Sinfulness Leads to Barrenness
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
10 “When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the desert;
when I saw your fathers,
it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,
they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol
and became as vile as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.
12 Even if they rear children,
I will bereave them of every one.
Woe to them
when I turn away from them!
13 I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre,
planted in a pleasant place.
But Ephraim will bring out
their children to the slayer.”
14 Give them, O Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry
and breasts that are dry.
15 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,
I hated them there.
Because of their sinful deeds,
I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;
all their leaders are rebellious.
16 Ephraim is blighted,
their root is withered,
they yield no fruit.
Even if they bear children,
I will slay their cherished offspring.”
17 My God will reject them
because they have not obeyed him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.
Introduction
Introduction
One of the great tragedies of the human heart is shown in a person’s inability to understand and perceive the extent of sin, and even the presence of sin within their hearts and lives. Not only are we so often blinded to our own sin, but even when people would tell us about that sin within our lives, we tend to ignore it, deny it, rebuke them for daring to point out sin in our lives etc. It really is something very sad and tragic.
But the great joy for us as Christians is that there is a remedy for this sinfulness of ours. There is a remedy for even our ongoing sin in our lives. If we just take the people of Israel that we’ve been considering through Hosea as he prophesied to them, we must marvel at the extent of their wickedness. But in another sense, we should not be surprised. Such is the heart of man.
But the joy for us as Christians is the fact that Christ redeems us. This means that there is salvation through Christ - we have perfect forgiveness of sins. Even though we may do those things which are contrary to the ways of God, we still have Christ’s mercy and forgiveness. Certainly this is a great encouragement.
But the challenge to us from these passages must be to see the real damage that a life of sinfulness does. We must be impacted by how grievous a sinful life is to our Lord, not so that we despair, but so that we are moved towards Christ and seek Him all the more, and seek to bring much glory and honour to Him.
This evenin, as we consider this passage just briefly, we are doing so under the title of “Sinfulness Leads to Barrenness.”
Just two main points from this text.
From Fruitful to Barren
From Loved to Unloved
So consider firstly with me...
1. From Fruitful to Barren (vv.10-14)
1. From Fruitful to Barren (vv.10-14)
The first half of verse 10 of our passage reads as follows:
The New International Version (1984) Punishment for Israel
“When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the desert;
when I saw your fathers,
it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree.
God speaks here of the initial stages of his working with Israel as a nation. As Hoesa prophesies here, God says through him that he found Israel. Now we must not read more into this than is intended. We must not see this as God walking along and suddenly stumbling across Israel as some previously unknown nation. God had established the nation of Israel. They were a people established by him even beginning at Abraham. They were a nation that God promised would come to be through the promised son Isaac, the son of a barren woman whose womb God opened.
The picture then is about Israel’s initial state as a nation, as a people who in their early years, although they were not faultless, had placed their trust in God. God delighted in them as a people as they were trusting in Him. I think particularly of the times of the reign of David and Solomon (at least in his early years) over Israel, when the nation was established and these two kings led Israel to worship the One true God.
God delighted in them. He says it was like finding grapes in the desert.
Now, just consider that picture. As a weary traveller, you are wandering through the desert. Heat beats down upon you from the sun, and hits up from below as the sun reflects off the sand. You are thirsty, tired, and hungry. Imagine in this situation coming across a bunch of fresh grapes on the vine. Think of the delight of devouring those grapes with such a hunger. This is the kind of delight that God says was his when he considered the nation Israel in their younger years.
He also speaks here of them as the early fruit on the fig tree. In those days, the early figs were a great delicacy and delight. They were the most delicious figs, and the cream of the crop, as it were. When Jeremiah was given a vision of two baskets of figs in Jeremiah 24, he spoke the figs with these words…(Jer 24:2)
The New International Version (1984) Two Baskets of Figs
One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early
And so here, Israel is likened in the early years to the figs that ripened early. They were something of a delight to God.
Let us know for certain that those who are delighting themselves in the Lord bring delight to the Lord. John Piper often says, “God is most glorified, when man is most satisfied in Him.” And God delights to be glorified, because He is worthy of this.
But things in Israel would not remain as they should have. There is an abrupt change in mood as God goes on to say through Hosea...
The New International Version (1984) Punishment for Israel
But when they came to Baal Peor,
they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol
and became as vile as the thing they loved.
What Hosea does is that he takes the minds of the people back to an occassion that took place even before Israel entered the promised land. And he does this in order to show them just how vile their actions are even now.
As we’ve studied this book of Hosea, we know well that the Israelites had given themselves to worshiping Baal, the god of the people around them. And so Hosea links this to an account in Numbers 25, where the Israelites alredy then (prior to entering the promised land) were worshiping the false gods of the Moabites, and indulging in immorality. In Numbers 25:1-3 we read...
1 While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, 2 who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. 3 So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them.
Even before Israel had finally arrived in the promised land, they were bowing down to the idols, and indulging in the sinful practices of the people around them.
What’s so sad about that account of the Israelites was the fact that Balaam, just prior to that account, was asked by Balak, the king of the Moabites, to pronounce a curse on Israel in order to have them destroyed. He was afraid of the power of Israel as they had destroyed so many of the people’s around them. But God had said to Balaam that he would not put a curse on Israel - they were his chosen people.
But after Balaam failed in his efforts to bring a curse down on Israel, the Israelites essentially brought a curse down on themselves by yielding to the enticement to have sexual relations with Moabite women who were sacred prostitutes in the cult of Baal Peor.
Further to this, if you recall that account, and the subsequence immorality of Israel, you will also recall that a plague broke out against Israel as a result of their sin, and it required the Priest Phinehas to drive his spear through the bodies of an Israelite man and a Moabite woman in order to have the plague halted… severe consequences.
And similarly to that instance, Hosea recalls to the minds of the Israelites those severe consequences, and demonstrates that now too, as they have once again indulged in immorality, they will have to face severe consequences as a nation.
But notice the words that God speaks to them in this regard. God says that Israel became as vile as the thing they loved. This can also be translated that “they have become vile, like their love.”
In other words, the love of Israel had become vile. They did not love God as they ought to have, despite all His gracious working for them. Their love was corrupted and was directed towards false gods.
Israel developed a love for the idols of that land. They developed a love for the sinful practices of the land. And because of that they became that which was vile. They became as vile as their own love was.
Friends, when sin is indulged in, it pollutes those who are indulging in it. Let us never think that our sin will not affect us. Let us never think that we can engage in and indulge in sin without that sin polluting us as people. Even as those who are in Christ Jesus and justified by His grace, we must never be content to
The consdquences / punishment for Israel and their actions is outlined in the verses that follow...
In verse 11-12 we read....
11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.
12 Even if they rear children,
I will bereave them of every one.
Woe to them
when I turn away from them!
The “glory” here refers to God himself. Who is the glory of Israel? It is God almighty that had done wondrous things. This was not an intrinsic glory in terms of who they were. Any glory that was theirs was on account of God’s powerful working on their behalf. And so here God says that he will remove himself from them. His glorious presence, as they had so wonderfuly experienced it in the wilderness wanderings, would depart from them, and fly away like a bird.
This consequence would itslef lead to the nation of Israel finding themselves barren, childless. He would close the wombs of the women so as to demonstrate to Israel that it was him who gave them their fertility, not Baal of the nations. The nation would lose its source of vitality in a catastrophic fall in the birth rate due to miscarriage and sterility. In a culture which prized large families, this would indeed be a terrible calamity
God even goes on to say that in the event that children do survive, and they do grow up, even then they would be swept away. Destruction and punishment would come upon them. The reason for this population disaster was that the nation had come under a divine “woe” because the Lord had departed from them.
Hosea goes on to say in verse 13...
13 I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre,
planted in a pleasant place.
But Ephraim will bring out
their children to the slayer.”
There is some uncertainty and debate around the meaning of this verse. But what is clear is that there is a comparison being drawn between Ephraim (Israel) and Tyre.
Tyre was a place that was put in a position to prosper greatly. In a similar manner, God had so worked in order to bring great prosperity to Israel, and to allow for them every opportunity to do well, and to live under favorable circumstances. They were planted “in a pleasant place.”
But here, Hosea talks about the children being brought out to the slayer. The reference here was an allusion to one of the practices that was common in Tyre, and probably had begun to happen to the Israelites as well, and that was the sacrificing of their children. But there is another picture here, and that is that they would be led out. There would be punishment that would come upon them. Both Tyre and Israel would be led out by the Assyrian armies as a result of their detestable practices.
Indeed, so grievous were these practices of Israel, that Hosea is led to cry out to God in verse 14...
14 Give them, O Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry
and breasts that are dry.
Hosea now issues an appeal to God to execute the threatened judgment. Within the heart of this man Hosea is a holy indignation that leads him to this point of crying out for certain judgment by God. And in Hosea’s mind, and even according to the descriptions from God, the appropriate judgment that should come upon them is that they have wombs that miscarry and breasts that are dry. Since they attributed their fertility to Baal, they must see the folly of their ways by failing to have offspring.
Back in Genesis 49:25, when Jacob was pronouncing his blessing upon his children, part of the blessing with which he blessed Joseph was the blessing of the breast and the womb. In effect, Hosea now takes that blessing and he effectively seeks to reverse it as a result of their unfaithfulness.
This leads us to consider the second main point of this text...
2. From Loved to Unloved (vv.15-17)
2. From Loved to Unloved (vv.15-17)
As Hosea continues, he demonstrates that as a result of the sins of Israel, there is a move from them being a people that is the beloved of God, to a place where they are unloved. Recall the name of one of the children of Hosea and Gomer at the start of this prophecy - Lo Ruhamma. Not Loved. God said he would no longer show love to Israel. In this section, we find this reality bearing itself out.
Firstly, we read in verse 15 (God is speaking)...
15 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,
I hated them there.
Because of their sinful deeds,
I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;
all their leaders are rebellious.
Gilgal in the Jordan valley was the scene of many past mercies of God. This was also the place where Saul was annointed king over Israel by Samuel.
But further to this, Gilgal also became the place where wickedness grew. Gilgal actually came to be the place that represented the centre of their cult worship.
11 Is Gilead wicked?
Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?
Their altars will be like piles of stones
on a plowed field.
4 “Go to Bethel and sin;
go to Gilgal and sin yet more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tithes every three years.
Understandably then, the conduct of the people of Israel at Gilgal was that which evoked the righteous wrath of God. God even says in this verse through Hosea, “I hated them there.” Because their deeds were so wicked, Yahweh announced: “I will drive them out of my house.”
This reference to driving Israel out was referring to both the land of Israel - they would be driven out of the land.
But further to that, they would be driven as a congregation away from the presence of the Lord, particularly as He dwelt with them in Israel, in Jerusalem, in the Temple there.
God says here through Hosea, “I will no longer love them.” All favor and mercy had been withdrawn from Israel. The reason is that “all of their leaders are rebellious.”
In Hebrew this is a play on words which several writers have tried to capture in English. Thus “all their nobles are rebels” (G.A. Smith); “all their rulers are unruly” (Box); “all their princes are prancers” (Horton); “all their rulers are revolters” (Brown).
We’ve already considered this briefly before, but again, God is saying that the leadership are intimiately involved in the sorry state that Israel finds themself in. The leaders are corrupt, and do not lead the people in the way that they should, and therefore, the people are led astray.
Hosea goes on in verse 16 to say...
16 Ephraim is blighted,
their root is withered,
they yield no fruit.
Even if they bear children,
I will slay their cherished offspring.”
Israel is compared to a tree which has been so damaged by the sun (or perhaps a worm) that it dries up.
Ephraim is blighted; their root is dried up.
Just think of a dead plant. There is no offspring from this dead plant. A dead plant cannot produce. It is useless and worthless.
Our minds should be taken to the account ofJesus entering in Jerusalem just the week prior to his crucifixion. And one day as he was traveling from Bethany to Jerusalem, and he noted a fig tree that was full of leaves, as if there was great life in the tree. But as he arrived to look at the tree, there was no fruit. And in that account, he cursed the tree, and it withered up and died. And the reason that he did that was because the tree was having this demonstration of vibrance, but there was no fruit on the tree. The tree was all show with no substance. And that was what Israel eventually had become.
Lots of religious activity, very little fruit.
And here, Hosea is telling these Israeltes that they are blighted; their roots are withered; they are not bearing fruit as a people.
And then we see the consequences to this.
Even if they bear children, I will slay their cherished offspring.
In essence, this is the pronouncement of the judgment of God upon them. They will not continue to thrive. They will not be blessed as a nation, because they have forsaken the Almighty God. They will suffer the consequences.
Hosea then speaks again in verse 17...
17 My God will reject them
because they have not obeyed him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.
Here are the words of the prophet. He is deeply moved - I would suggest, moved to anger - that the nation refuses to listen to the words of God. They refuse to heed the call of God to them. They stubbornly keep to their sinful ways.
And Hosea is here led, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to proncounce this imprecatory word - a call for divine justice - for the nation Israel.
The reason, because they have not obeyed him.
The consequence - they will be wanderers among the nations.
Application / Conclusion
Application / Conclusion
As we consider this text, let me start by conveying the important spiritual realities that we need to keep in our minds.
There is a picture here in this text of fruitfulness as opposed to barrenness.
Well known passages in Scripture.
17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
We have the picture of Christ being the vine, and we are the branches…
John 15:1 and following...
In verse 16 of that passage, Christ says...
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
The question that we need to ask ourselves is this… are we doing that in our lives that will lead to bearing fruit?
An appropriate place to turn as we consider this is Psalm 1:1-3...
1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
The question I want to ask is, are you taking those measures, those steps, to be the person who is placing themselves in such a place as to bear much good fruit.
We must remain in Christ.
We must delight ourselves in the law of God. In the Scriptures. Just a friendly encouragement… take up the Word of God. Read that word and study that word. Find friends, make friends that love the word and want to live out its teaching. This is God’s word to us.