Hosea 2:15

Josea chapter 2, and I’ll be reading verses 2 to 15, but our focus is going to be on verse 15. Plead with your mother. Plead for she is not my wife, neither am I, her husband. Let her therefore put away her hoardings out of her sight and her adulteries from between her breast, lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst. And I will not have mercy upon her children, for they be the children of hordoms, for their mother hath played the harlot. She that conceived them, hath done shamefully. For she said, I will go after my lovers that give me my bread and my water, my wool, and my flax, and my oil, and my drink. Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them. She shall seek them, but shall not find them. Then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband, for then was it better with me than now. For she did not know that I gave her corn, wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for bail. Therefore will I return and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness. And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out. of mine hand. I will also cause all her mirth to cease. Her feast days, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemn feast. And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees whereof she has said, these are my rewards that my lovers have given me, and I will make them a forest. and the beast of the field shall eat them. And I will visit upon her the days of Balaam, wherein she burned incense to them, decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgot me, said the Lord. Therefore, behold, I will lure her and bring her into the wilderness, speak comfortably under her. and I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of acore for a door of hope. She shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. May God bless to us his wonderful and glorious word this evening. George Frederick Handel reached the point where he was a very troubled man. He was broke financially as well as physically. His creditors were threatening him with imprisonment, and he was suffering from partial paralysis. And yet during this time of trouble, he rose to the greatest heights of creative experience. He went into seclusion. he prayed constantly to God, and during that time, God enabled him to write the greatest of all oratorios, the Messiah. And the notes seemed to fly from his pen. Now, as a Christian, you may experience a great deal of trouble in this life, often as a result of your own sinful, behavior, sickness, tragedy, financial woes may overwhelm you. Backsliders often feel the sting of their own sinfulness by the chastening hand of God. Israel here has given herself, as we read to pursuing other gods. She is offering herself, as we read to pursuing other gods. she has offered to bail the very gifts which God himself, Jehovah, had given her, the corn, the wine, the silver, the gold. God has sent upon her affliction after affliction. Now she’s poor, she’s sick, she’s wretched. She has threatened, he has threatened to take her. take away her good gifts to hedge up her way with thorns so that she cannot do as she pleases and send her into the wilderness of exile, which looms on the horizon. And yet, in the midst of all this darkness and this hopelessness that we read about, God promises to speak comfortably to his people, as we saw in verse 14. and even provide a door of hope in the day of trouble, which is what verse 15 tells us tonight. So tonight I want to speak on the subject of the backsliders’ door of hope from this passage of scripture. Now, your valley of trouble can be made into a door of hope. Your sins are the source of. trouble both for you personally and for the church as well. The valley of Acre is just southwest of Jericho. It’s a very pleasant and fruitful area. Yet it is always called the mind for the Israelites trouble. Acor means trouble. Disaster, misfortune. You call it. what happened there? I had Russell read it tonight, Joshua 7. Aiken, who was called Acar, by the way, in 1 Corinthians 2.7, caused Israel a great deal of trouble there because he stole items from the city of Jericho when God had that city dedicated to himself and all the things in it were to be burned and a big bonfire. It was under the Lord that that first city was to be dedicated. But Aiken got his greedy hands on some valuables in the city, and he hid them secretly in his tent. Surely no one would know. And then God withdrew his blessing from the army of the Israelites. When they went out to a very small city, AI, they lost the battle. When Joshua inquired about this, the Lord said, it’s because they’re sin in the camp. Israel could not be victorious as long as the hidden, evil, vacant, corrupted them. So God made known to Joshua the problem. And as we saw all the families and all the tribes and all the clans came before Joshua and the elders, and slowly but surely, Aiken was singled out as the culprit behind it all. And you find Joshua asking, why hast thou trouble this? Aiken and his family, we see are stoned, burned with fire, and then buried under a heap of stones as a memorial to what has happened to the Israelites. Those days’ day is day is like Aiken in that there’s a great deal of evil in Israel and they have the same problem. They have sin in the camp and they’ve been guilty of stealing from God himself. The wine, the oil, the gold, the silver that should have been dedicated to the Lord, were given to bail instead as we read in verse 8. The entire nation, this time, was singled out and God pronounced the death sentence of the exile for them. And so we see the valley of acorn here, acorn mentioned. Now obviously the sin of Aiken still continues to plague the people of God. There’s nothing new under the sun. It’s not buried in stone in ancient Canaan. it’s not over as far as we’re concerned. The danger is that when you backslide as a Christian, you not only harm yourself, but you affect the church as well. You may rob God also. You may perhaps you rob him in claiming that you have no time for the work of the kingdom, and yet you have plenty of time for your pleasures. Or perhaps you rob God of his ties and offerings. which you owe him. Maybe you think it’s a shame to waste your hard-earned money and giving it to the church. You fail to realize that you are merely a steward in everything you have, in one way or another, is actually God’s and belongs to him. The defeats of the church, then we should see are often do the hidden sins. As long as there’s sin in the camp, the church is going to suffer defeats. You cannot be a sanctifying influence on anyone else if you yourself are unholy. The church will have no power if she harbors ach in her midst. She will be defeated. She will be scorned. No one will take her seriously. How much more will this be the case? There’s more than one acan in the church. If like Israel’s day or Josea’s day, the whole body is corrupted, in Israel’s day there was one man that created the problem, but now there’s many in Israel that are creating the problem. If one man can cause Israel so much trouble, of surely an army full of acens, can only mean disaster for the church. So your sins are a source of trouble for both you and your church. But let’s talk about, I think we understand that very clearly. That’s obvious. How can your valley of trouble become a door of hope? Isn’t that really what we need to know? Well, Israel here had to remove Aiken. After Aiken is, unmasked, the Israelites were given the opportunity to get rid of the troublemaker of Israel. The people did not hesitate to root out the evil. Radical steps were taken to deal with this issue. Joshua and all the people took Aiken, the stolen goods, his family, his livestock, even his tent, and brought them to the Valley of the Valley of the Acre, and there Aiken was stoned together with all his family and possessions. And afterwards, the entire household and goods were burned with fire. There was absolutely nothing left. For the sinner and his household, the Valley of Acre was a place of despair. We might even call it the door of hell. But for those who put away the evil, For the repenting remnant of Israel, the valley of Acre then became a door of hope. Because once they dealt with the sin, now God’s blessing would once again rest upon them. The cause of Israel’s setback was nipped in the bud, bud, and hope was once again reborn in their hearts. So God says now, he’s going to set an open door through which Israel can re-enter. Canaan and God’s blessing will once again rest upon the nation. What is God telling us here? Isn’t it this that as the church we have to purge out sin in our own lives and deal with it as we see it and find it in the church? The only way the valley of trouble can become the door of hope is for you to root out the evil. Most of those thrown into the valley of trouble in the exile among the Israelites will perish, but there’s hope for and there’s a gate of recovery for the remnant. Those who repent, those who seek the Lord again. Isaiah 6510 says, and Sharon shall be a fold of flocks. In the valley of Acore, a place for the shepherds to lie down in. For my people. that have sought me. For the ones who have repented and sought me, it’ll once again be a place of peace, pace of rest, and not a place of trouble. Sharon was a very sweet and pleasant place. Acour was a place of pastrich pasture land, and this blessing is promised to those who seek. The Lord, and that is a place of a place of pastrich pasture land, and this blessing is promised to those who seek. The Lord, and that’s what we find from our text. Josea, too, certainly look forward to the return from exile. But some of these verses in this passage are also quoted in the New Testament, indicating that it refers somewhat to the church in the fact that there will be those called out of all the different nations to trust in the Lord, from all parts of the earth. For the church today, therefore, the message is pretty much the same as Israel long ago. Sin must be rooted out. How often do you find Christ addressing his church in the book of Revelation with these words, I have somewhat against you. I have somewhat against you. You may do this right and that right, and the other thing right, but I have something against you. You have an ached in your midst. You have some sin that needs to be rooted out, robbing you a victory. You know, the Church of Philadelphia is the only one, which you don’t hear those threatening words, I have somewhat against you. And what does God promise them? But an open door. Do you remember what God said? In Revelation 3.8, behold, I have said before thee an open door, no man can shut it. For thou hast a little strength and has kept my word and have not denied my name. Ah, the door of success. The door of hope is open for them. And God promises them victory. Those of the synagogue of Satan, I will make come and worship before your feet. Revelation 3.9. So the church which roots out evil in its midst will move in truels triumph through the victory gate, the valley of acorn, acore then becomes the door of hope. So your valley of trouble can be made into a door of hope. But secondly tonight, you will experience renewed blessings upon repentance. Notice your vineyards will be restored. Verse 12. says this, and I will destroy her vines and her fig trees where she has said, these are my rewards that my lovers have given me, and I will make them a forest, and the beast of the field shall eat them. But when we get the verse 15, we see, I will give her her vineyards from that. There’s a restoration that takes place here. When you come back to Christ, the very things that are taken away can be then restored to you. It is sometimes even true with reference to the temporal things that God has removed. The rod is set aside when it accomplishes its purpose. There is many a backsliding Christian who has been kept poor or sick or depressed until the time of repentance. But when you return to Christ as the shepherd your soul, he may indeed allow you to lie down in green pastures and besides still waters once again. It is certainly true with regard to the spiritual matters that he will restore us. If you have been backslidden, you know, the house of God doesn’t provide the comfort and hope that it once did. But if you come back to the Lord, you will find the same pleasure in the house of God that you used to find in it. Perhaps the Lord’s day has become weary to you. For it does not provide the holy joy it once did. Come back to God and the Christian Sabbath will be a blessing to you once again, a delight. It will be the best. day of the week for you. Possibly in your backslidden state you have continued to read your Bible, but it’s lost all its former interest for you. You can read it, but it’s just not the same. Perhaps you fall upon your knees and you try to pray that you can’t meet with God for some reason. The heavens seem like brass to you. Yet if you return to Christ and sincerity and truth, All of this shall be restored to you. I will give her her vineyards. You will find the mercy seat still open when you pray. And God willing to listen to you. You have a renewed communion with the Lord. The assurance of your salvation will return. Your spiritual usefulness to the kingdom of God will be restored. The man of God’s word will feed your soul. Once again, your vineyards. will be restored. The sweetest blessings will be returned to you. Vineyards. You know, God doesn’t just give you what you need. He could have spoken here about the cornfield. He talks about a luxury here that brings joy. He talks about the vineyard. Psalm 104.15 says God gives wine that make it glad the heart of man. Wine is often a symbol of joy. In fact, in the Song of Solomon, it sort of talks about the rapturous love in the marriage. But vineyards are not necessarily are not needed in the life of man. God, but see, God doesn’t just grudgingly give us, okay, you’re on bread and water the rest of your days. He gets you back to vineyard. He’s willing to give you things that are not absolutely necessary, but he knows will further your joy. God’s mercy is not doled out in a business-like fashion here. There’s an abundance to God’s mercy. And we should appreciate that. Because we sin enough that God could just keep us on the bread and water, but he gives us an abundance of mercy. He increases our joy. It’s like when you go to a banquet, where the Lord is the glorious king makes you a guest and he distributes the riches of his grace. He’s not one who is reluctant to give his people blessings. Perhaps right now you’re in the valley of trouble. Come back to the Lord and you’ll come back to your former peace of mind and the joy of the Lord will be yours. You shall not be just permitted to eat the crumbs that fall from the table of the Lord. Why, he says here, that he will provide for you. He will fill your soul with goodness. Make you eat of the rich foods, the sweetness of his love. The sweetness of his grace will be yours. Like the prodigal son, God says, let’s kill the fatty calf. My son has repented. He’s come back. Isn’t that what God does for us? You can still experience all the happiness and joy that a ransom soul ought to know. Aren’t you glad that God’s like that? You experience the joy of true worship once again. She shall sing. I will make you to sing. You know, think about the misery of the backslider. There’s an old American story about a gentleman who owned a very large vineyard, or excuse me, orchard, apple orchard. And he asked his friend to come over and sample some of the apples that he had. He talked and bragged about how sweet they were, how good they were. But the man never came over. And finally, the owner of the apple orchard said to him, how come you won’t come over. He said, well, to tell you the truth, I stopped one time at the side of the road and ate a couple of your apples that were right there on the trees on the outer part of the vineyard or the orchard. And I’ll tell you the truth, they were one of the most sour apples I’ve ever eaten. The man laughed. He said, oh, those are the special apples I bought. I bought those specially the line my outer part of my apple orchard so that the boys in the neighborhood wouldn’t come and steal all my apples. They’d eat the ones on the outside and it’d be bitter and they’d sire and they’d say we don’t want his apples. But he said if you come to my house, I’ll give you some from the inner part of the orchard and you’ll find how sweet and delicious they are. So it is with true religion. If you you stay on the fringe of religion, you have a little religion, the food may taste sour to you. Because what you hear about is repentance. What you hear about mortifying sin, which grates your very soul, perhaps. God’s demands seem very sire to your soul, set your teeth on edge, so to speak. You have no idea, though, of the rich sweetness, of the fruit that grows in the center in the path of obedience and submission to God. If you come back to the Lord, you will experience the true joy of worship. She shall sing as in the days of her youth. As when you first knew the Lord, that fresh time when you were so moved by the grace of God when he saved your soul, the wilderness, the solitary place, shall meet a place of gladness for them. The desert shall rejoice and blossom like a rose for you. God will restore to you the joy of his salvation. God will put a new song in your mouth. Even praise unto him. Psalm 40, verse 3. You will relish the songs of Zion you began once to sing. May you see here so much of Christ’s conquest of your sin in your life that you magnify his name in song. That he’s a God of forgiveness and that deserves our praise and our thankfulness. Let your whole being praise and glorify the Lord because he’s brought you back from the desert. He’s brought you back from the land of your captivity to a great blessing. My friends, only if you die to sin are you truly going to escape death. The Valley of Acour then can be a door of hope to you. The place of trouble, a door of hope. It’s not enough merely to confess your sin. We have to get down to the business of combating our sin as well. and the evil must be removed from our lives. The quiet, the hidden sin of Aiken. You know what it is in your own life. You must not allow it to continue. It will land you to defeat in defeat and suffering. Remove evil from your life. Do not plague the camp of God because of your secret sin and God promises he will restore what he took away. He will give you back your vineyards and the joy of your salvation once more. Why delay? Why delay when God says, hey, you can have the fatty calf and I can forgive you of your sins. Repent and return to me. Let’s close.