So if the Church gathered is what we are looking at in Hosea 1:10, what did he see in verse 11 where it says, “And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.”? In reading commentaries on this verse I found that this is a very perplexing passage of Scripture for most commentators. But that is because all of them that I read were trying to find fulfillment of this passage in the wrong place. They were all trying to locate this passage’s fulfillment in Ezra and Nehemiah’s return. But there are multiple problems with that due to the historical facts of the period.
One, they never really ever reunite themselves behind a king. Second, it says they go up out of the Land, which doesn’t happen, unless you count the Roman dispersion during the New Testament era, which would hardly be anything to hope for, and that’s the purpose of verses 10 and 11, to give Israel hope. Third, no one I read even hazards a real guess at what “great shall be the day of Jezreel” might mean. There were a few who waded into these waters, but none were specific and all had significant problems and ended up throwing their arms in the air out of frustration, or they engaged in theological gymnastics which marred the intent of the passage.
But if, we piggyback this verse with verse 10 as should be done, and admit that this verse is too big for Ezra and Nehemiah’s return, we will find a striking similarity between this passage and one of the most important passages in the New Testament, the Great Commission. Let’s lay them both out side by side and take a look at them together.
Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Hosea 1:11
“And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.”
Admittedly, we have to deal with these passages a little out of order, but they both appear to me to have some real similarities.
All power in heaven and on earth has been given unto me…. What is it that Jesus is saying here? He is saying, “I am the King of heaven and earth”. And because He is the King, we are instructed to go and gather His people together from the whole earth with this message. When we look at Hosea 1:11, what is it that Hosea sees? He sees the people of God on the earth gathering together and uniting them selves’ under one King. It appears to me that Hosea gets a glimpse not only of the Church gathered in verse 10, but he also sees the Church militant, engaged in mission in verse 11, bearing the banner of their King, Jesus Christ. But what of the “day of Jezreel?” I’m glad you asked.
What was Jezreel? If you read 2 Kings 9 and 10, you will see Jehu, who is mentioned earlier in Hosea 1, be anointed as king by Elisha and tasked to bring judgment to the house of Ahab. Jehu deposes via execution Ahab’s son Joram, the then reigning king in Israel, destroys Ahab’s evil wife Jezebel, and executes all of the remaining children of Ahab, wiping Ahab’s house from the face of the earth. All this happens in Jezreel, which is the place Ahab had choosen to build his palace. So, in summary, Jezreel is a place where a wicked king and all his wicked house are destroyed via the judgment and authority granted to God’s ordained King. I hear Gospel bells ringing, don’t you.
What does the Gospel tell us happened at the cross? And, What does the Gospel tell us will happen in the future? In Jesus death on the cross sin is forgiven, the Fall of Man is completely undone, the power of Satan’s control over us is destroyed at it’s very source, and we are made free from slavery and bondage to him as our tyrannical king. The cross was Satan’s D-Day, where He lost the significant battle. Just as Hitler and the Nazis knew that the war was over for them in the days immediately after that fateful day, so Satan came to understand once the doors of death were flung open in the resurrection. All Hitler and his henchmen could do was forestall the inevitable by resisting the truth of their loss. Now, all the enemy of our souls can do is forestall and resist, but he and all his demons know that there is a day coming, their Jezreel, their judgment.
Revelation 20:9-15
And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, [10] and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. [13] And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
On this day the Church militant will all say together, “great shall be the day of Jezreel”! That my friends is what Hosea saw in 1:10, 11, the hope of Israel, the great future of God’s holy people. He saw the Church gathered and he saw the church victoriously militant, bearing the standards of Christ on into eternity.
Soli Deo Gloria