Hosea 12:7-9 “A cunning Canaanite! Deceitful scales are in his hand; He loves to oppress. (8) And Ephraim said, 'Surely, I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself; in all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.' (9) "But I am the Lord your God, ever since the land of Egypt; I will again make you dwell in tents, as in the days of the appointed feast.”
The above passage of scripture highlights three truths for us. The cunning Canaanite in this passage is referring to the person of the Anti-Christ. Ephraim stating that there is no iniquity in him that is sin is referring to Israel’s spiritual condition at that time, for they will be deceived into thinking that keeping the Law of Moses assures them of salvation. And then we see the Lord telling Israel that He will once again make them dwell in tents. The appointed feast that our Lord refers to in this passage is the feast of Tabernacles, for in that feast Israelis make booths to live in, reminding themselves of the time that they dwelt in tents in the wilderness when God delivered them from Egypt (Leviticus 23:42-43). In other words, the Holy Spirit is telling us that just when Israel believes that she is blessed and living righteously before the Lord that the Lord will send the Anti-Christ into her midst to oppress, thus driving Israel into the wilderness to once again live in tents. It is at that time that the Lord will plead His case with the nation of Israel (Ezekiel 20:35), through His two witnesses. And many will respond by coming to faith in Jesus their Messiah.
Michael E.B. Maher
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