BOOK OF HOSEA -PART THREE

 

 



E. Judgment on kings and priests for leading the people astray 5.1-7

“Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen, royal house! This judgment is against you… I know all about Ephraim; Israel is not hidden from me. Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution; Israel is corrupt. “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord.
 

Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin; Judah also stumbles with them. When they…seek the Lord, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them. They are unfaithful to the Lord; they give birth to illegitimate children. When they celebrate their New Moon feasts, he will devour their fields.
 

The mixture in the church is abominable to God, but the church refuses to repent. Prostitution is symbolic of all the pagan mixture in the church--the Lord is withdrawing Himself from them. The church is birthing illegitimate new age human secular children--an abomination to God.

F. Disastrous foreign policies of Ephraim (Israel) and Judah 5.8-15

“Sound the trumpet in Gibeah, the horn in Ramah…Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of reckoning. Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain. Judah’s leaders are like those who move boundary stones. I will pour out my wrath on them like a flood of water. Ephraim is oppressed, trampled in judgment, intent on pursuing idols…“When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his sores, then Ephraim turned to Assyria, and sent to the great king for help. But he is not able to cure you, not able to heal your sores. For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. Then I will return to my lair until they have borne their guilt and seek my face—in their misery they will earnestly seek me.”

Israel looks to political alliances to solve their problems, rather than looking to the living God. We need to trust God and not in ourselves. As a nation that once relied on God for direction their political alliances will fail. The nation is sick.

In many ways the apostate church is sick and does not know what to do. They once preached the gospel but now it is defiled with new age philosophy and worldly desires. Judgment begins at the house of God!

G. Israel’s plea and God’s reply 6.1-6
“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth—then my judgments go forth like the sun. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.


A voice urges repentance. The appearance of God is assured. The people are urged to pursue obedience towards God and He will come and refresh like rain. The Lord laments, “What can I do for you, Ephraim? What can I do for you, Judah? Their good intentions evaporate like clouds. The people are not sincere. God does not desire empty sacrifice, but rather our obedience to his word.


H. The crimes of Israel 6.7--7.7
They have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there…as marauders lie in ambush for a victim, so do bands of priests; they murder on the road to Shechem, carrying out their wicked schemes. I have seen a horrible thing in Israel: There Ephraim is given to prostitution, Israel is defiled…whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed. They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets…I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them…“They delight the king with their wickedness, the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers, burning like an oven…All of them are hot as an oven; they devour their rulers. All their kings fall, and none of them calls on me.


The nation descends into depravity. The leaders care not for the good of the nation, they only think of themselves. The people are so busy practicing sin they pay no attention to the horrible state of the nation.


This sounds like America today. No one is paying attention. Politicians pander to the people and don’t attempt to fix the financial problems--the people don’t care, they want handouts. We see apostasy not only in the church but in all of society. There will be a price to pay. The day is coming.

I. Israel’s disastrous foreign policy 7.8--8.3
“Ephraim mixes with the nations…Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. “Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless—now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria…I will throw my net over them; I will pull them down like the birds in the sky. Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak about me falsely…I trained them and strengthened their arms, but they plot evil against me. They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words…Israel rejects what is good.


Ephraim would literally be mixed with the nations…Ps 106.35. When we desert God we become like silly doves. Our leaders become more and more like children. God wishes to redeem us when we stray--if we refuse to return He will allow us to pursue our own desire until we reach our end. Israel would lose their identity after they were scattered and now after 2,000 years they are beginning to understand who they are.

 

NEXT: HOSEA PART 4