 I think I'm not okay. Am I audible now for those of you who are online? I guess I am so I'll just go ahead Yeah, and if there's some problem with the audio, please let me know in the chat So we'll get started We'll be looking at Hosea today and also Joel so Hosea was Prophet Hosea mainly wrote to the Northern Kingdom All right, so we have some other prophets also who specifically ministered to the Northern Kingdom Amos would be another person Who ministered to the Northern Kingdom? However, Amos actually was from the south and God sends him to the north to prophesy over there Hosea on the other hand was someone living in not in the Northern Kingdom itself and he makes his prophecies over there now he was alive and in this tree right up to the time that the Assyrians came and Defeated the Northern Kingdom. So Most probably he was among the people who managed to escape when the Assyrians attacked And he was able to escape and come to the Southern Kingdom Okay, so those of you who have but still not gotten into the class mode, please concentrate get focused And next time onwards, maybe you could actually come a few two minutes before 11 so that you know, you don't take time to settle down Okay Yeah, so Hosea was around at the same time as Amos and both of them were ministering in the Northern Kingdom and Around halfway through his ministry is when Isaiah and Micah begin their ministries So he had a lot of contemporaries So along with Hosea, you also had Amos and Isaiah and Micah all of the ministering around the same time period Now in his prophecies, he uses a lot of agricultural terms and that probably is because of his, you know agricultural background because he was a farmer Mainly the main focus Hosea is the spiritual adultery of Israel and God speaks about how he has loved Israel and he has remained faithful to them But on the other hand Israel has not, you know returned that same commitment and Israel has always been engaged in spiritual adultery. So that's the main Message which comes across in the book of Hosea and how were they indulging in spiritual adultery? Mainly through their indulgence in idol worship. So they were very strongly into idol worship and also There was a lot of injustice going on the poor were being, you know, taken advantage of a lot of crooked Things were going on in the kingdom and there was no justice. So these are the defects These are the sinful acts against which Hosea prophesies So Almost all commentaries will give you may only two main Sections for this book chapters one to three talk about the faithful husband and the adulterous wife Hosea being the faithful husband who remains faithful even though Gomer his wife Goes into adultery and she is unfaithful So chapters one to three talk about the faithful husband and the adulterous wife chapters four to fourteen on the other hand talk about the faithful Lord and adulterous Israel. So we have a Parallel drawn between Hosea's personal life and God's personal life you could say so we see the faithfulness of Hosea and the Lord and The unfaithfulness of Gomer and the nation of Israel So it was somewhere around the end of Jeroboam the second rain that Hosea begins his ministry So Jeroboam the second was one of the most powerful kings of the northern kingdom During his time there was a lot of military success. They won many battles They managed to collect a lot of booty from all these Nations that they went and attacked. So they were in a very good position financially They were respected by other nations around them for their military power So everything was going excellently well during the time of Jeroboam the second Even though he was not following the Lord even though he was not faithful to God We see that things were going rather well for them as a nation But when it came to spiritual matters, they were in a very very pathetic and bad state So it is around that time that Hosea begins to prophesy and he says, you know, even now It's not too late come back to the Lord be faithful to him Be a faithful wife to the Lord if you will do that then Lord the Lord will not bring judgment upon you But the people did not take him very seriously because all around them. They are seeing prosperity They are seeing peace because they're having victory in all of their battles. So they don't take Hosea seriously They think what is there even though we are being unfaithful God is kind in blessing us. So nothing bad will happen to us That is the impression under which these people were living So even though he says God is giving you a chance come back to the Lord They refuse to do that Just for us to know a little bit about You know Gomer Or at least whatever is little bit is mentioned about her in the you know in in the book of Hosea We would see little background about her in Hosea chapter 1 versus 2 and 3 So if someone could read out Hosea 1 It's interesting to note the command that God gives over here He says very specifically to Hosea Go marry a promiscuous woman a woman who is living in immorality He very specifically says now don't go and marry a normal person But go and marry a promiscuous woman a woman who is living a immoral lifestyle Why because she is going to represent this land that he says this land is guilty of Unfaithfulness to the Lord. So in the same way this land is being unfaithful this lady too in her character She is unfaithful in her ways. She does not respect the Lord. She does not follow the Lord So go and marry such a person. So Hosea has given this very difficult commandment so that he can literally act out In his own life what the people are doing to the Lord. Okay, so So from the beginning itself Gomer was not very good in her Character and then we see that they get married and they have three children So I'm not sure how many years Gomer continue to stay with Hosea We do not know how old the children were when she finally leaves because she leaves and goes away to another man and Again no details are given But it looks like that for some reason that other person seems to have discarded her you know gets rid of her after a while get probably gets tired of her and Then we do not know what happens Because it looks like either she goes to other people looking for shelter after this man, you know leaves her or Immediately after that she's in such a poor condition that she has to go to the slave market and sell herself We're not really sure of all the circumstances involved. So it was either just one Person that she goes to and lives with and then he leaves her or after that she goes to a number of different men You know and they in turn each of them abandon her after using her for a while So we don't really know how many years this whole thing, you know How how many months this whole thing takes but at the end of it. She is left completely penniless She has absolutely no money No way of supporting herself because if you know remember in the culture of those times women could not Work independently and earn a livelihood They were either dependent on a father or they would be dependent on a husband or a son On their own. They had no financial status. So she would need somebody to look after her So she probably went from man to man looking for you know Shelter looking for support and finally the situation is so bad that she ends up in the slave market Where now she would have to sell herself, you know and be a laborer in someone's field and They would give her the food that she needs every day every day, you know to live So she's reduced to that condition and it is at this particular point of time that the Lord tells Hosea to buy her back so which is why Hosea goes over there to the slave market to purchase her and We see the details of that in chapter 3 versus 1 to 3 Someone could read out Hosea 3 1 to 3. So it's a very lovely passage we see here that The Lord says over here, you know Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes, you know, they love all the Pagan festivals they like all those ceremonies and rituals which take place in those temples Those are the things which attract them. Those are the things which they love in their heart and God who is loving them. They don't care about that. So that is their attitude And so God says even though the Israelites are like that They love those, you know those raisin cakes which they offer over there in the temple. They prefer that to me So even though they are like that, I have still chosen to love them So in the same way, you too must go back and love your wife Even though she seems to be you know chasing after other persons other men is what the the Lord says and in obedience Hosea goes over there to purchase her and it says that he Gives 15 shekels of silver and that amount of silver which he gives is not enough to cover the Amount because I think probably buying a person is more expensive than just buying an you know, I Don't know a bullock or a goat or something. So The rate was probably high. So he gives 15 shekels of silver and it's he doesn't have anything more Then he he has Bali. So he sells whatever Bali is there to make up for the balance So we see here a man who cannot really afford Buying back this adulterous woman, but he you know goes to that effort He gives up all the silver that he has and then the rest of it he pays in the form of you know grain because he has no more silver left in his pockets and This is beautiful picture which comes out of God who was willing to do the same He was willing to give up his all he was willing to give up his son Was willing to give up everything for the sake of adulterous human beings who are not even faithful to the Lord So we see a very beautiful picture being brought out over here and also look at the way You know Hosea speaks to her after bringing her back You know, he says you are to live with me many days He's not thinking of you know, you know throwing her out after a while if she doesn't really behave You know, he's not he's willing to keep her there for years many many many years He says, you know what we have a long life ahead of us So you're going to be with me for many days. He has absolutely no intention of you know, throwing her out And so he says I will behave he says, you know, you must not be a prostitute And or be intimate with any man and I will behave the same way toward you So he's you know renewing the covenant and saying in spite of all that you have done I'm you know, let's leave that behind us and I will choose to be completely faithful to you And I'm requesting you to do the same for me. So that is exactly the offer that God was making to Israel at this particular point of time And the Lord was saying to them technically, you know, in spite of all that you have done in the past Even now it is not too late. I will be faithful to you if you will choose to be faithful to me So this is an offer that the Lord is making to the people of Israel But then of course, you know, they reject that offer So we see that Hosea has three children and all of them are given names Which symbolize the judgment which God wants to bring upon the people So all of them are given significant names When we look at chapter one versus six to 11 We see the second two children being named. So the second child that Gomer has is a daughter Of course, all of these things take place before she leaves him and goes away But then at that time itself I'm on the Lord and I was preparing The judgment which is going to come upon upon the northern kingdom and so we have Gomer over here who's giving birth to a daughter in verse six chapter one verse six And this is the name which is given to her. She is called low Ruhama, which basically means not loved It's a very shocking thing to name a child. The little baby is born You're holding this little baby in your hands and you're naming that baby not loved You know, so this does not mean that Hosea and Gomer did not love their child They did but they were expressing God's judgment against Israel and God was declaring and saying this nation that I have brought up with so much love They have rejected me and so now I will declare that they are no longer loved As in and you know, I'm going to bring judgment upon them. I'm not going to say them anymore No more grace is going to be extended towards them. I am going to judge them. So he says Um In verse six, then the Lord said to Hosea call her low Ruhama, which means not loved for I will no longer show love to Israel that I should At all forgive them And in the very next verse he says yet I will show love to Judah and I will save them. Okay, so Even though the northern kingdom is going to be brought under judgment He says at least a part of the people I will spare At least the people of Judah I will spare because his love is so great And he cannot just ignore the love that he feels towards his people Okay, so even though there are words of judgment spoken There are also words of love spoken along with it Which clearly shows that that God never really wanted to judge at all That is simply not his desire. It's the people who forced him into that position You know where he had to bring judgment upon them. So moving to verse eight Yeah, um verse nine You know, it's this is regarding the third child who was born And this is a boy and then the Lord said call him low Ammi Which means not my people So all along God always said my people. They are my people and now God says not my people So, uh, both of these names are very powerful very strong and There's no way that Israel can ignore what is being done Because you see those little kids each time they're going to be running around and they know in the playground playing over there Everyone is going to look at them and know their names and what their names stand for and they're going to be aware of the fact That God is speaking judgment. Okay, so Um, these are the names given to them and again over here Even in this case the Lord says then the Lord said call him low Ammi Which means not my people for you are not my people and I am not your God And then in the very next verse he says yet The Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore Which cannot be measured or counted in the place where it was said to them. You are not my people They will be called children of the living God So, um, and then in verse 11 it goes on to say the people of Judah and the people of israel will come together They will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land for great will be the day of Jezreel, okay So even though he speaks strong words of judgment against them There's always hope attached to that restoration attached to that and so he says even though right now I have declared that they're not my people a day will come When both israel the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom will again be reunited They will come under one leader and then they will walk out in battle to jezreel and jez on that day Great will be the victory which will you know take place in jezreel? So let that brings us to the name of the first child, you know the first Son who is born If we go back in our chapter 1 to verses 4 and 5 the first child is given the name of Jezreel now this word jezreel was actually meant to be a very positive term of blessing Not a negative word because that word jezreel that term jezreel basically means God will so you know it's like when you're sowing seeds So it basically is supposed to mean God will so and it was actually supposed to have a very positive meaning Why because there was this valley in the land of israel called the valley of jezreel And that valley was so rich and prosperous and green and you know filled with all kinds of goodness That people named it jezreel meaning God has sown blessings in this valley God has caused this valley to prosper God has you know filled this valley with his With his bountifulness so it was meant to have a very positive meaning of God sowing blessings But what happened in that valley later in the centuries which came after the people began to use that valley as a place of warfare and bloodshed and violence Which is what we see happening, you know right from the time of ahab lot of violence and bloodshed happens over there in that particular valley And so the Lord says Um, so now God gives this valley a different meaning God will no longer be sowing blessings But he is going to be sowing judgment So rather than blessings and prosperity is going to sow judgment because of the way the people have chosen to Uh, you know go against his uh principles So which is why the Lord says in um chapter one versus four to five Then the Lord said to him name him jezreel for in a little while I will bring the bloodshed of jezreel on the house of jehu And put an end to the kingdom of the house of israel On that day, I will break the bow of israel in the valley of jezreel So what was supposed to be a place of blessing would turn into a place of judgment and here you have some specific reference to Some named jehu and it also talks about the bloodshed of jezreel So just for us to get a bit of clarity regarding this whole issue If you remember when we were doing, um Don't remember whether it was kings or chronicles, but I do remember us covering this particular story where um jehu is Commanded by God God says if you are willing to bring judgment upon ahab's family then I will make you the next king So jehu is very very happy with that and he says yes, I will go ahead and so he go He kills the northern king who is a descendant of ahab He kills the southern king who is also a descendant of ahab then he goes to jezrebel. He kills her um, then he he doesn't kill her because the The eunuchs actually throw her from the window and she dies Then he also kills the descendants of ahab. So he does all these things and now After all of these things have taken place and um His descendants jehu's descendants should have understood the moral of the story that god will not tolerate wickedness that god will punish wickedness They should have understood at least that much because of what jehu did But they continue to live the way ahab and his family lived. So which is why here god says You know the judgment which jehu brought upon the house of ahab That same judgment will now come upon the house of jehu himself because his descendants have not bothered to learn the lesson That god will punish wickedness. He will punish Uh evil and bloodshed. So why is this judgment spoken upon them? It's because after jeroboam the second you have another six kings who are left in that lineage And of those six kings four of them are murderers Four of them come to the throne after murdering the person who was sitting on the throne So four of them come to the throne by murdering someone else That's the kind of greed for power. That's the kind of violence that is going on in that place And which is why it says in hosiah chapter four verse two if someone could read out hosiah four two Okay, they break all bounds and bloodshed follows bloodshed one assassination after another That's the way these people were living and that's the way they showed their gratitude for this valley of jezreel Which god had, you know, be so beautifully sown with prosperity And so god turns into a place of judgment Okay, so these are some of the main lessons that we see from the book of hosiah And so this is one last chance that is being given to the people To turn from their ways to come back and be faithful, but in spite of the Object lesson which hosiah and his wife are enacting for the people The people choose to ignore the message and they do not come back to the lord so Coming to the book of joel Now joel on the other hand was written specifically to the southern kingdom to the people of juda So while hosiah was addressed to the to northern israel joel is addressed to southern juda okay, so Now joel and amos are the earliest prophets because they give their prophecies long before Either the northern kingdom or the other southern kingdom had fallen. Okay, so they are like one of the earliest prophets joel and amos so joel he is giving his prophecies much earlier and he uses the image of a plague of locusts to talk about the judgment which will come so The book of joel is mainly known for that whole grasshopper story. Okay, so Not sure why but it that and that book became very popular for that particular image. Um, you know Uh Long time ago, I remember looking at some article on the internet and they had given a Had given a small picture for each book of the bible So I remember for the book of ruth they had put, you know A sheaf of cons because she was working in the fields and gathering corn For joel now, of course, you can guess what picture they put they put a whale So over here for the book of joel, I remember they had put a grasshopper a locust Okay, because uh, uh, this book is mainly popular for that particular prophecy So in chapter one you have joel giving A prophecy of the of the judgment which god is going to bring and he uses the image of a plague of locusts And then chapters two to three. Um, you know god is offering Um A chance for the people to come back So he says if they repent and return then he will forgive them and so in chapter Maybe we could read chapter two 12 to 13. Yes, if someone could read joel to 12 to 30 Okay, so here the lord is saying even now you can repent and turn back And what kind of a repentance is god asking for it says rend your heart and not your garments Outward show is very easy Very easy to know to tear your robe and put on sackcloth and put some ash on your head and say Oh, we are so sorry your lord for the dirt remains inside that rebellious attitude continues inside That is of no use. So god says rather than rending your robes rend your heart inside and Genuinely repent of your ways and he says if you do that, you know, um, the lord who is Compassionate slow to anger. He will you know restore you So again an offer is made to these people and uh, they refuse to you know accept it So there are different images of judgment which uh, joel uses one, of course, is the grasshopper thing He also uses other images. Maybe we could look at a couple of verses Um, so in chapter one, we will of course look at the main one, which is popular for some reason Chapter one versus three and four Okay, that is one word of judgment and then uh, if you can also read out verses six and seven Yeah, yeah, that should be enough So we see that in all of these images which I used The main picture that's coming across is complete destruction Where nothing is going to be left the destruction is going to be so bad that there's nothing left And in fact, we see that happening right where finally once Jerusalem falls the temple is Broken and destroyed the walls are of the city are completely destroyed The people who are living over there are all taken away That place is literally left with nothing. So what god says actually does happen So why are these images being used? You know, it talks about how Um, you know, this invaders who will come they will have teeth like the teeth of a lion and the fangs of a lioness You know, if you have watched any national geographic, you would have seen No, once those lions they go and they bring down a deer or a buffalo or something You know, they go in a pack and they attack and they bring it down After about one hour, you know, they show you a clipping of what's left But what is left? You know, except for the ribs and you just have some bones over there They literally eat because i'm in uh, at least that's what national geographic teachers It says that they get to eat only once in three or four days So like they're really hungry. So they literally wipe out everything And when the hyenas come along, I think they just lick at whatever is little little bit is left So these invaders are going to have teeth like the teeth of a lion They tear it apart till nothing is left. Okay, that's the imagery that is used And then coming to this other very popular imagery of the locusts It talks about four different kinds of locusts. Um, now of course different translations, you know Different English versions will use different wording for it So I have used the um, you know, I have you know, what I have noted down over here is the hall man I know version HOL MA and all of these you would find on bible gateway, you know Bible gateway has got almost every single version that you can think of so, um It talks about the devouring locust the swarming locust the young locust and destroying locust um So a lot of scholars have, um, you know Given a lot of thought to this particular imagery Some of them will say that an actual Horde of An actual swarm of locusts came and attacked the land is one interpretation Other people say no no no, no actual locusts came to that land It's just that the Babylonians are being described as a bunch of locusts who will come and attack And there's a third interpretation Which says the locusts are being used as images for all the things that will be done to Um to Jerusalem over a long period of time So there are three main interpretations one is that actually literal physical locusts came and ate up the vegetation over there the second Um interpretation is that the Babylonians are described like a bunch of locusts and the third interpretation is that The locusts actually are talking about all the future events which will take place in the land of You know Judah. So these are the three interpretations um I don't know. I kind of like the third interpretation Because there are commentaries which talk about how each of these Locusts, you know the four categories They seem to be describing the four main empires which came and took over the land of Judah and That explanation makes quite a lot of sense. Okay, so we'll just quickly look at this third interpretation Um, but of course, you know, you're welcome to choose whichever interpretation you feel is best But let us look at what they have to say regarding how these four types of locusts which come in four stages are uh destroying Judah in different ways So the first one Some versions will call it devouring locust. Some will call it chewing locust The actual word used over there is chewing. They chew they will start chewing and eating everything inside Uh, so anyone who really wants to know about locusts and has not you know paid much attention to them in your entire life All you have to do is go to youtube and type swarm of locusts You know the word swarm swam swam swarm of locusts the imagery you'll get in the youtube is like shocking It looks like a cloud. It looks like a thick cloud You don't even realize that they are the little creatures They move in huge billions of them moving and once they come and settle down in a particular place Every single green thing available over there. They will eat it up. They will not leave anything So they literally chew everything inside the devourer So they you know, there are different words used some call it devouring locust Some people call it chewing locust So the Babylonians did that when they came They destroyed Jerusalem completely destroyed its walls destroyed the temple took away all the treasures which were there in the temple Took away the people who were there. They were like a They were like the chewing devouring locusts Okay, then which was the next kingdom which came along those were the meads and the persians The meads and the persians and for this I think almost all the English versions use the same word. They use the word swarming locust The word swarm means literally go together in fact and covering covering The the entire ground And when you look at this youtube videos, you see not even one little bit of space is left on the ground You know, they they they they they focus the camera on the ground and you can see that every bit of brown Earth is covered with them. You can't it's like a carpet moving carpet and you can't even see So The meads and persians were like that if you notice it was their kingdom which you know extended Over a large territory For instance, this man who married, you know ester zeres His kingdom extended all the way from where from southern egypt Right up to the indus valley in pakistan. That was the extent of his thing So they literally swarmed the earth they covered every every bit of the face of the earth Or at least the loot, you know, what was known as the historically known world at that time They were not very aware of some of the other continents. So Uh, so they were like the swarming locusts And then which empire came after that you would have the greek empire which comes and They are described as the you know in some versions it will it will call them hopper hopper locust Some will say creeping locust some will say crawling locust because this is talking about the locusts which come out of the egg And for the first, I think two months three months Not particularly sure. I don't remember my My youtube video, but for some number of months, they don't you know, they don't develop wings So they can only hop around on the ground And so they they literally creep and crawl into every little bit of gap every little hole in the in the ground they will They they they keep hopping around and crawling around and spreading out to all of the Territory around them. Okay till they till they develop their wings So the greek empire was like that in the sense it was able to creep into every one of the other cultures and take over greek culture It influenced even the israelite culture It influenced every the near the culture of every nation So that finally when the romans came along the romans, what culture did they have they had greek culture? Okay, so they were such powerful influence and they crept into every Area of culture and society and the way things were done even science also They had a lot of influence over that So they are probably compared to the creeping crawling or the hopper Locusts and of course the fourth one is the roman empire They're they're similar to the first one because they are they are called the destroying locust Or the stripping locust Because they are the ones who completely you know destroyed Jerusalem and the temple once again a second time so So these are the this they they say that you know We can compare these four categories of locusts to the four empires which came and took over So god was kind of you know giving a long-term judgment talking about What are the different ways in which this kingdom would be attacked? Okay, so I thought maybe then that's another thing that we could look at in the book of joel It doesn't have to do with any grasshoppers or locusts, but it it is something important something useful So if we could have someone read out joel chapter three Versus nine to eleven Yeah, what do you um, you know, what would you have to say about this passage which you read out If you were listening and concentrating when you were reading it Well, well, is there something mentioned here which is like little different from what you generally hear Is there anything mentioned here in this passage which is kind of different from what you generally hear in sermons and you know in popular teachings I'm specifically talking about verse 10 Yeah, over here. They're being asked to turn their agricultural Um instruments into weapons of war Generally, what do we hear in the sermons? The reverse where you're commanded to turn the Instruments of war into agricultural implements because you won't they won't be war anymore. This would be peace Which is correct Is joel correct or is the other bible passage correct that actually would be your isiah chapter two versus three to five So and and the same thing in fact is repeated again in mica chapter four Verse three. So let's look at that as well um And then, you know, we can compare the two isiah chapter two versus three to five if you could read out Isiah two three to five Okay, so in the joel passage you have a commandment saying come again over here in the isiah passage You have a commandment saying come but then there are two different things in joel chapter three was 11 It says to the nations what is speaking to the nations and he says come quickly all your nations from every side and assemble there Okay, in the isiah passage again, there's a commandment to come But over here the command is being given to the descendants of jacob and it says come descendants of jacob Let us walk in the light of the lord. So in the first passage the joel passage. It's talking about um God telling the nations to take all their agricultural Instruments and turn them into weapons of war because a lot of war is going to come a big battle is going to happen In fact, he commands and he says, uh, you know in verse 11 come quickly all your nations from every side and assemble there because you know, you have all been talking and grumbling against me So come actually come with your weapons come with your war, you know with your warfare You know equipment come and gather over there. Let's fight Okay, so god is saying is encouraging and saying come let us have a big battle On the other hand in your isiah passage It's like as if all the battles and all the wars are already finished And so now god is saying peace has been established Everyone can now peacefully go to the mountain of the lord and celebrate over there worship over there You won't be needing any more weapons of war because the war is finally finished The victory has been established and so now there won't be any need for your swords So you can take your swords and turn them into agricultural implements So it basically said that joel chapter three verse 10 is talking about the um You know the wars which will take place during the seven years of tribulation Especially the battle of armor get done where all the nations will gather together They will come there with their weapons of war because they want to fight god Because they actually believe that they can win a battle against god Okay, so they see the 12th chapter three verse 10 is probably talking about those seven years of tribulation When the whole world will want to wage a war against god They will want to express their ability against him On the other hand isiah chapter two four and mica four three are talking about the millennium period Which will come after the battle of armor get done at that time when peace is established And there is no more warfare that you need to worry about at that time You know even Satan is removed from the earth at that time So at that time you would be world peace and you would not need any kind of weapons anymore okay, so um That is the kind of message which is being brought out over here So joe is talking about the first phase and isiah talks about the next phase when there would be no more war left Ah, these are just some things that I could touch upon. Um Of course, there will always be other extra things, but then of course, we don't have time Anyone wants to ask any doubts questions? Um The question asked over here is about the children of posea how they would have felt having names You know which say not loved not my people Uh, so I think posea and gourmet would have told them what god said in the next verse You know, there's always uh restoration attached and of course, they would be told that they're ambassadors carrying a word of judgment It's not that it's been the the names are not direct being directed at them But they're going to be carrying those names as Ambassadors who are declaring to the to the entire nation what god is going to do So in a way they can feel very, you know Happy about the special status and privilege which they have been given because the average kid is not going to be proclaiming any judgment But these kids are going to be wherever they go. They're going to be carrying that word of judgment along with them So there's a positive side to it. I'm sure those kids were not traumatized I I think things worked out all right for them Anything else Any other questions? Okay, we'll close with the word of prayer Lord, we just thank you so much for uh, the lessons that you teach us from your word during every single class thank you a lot that your word is filled With things which we can take and apply to ourselves and be encouraged by so we thank you lord for Hosea, thank you for his faithfulness in choosing to to to be used by you to give an object lesson to the people and lord, I thank you for that That those words of hope and restoration which you spoke Even though you were speaking words of judgment So we thank you lord that you are a god who is slow to anger And full of compassion and lord so therefore help us not to be foolish like the people of israel Help us not to be stubborn like the people of juda But to take hold of this beautiful grace and compassion that you're offering us and to genuinely change our ways Help us a lot to stop the outward show of rending our garments and lord instead Really a lot in private in down on our knees in front of you Help us to rend our hearts and really make a new commitment to you. Oh lord So that we can enjoy the blessings which you have for us Because so lord you want to be a god who wants to sow peace and prosperity into our lives Not a god who wishes to sow judgment into our lives So lord help us to remember these lessons and help us a lord to apply these things in our own lives Thank you lord in jesus name. Amen Thank you so much for paying attention. Those of you who are here and also those of you who are online. Thank you