Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20071202.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Hosea: God's BALANCE Of Judging And Blessing His People
Part V: God's Condemnation For Departing From His Word, Hosea 4:1-3, 4-19
A. God's Condemnation Of His People's Wayward Spiritual Leaders
(Hosea 4:1-3, 4-11)
  1. Introduction
    1. Spiritual leaders in the home such as parents or husbands, or spiritual leaders in the Church such as elders, deacons and pastors, have a big responsibility before God to influence those under them for righteousness.
    2. Just how such leadership is supposed to function can be noted from the negative view of leadership failure where God condemns godless leaders for ministry failure in passages like Hosea 4:1-11 as follows:
  2. God's Condemnation Of His People's Wayward Spiritual Leaders, Hosea 4:1-3, 4-11:
    1. The Lord delivered a legal charge against Israel for her departing from heeding His Word, Hosea 4:1-3:
      1. The word "controversy" (KJV, ESV) or "charge" (NIV) in Hosea 4:1 is a legal term by which God indicated He was charging Israel with a breach of covenant, Bible Knowledge Com., O. T., p. 1388.
      2. God charged Israel with a lack of faithfulness, loyal love (hesed, Ibid.) and acknowledging Him "as their covenant Lord" versus heeding false gods as lords, Ibid.
      3. This sin was marked by a departure from the written Word of God that Israel was to heed, Hosea 4:2a:
        1. The sins of swearing falsely, lying, murder, stealing and adultery mentioned in Hosea 4:2a violated commands 3, 9, 6, 8, and 7 of the Ten Commandments, representative of all ten commands, Ibid.
        2. Thus, Israel's apostasy had notably involved a departure from heeding God's whole written Law!
      4. The result of such an apostasy had led to great sins and constant bloodshed, with a withdrawal of blessing as God cursed Israel in accord with the Mosaic Covenant, Hosea 4:2b-3 with Deuteronomy 28.
    2. A key cause for this apostasy was the failure of Israel's spiritual leaders as described in Hosea 4:4-11:
      1. Israel's spiritual leaders had come to depend on the people's offerings versus God for their livelihood:
        1. The Masoretic reading of the Hebrew text at Hosea 4:4b that the KJV and NIV reflect reads "and your people as those who quarrel with the priests," cf. A. R. Hulst, Old Testament Translation Problems , 1960, p. 230. However, two other versions along with the ESV hold to another reading and vocalization of the text to render the phrase, "for with you is my contention, O priest ," Ibid.
        2. The context argues strongly for the ESV reading, so we see Hosea 4:4 directing that the priest is the last person who could deflect God's charges of sin to others, for God's first charge was against him!
        3. As such, God declared that both priest and prophet, another spiritual leader, would stumble in divine judgment as God destroyed their "mother," a figure for the people that God used to provide for their livelihood needs, but upon which they had come to rely as a support in place of God! (Hosea 4:5)
        4. This judgment would occur for a lack of knowing the Ten Commandments alluded to in Hosea 4:2a due to the failure of the priest to teach and the prophet to remind the people of Scripture truth, 4:6a.
        5. Accordingly, God planned to reject these priests from the priesthood since they had forgotten the Word of God that detailed God's Law, rejecting their children from prolonging the priesthood, 4:6b.
        6. As priests had increased in number, they had increased in sin, so God would shame them opposite the previous honor of their priestly position as Israel's spiritual leaders, Hosea 4:7.
        7. In particular, the priests had encouraged the people to keep giving their now hypocritical sacrifices, for the priests viewed their livelihood as depending on the sacrifices of which they could eat a part rather than viewing God as their Provider, Hos. 4:8; for this sin, God would judge the priest where it hurt, bringing famine on the people so they would have less to sacrifice to the priests, Hosea 4:9-10!
      2. God finally clarified that the priests' shift in heeding the Scriptures in faith in God to depend on what the people gave them in their sacrifices had led to a loss of the understanding of God in Israel, 4:11!
      3. Thus, exchanging their faith in God for faith in what the people provided had led the priests to depart from heeding and thus teaching the people Scripture, and that in turn had led to the demise of all Israel!
Lesson: Spiritual guides must recall their REAL Provider is God Himself! Thus, they trust GOD and so HEED and TEACH SCRIPTURE, and are honored in blessing; otherwise, in trusting other sources for blessing, they depart from heeding and teaching Scripture to their shame and their hearers' loss!