#2 Hosea: Flee from Idolatry

>> We'll jump in together.

Jimmy covered Hosea one last week, so we're continuing on in this book, this minor prophet together.

Let's pray.

Lord, thank you for another day of life.

Thank you for your kindness and your mercy toward us in Christ.

Lord, we are truly weak.

Lord, our very breath depends upon you.

Lord, you have ordered all things.

Lord, from the farthest star to the grass outside is all a part of your order and your plan.

And, Lord, you've ordered that we would have many good gifts and blessings.

Lord, we thank you for those now.

And Lord, one of the greatest blessings that we have is your word preserved for us in written form.

Thank you, Lord.

And Lord, even with that, we ask for help because we are weak, our minds are feeble, they tend to wander.

Lord, when we get up early to read, it's difficult.

We want to stay in bed longer.

We want to do other things, Lord.

The worries of the day crowd in and your word gets pushed out.

So Lord, help us to treasure your word.

And this morning as we study this chapter in Hosea, Lord, I pray that you would help us to focus.

Bless us, God, help us to understand the truth that's found there and may be applied to our lives and help us to obey.

In Christ's name we pray, amen.

Okay, let's start with a bit of historical context.

That was, Jimmy did a good job with that last week, but I think it's good to return to it a bit, just to situate ourselves in the context of what's happening here in Hosea.

That's especially helpful when we deal with Old Testament texts, because, I don't know if it's true for you, but for me, sometimes I don't really remember when Jonah took his trip to Nineveh.

Where does that take place in the big story of the Old Testament?

And that's important because the way that God deals with his people during those times is affected by what's happening in the wider context.

When we understand the wider context, it gives us a better understanding of the actual meaning of the text, is what I'm trying to say.

So let's return to that, back up a little bit and kind of get a big picture.

And I need a little audience participation here.

I'm gonna test you.

Now I know it's early, but let me test you a little bit.

Who's considered the last of the judges?

Sort of the bridge between the judges and the kings.

Samuel, excellent.

Samuel, and Samuel anointed the first king, and the first king's name was?

Saul, excellent.

And when Saul was being recognized, here's a bonus question, when he was being recognized and presented as the king of Israel, he was not to be found because he was hiding among the what?

Baggage.

What a courageous king.

Didn't go so well with Saul.

Saul was removed from his position as king and instead a young boy was chosen who was shepherding sheep, the youngest of his brothers whose father's name was Jesse and this boy's name was what?

David, excellent.

though not perfect, not a perfect king he is, held up as the ideal king, as the exemplary king of Israel.

He had a son by Bathsheba, what was that son's name?

The one that eventually became the next king.

Solomon, good.

Was Solomon a good king or a bad king?

Yes, someone said yes, I like that answer.

Yeah, he started out well when the Lord asked him what he would like to receive from the Lord as a blessing.

What did he say?

Wisdom, so that he might rule the people well.

The Lord commended him for that.

Now in Deuteronomy we're given some instructions of what the king should do and what he should not do Deuteronomy 17 and it says that the king should not amass horses, wives, or gold.

And we look at the end of Solomon's life, that's, he did all three of those.

He amassed all three of those things.

He ended his life poorly.

And we see the results of that in the, in what happens next.

And what does happen next?

[inaudible] Well, not exactly. What happens to... something does happen to the kingdom. What happens to it?

Splits. The kingdom splits into the northern and southern kingdom.

Rehoboam and Jeroboam, the conflict there, it divides.

And you see the result of sin upon sin upon sin.

This period of the split kingdom is characterized by unfaithfulness and apostasy.

A little bit like the time of judges.

But instead of God raising up judge after judge to deliver his people, instead during this time he raises up what?

Prophets.

Prophet after prophet to warn his people and call them to repentance.

and along comes Hosea.

Hosea was raised up by God to call God's people to return to their Lord, to their creator, to their husband.

Now, one thing you need to realize, and you might already know this, but during this time, the kingdoms or the people of God headed full speed along headlong into what what's the next big event that takes place in the history of Israel after the split of the kingdom there's a there's a monumental thing that takes place captivity captivity God sends prophet after prophet warning them there is judgment coming return to the Lord judgment is is is imminent return to your maker and they do not and judgment does come in the form of Babylon and the kingdom is overthrown the people of God are taken into captivity but let's return to before that Hosea is on the scene and he is warning his people now Now the book of Hosea uses basically a long allegory or illustration to help Israel see their great need and the seriousness of their sin.

Now what we'll see in Hosea, and we saw it a bit in the first chapter and we'll see it in this chapter mentioned several times, is the word Baal.

B-A-A-L.

Now that shows up throughout the Old Testament.

That word shows up and it's an idol.

It's a God that was held in reverence by the neighbors of Israel for a long time.

And that's what this unfaithfulness and apostasy, specifically that Hosea is speaking about, has to do with.

It is that the people of Israel have turned to the worship of bells.

They've turned from the worship of the true and living God, and now they're worshiping bell or bells.

There's multiple names that you'll see associated with bell.

So you could say it's one, you could say it's one demon, you could say it's many demons. We don't know.

But the point is that they're being unfaithful to God.

Now this was, as I mentioned, a God of the people living near the Israelites.

When the kingdom split and began to downgrade, it was to Baal they turned.

Now think about that.

The kingdom is downgrading, it's becoming more and more sinful, the prophets come and say return to the Lord your God and they say, well what about Baal?

Do you remember the famous battle between Elijah and the prophets on Mount Carmel?

Remember that?

That was against the prophets of Baal.

You might remember when Gideon went and smashed his father's altar at night, that was an altar to Baal.

And it's easy to see why Baal would be readily adopted by the Israelites.

You see, Baal was the god of prosperity.

Specifically, Bell promised to deliver prosperity in terms of agriculture, their crops, their harvests, and also to make a prosperous womb.

Bell was the god of agriculture and human reproduction.

So it's also easy to see why Bailism put a special emphasis on human sexuality and often included sexual activity in worship rituals at the altar itself, cultic prostitution was an integral part of Baalism.

So take note of that and realize that when we talk about the worship of other gods, we're not talking about some innocuous, benign, neutral thing.

Well, you know, they're singing praises to their God.

No, we're talking about profound evil and blasphemy against the one true and living God.

So, Baal worship was both spiritual and sensual.

It became both what the Israelites put their hope in for prosperity in their lives, and also it became what their flesh craved.

Let me pause and make some application here.

One of Satan's subtle snares is to slowly but surely help us to shift our hope from the promises of scripture to the promises of this world.

And that's what happened with Israel.

They at first put their hope in the promises of Yahweh, the one true and living God, and over time they shifted toward Baal.

Well, that happens today.

And it's not just more often than not, It's not to a god, quote, unquote, not an idol, a bail, but to something else that the West tends to cling to.

It could be a bank account, it could be a career, it could be a sports team, it could be a person, could be some other possession, it could be a position.

A couple of questions to ask yourself to do a bit of examination.

What am I leaning upon to make everything okay?

In other words, as long as I have this, everything is okay.

Or when things get difficult in my life, what gives me peace and comfort?

When things get difficult, what do I automatically turn to, to be comforted?

What is it in my life that I can't imagine losing?

Just the thought of losing this thing is almost more than I can bear.

The answers to those questions will help you see if you may be going to the altar of a bale.

Here's another application.

We see another one of Satan's age-old and present-day strategies.

Our enemy delights in appealing to the human sex drive to achieve his ultimate goals.

You see it isn't that Satan simply wants you to commit sexual immorality, he is aiming to destroy your marriage.

He plans to capture it, use it to capture your children.

He will use it to disgrace the name of Christ.

You see, it's a tool to reach his ultimate ends.

It's a means to reach his goals, which is to steal, kill, and destroy.

So brothers and sisters, flee from sexual immorality, flee from the use of pornography.

Covenanteyes.com reports that 64% of Christian men and 15% of Christian women say they view pornography at least once a month.

If you are trapped in a porn addiction, seek help from fellow brothers in Christ.

Seek help from the elders.

There are excellent resources from sound authors and teachers that can aid you.

One, for example, is a book by Heath Lambert.

It's called "Finally Free, Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace." Heath Lambert, finally free, fighting for purity with the power of grace.

Do not go another day trapped in that snare.

Now let's look at the chapter together.

You'll see that there are two main sections here.

The first section, one through 13 describes the unfaithfulness of Israel.

The second describes the grace and mercy of God toward unfaithful Israel.

Let's start in verse two.

Verse one actually connects to the end.

Let's start in verse two together.

It says, "Plead with your mother, plead,"for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband,"that she put away her whoring from her face"and her adultery from between her breasts.

"lest I strip her naked and make her as in the day"she was born and make her like a wilderness"and make her like a parched land and kill her with thirst.

"Upon her children also I will have no mercy"because they are children of Hordom." You might remember the offspring of the harlot in chapter one that their names indicated that.

One of their children's name was No Mercy.

That's a reference back to that.

Here's a principle we see in these first three verses that I just read, verses two through four.

God's justice demands punishment for unfaithfulness.

Zechariah 7, 12 says this,"They made their hearts diamond hard, lest they should hear the law of the words, the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets.

Therefore, great anger came from the Lord of hosts." That therefore is important.

It indicates a cause and effect.

And the effect of sin is always righteous judgment from the Lord.

God is righteous and just.

She does what is right 100% of the time, and righteousness demands punishment for sin.

Here's another principle from those three verses.

God's relationship to his people is much more intimate than we often realize or imagine.

In fact, this whole book is an indicator of that.

It's not some distant judge.

This is why the Bible often uses such tender language when it refers to God's relationship to us, our Father who is in heaven.

Or Isaiah 40, 11 says this, "He will tend His flock like a shepherd.

He will gather the lambs in His arms.

He will carry them in His bosom and gently lead those that are with young." Verse five, "For their mother has played the whore,"she who conceived them has acted shamefully,"for she said, I will go after my lovers"who give me my bread and my water,"my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink." Now we're seeing a description of exactly what Israel was doing, what sort of attitudes they had, what was their posture during this time.

Now, note that she is the one, Israel is the one who goes after her lovers.

Israel initiated this unfaithfulness.

It wasn't as if the bail lights had entered into Israel passing out tracks evangelizing, trying to win converts.

No, Israel went looking for another God.

Can you imagine?

But it gets even worse.

Notice that she credits her lovers with God's kindnesses.

"I will go after my lovers who give me my bread"and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.

"My goodness, God had blessed Israel and now Israel is lifting songs of thanksgiving to Baal for them.

This is like a man who works his fingers to the bone in a coal mine to provide a home and nice things for his wife.

And while he's at work, his wife goes after another man, telling him how well he takes care of her.

Verse six, "Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns and will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.

She shall pursue her lovers but not overtake them.

She shall seek them, she shall seek them but shall not find them.

Then she shall say, I will go and return to my first husband for it was better for me then than now." Hebrews 12, six says, "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives." God's discipline toward his children is for our spiritual good.

Are you being disciplined by the Lord in some way right now?

Has the Lord taken something away from you?

And though maybe you don't fully recognize it or you don't want to fully recognize it, you know deep down that it is the Lord's discipline, and in that discipline, his kindness and his love for you.

Is there a way that the Lord is disciplining you now?

If there is, let me encourage you, humble yourself under the mighty hand of the Lord, receive his discipline with humility and thanksgiving.

I like what John Durant says about this idea.

He says, "It is true if you wander,"his crook," meaning his shepherd's staff, the crook and his shepherd's staff,"his crook shall gather you.

"And it may be his dog that harasses you,"but still he is sweet,"for he does it because he will not lose you." The Lord disciplines you because He will not lose you.

What a good God we have.

And let me make a further application, especially, well, as we deal with Christian friends or family members, work hard to do spiritual good for them and not simply to keep them happy, if you know what I mean.

especially in the sweet tea southern south, we have an aversion to saying anything that might be perceived as offensive or hurt someone's feelings and that's that's a good thing in a lot of ways but whenever we withhold the truth from someone that will do them spiritual good because we don't want to hurt their feelings and it's not a good thing and we're not exercising true Christian love.

Look at verse 8.

"And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for bale.

Therefore I will take back my grain and its time and my wine and its season, and I will take away my wool and my flax, which were to cover her nakedness." When the blessings of God are used for evil, they are often taken away.

Look at verse 10.

Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.

And I will put an end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts.

And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees of which she said, these are my wages, which my lovers have given me.

I will make them a forest and the beasts of the field shall devour them.

and I will punish her for the feast days of the bales when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry and went after her lovers and forgot me, declares the Lord." Now this gets us to the end of the first section and let me make one application there before we turn.

Our sin, sooner or later, will be exposed.

This is true for Christians and non-Christians alike.

And that should cause us to tremble.

And if any one of us is ensnared in a sin, and we're hiding a secret sin, and it may be that you're not brazen, you're not wanting, you feel trapped, but you think, okay, this will be the last time, I won't do it again, I'll whip this thing, yet next week it happens again.

I want to warn you, it will be exposed.

It will be made known.

So what should we do?

Well, realize this, that that exposure for you, if you are a Christian, is for your good and for restoration.

If you are not a Christian and you refuse to place your faith in Christ for salvation, then that exposure will be unto your condemnation.

But Christians, I want to ask you a question.

Which is better, for a person to be caught in their sin, that they're hiding?

Or for a person to confess their sin, repent and seek help?

Let me encourage you.

If you are caught in some sin,"Repent, confess to those to whom it is appropriate to confess.

Do not continue to hide.

You who repent early of your sinful courses, this is your privilege.

You will have the less to answer for.

Indeed, let me tell you, you will have nothing to answer for.

Christ will answer for you.

Your judge will be your advocate.

Father, Christ will say, here is the one who has been the great sinner, yet a brokenhearted sinner.

If he owes anything to your justice, set it on my score.

And that's the turn we see here in verse 14, because it goes from describing Israel's unfaithfulness to this unbelievable shift to expressing God's steadfast love toward unfaithful.

In fact, it almost seems like, are we missing a part here?

The contrast is so great.

Look at verse 14.

Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.

Is that not what the Lord did for you when you were dead in your sins and your trespasses?

And there I will give her vineyards and make her the valley of a core, a door of hope.

And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

And in that day declares the Lord, You will call me my husband and no longer you call me my bell.

For I will remove the names of the bells from her mouth and they shall be remembered by name no more.

And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens and the creeping things of the ground.

And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land and I will make you lie down in safety and I will betroth you to me forever.

I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.

I will betroth you to me in faithfulness and you shall know the Lord.

And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord, I will answer the heavens and they shall answer the earth.

"And the earth shall answer the grain, the wine,"and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel,"and I will sow her for myself in the land,"and I will have mercy on no mercy.

"And I will say to not my people, you are my people,"and he shall say, you are my God." Brothers and sisters, this is an expression of the gospel of Jesus Christ, right here in the Old Testament.

picture of what God does for us because as deep, as profound as Israel's unfaithfulness was to her God, we are right. We were right there with them, weren't we? Our unfaithfulness to God deserved all of the punishments that that were threatened to Israel.

They were just as grievous, just as profound.

But God has allured us, He has wooed us, He has made provision for our sins that we might come to Him as righteous in Christ.

So what do we do?

Here's the application to finish our time in Hosea 2.

to remember his mercy, cling to his mercy, rejoice in his mercy.

Brothers and sisters, if you are in Christ, you have been shown mercy by the one true and living God when you did not deserve it for Christ's sake.

The Lord may take anything from you, but He will not take His mercy from you.

You can endure anything on this earth, any trial, any affliction, if you have God's mercy.

And the Scriptures say that those who are in Christ will be kept.

His mercy is yours.

it, cling to it, and rejoice in it. Let's pray. Oh Lord, we thank you for the mercy that we have been shown because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross on our behalf. Oh Lord, we were just as lost, depraved, as broken, as sinful as Israel was during the time of Hosea.

We had shaken our fists in your face, O God.

The many blessings that you gave to us we used for evil purposes and we attributed them to ourselves or other people.

We refused to acknowledge your goodness, your power, your authority, your law.

yet you revealed yourself to us.

You gave us a new heart.

Though we were not your people, you made us your people.

And though we had no mercy, you showered your mercy and your grace upon us.

Thank you, oh Lord.

Help us today to remember to cling to and to rejoice in your mercy.

In Christ's name, amen.