And it shall be in thay day saith the Lord that you shall call me ISHI my husband and shall call me no more BAALI my master.
Hosea 2:16
The name Hosea/Hoshea like Joshua/Y’hoshua
and Yeshua means
Salvation.
Hebrew: הוֹשֵׁעַ – Hōšēaʿ, ‘Salvation’;
If you have never read the book of Hosea, the content in a nutshell is a love story with a thorn in it. It’s the story of a faithful husband and an adulterous, unfaithful wife. The descriptions of the two main characters Hosea /Hoshea and Gomer, also describe the relationship between Yhvh/God and the children of Israel.
InChapter 1:2,Hosea is given the most unlikely instructions one could ever imagine; he was told to go and marry a whore/prostitute and have children with her. Hoseas marriage becomes a symbol of God’s love for His adulterous children who were prostituting themselves with idols and foreign gods; worshipping them and committing spiritual adultery against the Living God Who had made covenant with them equal to sacred marriage vows. God commands Hoshea to take a wife who the Lord knows will prove to be unfaithful and adulterous.
Anyone reading this story, may feel this is unfair to Hosea, punishing him with a promiscuous marriage to the unfaithful Gomer. However, here Hosea is speaking on behalf of God and portrays God Himself in acting out this story of the continual/ongoing unfaithfulness and spiritual adultery by Israel. Gomer represents the Isrealites/Jewish people, who are so many times portrayed as God’s beloved wife. Jeremiah 2:3. We should think, if Gomers unfaithfulness is unfair, how much more is Israel’s and His childrens’ unfaithfulness unfair to God?
Gomer the wife of Hosea.
Gomer – Hebrew: גומר,
Original Word: גֹּמֶר.
Strongs 1586
Gomer means: complete
In Hosea 1:3 Gomer is called the Daughter of Diblaim. Diblaim is derived from the word develah meaning: fig-cake; since she was as sweet in everyone’s mouth as a fig-cake; or because everyone would tread on her as on a fig-cake.Gomer’s mother was also in the same profession and both were commonly the subject of slander and gossip. This led to another reference by the Rabbis, that the name Diblaim is a plural form of the word dibah which means: slander, ill repute: [a woman of] ill repute and the daughter of [a woman of] ill repute.
God commanded Hosea to marry Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, as this was in order to teach him correct behavior for one who was to prophesy to Israel. Despite Gomer’s harlotry, the Rabbis interpret her story as proof that, even when God is angry with Israel, He still loves them.
After two sons, Jezreel and
Lo-ammi
and a daughter,
Lo-ruhamah
were born to Hosea and Gomer,
God ordered Hosea: “You must part from Gomer. You should have learned from your teacher Moses, who parted from his wife because I revealed Myself to him. You, too, separate yourself from her.” Hosea began to weep and said to God: “Master of the Universe! I have children by her. I can neither send her away nor divorce her!” Since he answered Him thus, God said: “Hosea, why do you weep?” He replied: “I take pity on my wife and my children.” God said: “Your wife is a harlot, and your children are children begotten of harlotry, and you do not know if they are yours or from others; nevertheless, you took pity on them. And as for Me—Israel are My children, my beloved children, the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Should I not have pity on them? Israel is one of the four possessions that I have acquired in this world [i.e., the Torah, heaven and earth, the Temple, and Israel], and you tell me to replace them with another nation?!”
Hearing this, Hosea realized that he had sinned and was about to ask for Divine mercy for himself. God told him:
“Hosea, Hosea, three [heavenly] decrees were issued against Israel because of you. Instead of asking for mercy for yourself, ask for mercy for Israel.”
Hosea stood and prayed on behalf of Israel, God then annulled the three decrees and Hosea gave them three blessings:
“The number of the people of Israel shall be like that of the sand of the sea” Hos. 2:1;
“instead of being told, ‘You are Not-My-People,’ they shall be called ‘Children-of-the-Living-God’” Hos. 1:10
“I will sow her in the land as My own; and I will have compassion on her who has not received compassion; and I will say to those who are not My people, ‘You are My people’” Hos. 2:23
Another tradition relates that for every affliction that Hosea prophesied for Israel, he gave them a remedy.
After telling Israel “I will no longer pardon the House of Israel” (Hos. 1:6),
the prophet promises “I will have compassion on her who has not received compassion.”
After having told the Israelites “For you are not My people” (Hos. 1:9),
the prophet assures them “I will say to those who are not My people, ‘You are My people’” (Hos. 2:25). The mouth that uttered “For she is not my wife” (Hos. 2:4) recanted and amended “You will call [Me] Ishi [husband]” (Hos. 2:18).
Even when God is provoked by Israel, He still loves them. Hosea learns this himself when he realizes that Gomer’s harlotry does not prevent him from being attached to her.
This shows us that Hosea was emotionally attached to Gomer and felt obligated to her. God tested and tried him when He told him to part from her and her children, but He did not intend this to be fulfilled. Rather, Hosea was to learn from the husband and wife relationship the emotions of love, compassion, and commitment that a prophet must feel for his people.
We sometimes overlook the significance of the given names in scripture and on occasion the children of prophets give a prophetic indication of God’s plans. For example: the names given by God to Hosea/Hoshea. He had 2 sons and 1 daughter with Gomer
1:4 call himYizre’el/Jezreel
which means:
scattering, especially about seeds and is the same name as the valley near Megiddo that has been a famous battleground all through history and is the site of the final battle, we are familiar with as Armageddon. This is also pointing strongly to the future of the Northern kingdom and meaning that they will literally be scattered.
The 2 other children, one called
Lo Ruchamah/Lo Ruhama,
meaning: not loved, not received compassion or unpitied.
The other was named
Lo Ammi
meaning: not my people,
which in Hosea’s lifetime is the status of the Northern Kingdom.
Back to meaning of Baali or Ishi?
Baali – Bet Ayin Lamed Yod – my master
From the verb בעל ba’al, to be master, owner or lord.
בעלי
means: to exercise dominion over.
The name Baali isn’t really a name and very few of the original readers and hearers of the Book of Hosea would have thought it was. It is more commonly understood to be a reference to idols or false gods of demonic origin.
Baʻal in Hebrew: בַּעַל baʿal, was as already noted, a title meaning owner, lord in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant in those days. The word baal means lord; the plural is baalim. In general, Baal was a fertility god who was believed to enable the earth to produce crops and people to produce children.
Baal or Baali also means the Bull, the Golden Calf and was the god worshipped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities, especially among the Canaanites and Phoenicians they believed it was a deity and the son of the chief god El. In artistic depictions and archeological finds, Baal took the shape of a bull or ram. This was the same golden calf at Sinai incident.
Also in 1Kings 18:29 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal,
“Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god.
Jeremiah 14:5 The people of Judah stopped worshiping me and made this valley into a place of worship for Baal and other gods that have never helped them or their ancestors or their kings.
They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek,
Jeremiah 32:35
BAALI. ba’-a-li ba`ali, my master
Baal, a common name for all heathen gods, had in common practice been used also of Yahweh.
The name Baali occurs in Hosea 2:16, where the Lord promises that when Israel is restored, that is, when every person’s knowledge of nature is complete, correct and understood; and the people will no longer call the
Creator My Master/ Baali,
but rather
My Husband -Ishi.
The word comes from
איש ‘ish, man or husband.
There’s only a small difference between the words אישי ishi and בעלי ba’ali as both are used to mean my husband.
Ishi is an expression of marital relationship and young love.The word ishi can simply mean my man, which may denote one’s equal, a husband or a man one has employed.
The word baali is more an authoritative title; is an expression of lordship and fear.
it may also mean: my master or my lord.
Hosea 2:16 reveals that at this point in their relationship, Gomer is calling him Baali /my master because whatever she is doing for him is out of obligation, duty and fear. It seems that Baali is the most common word used in Hebrew and Aramaic for husband. This is because in those times most cultures considered that a husband was a master to whom women were forced to be totally submissive, or would face physical punishment or even death for disobedience to their baali/abusive husband. Sadly this is still the case in some Middle Eastern and Asian countries and no doubt has had an influence on the western cultures; who still exert dominance and suppress womens freedoms. Before being influenced by pagan cultures however, the Hebrew children of Israel were known for their fair and equal treatment of women. It is because of this there are the 2 words for husband. As noted, the one is baali that is referring to the husband who is an abusive master figure and the other, Ishi.. The word Ishi can be applied to many relationship types, for example, like a friend, a helper or a companion. Whereas a baali, and uses of the word, all indicate very negative meanings.
Ishi is used in a very positive way because an
Ishi husband is one who loves his wife,
cares for and cherishes her.
On the other hand,
a baali husband
only sees his wife as someone or something, more as a possession; an object who is there to serve him like a slave and meet his needs in every way he wants.
Hosea was speaking God’s words to His people. The prophets’ ministry is just that, hearing from God, taking the message of God to His people, not the prophet’s own message. The priest on the other hand, heard from the people and took the peoples words and offerings and ministered them to the Lord.
The children of Israel saw God as a baali, a master who had to be served in case they suffered severe consequences. It may help us to read this passage of scripture and to see that like Hosea, our Heavenly Father Creator God is pleading for His bride to allow Him to be an Ishi, to be able to show His affection, His love and His caring protection. Gomer could not see the love Hosea had for he because she was so wrapped up in her own guilt, her adultery and promiscuity to believe that Hosea could forgive her and overlook all that she had done.
This raises the questions:
What is God to us?
How do we see him and how do we relate to Him?
Is He a Baali or an Ishi to us?
Do we think of Him as an unfair, abusive, baali husband, demanding that we follow every letter of his laws and rules; living in fear that he will punish us severely and even send us to hell without any mercy grace or loving-kindness?
Are we so deeply wrapped up in guilt over our past sins, our failures and even fear of sinning/falling into sin and being punished; that we don’t see His forgiveness and the power of His unconditional love and tender mercies that are new every morning? Lamentations 22:23
He is the Ishi, the One Who wants to love us, to forgive us and pour out His care, provision and protection.
In Hosea 2:18 Adonai will not continue to discipline Israel forever but he will renew His vows to her and in verse 20, there is a future of promise for the people once again. Hosea is told in chapter 3:1show love to this wife of yours. Hosea’s relationship with Gomer is once again compared to God’s relationship with the northern kingdom. In speaking of Gomers unfaithfulness, it’s noted by the Rabbis that Hosea cherished Gomer, yet she broke covenant with him by committing adultery under his domain. In this passage the love that the Lord God has for the nation of Israel is given freely but she too strayed from under the Lord’s domain, prostituting themselves with foreign gods whom they did not know.
Chapter 6:2 is seen as predicting Messiahs death and resurrection and verse 6 is an echo of Ps 51:16 which was quoted by Messiah in Matthew 9:13, 12:7.
Our God desires that the relationship between a husband and wife to be that of a partnership, not one of dominance and mastery. And in the Tanach/old testament, the relationship between God and the Jewish people is often compared, to the relationship between a husband and wife.
In Hoshea 2:18-19 We read: “It shall be on that day — the word of God — you will say ‘ishi’ (my Husband) and you will no longer say ‘baali’ (my Master).
An interesting fact is that in 1953, David Ben Gurion wrote a letter stating that on government documents and forms the word “ishi” should be used, as opposed to the word “baali,” since “baali” conjures up images of the husband being the master as well as a god of idol worship and does not show respect for women. Ben Gurion then quoted that verse from Hoshea to prove his point.
David Ben Gurion took the Tanach and Biblical Hebrew seriously. Today, unfortunately, many Israelis are not as well educated in Biblical Hebrew and are only familiar with Modern and Spoken Hebrew.
If more women used the word “ishi” to describe their husbands, the word might eventually become standard. From looking at scripture it seems is clear that “ishi” is the word that God prefers.
Some things that we can learn from this story:
Sin leads to confusion, forgetfulness, and destruction.
Personal and private sin does not stay personal or private for very long.
God is faithful even when we are not.
Only God can redeem and restore; and like Hosea, God was willing to go to extreme lengths to do just that. He used his own marriage to an adulterous wife, to symbolize God’s love for his people
It shows God’s love and mercy for Israel and Judah, who have strayed from Him, and the unlimited forgiveness and redemption available to those who will return to Him.
Gomer was not a born-and-raised, dedicated follower of God: she was a prostitute. This fact speaks volumes about the people God chooses and the enormous depth of His love for us! God commanded Hosea to ‘Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her.’ In a culture which shunned such women, and valued a respectable marriage as a measure of a man’s success. This must have made Hosea wonder, but he trusted in God, and because of his faith, Gomer was given the one thing she never thought she deserved: a loving, holy husband and a new start in life.
However, she messed up and in Hosea 3:1 we are told that she ‘is loved by another man and is an adulteress’ She couldn’t completely give up her old life, and maybe the sense of being unworthy of her new life pulled her back into old habits.
Regardless of this weakness to fall into sin, God commanded Hosea to ‘love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to another god.’ Hosea 3:1. In other words, Hosea forgave her sin against him and accepted her just as she was.
The three very encouraging things we can take from this are:
First, that God will NEVER give up on us!
According to Matthew 18:22; He will forgive us more than ‘70×7’ times for our shortfalls and His love will remain unfailing throughout. There’s nothing we have done or will ever do that will shock our ishi, because as creator of the universe there is nothing that He has not seen or does not know. No matter how far we stray from the path He set out for us, there is always a way back; and when we do return, just like the prodigal son, He will be there waiting for us as if we never left.
Secondly as Gomer found out, even the best man in the world, one who could bring happiness and give meaning and satisfaction to our lives, should not take the place of Messiah. These days, so much emphasis is placed on the search for the perfect husband and/or wife, and it can be become more important than our desire for a deeper relationship with Messiah. The truth is, that true satisfaction cannot be found anywhere else but in the Blood of Jesus/Yeshua; because that alone leads us to eternal life with our Father in Heaven. A man or woman who is sent by God will enhance the life you already have, but no one can give what Messiah Jesus can. He must be first in our lives, then we can know the fulfillment and worth that our hearts long for.
Lastly in the story of Gomer we see revealed the deep emotional healing and total redemption that only a loving ishi can provide. Falling into sin does not mean that a person is tainted forever, because by turning to Jesus/Yeshua as with any sin repented of, His Blood cleanses us. Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.
As with any sin, if we turn to Jesus/Yeshua and repent, He will remove it completely and it will be as if it had never happened.
This is how much our Ishi loves us and is always calling us back to Him, and He wants us to live the abundant life He has provided free from guilt and shame. Just as Gomer returned to Hosea, we can return to Messiah, our Ishi.
The essential aspect of this story is for us to realize that God loves us so very much and longs for us to turn to Him and want to be with Him, just as the loving relationship between a husband and wife. No matter what we have done there is forgiveness. There is no guilt, grief, or shame that cannot be removed by the love God showed in sending His Son who shed His Blood so that all sin can be wiped away completely and forever. If we say that God cannot forgive us, we are denying His Almightiness and if we say we cannot forgive ourselves; or the shame is too deep, we are denying the power in the sacrificial Blood of Messiah.
Don’t allow the enemy to make you believe you are beyond redemption because when we turn to the Lord in humility and trust, He will not turn us away.
We do not comprehend nor understand the depth of the love of the Creator of the Universe but that is no reason to reject His merciful grace. You can be free today right now all guilt and shame removed forever. Your worth in God’s eyes has never decreased, and will remain the same as it ever was. Like Gomer returned to Hosea, you can return to God.
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Peace to friends and family.
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
Not sure ..you can be…
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute,
SAY IT RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.
when all Israelites who were able, would make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem, as commanded by the Torah.
This season is a very important time in personal preparation, because it is one of introspection, of self searching and examining our lives, and the motives of our hearts.
The disciples were told by Messiah to wait in Jerusalem during this period of time.Acts 1:12-26
They would have been counting from the Omer according to the instructions given in scripture.
During that time leading up to Shavuot/Pentecost, the disciples would have been praying reading Torah/ Old Testament and preparing themselves spiritually for the promise Messiah Jesus/Yeshua had given them.
Right on time, perfectly fulfilling the promise from the Father and Jesus/Yeshua, His Spirit of Holiness descended on these obedient, patient, faithful disciples.
These prepared vessels were not disappointed. Old Testament prophecies, (Joel), were fulfilled and the disciples who were ready, were totally submitted and committed to Him and they received the fullness of the equipping they would need, to do the will of the Father; and with it came the promise that He would be with them always. The spiritual seed they had planted and the obedient preparation time they had set aside was fully rewarded.
Messiah often used agricultural and farming references when teaching spiritual principles and in Hosea 10:12, 13, there is a similar agricultural reference.
Hosea 10:12 says, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” KJV
Amplified Bible
Sow with a view to righteousness [that righteousness, like seed, may germinate]; Reap in accordance with mercy and lovingkindness. Break up youruncultivated ground, For it is time to seek and search diligently for the LORD [and to long for His blessing] Until He comes to rain righteousness and His gift of salvation on you.
In the days before sowing any seed, there is a very critical work to be done. When Messiah spoke of the types of ground in Mark 4, He said some of the seedfell on rocks, well worn paths and hard ground.
So what kind of Farmer plants in hard, untilled ground? or asHoseasays fallow ground. Is this farmer evil and wicked, is he sinful and corrupt in his ways? It is this why he sows in untilled soil, in fallow ground? Is he just lazy or not a very well educated farmer?
Or maybe a combination of the above?
Hoseatells us that a farmer who has failed to break up the fallow ground has in fact lost His way.
Fallow is not a word often used today, however it’s familiar to a farmer. It is land that is not doing what God designed land to do. Fallow land is just sitting there, doing nothing but produce weeds. Although it may have potential, until the farmer does something with the land, it is simply fallow; hard, dry, unused ground, useless and not helping anyone.
At this time of year many folks are out in the garden, imagining the beautiful harvest from the tender seedlings they are planting. We should remember that untilled/ fallow ground can be soft and moist at the surface and look like it is ready to receive the plants. Even though it may look good and seeds may be sown at a healthy depth from the surface; not too shallow, and not too deep, for a while it may look that the planting is successful. However the future of the crop becomes clear and proves devastating when, in the hard and unbroken ground below, the seedlings do not have anywhere to let their roots grow down.
The tender crop is then also in danger of being overrun by weeds that have been lying in wait to take advantage of them.
To make a parallel with our spiritual walk, when we leave our fields fallow and untilled, they quickly become overtaken by unwanted weeds that proliferate in the shallow soil. These weeds soon silently slither like serpents across the surface and choke the life out of our crops.
Without good healthy roots, these seedlings will burn up and be destroyed as they have no means to take in the cool life-giving moisture hidden deep in the soil. Hosea says in such ground we can only plow wickedness and will reap only perversity.
Why?
Because we did not break up the fallow ground,
till the soil
and remove the weeds.
Instead we trusted in our own way, in the abundance of our might and understanding, trusting in self.
Self-sufficiency, self righteousness and our own opinions; it is the carnal natural thinking of the life lived in the flesh. We think we are right and know how to do everything in our own strength and abilities; and doing everything without God, walking as if we don’t need him, this is pride.
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man… Matthew 15:18-20.
In Matthew 13:3-8,the Word of God is referred to as seeds for sowing, and our hearts are as the soil in various conditions.
Some hearts are stony, hard to breach and have no root, others are thorny, with many barbs entwined with the lusts desires of this world. However some hearts are soft and good, having fertile soil, they have been cleansed of weeds, refuse and trash and are prepared to receive the Word of God.
InMatthew 13:24-30,Messiahteaches that it’s not only our Heavenly Father who sows His Word into our hearts – the adversary is always trying to sow evil seeds into our hearts when we’re not paying attention. These seeds can be in the form of doubt and un-forgiveness in relationships, they can be seeds of coveting, lustful, unclean thoughts, or seeds of hate, cruelty and spite.
In Matthew 12:34-35; 15:18-20. Messiah said that everything we do and say is rooted in our hearts.
Our hearts are vulnerable too if we do not guard them.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence with the utmost care; for out of it are the issues of life. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
We tend to pray, or even go into fasting, with a deep desire for our Heavenly Father’s intervention in our lives and situations, yet we often overlook this important aspect of our lives, and it is one that can either help or hinder our answered prayers, it can enhance or diminish our good works before our Father, and this is always before Him.
We do well in the areas of offering our praise, worship, time, tithes, and our sacrifices, however it’s time that we make certain we offer up our whole heart to the Lord. It doesn’t matter if we are newly born again, or are mature discipled believers, we cannot play with our salvation, nor can we afford to be near to God with our lips yet having our hearts far from Him.
We are in the end times and now more than ever, we cannot afford to lose our place in eternity because of hard, stony hearts. AsHosea 10:12 says, “break up your fallow ground, for it’s time to seek the Lord…”
Sometimes we can mistake our relationship with our Heavenly Father and the work we do for His kingdom as the same thing, when really, they are separate.
Taking our relationships with people as an example, we may be doing things for them without actually knowing, or wanting to know them on a deeper level. Sometimes we may not be doing these things from our hearts, but only as a means to get something in return or to further our own interests. On the other hand, when we have a close friendship/relationship with an individual, it goes beyond what you do for each other; a level of intimacy is established with that person, and we find we want to spend quality time with them. This is the same with our Heavenly Father, He wants us to know Him beyond us doing works and seeking/receiving the blessings, through Messiah. The key for us in developing a stronger relationship with our Heavenly Father is only gained through a heart that has been regenerated by His Spirit and by the Truth of His Word.John 4:24.
This is why the scripture says to obey is better than sacrifice. 1 Samuel 15:22!
It’s about our hearts.
Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26. tells us that the regeneration of the heart is a precise moment when the Holy Spirit of the Living God touches us, takes away our stony heart, and gives us a heart of flesh.This heart He gives us is tender, willing to hear and obey His voice, and is a productive ground for His Word to grow. Only when we have a heart of flesh can we truly forgive and forget.
Ezekiel 11:19shows that the heart is the seat of our relationship with our Father and it links the body, soul, and spirit together and it’s only through a regenerated heart that we can worship Him in spirit and in truth, and fulfill His commandmentsRomans 2:28-29. This clearly shows us why God is so interested in our hearts.
Again, this is why Proverbs 4:23 tells us to “keep our hearts with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”
It takes a heart that is mature, to not forget Him along the way, as we handle the abundant blessings that our Father has prepared for us. Deuteronomy 8:16-18.
Concerning the area of spiritual warfare in prayer, the need for our hearts to be right before the Lord, cannot be stressed enough. We need to ask for His mercy every day, and for Him to cleanse our hearts from every emotional burden before we begin to intercede. This is because according to2 Timothy 2:3-4,we are not to intercede in prayer based on our emotions, anger, hatred, anxiety or fear. All negative emotions are based in the natural carnal part of us, but the fight we are fighting is not a natural carnal one, it is spiritual in nature.2Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:12. In the same way that soldiers fighting in the natural become exhausted mentally and emotionally and are prone to make mistakes, when we fight based on our emotions, it can leave us exposed to demonic attacks.
When we are not breaking up the fallow, hard areas of our hearts by spending time with God, reading His Word and in prayer, it becomes dry, cold, hard, and unproductive. When we are aware of these dry, cold, hard, unproductive places, we are to make some changes. If we don’t, and we leave those fallow parts of our lives untouched, they become hard to our Heavenly Father, His Word and hard towards other people.
It would be easier if God said,
“Let me break up the fallow ground of your life”
but he didn’t. He told us to do it.
So if we care at all about personal growth, being of value to His Kingdom, and making a difference both in the world and in eternity it means we have to start digging!
We have to get out the plow by applying His Word to our lives, we must look for and identify those hard, dry places in our lives and then break up that soil with His Word and by spending time with our Heavenly Father in prayer. We have to break up that dry ground, and by seeding His Word in those places we find then digging out the spiritual weeds that have no doubt grown up while we were ignoring those areas.
If we ask Him to reveal the state and content of our hearts searching deep within ourselves, we will maybe have a shock when we see what is in there. Our Heavenly Father desires that we “rend our hearts, and not our garments, and turn unto the Lord our God” Joel 2:12-13.
This is the time more now than ever, for us to be sincere, open and honest with our Father. It doesn’t matter if we are mature or babes in the Lord, we still need to ask Him for an ongoing heart transformation.
Matthew 5:8, assures us that with a pure heart will we eventually see God and with a heart that is clean we may according to
1 John 3:20-21; 4:17.
have confidence before the judgment seat of Christ.
We always have a choice because our Heavenly Father has given us free will to choose. He sayschoose this day and choose life.
Deuteronomy 30:11 – 20 19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!We can make this choice by loving the Lord our God, obeying Him, and committing ourselves firmly to Him.
Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death.
3 For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [[a]the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [[b]subdued, overcame, [c]deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice],
4 So that the righteous and just requirement of the Law might be fully met in us who live and move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the Spirit [our lives governed not by the standards and according to the dictates of the flesh, but controlled by the Holy Spirit].
5 For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and [d]pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and [e]seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.
6 Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that [f]comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].
7 [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot.
8 So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.
9 But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God].
10 But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you].
11 And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.
12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, but not to the flesh [we are not obligated to our carnal nature], to live [a life ruled by the standards set up by the dictates] of the flesh.
A farmer takes a plow to that ground, turns it over, breaks it up and plants his seed. Then a month or so later he returns to see what has grown.
If we choose to not allow our hearts to remain cold, hard, dry and fallow then even hard hearts and fallow ground can become places of great blessing.
Two passages of Scripture challenge us to grow, mature and change and both are from prophets in the Old Testament warning the people of Israel, because in their service of the Lord they had become lazy and disobedient.
“Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem..
Jeremiah 4:3-4a
Jeremiah 4:3 HEB: יְהוּדָה֙ וְלִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם נִ֥ירוּ לָכֶ֖ם נִ֑יר NAS: and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, KJV: and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground,
“Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” (Hosea 10:12)
Hosea 10:12 HEB: נִ֥ירוּ לָכֶ֖ם נִ֑יר וְעֵת֙ לִדְר֣וֹשׁ NAS: Break up your fallow ground, For it is time KJV: break up your fallow ground: for [it is] time INT: kindness Break your fallow is time to seek
Just what does it mean for me and you to do that?
The phrase unplowed ground or fallow ground
is the Hebrew noun:
nîr,
the tillable, untilled, or fallow ground.
Strongs 5213b nir: to break up, freshly till
Original Word: נִיר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: nir
Phonetic Spelling: (neer)
Definition: to break up, freshly till
Strong’s Concordance 5215
niyr: ground
Original Word: נִיר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: niyr
Phonetic Spelling: (neer)
Definition: a lamp
נִיר noun [masculine] the tillable, untilled or fallow ground;
Hosea 10:12; Jeremiah 4:3 till you the untilled ground (figurative of unaccustomed moral action)
It’s land that could be productive, but has not been broken up, tilled, plowed, and prepared for planting. The prophets speaking from the Lord are commanding the people to break up that land and (spiritually) to plow the land that they have.
The two things the prophets spoke about fallow ground were:
one, the Fallow ground is unusable, and two, Fallow ground is unused.
A crop cannot grow in unplowed ground because it’s rock hard, and it prevents seeds from pushing into the earth, germinating, putting down roots and growing to maturity. Every gardener knows that when it’s time to put in the plants the soil must be broken up to enable the seeds to grow into it and let their roots go down deep where moisture can be found.
They were sowing seed, but because they didn’t bother to prepare the soil and pull out the thorns and weeds, the seeds planted did not produce.
By applying this farming comparison to spiritual things, the question is: What must be done so the soil is ready to receive the seed of God’s word?
For us, as we stand before the planting fields of our lives, there is a choice we have to make. Are we going to plant in the hard, unbroken, unyielding, fallow soil with a pointless and ineffective future without any promise of a harvest? Or are we now prepared and ready to break up that fallow ground in our hearts and lives? Are we ready to dig it, to lift it up, turn it over and do it again, and do it deep, really deep?
We need to ask ourselves,
What type of heart do I really have?
What has been growing in my heart up to today?
Hatred, bitterness, lust, greed, worldliness? These must be removed by their roots so a new crop can be planted. Grain crops do not flourish under the shade of trees. They must be removed so the new crop can grow in the light.
Hardness must be broken up. A plow does the hard work of opening up the ground. It is true we can dig it one shovelful at a time, but that is too slow a process. Farmers can harness some cattle or horses or use other equipment, however there are farmers without animals who have harnessed themselves and pulled their own plow while his wife or son guided the plow. It takes energy to pull the plow and guide the plow, keeping the furrows straight so the field can be plowed to it best advantage.
Is there hardness in our hearts?
Is there unbelief that is hiding in our souls?
Those who have been hurt in relationships or by a parent or guardian, they may have sealed off an area of their lives because it’s just too painful to return to it. We need to let our loving Heavenly Father break up those old simmering resentments and heal all those past hurts. He will take the strain and pull the plow, but we must point it toward those hard places in our hearts that we know we must deal with.
Sometimes our hearts have been hardened by unbelief which must be faced head on and broken up, then our Father can plant something new and fruitful in there. One way of plowing deep is by confession and heartfelt repentance.
How many of us remember the last time we were broken and humbly knelt before the Lord?
Larger rocks must be dislodged and completely removed and sometimes during the plowing process we find large, immovable rocks. If we are serious about making this field produce a harvest, it will require extensive digging along with power to lift them and move them from the field.
These can be rocks of un-forgiveness, stones of stubbornness, deep twisted roots of bitterness and jealousy that need to be severed and pulled out. Rotting remnants and dormant seeds of rejection, pride and rebellion from previous years that wait, patiently, for the perfect climate and the environment to sprout and rear their ugly heads when favorable conditions, circumstances and situations present themselves. The list is endless, yet these are the hidden things that prevent our spiritual growth into maturity and stunt the harvest that would otherwise be seen in a fruitful life.
If we have been plowing our heart, have we found some big rocks that need to be removed, but we are not able to move them by ourselves? Maybe it’s time to talk with our pastors about the rocks and stones? They will have had some experience moving rocks out of their own life because every field has rocks and stones in them.
When a field goes unplanted for several years it often become covered with thorns or other weeds the thorns must be gathered up and burned; let the purifying fire of His Holy Spirit cleanse away all that is not of the Father.
As this is also a season when we are planting for a future harvest, we are reminded again of Messiah Jesus’s parables of the sower and his seed.
In the parable of the sower, Messiah uses thorns in a field to describe obstacles in the human heart; but what kinds of thorns make the fields of our hearts unproductive?
“The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.” Matthew 13:22
“The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Mark 4:19
“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” Luke 8:14
Depending on the type of land, the thorns may represent temptations and lust toward other people, self-indulgence, pride, anger, selfishness, a love of entertainment and recreation, addictions, greed, and many other thorns. It is important to know that any and each of these thorns can choke the Word of God; and each one has a devastating effect on the crop and subsequent harvest that God wants to produce in His children, so we must show them no mercy just get them out!
Fallow ground, unplowed, unprepared soil is unusable for any serious crop, we must “break up” our fallow ground so that it is usable.
We may have much of our lives surrendered to the Lord and they may be being nurtured and refined to produce a crop of righteousness and the fruit of His Spirit, which is great! But just maybe there’s a piece of ground, an area of our life that we’ve never quite got around to dealing with, no digging, no planting, and no harvesting, there, but it is going to waste. Just maybe we’ve put off plowing this area of ground because it’s too painful or difficult to deal with.
If we’ll break up the additional fallow ground in our lives, He will extend and enlarge our fruitfulness.
For it is the time [destined] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not respect or believe or obey the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17
The axe is laid to the root of the trees
Luke 3:9 and
Matt 3:10And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Deliverance, freedom from oppressing evil spirits is not as popular a message as prosperity teaching. Yet true biblical prosperity is of the spiritual life and it cannot be lived in fullness without being set free from the bondage of sin, death and the consequences of a life lived without God.
Prov. 5:22 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
These cords are the same as the rocks and stones and if we have been at the same place in our walk with the Lord for some years and are not moving forward, or desiring to go higher and dig deeper with Him, there maybe some rocks,roots and cords holding us back. These prevent our growth to maturity and it’s time to allow His spirit to not only identify them but remove them once and for all and do it deep. Only then will we become a field ready to receive the implantation of His righteousness and yield an abundance of the fruits of His grace through/by delivering freedom and healing.
While there is still time today, which is the day of salvation, let us break up the fallow ground for ourselves by yielding to Him and seeking His face. Don’t hold back any longer but let’s submit our lives completely to His Will, plan and purpose for us.
As a true disciple, willing and obedient, we must lay down our lives becauseit’s time to seek the Lord until he comes and rains righteousness upon you.
and He promises that
Is 1:19 If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
NOW
is the time
to break up
these unplowed fields in our lives
and
yield them to Him and allow His growth in us.
Let our Heavenly Father expose every evil seed that the enemy may have planted in our hearts, then He can touch, cleanse, and regenerate them.
Why?
So that we may truly know Him and the power of His resurrection, obey Him and worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Clean, stable, properly prepared vessels, are those which the Father can fill with His power.
Thank you Father for your loving kindness and goodness today; show me the fallow ground in my life. Teach me by your spirit how to break up the fallow ground of my stubborn and prideful ways and to continually seek you until you come on rain your righteousness on me. Take the seed of your words of truth and plant Your ways deep inside me so that the fruit I bear is worthy of your Name.
Break up the dry lumps in my life Father, lift me up, turn me over and then do it again and do it deep, pulling out all those hidden roots by Your Spirit of Holy Fire and cleanse me from the inside out; burn away all that is not of You. I know Your Word says that judgment begins in the house of the Lord, therefore let the shaking and sifting begin with me so that the Bride you are returning for is without spot and wrinkle; and we will be accounted and found worthy to stand before you, cleansed by your blood, separated from everything that would keep us from your presence.
שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם,
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Peace to friends and family.
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
Not sure ..you can be…
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute,
SAY IT RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.
Isaiah 45:8 Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout and righteousness spring up with it; I, the LORD, have created it.
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
2 Corinthians 9:10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness.
Proverbs 11:18 The wicked man earns an empty wage, but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward.
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
Proverbs 11:18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
Galatians 6:7,8 Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
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