HOSEA 4-7 GOD REQUIRES REAL RELATIONSHIP2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Hosea 4-7 God Requires Real Relationship

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011. And as we continue on in the book of Hosea, we're looking at some very serious judgments that God is bringing against the nation of Israel.

Now as we started the book last week, we talked about the idea of adultery and how God showed really what was happening in the hearts of the people as they were turning away from God. He showed that. He gave them a visual illustration of that by asking Hosea to go and to get married to an adulteress, to someone who was a harlot. And so Hosea and Gomer got married and God used

their marriage and their lives and their children as a living illustration for the people of Israel to call them to repentance and to give them opportunity to turn and get right with God.

Well, as we go forward now, we're not looking any longer at Hosea and his wife and that living illustration, but we're really talking about and dealing with the details of what was going on in the nation of Israel and why God was really bringing this judgment upon them. And so it's not one of the light and fluffy portions that we'd love to memorize and spend a lot of time on, but it's an important one nonetheless,

Because what we see here is really what God requires of us as well as how God feels and how God deals with sin. And we need to know how serious sin is. And so looking at Hosea chapter 4 and we'll be looking at chapters 4 through 7 this evening, we'll get a good idea and a good understanding of what God says about sin and why it's so important for us.

to walk with him uprightly and not continue to practice those things that he's called us not to do. So let's take a look here at Hosea chapter 4, picking it up in verse 1. It says this,

Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel. For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land. There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break all restraint with bloodshed upon bloodshed.

Verse 4.

Now let no man contend or rebuke another, for your people are like those who contend with the priest. Therefore you shall stumble in the day, the prophet also shall stumble with you in the night, and I will destroy your mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because you have rejected knowledge. I also will reject you from being priests for me, because you have forgotten the law of your God. I also will forget your children."

It gets pretty serious right from the get-go. Here in chapter 4, verse 1, God says, I have a charge to bring against you. This word charge, it's the idea of a legal complaint. God has this legal complaint. He's putting them on trial. He's presenting the charges. This is what they're guilty of. And what are they guilty of? You can see very clearly here what God requires of us.

He says there at the end of verse 1, there is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. These three things are God's issue with the land of Israel. That they had turned away from God and the result was there was no longer truth in the land. They didn't know the truth of God. They didn't know what God said.

They also had no mercy because what happens when you turn away from God, you don't have the example of mercy in front of you and so you become less and less merciful. And so the people of the land were not demonstrating mercy any longer. They had turned away. They weren't practicing mercy. But the last one and kind of the biggest one that really starts it all is that there was no knowledge of God in the land.

This is the issue that God has with the land of Israel, with the northern kingdom of Israel. They had turned away from God and the result was the people did not know God. You see, what God requires of all people is a real relationship with Him.

That's what He required then, that's what He requires today. And those who do not have this relationship with Him, God has this complaint and this charge against them, saying, you don't know the truth, you have no mercy, and you don't know Me.

God wants this type of relationship with us. Now, as a result of them not knowing God and not knowing His truth and not knowing His mercy, verse 2 goes on to describe some of the things that they were practicing. They were swearing. They were lying. Not too bad so far. Things probably, you know, some of us do from time to time. But they were also killing and stealing. Hopefully you're not doing that. And committing adultery. Some people are doing that.

These same types of things are practiced today by those who do not know God and do not know the truth and do not know mercy. This was God's complaint. This was God's charge against the land of Israel.

He says that they break all restraint. They throw off restraint. They throw off the boundaries, the limitations, those things that are there for our protection because God says, look, don't practice these things. They're harmful to you. But they throw off those restraints partially because they don't know God any longer. They don't know His Word. They don't know the boundaries that He set in place.

It's interesting again as we look at the book of Hosea and these accounts that we'll be seeing of God's charge against the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom in the coming months as we go through the minor prophets. There's so many parallels between these portions and what was happening in the land in those days and with what's happening in our nation in these days.

That the nation is in a decline, that there is no truth and mercy and knowledge of God. Those things are waning more and more in our nation just as they were absent from the nation of Israel as Hosea is speaking these things by the power of the Holy Spirit. And in the same way, we see people today casting off restraint.

They're going further than others have gone before. They're removing the boundaries. They're rewriting the scriptures in some cases so that they can do the things that they want to do and allow the practices that they want to practice. They break off restraint. They break off the limitations that God has set. And so God says, therefore the land is going to mourn.

He's saying, look, as a result of their turning from me and not knowing me, there's going to be judgment that comes upon this land. The land is going to mourn because there's no more inhabitants there because they've been carried away, they've been conquered.

As he goes on in verses 4 through 6, he begins to talk about the priests. The leadership of the nation was just as bad as the rest of the people. And those who were supposed to be spiritual leaders of the nation were involved in the same things as the people. And so the bottom line there in verse 6 is, God says, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Again, this is the real issue here. We see what does God require? He requires a real relationship with us.

He requires for us to know Him, to walk with Him. And because the people did not know God, they were being destroyed. That was the consequence. And that was really the responsibility of the priest to bring forth the Word and bring forth the knowledge of God and call the people to God.

But instead, they rejected knowledge, it says there in verse 6. And so God says, look, you rejected knowledge, you rejected knowing me, and so here's what I will do. I will reject you from being priests for me. I'm removing from you that opportunity, that responsibility, that privilege of speaking on my behalf because you've rejected my knowledge. The priests were not being faithful to God and His Word and what He required of the people.

Not only that, but he says, you've forgotten the law of God, and so I'm going to forget your children. I'm going to remove my protection. I'm going to forget the blessings that I had in store for you. Your children are not going to be protected and have the benefits of my provision. They're going to be disconnected as a result of you turning away from the knowledge of God and the law of God. Verse 7,

The more they increase, the more they sinned against me. I will change their glory into shame. They shall eat up the sin of my people. They set their heart on their iniquity, and it shall be like people, like priests. So I will punish them for their ways and reward them for their deeds. For they shall eat but not have enough. They shall commit harlotry but not increase, because they have ceased obeying the Lord."

As God continues on in this charge against the nation, He says, the more the nation was blessed, the more they increased, the more they sinned against Me. So God was working and providing for the nation. He was blessing. And they were becoming wealthier. They had things going for them financially. They were doing good. As I shared last week, from the outside, the nation of Israel looked really good. I mean, things were going well.

But inside there was corruption. And the more that God blessed them, the more increase that there was, the wealthier they were, the more land they had, the better the crops were, and so on and so forth. They turned those things around and they used them to sin against God. So the more that they increased, the more that they sinned against God. If you looked on the outside, things would look good.

But inside, things were getting worse and worse. And so again, it's going to come to the point there in verse 10 where they're going to experience the judgment of God. They're going to eat, but they're still going to be hungry. They're not going to have enough. They're going to commit harlotry. That is, they're still going to try to be faithful to these false gods that they've been worshipping, but they're not going to benefit from it. They're not going to have increase from it. Why? Because they've ceased obeying the Lord.

You see, what God requires is this real relationship where we walk with Him, where we know Him, where we're obedient to what He has commanded us to do. But the nation of Israel had turned from that. And so now God goes on to describe in verses 11 through 19 that He's removing Himself from them. Look at verse 11.

He says,

Verse 14,

I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your brides when they commit adultery. For the men themselves go apart with harlots and offer sacrifices with a ritual harlot. Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled. Verse 15. Though you, Israel, play the harlot, let not Judah offend. Do not come up to Gilgal, nor go up to Beth-Avon, nor swear an oath saying, As the Lord lives.

Verse 2.

Here God is describing what is going on and why he is removing himself from this nation and from this people. He's removing his protection. Why? Because of the harlotry that's going on, number one. He says harlotry there in verse 11, as well as wine. They're involved in maybe what we would call the party scene. They're involved in drunkenness and partying and then...

It goes on to say there in verse 12 that they're involved in idolatry. They're asking counsel. They're seeking advice from wooden staffs and statues. They're looking to false gods to give them direction for their lives. And as a result of this, God says, they've turned away from me and so I'm just going to step back and let them go their way. They're offering sacrifices, he says in verse 13.

But they're not offering sacrifices to the Lord. They're offering their sacrifices to these false gods. They're involved in some really grotesque things, very wicked sexual immorality, the harlotry and the adultery that's going on. God says, look, I'm not going to single out the ladies because of what they're involved with because the guys are doing the same thing. He says that there in verse 14.

They're all involved in harlotry spiritually. Remember we talked about that last week, that worshiping another god or giving the passion that's due to God to something else in our lives, that is spiritual adultery, spiritual harlotry.

And so they were committing that, but they were also physically carrying out this sexual immorality, involving themselves in harlotry, involving themselves in these sexual practices that were part of the pagan rituals and the worship of these false gods. And so they had completely cast off restraint, as he said. They had completely cast off what God had called them to do and not to do. And so verse 16 says, they're like a stubborn calf,

And so I'm just going to let them forage like a lamb in open country. See, all God has to do is just back off and they will begin to experience the consequences and the results of their sinful practices. All He has to do is remove His protection and remove His provision and now they're left to themselves and they will experience the difficulty that comes from our sinful practices and our sinful actions.

He says in verse 17, Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone. Again, he's stepping back. He's removing himself from idolaters. Now this is important for us to understand because that's still God's practice today. He removes himself from idolaters. He gives opportunity to repent and in fact as we read these things this evening, it's an opportunity for some of you to repent. That God's calling those who are

Caught up in idolatry to lay down those false gods and to grasp hold of the true and living God. To turn from those things and to walk with Him. Notice it says there in verse 12 that they were asking counsel from their wooden idols. Now you may not have a wooden idol in your home that you're asking counsel from, but who are you asking counsel from?

Who is it that you're looking to to get direction for your life and how to handle situations that you face and what your goals should be and what you want to do with your life? Who is it that's giving you the counsel? Because if it's not God, then it's idols. If it's not God who's speaking to you and giving you insight and helping you to understand what He wants for your life, then it's idolatry, whether that be on the television,

where you're seeking your counsel, or whether that be in the horoscope, in the paper, or online, or whatever, then that's idolatry. Whether it be, you know, friends, or whoever it might be that you would turn to. What does God desire? He desires for us to walk with Him. That real relationship with Him, where He gives us direction, where we walk with Him, where He speaks to us. Those who are practicing idolatry,

God says, I'm removing myself from them. I'm stepping back. Okay, you want to go your own way? I'll let you go your own way. But that's not the best for you. That's going to involve some very painful things and some consequences for your sinful activity and for turning away from God and having these idols in your heart. Thinking more highly of them than you do of God and His Word. Well, it goes on in chapter 5 verse 1. It says,

Verse 4.

They do not direct their deeds toward turning to their God, for the spirit of harlotry is in their midst, and they do not know the Lord. The pride of Israel testifies to his face. Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity, Judah also stumbles with them. With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find him. He has withdrawn himself from them.

They have dealt treacherously with the Lord, for they have begotten pagan children. Now a new moon shall devour them and their heritage. Here as God continues on, He's saying, Still, I'm withdrawing from this people.

I'm withdrawing from those who deal treacherously. He describes them as dealing treacherously because, well, what has God done for them? He's loved them. He's provided for them. He's taken them out of Egypt. He's given them this promised land. He's blessed them abundantly. He's spoken to them. He's given them the word of God. He's given them opportunity to get right with God and to deal with sin. I mean, God has just abundantly blessed and poured out for these people.

But they have dealt treacherously because they've taken all of those blessings of God and they've used them now to turn away from God and to practice idolatry and to worship these false gods. They've disregarded him after he has given so much for them. And so he says, I'm withdrawing from those who deal treacherously like that, from those who turn away from what I've called them to do.

The author of Hebrews says, look, if the people of the Old Testament, if they didn't escape when they trampled down the Word of God and the Law of God, how much more will we not escape if we trample underfoot, if we disregard the blood of Jesus that was shed for us? This nation receives the judgment of God because they turned away from God, but they were under an inferior covenant than we have.

Jesus Christ had not come yet. The Son of God had not been sacrificed on the cross for their sins yet. And so their disregard of God and His Word was bad and it was deserving of the judgment of God. How much more so, the author of Hebrews is saying, for those today who reject Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who gave Himself and died upon the cross for sin. You see, to ignore God, to not walk with God, to not know God, is to deal treacherously with God.

Because the whole point, the whole reason why Jesus came and died upon the cross was so that you and I could have this close and real relationship with God. So that our sins could be taken care of, that we could have full access to the throne of God. That we could know Him and talk with Him and hear from Him. That He could direct us, that we could serve Him and be used to accomplish things for His kingdom and for His glory. That's what God was doing through Jesus.

And this nation, as we see their judgment, we need to understand, again, God has a very serious approach towards sin. He doesn't put up with it. He is patient with us in giving us opportunity to repent. But we need to understand, sin is not something to take lightly. Idolatry in our heart, it's not something to flirt with or put up with.

We need to be pursuing God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Well, the nation of Israel wasn't doing that. And it wasn't just a certain segment of the nation. There in verse 1, he addresses the priests, he addresses the house of Israel, and he addresses the king's house. So, from top to bottom, the whole nation, the spiritual leadership, the political leadership, the whole nation had turned from God.

He says there in verse 2, I warned them. This is not, you know, suddenly God hasn't told them anything and all of a sudden now He's bringing this, you know, great judgment upon them. He says, I've warned them. I've sent them prophets. I've sent them my word. I've spoken to them and given them warning, but they refuse to repent. And we saw that, didn't we, as we went through the book of Isaiah. I think it was a couple of years ago now, but some of you were here. We saw as Isaiah was ministering to the same group of people that Hosea is,

They had the Word of God presented to them, the call of repentance presented to them, and they insisted on ignoring and continuing in their rebellion against God. In verse 4 it says that they do not direct their deeds toward turning to their God. They're not even trying. They're not attempting to turn and get right with God. They're just continuing on. When we do that,

God works the same way in our lives. When we get involved in sinful activity, when we get involved in idolatry, God will send us messengers and He'll prompt you to come to a Wednesday evening service here at Living Water where we're in Hosea chapter 4. And they'll say, look, you're involved in idolatry. You're starting to walk away. Or He'll speak to you through His Word or on the radio or someone else will speak into your life and share with you something that God is speaking to you through them.

And so God works that same way. But when we continue on in sin and disregard those messengers that he sent to us, essentially what we're saying is, God, leave me alone. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to change. I want to do what I want to do. That's what the nation of Israel is doing. And that's what we do when we disregard the word of God and the messengers that God sends to us. And that is dealing treacherously with God.

Turning away and turning our backs on him when he has given so much on our behalf. He says there in verse 5, the pride of Israel testifies to his face. It's an arrogance. It's a pride that causes us to say, I want to do this.

What I want to do. It's my way that's most important. It's what I think. Instead of humbling ourselves and submitting to God's instruction, we put our ideas and our thoughts and our wants over His. Again, that's idolatry. That's spiritual harlotry. That's pride and arrogance in our hearts. He says the result is, there in verse 6, they're going to go and try to seek the Lord,

As they begin to experience the judgment, the consequences, they're going to try to seek the Lord. They'll try to, but they won't find Him because He's withdrawn Himself from them. Again, God withdraws from those who deal treacherously. He withdraws. He takes a step back. You may have experienced in your life those seasons where you're dabbling in sinful activity. You're dabbling in sin. You're playing around with sin.

and then you get that unexpected bill and you cry out to the Lord, and then God provides. You think, whew, that was a close one. But then you keep dabbling, you keep playing around. You don't really get serious about your walk and your relationship with the Lord. But then when an emergency happens, you call out to Him, and you're like, alright, thanks God, thanks for providing. That's the state of the nation of Israel. They didn't turn their back on God in the sense like, God, we don't want to

call upon you ever again, we don't want to talk to you. They just turned their back on God in the sense that, well, they didn't want to be exclusively devoted to God. They wanted to worship these other gods. Now, when trouble hit, they would come back and sometimes they would call upon the Lord. They wanted to kind of have it both ways. Some Christians do that today. But the danger with doing that is, well, that's dealing treacherously with the Lord.

And you can bring yourself, just like the nation of Judah did, to a point where you've kind of gotten into that habit of, okay, well, I can just live this compromised life and then run back to the Lord whenever I have trouble. I don't have to be fully devoted to Him all the time. I just, you know, just for that season when I have need. But one of these days...

You're going to run to the Lord. You're going to take your flocks out to try to find Him and say, OK, here I am, Lord. Take all of me. Here I am. Send me. You know, and all the promises and things that you make. And then you're not going to find Him because He's withdrawn Himself from you. This is what the nation of Judah or the nation of Israel is about to experience. He's withdrawn Himself because they've dealt treacherously. Notice verse 7. Something to consider. He says, They've dealt treacherously with the Lord for they've begotten pagan children.

One of the ways that they dealt treacherously with the Lord is that their children did not know the Lord. Something to consider for those who are parents. Do your children know the Lord? Are you raising them in the ways of the Lord? Are you teaching them how to know God and walk with God and hear from God? To not do so is to deal treacherously with the Lord. Now, they have free will and they have choice and, you know, some of them are going to turn and follow the Lord and some are going to resist.

But the responsibility of the parent to pass on that heritage of knowing God and walking with Him, being an example to their children. It's something that's established very clearly in God's Word. Check out Deuteronomy chapter 6. It's to be established in the home. But there in Israel, maybe the previous generation knew God and they could turn back to God whenever things got rough. But the next generation, the kids, they didn't know anything about the Lord.

They didn't know about what God had done for them. They didn't know about serving God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength. So they had dealt treacherously with the Lord. Going on in verse 8 it says, "...blow the ram's horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah, cry aloud at Beth-Avon, look behind you, O Benjamin. Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke among the tribes of Israel. I make known what is sure."

The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark. I will pour out my wrath on them like water. Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment because he willingly walked by human precept. Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth and to the house of Judah like rottenness. When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah saw his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jerob.

Yet he cannot cure you nor heal you of your wound. For I will be like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away. I will take them away and no one shall rescue. I will return again to my place till they acknowledge their offense. Then they shall seek my face in their affliction. They will earnestly seek me.

Here as we go on in verses 8 through 15, God is addressing not just the northern kingdom known as Israel, but remember Israel had been divided into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom was Israel, the southern kingdom was Judah.

Now as he refers to Ephraim here in this portion, that is another name for the northern kingdom, which was Israel. And so he's addressing both of the nations because Judah also had its problems and its corruption and the things where they were turning away from God as well. Primarily, Hosea is dealing with the northern kingdom, but he's sharing things about the southern kingdom as well.

And so he says, blow the trumpet, cry aloud, look out, watch out. This land, Ephraim, is going to be desolate. He's making an announcement. This land is going to be desolate. The inhabitants are going to be removed. Now the corruption that was happening in Judah, he talks about it in verse 10. The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark.

The idea of removing a landmark, it's something that they would do in those days because they didn't have the city records and such which showed all the property boundaries. And so they would have these landmarks or these large stones that would designate, this is where my property ends, that's where your property begins. And so...

corrupt people would move landmarks, you know, maybe just move it a couple feet, you know, at a time and pretty soon, you know, you walk outside your yard and it's like, you know, you have just a little bit of yard left or a little bit of property left because slowly they've moved the landmark, they've taken over your property.

He says, the princes of Judah are like that. So could you imagine, you know, you wake up tomorrow and your neighbor's fence is right out your front door. You know, that's the idea. That's what they're like. They're stealing from the people. They're conniving in secret and they're taking from the people and removing what is rightfully theirs. And so he says, I'm going to deal with them as well.

He says Ephraim is oppressed there in verse 11. They're broken in judgment. Again, this judgment of God that's coming upon them for their rebellion against God. And he describes how he's working there in verse 12. He's working like a moth and like rottenness. You know how moths and rottenness work? They work behind the scenes. You don't really notice until you go to put on the shirt and like, hey, how'd these holes get there?

Or you don't really notice that it's rotten until you start to put some weight on it, start to use it. And it's happening underneath, it's happening behind the scenes, you can't really tell what's going on. And that's what's happening to both of these nations. That because of their rebellion against God, the outside might look good, but inside that corruption is rotting, it's eating away. So that suddenly...

they're going to be broken and defeated. So Judah's in trouble as well. The northern kingdom, Israel, is in trouble. They're oppressed. They're broken. Verse 11 is an important one. It says, Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment because he willingly walked by human precept. Again, where are you getting your counsel? What are you living your life by? Ephraim, the northern kingdom, they were walking by human precept.

They were doing what so-and-so said they should do. They were living their lives according to what humans thought should happen. What they wanted to do, what other people told them to do, whatever the case was. By human precept, they're following the laws of man. But what does God call us to do? He calls us to walk with Him and to be obedient to Him. For Him to give us the direction, the instruction for our lives.

And so as a result of them looking to man for their answers and their direction, now, he says, they're being broken and they're being oppressed. And thinking upon man's wisdom, thinking upon man's instruction, when they were in trouble, it says there in verse 13, when they saw that they were in trouble, they went to Assyria to try to help them, to try to meet their needs, to try to solve them, the problem that they had. But God says, he can't cure you. He's not going to help you.

In fact, what's interesting is Assyria is the nation that ended up conquering Israel. And so the thing that they turned to for help is the thing that ended up destroying them. And that is how it always is. When you turn from God to something else, that thing that you turn to is the thing that destroys you. If you turn from God's counsel to someone else's counsel, that counsel will destroy you.

If you turn from God's provision to providing for yourself, providing for yourself will destroy you. If you turn from God to anything else, that thing that you turn to is the instrument of destruction in your life. It's what will destroy and bring judgment and bring the consequences for turning from God. And so God says, I'm stepping back. You've turned from me. You're bringing this judgment upon yourself. I'm stepping back. I'm going to allow it to happen.

I'm going to allow it to take place. In verse 15, he says, I will return again to my place. I'm stepping back. I'm removing myself until, he says, they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek my face. In their affliction, they will earnestly seek me. You see, Israel was pretending to seek the Lord. They would still offer sacrifices and say, this is to you, Lord. But they were not.

But they weren't earnestly seeking God. They weren't devoted to Him. They had all these other gods that they were worshipping and these human precepts that they were following. Their hearts were divided. And so God says, I'm stepping back until you acknowledge your sin. Until you confess it. Until you come to the agreement, my life is messed up and I need to stop living this way and I need to pursue God and earnestly seek Him. God says, you've come to the point now where

I'm stepping back. I'm going to let you suffer so that you can come to the point where you turn back to me with all your heart. I know a lot of people have difficulty with these prophetic books and all of the judgment that is pronounced. We've been going through it for a while with Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel. We've seen judgment after judgment as God has sent these prophets to warn the people who are in rebellion. But at the same time, I love these little glimpses of

of brilliance, the glimpse of God's mercy here. Because even when God is bringing judgment, so that the people can turn and get right with God. The objective of God is not to destroy them, but to bring them to repentance. He's not trying to destroy them, He's trying to restore them. And so He's allowing them to suffer so that they can turn and get right with Him and seek Him with all of their heart.

God's objective, even in judgment, is to bring people to right relationship with Him. And so when He allows things in our lives, it's not because He's angry and He just lost His temper. It's because He's working in our lives. And He wants to bring us to the place where we need to be, the place that is best for us. God allows these difficulties and for our sins to catch up with us because He loves us and He wants what's best for us. It's merciful love.

For him to do so. You see, if he continued to provide for them and protect them and keep away the dangers, they would continue on in their sin. And they would never repent. Why? They've got everything they need. Everything is taken care of. So they could continue on and they would end up

with eternal judgment. Way better to receive the consequences for sin now. Way better to receive the chastisement of the Lord now so that we can have the opportunity to turn and get right with God before we enter into eternity. Even when we experience chastisement, even when God withdraws himself, it's merciful, it's loving, it's what's best for us. Let's move on into chapter 6.

Verse 1, it says, Here the prophet calls the people to repentance. Come, let's return to the Lord.

He has torn. He has allowed these things in our lives. He has allowed these things in our nation. But He will heal. Again, it's not because of His wrath and He's trying to get rid of us. It's because He's trying to work in our lives and do what's best for us. And so the nation had experienced the tearing of God. They've already experienced the beginnings of the consequences of their sins and the judgment of God.

The prophet says, look, he will heal. He will bind up. He wants to revive you. He wants to restore you. But notice what he says there in verse 3. Let us know. What was the issue that God had with them? They did not know God. So he says, let us know. We need to turn around. We need to repent. We need to stop those activities and start these activities. We need to know God.

Not only that, but he goes on to say there in verse 3, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. We need to know God and we need to pursue knowing Him, pursue understanding Him, pursue a walk with Him. Again, it's talking about a full devotion, a complete dedication of our lives to know God, to walk with Him, to follow Him. It says there at the end of verse 3, He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth.

Here's what will happen. When you pursue God, when you pursue knowing God, He will come to you. He has removed Himself. He has withdrawn Himself from this nation. But as soon as they turn around and say, we need to know God. As soon as they begin to pursue God, He will come back. He will draw near to them.

The former and the latter rains talk about, or is referencing the rains that would come for the harvest. The early one was important for them as they were sowing the seeds. The latter one was important so that the fruit would be abundant, so that it would get the nourishment and the water that it needed. God will come back right away and He'll be there to produce the fruit in your life. If you turn towards Him, if you produce fruit,

or pursue Him, He will draw near to you. That's what James tells us as well in James 4, verse 8. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. That's His promise. Again, He's withdrawing Himself not because He's done with them, because He wants them to turn so that He can return to them. And He does the same today, guys. And we need to understand. He steps back. When we say, God, leave me alone, He says, okay, have it your way. I'll leave you alone.

And we know better than to say that. But we say that by our actions, by our disregard to His Word, by our continual practice of sin. So God says, alright, I'm stepping back. But as we turn around, as we pursue Him, He draws near to us. That's His promise. Because what He's trying to do is bring us to repentance so that that relationship can be restored. Verse 4 says,

O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew it goes away. Therefore, I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and your judgments are like light that goes forth. For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But like men they transgress the covenant, and like men they transgress the covenant.

There they dealt treacherously with me. Gilead is a city of evildoers and defiled with blood. As bands of robbers lie in wait for a man, so the company of priests murder on the way to Shechem. Surely they commit lewdness. I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel. There is the harlotry of Ephraim. Israel is defiled. Also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed for you when I return the captives of my people. Here as we finish off chapter 6,

He says, what am I going to do with you guys? Ephraim, the northern kingdom, Judah, the southern kingdom, what am I going to do with you guys? He says, because your faithfulness, I like this picture. Not that it's a good picture, but it helps us to understand what's going on. He says, your faithfulness is like a morning cloud. You know how the morning clouds are? You know, you wake up and it's kind of overcast, there's the morning cloud. But then as the sun rises, that cloud disappears quickly. Or he says, like the morning dew.

You know, you go outside and there's the dew on the grass. How long does that last? Just a very short time. He says, that's what your faithfulness is like. You were really faithful for a little bit. You were really dedicated to me. I mean, you really pursued me for a little bit. But then it's vanished. It's just gone. You've not been faithful to me. God wants us to be faithful to Him. Have you ever experienced that faithfulness like a morning cloud? You know, you go to the retreat.

You sit in the service, you attend the event, you go forward at the Harvest Crusade, whatever the case may be, and man, for a short season, you're faithful, you're dedicated, you're pursuing God. It's awesome. But then it fades. It's similar to what Jesus described there in the parable of the sower. The seed that was sown on the shallow ground.

And it springs up quickly. Lots of faithfulness. Radical decision for the Lord. Awesome. But because there's no root, because it's shallow, when the sun comes up, when there's heat, when there's adversity, when there's difficulty, it withers. It dies. Similar situation that was happening there in Judah as well as Israel. They were really faithful for a short time, but it didn't last. They didn't go the distance. They quickly began to waver and turn away from God.

But the thing with the nation is, well, it's the same thing that happens today. They turned away from God, but they were still going through the motions. And that's why God says in verse 6, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. He says, look, you need to understand, it's not just about the rituals. It's not just about being religious and going through the motions.

They were still offering sacrifices, even though they'd turned away and were following other gods. Even though they weren't faithful to God, they still attended church regularly. It's sad, but it's the case of many of those who attend church all around the world today. They're very faithful to attend church and to go through the motions and perform the rituals. But when it comes to really serving the Lord and walking with Him, their faithfulness is like a morning cloud.

Now they're comforting themselves and saying, "Hey, we're okay. Look, I offered the sacrifice. I went to church. I read my Bible. I did the... It's okay. Yeah, I know. I still have these issues in my life. I'm still practicing this and still walking in that way and still following this advice and not really seeking God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. But it's okay. I go to church. I read my Bible. I do these rituals." God says, "Look, you need to understand. I desire mercy, not sacrifice. Mercy is more important.

Notice what he says also at the end of verse 6. And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. Again, what does God want? He wants us to know Him. It's that relationship that He wants. He wants us to know Him, to get to know Him, to know who He is and what He's about and what His character is like. To walk with Him in that relationship with Him. How do you get to know somebody? You spend time with them. That's what God wants. He wants you to spend time with Him.

That's more important to Him than all the rituals and sacrifices and things you could offer. Well, I gave a great donation to the church. Big deal if you don't know God. That doesn't mean anything. That's not what God wants. He wants the sacrifices to be flowing out of our relationship with Him, not offered instead of a relationship with Him as a substitute.

I don't want to give up this sin. I don't want to give up this practice. And so, here's $100, God. You can't buy them off. You can't buy them. I went to church. That means I can practice this many sins. I can live this lifestyle. Jesus quoted this verse twice here, verse 6, in the book of Matthew, chapter 9, verse 13, and chapter 12, verse 7. He quoted it to the religious leaders who were very religious on the outside, but their hearts were far from God. God wants our hearts.

So let's give Him our hearts. Verse 7. I'm sorry, chapter 7, verse 1. "When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered, and the wickedness of Samaria, for they have committed a fraud. A thief comes in, a band of robbers takes spoil outside. They do not consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness. Now their own deeds have surrounded them, they are before my face. They make a king glad with their wickedness and princes with their lies.

Verse 4,

All their kings have fallen. None among them calls upon me. Verse 8. Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples. Ephraim is a cake unturned. Aliens have devoured his strength, but he does not know it. Yes, gray hairs are here and there on him, yet he does not know it. And the pride of Israel testifies to his faith, but they do not return to the Lord their God nor seek him for all this. He gives three signs.

specific examples about their sin or illustrations of their sin, their wickedness. He says, look, they're continuing on. I would have healed them, but they continued on. They persisted in their wickedness. And in verse 2, he says, they do not consider that I remember all their wickedness and their own deeds have surrounded them. He gives this picture of being surrounded by the wickedness that they've been practicing.

surrounded by the sin that they've been involved with. God says that they're continuing to practice sin and they're not thinking about the fact that God says, I remember all your wickedness. Now you and I read that and we go, well, wait a minute. What happened to, you know, God says, I cast your sin as far as the east is from the west. Well, that's true. God does that for those who confess and repent. Now, if you don't confess and repent, what

Let me remind you, repent is stop doing that activity and start doing godly activities. If you don't confess, agree with God about your sin and turn from it, then your sin is not cast from you as far as the east is from the west. That's not a promise for those who continue in sin. It's a promise for those who confess, who repent. And so God says, they're just continuing on. They're not thinking about the fact that I remember their wickedness.

And he gives kind of the visual of it all adding up. So pretty soon they're surrounded. They've piled up all this wickedness and sin around them and they're stuck. There's no escape. The result and the consequences of all this wickedness that they've built up for themselves is now going to come upon them.

Well, then he goes on in verses 4 through 7 to give an illustration of an oven. And to understand this, we got to take a look real quickly at the way that they would bake bread in those days. The baker would heat up the oven and then he would knead the dough and he would allow it to leaven overnight. He would allow the leaven to go through the whole lump of dough.

And then in the morning, it would be fully leavened and the oven would then be the right temperature for baking bread. And so he would allow it to heat up all night while the bread was leavening and then he would put the bread in the oven in the morning when it was the right temperature. So the picture God's painting here is, look, your sin is stoking the fires of the oven. I mentioned before, you may have noticed that the moment you sin, you don't get struck with lightning.

We don't experience the immediate consequences for sin. But here's what happens. Here's what was happening with the nation of Judah. It's stirring the fire. It's preparing the oven. And so they're like an oven that's prepared. The oven's getting ready. The fire is getting ready. It's hitting the right temperature so that finally...

As they continue in their rebellion, the oven's going to be opened and they're going to be thrust into the consequences and the judgment that's the result of their sinful practices that they've stirred up and prepared themselves for. And so again, it's not that God's angry and loses his temper and that's why judgment comes. No, it's built up. It's added on. It's prepared by consistent and continual rebellion against God and practicing sin. Stoking the flames of that oven, preparing it

for when we're ripe for judgment. Their sin is preparing the hot judgment that is for them. And then there in verses 8 through 10, he talks about the idea of not seeing the devastation that it's bringing.

He describes it like being a cake that's unturned. And so, in those days when they would bake a cake or bake a piece of bread, they would cook it on one side and they would cook it on the other side. Maybe you could imagine it like you do with a pancake. Now what happens if you cook a pancake just on one side? Well, the top remains uncooked. It's raw, but the bottom is cooked. They're half in, half out. They're half-hearted. They're trying to go through the motions and do the rituals.

but they're not giving themselves completely to the Lord. So they're not what God has called them to be. And the result is, it says that aliens have devoured his strength, but he doesn't know. Again, it's like that moth in the rottenness. It's working from the inside, and they just don't realize they've lost their strength. They failed to recognize the devastation that's going on. And these gray hairs are popping out. They don't realize it. They don't realize, I'm old and feeble now as a result of my sin.

Much like Samson did. Remember? He woke up. He didn't realize that the Spirit of the Lord left him. So he tried to fight the Philistines like he always did. Because he thought, hey, I've got the strength. But he didn't recognize, he didn't realize his strength was gone. God remembers wickedness. And it comes to a point where that wickedness has surrounded you. Where the oven is prepared for you. And where you're weak and broken.

destroyed as a result of sin. Let's finish it up, verse 11. It says, Ephraim also is like a silly dove without sense. They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. Wherever they go, I will spread my net on them. I will bring them down like the birds of the air. I will chastise them according to what their congregation has heard. Woe to them, for they have fled from me. Destruction to them, because they have transgressed against me. Though I redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.

They did not cry out to me with their heart when they wailed upon their beds. They assembled together for grain and new wine. They rebel against me. Though I disciplined and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against me. They return, but not to the Most High. They are like a treacherous bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword for the cursings of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt."

God now gives another visual. He says, they're like a silly dove. What's a silly dove? A silly dove is flapping around without sense, no direction, just going around in circles. This is what the nation of Israel is like. How so? Well, he says, they call to Egypt and they go to Assyria. What are they trying to do? They're trying to outrun God. They're trying to run and escape the things that he's promising are going to happen. He says, that's silly.

That's senseless. It doesn't matter where you go. You can run to Egypt. You can run to Syria. I'm going to catch you. You're going to be caught in my net. You cannot escape what God has declared. It will be fulfilled the way that He said. He says, Woe to them because they fled from Me there in verse 13. Destruction is coming because they've transgressed against Me. He says, Though I redeemed them. Again, they've dealt treacherously with God because He's done so much for them, but they turned away from

from God. In verse 14, he says, they didn't cry out to me with their hearts. They wailed, they cried, but they didn't cry out to me from their heart. They didn't return to me. They didn't pursue me. Even though I disciplined them, he says in verse 15, yet they devised evil against God. So they hardened their hearts. Now, as you look at this, it helps us to understand we can't blame God for

for bringing judgment upon this nation. God sent them warnings. He sent them blessings. He sent them protection. He did everything. And they continued. They insisted on rebelling against God. And as we consider that, considering kind of the theme for tonight is that God wants us to know Him, to pursue Him with all of our heart. I want to ask you to consider it. Katie's going to come up and lead us in some worship. And as she does...

I want to ask you to consider what are you involved in? Where are you getting your counsel from? Are you following the advice and the counsel that dictates of man? Maybe a particular person or the philosophy of our society today. Are you walking with God in right relationship with Him? Are you right with the Lord? Does He consume your life? This is what God desires. This is what He wants.

This is what He requires. And anything less than a full devotion and commitment to the Lord is a call for discipline, for chastisement, for judgment. It's sinful to give God anything less than everything we are and everything we have. What are you involved in? Are you involved in sin? It's not something to take lightly or play around with. Maybe you're not in outright rebellion against God, but your heart's divided.

Your devotion and your passion is not dedicated to the Lord first and foremost. There's other things that have your heart, that have your attention and have your focus. God requires an exclusive relationship where He comes first. Before the spouse, before the kids, before the job, before the toys, before the fun, before everything, He comes first.

God makes it clear nothing can be hidden from Him. And He's going to deal with our hearts. If He's not first, He knows. So let's take this time to consider our hearts, to allow Him to speak to us. And let's not be like the nation of Israel who had these warnings, who had these messages brought to them, and they just disregarded and said, no, I'm going to keep doing what I want to do. Let's seriously evaluate. Let's repent as He shows us where we've gone astray. Amen?

Let's worship the Lord together and allow Him to work in our hearts.