[MUSIC PLAYING] "The Bible from
30,000 Feet, Soaring Through the Scripture from
Genesis to Revelation." Turn to your Old Testament,
the Book of Hosea. If you have trouble
finding that find, that big prophet named Isaiah. Turn right. Go down a few blocks past
Jeremiah, pass lamentations, past Ezekiel, past
Daniel, and boom, you're right there at Hosea. Back in 1936, King Edward VIII
of England, who incidentally was only on the
throne less than one year before he
abdicated the throne, gave a speech that was
going to be carried-- and was carried not
only in England but all through the United States-- via a radio station
in New York City. They were going to broadcast
it and feed it to others. So in 1936 when King Edward was
about to give that speech, just minutes before the speech that
would go to the United States, as well, somebody in the
radio station in New York City tripped over the
main radio wire that was connecting the
feed from England and the reception to
the United States. So the communication was broken. It was a radio signal. They didn't know how they
were going to patch it up. They just had, really,
seconds before the king was going to go live. A very quick-thinking engineer
in that studio took one hand and grabbed one part
of the broken wire and, with the other hand, took
the second part of the broken wire. And the speech was
given by the king. And the signal was
transmitted literally through the body
of that engineer. That low-power radio signal
was carried through his body. His body became, in part,
the transmission of the king to his people and our people. Now, that little illustration
is what a prophet is all about. A prophet hears from God. And a prophet speaks for God. A prophet is like a radio. It receives transmission
from heaven. And then it broadcasts or
transmit that reception to others. So they're like spiritual radio. They bridge the gap
between heaven and Earth. Now, sometimes, the prophets-- their style is proclamation,
pure preaching. They are speaking
about issues that are dealing with the day and
age in which they are living. They're proclaiming
forth God's word. At other times, it's not just
proclamation, it is prediction. They are foretelling
the future events, some in the near future, some in
the far future, all the way to Christ's coming
or second coming. Sometimes the prophets
aren't about proclamation or prediction but demonstration. They want to get the
people's attention. And so they play a part. They act a role. And in so doing, the
people who are around them are able to see what the
message is the prophet will later on then speak. So we've already
discovered that. Jeremiah did that a few times. Ezekiel did that. But of all of those who
were called to be prophets-- of all of the prophets
I wouldn't want to be, the one that would top
my list would be Hosea. I mean, Jeremiah had it bad. Ezekiel had it bad. Some of the things
God called him to do-- not good, very difficult. But Hosea was told by God
to demonstrate God's love for his people in the
worst situation possible. God told him to marry a wife
who would then go out on him and have an affair with other
men, become a prostitute. Then God would instruct
that prophet, Hosea, to bring her back again, and
support her, and forgive her, and help her raise the children
that they produced together. God was demonstrating
through the prophet not just proclamation, not
just prediction-- that's included in
this book, as well-- but God was
demonstrating his love under the worst possible
circumstances, when you have an unfaithful spouse. It's interesting that the name
Hosea is the same Hebrew name as Joshua, or Yeshua, or Jesus. And he, in his
agony and his pain, shares God's great love
for the people of Israel. Now, we are dealing with what
are called minor prophets when we begin the Book of Hosea and
finish out the Old Testament. This is the 32nd week
in this series called "The Bible from 30,000 Feet." We're flying over it. And we try to do a book a week. Ha. Good news-- there is only 14
chapters in this little book. And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, yeah, but
you're the preacher, Skip. And there were only
12 chapters in Daniel, and it took you two weeks. But this book is highly
unique and different from the book of Daniel. Daniel itself was
a standalone book. We call them minor
prophets only because of the size of the book
itself, not because of importance or significance. They're not any less
than Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Ezekiel, or Daniel. They're minor only because
they're brief books. They have a major
message, but we call them minor prophets,
not because of inferiority, not because of superiority,
but simply because of brevity. Size can be misleading. An espresso is a tiny cup of
coffee, but it packs a wallop. And it's a lot stronger than
a pour-over, or an Americano, or a standard cup of coffee. A small cup can
bring huge results. Another thing about size-- my mom was about 5 foot. She could pack a wallop. She could handle four
boys quite easily. So size can be misleading. The Book of Hosea
and the rest of what we call the minor prophets
have some incredible messages. Let me divide it up for you. The book falls naturally
into two divisions, although I'm going
to give you four. It falls naturally into
the first three chapters and then the second 11. The first three are personal
chapters, private chapters. It's about his own
personal life as God is forming this messenger. And then the second part,
those last 11 chapters, deal with his public life,
his prophetic ministry to the nation. But I've sliced Hosea
up into four sections. Chapters 1 and 2 is
about a faithless wife. You're going to be introduced
to her in a moment. Then chapter 3 is about
a future restoration as God takes the illustration
of the first two chapters and announces something he's
going to do in the future. And then, third,
chapters 4 through 10 is about a fickle nation,
the nation of Israel. Even though Israel and
Judah are both mentioned, primarily he is a prophet
to the Northern Kingdom-- and then finally, a faithful
God in chapters 11, 12, and 13. The Book of Hosea is a heartfelt
message by a heartsick prophet about a heartbroken God. He is the prophet
of the last hour. The Northern Kingdom is
months away from destruction, from captivity by the Assyrians. The Southern Kingdom Judah
will have some more time. We're going to see that in
our text, as he predicts that. Well, we begin in
chapter 1, verse 1. And of course, we're just
going to take select verses as we go through the book. We begin with the
faithless wife. "The word of the Lord that came
to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of
Uzziah, Jothem, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah"-- so those are Southern kings-- "and in the days of
Jeroboam, the son of Joash King of Israel." That is a Northern king. The book begins by giving
us a reference point, so we know when and how long
this prophet ministered. He is going to talk to the
10 Northern tribes, the two Southern tribes. Primarily, his message
just for the North. Secondarily, it's for the South. Now, remember, Solomon
died in 930 BC. After he died,
his son took over. His son eventually
split the Kingdom. The Kingdom is now in
two different parts-- Israel, sometimes in
this book called Ephraim. I think, like, 36
times in this book the Northern Kingdom is referred
to under the largest tribe title, Ephraim. So when you read Ephraim,
think Israel, the 10 Northern tribes-- and then Judah. So it's given us the
reference of time in verse 1. And if you were to add up
the kings that are mentioned and you look at the length
of time Hosea ministered, he ministered about
50 years in total. Verse 2, "When the Lord
began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, go take
yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry." He is now predicting what
is going to happen to her. She probably was not a
harlot when he married her. I say that, because based upon
the law of the Old Testament and how prophets roll,
they don't marry harlots. And the children
were born afterwards. So the idea is
that, I know what is going to happen to this woman
that you're going to marry. She is going to turn
out to be unfaithful. "Go take yourself a wife
of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land
has committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord." Hosea, I've got a
difficult mission for you. I want you to marry a wife who's
going to have an affair on you. Now, God knew that. Hosea didn't. God lets him in on it to sort of
preview the kind of heartbreak that he is going to experience
as an object lesson. Think of it this way. As hard as it sounds, as
difficult as it would be, God invited Hosea into
a pageant, a play. Hosea, you're going to
play the part of me, God. Your wife is going to play the
part of Israel, the harlot. Just as she went out on
you, the nation of Israel has continually had affairs on
me by worshipping other gods. So when your wife
leaves you, Hosea, you're going to experience
personally the kind of pain I have been experiencing
for years with my people. Nobody would want that task. Nobody would want that call. It sounds too difficult to bear. And yet, let me just say that
Paul the Apostle in the New Testament has a very
interesting verse. When he cries out that
he might know the Lord, he said, that I might know
him and the fellowship of his suffering being made
conformed even to his death. Do you remember that prayer
of Paul in Philippians? Lord, I want to know you so well
that I have fellowship with you even in the deepest,
darkest times of suffering. Hosea was able to suffer in like
manner as God himself suffered. Verse 3, "So he went and took
Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. And she conceived
and bore him a son." Now, that's sort of like
red flag number one. That's bad in and
of itself to have to marry a woman by the
name of Gomer, I'm guessing. Because I'm thinking Gomer Pyle. That's just where my mind goes. That's her name, his
sweet wife, Gomer. And she conceived
and bore him a son. Then the Lord said to him,
call his name Jezreel. Jezreel is a valley in
Israel called after Jezreel. Jezreel means God sows
like you sew seed-- or better yet, God scatters. Because a sower or a
farmer would throw seed out in the field, scatter
the seed for sowing. "So call his name God scatters,
Jezreel, for in a little while, I will avenge the bloodshed of
Jezreel on the house of Jehu and bring an end to the kingdom
of the house of Israel." Now, here's something I
think would be helpful. In the Hebrew language,
there is wordplay that we don't get in English. There's a play on words. In Hebrew, the word
Israel and Jezreel-- they sound a little bit
similar to us in English. But they're almost
identical in Hebrew. In Hebrew, [HEBREW]. And in Hebrew
[HEBREW] for Jezreel-- very similar in spelling,
very similar in sound. So it's a play on words. Notice this. Verse 5, "It shall come
to pass in that day that I will break
the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel." So God is going to take
Israel, the nation. And he's going to Jezreel them. He's going to scatter them. What does that mean? 722 BC-- the Assyrians will
take them and scatter them. Now, Assyrian strategy when
they took over a nation wasn't just to occupy the nation
but to displace the people. They would take people out
of a conquered country, send them into various other
countries they conquered, take all of those other
people from the countries they conquered, scatter them
all so that the Northern Kingdom of Israel eventually
had people scattered, sewn in with all
of the population so that the marriages would be
mixed and so that the strength of identity would be weakened. That was their strategy. And Israel was scattered
throughout the world. Verse 6, "She conceived
again and bore a daughter. And God said to
him, call her name Lo-ruhamah, which
means no mercy. For I will no longer have
mercy on the House of Israel. But I will utterly
take them away. Yet, I will have mercy
on the House of Judah"-- see how he makes the difference
between North and South. "I will save them by
the Lord, their God and will not save them by
bone, or by sword, or battle by horses or horsemen." Now, in verse 7,
that little word yet brings that glimmer of hope
not for Israel in the North, but for Judah in the South. Israel is going to be scattered. Yet, Judah, for
136 more years, is going to be preserved by God. They will not go into captivity. And when they do, it
won't be by the Assyrians. It will be by the Babylonians. 586 BC-- remember all
those dates we gave you. So this is a glimmer of hope
for the nation of Judah. "Yet, I will have mercy
on the House of Judah." Now, push the pause
button in your mind. Think back to our studies
in the Book of Isaiah. In chapter '37 of
Isaiah, the Assyrians had surrounded Jerusalem. And the King of Assyria
announced to Hezekiah, that King of Judah,
don't trust in your God. He's not going to save you. Every nation that thought
their gods could deliver them didn't work. You're dead meat, basically. So Sennacherib was the one
who made that announcement. You remember what Isaiah did? He tore his robe. He prayed. He grabbed Isaiah the prophet
and said, pray for us. Isaiah the prophet prayed. And then Isaiah said,
hey, because you turned to the Lord at this
time when the Assyrians were gathered and you
humbled yourself, God is going to spare
you, hence this prophecy. And for 136 years,
they were spared. Now, according to history,
Sennacherib, the ruler, heard rumblings of an issue
that happened on another front in Judah. So he moved he and
part of his army up to Lakash, where he heard
about the uprising going on there. When he was removed,
he kept some troops-- a lot of troops-- around Jerusalem still. Isaiah 37 says that
"An angel of the Lord went through the
camp of the Assyrians and killed in one night
185,000 Assyrians." So this brings weight to
the statement of Jesus in the Garden of
Gethsemane when he says, Peter, put your sword away, man. Don't you know that I could
call 12 legions of angels to take care of this little band
of merry men from the Romans? And now if one angel can
put out 185,000 enemy, imagine what 12
legions could do. It could destroy
everyone and everything. So God preserved Judah. Verse 8, "Now when she
had weaned Lo-ruhamah"-- by two or three years
after their birth, they were completely weaned
in that culture and that day-- "she conceived and bore a son. Then God said, call
his name Lo-ammi"-- which means not mine
or not my people-- "for you are not my people. And I will not be your God." Now you notice something before
the words of these names, lo dash ruhamah, lo dash amni. You read that? It's because the word
lo means no in Hebrew. If you go to Israel today,
somebody will say, can. That means yes. If somebody says lo, that
doesn't mean get down. It means no. So lo means no in Hebrew. It's also a negative prefix. So when you have that word
before a word, it negates it. So mercy is ruhamah or ru-hamah. And when do you want
to say no mercy-- lo ruhamah. If you want to say mine, amni. If you want to say
not mine, lo amni. It's not mine. So it's the negative,
that prefix, that turns the word around. Verse 10-- "Yet, the number of
the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea
which cannot be measured are numbered. And it shall come
to pass in the place where it was said to them,
you are not my people. There it shall be
said to them, you are sons of the living God." Now, there is another
yet you read in verse 10 like the one in verse 7,
another glimmer of hope, another array of mercy. Just when we think
there's no hope-- before the commercial
break, he turns. The story shifts-- yet. The number of the
children of Israel will be as the sand on the sea. There are two words in the
Bible that do this frequently. Here, the word yet-- but the words I'm thinking
are-- we did a whole series on this-- but God. Just when things get
really bad-- but God. Just when you thought there
was no hope-- but God. When that spouse was
unfaithful-- but God. When your finances were
dragging you down-- but God. You were going one
direction, but God did this. How many times
have you seen that? It's one of the
great transitions in Ephesians chapter
2, where Paul says, "You were
dead in trespasses and sins in which
you walked according to the course of this world. You were little children
of disobedience. But God in His great mercy and
love were with He loved us. And everything
changed after that." That's your testimony. You were who you were-- but God. And you could fill in the
blank and give the testimony. Chapter 2, verse 1, "Say to
your brethren, amni, my people and to your sisters, ruhamah. Mercy is shown." Now, again, you see how that
negative prefix is dropped? They take the lo off. And it changes
the whole meaning. God is saying, I am going
to change your status. I'm going to take the negative
prefix off your condition and make it positive. Now, the reason I'm
dwelling on this is because, too
often, God is accused of taking your fun away. Oh, he's so negative. Who would want to follow
Jesus Christ, man? There's no fun in that. He takes all the
fun out of life. No, you've got it wrong. Sin gives you the
negative consequences. Jesus comes and deals
with those things and adds life, adds positivity. So I like to say, medical
research, medical science can add years to your
life, but only Jesus can add life to your years. He takes the lo away,
the no away and says, you are my people. You are sons of the living God. Now, through chapter 2-- and
we're just going to skim this-- we get woven in these
predictions from abandonment-- God abandoning his people
in the short term-- to God restoring his people
in the long run eventually. So verse 13, "I
will punish her." Look at verse 14. "I will allure her." Go down to verse 19. "I will betroth
you to me forever." See, there's that
weaving together of I'm going to punish you, but
I'm going to bring you back. Again, verse 19 and 20, "I
will betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me
in righteousness and justice, in loving kindness and mercy. I will betroth you to
me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord." The two versus that
I just read to you are the two verses that every
orthodox Jewish male recites when he wraps around his
hand the phylacteries, that little box with
the scriptures in it. When he does that, he
recites these two versus. He has them memorized. And he recites this. I will betroth you. I will betroth you. I will betroth. The reason I love these verses
is because they are relational. They are not religious. The term betrothal-- man,
that's intimate, right? I'm going to engage
you to myself. And I believe this
represents the heart of God through his prophet. The relationship God wants
with you is one of intimacy. He doesn't want it far off. He doesn't want a religious, I
go to church, I say my prayers. He wants it real, man. He wants it relational. Like young lovers
engaged, they can't wait to be with each other. I'll betroth you, engage you. My wife Lenya has
a great story when she was in youth with a
mission, where, one night, she decided to spend
the night, the evening, to spend dinner with Jesus. She told me this story. When I first heard
it, I thought, really? How do you do that exactly? I was interested. That got my attention. She said, so I cooked dinner. I lit candles. I sat in a chair. The other chair was empty. And as I ate dinner, I
did it as unto the Lord. And I just poured out
my heart to the Lord like we were having
an intimate meal. And I thought, what
a beautiful gesture. She captured the
idea of relationship. And it's interesting,
a few months after that when she moved from
Hawaii back to the mainland, I picked her up at the airport. And then maybe it was that
night, a couple of nights later, I was at her house. And I said to her these words. I was getting all romantic. And I said, Lenya, I love you. And she looked at me. And she goes, thank you. [LAUGHTER] Not the response
I was hoping for. I mean, usually the protocol
is, I love you, too. But she didn't say that. She just said-- and she did it
very deliberately-- she goes, thank you. And so I went away home. I went, oh, man. That just did not
go well at all. I bombed tonight. The next day, I'm at work at
Westminster Community Hospital in the radiology department. They page me. They say there's a call
from somebody named Lenya. I picked up the phone. And she said, I love you, too. Now, the reason
I didn't tell you last night is because I needed
to ask Jesus if it was OK if I said, I love you, too. Because He is my first love. And I wanted to make sure I
don't commit my love to you unless He said it was OK. And He did. So I love you, too. And I thought, again, that's
the idea of relationship. I have a relationship
of love with Jesus. We are betrothed. We are engaged. I don't want to have anything
step in the way of that. Well, chapter 3--
one commentator called the greatest
chapter in the Bible, because it portrays the
greatest story in the Bible. It's the story of redemption. It's a prediction
of restoration. But I love the word redemption. Remember that was a word we used
Sunday in the Book of Romans, redemption? And I said it's a term
from the slave market-- always has been-- Old and New Testament--
has its roots in slavery. So in the Greek language,
redemption is exagorazo. Ex means out of. And agorazo refers
to the marketplace. And agora in ancient
Greece was a market. So you go to the agora. You go to the market
to buy your vegetables. You go to the agora
to conduct business. So exagorazo means out
of the marketplace. So redemption has its root
in an ancient slave market. And the idea is you're
shackled by sin. And Jesus pays the price
and buys you out of that. So, so far in Hosea's
marriage to Gomer-- Gomer the gogo girl-- there has been betrothal,
marriage, adultery, estrangement, and
now restoration. Chapter 3, verse 1, "Then the
Lord said to me, go again. Go again and love a woman
who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery
just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel
who go to other gods and love the raisin
cakes of the pagans." It's part of their ritual. "So I bought her." That's redemption. I exagorazo. I bought her out
of the marketplace. "I bought her for myself for 15
shekels of silver and 1 and 1/2 homers off barley." Do not think of The Simpsons
here when you read homers. It is a measurement of weight
and substance in antiquity. 15 shekels or 15
pieces of silver was the going rate
for a female slave. By the way, if you
remember back in Leviticus, 30 pieces of silver-- not 15-- was the rate for a
slave who was gored by an ox. That's what you had to pay. And I bring that up,
because Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. "And I said to her"-- verse 3-- "you shall stay
with me many days. But you shall not play
the harlot, nor shall you have a man. So, too, I will be toward you." In other words, sweetie,
I'm committed to you. I want you to be as committed
to me as I am to you. I'm buying you back. I'm redeeming you and rescuing
you out of the street. So I'm loving you. I want you to show that
same love and respect. "For the children of Israel
shall abide many days without king or prince, without
sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod"--
that is the tire of the high priest by which he
would discern the will of God-- "or teraphim." Now, teraphim were little
gods that, in their idolatry, they brought into their homes. So the point of this
verse is, for a long time, you're not going to have any
access to any answers at all that you're seeking. "Afterward, the
children of Israel shall return and seek
the Lord, their God, and David, their king. They shall fear the Lord and his
goodness in the latter days." Now, this happens to
be, in my opinion, one of the great prophetic
pronouncements in scripture. Notice the phrase many days. Verse 4, "Israel will abide
many days without king, prince, without sacrifice, cetera." Many days is unusual. Why do I say that? Because typically,
God is very precise. Let me give you an example. Three times in the
Bible, God told Israel they would be out of the land. And the first two times,
he was extremely exact. So God told Abraham
that his descendants are going to be taken away
into a land for 430 years, which they. They were in Egypt as
slaves for that long. God told Jeremiah the
prophet that the people would go into
captivity in Babylon for 70 years-- very exact. So typically, God is
very exact when he talks about these kinds of judgments. Here is just says, many days-- many days without a king. Now, today, Israel is
back in their land. But they have not had
a king since Zedekiah-- 2,500 years. It has been many days
without king, without prince. You say, well, what about Jesus? Sure, he came into his own. But his own received him not. They rejected him. They crucified him. They did not receive
him as their king. Even though pilot correctly
announced on the cross, this is the king of the
Jews, Jesus has never occupied that position. He will when he comes
back the second time. It has been many days-- 2,500 years or thereabouts--
that Israel has dealt without king, without prince. They haven't had a sacrifice
on that altar since 78 AD, fulfilling this scripture. But do you know that,
though in Jerusalem there is a king-less throne, do you
know that, in heaven tonight, there is a throne-less
king named Jesus? And one day, the throne-less
king and the king-less throne will be brought together. And when that happens,
glory will fill the Earth. It is the prediction made
by Isiah the prophet. It's familiar to you, because we
put it in our Christmas cards-- for unto us, a child is born. Unto us, a son is given. "The government will
be on his shoulder. His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his
government and peace, there will be no end
upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to order it
and establish it with judgment and justice from that
time forth, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of
hosts will perform this." That time, when those two
factors come together-- throne-less king,
king-less throne-- glory will cover the Earth. Now, Hosea chapter 4
is a brand new section. The first three were personal. The last 11 or public. This brings us to the third
swath of the Book of Hosea. And that is the nation
of Israel, the fickleness of that Northern Kingdom. Isaiah brings charges
against Israel. Think of Hosea as God's
lawyer, God's prosecutor. He marches into the courtroom
like this last weekend we saw Paul the Apostle
doing in Romans chapter 3. Here Hosea marches into the
courtroom and list the charges. And the charges are as follows,
number one, apathy, number two, uncertainty, and
number three, idolatry. I want you to notice them all. When I say apathy, I mean they
stopped growing spiritually, because they stopped loving
to learn the things of God. Chapter 4, verse 1, "Hear
the word of the Lord, you children of
Israel, for the Lord brings the charge against
the inhabitants of the land. There is no truth, or mercy, or
knowledge of God in the land." Verse 6, "My people
are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because
you have rejected knowledge." Three times, that
word is mentioned. "I will also reject you
from being priest for me. Because you have forgotten
the law of your God, I will also forget
your children." God tells them they
have rejected knowledge. My people are destroyed
for lack of knowledge. Be careful. Be careful, as Christians,
of what I can only describe as an
anti-learning sentiment, an anti-intellectual sentiment. It seems to be very popular
among Christians these days. Well, we don't care
so much about what we know in terms of doctrine. We care about how we feel. And we care about--
we love the Lord. It's not about what you know. OK, I understand that. But you have to know
certain basic truths so that your love can find
full vent and full fruition. You and I need to be instructed
in the things of God. Jesus said, learn of me. Peter said, grow in the
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. So the key is to give
yourself to Bible study. But then convert your
knowledge about God that you learn into knowledge
of God on a personal basis so that you go from
learning to take those principles of learning
into your relationship, betrothal. Learn, and then with
that learning, grow. So there is a great book
out called Knowing God. It was out, I think, in
1972 or something that. I bought it in '73
or '74, maybe '76. I get my dates messed up-- J.I. Packer. And he said in his book this. I wanted to share this with you. "Whenever we embark
on any line of study in God's holy book, we
need to ask ourselves, what is my ultimate aim
and object in occupying my mind with these things? What do I intend to do
with my knowledge about God once I have gotten it? For if we pursue theological
knowledge for its own sake, it's bound to go bad on us. It will make us
proud and conceited. The very greatness
of the subject matter will intoxicate us." But then he goes on to say,
"but if you pursue knowledge and then you convert
your knowledge about God into knowledge of God on a
personal level, you'll grow." The thing about Israel--
hence, this indictment-- they didn't care. They didn't want to learn. They didn't want to
learn, because they didn't want to grow spiritually. They had lost their
spiritual appetite. So apathy is charge number one. Second charge,
uncertainty-- see, they didn't know
what the future held. They didn't want to trust God. So they decided, let's
trust other nations and form alliances
with them to protect us against the big, bad Assyrians. So look at chapter 5, verse 13. "When Ephraim saw
his sickness"-- that is the Northern Kingdom-- "and Judas saw his wound,
then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jerub. Yet, he cannot cure you nor
heal you of your wound." Look at chapter 7, verse 8. "Ephraim has mixed
himself among the peoples. Ephraim is a cake unturned." Imagine cooking pancakes
tomorrow morning. You cook it on one side. And you don't flip
it to the other side. You take it out. So one side is hot. The other side
isn't cold anymore. It's just sort of
lukewarm and gooey-- a half-turned pancake. Ephraim is a half-cooked,
half-baked pancake. Jesus said to the
Church of Laodicea, "I wish you were hot or
cold but not lukewarm." I want you hot. That's how I prefer you. Or I want you cold,
so I can convict you. If you're hot, I can use you. If you're cold, at least I
can convict you and get you back to a heated state. But if you're lukewarm, I'm
going to just spit you out of my mouth. Sort of like tea-- I love hot tea, and
I love cold tea. But lukewarm tea-- [SPITS] Ephraim is a half-baked
pancake, a cake unturned. Charge number three, idolatry-- in chapter 4-- I'm kind of
bringing you around a few different places-- verse 17, it says, "Ephraim
is joined to idols. Let him alone." For God to say, let him
alone, indicates that he's determined to judge them. Judah has a chance. Israel does not. I mentioned a few
weeks ago on a Sunday that one of the indications
that God is judging is when he lets us
have what we want. He turns us over to our desires. Ephraim is joined to his idols. What the Northern Kingdom
did is they paid lip service and tipped their hat
to the God of Israel. But they also brought in
other religious systems and other belief systems
and and mixed beliefs, gods, and goddesses with
Yahweh, the God of Israel. It's a practice
known as synchrotism. And because of that, they
diluted the pure worship of God. But for God to
say, let him alone, indicates I have resigned
myself to judge them. That's why-- as I've
mentioned before, but I'll just
touch on it again-- I get very concerned
about our country. Because although people
say, you better watch out. God's going to judge
America if we don't turn. I think he already has
begun the judgment. I think he's turning
us over to what one news commentator called-- we're now in
late-stage decadence. And if you look at what
people are arguing about, nobody would even consider
some of the policies that some are offering-- 20, 30 years ago, they
wouldn't even be discussed. So, you want that? You can have it. Let him alone. Chapter 5, verse 1,
"Hear this, o priest. Take heed, o House of Israel. Give ear, O House of the King. For yours is the
judgment, because you have been a snare to Mizpah. It's all in the Northern Kingdom
east of the Jordan River-- and a net spread on Tabor"-- That is the prominent mountain
in the north that you will see. We will point it out to you
when you go to Israel with us-- 12 miles southwest of
the Sea of Galilee. Now, chapter 8, 9,
and 10, the prophet predicts judgment
on this nation. Let's look at a few verses. Chapter 8, verse 3, "Israel
has rejected the good." Ever heard of Jerome? Jerome, the scholar who
translated the Bible from Greek into Latin, translated this. Israel has rejected
the God who is good. I think that really captures it. Israel has rejected
the God who is good. The enemy will pursue him. Verse 7, chapter 8,
"They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stock has no bud. It shall never produce meal. If it should produce,
aliens would swallow it up." Chapter 9, verse 7, "The
days of punishment have come. The days of
recompense have come. Israel knows." Go down to verse
17 in chapter 9. "My God will cast them away,
because they did not obey Him. And they shall be wanderers
among the nations." Today Israel is back
in their land, sort of. Since 1948, they've been
back in their land, sort of. Actually, the Jewish
people have wandered since the Assyrians took the
Northern Kingdom in 722 BC. There are, today, living
in the land of Israel about 8.6 million Jews. There are 8.6 million
Jews living, also, in the United States of America
and a couple million scattered around the rest of the
nations of the world. So they're there in part
but not in totality. One day, He will bring them
totally back and restore them-- and you and I along with them. Chapter 10, verse 14,
"Therefore a tumult shall arise among your people. And all your fortresses
shall be plundered as shall man
plundered Beth-Arbel in the day of battle,
a mother dashed in pieces upon her children." Verse 15, "Then it shall be
done to you, oh, Beth-El. Because of your
great wickedness, at dawn, the King of Israel
shall be cut off utterly." Now, just quick note
about these places-- Beth-Arbel is a
prominent mountain right by the Sea of Galilee. Again, remind me, and I'll
pointed out to you when we're at the Sea of Galilee. You can see the Arbel. Anybody who has been to Israel
knows that prominent mountain. It's where the winds
come through and churn up the Sea of Galilee. Beth-Arbel was a place
a very famous battle where the Assyrians
attacked Israel. So they're making
a reference to it. Beth-El was the center of the
Northern Kingdom when it split. Now, notice he says,
you've sown to the wind. You're going to
reap the whirlwind. There is a law of the harvest. It's called you
reap what you sow. It comes to us also in the
Book of Galatians, chapter 6. "Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows,
that will he also reap. If he sows to the flesh, he's
going to reap corruption. If he sows to the
spirit, he's going to reap everlasting life." In a nutshell, that
is the spiritual law of sowing and reaping. Whatever you plant,
it's going to grow. If you plant bad stuff,
bad stuff's going to grow. If you plant good stuff,
good stuff is going to grow. Here's the deal about the
law of sowing and reaping. It's never equal. That is, what you reap
isn't exactly what you sow. Because typically, you
reap far more than you sow. If you have a handful of seed,
you throw it into a field, you won't get a
handful of produce. You'll get bushels
full of produce. You will reap far more than you
have sown in terms of quantity. So if you sow to
the flesh, you're going to get buckets
of corruption. If you sow to the spirit, you'll
get more than you put down. You'll get fruit that
abounds to your account. That's why it makes
sense to serve the Lord. Because you sow a little
bit of your seed-- you say, well, I don't have much. That's all you need. Jesus took a few loaves and
fishes and fed a multitude. Let him take your life
and feed a multitude. Chapter 11 through 14
is the last section. It's about a faithful God. And let me split it up this way. Chapter 11 is about a faithful
God and a runaway child. That's the analogy. Chapters 12 and 13 is
about a faithful God and a rebellious teenager. The kid grows up. In chapter 14, there's
the faithful God and a restored adult.
That is the language that is used in these chapters. Now, back in chapter
3, God's love was typified by the love
of a husband and a wife. Now it's a father and a child. Chapter 11, verse 1,
"When Israel was a child, I loved him. And out of Egypt,
I called my son. And they called them. So they went from them. They sacrificed to the
bales and burned incense to carved images. I taught Ephraim to walk"-- and you can hear the
love of a father-- "taking them by their arms. But they did not know
that I healed them. I drew them with gentle
chords, with bands of love. And I was to them as those who
take the yoke from their neck. I stooped. And I fed them." Notice the language. Again, relational but of
a father loving a child-- not dragging your child,
not kicking your child, prodding your child,
drawing your child. It's interesting. I have seen over
the years these kind of leashes that
parents will sometimes wear with their children. Have you seen them? They're elastic. They go out to a certain
point, but then they don't go any further. And the child feels the tug. And the tug brings them
back to the father. It might look a little weird
like they're walking their dog. But actually, I've
come to realize those are chords of love. That's a parent loving his child
to give a little bit of freedom but not too much
to get in trouble and to bounce back when
you're at the end of it. But verse 7, "My people are
bent on backsliding from me. Though they call to the most
high, none at all exalt him." Let's go now to
chapters 12 and 3. The child now grows up
to a rebellious teenager. Some of you can relate to that. I was one. Chapter 12, verse 1, "Ephraim,
the Northern Kingdom, feeds on the wind and
pursues the east wind. He daily increases
lies and desolation. Also, they make a covenant
with the Assyrians. And oil is carried to Egypt." They're trying to buy
the favor of Egypt to keep them protected. Verse 3, "He took his brother
by the heel in the womb." Remember Genesis 25? Little Jacob was grabbing. He saw his heel. "And in his strength,
he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with
the angel and prevailed." That's Genesis 32. That's the history
of the nation. "He wept and sought
favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel. And there he spoke to us." Chapter 14-- last chapter-- is the restored adult. Verse 1,
"Oh, Israel, return to the Lord your God for you have stumbled
because of your iniquity." Now, throughout this book,
Hosea doesn't pull any punches. He calls what they
have done sin. He uses the term iniquity. He calls it backsliding. He calls it what it is. Why? Because you need to know
your condition before you can get healed of it. You need to know
what the problem is. 1 John, chapter 1, verse 8,
"If we say we have no sin, we lie and do not
practice the truth." Verse 9, "If we confess
our sin, He is faithful, and just to forgive
our sin, and cleanse us from all in righteousness." So, like a good lawyer
or a good doctor, he's saying to the
patient, your condition is sin and equity backsliding. Here's the solution-- verse 2. "Take words with you,
and return to the Lord." That is, when you talk to
God, be specific about what you're confessing. Lord, I think I've blown it. How? What exactly are you confessing? "Say to Him, take
away all iniquity. Receive us graciously,
for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips." Verse 4, "I will heal." They're backsliding. "I will love them freely"-- that is, without their cause-- "for my anger is
turned away from Him. I will be like
the dew to Israel. He shall grow up like the
lily and lengthen his roots like Lebanon." Verse 6, "His
branches will spread. His beauty will be
like an olive tree, His fragrance like Lebanon." That is, they'll be a delight. Interesting thing about
cologne or perfume-- it has absolutely no utilitarian
use, but it's delightful. [SNIFFS] Ah. You smell good. Some of you put too much on. But generally, when you
put a hint of it on-- oh, you smell good. It's than BO. [LAUGHTER] And so God is saying, not
only will you be useful, but you'll be a delight to me. I'll love being around you. [SNIFFS] Ah, you smell great. Verse 8, "Ephraim
will say, what have I to do anymore with idols? I have heard and observed Him. I am like a green cypress tree. Your fruit is found in me." "Who is wise?" Verse 9, "Let him
understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them, for the
ways of the Lord are right. The righteous walk in them, but
transgressors stumble in them." Now, as we close the book,
think of your own life. Think of the times that
the Lord warned you. I know I can think
of several times when God tries to get
my attention and say, you've got to watch this. You've got to turn from this. You've got to pivot from this. So think of your car. You drive down the street. A light comes on that
says you need service. Check oil. You can do one of two things. You can stop, check
the oil, take it in. Or you could carry with you in
the glove box a little hammer. And when you drive and that
little emergency light goes on, just take the hammer
and smash it in. Break the light. You've solved the problem. It's not warning you. You're fine for now-- but not for long. So when the Holy Spirit
warns you and warns me, hey, take heed,
take note, instead of carrying the little
hammer and pushing Him away, take heed to the warning light. Every prophet sent to Israel
was a warning light for them to repent. Now, unfortunately-- and I'll
get off my horse and pray after this-- not this being my
horse, my high horse. [LAUGHTER] Repentance is a very
unpopular topic these days. A lot of preachers do not
want to talk about repentance. They'd rather talk about how
to have your best life now, and how to feel
good, and smile well. And that's about it. But do you know that repentance
was the very first message John the Baptist ever preached? And do you know that repentance
was the very first message that our Savior Jesus
Christ preached? And do you know that,
in that lovely sermon, the Sermon on the
Mount, Jesus said, blessed are those who mourn. They will be comforted. I think, among believers, there
needs to be a little more holy mourning. There used to be a
holy laughter movement. There needs to be a
holy mourning movement, where we recover, we
recapture the holy character of the living God. And we exalt Him. And we turn from those things
God is telling us to turn from. Amen. Father, we pray that your spirit
would not stop warning us. For you said in your word,
he who covers his sins will not prosper. But he who confesses and
forsakes them will find mercy. One of the key themes in
this book-- ruhamah, mercy. Lord, I pray that we
would be your people, and we would act
like your people. You've redeemed us
from the slave market. You purchased us. You valued us. You bought us. So we now belong to you. And I pray, Father, that
our lives would glorify you in Jesus' name. Amen. [MUSIC PLAYING] We hope you enjoyed this message
from Skip Heitzig of Calvary Church. For more resources,
visit calvarynm.church. Thank you for joining
us for this teaching from "The Bible
from 30,000 Feet."
