Hosea 11:10-12 - He will roar like a lion

11:10,11

We see in these two verses the result of the Lord having mercy upon them. “They shall walk after the Lord”. In Genesis we read of God walking in the garden with Adam and Eve (Gen 3:8). We were meant to walk in fellowship with the Lord, that is what we were created for, but sin broke that relationship. In Christ the relationship is restored. The Lord will roar like a lion. His working to return Israel is not something done in secret, but is something declared in the heavens. Note that Israel has been scattered, but she will return from the various lands to which she was dispersed. Then they will dwell securely.

This is talking primarily about the northern kingdom, but similar things were said about Judah in relation to Babylon. They did indeed return from Babylon, at least some of them did, but the nation knew that that was not the complete fulfilment of God’s plans. Many Jews still considered themselves to be in exile in some sense. Likewise, the Jews were given the land of Israel in 1948, yet it is clear that this is not the complete fulfilment, there is much more to come. For the fulfilment of God’s plans for His people involves perfect peace and involves them walking with Him.

11:12

Now we get back to current sinfulness of Ephraim. They are full of lies and deceit. What we see in Hosea are the various things going on. There is the past and present sinfulness of Ephraim. There is God’s love for Israel and His future plans of restoration for them. God is eternal and in some sense sees everything at once. We are time bound, moving one step at a time through history.

Acts 10:34-37 - God does not show favouritism

10:34,35

So Peter began to speak, and he begin by reminding them of the impartiality of God. This was a theme from the beginning of the Bible. It states it explicitly in Deut 10:17, but is a feature of God’s dealing with Israel. Here Peter is preparing the way for Cornelius and his fellow Gentiles to know that they too can know God. We maybe find v35 difficult, for we immediately think “you cannot earn salvation”, while this verse seems to imply that in a way we can, or it at least plays some part. There are two things to note. First, the Bible is clear throughout that good character and good behaviour are good! It is better to be good than bad. So any thinking that says it makes no difference or is totally irrelevant is nonsense. Secondly, any of us who come to God need to repent, we are all sinners and are all in need of grace.

10:36,37

Something was known about the life of Jesus and the subsequent birth of the church in the world beyond Israel, at least among the Gentiles who lived in the region. The gospel is a message of peace, though not as the world often thinks of peace. Indeed, Jesus said “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (John 14:27). The peace that is in the gospel, that comes through Jesus Christ, is one that requires repentance, and gives a forgiveness of sins. “Lord of all” was a Jewish term referring to God, and here is applied to Jesus, demonstrating how they thought of Him. There may also be a contrast with the Roman Emperor, who was also called “lord” and claimed to bring peace. Cornelius and his friends and family were aware of what had happened in Judea from the time of Jesus’ baptism onwards, and they were also aware of John’s baptism. In fact news of John the Baptist seems to have travelled far and wide (Acts 18:25; 19:3).

Hosea 11:5-9 - How can I give you up?

11:5-7

Despite God’s care for Israel they would not listen to Him. So the consequence would be that they would indeed return to Egypt and be ruled over by Assyria. Violence would come to their cities and all their plans would be put to an end. The people claimed to call on the Lord, they used His name, but in reality they continually turned away from God. In the history of Israel we see a picture of the willfulness of Israel, the stiff-necked nature of the nation. It is a tragic tale, and it is seen in the whole of humanity. Our own society is determined to go against God’s ways. Israel had many plans, and might superficially have seemed to know what they were doing, but these plans would come to an end. Likewise, politicians and other leaders may seem to have plans, to have some idea where they are going, but in reality they know nothing. Israel truly called on the name of the Lord in vain, for He would not exalt them.

11:8,9

Now we get another sudden change. All that was said in the previous few verses was true, Israel was a most perverse nation. Yet God loved (and still loves) Israel, so although judgement and rejection were what they fully deserved, God was stirred by compassion. Now we need to be careful in how we interpret this. See that it says in v9:

I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again.

The key word here is “again”. Assyria did conquer and disperse Ephraim, but God says here “nor will I devastate Ephraim again”. The invasion of Assyria was only a warning, a precursor, of final judgement, it was not the final judgement itself. So these verse must be looking forward to God’s future restoration and protection of Israel.

Acts 10:27-33 - We are all here in the presence of God

10:27-29

Peter went into the house, and there was a large crowd there. There are times when God builds up expectancy in people. In the West it is probably fair to say that for the most part we are more used to apathy when it comes to the gospel. This may well be the case now, but we should not lose heart, for when God chooses He will change the situation.

Peter starts by addressing directly the issue that must have been in everyone’s mind. How could a Jew associate with Gentiles? Then he tells them that God has shown him that he should not anyone impure or unclean. “Impure and unclean” were what the Jews thought of the Gentiles, and they knew it. So Peter explains why he is there, and has removed the barrier that might have been between them.

“May I ask why you sent for me?” Sometimes it is good to ask questions before embarking on the message. It helps build a connection, and gets people thinking.

10:30-33

So Cornelius tells Peter what happened. Note that in 10:3 it says Cornelius saw a vision of an “angel of God”, here he says he saw a man, though the man was in bright clothing. It is a feature of the Bible then when angels appear they often have the appearance of a man. It was a common literary feature of the time to repeat events, but to vary the wording a little. Cornelius essentially repeats the words of the beginning of the chapter. Cornelius believed they were all gathered in the presence of God, and they wanted to hear what Peter had “been commanded by God”. How do we gather on a Sunday morning, or at some other church gathering, small group or whatever? Do we expect to gather in the presence of God? When we listen to someone teaching are we expecting to just hear the ideas of a man or woman, or are we expecting to hear from God? And if we are the one teaching or preaching, do we aim to say what God has commanded us? By the way, this does not necessarily mean we have received a direct word from God, for we are commanded to preach and teach His word.

Acts 10:24-26 - I am only a man myself

10:24,25

Caesarea was about thirty miles from Joppa, hence Peter’s inviting them in to stay the night before they made the journey, and they had an overnight stop on the journey. Cornelius was expecting them, and called together his friends and relatives. Cornelius was expecting something significant to happen, as indeed he would since an angel had appeared to him.

Cornelius fell at Peter’s feet, worshipping him. He is showing the utmost respect to Peter. Remember that Rome is the occupying power, so they had power over the Jews, so this is a most unusual action. Cornelius is showing that he knows he has something to learn from Peter.

10:26

Peter rightly refused to accept the “worship”. In this he responded in a way similar to the angel in Revelation (Rev 22:9). “I am only a man myself”. Before Christ we are all, in one sense, nothing. All are equal before Him. Equally unworthy, equally in need fo grace. And by faith, all equally receive eternal life from Him. We need to be very careful if we start thinking more of ourselves than we should, and we should beware of all preachers, leaders, evangelists or prophets who start demanding worship of themselves.

1 Peter - Complete Notes

Complete notes on 1 Peter are now available on Dundee Believer.

Acts 10:17-23 - Do not hesitate to go with them

10:17,18

Peter was wondering why he had received these visions, and what they might mean. As he was doing this the men sent by Cornelius arrived. This is an example of God’s perfect timing, and His ordering of events. However, God’s ordering of events, His sovereignty, does not mean that we are mere puppets. If we look at the Bible we see that people’s responses, actions etc are always important. The god-fearing life of Cornelius was important, the need to change Peter’s thinking was important. The visitors asked if Peter was there.

10:19,20

The Spirit spoke to Peter, telling him that three men were arriving. God communicates with His people. Peter is told to go with them without hesitation. This is the reason that Peter received the vision. Jews and Gentiles kept their distance from each other, so there was a great cultural barrier to be overcome. The vision about Peter overcoming the cultural food barrier was a preparation for his overcoming this much more important barrier.

10:21-23

So Peter went down to the men, asking why they had come. At this point while Peter has been prepared to do something way outside his normal cultural bounds he has no idea what, except that now it is clear it will involve Gentiles.  The men were also aware of the cultural barriers, so they stress that Cornelius is a God-fearing man and one who has spoken well of the Jewish nation. They also told Peter about the visit from an angel. Jews held angels in high regard, so this would perhaps make it easier for Peter to accept the situation. Peter invited them to be his guests, and they then left to go and see Cornelius the next day. Peter wisely took some “brothers” (ie disciples) with him.Others witnessing events would be important. Peter’s inviting the men in was a key step, for Jews did not normally invite Gentiles into their house, as it was assumed a Gentile had probably worshipped idols, or was in some other way “unclean”.