Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20071209.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
B. God's Condemnation Of His Wayward People's Stubbornness
(Hosea 4:1-3, 12-19)
  1. Introduction
    1. God may hold a leader responsible for sin, but His people are responsible for willful rebellion as well!
    2. This truth becomes apparent in God's condemnation of His people in Hosea 4:1-3, 12-19 as follows:
  2. God's Condemnation Of His Wayward People's Stubbornness, Hosea 4:1-3, 12-19.
    1. As we learned in our last lesson, in Hosea 4:1-3, God delivered a legal charge against Israel for her departing from heeding His Word, Hosea 4:1-3:
      1. God had indicated a "controversy" (KJV, ESV) or "charge" (NIV) He had against Israel for her breach of the Mosaic Covenant, Hosea 4:1; Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, p. 1388.
      2. Israel lacked faithfulness, loyal love (hesed, Ibid.) and acknowledging God as her Lord, Ibid.
      3. This sin was marked by a departure from the written Word of God, 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 involved a departure from heeding God's whole written Law!
      4. The result of such apostasy had led to great sins and a withdrawal of blessing, Hosea 4:2b-3; Deut. 28.
    2. We then learned from Hosea 4:4-11 that Israel's spiritual leaders had ceased trusting God and expounding Scripture to where the people were being destroyed for a lack of knowing God's Word, Hosea 4:6a, 11.
    3. However, lest the blame rest only on the leaders, in Hosea 4:12-16, God described the waywardness of the people themselves, critiquing their stubbornness in holding to sins they themselves knew were wrong:
      1. The Lord detailed the clear spiritual waywardness of the people of Israel in Hosea 4:12-14:
        1. The people of Israel had sought spiritual counsel through carved pieces of wood and walking staffs in spiritual immorality opposite seeking the counsel of the God they had known, Hosea 4:12 ESV.
        2. Mingling spiritual immorality with the physical, under the trees upon the hills, their young women practiced immorality with male cult prostitutes of Baal worship, Hosea 4:13.
        3. However, God said He would not single out these young women for judgment without addressing the men, for they also sinned with cult prostitutes in illogical mockery of the family unit, 4:14a,b!
        4. For this rebellion, the people who lacked spiritual understanding would come to ruin, Hosea 4:14c.
      2. Thus, God urged Judah not to sin like Israel: Israel was bent on sin, and God did not want Judah to be as them; He urged Judah to avoid Israel's cult altars at Gilgal and "Beth-aven," a name meaning "house of wickedness" which term is a distortion of the real name, "Bethel," that means "house of God", a distortion fitting Jeroboam's distorted false altar there, Hosea 4:15; 1 Kings 12:26-29! (Ibid., p. 1390)
      3. This call is based on God's expectation that the people of Judah not act in stubborn rebellion as did Israel, for Israel had to be held in check with a halter like a man had to handle a stubborn cow versus the lamb that could pasture freely without a halter since it meekly followed its master, Hos. 4:16; Ibid.
    4. Accordingly, God called the people of Judah to leave the people of Israel alone, effectively to separate fellowship with them since the Northern Kingdom of Israel was on its way to judgment, Hosea 4:17-19:
      1. Referring to Israel by the name of its dominant tribe, Ephraem, God revealed the people of Judah were to leave Israel alone since they were willfully (stubbornly) joined to their false gods, Hosea 4:17.
      2. Figuratively called "shields" in Hosea 4:18 for how they were supposed to have guarded the people from apostasy, Israel's leaders had failed, loving shameful deeds like alcoholism and immorality, Ibid.
      3. Hence, the nation would be swept away in judgment as the "wind" sweeps things away, and they would be shamed due to their sacrifices in God's judgment of having the bones of their false priests exhumed and burned upon their false altars such as Bethel, Hos. 4:19 with 1 Kings 13:1-2 and 2 Kings 23:15-16.
Lesson: Though Israel's leaders deserved judgment for failing to trust God and teach His Word, God held the PEOPLE just as responsible for stubbornly holding to what sins they KNEW were wrong!

Application: May we ALL take care to HEED what we KNOW God wants at the level WE understand!