Hosea 7:11-16

Tonight I invite you, turn with me to the book of Hosea once again, chapter 7, and we want to look at verses 11 through 16. 11 through 16. Josea chapter 7, beginning with verse 11. Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without heart. they call to Egypt they go to Assyria when they shall go I will spread my net upon them I will bring them down as the files of heaven I will chastise them as their congregation hath heard Woe unto them for they have fled from me Destruction under them Because they have transgressed against me though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me. And they have not cried unto me with their heart when they howled upon their beds. They assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me. Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine and mischief against me. They return, but not to the most high. They are like a deceitful bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt. May God bless to us is sacred and holy word this morning or this evening. Alice in the fairy tale Alice in Wonderland was in a quandary about which way to go. In a conversation between her and the Cheshire Cat, Alice asks, Would you tell me, please, the way I ought to go from here? Cheshire Cat replied, that depends a good deal on where you want to go. And Alice said, I don’t much care where. Cheshire Cat said, well, then it doesn’t matter which way you go. There are a lot of professing Christians that are just like Alice. You may be confused about what to do in life. When it comes to spiritual guidance, you may be completely lost. You may wonder aimlessly from one experience to another in your Christian walk. God says that his profession is a profession. people sometimes act like a silly dove, fluttering about with no sense of direction or discernment. Are you like that? Are you spiritually foolish? Let us consider some of the traits of a person who is. You are foolish if you lack spiritual discernment. Versus 11 and 12. Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart. They call to Egypt. They go to Syria. When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them. I will bring them down as the files of heaven. I will chastise them as their congregation hath heard. It’s silly to ignore God’s guidance. A silly dove without heart. Israel is likened to a disillard of a silly. dove flying this way and that way, but not knowing which direction to take. The words here without heart mean without spiritual understanding. There’s no spiritual discernment or wisdom. This is sad because we know that Israel had been given the law of God. God provided guidance for his professing people. The problem was they were ignoring it. God’s law provided light, but they preferred to stumble along in the dark. Yet how many there are spiritually who are like a silly dove, who have no real knowledge of the truth. God shines light upon you through His word and shows you the right path to take. This is the way Walkianity says. But when you despise God’s word, grieve is Holy Spirit, and follow your own wayward decisions, you sin. And how can God bless you if you’re walking contrary to His Word? Will God provide guidance when you wish to fly off on your own and go on your own direction? There are far too many who sit in church who hear the Word of God preach. preached, but immediately proceed to ignore biblical principles for living. Oh, how many silly doves flutter in and out of a place of worship? Why bother to come to God’s house if you’re not going to heed his word? The story is told us about two men who were discussing the wise and the wherefore of the biblical millennium that’s mentioned in Revelation chapter 20. They were wondering which of the three classic positions or interpretations of this period was correct, the pre-millennial, the post-millennial, or the all-millennial. Oh, said one man, I have a solution to the whole problem. I call it pandamillennial. His companion was puzzled. What is pan-millennialism? He said the man replied, it means that everything will pan-millennialism. all right in the end. I’m afraid too many people there will advise that way. They think they can fly in any direction they wish, and God is still going to bless them. It all come out all right in the end. But they’re silly to ignore God’s guidance. It’s silly to rely upon human help alone. He says here they call to Egypt. They go to Assyria. Now, Israel probably believed this was a pretty sensible approach. These two great powers of the time were Egypt in the South, and Assyria, and the North. Both were casting long glances at Palestine, and Israel thought that it was sensible thing to do would remain friendly with both of them. So he fluttered from one to the other like a senseless dove. Hoshia, king of Israel, sent messengers to sow, Sobako, the second king of Egypt, for protection and for assistance in Second King 17. Medehnheim and Hoshia also sent to Poole and Shalmaneuser of Assyria for help, 2 Kings 15 and 70. The trust in man, rather than in God, is the height of stupidity. Obviously, their whole approach was bound to lead to serious trouble. You leave God out of your planning. You use human reasoning alone to resolve your difficulties, and you’re leaning on the arm of the flesh, which God promises will be. failure. Proverbs 3, 5 and 6. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not under thine own understanding, in all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path. Jeremiah 17, verse 5 and 7. Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and makeeth flesh his arm, and his heart departeth from the Lord. Blessed is the man. that trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is. In the book of Joshua, there’s an interesting story about the Ghibeonites, who were one of the people that Israel was supposed to destroy when they went into the land. But they were afraid of the Israelites, and so they resorted to deception in order to get a peace treaty with them, which was forbidden by God. and nights dressed up in worn-out clothes, carried moldy bread, and old wine skins, and pretended to be from a far off country. And they sought peace with the Israelites. The Israelites looked at their appearance, ate their provision, and made a decision, and made a treaty with them. The Bible, however, is careful to record for us in Joshua 9. 14, and ask not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. Thus, Israel was deceived. Do you seek the aid of every human agency, imaginable? You know, financial agencies, political, or material, and only when all else fails, think to turn to God. It’s silly to rely on human help alone. It’s silly to suffer when pre-warned by God, as verse 12 indicates to us. God shows Israel that though they might fly about here or there, yet their end would be an unhappy one. Wherever Israel goes, God says, I’m going to spread my net to ensnare them. God promises to disappoint all your endeavors, all your purposes. when you ignore him. God says he will chase in her bind you. He will hold your feet fast in his nets. God adds that all this will happen because they did not heed his previous warnings, as their congregation have heard. God had prewarned the Israelites through Moses long ago. If they did not obey him, captivity would come. And we had wrested him. read that in Deuteronomy 30, 11 to 20. But they did not take this warning to heart, even after being reminded of it. There are dreadful curses in the law of God, but Israel was not frightened by them, so they sinned. It was pure foolishness. It’s important to you take heed to the Word of God. When you hear it in the congregation, and be directed by it, because God has given you plain public warning of what he’s going to do if you disobey him, and you can expect his judgment. There was a winter resort in Bracken Ridge, Colorado, that posted signs instructing seers to keep off a certain slope. The signs, which were large and distinct said danger out of bounds. In spite of the warnings of her, several skiers went into the area. The result, half-mile-wide avalanche buried for the trespassers beneath a ton of snow and rock. This tragedy would never have happened if the signs had been heated. God has posted warning signs for you and I in the Bible, and he tells us what kinds of behavior and attitudes are off limits. and yet many times people ignore his warnings and intentionally wander into a forbidden area and they receive his judgment. So you’re foolish if you lack spiritual discernment. Secondly, you’re foolish to abuse God’s help. Now let’s look at verse 13 and verse 15 of our text. Well, unto them, for they have fled from me destruction unto them because they have transgressed against me. Though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me. Verse 15, though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me. People ignore God’s hand in their deliverance. The word redeemed here is used in a sense of God delivering them, sort of like he did when he pulled them out of Egypt, he delivered them from the slavery in Egypt. God often helped Israel against her enemies. Time after time, powerful foreign nations were crushed by God’s intervention. God had bound their arms also, strengthened them. When their power was weak, when their army was small, it was like having a broken arm. You know, we have an expression, I’ll fight you with one hand tied behind my back. But if you are battling a strong enemy, that’s quite a handicap. The God, like a doctor, bound the broken arm of Israel. He put it in a cast, made the bones heal. God had given Israel victory over the Syrians in 2 Kings 13, restored her borders from 2nd Kings 14, and helped them in numerous times of distress. But how did Israel respond to God’s help? They fled from him, as if he was a dangerous fiend rather than a faithful friend. They forsook. the worship of Jehovah withdrew their allegiance from him. Thus they transgressed against him. They willfully and presumptiously broke God’s law. They spoke lies against him. That is, they attributed their victory to their own gods, and not to the Lord God. That was certainly evil and sinful. Now, when God delivers you out of trouble, it is a great aggravation of your sin. You attribute it to anything else that you have done or a mere human agency. And yet how many people ignore God’s hand of providence in the good they enjoy in this life? They ignore God’s hand in your deliverance. You imagine mischief after God’s healing. Verse 15. Now, the Israelites were so far from being grateful to God and mindful of Him that they were actually devising evil. After obtaining victories, having their land restored to them, and enjoying peace, they send even more boldly against God. You see the word mischief there, which includes every possible sin. They schemed against God’s prophets. They plotted evil. When their arm was broken, they were willing to seek the Lord’s favor. Once it was healed, they plunged, they plunged headlong into sin. How sad that so many, after receiving God’s help, immediately pursue a wicked course in life. But God is watching how you react when you are delivered out of your trouble. If you return to your foolish and evil ways, that’s a great evil in his sight. You invoke God’s wrath against you. Woe unto them, he says in verse 13. God will punish you for turning away from him, ignoring his deliverances and imagining mischief. Those who flee God have woes pronounced against them. A woe is some type of misery, hardship, or suffering. And the woes of God are not idle threats. Because he immediately says following this, that destruction is going to come onto them. God makes His word good. Thirdly, tonight you were foolish. They have a carnal prayer life. Let’s look at verse 14 here of our text. And they have not cried unto me with their heart. When they howled upon their beds, they assembled themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me. Here we have heartless prayers. When Israel was under the pressure, when they were facing trouble, when they were facing trouble, She called upon God for aid, but she was not sincere. Evidently, some worship of God remained among them, but it was blended with false worship. They cried and they howled in their prayers, performed the outward act here. But their heart was in it. It was all ceremony. There was no intention of fully serving God. foxhole prayers spoken by soldiers who ordinarily give little or no thought to God. They cry out when they’re under heavy attack. But as soon as the danger passes, well, so does their interest in God. It’s heartless. It’s unsincere praying. Prayer must always involve your heart. That’s the center of your being. A prayer that merely dribbles out of your mouth but does not issue from your heart is a useless waste of time. It’s pathetic hypocrisy. Howling for corn and wine, we see. God complains that the Israelites were not grieved over offending him. They didn’t bother. This didn’t bother them as long as they had their corn and their wine. But when the corn, and the wine were in short supply, all of a sudden they howled and they cried out to God. You seek what pleases the flesh and give an abundance of your attention to material concerns. You are not seeking first the kingdom of God. You are showing that you are only interested in what you can receive from God, not in fellowship with God. Leon Tucker took a trip to Europe. He promised his little girl that whatever country he went to, he would buy her a doll. And so he purchased these dolls in Ireland and Scotland and Belgium and France and several other countries. But on the way back to the States, his luggage containing these gifts were delayed, and they didn’t arrive with him. When Tucker got home, his little girl, greeted him with love and expectation. Did you bring the dolls, Daddy? She said. Gently, he told her about the mix-up. Momentarily, her lip quivered and her eyes filled with tears. Then she threw her arms around his neck and said, I’d rather have you, Daddy, than all the dolls in the world. Is God more precious to you than all his gifts? Your love and devotion ought to be centered on the giver and not on the gifts. So you’re foolish to have a carnal prayer life here. Lastly, you’re foolish to pretend allegiance to God. We see that in verse 16 of our text. They return, but not to the most high. They are like a deceitful bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongues. This of their tongue, this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt. Hypocrical worship. Israel pretended to return to the Lord and mend their doings, but nothing came of it. Jeremiah 4.1 says, if thou wilt return, O Israel return to me. You not only turn towards me, but return to me is what God says. God calls them a deceitful bow. And this means a bow that bends too easily. When the bowman uses it to shoot an arrow, he misses the target. It’s not his aim. It’s not the arrow. It’s the bow. It’s the bow. which is simply to slack. God is like the bowman and that he is disappointed in his people again and again. Hypocrats seek to strive with great effort, but they are deceitful bows. They fly in the wrong direction. Do you look like you’re doing the right thing, but in reality you’re just being deceitful? Jehu, you remember, was like. that. He said, come, see my zeal for the Lord. But he was a hypocrite because his efforts were all to promote himself and not God. And then there’s heavy judgment mentioned here. The punishment of Israel and her princes for sin, the nation would fall. In times of battle, princes usually keep back at a distance in the security of their guard troops. Thousands may be slain. by the sword, but they always escape. God says the princes are not going to escape this time. Their leaders will fall by the sword. The leaders quarreled with God and his providence. They cursed and railed at his prophets. God says he will let them know that there is a God above, and he will call them account for their sin. When they are in desperation, flee to Egypt for help, They will become a laughingstock to all about them. None will help them. Nothing will prevent God’s judgment from falling upon them. So don’t be like this. Don’t be foolish enough to think that you can escape the hand of God when you play the hypocrite, because God’s curse will catch up with you eventually. So are you spiritually foolish? Are you spiritually foolish? like Allison Wonderland, confused about what’s way to go in life? Are you like a silly dove? Or you’re foolish if you lack spiritual discernment. You have God’s word. Don’t ignore it. And choose your own path in life. Don’t lean on your own understanding. Seek God’s help. Don’t ignore the clear warnings of God’s word. and don’t abuse God’s help when he provides it. He’ll invoke his wrath. You’re foolish if you have a carnal prayer life, and you’re foolish if you pretend allegiance to God. May God bless us His word this evening. Let’s have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for watching over us, us. May we take heart to heart the lesson here of our text and not be hypocritical in our worship and service to you. Bless us as your people and strengthen us in the faith. We pray. Let’s stand for the benediction tonight. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.