An Estranged, Adulterous Bride

The overriding theme of the book of Hosea is God's love for an unfaithful, sinful people.  The author of the book is Hosea and his name means salvation.  He is a type of Christ, who is instructed by God to marry an adulterous wife (Hosea 1:2).  The book was written between 753-715 BC.  At the beginning of Hosea's ministry, King Jeroboam II ruled Israel, and the nation was at its prosperous peak though its morality had fast deteriorated.  While some dwelt in plenty, the poor were highly oppressed (NIV Commentary).

I have utmost respect for prophet Hosea.  His ministry mandate was uniquely difficult and yet he obeyed.  God asked Hosea as follows, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord."  Please note that God revealed to Hosea the kind of woman that he was about to marry- an adulterous wife.  Yet Hosea went ahead and married Gomer despite his foreknowledge of the kind of wife she was going to be!  This is true obedience.

Hosea, an Old Testament picture of Jesus, reaches out and chooses to marry a woman whom he knew very well would not keep the marriage vows.  Isn't it humbling to know that Christ chose us and destined us to Himself in our filthy state.  As He bore the skin-wrenching strokes, one after another till they were thirty nine, He was doing it for a bride that did not know Him nor revere Him as God.  As Christ listened to the slander of the false witnesses before Pilate and as He endured the mockery of the crowd on the way to Golgotha, He was doing it for a people whose hearts were far from Him.

Those He loved and came to save, did not recognize Him.  They only afforded Him a crown of thorns and a notice of charge that read, "JESUS OF NAZARETH. THE KING OF THE JEWS".  The shame of being undressed in public and his clothes being divided by lot by those who crucified him; and the jeers and insults hurled to Him, were all borne for a sinful people.   Not even the excruciating pain of nails piercing His hands and feet could diminish His Love for mankind.  His foreknowledge that His very own Bride would at sometimes break covenant did not deter His willingness to be the Sacrificial Lamb of God.

John 10:18- No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.

Hosea was appointed a prophet to Israel to demonstrate God's love and justice (through His marriage) and urge Israel to return to God.  Jesus Christ, willfully became the Passover Lamb and lay His life on the cross to demonstrate the love and justice of God.  He chose not to open His mouth, though oppressed and afflicted.  He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, but remained silent as a sheep before her shearers.  He was assigned a grave with the wicked yet He had done no violence and no deceit was in his mouth (Isaiah 53:7-9).

The price Christ paid for the penalty of mankind's sin was enough!  Christ's death was enough!  He cancelled the written code and its regulations that was against us and stood opposed to us (the penalty of the law for offenses committed). He took away the charge that stood against us, nailing it to the cross.  He disarmed powers and authorities and triumphed over them by the cross (Colossians 2:13-15).  His blood shed on the cross is enough to take away our sin and reconcile us to the Father.

Christ, paid the price for His Bride, once and for all.  By reason of the Cross, you and I can be saved.  Salvation is by faith in Christ Jesus through incomprehensibly abundant grace that the Father has provided to mankind.  When you give your life to Christ, you are immediately reconciled to God and become a child of God.  Your status changes from "God's creation" to "God's child"; you join the family of God (John 1:12)!  You enter into covenant relationship with Christ.  You are betrothed to Christ!

It is important to understand the Jewish culture on marriage to understand the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-3.  In that culture, a young man would betroth a girl by payment of dowry and legally the girl would become his wife.  However, he would not immediately take his wife with him.  He would first go to build a house for his wife (to prepare a place for her- John 14:3).  Once the house was ready, the groom would request the father to check and ascertain if everything was okay.  With the permission of the father, the groom would return to take his bride home.

All this while, the bride was preparing herself for her groom.  She would for example be put into a beautification regime and her activities restrained (a form of separation).  She would not know the exact day of her groom's return and thus she would wait in anticipation.  When she heard the sounds of celebration and jubilation from afar, she then knew that her groom had come to take her home.

You and I, betrothed to Christ, are the virgins that Apostle Matthew talks about.  We are to be ready for our Groom, Jesus Christ.  Not only must we have our lamps with us (salvation) but we must also  have our lamps trimmed and oils ready (full of the Spirit).  We must keep watching and prayerfully waiting for our Groom!

Revelation 22:17a The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!"

The bride betrothed to a groom was supposed to keep herself in sexual purity.  On the day that the groom would take her home, she would enter the groom's house and there they would know each other and stay indoors for seven days.  A cloth stained with blood upon consummation would not only be proof that the bride was a virgin (Deuteronomy 22:17) but would also be a symbol of the covenant entered into and sealed with blood.

If during consummation the groom discovered that the bride was not a virgin, he was to bring a charge against his wife to the elders and the penalty for the sin of fornication was stoning to death (Deuteronomy 22:20-21).  In addition, once the two were married, if adultery was committed, both the man and woman who committed the adultery were to die (Deuteronomy 22:22).  This is how serious sexual unfaithfulness is to God, and for this reason He prescribed very harsh punishment to deter Israel from that sin.

Unfortunately, Israel at the time of prophet Hosea was accused of and judged for adultery (Hosea 2).  In wrath, God swore to make Israel like a desert; a parched land; and to slay her with thirst.  A desert speaks of barrenness.  It is a place with little life.  It is a hostile place.  Because of adultery, Israel would become a desert spiritually.  Nothing would flourish.  It would bear no fruit. It would become a parched land, its ground gaping with cracks from the sun's ruthless heat.

Israel was accused of going after lovers for food, water, wool, linen, oil and drink (Hosea 2:5).  Sadly, the Bride of Christ has forsaken her first love and she has gone after other lovers for wealth, fame, power, recognition and lustful pleasure.  God accuses us of spiritual adultery.  Since sin separates us from God, we have become estranged to our Groom.  We no longer hear His voice for the voices of lovers have dampened His still small voice. 

Jeremiah 2:32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me Days without number.

Revelation 2:4-5 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.  Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.

Just like God's judgement was upon Israel, His judgement is upon the Church today.  His judgement comes not to destroy but to restore.  God makes us a desert, a parched land and exposes our lewdness before our lovers, to lure us back to Him.  He wants to remove our sin-stained clothes and clothe us with robes of righteousness.  If only we would return to Him in repentance for our Groom awaits to receive us back with open arms and lavish us with His unconditional love.

Revelation 3:19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.

Many preachers have labored much to teach believers on how to make wealth and prosper.   For some, their efforts have borne little or no fruit.  Please note that when sin is present, it corrupts and brings a curse to creation- the land; the skies; the waters; the livestock etc.  The land vomits mankind because of sin (Leviticus 18:28).  On the contrary, the skies and the earth responds to righteousness; the grain, the wine and the oil responds to righteousness (Hosea 2:21-22).  Many believers, in foolishness, have sought prosperity apart from God.  Sadly, mammon is their god.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

God was so angered by Israel that He called them, "Not my loved ones" and "Not my people".  This must have deeply pained God.  Sin had separated God from the people He loved.  Yet as a demonstration of His unfailing love, He instructed Hosea to go and love his adulterous wife and redeem her from her lovers.  God's unrelenting love keeps pursuing the Church to return to Him.  In His anger, He remembers mercy.  Children of God, let us forsake our lovers and return to our Father.  His love is enough!

Hosea 3:1 Go show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress.  Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.

Hosea bought back his wife Gomer for fifteen shekels (170 grams) of silver and about a homer and a lethek (about 330 litres) of barley.  God's redemptive price for the Church has already been paid.  The Passover Lamb that was slain paid the entire penalty for sin committed in the past, present and future.  All that God requires of us is to return to Him in repentance and He is Faithful to forgive our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

A charge of prostitution stands against believers (Hosea 4).  God requires that we submit ourselves to Him in brokenness and contriteness of spirit that He may circumcise the foreskin of our hearts and inwardly transform us.  God requires that we rid ourselves of idols- things that we have exalted above God.  For some of us, our idols have been career success.  For some of us, it has been money; we have been willing to compromise our faith to gain wealth.  For others, political leaders and tribal affiliations have become our idols.  Whatever the idols, God requires us to forsake all and allow His Love to satisfy us.

Hosea was very forthright about Israel's judgement (Hosea 5).  Unfortunately, Israel did not heed to God's warnings and call to repentance (Hosea 6-7).  Consequently, Israel's capital city, Samaria, was destroyed by Assyria and the people taken captive (Hosea 8-9) in 722 BC.

God gives a diagnosis for Israel's rebellion.  He says, "Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself.  As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones," Hosea 10:1.  Sadly, as Israel prospered, their hearts turned away from their God.  They forgot God's kindness: the Lord who had delivered them from slavery; and the God who had bent down to feed them for fourty years in the desert (Hosea 11:4).

The 21st century Church is a very rich church.  It can be likened to the Laodicean church in Revelation 3:14-22.  Though it is the richest in church history, it is wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked spiritually.  Though its priests and members adorn in admirable clothes, spiritually they are naked.  Though they have vast information at their disposal and are advanced in knowledge, they neither see the signs of the times nor understand the seasons in which they live.  Though they excel in eloquence and exhibit glamour, they lack the oracles of God that are life and light.  Instead, they have built altars to other gods.

Christ is coming back soon and He is coming for a blameless Bride.  There is no debate about that.  Scripture is very clear about the kind of bride that Christ is coming for.  See the below scriptures.

Ephesians 5:25-27 ..., just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Revelation 19:7-9 Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb '" And he said to me, "These are true words of God."

Indeed blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of God.  Will you be there at the wedding feast prepared by the Groom when He takes us home?  Be prepared, for behold He comes soon (Revelation 22:20).  His coming for the Bride will be sudden; like the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:51-55; Matthew 24:36-51; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 16:15).  Children of God who are found not ready for the Groom, like the five foolish virgins, will go through the Great Tribulation and though they may be saved, it will be through their blood (Revelation 21:4).

The time is short.  Put away your lovers/ idols child of God, and return to your Groom.  Let His Love satisfy you for He is all that you need for life and godliness.  I welcome you to take a minute and rededicate your life to God.  Renew your vows to the Lord and ask Him to renew your love for Him.  Enthrone Him as Lord in your heart and safeguard against all other idols.  Amen.

Hosea 12:6 But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.

Partnering with God for Revival

The universal Church of Jesus Christ undoubtedly lives in a seemingly difficult time of unprecedented crisis, plagues, calamities, uprisings and wars. Looking with physical eyes, it is easy to fear and be anxious about the future.  In fact, in ignorance, some may reminisce the good old days and wish that they never lived at such a time.

Countries that for many years knew financial freedom today grapple with decline in economic growth, non-performing financial markets, high inflation, deteriorating currency value, unmanageable debt and heightened levels of unemployment.  Humanly speaking, life is difficult.  According to a study done by Princeton University in 2015, there is an epidemic of hopelessness in the globe.  Among the countries examined (Australia, Canada, Sweden, UK, Sweden and France), increased deaths are not as a result of lifestyle diseases but rather as a result of suicide and drug/ alcohol overdoses.

Though there has been commendable breakthroughs in medicine, people's physical and emotional health is wanting.  Ruthless claws of viral/ bacterial outbreaks and cancer have devoured man and left many families in agony.  Health care has become a multi-billion dollar industry, and in many countries, it is only concerned with the rich and has lost its humane face.  The vulnerable in the society, orphans, widows, strangers, physically challenged and the poor are unable to raise often exhorbitant prices quoted for their treatment.

Wars and civil strife have befallen many nations, and the number of refugees globally are at the highest record in history.   According to UNHCR report 2019, 70.8 million people have been displaced from their homes, and 25.9 million of them are refugees.  Sadly, one (1) person is forcibly displaced in the world every two seconds, due to conflict or persecution.  Consider the children born in countries that have been in war for more than a decade.  Consider the trauma they have experienced by seeing dead bodies and hearing the sounds of explosions and guns, day in and day out.  Consider the emotional wounds and pain borne by women for loss of husbands to war, and sufferings of rape and other forms of sexual defilement.  Consider the groaning and agony of a husband separated from his wife and children, never to see them again.

Increased Islamic extremism has enslaved many and caused a great shedding of blood globally.   Consider the 7,328 people who died in Afghanistan as a result of terrorism activities, in year 2018.  Consider the over 10,000 people killed by Taliban and ISIL (only two terror groups) in year 2018.  Consider the people maimed and under-age girls betrothed in marriage to rebels in Northern Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad by Boko Haram.  Countries re-known for advanced security systems have also not been spared by the scourge of terrorism.  Far-right terrorism has increased in the West especially in Western Europe, North America and Oceania cumulatively recording a 320 percentage rise (Institute for Economics and Peace, 2019).

According to Open Doors USA, in year 2019, 260 million Christians lived in places where they experienced high levels of persecution.  2,983 Christians were killed for their faith (this captures only the recorded incidences so the actual number is likely to be higher).  3,711 believers were arrested, detained and sentenced in prison without trial.  These are not mere figures, they are children of God, dyeing, often for their faith.

The comfort however is that these occurrences have not caught God by surprise.  In fact, these occurrences are foretold in Scripture and are birth pains for the end of time.

Matthew 24:6-8 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 

In spite of the darkness that has filled the earth, looking with spiritual eyes, it is an exciting time for believers to be alive.  It is a great moment for the manifestation of God's glory in the earth.   The solution of earth's turmoils does not lie in a world leader who will unify humanity; it is not in better economic management (as important as this may be); it is not in any human intervention.  The solution of our time lies in God and God alone.  The manifestation of God's glory in the earth in tangible, unprecedented measures is what the nations and the kings of the earth need.

Isaiah 60:1-3 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Revival is when God comes in manifest glory and inhabits the earth.  Revival is when great fear of God captures the hearts of men, and great conviction by the Spirit makes even the hardest of hearts to break down before God in repentance.  Revival is when the Spirit of the Lord is released upon the earth like a pent-flood and raises a standard against the devil.   Revival is when God comes.

Isaiah 59:19-20 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.  And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.
(King James Version)

Isaiah 59: 19-20 From the west, men will fear the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.  For he will come like a pent-flood that the breath of the Lord drives along. The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins, ....
(NIV Version)

Looking at past revivals, I can only anticipate what God has in store for the End-time revival, considering that the glory of the latter church is foretold to be greater than that of the former.  Revival is not an out of this world phenomena that happens without man's involvement.  On the contrary, revival begins with and flows through men and women set apart for God.  God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34-35; Romans 2:11) thus God uses the vessels available to be carriers of revival, irrespective of their social status, level of learning, denomination, tribe or race.

In the Welsh revival that started in 1904, God used coblers (e.g. Smith Wigglesworth), coal miners (e.g. Stephen Jeffreys) and gifted writers (e.g. Donald Gee).  People from all walks of life, surrendered to God and hungry for Him, were used as carriers of revival.  Smith Wigglesworth (1859- 1947), a man who was taught by his wife how to read and write is referred to as an apostle of faith, because he positioned himself as a carrier of revival in his generation.  Stephen Jeffreys, a man who started working at the mines at the age of 12 years became one of the greatest evangelists of the 20th century and is quoted saying, "I want to go all the way with the Lord and He will make me a flame of fire."

Donald Gee (1891-1966), serving as a principal of a bible college left an indelible imprint on the lives of young men and women, and authored a globally read book, "Wind and Flame".   Howard Carter (1891- 1971) a man imprisoned for eight years for being a conscientious objector during the World War I, became a great prophetic teacher and dedicated his life to one mission- the will of God.  Harold Horton (1881- 1969), a song writer, was baptized in the Spirit and his talent reached new heights to impact the nations with anointed hymns and praises.

Similarly, the Azusa Street revival started by a meeting held in 1906 in Los Angeles, California.  William J. Seymour, an African American preacher led the revival.  William, born to liberated slave parents, was a man raised in abject poverty in Louisiana.  Since God knows no human limitations, He chose to use this man with no glamorous background and no impressive profile in religious circles to be the carrier of revival in his generation.

Think also of Lester Frank Sumrall (1913- 1996), a Louisiana "bad boy" who encountered Christ in his death bed and was transformed to a carrier of good news to the nations.  God used him to impact the nations with his evangelism, healing and deliverance ministry.  With no theology training, Lester was ordained a minister of the gospel when spiritual leaders in his church saw how God was using him to bring many lost people to the Lord.

These men, ordinary from a human assessment, were greatly used of God.  However, the revival story is not merely about them for they were only conduits through which the revival floods flowed.  The revival story is about the glory of God that became manifest in an unprecedented manner as these ordinary men availed themselves to be carriers of revival.  This glory resulted to hundred upon hundreds of men coming to the Lord within a few months of preaching the gospel in a region.  This glory led to the sick being healed; signs and wonders confirmed the preaching of the Word.  This glory led to such great conviction upon men and women that pubs closed and prisons recorded a decline in convicts.  This glory led to the church walking in the apostolic and prophetic grace, influencing governments and taking over territories for Christ.  This glory, is the glory of the Risen Christ!

The fruitfulness of their ministries was not attributed to much study or natural giftedness; it was purely attributed to the anointing.  This is similar to the impact of encountering Christ that the apostles of Christ experienced.  John describes the encounter this way: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

It is with no doubt that the apostles were transformed to their core by the glory of Christ that they beheld for the three years that they related with Him closely.  This transformation is evident in the fruitfulness of their ministries and in the spirit of their minds.  Additionally, they became dynamites for Christ when on the day of Pentecost, they were baptized with the Holy Spirit.  The fulfillment of Joel 2:28-29 had come, which is the outpouring of God's Spirit upon all flesh.  Consequently, the world was turned up side down!

Acts 2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Acts 2:47b And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 4:13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

Acts 4:33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.

Acts 5:11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

Acts 6:8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.

Acts 14:3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord; who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.

One of the greatest blessings for today's believers is that we live at the appointed time when God is planning to open the flood gates of heaven and pour upon hearts of men and women His Spirit in a new measure, for End-time revival.  You and I have an invaluable opportunity to be carriers of revival.  I am overjoyed by the prophetic word for the East Africa region and particularly the nation of Kenya, which God intends to honor with the blessing of revival.  These revival floods shall flow from the East of Africa to the nations of the world.

What must you and I do to be carriers of revival?    Firstly, we must position ourselves in righteousness (be in right standing with God).  We must hate sin and love holiness.  We must not waver between two opinions.  The times we live in are such that they demand that you and I decide on whom we will serve (Joshua 24:15).  Those who sit on the fence will ultimately suffer in the hands of the devil, for compromised living.  You and I can no longer be double minded and survive the perilous times.  It is either you are for God or against God.  It is either you are on the Lord's side or not.  The battle lines have been drawn in the spiritual realm.  The forces of darkness against the angels of God.  Victory belongs to The Risen Christ!

Isaiah 59:20 The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins

Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord

Secondly, revival is ushered in through prayer because spiritual things are first birthed in the spirit before they are manifested in the flesh.  God is looking for men and women who will labour in the Spirit until they birth forth end-time revival.  Such labouring in prayer requires separation; it requires an adjustment of priorities; it requires a mind set on Jesus.  Sadly, some believers are so obsessed by worldly affairs that they can hardly perceive of the times and understand what they ought to do.  

1 Chronicles 12:32 From Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do ....

Isaiah 62:6-7 I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

If you have ears to hear, you will hear what God is saying to the Church in this season.  The message is important and central in God's agenda for the church that He is using various people and occurrences to communicate the message of revival and the need for consecration of the church.  The Spirit is bidding us to non-casual seeking of God's face. 

If you are keen, you will perceive a beckoning to the secret place, for Christ desires to reveal His glory to you.  The Father is ready! Jesus is ready! The Spirit is ready!  You and I need to prepare to usher in revival.  It is at the place of prayer that this preparation takes place; this is where a divine surgery is undertaken on my heart to give me a new heart, broken and contrite before God.  It is at the place of prayer that the fire of God burns away the chaff and makes me a flame of fire for God.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Thirdly, we must wait in faith for revival as watchmen appointed by God over our nations.  We must believe that God is willing and able to revive us, for without faith it is impossible to please God.  We must believe that God is a Rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).  He is a Good Father.  He will release the floods of revival to flow through those who ask. 

Luke 11:11-13 Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

As Simeon and Anna received a revelation about the birth of the Messiah and prayerfully waited for its fulfillment (Luke 2:21-38), so God requires that we wait in faith for the coming revival revealed to us through His Spirit.  I am availing my self to be used in the End-time revival.  I want to be a part of what God is doing.  I want to partner with God for fulfillment of His Word in our times.  I dare not insist on my agenda.  I dare not superimpose my plans to His.  I submit to Him and position my self in the righteousness that is mine in Christ Jesus; I choose to pray and wait in faith until revival is birthed forth in my nation.  To God be all glory, forever and ever, Amen!