◄ Hosea 12:12 ►
Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife--for a wife he tended sheep.
Study Bible
Jacob fled to the land of Aram

This phrase refers to the biblical account of Jacob, the patriarch, who fled to the land of Aram to escape the wrath of his brother Esau (Genesis 27:41-45). Aram, also known as Padan-Aram, is located in the region of modern-day Syria. This journey marks a significant turning point in Jacob's life, as it is during his time in Aram that he encounters God in a dream at Bethel (Genesis 28:10-22). The flight to Aram is a reminder of God's providence and protection over Jacob, despite his deceptive actions. It also sets the stage for the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, as Jacob's time in Aram leads to the expansion of his family, which becomes the nation of Israel.

Gen 28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel…
Gen 27:43-45 So now, my son, obey my voice and flee at once…
Deu 26:5 My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down…

and Israel worked for a wife—

The name "Israel" here refers to Jacob, who was later named Israel after wrestling with God (Genesis 32:28). This phrase highlights Jacob's labor for Laban, his uncle, in order to marry his daughters, Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29:15-30). This period of service lasted fourteen years, seven years for each wife. The labor Jacob endured is symbolic of the trials and perseverance required to fulfill God's promises. It also foreshadows the future struggles of the nation of Israel, which would often find itself in servitude and hardship due to disobedience, yet always under God's sovereign plan.

Gen 29:18-20 Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you…
Gen 29:27-30 Finish this week’s celebration, and we will give you…
Gen 31:41 Thus for twenty years I have served in your household—…

for a wife he tended sheep.

Jacob's work as a shepherd during his time in Aram is significant both culturally and theologically. Shepherding was a common occupation in the ancient Near East, and it required patience, diligence, and care—qualities that God would later require of the leaders of Israel. This role as a shepherd also prefigures the imagery of God as the Shepherd of Israel (Psalm 23) and ultimately points to Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). Jacob's tending of sheep is a humble task that underscores the theme of servitude and foreshadows the servanthood of Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45).

Gen 31:38-40 I have been with you for twenty years now.…
Gen 30:29-31 Then Jacob answered, “You know how I have served you…
Gen 29:6-10 “Is he well?” Jacob inquired. “Yes,” they answered,…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jacob
The patriarch who fled to Aram to escape his brother Esau's wrath. He is a central figure in the history of Israel, known for his journey of transformation and his covenant relationship with God.

2. Aram
A region in ancient Mesopotamia, often associated with the area around modern-day Syria. It is where Jacob fled to find refuge and where he worked for Laban, his uncle.

3. Israel
Refers to Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel after wrestling with God. It also represents the nation that descended from him.

4. Worked for a wife
Jacob's labor for Laban to marry his daughters, Leah and Rachel. This event highlights themes of perseverance and the fulfillment of God's promises through trials.

5. Tended sheep
Jacob's occupation while in Aram, symbolizing humility and servitude, which are recurring themes in his life and the life of Israel.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty in Our Journeys
Just as God guided Jacob to Aram and back, He directs our paths, even when we face trials and uncertainties.

Perseverance in Faith
Jacob's years of labor for his wives teach us the value of perseverance and faithfulness in fulfilling God's purposes in our lives.

Transformation Through Trials
Jacob's experiences in Aram were pivotal in his transformation from a deceiver to a patriarch of faith, reminding us that God uses our struggles to refine us.

The Importance of Humility and Service
Jacob's role as a shepherd underscores the biblical principle that greatness in God's kingdom often comes through humble service.

Covenant Faithfulness
God's faithfulness to Jacob despite his flaws assures us of His unwavering commitment to His promises and His people.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Jacob's journey to Aram reflect God's providence in our own life journeys?

2. In what ways can we see God's hand in the trials and challenges we face, similar to Jacob's experiences in Aram?

3. How does Jacob's perseverance in working for Laban inspire us to remain faithful in our own commitments and responsibilities?

4. What lessons can we learn from Jacob's transformation that apply to our spiritual growth and relationship with God?

5. How does the account of Jacob in Aram connect with the broader account of God's covenant with Israel and His faithfulness to His promises?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 28-31
These chapters provide the detailed account of Jacob's journey to Aram, his service to Laban, and his marriages to Leah and Rachel. They highlight God's providence and faithfulness despite human deception and struggle.

Genesis 32
Jacob's wrestling with God and his name change to Israel, symbolizing his transformation and the birth of a nation.

Exodus 3:6
God identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, emphasizing the continuity of His covenant promises through generations.
Sermons
Three Painful ContrastsC. Jerdan Hosea 12:7-14
Preserved by a ProphetJ. Orr Hosea 12:12-14
People
Aram, Assyrians, Hosea, Jacob
Places
Aram, Assyria, Bethel, Egypt, Gilead, Gilgal
Topics
Aram, Field, Fled, Flee, Flight, Flocks, Herded, Herds, Jacob, Kept, Pay, Servant, Serve, Served, Service, Sheep, Syria, Tended, Watch, Wife, Worked, Yea
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Hosea 12:12

     4684   sheep
     5603   wages

Library
Everybody's Sermon
Now it struck me that God is every day preaching to us by similitudes. When Christ was on earth he preached in parables, and, though he is in heaven now, he is preaching in parables to-day. Providence is God's sermon. The things which we see about us are God's thoughts and God's words to us; and if we were but wise there is not a step that we take, which me should not find to be full of mighty instruction. O ye sons of men! God warns you every day by his own word; he speaks to you by the lips of …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

The Pilgrim's Progress
FROM THIS WORLD TO THAT WHICH IS TO COME. THE SECOND PART. DELIVERED UNDER THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM. WHEREIN IS SET FORTH THE MANNER OF THE SETTING OUT OF CHRISTIAN'S WIFE AND CHILDREN, THEIR DANGEROUS JOURNEY, AND SAFE ARRIVAL AT THE DESIRED COUNTRY. By JOHN BUNYAN. 'I have used similitudes.'--Hosea 12:10. London: Printed for Nathaniel Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, near the Church, 1684. THE AUTHOR'S WAY OF SENDING FORTH HIS SECOND PART OF THE PILGRIM. Go now, my little book, to every …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Holy War,
MADE BY SHADDAI UPON DIABOLUS, FOR THE REGAINING OF THE METROPOLIS OF THE WORLD; OR, THE LOSING AND TAKING AGAIN OF THE TOWN OF MANSOUL. THE AUTHOR OF 'THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.' 'I have used similitudes.'--Hosea 12:10. London: Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms in the Poultry; and Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Bunyan's account of the Holy War is indeed an extraordinary book, manifesting a degree of genius, research, and spiritual …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Twofold Wrestle --God's with Jacob and Jacob's with God
'And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast shewed unto Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Gen. xxxi. 11
Of no less importance and significance is the passage Gen. xxxi. 11 seq. According to ver. 11, the Angel of God, [Hebrew: mlaK halhiM] appears toJacob in a dream. In ver. 13, the same person calls himself the God of Bethel, with reference to the event recorded in chap. xxviii. 11-22. It cannot be supposed that in chap xxviii. the mediation of a common angel took place, who, however, had not been expressly mentioned; for Jehovah is there contrasted with the angels. In ver. 12, we read: "And behold …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Unity of the Divine Essence in Three Persons Taught, in Scripture, from the Foundation of the World.
1. Scripture, in teaching that the essence of God is immense and spiritual, refutes not only idolaters and the foolish wisdom of the world, but also the Manichees and Anthropomorphites. These latter briefly refuted. 2. In this one essence are three persons, yet so that neither is there a triple God, nor is the simple essence of God divided. Meaning of the word Person in this discussion. Three hypostases in God, or the essence of God. 3. Objection of those who, in this discussion, reject the use of …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Concerning Worship.
Concerning Worship. [780] All true and acceptable worship to God is offered in the inward and immediate moving and drawing of his own Spirit which is neither limited to places times, nor persons. For though we are to worship him always, and continually to fear before him; [781] yet as to the outward signification thereof, in prayers, praises, or preachings, we ought not to do it in our own will, where and when we will; but where and when we are moved thereunto by the stirring and secret inspiration …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

The Wonderful.
Isaiah ix:6. HIS name shall be called "Wonderful" (Isaiah ix:6). And long before Isaiah had uttered this divine prediction the angel of the Lord had announced his name to be Wonderful. As such He appeared to Manoah. And Manoah said unto the angel of Jehovah, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honor. And the angel of Jehovah said unto Him "why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is Wonderful" (margin, Judges xiii:17-18). This angel of Jehovah, the Person who …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

"But if we Walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, we have Fellowship one with Another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ His
1 John i. 7.--"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Art is the imitation of nature, and true religion is a divine art, that consists in the imitation of God himself, the author of nature. Therefore it is a more high and transcendent thing, of a sublimer nature than all the arts and sciences among men. Those reach but to some resemblance of the wisdom of God, expressed in his works, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Motives to Holy Mourning
Let me exhort Christians to holy mourning. I now persuade to such a mourning as will prepare the soul for blessedness. Oh that our hearts were spiritual limbecs, distilling the water of holy tears! Christ's doves weep. They that escape shall be like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity' (Ezekiel 7:16). There are several divine motives to holy mourning: 1 Tears cannot be put to a better use. If you weep for outward losses, you lose your tears. It is like a shower …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

The Prophet Hosea.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. That the kingdom of Israel was the object of the prophet's ministry is so evident, that upon this point all are, and cannot but be, agreed. But there is a difference of opinion as to whether the prophet was a fellow-countryman of those to whom he preached, or was called by God out of the kingdom of Judah. The latter has been asserted with great confidence by Maurer, among others, in his Observ. in Hos., in the Commentat. Theol. ii. i. p. 293. But the arguments …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Eighth Commandment
Thou shalt not steal.' Exod 20: 15. AS the holiness of God sets him against uncleanness, in the command Thou shalt not commit adultery;' so the justice of God sets him against rapine and robbery, in the command, Thou shalt not steal.' The thing forbidden in this commandment, is meddling with another man's property. The civil lawyers define furtum, stealth or theft to be the laying hands unjustly on that which is another's;' the invading another's right. I. The causes of theft. [1] The internal causes …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Tenth Commandment
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.' Exod 20: 17. THIS commandment forbids covetousness in general, Thou shalt not covet;' and in particular, Thy neighbour's house, thy neighbour's wife, &c. I. It forbids covetousness in general. Thou shalt not covet.' It is lawful to use the world, yea, and to desire so much of it as may keep us from the temptation …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

There is a Blessedness in Reversion
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Matthew 5:3 Having done with the occasion, I come now to the sermon itself. Blessed are the poor in spirit'. Christ does not begin his Sermon on the Mount as the Law was delivered on the mount, with commands and threatenings, the trumpet sounding, the fire flaming, the earth quaking, and the hearts of the Israelites too for fear; but our Saviour (whose lips dropped as the honeycomb') begins with promises and blessings. So sweet and ravishing was the doctrine of this …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Prayer
But I give myself unto prayer.' Psa 109: 4. I shall not here expatiate upon prayer, as it will be considered more fully in the Lord's prayer. It is one thing to pray, and another thing to be given to prayer: he who prays frequently, is said to be given to prayer; as he who often distributes alms, is said to be given to charity. Prayer is a glorious ordinance, it is the soul's trading with heaven. God comes down to us by his Spirit, and we go up to him by prayer. What is prayer? It is an offering …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Prophet Amos.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point--viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet--the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Hosea
The book of Hosea divides naturally into two parts: i.-iii. and iv.-xiv., the former relatively clear and connected, the latter unusually disjointed and obscure. The difference is so unmistakable that i.-iii. have usually been assigned to the period before the death of Jeroboam II, and iv.-xiv. to the anarchic period which succeeded. Certainly Hosea's prophetic career began before the end of Jeroboam's reign, as he predicts the fall of the reigning dynasty, i. 4, which practically ended with Jeroboam's …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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