Hosea - God's redeeming love- Pt. IV
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
God’s redeeming love
God’s redeeming love
God is holy, God is just, God is love, and we have seen all of these things as we have surveyed Hosea. Today we will focus on God’s promised love and restoration of the rebellious people (Israel) after some reminders along the way.
We have looked at God’s dealing with Israel (1:1-3:5)
We have looked at God’s indictment of Israel (4:1-7:16)
We have looked at God’s punishment (8:1-10:15)
Today we will look at God’s love (11:1-14:9)
God illustrated the relationship with Israel and the whoredom they had done and there would be a restoration after a time of separation and chastisement.
One commentator outlined it as
God is illustrating (1-3)
God is holy (4-7)
God is just (8-10)
God is promising (11-14)
(Transition) So this morning here is the plan.
Gods love of the rebellious Israel (11:1-11)
God’s chastisement of rebellious Israel (11:12-13:16)
God’s promised restoration (14:1-9)
Some concluding thoughts on Hosea
God’s love of rebellious Israel
God’s love of rebellious Israel
I think we have previously seen an analogy of God’s great love (chapters 1-3) even of rebellious, adulterous people (Israel). In this section we will some Israeli history and promise described.
Let’s read together and make a few points
1 When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. 2 The more they called them, The more they went from them; They kept sacrificing to the Baals And burning incense to idols.
3 Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in My arms; But they did not know that I healed them. 4 I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them.
5 They will not return to the land of Egypt; But Assyria—he will be their king Because they refused to return to Me. 6 The sword will whirl against their cities, And will demolish their gate bars And consume them because of their counsels.
7 So My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him. 8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned over within Me, All My compassions are kindled.
9 I will not execute My fierce anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again. For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, And I will not come in wrath. 10 They will walk after the Lord, He will roar like a lion; Indeed He will roar And His sons will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt And like doves from the land of Assyria; And I will settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.
Anything stick out to you?
Gleaning from the scripture
How did God feel about Israel (v.1)?
He loved them
How did God describe His love for Israel (vv. 3, 4, 8, 9)?
He taught them, He took them, He led them, He had compassion for them and he promised them (implied on last one).
God’s love despite Israel’s rebellion
God brought them out of Egypt, yet they worshipped the Baals (vv.1-2)
God nurtured them , thought they knew it not (vv.3-4)
God informed them of coming captivity (vv.5-7)
God has compassion on them and will return them (vv.8-11)
God’s chastisement of rebellious Israel
God’s chastisement of rebellious Israel
Chastisement, who likes it? Chastisement means: severe criticism; a rebuke or strong reprimand. It is a subject that is seen in the scripture with purpose. God’s chastisement is from His love for them.
This, like some of our others passages is a long passage and we will break it up some.
Ephraim (Israel) is full of sin and tries to rely on self and others vs. God (11:12-12:6)
12 Ephraim surrounds Me with lies And the house of Israel with deceit; Judah is also unruly against God, Even against the Holy One who is faithful.
1 Ephraim feeds on wind, And pursues the east wind continually; He multiplies lies and violence. Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria, And oil is carried to Egypt. 2 The Lord also has a dispute with Judah, And will punish Jacob according to his ways; He will repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel, And in his maturity he contended with God. 4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and sought His favor. He found Him at Bethel And there He spoke with us,
5 Even the Lord, the God of hosts, The Lord is His name. 6 Therefore, return to your God, Observe kindness and justice, And wait for your God continually.
God knows there is a dispute with Judah too (v.2) but is going to judge, chasten, punish Jacob (Israel) at this time.
God is going to bring reproach on the boastful Ephraim (12:7-14)
7 A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, He loves to oppress. 8 And Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors they will find in me No iniquity, which would be sin.”
9 But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, As in the days of the appointed festival. 10 I have also spoken to the prophets, And I gave numerous visions, And through the prophets I gave parables.
11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? Surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps Beside the furrows of the field. 12 Now Jacob fled to the land of Aram, And Israel worked for a wife, And for a wife he kept sheep.
13 But by a prophet the Lord brought Israel from Egypt, And by a prophet he was kept. 14 Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger; So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him And bring back his reproach to him.
Israel (Ephriam/Samaria) shall be held guilty and punished accordingly (13:1-16)
1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling. He exalted himself in Israel, But through Baal he did wrong and died. 2 And now they sin more and more, And make for themselves molten images, Idols skillfully made from their silver, All of them the work of craftsmen. They say of them, “Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning cloud And like dew which soon disappears, Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor And like smoke from a chimney. 4 Yet I have been the Lord your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to know any god except Me, For there is no savior besides Me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness, In the land of drought. 6 As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, And being satisfied, their heart became proud; Therefore they forgot Me.
7 So I will be like a lion to them; Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the wayside. 8 I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs, And I will tear open their chests; There I will also devour them like a lioness, As a wild beast would tear them.
9 It is your destruction, O Israel, That you are against Me, against your help. 10 Where now is your king That he may save you in all your cities, And your judges of whom you requested, “Give me a king and princes”?
11 I gave you a king in My anger And took him away in My wrath. 12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; His sin is stored up.
13 The pains of childbirth come upon him; He is not a wise son, For it is not the time that he should delay at the opening of the womb. 14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion will be hidden from My sight.
15 Though he flourishes among the reeds, An east wind will come, The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness; And his fountain will become dry And his spring will be dried up; It will plunder his treasury of every precious article. 16 Samaria will be held guilty, For she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, Their little ones will be dashed in pieces, And their pregnant women will be ripped open.
(Transition) - man, that is a lot there and have not slowed down too much, I really want to get to the summary but we have not finished with the text yet, there is the promised restoration in the future for Israel and we need to look at our final part of the book, then summarize.
God’s promised restoration
God’s promised restoration
After a chastisement, after the reason why, there will be a restoration. After a time of separation (captivity).
1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity. 2 Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity And receive us graciously, That we may present the fruit of our lips.
3 “Assyria will not save us, We will not ride on horses; Nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’ To the work of our hands; For in You the orphan finds mercy.” 4 I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel; He will blossom like the lily, And he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon. 6 His shoots will sprout, And his beauty will be like the olive tree And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.
7 Those who live in his shadow Will again raise grain, And they will blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon. 8 O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like a luxuriant cypress; From Me comes your fruit.
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, And the righteous will walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them.
Come back to the Lord, Assyria will not save you (vv.1-3)
God will return them, heal them (vv.4-7)
There will be a cure for the idolatry (v.8)
Think on, consider these things (v.9)
(Transition) God did fulfill the promise of restoration for Israel and for Judah too starting with the Cyrus decree (2Chr36:22-23). Now with the call to understand in (v.9) let us consider some lessons from Hosea before we close out this study.
Some concluding thoughts on Hosea
Some concluding thoughts on Hosea
In a quick overview of some great lessons we have seen in Hosea.
God is God of love (Hos11:1, 3-4)
In quick fashion know this
God loves his people, like a man loves his wife (1:1-3:5); like a father loves his child (11:1).
God because of his redeeming love blesses His people and nurtures them patiently (11:3-4)
God is a God of holiness (Hos4:1-2, 6, 8:12, 7:8-9, 10:12-13)
He expects his people to know Him and His will (4:1-2, 5; 8:12)
He expects his people to avoid bad influences (7:8-9)
He expects his people to sow in righteousness (10:12-13)
God is a God of justice (Hos9:9, 13:7-8)
Sin cannot go unpunished (9:9)
If you dwell in sin, you will suffer consequences (13:7-8)
God is a God of Mercy (Hos14:1, 4)
God calls for repentance so can give mercy (14:1)
He will forgive and give mercy to the one who do repent (14:4)
I think you have seen a picture of Hosea and Gomer; God and Israel of God’s redeeming love wanting there to be a true repentance and He would restore and return them.
Today God is still the God of redemption and offers us redemption through Jesus Christ
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight
And in honesty just like Hosea’s day many did not take the message seriously and not many returned, there was only a remnant. Today many do not take the gospel seriously either just as Jesus predicted.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
and add
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
You are here on a Sunday morning bible class, I hope and pray you have taken the message of the bible seriously and we may consider God’s final words through the prophet
9 Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; The righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them.
Let’s walk together!
(Prayer) (Exit)