Hosea 9:7-9

This evening we’ll be speaking from the book of Hosea once again. Osaya chapter 9 verses 7 to 9. Osaya chapter 9 verses 7 to 9. The days of visitation are come. The days of recompense are come. Israel shall know it. The prophets, the prophet is a full. fool. The spiritual man is mad for the multitude of thine iniquity and the great hatred. The watchman of Ephraim was with my God, but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways and hated in the house of his God. They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Givya. Therefore he will remember their iniquity. He will visit their sins. May God bless to us. He is sacred and holy word this evening. Several years ago there was a magnificent diamond displayed in New York City. And although the 70-carriage, stone was worth over a million dollars. Its owner agreed to let the public view it and see its beauty. According to the prairie overcomer, many people who viewed the gem made critical remarks about it. One man looked closely at the big dime and remarked, I think I see a flaw. A well-dressed woman exclaimed, it isn’t really attractive. It’s too large. declared a woman wearing cheap rhinestone jewelry. I think it’s vulgar, but I just had to see it commented another. These remarks led a security guard to observe, I’ve heard enough sire grapes in the last two days about that diamond that I ever heard in my life. Some people just have to be critical. Joseon 9. provides an address given by the prophet on a special day of celebration. Reference to the threshing floor and wine press make us think quite a party was going on. It was like a harvest of celebration. Josea’s message was not what those in a festive mood wished. to hear. He spoke of God’s wrath against Israel, of their unfaithfulness to him. He spoke of captivity and death, of God holding a feast at which they would be served to their enemies as the main course. He advised them their end their festival as quickly as possible. He spoiled all their fun. I don’t suppose he received any applause. On the contrary, it was a hostile audience. They had words of anger and criticism for him. Verses 7 through 9 that we just read tonight. Now in verse 7 and verse 9, we have the message of God’s servant is that God will visit you with judgment. you pursue sin. God has set a time for the execution of his judgment. He calls it the days of visitation here. I suppose that most of us don’t mind having visitors come to the house, but a visitation from God is quite different than having a friend over for a Sunday brunch. You’ll recall how the Israelites tremble. You’ll recall how the Israelites tremble at the foot of Mount Sinai when God appeared and spoke to them there. The mountains smoked and burned with fire. A black cloud hung over them. There was thundering, lightning, an earthquake. Even Moses said, I exceedingly fear in quake. In Hebrews 1221, we read that. The people pleaded that God would not speak to them again like that. It’s an awesome event to have God visit you. What had God’s law proclaimed in Exodus 20 verse 5? I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children under the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. He visits them with judgment. Thus we read in the Bible, the judge standeth before the door in James 5. None, God is ready to make a visitation. The words are come. You note the fact that God’s appointed time has now arrived for this judgment that has been prophesied. The hourglass has run out. It is often the case that you may go on sinning for a time and nothing seems to happen. You may even become bolder and more daring your sins when a thunderbolt doesn’t strike you down immediately. You might even think all as well. You can be sure that God has set a day for visitation and he will bring judgment. He waits until the time is right for sending judgment. So God has set a time for the execution of his judgment. judgments. Notice that God’s judgments are recompenses. They’re called days of recompense here. God is a just avenger. You get what you deserve. No one can ever claim that God’s judgments are unjust or unfair. God’s simply paying you back for your sins and his righteous retribution. As we read in Isaiah 59 18, according to their deeds, accordingly he will repay fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies. When you open up the book of judges and you begin to read it, we read about a king there whose name was Adonai Bezik. he was a great king in Canaan. He was such a powerful king that he had conquered 70 other kings, and in his cruelty cut off their thumbs and their big toes. He made them crawl around under his table to feed off the crumbs which fell. Very cruel. But when the Israelites conquered him, and they conquered the land of Canaan, Adonai Bizek was defeated. And guess what? They cut off. off his thumbs, his big toes. Dona Biesk confessed, as I have done, so God have requited me. He got paid back in kind. God often does this. In the book of Revelation, we find these same judgments taking place. God promises that Israel shall be well aware of his judgments because they are a recompense. There is a law in God’s kingdom. Whatsoever you sow, that also shall you reap. We say today what goes around, comes around. Same idea. God is a way of evening the score, even in this life. And when recompense comes you will know it. You have to realize what a great God you are dealing with. You have to realize how vile sin really is in God’s sight. You need to realize how foolish you have been to disobey God. And realize the dreadfulness of God’s wrath. Realize the faithfulness of God’s servants who have warned you. So God’s judgments are a recompense. Then we have the reason for God’s judgments. Next, excuse me a minute while I put my glasses on. The multitude of your iniquity and great hatred is the reason. Josea did not restrict himself to what question. He got down to the why question. He pointed out the cause of Israel’s misfortune was her iniquity. There was indeed. enmity and hatred directed toward God. But how could Josea talk about this hatred when the Israelites were regularly bringing offerings? Didn’t they celebrate the feast days of the Lord meticulously? Was not God on their side? Were they not the people, God? Josea, how can you talk about us in this way, they thought? No one denies that there was. little things wrong here and there. Nobody’s perfect, they would think. But surely the accusation and enmity toward God cannot be made to stick. Indeed, what could Josea or anyone else say in response? Israel was indeed a religious nation. When you believe you’re a friend of God, and are generally taken, to be so by others, it’s difficult to see that you’re not. You usually seek God’s enemies outside the visible church, but there are plenty of them found within the church, the organized church as well. When Paul talks about the enemies of the cross of Christ, does he mean just, you know, murderers and thieves and gangsters and prostitutes? Not exclusively. He’s simply talking about people who mind earthly things, as Philippians 3, 18, and 19 speak of. And that’s a frightening thought. We should realize there are many people who hate God, which go to church every Sunday morning. They might not even be aware of it. Those drab professing Christians, who find it easy to say a prayer as to drink a cup of coffee are the enemies of God. The superficial masses of people have no notion of what it means to raise their hearts to heaven in true worship. These who, those who never talk about anything else except the events of the day are despisers of God. If you live by the principle that everyone should look out first and foremost for himself, you are an enemy of God. If you were frightened about the thought of crucifying your old, egocentric nature, you’re an enemy of Christ. What was wrong with the Israelites’ worship ceremonies? It’s what’s wrong with many today. It wasn’t that the people failed to worship regularly. It was that they were world-eastern, people and they possessed a heathen character. When you can multiply your iniquities and still claim to be a friend of God, proudly come to church, you really hate God. The multitude of your iniquity and great hatred brings God’s judgment and you’re deeply corrupted, as verse 9 indicates. God is going to bring judgments upon Israel. for they are deeply rooted in their sin. Their sin was like a scarlet stain on a garment, like the spots of a leopard, which cannot be removed. They have polluted and hardened their hearts, as in the days of Gibia. These are serious charges. You recall from the book of Judges that the days of Gibia are mentioned. in it in chapters 19 to 21. There you find the story of a Levi who had a concubine wife who ran away from him and played to Harler. He went to Fetcher again and he was returning home, but he refused to stop at Jabis because it was a heaths city. So he passed over to Gibbia of Benjamin. expecting to find safe for lodging there. Boy, was he surprised. During the night, you remember the men of the city who were quite wicked, surrounded the house where the Levite was staying. And they demanded that the old owner of the house bring out the Levite to them that they might know him. They were as open and brazed about their homosexuality as those of Sodom and Gomorrah. They were, it was shocking that this was the case for a tribe in Israel. And when they could not have the Levite, they took his concubine that abused her sexually all night till morning. The next day when the Levite found his concubine, she was dead at the door of the house. Upon finding such a horrible, in Israel. He took his concubine’s body, cut it into 12 pieces, and sent one piece each tribe in Israel, and they were to consider what should be done. So the nation resolved to fight against Gibia militarily. But Ghibia was a city of Benjamin, and the Benjamites refused to turn them over. And this led to a war between 11 tribes and the tribe of Benjamin, resulting in the entire tribe of Benjamin, almost being exterminated, as you recall. Jose is therefore saying that every tribe is now as degenerate as Benjamin used to be and might expect God’s wrath to fall upon them. If you do the sins of those that God is judged in the past, don’t be surprised if God judges you as well for the same sins. Without you even being aware of it, God has given you over to uncleaneness, as an initial judgment, as Romans 24 indicates. And you become deeply rooted in your perversity, become filled with all unrighteousness. So the men are the men of your perversity. The message of God’s servant is that God will visit you with judgment if you pursue sin. Secondly, tonight, you may ridicule God’s servant for delivering such a message in verses 7 and 8. God’s messengers are often called fools and maddened, verse 7. And here we see the response of the Israelites to Josiah. the reception his message received. He’s pleaded with people. He wants him to sincerely repent and be spared in the judgment of God. But, of course, they think he’s a crazy old fool. This kind of response is found many times in Scripture. When Lott was pleading with his own family members to flee God’s coming judgment upon Sodom. They laughed at him and thought he was drunk. Isaiah is mocked by the people. He warns of God’s coming judgment, and they say this to him. Who is he trying to teach? To whom is he explaining doctrine? To children just weaned from their mother’s breast? For precept must be upon precept, line upon line, line. upon line. Hear a little and there a little. The false prophet Shemaiah called Jeremiah a madman who acts like a prophet, Jeremiah, Jeremiah 29, 26. Elisha was mocked by children who cried out, go up thou bald head, go up thou baldhead. But our Lord also did not escape. They called him demon possessed. His own family said he was mad. King Agrippa called Paul man. Why is it that people can make such a foolish and irresponsible statement about God’s servants? It’s hard to think of any words in history that bear more the marks of being sane, passionate, and constructive, than the remarks of God’s servants. But when you are separated from God by your sin, Moral blindness ensues. You lack spiritual dent and comprehension to understand that you’re actually being warned. The message of God’s servants is like foolishness to those who do not believe. People who have their tranquility shattered by God’s servant, ask, what’s the matter with that person? Luther, you know, you recalled, was called insane. So God’s messengers are often called fools and madmen. God’s messengers are often plotted against and hated, as verse 8 indicates. Josea here faces a hostile audience. Instead of listening humbly to the Word of God, the Israelites hope to find something in the words of the Lord’s prophet, that they can attack and use against him. The prophet who serves the Lord is supposed to be a watchman for Israel, but they didn’t want a watchman. They didn’t want anyone to watchmen for their souls. The prophet finds traps set for him everywhere. Even when he speaks to those in the house of God, he knows he faces a hostile audience. What kind of audience was Josea preaching to that day at Bethel? It wasn’t a submissive one. It was a rebellious one. And they found fault with his words. They tried to entrap him. That’s the kind of flock that Josea, Israel Shepherd, had to care for and watch over. Josea ignores all this, realizing that in reality, Ephraim’s enemy is God himself. Osea finds a hostile audience. Do you have a hostile attitude toward God’s servant? This hostile attitude is often targeted toward those who engage in the true preaching of the Word of God. Sin and God’s wrath are not popular subjects today. The preaching of God. God’s law is hated and despise as being too harsh. And as long as the minister speaks about, you know, speaks about, you know, personal improvement, self-image, positive thinking and the like, everything is fine. But let them preach about hell. Let him speak about filling up your cup of wrath. Let them preach against specific sin. And the members are riled up. and the minister is attacked as viciously as he can be. I know of a godly minister and evangelical denomination who was preaching through the Ten Commandments. And he was subject to a complaint to the governing body of his denomination, that he preached too much on sin and had banished love from the Congress. Paul speaks of having to fight the beast at Ephoniscence in 1 Corinthians 1532. This term is used in a figurative sense. After all, our Lord called Herodah, fox. Paul called Caesar Nero a lion. Those who oppose the gospel of Christ are called beasts. I’m afraid there are many beasts sometimes in the visible church today. People will come to church. Not to hear God’s word, but to find fault. Is there a hostility within you toward the true preaching of the word of God? Are you angry with a pastor because he tells you the truth? This is the sad thing we find in our text. It’s scary, isn’t it? That few come to listen obediently and submissively to God’s word when it’s preached. See, you may ridicule God’s servant for deliver. giving such a message. Let me close with a few thoughts tonight, and that is this. It’s a great privilege to hear the Word of God preached by a faithful minister. We shouldn’t take that lightly. There could be a famine of the Word of God somewhere along the line. A true minister is like a gem, precious gem. And yet so often people wish to find some flaw in it and criticize him and denounce him. Yes, the true preaching of God’s word might cut you like a knife. Yes, he may spoil your celebrations and indulgence in sin and sinful pleasure. But you should rejoice that God is sending you a warning, that God’s messenger. is not a fool or a madman. He is not some crazy fanatic. He is a man who’s concerned about your soul. May God bless to us his sacred and holy word this evening. Let’s have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for its teaching. We pray that we may be edified by it and warned by the danger of those around us who are hostile to the things of Christ. Let us be faithful as watchman to give out the true message, regardless of how it is received. And we ask, Lord, that you would bless your people. Bless those ministers who are being faithful and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. and we asked all these things, Christ’s precious name, with Thanksgiving. Amen. Let’s stand for the benediction tonight. Grace be with them, all of them, that love our Lord Jesus Christ, sincerity, and sincerity. Amen.