Hosea 8:8-10

I object your attention tonight to the book of Hosea once again, chapter 8, looking at verses 8 to 10. Hosea chapter 8, verses 8 through 10 for our texts and study this evening. Israel is swallowed up. Now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure. They are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself. Ephraim hath hired lovers. Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes. God blessed to us is sacred and holy word this evening. In the summer of 19th of 19th, In 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea, causing a tragic loss of life as hundreds of passengers were hurled into the icy waters. The news of the disaster was further darkened, however, when the investigation revealed the cause of the accident. The tragedy was not traced to some major malfunction or a problem like a breakdown in radar or thick fog. or anything of this nature. The blame was attributed to human stubbornness. Each captain was aware of the other ship’s presence. Both could have taken evasive actions to avert the collision. But according to news reports, neither one wanted to give way to the other. By the time they saw the air of their ways, it was too late. When God calls Israel a wild act, ass. He’s pointing out that she is stubborn. She is unruly. God has in many ways attempted to lead Israel back to repentance, but she has refused to obey him. She has not listened to the prophets that God has sent. She would not take the heart, his rebukes and chastening’s. And like those two ships on the black, sea, Israel, is on a collision course with disaster. The sad thing is that many who profess to be the people of God are no different than Israel of old. And this is what we want to look at tonight as we look at this text. You may be a vessel of no pleasure. In those verse 8, with me tonight again. It says Israel was swallowed up. Now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure. We’re talking here about the fall of Israel. God speaks here of Israel being swallowed up by the Gentiles. Now Israel has been guilty of mixing with the heathen in marriages, in worship, in alliances, in treaties, and so forth. And over a period of time, they have become subject to foreign heathen powers like Assyrian. And in the end, their land was devoured by Assyrian. They became poor slave, subject to the whims of their conqueror. And thus it is with many who profess to be the people of God, who mingle themselves with the world, and they get swallowed up by the world. They lose any spiritual beauty or any reputation for godliness. Before long, you can’t tell the difference between them and a worldling. But the sad result of all this is that Israel became a vessel wherein is no pleasure. In other words, a vessel of dishonor in 2 Timothy 2.20 or a despised and broken vessel, Jeremiah 2228. None of their neighbors placed any value upon them. They considered them worthless and content. A vessel of no pleasure was actually used, referred to the pot used, to carry human excreements. In other words, a potty vessel. This is a sad end for a noble nation, once called by God, precious, honorable, God’s inheritance, a peculiar people above all the nations of the earth. We see the fall here. Now, the question we would have to ask ourselves is, are you and I, this honorable vessels? I had Tim, or I had Russell Reed from 2 Timothy, I invite you to turn with me again to that passage. 2 Timothy chapter 2. I want to read just 19 to 21. All writes here, nevertheless, the foundation of God’s stand is short, having this seal, Lord knoweth them that are His, and let everyone that nameeth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, some to honor, some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the master’s use, and prepare. under every good work. Paul tells Timothy here, he must not be surprised that if you find some defecting from the true faith. He must bear in mind that it is the same with today’s visible church as it was in Paul’s day. It’s It’s the same as if it were a great house. And here, the great house, we’re talking about some kind of mansion. Such a large house contains all kinds of vessels, vases and pots and pans and containers for all sorts and all kinds of things are in a large house. And thus, there are not only valuable objects made out of precious metals, made out of precious metals, like, gold and silver, but they’re also worthless things made out of wood and clay. There are vessels which are ready to be taken to the dump or the jump yard when they have served their purpose, their vessels with dishonor. You go to an expensive mansion, they’re going to have garbage bags as well as family heirlooms. There’ll be cardboard boxes that will get thrown out. as well as expensive chests. There’ll be as shays, as well as silver pitchers. In like manner, the visible church, as it manifests itself on earth, is a great house. And it contains true believers, some more faithful, and comparable to gold, others, other’s less, faithful, perhaps, comparable to silver, but still valuable. And of course, there are the hypocrites. There are those made out of the silver and clay. Genuine members are destined for honor, but all the others are dishonor. And thus in the visible church of God, there are unworthy persons at times who are not precious in the eyes of the Lord. as the true saints are. Notice that you may see yourself as an honorable vessel in the church, while you’re actually a vessel for the devil to empty his vow excrement into. You may end up carrying filth and impurity instead of serving the Lord. Those who profess true faith become degenerate and profane and profane. they’re considerable they’re considered most contemptible people Peter and his his pistol calls them dogs and swine Israel had a position of honor among the nations what was swallowed up by the heathen and the end they were vessels of no pleasure you who professed to know the Lord are you purging yourself of false doctrine in sinful lust as he mentions here in verse 19 in verses 22 to 26 of 2 Timothy 2 are you pursuing righteousness faith love peace sincerely so that you may be a vessel that’s fit for the master’s use he mentions a man named hymenas in 2 Timothy 217 this is the one that Paul in 1 Timothy chapter 119 says made shipwreck of his faith like Israel and hymenaeus he may plummet and fall and he may become a vessel no pleasure ready for the rubbish sheet be assured however the Lord knows those who are truly his as he says here in verse 19 he’s never going to cast off his precious vessels he always knows who they are so you may be a vessel of no pleasure secondly you may may your lack of godly fear may cause you to end up as a vessel of no pleasure we read this here in verse 9 back in Josea for they are gone up to Assyria a wild ass alone by himself Ephraim has hired lovers of Israel acting here like a wild ass and when god calls israel a wild ass he means that they are acting in a very foolish headstrong rebellious manner they will have their way and nothing shall hold them back no not even the bridal of God’s laws or the sword of God’s wrath like an untamed ass Israel fearlessly does whatever she pleases she runs up and down in the wilderness all alone instead of looking for to God for help she turns to the heathen like Assyria she was like a wild ass in heat looking for a lover Israel at great expense purchased the friendship of the heathen nations around them like Assyria nations which had no affection for them place no value upon them Assyria was no true lover. They only used and abused Israel. They were running right into death’s arms. They thought they could make a treaty with Assyria and came to her courts with all kinds of gifts. But in looking to Assyria for friendship, she met an enemy, one which would bring about her complete downfall. But she did so. She was acting like a wild ass. We see the danger here of lack of godly fear in your life. Lack of fear may cause you to end up as a vessel of no pleasure. And one of the great sins of our modern church is that they don’t fear. They’re not afraid anymore. Why would God urge you so strongly to stay away from sin if it was not capable of harming you? Those who underestimate their deadly enemies or don’t take them seriously are going to find themselves in deep trouble. You know, the struggle you know, the struggle against sin is a death and life and death struggle. There’s no room for overconfidence. Fleeing is an indication, not of cowardice, but of courage. Fear is not a weakness, but a strength. Joseph, you recall, fled Potipher’s wife. We are to flee youthful lust, according to scripture. Blessed is the man who does not fear, whose fear does not vanish, who knows what it is, it means to work out his salvation in fear and trembling, as the scripture says. This deadly fear can be read in the faces of the person who prays. Lead us not in the temptation, but deliver us from evil. You must realize and confess that you yourself are weak, don’t even possess the power to resist Satan and his agents. Therefore, you must rely upon God’s protection and the power of the Holy Spirit, not to succumb to the spiritual struggle. A lack of fear of sin may cause you to be a vessel of no pleasure. A lack of fear of the world may cause you to end up as a vessel of no pleasure. For many professing Christians, there seems to be nothing to fear about in this world. The attractions of Vanity Fair seem to be embraced without any qualms. Unlike Mr. Christian and faithful, they don’t put any covering on their eyes. There’s no attempt to avoid the allurements of the world. separation from the world is looked upon as an archaic duty. You don’t see the world as a sinking ship that you must flee before it takes you down with it. We’re in the city of destruction here, as Pilgrim’s Progress mentions. Demas did not realize the fatal attraction of the world and lost a soul. This world is a dangerous place for the Christian. There are many who profess to be Christians, but they have already been swallowed up by the world. They’re indistinguishable from the ungodly. The result of your friendship with the world will be the same as Israel’s friendship with Assyria. You’ve got to get annexed. Love not the world. Any of the things that are of the world and in the world. You need a fear of the world. a mortal enemy. Your failure to see this gives Jose a reason to soberly remark that the professing people of God are wild asses. A lack of fear of the devil may cause you and end up as a vessel of no pleasure. In theory, all those who profess the Christian faith believe in demons and Satan and so forth, but in practice. Seems like they put this more in the fantasy area. Satan walks about as a roaring line, seeking whom he may devire, but you’re not afraid. You don’t seem to be worried about his presence. Perhaps you go about your life’s business, and do you know more thinking about running into Satan? and you would, you know, a wild lion in the streets. And yet gossip and slander and lies, evil thoughts, temptations, and sinful desires are all the works of the devil. They demonstrate his presence. And I’m sorry to confess that some Christians act like lion tamers who put their heads in the mouth of a lion. Well, you’re putting yourself in. harm’s way. You can give Satan all sorts of opportunities to devire you because you’re not sober or vigilant. You don’t even think about resisting the devil, which is something we must always do. Like a wild ass, you run around carefree. The snare of the devil does not worry you. It’s not even looked for. And it’s no wonder so many. get caught up in it. So we have to be careful. Your lack of godly fear may cause you to end up as a vessel of no pleasure. Thirdly, you may bear the burden and sorrow of a vessel of no pleasure, as we see in verse 10 of our text tonight. Josei writes here, yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they show all sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes. Israel is made to sorrow. The very fact that Israel had hired themselves out to Egypt and Assyria for protection would not prevent God from destroying them. The word gathered often means in the Hebrew to throw by a slaughter into a heap. And I guess the thing that I came to mind is when Samson was slaying the Philistians, and he said heap upon heaps as he slew a thousand of them, he piled them, piled them all up, so to speak. And that’s the picture here that we have. It contains the idea of an argument. army gathering dead bodies slain in battle. God says, you think you have the nations to help you, but you shall be as a company of dead bodies gathered into a heap. The last part of this verse seems a bit obscure. It’s not too difficult to understand. The king of princes is the king of Assyria. And this is because he was a great king. His nobles were all called. princes and the Samhels. The king of Assyria laid a burden upon the Israelites. This is because he was a great king and he taxed the people to maintain his friendship. Mark and I were just talking this morning. He was finishing up Second Kings where, you know, the Israelites are stripping the gold from the temple doors and stealing all the money from the temple in order to pay off these heathen nations. And so they were broken by them. They were lost all their money and support. And so the Israelites had to sorrow a little. It was the beginning of sorrows. The first taste of God’s wrath to come. The more terrible sorrow would come. when the Assyrians took them away into captivity. So Israel is made to sorrow. There is a burden and there is a sorrow connected with being a vessel of no pleasure. When you run headlong in your evil ways like a wild ass, God will often place a burden upon you to restrain you. It may be it’s some type of bridal like a financial loss, like death in the family, sickness, physical hardship, and a host of other things. He’s going to make you reflect upon your ways. Perhaps a feeling of regret comes over you. You sorrow a little. And when you are troubled and you sorrow a little, you may complain that God was, you may complain, but God’s going to say, Why complain about this? This is a small burden to what you will eventually have. This is only the beginning of sorrows for you. You feel pain and sorrow now, but it’s little compared what you will feel like as a vessel of no pleasure and a vessel of dishonor. For it had been better for them who profess to know Christ, but turn out to be vessels of dissonor. honor not to have known the way of righteousness. Then after they have known it, the turn from the Holy Commandment delivered under them. My friends, we sorrow and it can begin in this life. Could you imagine what the next life is going to be? What kind of sorrow that will be and entail? Ask Judas. That little remorse and sorrow we felt for betraying. the innocent blood that grieved his stricken conscience as nothing compared to the sorrow, he now endures as the son of perdition. People suffer in this life as a result of their sins and foolish ways and complain of the heaviness of the burden they must bear. Why complain of your burdens in this life? These things are mere trifles compared with what you will likely endure. later in Hellfire. Are you on a collision course tonight with destruction? Are you like those ship captains on the Black Sea who are stubbornly headed for disaster? There are many vessels in God’s great house, the church. Most are honorable. However, there are some who turn out to be dishonorable. Tears among the wheat. Will you end up as a vessel? no pleasure, filled with filth and the corruption of Satan. Oh, how we need to cry out of the Lord would cleanse us and sanctify us and make us meet for the master’s use, prepared for every good work. Pray that God would not let us become a hypocrite. Beg to search God to search you and try you. that you may not be a vessel of dishonor. Let’s close with the word of prayer tonight. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. It is sometimes frightful to read and see, Father, what your people were doing. We pray, Lord, we may not be like them. But you’d help us all here to be vessels of honor and pursue godliness of life. And Father, we pray that you would strip out of our lives the corruption and evil. Help us to love you and to serve you in this life and grant us your blessing and grace. We thank you for the warning you’ve given us. May we all take it to heart. In the name of Christ, we ask these things with Thanksgiving. Amen. Let’s stand for the benediction tonight. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ and sincerity.