Dr Paul Allen

Jeroboam sets up two golden calves, from the Bible Historiale. Den Haag, MMW, 10 B 23 165r (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “The word of the LORD that came to Hosea , son of Beeri, during the reigns of Uzziah , Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah , kings of Judah , and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel” (Hosea 1:1). Although Hosea began prophesying about ten years after Amos, his prophecy is first in the Book of the Twelve (the Minor Prophets). There is a good theological reason for this: Hosea’s prophecy is the longest and the most complete. In a sense, he sets up all the major themes found in the other books in the collection: covenant, judgment, and restoration, and the Lord’s personal relationship with His wayward people. We are not told this explicitly, but Hosea is the only prophet who seems to have come from the northern kingdom of Israel rather than from the southern kingdom of Judah . His familiarity with the culture and ways of Israel has persuaded most scho

The King Uzziah Stricken with Leprosy, by Rembrandt, 1635. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) It was “in the year that King  Uzziah  died” ( Isaiah 6:1) that Isaiah had his first vision . It was a time of great discouragement and dark forebodings and Isaiah shrank from the task before him, for it seemed so utterly hopeless. Judah was fast following in the footsteps of Israel , and who could stop them? If Hosea and Amos had not been able to hold Israel in check, how could anything be done to save Judah? What Judah needed was a prophet that would stir the conscience of the people and rouse them from their lethargy, preparing them for the crisis before them. And Isaiah was very doubtful that he was the man. In fact, he felt that he was not. He was “undone.” Isaiah 6:5. He had evidently gone up to worship, when suddenly the vision rose before him. The Lord was seen sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. The seraphim, a high order of angels, cried, “

"Where there is no vision, the people perish" ( Prov. 29:18, KJV ). We hear this verse quoted frequently in order that we may be inspired and challenged to move with intensity toward a future goal. We applaud the leader who is a visionary, one who can paint a picture of a better future and show us the way to attain it. We are a goal-oriented society.  We need a dream, a target to aim for if we are to get our adrenaline moving and our passions stirred.  Every goal, every short-range vision must be measured against the supreme and final norm of all future Christian visions. We must keep before us the ultimate vision of the people of God .  We cannot see God because He is holy and we are not. I have never seen God. I have felt His presence and reasoned through His existence. I have read His Word and heard of dazzling displays of His glory. But I have never seen Him. He is invisible. Not only have I never seen Him face to face, but no one else has seen Him either. The cr