive them after a period of destruction and inactivity (od yasap - as a result of habitual behavior restoration will occur after devastation and idleness) and will not have strong affection or mercy (halo raham - no association or relationship with, manifest kindness or relieve the suffering) for the house of Israel so as to lift them up (kiy nasa - raise, honor or forgive).’" (Hosea 1:6)

Yahuweh is telling the Northern Kingdom (Israel as opposed to Judah, thus ten of the twelve tribes) that they are no longer pitied. Their continued separation from Him and their repetitive affinity for Lord-Ba’al has caused Him to put them on a collision course with judgment. As a result of their infidelity, God was compelled to demonstrate tough love. The Jews will suffer, and He will not relieve their pain. These Yahudim are azab - their association and relationship with Yahuweh is now in remission. Twenty-seven hundred years would pass before they would be lifted up, honored and forgiven.

However, Yahuweh had promised to bless every nation by way of Abraham, a promise that had to endure. So.."Yet I will have a relationship with (raham - remain in association with, demonstrating strong affection and showing manifest kindness for, relieving the suffering of) the house of Judah, and I will rescue and save them by Yahuweh, their God. But I will not save them by bow, or by sword, battle, or horsemen." (Hosea 1:7)

In the Hebrew text Yahuweh, yasha, and Elohiym are connected - just as they would be in Yahushua - a contraction that means "Yahuweh-Is-Salvation." Yahuweh is proclaiming that He is the Savior and that the Savior is God. He is also telling us that His forgiveness, lifting up, and honor will as a result of "strong affection and manifest kindness" known to us as "grace." Salvation would not be a product of military might. It would not come as it had always been achieved by nations - by way of weapons and battles. By grace Yahushua would rescue us from ourselves - delivering us from sin, reconciling us back into His family. It is a harbinger of the Renewed Covenant’s: "For by grace you have been saved by faith; it is a gift of God and not the result of works."

Yet this gracious offer, as it is declared in the Renewed Beriyth, would be for individual redemption, for the purpose of a one on one relationships - husband and wife, father and son. There was no loner hope for national salvation - at least not for a very, very long time. When a nation’s people, its clerics and kings, collectively demonstrate a greater affinity for works than faith, deceit than truth, separation than relationship, as Israel had done and America is doing, God judges us accordingly: "Now when she had weaned Not-Pitied, she conceived, and bore a son. Then He said, ‘Name him Not-My-People for you are not My people, and I am not (lo) I Am [I don’t Exist] (hayah) to you.’" (Hosea 1:8-9) In other words, I don’t exist to you anymore.

Before we move on to the 9^th verse of Hosea I want to pause and analyze the nature of the word that the ultimate author of this prophetic message choose to use to identify, name, and explain Himself. "Hayah" is part descriptive verb, part definition, and part name. In the passage above, it is clearly being used as His name. This is not uncommon. Many of 3500 times hayah is used in the Old Covenant Scriptures, the verb is both noun and name.

The basis of Yahuweh’s name is hayah, a verb which means: "to exist, to be, and to become." By using hayah as the basis of His name, God is telling us that He exists, that He is infinite in the dimension of time. Hayah also defines Yahuweh’s prophetic nature because hayah means "to make happen and to come to pass."

By using hayah as the root of His name, Yahuweh is confirming that He is the Creator because hayah means "to make happen, to create." For example, hayah is first used in the opening paragraph of the creation account. Genesis 1:3 reads: "God (‘elohiym) said (amar - declared; referring to thoughts becoming words and then actions) let there be (hayah) light (owr)." This is a complete definition because throughout Scripture Yahuweh’s symbols are His words; they represent His thoughts. Light is the most common description of His nature. So in the opening salvo of Scripture, in the first act of creation: "God said I Am light."

Some scholars suggest that Yahuweh is the third-person singular form of hayah, meaning "He is." If it is true, the only difference between the ehayah of "I AM" and "Yahuweh" is perspective. I Am and Yahuweh would be the same name, one being first-person, the other being third. From God’s perspective He is "I Am." From our perspective "He is" - Yahuweh.

If we were to dissect hayah we would find that, "ha" means "behold" and "Yah" is a shortened form of God’s name - thus "Behold Yahuweh." Behold has a powerful connotation in this context. It tells us to look at, observe, consider and regard Yahuweh for we are beholden to Him. It tells us that we can and should "look at" Yahuweh, and that can only be done with regard to His human manifestation Yahushua. The shortened forms of Yahuweh’s name - Yah and Yahu - are used throughout the Torah, Psalms, and Prophets. They are most commonly found in Halleluyah - Radiate Yahuweh’s Light! - as well as in the names of the people most important to God.

There are many Hebrew words and names which begin or end with "yah or yahu." They are also worth examining as they help us understand why our Creator selected this name. Ya’ab means "to desire." It’s used to demonstrate a longing for God’s instructions and it explains why He created us. Ya’ah means "to be fitting" and "to belong to." Yahuweh is perfect and thus we must be fitting if we want to belong to His eternal family. Ya’al means "to choose" - the very essence of the Scriptural message of love and relationship. Yabal means "to carry, especially gifts for a bride," making it pertinent to Hosea’s experience and testimony. Yabal is also "a stream of life," making it the ultimate gift. Yabam means "to marry," something that is particularly significant in this passage and in Yahushua’s Renewed Covenant parables.

Yagah is the opposite side of love, meaning "to grieve, to separate, to remove or push away" - something that is also tied intimately to Hosea’s message as azab is the other side of beriyth, grief the other side of love. Yad is an "open hand of strength, power, and judgment," all inexorably tied to this transition between covenants. Yadah is "to acknowledge God, give thanks and confess." Yadiyd means "beloved," consistent with the Scriptural confirmation that "God is love." Yada means "to know, learn, perceive, discern, experience, and to be familiar with someone relationally." As such, yada is an abbreviation for the entirety of Yahuweh’s message to mankind.  

Yahab means to "pay attention, come to, and give." It suggests that we are to pay attention so that we can come to know Yahuweh and then hand over the controls of our life to Him. Yahad means "to become a Yahuwdy - one who belongs to Yahuweh." Yahudah is Judah, the son of Yaaqob, and the name is synonymous with Jews and Israel. A Yahudi is a Jew and Yahudim is the Hebrew name we translate "Jews." It means "belongs to Yahu."

Yahushua means "Yahu is Salvation" which is why it is the name Yahuweh choose for His Messianic manifestation. Yahalom is "a precious stone" - either a diamond which through its many facets reveals light’s full spectrum, or it’s the cornerstone of our salvation.

Seven thousand times we find "YHWH/Yahuweh" (6,868 in the Masoretic + 132 removed by the Masoretes but found in the Dead Sea Scrolls), pronounced, Yahuweh. It is "the proper name of God, the name by which He revealed Himself to Moses (Exodus 3:14 and 6:2)." The Baker and Carpenter Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old Testament reveals: "It was written without vowels in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament being rendered as YHWH. However, since the Renaissance, the vowels of another word, adonay, have been [foolishly] supplied in [misguided] hopes of reconstructing the pronunciation."

The notion that YHWH was "written without vowels" isn’t actually true. There were five vowels, or more precisely, consonant-vowels, in Paleo Hebrew, the alphabet of revelation. The yod represented the "ya" sound and the wah is phonetically conveyed identically to the English "u." Therefore, Yhwh is most correctly transliterated "Yahuweh" in English. Yahweh would also be correct so long as one recognizes that the "w" is pronounced like a "u." There is no mystery here. The correct pronunciation of Yahuweh’s name is preserved in the alphebe God chose to represent it. Yahuweh wrote His name on the Ten Commandments as: hwhy.

In Exodus 3:13-14 God not only tells us His name, He associates it with hayah, and thus He defines it for us. "Moses said to God, ‘Behold, when I come to the children of Yisra’el, and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," and they say to me, "What is His name?" what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am (hayah - I Was, I Am, and I Will Be; I exist) related to (‘asher - directly linked and associated with) existence (hayah).’ He said, ‘Thus shall you say to the children of Yisra’el, "I Was, I Am, and I Will Be (hayah) has sent me to you."’ And God said moreover to Moses, ‘Thus shall you say to the children of Yisra’el, Yahuweh, the God (‘elohiym) of your fathers, the God (‘elohiym) of Abraham, the God (‘elohiym) of Isaac, and the God (‘elohiym) of Ya’aqob has sent me to you. This is My personal and proper name (shem - designation, nature, authority, report, and mark) forever (olam), and this is My way of being known (zeker - remembered and memorialized) unto all generations." (Exodus 3:13-14)

Yahuweh is proclaiming that Hayah and Yahuweh are synonymous - they are His name and His nature. They are ‘asher: "linked, associated, and related." His name defines Him; it describes and identifies Him. Yahuweh is God’s only name, the way He wants to be addressed, to be known, to be remembered - forever!  

Yes, Yahuweh is God’s name olam - a word that means "forever forward and backward throughout all time - the time beyond this temporal sphere." Olam is "associated with God’s decrees, His covenants, and the Messiah." In Genesis 9:16, the "rainbow" of hope is linked to the "olam beriyth (everlasting covenant)." 

In Exodus 12 olam is again Messianic, associated with the sign of the Renewed Covenant and memorial of Passover. It is also used in harmony with hayah: "I Am Yahuweh. The blood shall exist (hayah - shall be Yahuweh) to you as a sign, a signal, a miracle, and an awe inspiring event..and this day shall exist (hayah - shall be Yahuweh) to you for a memorial and remembrance, a reminder of something in the past that has particular significance. Keep it set apart as a Festival of Yahuweh..a statute forever (olam)."

Olam is again Messianic in Micah 5:2, this time in reference to Yahuwdah and to the passage we just read in Hosea: "But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be small among the clans of Yahuwdah, yet out of you shall be descended from (yasa) Me, He who exists as (hayah - I Am/Yahuweh, shall come forth as) the ruler with authority (masal - the greater luminary [predicted in Genesis 1:18], with dominion over) Yisra’el (those who strive with and are empowered by God) whose origins have been from old, from eternity (olam)."  

I’m sure you noticed that in the Exodus passage in which Yahuweh introduces Himself to Moses, that God links hayah, a word which is synonymous with His name, to Yahuweh with ‘asher - the same word that is used in connection with the Word and Salvation in Hosea 1:1. So Yahuweh is saying that hayah which means "to exist" and "to be" is linked to Him, as is the Word and the Savior. We exist because we are linked to Him - created in His image and saved by Him.

‘Asher is the summation of man’s most important questions because ‘asher meaning: "who, what, where, when, and how" is directed at Yahuweh - the who, what, where, when, and how" of our existence. In that ‘asher also means: "forasmuch, from whence, through, association and connection," linked to hayah, ‘asher summarizes Yahuweh’s Scriptural message of relationship and salvation.

Now that we know who is inspiring Hosea, and facilitating Salvation, we are in a better position to understand Yahuweh’s message, especially the part when He said: "Name him Not-My-People for you are not My people, and I no longer exist (lo hayah) to you." God was warning the Northern Kingdom that they were no longer shareholders in the Covenant. This brought Exodus 6:7 to a close: "I will take you for my people and I will be your God." For a nation whose very existence was tied to God’s providence, "Not-My-People" was a foreboding omen. Israel was now hopelessly azab - separated from God.

While the job of most Jews (ten of the twelve tribes) was now entering history’s longest intermission, the Yahudim from which Judah (Yahuwdah) is derived, still had a mission. They would deliver the Messiah. And they would not only deliver more prophets like Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel, they would fulfill their prophecies. So in spite of the divine justice they would endure, they would endure.."Yet the number of the children of Israel shall exist as the sand of the sea, which by way of association cannot be counted. And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, ‘You are not my people,’ there it shall be said to them, ‘You are the sons of the living God.’ Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be collected (qabas yahad - gathered together, and assembled as one, united as a community) and consider (sum - appoint and call) the One (ehad - the First, the Spirit) the head and their leader and they shall ascend upward to a higher place out of the land, because great shall be the day of Jezreel." (Hosea 1:10-11)

In the beginning of this passage, through multiple repetitions of hayah, ‘asher and madad, Yahuweh linked His existence and infinity to Judah. He explained that in this same land in which the Jews were disowned, they would be regathered and unified as one community called the "sons of the living God." While Yahuweh has recently fulfilled much of this prophecy, the Israelis are neither unified nor called sons of God. That will occur during the final millennium - a time in which the Yahudim will ascend upward to a higher place as a result of calling the One, the First, the Spirit their leader.

The reason Yahuweh used the phrase "Living God" was to point out the absurdity of making sacrifices to an inanimate object like the golden calves representing the sun god Lord-Ba’al. While the Satanic spirit camouflaged as Ba’al was alive, he was living on borrowed time. His fate and the fate of all who trusted him was already sealed. 

The closing statement is interesting. Jezreel was Israel’s Vietnam. With noble intentions, but limited understanding, treasure was spilled and blood was shed in vain. Ba’alism was Israel’s Communism and at Jezreel, its spread was confronted. Yet, as with our Vietnam, when the fighting was over, nothing had changed. So Yahuweh is telling us that in the Tribulation’s final days, during the time Jews finally repent, He will not only strive against the beast, Lord-Ba’al, He will prevail. We’ll learn more about this victory later in the chapter.

By having Hosea marry a temple prostitute and conceive children named Jezreel, Not-Pitied, and Not-My-People, Yahuweh has communicated a wealth of information and done so in a dramatic and memorable way. The name Jezreel was a warning to the rulers, suggesting that their misguided military adventures were in vain. If Hosea were alive today he would name his first child "Iraq" in hope of awakening America’s president to the folly of spilling coin and blood without first dealing with Islam - our Ba’al. Not-Pitied was a warning to the people. They would suffer without mercy. It would be a direct result of their ignorance, infidelity, and immorality. They believed, followed and supported their politicians rather than refuting and disassociating themselves from them. And to the clerics, Not-My-People, signified an end of the covenant and thus the terminus of their purpose. If the rabbis and priests wanted to hold on to power they would have to create their own religion - something they have done many times over. God was finished with them.

Unlike the pleadings we find throughout the Torah, there was no call for repentance in Hosea. These names were an announcement, not an invitation back home. That would not occur until the prodigal’s son parable was manifest in Yahushua - although He was also rejected by the Yahudim. According to Scripture, for people who continually and repeatedly refuse relationship, the possibility of forming a relationship is withdrawn. God is informing Israel that apart from Judah, He is separating Himself from them. They sought fellowship with Ba’al and will have to rely on the Devil as a result.

Yet there was still a glimmer of hope, far off on the distant horizon. This was an intermission after all. In the end God would restore them to fellowship. This is how Hosea describes the reconciliation: "Say to your brother, ‘My People.’ And to your sister, say, ‘She Has Obtained Pity.’" (Hosea 2:1) Set in the context of being called "Sons of the Living God," this is a harbinger of the Renewed Covenant. Before we can appreciate God’s provision and grace we must first come to understand that we are sinners in need of redemption because separation precedes reconciliation. And because choice is required for love, to experience Yahuweh’s affection we must ask for admission into His family. It should therefore be no surprise then that Paul quotes this passage from Hosea in the ninth chapter of his letter to the Romans or that we find it again in I Peter 2:10.

Having introduced the tangible metaphor of an unfaithful marriage replete with immoral children, Hosea, inspired by Yahuweh, submitted a legal brief. In verses two through fifteen of the second chapter the language is characterized by expressions lawyers would use at trial. God is filing for divorce.

As with the actual nature of the prophet’s marriage to the temple prostitute, Hosea is not only personally separating himself from Gomer, Yahuweh through this example is dissolving His relationship with Israel. And because there are many parties to, and victims of, a broken marriage, the passages address them all.

In this tangible metaphor, Yahuweh is the lawyer, the judge, and the husband. Hosea’s unfaithful partner, Gomer, is wife and mother. Their children are the Israelites. As a wife, Gomer broke her covenant with both Hosea and Yahuweh. By pursuing other men and spirits, she was guilty of adultery. In the role of mother, her infidelity demonstrates a biblical truth. Her bad choices negatively impact her family - in this case, the children of Israel.   

"Rebuke (rib - quarrel in a state of hostility, be in opposition and contend with) your mother, bring a lawsuit forth to prosecute: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband." (Hosea 2:2) Lesson one: according to Yahuweh, quarreling can be good. We need to be in a state of hostility with evil. We must contend with and oppose false teaching not ignore, tolerate or appease it.

Lesson two: according to Yahuweh the best way to oppose evil is to know and apply Scripture. In this legal proceeding, the basis for the suit is the breach of the Beriyth as outlined in the Torah. Deuteronomy 22 legislates that if a woman engages in harlotry or if a person commits adultery, the penalty is death. So if Scripture is good enough for God to use, I reckon it’s sufficient for us, too. 

Lesson three: according to Yahuweh repetitive sin, especially those related to religion, can be fatal. Hope can be extinguished. If we are bad enough, long enough, God gives up on us and divorces Himself from us - nationally and personally.

Lesson four: according to Yahuweh, a child’s fate can be linked to their parent’s beliefs and conduct. If a mother is a devil-worshiping Ba’al prostitute, chances are her children will be immoral and idolatrous. A Muslim mother will breed jihadists just as the modern state turns the seed of secular humanists into amoral atheists. There is a reason Yahuweh didn’t remove the children from the flood that consumed Noah’s evil generation, from the brimstone that ravaged Sodom, or from the Lord-Ba’al worshiping Canaanite towns the Israelis conquered. Being all knowing and being able to maneuver in time, Yahuweh knew that these children would grow up to be just like their parents.  

"Let her therefore turn away from (sur - change direction, move on a different path, be removed from and remove, forsake, reject, and abolish) illicit relationships to a false deities (zenuniym - fornication, prostitution, adultery, and idolatry,) away from (min - out of) her presence... " (Hosea 2:2-3)

The Hebrew word zenuniym is most often used in Scripture as a religious term to describe unfaithfulness. Its inferences to fornication, adultery and prostitution are symbolic of the sexual rituals of sun god fertility religions like Ba’alism. It is designed to contrast this with the fidelity and morality of a monogamous marriage and loving family relationship with Yahuweh. By using sur before zenuniym, God is telling us that we must not only reject false doctrines, we must separate ourselves from them and then abolish them, removing them from society. The word translated "presence" above actually means that immorality shouldn’t be allowed to exist right "under our noses." There is to be no tolerance when it comes to Satan’s guiles. Sur denotes a change of direction toward God. Choosing beriyth and following Yahuweh’s path is good. Forsaking azab, rejecting and banning false teachings and rituals is also good. But one without the other is insufficient.

The remainder of the passage uses language that is allegorical of Jews being judged without the benefit of a savior. The defendant in God’s presence quickly finds themselves naked, unable to hide their sin, and thus destitute and vulnerable. Without hope, they are destined for incarceration in God’s wilderness - the lifeless place of separation we call hell.    

The fourth verse of Hosea’s second chapter opens with a verdict that many find troubling: " And I will not love (raham - show affection for, have mercy on, demonstrate compassion or pity to) her children; for they are the children of fornication (zenuniym - prostitution, adultery, idolatry, and illicit relationships with false deities). For their mother wantonly committed adultery and idolatry (zanah - was a harlot and a whore). She who conceived them made a serious mistake (bowsh - did something wrong and lost hope by acting shamefully). She said, ‘I will go after my lovers that provide my bread, my water, my wool, my linen, my oil and my drink.’" (Hosea 2:4-5)

God is talking in first person. These are His rules; this is His verdict. If you don’t like His judgment regarding children being damned for their parent’s infidelity, there is nothing you can do about it short of creating your own universe. Gomer was not raped. Her fornication and adultery were neither casual nor occasional. She had made a conscious decision to separate herself from a beriyth with her husband and God and depend instead on the dark spirit of the sun god, Lord-Ba’al. As a result, as a consequence of her poor choice, she and her children were separated from God. While history and archeology confirm that the children of Israel were as idolatrous and unfaithful as their mother, and thus choosing and deserving her fate, Gomer’s religion was sufficient to condemn her children. Now that’s a sobering and profound thought.

Halal, the spirit behind the sun god Ba’al is the same spirit upon which Muhammad modeled Allah. So since Yahuweh is a just and consistent judge, would not the children born of that satanic religion also share their parents’ fate? And could that be why God wants us to reject religions and remove their false teachings from our presence? And since secular humanism, and its political manifestation Socialism, the religion of man for men, runs rampant in the West, according to God what is the fate of our children? 

The list of things Yahuweh articulates is significant in the passage above. He says that Gomer was reliant on Ba’al to provide her bread, water, wool, linen, oil and drink. Bread and water are necessary to keep us alive - temporarily sustaining our mortal bodies. Wool and linen are woven into clothing and thereby provide a covering to hide the sins of the flesh, albeit only temporarily. That is why God told Gomer she would appear naked at judgment. Oil and drink are spiritual references in that oil represents Yahuweh’s Spirit and pure light, while wine is symbolic of His blood shed to atone for sin. But it’s interesting to note that the Hebrew word translated "oil" in this list is shemen which is "perfumed grease." The word is derived from shaman, meaning a "gross shine." So it’s indicative of Satan. By receiving Ba’al’s grease, Gomer accepted Halal’s spirit. Even today a "shaman" is an occult medium.

The same is true of the "drink." It was not wine, but hard liquor instead. Only wine is symbolic of blood atonement. Liquor is intoxicating and disorienting, symbolic of Satan’s guiles. All satanic religions deny the Messiah’s sacrifice and thus the benefit of blood atonement. So the consequence of accepting and relying upon religious rituals is death, not life.

Yahuweh’s next line begins with a "therefore" so it is written as a result of Gomer’s religious practices. The Hebrew word is ken, meaning: "pertaining to a sequence of events and referencing that which precedes, therefore, likewise, that which is honest and right, telling the truth as it pertains to what is proper in a relationship or standing." " Therefore (ken), behold (hineh - I call your attention to this change of scene, emphasizing it) I will hedge up (suk - fence in, erect a restraining barrier, and block) your path (derek - pattern of life) with thorns (siyr - thorn bushes burnt to cook something in a pot), and closing off (gadar gader - wall up, make a barrier of loose stones) that she shall not find or attain her path (natiyb - way of life conceived by men). And she shall pursue (radap - chase after, follow) her lusts (ahab - lovers including objects like idols and things like money), but she shall not obtain (nasag - reach or come to possess) them. She shall search for (baqash - try to procure and learn information about) them, but shall not discover (matsa - uncover, learn the location or gain information about these objects)." (Hosea 2:6-7)

In that Yahuweh is warning that He will "fence people in and block their path," this passage is worthy of our undivided attention. The reference to thorn bushes reveals that those who choose to go their own way will find His restraining barrier unpleasant. Beyond being prickly, the bushes being described here were used to kindle the fires beneath cooking pots. And make no mistake, those who find themselves stewing amongst these thorns will have chosen their destiny. This was Gomer’s path, her natiyb - pattern of life based upon the religions conceived by men. God neither chose this path for her nor desired for her to embark on it. She made her choice and must now suffer the consequences.

Gader is used figuratively in Ezekiel 13 of false prophets whose words proved unreliable. Therefore, in this setting the "wall of loose stones" is both symbolic and ironic. The demonic promises of protection the false prophets of Lord-Ba’al proclaimed will only serve to crush the deceived. This is the nature of all religions and their end result. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Ka’aba, Allah’s House in Mecca, was four low intersecting walls of unhewn and unmortared loose stones.

Concerning "gader," Yahuweh spoke these words to Ezekiel, warning the people about trusting religions - the inspiration of men - as opposed to God: "Prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of Yahuweh!’ Thus says Yahuweh, ‘Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing.’ ..You have not built the wall of loose stones (gader) around the house of Israel to stand up or endure (amad - rise up or restore) in battle in the day of Yahuweh. They see and perceive deceit, evil, vanity, and useless frauds (saw) and lying, deceptive, abominations (kazab) divinations (qesem - the practice of predicting or preaching by inspiration of occult demons)... They have made others hope that their words were worthy. ... Thus says Yahuweh: ‘Because you have spoken deceit, evil, and vanity (saw) and lying, deceptive, abominations (kazab) and divination, therefore behold, I am against you, says Yahuweh. ... You shall not be in the counsel of my people..because you have seduced, lead astray, deceptively whitewashed (ta’ah) My people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace. And one built a thin, unstable wall (hayis) , and, lo, others plastered over (tuah) it with useless, tasteless, misleading foolishness, whitewash and hypocrisy (tapel). Say unto them who plastered over (tuah) with useless, tasteless, misleading foolishness, whitewash and hypocrisy (tapel), that it shall fall and prostrate itself (napal)... Behold, when the stone wall (qiyr - [that crushed Balaam’s foot and donkey]) is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is your whitewash? Therefore says Yahuweh, "I will break it to pieces with a whirlwind in My displeasure and wrath (hemah - anger and rage) and there shall be a cleansing (satap - gushing, overflowing, and washing away) deluge in My presence..bringing it down to the ground so that its foundation shall be revealed."

It’s safe to say that Yahuweh doesn’t much care for false religious promises. The very wall of whitewashed words the practitioners rely upon for temporal and eternal protection will become a barricade, precluding them from ever entering into fellowship with God. Moreover, Yahuweh is telling us that religions deceive by plastering over, whitewashing, loose stones. Working through clerics and kings to create Ba’alism, Satan replaced Yahuweh’s message with his mirror image reversal of useless, misleading foolishness. Rabbinical Judaism is a plastering over of Scripture. Religious Christianity is a whitewashing of Yahuweh’s revelations. Islam is a counterfeit, a façade, in which loose stones from Scripture were tastelessly recast and then carelessly thrown together. In each case, the religion grew because a half truth is more beguiling than an outright lie.    

Returning to Yahuweh’s declaration against Hosea’s unfaithful wife we read: "Then she will say, I will go and reverse course and return to (sub - restore the relationship with) my first and foremost (rishown - in the beginning pertaining to space-time) husband (iys - one who exists, male individual, or husband, invocative of God’s relationship with Israel); for it was better (tobah - more fruitful and morally correct, prosperous and good) for me than now. But she did not discern (da’ah - acknowledge information that requires wisdom) that I gave long lasting (yatan) grain, and new wine, and olive oil (yitshar), and increased her silver and gold, which they assigned to Ba’al." (Hosea 2:7-8)

This suggests willful ignorance on the part of Israel and thus it is symbolic of us today. Yahuweh had given the Jews and has given us an accurate accounting of Himself, His plan and His provision but we have chosen to ignore it and pervert it.

Gomer had come to recognize that Ba’alism was unworthy of her trust. She wanted to leave the false religion to restore her relationship with her husband, in this case God, but it was too late. She had been hedged in by thorns and encompassed by a wall of loose stones - by lies and false hope. The use of iys in this passage could mean different things. Prophetically, it may suggest that Jews will no longer reject the Messiah Yahushua - the human male manifestation of Yahuweh. It could mean husband and thus be invocative of restoring the marriage or beriyth with God. And it could mean extant individual personality and thus indicate a turn away from Ba’al and to Yahuweh. 

While Gomer was religious, all paths do not lead to God. Not only were her rituals of no value - whitewashed and hypocritical counterfeits - they were observed in place of Yahuweh’s Festivals, precluding Israel from recognizing their prophetic Messianic symbolism. Unlike her Ba’al inspired leavened bread, polluted with sin and thus perishable, Yahuweh wanted her to have "long lasting grain" - symbolic of the FirstFruits harvest of saints. Rather than drink to Ba’al, Yahuweh wanted Israel to enjoy the gift of new wine, symbolic of Yahushua’s blood shed for the atonement of sin - the link between the Old and Renewed Covenants. And unlike Ba’al’s spirit, represented by a gross greasy shine, Yahuweh had offered His spirit of pure light to the Jews. But the riches Yahuweh had lavished upon the Yahudim had been callously tossed at Ba’al’s feet.

So who was this Lord-Ba’al? Why would preaching on his behalf and worshiping him create such a ruckus? Well, when we study the origin of this name, we learn that God loves words. One of the reasons Yahuweh elected to use this tangible metaphor of marriage was because the secondary meaning for the word ba’al is husband. God is providing a clear choice - we can marry Yahuweh or Ba’al. And this choice of marriage partners, of ba’alim (husbands and lords), is the synthesis of the entire Scriptural message. It is one of the many reasons dissecting Hosea’s prophetic book is essential to our understanding of God, His plan, His people, our times and ourselves.

One of the reasons I have hyphenated Lord-Ba’al is to confirm a theologically crucial concept: the primary use and literal meaning of the Hebrew word ba’al in most all Semitic languages was "lord." Ba’al was considered to be "the owner" - as in "the Lord" with a capital "L." In fact, for most Babylonians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Phoenicians, Philistines, Canaanites, and now Israelites, Ba’al was God. At the very least, Ba’al represented the spirit clerics and kings presented as God. Ba’al was Lord; that’s what ba’al means.

In most early religions the name denoted the sun god, a deity the people called "Lord." As part of the cycle of the sun, Ba’al was worshiped as a fertility deity whose rites of death and resurrection were celebrated seasonally by the Canaanites and Phoenicians in ceremonies that included human sacrifice and temple prostitution.

The most popular graven image associated with Lord-Ba’al was a bull, a "golden calf," because the sun is in the constellation of Taurus during the spring equinox. When it "crosses" the equator at noon, it was believed to have impregnated mother earth, represented by Ishtar, the goddess "Christians" celebrate as Easter during the first Sun-day of spring. The sun is then resurrected nine months later at the winter solstice, Ba’al’s birthday, the date Constantine designated Christmas. This was initially the birthday of Tammuz in Mesopotamia and became the birthday of Mithras in Rome; one was Ba’al’s predecessor, the other a derivative.

Satanic sun gods like Lord-Ba’al were all known by the sign of the "cross," a word which does not exist in Scripture. Stauros, the Greek word mistranslated "cross" actually means stake, post, or upright pole. Salvation is God’s way of reaching down to man to lift him up. It is a one way affair. When Constantine, the founder of the religion of Christianity, saw the sign of the cross before the sun and said, "Under this sign I will conquer," he was revealing the nature of his inspiration.

As a sun god, Ba’al was represented by circular halo disks. It’s the same halo the Roman Catholic Church has had its artisans place over the heads of their "saints" - turning the "Virgin Mary" and the "Lord Jesus Christ," into Apostles of Ba’al.

The other principle symbol of Constantine’s Christian religion, "church," was also derived from Lord-Ba’al’s sun identity. The name/word "Church" has no basis in Scripture - there is nothing even close to its meaning or sound. The Greek word "ekklesia" means a calling out. Ekklesia was never used as a name and it does not denote an organization or a building. There is no linguistic root meaning of the word church in any language. But as a name, Church has a history. It was derived from "Circe," the name of Helios’ daughter, a fellow sun deity. It is from this word that we get circus and circle.

Ba’al’s sun god mantra is consistent with Isaiah’s introduction of Satan as Halal, the morning star - better known as the sun. And in keeping with Scriptural prognostications, as the Prince and Power of the Air, Ba’al was seen as a weather god, in control of wind, rain, thunder and lightening.

Whether he is disguised in the ruse of Ba’al, Allah or man, Halal wants to be Lord. He wants mankind to submit to him. He wants to be God. He wants to be worshiped. So all things that are God’s he covets and counterfeits: bread for grain, liquor for wine, crosses for poles, Easter for Passover, Halloween for Atonement, Christmas for Tabernacles, Sunday for the Sabbath, conversion for choice, church - a calling into a circular circus of sun worship for ekklesia--a calling out of demonic fellowship by the grace of the Son.

All of world history, every force or idea at play today or throughout time, can best be understood as Yahuweh verses Ba’al. God desires beriyth, a relationship with us, so Satan covets azab, separation. Yahuweh and Ba’al are good and evil, light and darkness, true and false, life and death. This is the ultimate equation - the grand unification theory. It is why Yahuweh has focused His case against His unfaithful wife/people based on their (as in manmade), religion, symbols, rites, and rituals.

As such, Yahuweh inspired Hosea to write: " Therefore I will return and take away My grain at the occasion of change (et), and my new wine at the appointed time (mowed), and spare my wool and linen that would have kept her nakedness hidden." (Hosea 2:9) Since this is written in first person, "I will return" is significant.

I have a theory I’d like you to consider. Yahuweh’s first appearance to man on earth was in the Garden with Adam where Creator and created enjoyed a close personal relationship. (Genesis 3:8) His second advent transpired when He appeared in the form of a man and walked, talked, and ate with Abraham - the relationship that gave birth to beriyth. (Genesis 17 and 18) Yahuweh’s third return was to observe Ya’aqob’s wrestling match with Satan, in which the patriarch proved himself worthy of being Yisra’el - Yahuweh’s witnesses to mankind. (Genesis 32) His fourth visit was with Moses during the Exodus when He, over the course of forty days, authored the Torah. (Exodus 24) The fifth advent occurred when Yahuweh/Yahushua met with Samuel near the Ark of the Covenant in Shiloh. The passage reveals: "Yahuweh came, stood, and spoke to Samuel..appearing so as to be seen, revealing and disclosing Himself as the Word of Yahuweh." (1 Samuel 3) During the sixth advent, Yahuweh fulfilled His Genesis 1 and Isaiah 9 prophecies at the Feast of Tabernacles when the Anointed/Messiah Yahushua was delivered to save mankind - living like a man in our midst. (Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Daniel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) And the seventh and final advent will occur at the Miqra of Atonement - five days before the end of the Tribulation. The Millennium, the seventh day, will begin on Tabernacles - the Festival that acknowledges that Yahuweh is "camping out" with us. (Genesis 1, Leviticus 23-25, Daniel 9, Hosea 6, Zechariah, Matthew 24, and Revelation)

The "occasion of change" and "at the appointed time" in reference to "grain and new wine" in this passage speak of the annual Old Covenant Miqra appointments of FirstFruits and Passover and their prophetic implications that are fulfilled at the dawn of the Renewed Covenant. Collectively they symbolize the harvest of souls that have been cleansed of sin by the blood shed at Passover. The recipients of this grace are given a garment of luminosity that not only covers, but obliterates our sins in God’s eyes. This Garment of Light is none other than Yahuweh’s Spirit - His Qodesh/Set Apart Spirit.

Without this garment of light, all men are destined to be judged lewd and unfit as the darkness of their sin remains visible. As such they will spend eternity separated from Yahuweh. " And now will I reveal her lewdness and shame in the sight of her lovers (ahab - those with whom she has formed a relationship) and none shall save (nasal - deliver or rescue) her out of My hand (yad - power or authority). I shall cause a cessation of all (sabat kol) her celebrations (masows - joy, gaiety, and merriment), her religious feasts (chag), her new moon religious festivals (hodes), and her sabbaths, and all her appointed assemblies (mowed)." (Hosea 2:10-11) Once again we see Gomer, who represents Israel, without benefit of a Savior. While the priests pandering for Ba’al have established counterfeit rituals and festivals, the gaiety of these drunken orgies will be fleeting. All of the religious rites, rituals, and festivals of men and devils will not only fail, they will be abolished by God - as will be those who practiced them.

Yahuweh creates and Ba’al corrupts. Yahuweh cannot corrupt and Ba’al cannot create. That is why Satan is dependant upon counterfeiting; it is why his religions mirror the Scripture message but in reverse - left is now right and right is now wrong. Halal has corrupted the significance and changed the times of Yahuweh’s Miqra to make his own holidays and thus beguile men into false religions. As Christians we celebrate them today as Christmas and Easter. Lord-Ba’al/Halal’s new moon festivals are particularly rank in Islam, corrupting a billion Muslims. And as a sun god, Satan’s Sabbath is Sun-day. Not only aren’t these counterfeits sanctified, they are judged lewd and unfit, shameful in the site of God and destined for obliteration. This is one of many reasons Hosea’s message is timeless. America and the Church are Gomer. Their politicians and priests are "Not-My-People." Their faithful constituents and congregations are "Not-Pitied." We have been "Jezreeled" - played for fools, lead astray, suffering in vain.  

The vines about to be destroyed and abandoned in the next verse symbolize the Yahudim, who, when rooted in beriyth, bear the fruit of eternal life. The fig tree is prophetically symbolic of the temporal realm - especially Israel. During the revelation period it was considered to be honey - the primary source of sweetness. The destruction of the fig is a sign of impending human distress and divine judgment. "I will destroy (shamem - leave desolate, lay waste and ravage, ruin and abandon) her vines and her fig trees, whereof she has said, ‘These are my gratuities (etenal - payments for being a prostitute, the quid pro quo rewards) associated with loving people (ahab - coveting things and bribes) given to me.’ But I intend to turn them into a thicket, and the beasts of the field shall devour them." (Hosea 2:12) Things will never protect us. That which we consider "ours" is but a thicket beasts will devour.

Had the Yahudim been faithful, they would have remained rooted in the covenant and as a result, rooted in the land rather than dispersed. Their eternal fruit would have been righteous and good - a brilliant and faithful witness to Yahuweh’s truth. Moreover, they would have enjoyed every sweetness in this temporal life. To be attached to Yahuweh’s vine and to be able to sit under His fig tree was to share God’s blessings of peace, prosperity, joy, salvation, and relationship forever. But they became pimps for other gods, accepting money to help create religions and doctrines for man and beast. Sadly, the wages of sin is death. The Father and Husband wanted to lavish riches and blessings on His wife and children but they would have nothing to do with Him or His gifts.

Societies are like families. Within communities of cities and nations we live in relationship with our neighbors. To avoid anarchy, rules are always established and there are always consequences for breaking the accepted morays. Those who break the faith, the trust, and play by different rules, are judged and punished. When people live in harmony as a moral union of families, they prosper. When they reject such values they decline. God is telling Israel this very thing.

While Yahuweh lavishes every blessing on those who choose Him, He is a jealous God when it comes to relationships. "I will take an inventory of (peqad - recount and summon) her days in association with (‘asher) Lords (Ba’alim - false gods), wherein she caused incense and sacrifices to rise up in smoke (muqtar), and she went on the prowl in search of prey in a beguiling way (adah) with her loop earrings (nezem - ornamental rings - circles which separate) and her jewelry associated with harlotry (helyah), and she went out after (halak ahar - walked with, followed, and joined the position and direction of) her lovers (ahab - formed a relationship with others, desiring objects and coveting things). And she forgot Me, becoming lame and crippled (kasha), says Yahuweh." (Hosea 2:13)

Ba’alim is the plural of Ba’al, meaning lords or gods. Sacrifices to false deities just go up in smoke, as Gomer’s and thus Israel’s were doing. The people who preached on behalf of these forms of Satanism were out on the prowl in search of prey. Religion remains their most beguiling and thus effective snare. The symbol of these satanic sun god doctrines was the halo or circle shaped rings Gomer was wearing. Symbolic of the sun and circular reasoning, their false teachings separated mankind from God. Ahab, forming relationships with undesirable people and spirits and loving things leads to azab - being separated from God. And when we are separated from our Maker, when we forget the source of our existence, we are crippled.

Fortunately, this crippling need not be forever. In this transition verse, Yahuweh is pointing the way back home - from azab to beriyth. " Therefore behold, I will leave the way wide open for her (patah) walking with her into the wilderness (midebar - desert, wilderness of words, desert of words), speaking (dabar) to her heart. And I will give her eternal vineyards there at that place and time (sam)." (Hosea 2:14-15)

This verse opens with a gracious offer and a provocative phrase. A way is being left wide open for reconciliation. Yahuweh is even committing to walk beside Israel through it all. If midebar just means wilderness, then Yahuweh is promising to speak to His people even when they are separated from Him. If midebar just means desert, then Yahuweh is committing to continue to call His people during their impending times of trial. If midebar is a wilderness of words then in the midst of confusing claims and false religions Yahuweh will speak to the hearts of His people. If midebar is a dearth of words, He will communicate to the Yahudim even when they are hauled across the desert and into the captivity of Ba’al’s pagans in Babylon.

As a result of His grace, of His continued walk with His people, there will be a time and place where the vine which represents the Yahudim, fruitfulness, and eternal life will be re-rooted and restored. This is Messianic. It is the gift presented in the Renewed Covenant.

"The valley of Achor will be a doorway (petach  - opening or portal) of hope. She shall sing there, as in the days of her youth (neurim - childhood, time as a young girl), and as in the day when she ascended out of the land of Egypt. " (Hosea 2:15-16)

The valley of Achor is used metaphorically to express the good news of salvation. It was at Achor that the Israelites who disobeyed Yahuweh’s instructions at Jericho and stole gold from the temples of Ba’al were exposed, judged, and then punished - stoned to death and then burned. So the day of reconciliation, judgment, punishment and death would give way to grace, forgiveness and life. Despair would turn to hope. We are told that Israel will sing again. The family will be restored with children acting like children - adoring, loving, and revering their Father. The Jews will be free again - just as when Yahuweh brought them out of slavery in Egypt.

This doorway of hope through which God is calling His children is reminiscent of John’s Revelation in which Yahushua says to the Laodiceans - the Gentile Ekklesia that is separated from Him: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and have fellowship with him and he with Me." 

Still speaking of reconciliation, Yahuweh inspired Hosea to write: " And it shall be at that day, declares Yahuweh, you shall call Me husband (ishi - extant, present, in existence, a high and mighty individual or man); and shall call Me (qara - summon Me as and read aloud) My Lord (ba’ali) never again (halo owd - no more, no longer). For I will remove and reject the names of the Lords (Ba’alim - false gods) out of her mouth, and they shall be proclaimed (zakar - remembered, recalled, and mentioned) by their name no more. " (Hosea 2:16-17)

So at the time of reconciliation, at the terminus of the intermission, the Yahudim will call Yahuweh Ishi. As before, that could mean that the Jews will acknowledge that Yahuweh manifest Himself as a man - as the Messiah Yahushua - to save them. It could mean that they recognize that God exists and that His name is Yahuweh. They become reacquainted, so to speak. Or it could mean that Yahuweh and His Yahudim are remarried. This could signal the resumption of the olam beriyth - the eternal covenant. Or it could mean all of these things and thus be in complete harmony with all of Scripture’s prophetic message.

And while this glorious and magnificent chorus is the doorway to salvation, what follows is so sad it makes me want to cry and scream all at the same time. At this great celebration of reconciliation, the thing Yahuweh cherishes the most is never being called Lord again. That means when the rabbis, priests and pastors scratched His name out of His Scripture 7000 times, replacing it with Lord - Ba’al - God was and remains in agony. Yahuweh longs for a time that Lord will never again be spoken, remembered, or read.

One of the most popular Bible translations is the New American Standard. If you look at the "Preface," you will find that it concludes with these words: "The Proper Name for God: To professing Christians, whether of conservative or liberal persuasion, the name of God is most significant and understandably so. It is inconceivable to think of spiritual matters without a proper designation for the Supreme Deity. Thus the most common name for deity is God, a translation of the original Elohim." That’s not true - god, like elohiym, is a word, not a name, which is why it’s translated and not transliterated.

The preface continues: "The normal word for Master is Lord, a rendering of Adonai." This is designed to purposely mislead based upon what follows. First, adonai is a word and a title and not a name - although it became a name, that of the sun god Adonis. Second, adonai means master. Third, used as a name, Lord is the name of the Satanic sun god Ba’al. And fourth, Yahuweh has but one name. So the NASB editors are lying when they claim: "There is yet another name which is particularly assigned to God as His special or proper name, that is, the four letters YHWH. See Exodus 3 and Isaiah 42:8. This name has not been pronounced by the Jews because of reverence for the great sacredness of the divine name. Therefore, it was consistently pronounced and translated LORD." This is also untrue. Yahuweh was replaced by Ba’al-Lord. Yahuweh was never pronounced or translated Lord.

Since a translation by definition, translates the meaning of a word in one language into its equivalent meaning in another, if the following sentence were accurate, the editors of the NASB translated Yahuweh into Ba’al. "The only exception to this translation of YHWH is when it occurs in immediate proximity to the word Lord, that is, Adonai. In that case it is regularly translated God in order to avoid confusion." Actually, it was done to avoid making the NASB translators look stupid. Rendering adonai YHWH (actually ‘edon Yahuweh), as Lord LORD would only serve to reveal their folly.

The NASB crew conclude with this parting salvo: "It is known that for many years YHWH has been transliterated as Yahweh. No complete certainty attaches to the pronunciation. However, it is felt by many who are in touch with the laity of our churches that this name conveys no religious or spiritual overtones. It is strange, uncommon, and without sufficient religious and devotional background. No amount of scholarly debate can overcome this deficiency. Hence, it was decided to avoid the use of this name in the translation proper." So, let’s call Yahuweh Ba’al. After all, "Yahuweh’s name conveys no spiritual overtones. His name is strange and uncommon. No scholarly debate between men can overcome this deficiency."

If Yahuweh is just, when the Grahams and Falwells, the Bakkers and Kennedys, the Hinns and Hagees, and lest we forget, Karol Wojtyla (the soon to be canonized Pope John Paul II), arrive in His presence, wouldn’t He be compelled to say that their names have no religious or spiritual meaning to Him - that they are deficient and strange, and thus must be strangers. After all, consider the cost and consequence of their proclamations and preaching. As a name, LORD is Ba’al. Therefore, these men have perpetuated the most grievous deception in the history of mankind. They have helped Satan achieve his ultimate ambition - to have his name replace God’s name. 

If you own an NIV translation, don’t gloat. It says: "In regard to the divine name YHWH, commonly referred to as the Tetragrammaton, the translators adopted the device used in most English versions of rendering that name as ‘LORD’ in capital letters to distinguish it from Adonai, another Hebrew word rendered ‘Lord,’ for which small letters are used." Let’s change Yahuweh’s name to the device used by Ba’al because other morons did the same thing before us.

And who were those morons you ask? Open your King James Bible and weep. The title page reads: "King James Version - TO THE MOST HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE: JAMES." That should have been sufficient to burn the book. This was King James’ version, not Yahuweh’s. And the Most High and Mighty Prince was James, not Yahushua, not even Jesus.

The opening paragraph reveals the nature of the translation for those who are wary. The favored English translation of the day was the Geneva Bible. It correctly pointed out in its introduction that there was no divine authorization in Scripture designating kings over any nation other than Israel. So King James coveting a divine sanction had his morons write: "Great and manifold were the blessings, most dread Sovereign, which Almighty God, the Father of all mercies, bestowed upon us the people of England, when first he sent Your Majesty’s Royal Person to rule and reign over us." Yahuweh was relegated to a lower case "he" while James was promoted to a parade of capitals designating deity. The KJV was for him, after all.

The dark spirit behind this politically inspired religious twist is revealed in the next line: "For whereas it was the expectation of many, who wished not well unto our Sion, that upon the setting of that bright Occidental Star, Queen Elizabeth of most happy memory, some think and palpable clouds of darkness would so have overshadowed this Land, that men should have been in doubt which way they were to walk; and that it should be hardly known who was to direct the unsettled State; the appearance of Your Majesty, as of the Sun in his strength, instantly dispelled those supposed and surmised mists, and gave unto all that were well affected exceeding cause of comfort; especially when we beheld the Government established in Your Highness and Your hopeful Seed, by an undoubted Title."

Three terms were capitalized and italicized. Sion means heir so it’s referencing James. The Occidental Star is the sun as it is the bright star which sets in the West. Applied to Elizabeth it is revealing. Her principal viceroy, John Dee, was an occultist, and in her only official portrait, the Queen is clothed in satanic sun god images. This becomes even more blatant, and satanic, when we read that James’ appearance was "as of the Sun." The reason Sion, Occidental Star, and Sun are capitalized is that they represent deity - unfortunately the wrong spirit in that the sun is symbolic of Halal, the Satan or Adversary, best known as Lord-Ba’al.

So this means that Yahuweh’s Scriptures were plastered over and whitewashed by politically inspired clerics to serve the arrogance and power lust of a man who saw himself representing the Sun. The primary Bible of the Protestant Church was corrupted to empower and enrich clerics and kings. And let’s not forget about sex. The Church of England came into existence because King Henry VIII wanted to commit adultery. It’s little wonder the first edition of the KJV rendered the seventh Commandment: "You shall commit adultery."

Then putting in a plug for themselves and their boss, the scholars who crafted this beguiling propaganda falsely attributed to God by cleric and king wrote that all will be blessed: "by religious and learned discourse..and by cherishing the Teachers thereof, by caring for the Church, as a most tender and loving nursing Father." Of course the Father, was James in this context, not Yahuweh, the Scriptures are anti-religious, men’s teachings aren’t to be cherished, and Church is the name of a pagan sun goddess.

The fourth paragraph of the KJV preface begins: "There are infinite arguments of this right Christian and religious affection in Your Majesty [James, not Yahuweh]; but none is more forcible to declare it to others than the vehement and perpetuated desire of accomplishing and publishing of this work which we now with all humility present unto Your Majesty." It is the synthesis of religion - a politically enabling tool designed by men for men.

The following paragraph even takes a jab at the political and religious competition by saying "So if we shall be traduced [defamed, spoken of maliciously or slanderously] by Popish Persons at home or abroad, who therefore will malign us, because we are poor instruments to make God’s holy Truth to be yet more known." This was no longer Yahuweh versus Ba’al, it was Ba’al versus Ba’al.

So the Lords of England who saw themselves as the Masters and Owners of England, saw fit to apply their title to God, calling Yahuweh Lord. Three centuries later we remain mired in their mess. The key to understanding the Scriptures - Yahuweh’s name - has been removed and replaced with Satan’s. But these human lords had coconspirators. The Yahudim who failed to heed Hosea’s plea, were hauled off to Babylon - the most overtly Satanic place on earth. As a result of their stay, Jews began the process of transitioning from Yahuweh to Ba’al by writing adonai above the Creator’s name. And then Constantine, serving Ba’al himself, elevated his Lord to God by replacing one with the other. Willfully ignorant and morally bankrupt, priest and politician, congregation and constituent, play merrily along - just like lemmings lunging into the abyss.