Hosea 4:15-19

Oseo chapter 4 and verses 15 through 19. Though thou Israel play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend, and come not ye unto Gilgau, neither go ye up to Beth Avon, nor swear the Lord liveth. For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer. Now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place. Ephraim is joined to idols. Let him alone. Their drink is sire. They have committed hordom continually. Her rulers with shame do love give ye. The wind hath bound her up in her wings. And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices. May God bless to us the reading of His sacred word this evening. I wonder if you’ve ever bitten into an apple. I want to discover that it’s rotten inside and maybe even has worms. It happens a lot, you know, and if you have your own trees. At least when I was growing up, it happened. Well, if that’s the case, then you understand somewhat how perhaps Adam and Eve had felt when they were duped by Satan in eating the apple or the fruit, whatever that fruit was, off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They thought they were going to be as God, found out that it brought all the misery, and problems of the human race that we have upon them. Satan fooled them. He fooled them with a cheap and counterfeit and self-satisfying brand of religion, if you would, and he’s still fooling people today. There’s a warning in our text about this whole issue. to understand it properly, we have to understand it. Judah, of course, is the southern kingdom, which was still holding to the true worship at Jerusalem. But Israel is the northern kingdom, which is sold out to the golden calves in false religion. Let me begin by saying, you must be aware of the lure of worldly religion from verse 15, though thou Israel play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend and come, not ye unto Gilgather, gilgall, neither go you up to Beth Aben, nor swear, the Lord liveth. Now one of the problems the southern kingdom have was the nearness of these false worships. centers to Judah. We’re only talking about 15 miles distance from the border of Judah. And so God says here that Judah must not be like Israel. There was a great deal of danger of Judah being ensnared and fascinated by this false worship just over their border and being sucked. in on it. So they lived so near it that it was dangerous to them. Both Bethel, by the way, God calls it Beth Avon here, which means the house of vanity, instead of the house of God, which is what the word actually means. In Gilgau were just this short distance from the southern kingdom and people would travel over. and get caught up in this false worship. Now all around you, doesn’t matter which way you look, there’s false worship centers. You don’t have to go very far. False worship centers. Worldly worship. And we talked about some of the marks of worldly worship. There’s a rejection of the truth of scripture, verse 6. There is the fleshly activities being acceptable, verses 7 to 9. Unscriptural decision making, verse 12. Unsubmissiveness to God, also in verse 12. A denial of the regulated principle of worship in verse 13. And man-pleasing worship, according to verse 13. They love the shadow. Because worldly religion is flesh-pleasing, it attracts a lot of attention. And people flock to these centers of worship. There’s a lot of megachurches today that are false centers of worship, for they have no true teaching of the gospel and the things of God. After all, God’s way of worship is strict and many find it too confining. And so the nearness of these false centers of worship was a temptation. And we have that same temptation because of the nearness of all these religious megachurches all around us. Notice something else here. Perhaps your family attends a place of false worship. The Israelites and the people are Judah were actually family. You can imagine there were some people who were related even to those in Judah who lived in the Northern Kingdom and got caught up in this worship. They’re all from the stock of Abraham. And so these two kingdoms were in actuality one people. No doubt the people of Judah could have aunts and cousins and uncles and sons and daughters and so forth living just over the line. And they were worshipping at Gilgale and at Bethel the Golden Calfs. Perhaps they even invited their family members to join them in the worship. Now if you have a family member who perhaps is close to you who attends a worldly church there is danger of course of being drawn into it and many people have suffered shipwreck of their faith because of an apostate and false religion connected with their family I read in the past about a star quarterback for Brigham Young University Ty Detner who was converted to Mormonism because of the young woman that he went to college with and was attracted to and wanted to marry was a Mormon. He had evidently been raised in a traditional Christian home. And so he converts to Mormonism because of her. I’ve seen those who were in Bible preaching churches end up eventually in a Catholic church. That’s hard to believe. But it happens. There’s the danger of being drawn into a worldly religion because of family ties. You will find centers of false worship are very popular. When you think about it, Israel had ten tribes. Jude only had two. And the multitude of people were going to Gilgal and Bethel. So let’s face it, far more people were worshipping the golden calves than we’re coming to Jerusalem to worship at God’s temple. And thus the temptation is to go to where there’s the more popular religion. This is always a great. lure. People don’t want to be out of step with the vast majority of people around them. And so they often go to the popular churches where everybody’s attending. And they have their rock bands and their clowns and their party atmosphere and their holy entertainment and people are captivated by it all. It’s exciting. Most people are more interested in whether or not you have a youth group, a gym, a basketball team, or a band, and they are whether you’re teaching the Word of God. They are interested in activities, not worship. And they want a large church where all these activities are playing out. So you find centers of worship very popular. There are people who were attending a reform church and yet they left it because of a, you know, they wanted an awana class for their son. And I thought that was better than being in a sound Christian church. So they left it and ended up in a church that wasn’t sound. Often you find centers of false worship. worship, promising prosperity or success. The Northern Kingdom was rich. Under Jerobone II, they were very prosperous. And you might look at them with envy and think, well, look, look, they’re worshipping here. Look how well they’re blessed and provided for. So there may be a temptation to think, I could do a lot better if I attended one of these places. Some have built kingdoms. on the health and wealth gospel that they proclaim. That God will make you wealthy. That God will give you good health if you follow them. People want to attend a church of worship where everything is beautiful and comfortable. They’ve got plush carpets, stained glass windows, crystal cathedrals, chastrals, crystal chandeliers, so forth. There are churches today that preach the health and wealth gospel and tell you you can be rich and prosperous. You just come and worship with them. So you must be aware of the lure here of worldly religion. So a warning goes out to Judah not to participate in this false religion. Secondly, you must not associate with worldly churches. You must avoid attending places of worldly worship. Notice verse 15. As he says here, though thou Israel play the harlot, let not Judah effect. Come not ye unto Gilgall, either go ye up to Beth Avon or swear the Lord Liveth. When we look at Bethel and Gilgale, these false places of worship, we see the temptation to end up there. But God says, don’t go there. Don’t attend these places. Go to the legitimate altar at Jerusalem. Don’t go running to these profane places pursuing worldly worship. What does God say? to you and I then. What is he telling us in this passage of Scripture? You must not go to places where false worship occurs. Stay away from them. This is what the message is for us. They are synagogues of Satan. They are indeed houses of vanity. They are places which despise and profane. the name of God. We have no business being in a kingdom hall of the Jehovah Witnesses. We should have nothing to do with the worship of the Mormons, Christian scientists, Seventh Day Adventist. Why should a true believer be found in the pagan temples of the Roman Catholic Church, where Jesus Christ is supposedly sacrificed of the fresh age service. God would say to you and he said to Elijah long ago, what doest thou here? Nor should you attend a Pentecostal church where people are speaking in tongues and falling down so-called slain in the spirit and so forth where they think they can get a message from God outside of Scripture. Because this is all false worship. What does God have to do with all these things. Come out from among them and be ye separate from them. is the same message we hear today. So you must avoid attending places of worldly worship. You are never to mix true religion with worldly religion. The word swear in this passage in verse 15 does not mean to curse, but it means to take an oath. Like when we say in court, do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth? Only in this case, this type of swearing or oath-taking has to do with God’s name. And so we know that Scripture tells us in the law Deuteron 613, Thou shall fear the Lord thy God and serve him and swear by his names. We can use the name of God in an oath, but the faithful worshippers are indeed to swear by the name of the Lord. So why is God forbidding it? Because it’s connected with false worship in this passage verse 15. God would not have his name and his solemn worship mixed thus corrupted with idol worship. As God says in 2 Corinthians 2.16 and 17, what does light have to do with darkness? What do we of the people of God sons of light have to do with those who are in darkness? There cannot be any compromise between true and false worship. Borrowing the idea from worldly worship, we find that David constructed a new cart to carry the ark on, you remember, and look with trouble. It brought him when he borrowed something from the false false thinking and worship of the Philistines. So we can’t mix true worship with worldly worship. You should not stay in a worldly church in order to reform it. Notice verse 17 with me. Ephraim is joined to idols. Let him alone. Let him alone. Ephrium, of course, is the chief term for the Northern Kingdom. And God says here through his prophet that it’s useless to keep attempting to reform them, you might as well cease your labors.. God sent Josea to bring a message repentance, and if they don’t repent, they’re going to bring a judgment upon themselves. But let them alone is a rather solemn statement when you think about. Here they are. Caught up in false worship, and God says, let them alone. Don’t weary yourself trying to reform them. Why? Because they’re married and joined to this false worship and they’re completely attached and nothing is going to shake them from it. It’s interesting that Jesus uses this same language in reference to the Pharisees in the New Testament, providing more insight in light in Matthew 15, 12, or 14. He says, let them alone. It’s really a fierce some sign of reprobation because they’re headed for destruction. And Christ said, don’t attempt to turn them away anymore. So there are some people who believe that they should stay in apostate church in order to attempt to recover it, to reform it. But you have to reach the point where you learn it’s time to let them alone and go on. We see people attack. to their false and worldly worship and there’s nothing you can do to change them or to shake them. And so if we are rejected, we simply shake the dust off our feet and go on our way. So you should not stay in a worldly church in order to try to reform it. You should recognize when people are sold out the false worship. Verse 18. Their drink is sire. They have committed hordom continually. Her rulers with shame do love give ye. It’s uninspired worship. Their drink is sire. This seems to be referring to their worship and sacrifices when their drink offerings were applied to these these offerings. They used to have feast also with their sacrifices. This was part of their false worship. We read in Judges 927, and they went out into the fields and gathered their vineyards and trod the grapes and made Mary and went into the house of their God and did eat and drink. So we have perhaps something similar here. When Hosea says their drinks are sour. This means that the flavor in life has gone out of them. Have you ever opened a can of Pepsi and started drinking in it when it was cold? It tastes pretty good. So maybe you got distracted, a phone call or something and you set the Coke can done and about an hour later you get back to it and guess what? All the fizzes out of it. It’s flat, syrupy, warm. Doesn’t taste good anymore. So God is saying that their drink offerings are not savory. There is no spiritual life in worldly worship. It’s dead. Wine which is sour is really no good at all. But it needs to be cast out. There’s no attempt to change. He says they’re committed to hoardums continually. Now, I think they’re saying hoard them here in the sense of false worship. That they are, you know, they’re locked in to worship these golden calves. And so the problem is that they are committed continually and that’s what I want to focus on that word continually. They’re not going to be moved from this false worship. They didn’t just fall into sin. They wallow in it. One problem in worldly churches is that once a sinful practice has taken root, it seems to continue to grow and develop and become entrenched. Think about Mormonism and its polygamy. Think about the Roman Catholic Church and its worship of Mary and idols. Pentecostal church and speaking in tongues and receiving special revelation, these are hallmarks of these religions. And there’s corrupt leadership. Her rulers with shame do love give you. I think the point here is that the priest and those involved in this false worship were interested in the prophet, the money aspect of this situation. Perhaps the principle to be gleaned here is that spiritual leaders love gain. Worldly religious leaders love the filthy lucre. They are dangerous. They’re only interested in making merchandise of people. And so there are many who have gone the way of Bealam in religious leadership. They loved the wages of unrighteousness that they gain. And that’s what we find here, I believe, as well. Now my third point tonight is this. You should know that God abandons worldly religion to judgment. Verse 16 in verse 19. For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer. Now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place. The wind hath found her up in her wings and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices. Verse 16 we see the rebellious here are abandoned by God. The people Israel are accused of stubbornness or rebellion. She refuses to be brought under the yoke for plowin. Like a backsliding effort it moves its head away so you can’t get the yoke over top of it easily. Israel refuses to be subject to the Lord’s commands. the oak of God was too oppressive for Israel so she didn’t want to actually be under it she thought she had freedom to do what she pleased. This is what people say today. The true religion is too narrow, too strict, too many hard sayings. So they rebel against God’s appointed rule. God says fine. then I’ll feed you like a lamb or sheep in a large place. Now, at first, you might think here that this doesn’t seem to be a threat or a punishment. At the very least, it seems as just just some kind-hearted indulgence. However, God gives Israel space. It will not benefit her to be out. out in the open, she should be with the flock under the eye of a shepherd. But because she isn’t, she’s in a dangerous place where wild animals like wolves could come along and kill them. So God is saying, go ahead. If you don’t want to obey me, do as you please, graze where you desire. Sometimes it’s a horrible thing to get your own way. Because it places you in. grave danger. What you must remember is that the lamb doesn’t belong in the middle of an open field all alone. That’s a bad situation. It gets tangled up in the bushes, falls into a pit, or, as I said, is attacked and eaten as some wild beast. And so God here is saying that worldly religion leads to disaster. God gives those engaged in it. the space they desire, but it’s an abandonment by God that we see here. He’ll watch over and he will shepherd a true church, but not a false. And there’ll be a sudden and powerful judgment. Verse 19 talks about the wind here. This is not just a little breeze. This is a powerful wind. The suddenness, the violence of it, the swiftness of it has to do with God’s judgment, sweeping them away, like the violent storm connected with a hurricane that comes along. And they’re carried off like a violent tornado would carry off something into captivity and misery. Ultimately, false tornado. worship leads to destruction. It leads to your soul being doomed. They’re like the rich man who all of a sudden lifts up his eyes in hell being in torment. It’s all over for him. And God is saying that he’s going to send a swift judgment. Well, we look at worldly religion, and it’s outwardly maybe beautiful. And it appears to be bright and shiny on the surface like an apple. But the reality is, once you bite into it, there’s rottenness within. Satan has deceived millions of people by false religion. And we must be aware of the lure of worldly worship. It’s all around us. In every direction you look, in walking distance from where we are right, now. There’s an attractive feature. Maybe there’s prosperity or success that you see with it. A lot of successful business people go to these churches, mega churches, and so forth. But God is saying, stay away from it. You can’t mix my worship in with this worship. And you should not attempt to reform them, let them alone. people are sold out to it. We try to witness to people. We try to tell them they’re wrong and they’re false worship. But if they’re going to be stubborn about it, it’s time to leave them alone. In the end, God promises those engaging in false worship will find God’s judgments sweeping them away like a violent storm. And that’s the message I think that we can see. see from this passage tonight. Let us close with prayer. Heavenly Father, we are thankful for your goodness and the warning that we have here for us tonight. May we take it to heart. May you encourage us, Father, to witness the people. We realize there is a point of casting pearls before swine, and we need to leave them alone. bless us as your people. Give us a good week. May we have a testimony before the lost and carry your gospel to them. We ask these things in Jesus’ precious name with Thanksgiving. Amen. Let us stand for the benediction tonight. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ and sincerity. Amen.