|
We're going to
take a broad overview of the book of Hosea tonight, the first of the twelve
minor prophets listed in the scriptures following the book of Daniel. We're
going to see the message that Hosea had for his people and in his time could be
pretty well directed to our society in today's time. However, you will
encounter some who say that the scriptures, or try to claim that the scriptures,
do not apply to us today. They say the scriptures were written a long time ago
for people a long time ago and not for people today. Some have said that too
much has changed over time and so the scriptures no longer apply today. They
say the scriptures are a good basic guideline of a moral code, more or less, and
they give some good ideas, but as for actually being an authoritative and
binding upon us today, some try to say that the scriptures are not. But of
course, we know that that simply is not the case.
As a matter of
fact, if you will now hold your place in the book of Hosea, we will be coming
back there in just a moment. But if you go to the book of Jude -- which Jude
being a very short book, one chapter only -- notice, in verse 3, it says,
"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation,
it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should
earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."
Now, the grammar
in the Greek sheds some more light upon that particular verse and its true
meaning. At the end of the verse, in the King James version, it says, "...[and]
ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the
saints." The grammar that is used in the Greek there indicates that it was
"...once for all time delivered unto the saints."
So we see that
the scriptures never lose their relevance. They never lose their authority.
But the truth of the word, the scriptures, were delivered once for all time.
We have the completed revelation of God's word here at our fingertips, and it
will last forever and it will apply forever until Jesus returns.
In II Peter
Chapter 1 -- II Peter Chapter 1 verse 21-- we find the scriptures came to us
through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It says, in II Peter 1:21, "For the
prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." And so we see that the holy
scriptures were authored by God, not by mankind. And God, certainly, in His
wisdom and His intelligence, could certainly deliver the message that would
stand for all time. That's exactly what Peter wrote in his first letter, in I
Peter 1:25 -- I Peter 1:25 -- "But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And
this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."
So we see holy
men spake the words of God -- we have those recorded for us -- as they were
guided by the Holy Spirit. The truth that then was revealed will stand
forever. It is the faith that was, once and for all time, delivered, the faith
that we are to follow, the truth that we are to strive to live according to and
the truth that can set us free, and will set us free, from the condemnation of
sin as long as we live in obedience. So yes, the Word of God still applies
today.
But some say that
it is not very beneficial to spend time in the Old Testament scriptures, because
the Old Testament law was done away with and we are no longer bound to it. But
as we've mentioned on several occasions, in Romans Chapter 15, in verse 4, that
"...whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning...."
And we can learn so much from the Old Testament scriptures and the concepts in
the way that God deals with his people and what God expects of His people. And
over and over and over, we see the grace and the mercy of God extended to His
people, the fact that God is a very patient God, and the fact that God expects
and demands for His people to follow His instructions. When people stray away
from His instructions, they suffer the consequences, and those consequences are
not good.
But when people
choose to obey God and strive to follow after Him, they are rewarded for doing
so. And so we're going to find that also this evening in the book of Hosea.
But again, Hosea here is speaking to the northern kingdom of Israel. Now, he
also has a couple of bits of information for the southern kingdom of Judah also,
but concentrates primarily on the northern kingdom of Israel. But I believe
that, upon a study of the book of Hosea, that Hosea could deliver the exact same
message to the United States of America, and so let's keep that in mind, and
that thought in mind, as we go through this book.
Let's start in
Chapter 1 -- Hosea Chapter 1 verse 1. It says, "The word of the Lord that came
unto Hosea...." Notice that this happened -- and it lists the kings that were
then ruling or the times of the kings in which Hosea wrote, and we see that it
lists both kings of Israel and of Judah. So as already mentioned, Hosea is
writing at a time in which the kingdom had been split in two, and he had the
northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.
Notice in verse
2, and he had "The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord
said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms:
for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord."
And so we see
that Hosea was told to go out and take a wife of whoredoms, Gomer. And then the
relationship that he had with her would represent God's relationship with his
people. And the fact that Hosea was to take someone who was an adulteress shows
that God's people were committing spiritual adultery.
Anytime people
stray from keeping God's commandments, they are violating the covenant that they
have with Him, the agreement that they have with Him, and are guilty of
spiritual adultery. But as was the case here with Hosea and his relationship
with Gomer, that God also is willing to take those who are guilty of spiritual
adultery and to accept them back, to welcome them back, to forgive them of their
wrongs and their sins and restore that relationship that He has with them. And
so that is an important part of the book of Hosea and, again, represents God's
relationship with His people. In so doing, this shows that God is a
compassionate God and a very, very patient God.
We see that there
were children that were born into this relationship, if you go to verse 4.
"And the Lord
said unto him" -- unto Hosea -- "Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little
while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and
will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
"(5) And it shall
come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of
Jezreel.
"(6) And she
conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her
name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I
will utterly take them away.
"(7) But I will
have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God,
and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by
horsemen.
"(8) Now when she
had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.
"(9) Then said
God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not
be your God."
Now, there is
great significance in the names of these children. For instance, the first son,
Jezreel, according to Strong's Concordance, literally means 'God will
sow.' and we see that explanation there in verse 4: God says he will avenge
the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and so God would sow vengeance
if the people did not repent and turn back to Him.
We see the
daughter, Loruhamah, her name literally meaning 'not hidden.' And the
explanation goes on to say, there in verse 6, "...for I will no longer have
mercy upon the house of Israel."
Also then, in the
third son, his name literally meaning 'not my people,' and we see the
explanation for that there in verse 9, "...and I will not be your God."
And before that, He said, "...ye are not my people...."
So the idea is
this, in the message that was being delivered through the very names of the
children of Hosea, was that God would sow vengeance upon His people. He
would punish them in not showing mercy upon them and would not consider them His
people... if they did not turn back to Him.
And throughout
the book of Hosea we see many warnings that are given to the people, that they
would suffer difficult situations and consequences, that they would desolated by
an enemy, they would be carried away by that enemy... if they did not repent.
However, within
the book of Hosea, we also find a message of hope. And as it was through all of
the prophets, even if condemnation is announced and punishment is foretold of
things to come, there is always, still, intertwined within that message, the
message of hope. And we find that in Chapter 1, in verse 10. After giving the
names of the children and the meaning of those names, verse 10 says, "Yet the
number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot
be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place
where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said
unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
"(11) Then shall
the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and
appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great
shall be the day of Jezreel."
And so we see
that there was hope to come in the future. And we see that they would have, the
descendants would have, the opportunity to be considered the sons of the living
God. If you'll hold your place here in Hosea and go over to John Chapter 1 --
John Chapter 1 -- again, in the book of Hosea, the message that the people had
left God and turned away into sinfulness, and God would allow them to go. And
He was no longer going to protect them and keep them as His own people. But
again, he says, But there is coming a day when not only will you be able to
be considered My people, but you will be considered sons of the living God.
In John Chapter
1, in the message of Jesus being sent upon this earth, notice in verse 11, "He
came unto his own, and his own received him not.
"(12) But as many
as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name."
Now, in order to
be considered a son of God, we need to do just as the people that Hosea was
writing to needed to do: separate themselves from the ways of sin and follow in
obedience to God. That is the exact same thing that we are to do today. In II
Corinthians Chapter 6, in verse 17, the message is this.
"(17) Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing; and I will receive you,
"(18) And will be
a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord
Almighty."
So if we come out
from among them, from those who live in sin, the sinful ways of the world, and
we come to obedience to God, God will accept us, He will adopt us, and He will
consider us His children.
And as we looked
at in the lesson this morning, to conclude the lesson in Galatians Chapter 3: 26
through 29, as children of God, we have an inheritance that awaits us. And what
a blessing that is, to be considered a child of Almighty God in heaven.
As a matter of
fact, that's what exactly what John wrote in I John Chapter 3, in verse 1, when
he said, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it
knew him not."
So it is a
privilege and it is an honor to be considered a child of God, and that is the
opportunity that we all have since Jesus came to this earth to serve as a
sacrifice for our sins.
Let's go back in
the book of Hosea and see how the message for yesterday, and yesteryear and
years gone by, still applies to today. First of all, as we've already
mentioned, the people were all guilty of spiritual adultery. This nation, as a
whole, is guilty of spiritual adultery. We have forgotten our commitment to
God, our responsibilities and our accountability to God. And because of that,
many people in this world and in this nation have lost sight of God and have
gone in pursuing the material things, the worldly things and things of sin and
have completely left God out of the equation.
But we see, in
Hosea Chapter 4, a verse that speaks volumes. (Hosea 4:6) It says, "My people
are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I
will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast
forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."
"My people are
destroyed for lack of knowledge...." Many people in this country are headed for
destruction... eternal destruction, because they lack knowledge: knowledge of
the truth of God's word, knowledge of His will for mankind, and knowledge of
what we must do to live in obedience. But not only do they not have that
knowledge, they rejected that knowledge, they do not want that knowledge, they
do not seek after that knowledge. Notice what God said, "...[B]ecause thou hast
rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee...." Many people are going to
stand, upon the judgment day, and be rejected by God because they rejected the
knowledge of the truth.
Earlier in that
chapter, in verse 1, it says, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel:
for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because
there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land."
Hear the word.
That's what this nation needs, they need to hear the word of God. But it says
here that God had a controversy, that word 'controversy' meaning 'an
issue,' a 'suit,' against the people. And I'm sure the same could be said today
of the nation that we're a part of. Because there is no truth. Nor is there
mercy. Nor knowledge of God. Truth has lost its value in today's society.
Instead of standing for truth and trying to uphold truth, we try to justify the
law and hide the wrong and try to get away with it. There's no longer mercy.
As a whole, we have lost our compassion, one for another.
Following the
terrorists' attacks in New York, on TV interviews on the news, I heard several
New York citizens say it was amazing that day: in the days to follow, people
actually talked to each other. That was unusual... for folks even to talk to
one another, let alone care for one another, let alone have mercy and compassion
for one another and try to do good for each other. You see, as a whole, we've
lost our mercy. And we certainly have lost the knowledge of God. And again,
because of that lack of knowledge, many people are destroyed.
If you go to
Proverbs Chapter 1 -- Proverbs Chapter 1 -- in the very beginning of the book of
Proverbs -- of course, the book of Proverbs is loaded with wonderful gems of
wisdom. And notice, one of the early bits of information, advice, that is
revealed for us in Proverbs 1, in verse 7. "The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Knowledge begins -- true knowledge, good knowledge, beneficial knowledge --
begins with the fear of the Lord. Not that we're afraid of Him, that we hide
from Him or we shirk away from doing His duties. That not the case. It is that
we have great respect and awe and reverence for God. That is where knowledge is
to begin. And this country needs to remember that.
In Hosea Chapter
5, in verse 15 -- Hosea 5:15 -- it says, "I will go and return to my
place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their
affliction they will seek me early." Notice that, "I will go... to my place,
till they acknowledge their offence...."
We, as
individuals and as a nation as a whole, need to remember that it is important to
acknowledge wrong. Yes, we all make mistakes and we all do things that are
wrong at one time or another. When that happens, we need to face up to that
wrong. We need to own up to it and stand up to it and correct it and move on.
But unfortunately, many times, people try to justify the wrong and try to hide
the wrong. And again, we've had, from our leaders of this country downward,
that trend taking place.
In Ezra Chapter
9, in verse 6, there is a description that is given that I believe fits this
nation as a whole very well. In Ezra 9:6, "And said, O my God, I am ashamed and
blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over
our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens."
Don't get me
wrong. I still enjoy living in the United States of America, and I am still
glad to be in the United States. But I think it's past time that we in this
country realized that we have some trends that are heading in the wrong
direction, and this country is not the great country that it used to be morally
and that we need to restore that, we need to strive to correct that, to uphold
the truths and the morals that we should. And I believe, in this day and age,
that our country is falling way short in that particular area, and I do think
that we can say our inequities are increased over our head and our trespass
has grown up unto the heavens. Think of the topics of homosexuality and
abortion and the things that are happening with just those two topics in today's
society. And you turn on the TV, and your basic programming is loaded with all
types of things and lifestyles that are unacceptable in the sight of God that
are being shown as acceptable alternate lifestyles. And the list goes on and
on.
But if you turn
to Jeremiah Chapter 6 -- Jeremiah Chapter 6 -- we find a statement that I think
applies very well to our country today. In Jeremiah Chapter 6 verse 15, "Were
they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all
ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that
fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the
Lord."
We need to
acknowledge our wrongdoings, and in so doing, we should be ashamed of our
wrongdoings and we should have the ability to blush. But anymore in this
county, I'm afraid that we have lost our ability to blush. We have been
desensitized to sin far too much, and because of that, many times we are not
ashamed for the things that we should be ashamed of and we do not blush for the
things that we should blush about. And that was the problem in the days of
Hosea and the times of the other prophets, and it still serves to be a problem
today.
If you go to
Hosea Chapter 7, in verse 2 -- Hosea 7:2 -- "And they consider not in their
hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset
them about; they are before my face." Notice that, "...they consider not in
their hearts that I remember their wickedness...."
My grandma, not
too awful long ago, looked at me and she said, "Richard, it seems the people
have forgotten that some day they are going to stand in judgement before God,
and it seems they have forgotten that God has an awful good memory."
And that is the
case. That was the case here. People were living as if God would forgive, He
would not remember their wickedness, would not hold them accountable and
responsible to it, and the way people live their lives today, that must be the
case. It must be that people don't want to take the time and give the thought
to the fact that they will stand in judgment someday. And they're going to have
to give answer for the way they lived their lives and the decisions that they
make. And I shake and tremble for those people, for many people, who will have
to try to give an answer when there will be no answer to give. We need to
remember that, yes, we will stand in judgment.
In Hebrews 10
verse 31, a passage that many are familiar with, "It is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God." Again, that was verse 31, but let's consider
verse 30, Hebrews Chapter 10 verse 30.
"For we know him
that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the
Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people."
We will be
judged. There is no doubt about that. There are no exceptions. Nobody will be
left out of that judgment, not one single person. We all will be judged. Every
person that lives within this country will be judged. And God does not forgive
our inequities unless they are washed away by the blood, unless they are washed
away by the blood of Christ. But if we will respond in obedience to the gospel,
the blood of Christ will cleanse us from those sins, will wash them away, and
God will forgive and forget those inequities. But that is the only manner and
that is the only avenue in which that is available. If we do not take advantage
of that opportunity, we will stand in judgment in the condemnation of our sins.
If you go to
Hosea Chapter 8 and verse 4, it says, "They have set up kings, but not by me:
they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have
they made them idols, that they may be cut off."
Notice that,
of their silver and their gold have they made idols. Well, in today's age,
silver and gold has become the idol: money.
As Paul wrote to
Timothy, in I Timothy Chapter 6 verse 10, "The love of money is the root of all
evil." And when it comes to sinful ways of this country, we can trace it right
back to the dollar. And unfortunately, so many people are putting their
priorities in the material things of this world, in obtaining more of the
money. When I was in banking, I saw that so much. I saw people wrecking their
lives, destroying their lives, making themselves absolutely miserable. Why?
Because all they had in their eyes, all they could see in front of them were
their dollar signs, and they'd do anything it took to get more and more of those
dollar signs and sacrificed the things that were most important in their lives.
In Hosea Chapter
12 verse 8 -- Hosea 12:8 -- it says, "And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I
have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none
iniquity in me that were sin."
Notice the
attitude there, yet I am become rich. This nation is extremely rich.
Yes, our economy is facing some difficult times at this time, completely and
very much exaggerated in the media. And that usually is the case, but notice,
if anything happens financially, that is the emphasis. The media is right there
on it, and they will not let you forget. When the stock market first started to
go down, people in this country were thinking the nation was falling and
crumbling around them, because the media focused so much on those activities.
And yes, we are in a down cycle in the economy. It will turn around eventually;
it's the business cycles.
But notice how
much attention it gets when it's the economy that faces struggle. When it's the
morals of the country that face trouble, we don't hear much about it. When it's
the sinfulness of the people that is getting us into trouble, we hear very, very
little about it. But if the economy faces some trouble, that is all that we
hear about. We are a rich nation. Even in a down cycle in our economy, we are
an extremely rich nation. And because of that, we put a lot of value in that.
We put a lot of focus and priority into it, and we find a lot of security,
perhaps false security, in the fact that we have so many possessions.
If you go back to
Hosea Chapter 7 verse 8 -- Hosea 7:8 -- we find another reference to Ephraim who
said that he was so rich. And it says, "Ephraim , he hath mixed himself among
the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned." What does that reference mean? Why
does it refer to Ephraim as a cake not turned? Well, he's hot on one
side and cold on the other; he's overdone on one side and yet undone on the
other. Is it perhaps the pursuit of the material things that he has
overemphasized and left out his service to God? In hot pursuit of the worldly
things, but cold when it comes to his pursuit of obedience to God? That
describes our nation as a whole today. We do a lot of things to gain earthly
wealth and material possessions, but it is not that earthly wealth and the
material possessions that offers hope of eternal life. It is the obedience to
God and service to Him that is the most important.
In Hosea Chapter
8 verse 14, it says, "For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples;
and Judah -- now, here's one of the references to Judah -- "and Judah hath
multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall
devour the palaces thereof." Notice that, the building up of fenced cities:
again, early possessions and feeling of protection and security behind those
strong and fenced cities.
We in this
country have a sense of security; perhaps that sense of security was damaged
over the events of the last few months. But we guard ourselves and we defend
ourselves, and we have done very well in that measure, in that avenue, of
guarding and protecting ourselves from others, from those without. But
destruction can come from within. And there are trends in this country that
should concern us, and they should alarm us, and no longer should we stand back
and watch the things happening and say nothing about it. It is time for us to
'make more noise' is the way I like to say it, and to stand up more for the
truth, because the truth is being sacrificed day after day after day. And the
focus and priorities of this country are in the wrong place.
We do not have a
knowledge of God. We do not stand for the truth. We do not uphold the good
morals. We do not want to acknowledge our wrongdoings. We want to pursue the
material things, and money serves as the idol, and we put value into those
earthly, material things and the strength as a nation. And we feel secure. But
I do feel that we have a false sense of security, because we need, first and
foremost, to turn back to God and to serve him and be obedient to Him and once
again be able to say one nation under God. And as our currency -- it's
ironic that our currency says "In God We Trust," and so many don't trust in God
but trust in the currency upon which that statement is printed. It's time that
we do trust in God.
But as we find in
the book of Hosea, the message is a message for repentance. If you go to Hosea
Chapter 6, in verse 1, it says, "Come and let us return unto the Lord: for he
hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up."
Come and let
us return unto the Lord. If there is
one message that this nation needs more than any other message, it's that
message right there, Come, and let us return unto the Lord.
In Hosea Chapter
14, in verse 1, another plea for repentance. "O Israel, return unto the Lord thy
God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity." Return unto the Lord thy God.
And notice how the book ends, "Who is wise, and he shall understand these
things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are
right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall
therein."
The message in
the book of Hosea is left with a decision for those who receive the message to
make. We can be wise and we can understand the message that is written within
and respond to it. We can be prudent and know these things and follow the ways
of the Lord, realizing that that is the way to go, that is the right decision.
Or we can transgress against the commandments of God and we can fall as a
result. Hosea's message was a plea for repentance for people many, many years
ago. But we can see that things haven't changed much. And the same message
that Hosea delivered to his people, we should be delivering to our nation.
Stating within our own families and within our own neighborhood and in our own
communities, and doing all we can to proclaim the truth of God's word.
Now, the question
is, we've been talking about these things as a whole, but what about each and
every one of us individually? Are we following those four trends, are we
following the good trends of obedience to God? What is most important in your
life?
At this time in
the Christmas season, I don't intend to give a negative lesson to get everybody
down and depressed for the holidays. That was not my intention. But as we
enjoy this holiday and we share time with our families and we open our gifts and
we have an abundance of the things that we need and we have an abundance of the
things that we want -- even though sometimes we want even more -- we need to
realize what truly is important and what truly makes a person a successful
person, a happy person, what makes a nation successful and strong. It's not the
material possession. It is one thing and one thing only, and that is obedience
to God.
So are you living
obediently to God? Have you been obedient to the gospel by believing in
Jesus? Confessing that belief, repenting of your sins and being baptized for
the remission of sins? Then have you continued to live in obedience to God's
word? Or have you followed the wrong trends and the bad influences and allowed
sin back into your life? If so, we urge you to consider the situation that
places you in and pray to God and confess those sins and ask for His
forgiveness. Strength is in obedience to the Lord, and we all have an
opportunity to live our lives in strength, no matter what our situation or
circumstances, and look forward to a home in heaven. If you haven't done these
things, we urge you and encourage you to take care of that. Not another night.
Not on down the road a ways. But now... as we stand and sing.
|