A message the Lord God
revealed to Hosea the prophet:
Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt. The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him. He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God: Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us; Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial. Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment and wait on thy God continually.-Hosea 12:1-6***Jacob (Israel) was the youngest fraternal twin son born to Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac was the only child born to Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai). Joseph was the 1st son born to Jacob and his 2nd wife Rachel. Ephraim was the 2nd son born to Joseph and Asenath. However Jacob proclaimed Ephraim and Ephraim's older brother Manasseh to be his own sons. Sometime after 147-year-old Jacob died in Egypt and his body was buried near the bodies of his parents and grandparents in Canaan, and Joseph and his siblings were dead, their descendants the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses were from the tribe of Levi, descended from Jacob and his 1st wife Leah, and Jacob and Leah's 3rd born son Levi. When Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83, they led the Israelites, away from Egypt, across the divinely parted Red Sea, and into the desert wilderness of Shur, according to the commands of the Lord God. During the 40-year journey to Canaan, the Promised Land, Miriam died and was buried in Kadesh, in the desert wilderness of Zin. Upon Mount Hor, 123-year-old Aaron died and was buried. When Moses went upon Mount Nebo, the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and Moses died and was divinely buried. Joshua, Moses' successor from the tribe of Ephraim, was descended from Joseph and Asenath's 2nd born son Ephraim, whom Jacob proclaimed to be his own son. Joshua led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. Over 300 years after 110-year-old Joshua died and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, Saul, from the tribe of Jacob and Rachel's 2nd and last son Benjamin, became the 1st king to reign over the Israelites. David, from the tribe of Jacob and Leah's 4th born son Judah, was the 2nd king to reign over all of the Israelites. Solomon, the 2nd child born to David and Bathsheba, was the 3rd king to reign. Rehoboam, the son born to Solomon and Naamah, was the 4th king to reign over all of the Israelites. After Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south, Jerusalem was the royal city and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Israel was the northern nation and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. Bethel was a prominent city in the northern nation of Israel, and Samaria became the final royal city. The tribe of Ephraim was a large and strategical tribe in the northern nation of Israel. In the divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible, the northern nation is sometimes identified as Ephraim. Hosea was an Israelite and a prophet of the Lord God. During the reign of Rehoboam's great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson King Uzziah (Azariah), and Uzziah's son King Jotham, and Jotham's son King Ahaz, and Ahaz's son King Hezekiah in Judah, and the reign of King Jeroboam, the son born to King Joash (Jehoash) in the northern nation of Israel, Hosea proclaimed the words of the Lord God to the Israelites. Hosea spoke of warnings, the actions of their forefathers, Jacob's actions in the womb, Jacob's divine wrestling encounter, and Jacob's experiences in Bethel. King Pekah was the 18th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel. During Pekah's 20-year reign, the Assyrians invaded the kingdom and King Tiglath-pileser, ruler of Assyria, began taking Israelites to Assyria. During the 9th year of the reign of King Hoshea, the 19th king to rule the northern nation, the Assyrians conquered Samaria, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. During the reign of Hezekiah's great-great-grandson Jehoiakim (Eliakim), the 17th king to rule Judah, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) invaded Judah and Jerusalem and King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, began looting the temple of the Lord. Jehoiachin (Jeconiah/Coniah), the son born to Jehoiakim and Nehushta, was the 18th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiachin's 3-month reign, the Babylonians took more prominent Israelites, including Jehoiachin, his wives and mother, to Babylon. During the 11th year of the reign of Jehoiakim's brother King Zedekiah (Mattaniah), the 19th king to rule Judah, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Over 500 years after Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:12-23, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, 1 Samuel 1:1-3:21, 8:1-31:13, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 6:1-81, 7:20-29, 8:1-40, 9:35-29:30, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Hosea, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26