Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20080106.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Hosea: God's BALANCE Of Judging And Blessing His People
Part VI: God's Escalating Discipline To Elicit Repentance
(Hosea 5:1-15)
  1. Introduction
    1. Like a loving parent, when God begins to discipline, He gradually escalates His disciplinary measures from the lesser to the more severe level to motivate us to revere Him so that we will repent for blessing!
    2. Hosea 5:1-15 is a study in this escalation, and it calls us to heed God in any escalation of the trials we see:
  2. God's Escalating Discipline To Elicit Repentance, Hosea 5:1-15.
    1. Addressing the need for Israel to be disciplined for her sin, God initially leveled charges of sin against the nation to warn of her need for His discipline, Hosea 5:1-5 (Bible Know. Com., O. T. , p. 1390-1391):
      1. Israel's leaders, the priests and kings, had led the people into idolatry, so God began His charge of sin and need for His discipline at these leaders, Hosea 5:1a.
      2. These leaders had become a snare to guide the people into idolatry at Mizpah east of the Jordan and Tabor west of the river (Hos. 5:1b) as is typified in the activity of king Jeroboam in 1 Kings 12:26-33.
      3. Thus, the nation had not only been figuratively snared, but figuratively slaughtered by their (hunter) leaders who had deeply misled the people into idolatry, making them ripe for judgment, for their idolatrous deeds no longer permitted them to return to God, or even know Him, Hosea 5:2, 3-4; Ibid.
      4. Indeed, Israel's idolatry would not only cause her to stumble into judgment, but her sin had become so extensive that it had influenced the Southern Kingdom of Judah to stumble into sin and judgment, 5:5.
    2. Having warned His people of their need for discipline, God announced judgment against them, 5:6-13:
      1. God revealed that Israel would notice her loss of blessing, and take sacrificial animals to the temple to seek His favor, but that they would not get it as He had withdrawn His fellowship from them, Hos. 5:6.
      2. A key reason for God's fellowship withdrawal was the horrendous fact that illegitimate children born of idolatrous prostitution pagan prostitutes, and who themselves were idolatrous, were part of Israel's families, further corrupting Israel in disobedience to God's will, Hos. 5:7a with 4:13-14; Deut. 7:2-4.
      3. Accordingly, the Lord would withdraw agricultural blessings by the next new moon (Hos. 5:7b ESV), a threat directed at Israel's effort to seek agricultural bounty from the pagan god, Baal, Ibid., p. 1391.
      4. Indeed, God promised His judgment would lead to war: instead of the tribe of Benjamin leading Ephraem into battle as was the normal arrangement (Judges 5:14), Benjamin would flee behind Ephraem as they had all turned their backs to the enemy in fulfillment of Deut. 28:15, 25; Hosea 5:8-9.
      5. Sins like moving ancient landmarks while greedily grabbing the lands of others (Hos. 5:10a) would lead to divine judgment (Hos. 5:10b-11), so God would remove His agricultural blessings, becoming metaphorically like a moth to eat Ephraem's crops and dry rot to ruin Judah's production, 5:12 ESV.
    3. Since His people had not responded to God's initial, lower levels of discipline, He intensified it, hoping His escalation of disciplinary action would lead to national repentance, Hosea 5:13-15:
      1. God noted the withdrawal of His blessing had not led to repentance, but Israel (personified in its key tribe, Ephraem) had sought Assyria's help, and Judah had made leagues with others for safety, 5:13.
      2. Accordingly, God would be more than just a moth of eating at Israel's crops in withdrawing blessing, but a destructive lion, directing Assyria and others to destroy His people in judgment, 5:14, 12, Ibid.
      3. To consummate this section, the Lord reported that His escalation of discipline from a mere indictment to a withdrawal of blessing and finally to His becoming an ardent Destroyer of His people was designed to get the attention of His people that they might repent, Hosea 5:15!
Lesson: The Lord gradually intensified His discipline, moving from the level of a verbal indictment to judgment to a painful withdrawal of His blessing on to much more severe destruction by war to elicit reverence from His people so they might repent and He might again bless them, cf. Exodus 20:19-20.

Application: If we note that trials have begun to arise in number and intensity in our lives, we must check Scripture to see if we are violating God's will, and IF so, REPENT! [If Scripture does not signal we are in sin, there is another reason for such trials, and we must heed God's leading regarding them!]