Hosea 9:10-17

Tonight I direct your attention to Josea chapter 9 once again. Versus 10 to 17 tonight. I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree at her first time. But they went to Bail Peor and separated themselves under that shim. and their abominations were according as they loved. As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird from the birth and from the womb, from the conception. Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left, yea woe also to them when I depart from them. Ephraim as Tyrus is planted in a pleasant place, but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer. Give them, O Lord. What wilt thou give them? What would thou give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breast. All their wickedness is in your wickednesses. Gilgall for there I hated them for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of my house I will love them no more all their princes are revolters Ephraim is smitten their root is dried up they shall bear no fruit yea though they bring forth yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb My God will cast them away because they did not harken unto him and they shall be wanderers among the nations. God blessed to us is sacred and holy word this evening. The sign on the internet says 55 miles an hour and you’re looking down to your speedometer and it reads 56. So you look like, you know, you’re doing fun. but a car passes you going at least 75. Then a huge semi follows sucking you toward the center line. And later another car flies past you. It had to be going at least 90 miles an hour. What about the law? What about the 55 mile an hour zone? Laws are lifeless words in liquid books. Laws are dots of ink on pieces of paper. They restrain. only if there is power backing them up. And so there are police who are engaged in forcing the law and every so often you see him with his flashing lights and he’s got somebody pulled over for going too fast. When it comes to God’s laws, you find people running rough shot over them as if they were lifeless words in an archaic book. But God has the power to enforce his law. His wrath upon sin is meant to check all evil actions. We see the evidence of it in this life. Now Israel has been flagrantly breaking God’s law. And Josea has been used as a warning sign to restrain their sin. And so we see here in this time, text. The punishment, though, being meted out. Now you should know that God keeps track of the sins of the apostate. And the first thing we’ll mention here is turning aside false worship is mentioned here in verse 10, where we read that I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your father’s as the first. ripe in the fig tree at her first time. But they went to bail Peor and separated themselves under that shame, and their abominations were according as they loved. Josea here turns back the pages of history to a shameful event in Israel’s past. And he sees this as the key to the present circumstances. And so the Lord, speaking now in human terms, had high hopes for his people. He had led them out of bondage with an almighty hand. And we see that he expected them to honor and respect him as such. But Israel, which should have grown into a great nation. which loved and served the Lord, we find that this expectation was not reached when unfulfilled. Why? Because as soon as Israel came into contact with bail worship, there was trouble. Numbers 25 tells us how the Moabites had, women had invited the men of Israel to their feast and got them involved in this false worship. If this was just an isolated incident, maybe we could pass it over. But the quest for the idols became epidemic. Contaminated the whole nation. Time and again, Israel turned its back upon God and embraced false worship. The L.P.O.R. was just to be a whole nation. beginning of a long-term relationship with idols. And it represents a sinful state of apostasy among the Israelites. When Josea says all their wickedness is in Gilgau, verse 15A, for example, he is referring to this city as the center of false worship. When they ought to be worshipping at Jerusalem. Once, perhaps, you professed at a sound gospel church, and then became corrupted by false teaching, you leave the sound preaching of God’s word and find a church which tickles your fancy, seduces you away. When those who have the precious truth faithfully pothed to them, Turn aside. They prove themselves to be apostate, as we see from Hebrew 6 that Russell read tonight. Do you realize how many professing Christians are choosing churches today on the basis of entertainment value? Do they have a Christian band? Do they have a gym? Do they have a gym? group? Are the services exciting? False worship today is more subtle than you might realize. Today, we find there’s a movement away from biblical exposition to something more appealing to the flesh. So we see people turning aside to false worship. We see a failure to heed God’s word as verse 17. of here in our text. My God will cast them away because they do not hearken under him and they shall be wanderers among the nations. God sent profit after profit to deal with Israel but they would not listen. It’s a sign of total apostasy. God put up his stop sign and they drove right through it. God, God, put up his hedges and his walls they pushed their way through the hedges and climbed up over the walls and so there was an opposition to the Lord Luther said this is a notable sentence and worthy to be written on all our walls not hearkning under the voice of the Lord is disastrous what did Paul warn the Hebrews about that we’re teetering on the brink of apostasy. Wherefore you ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which you have heard, less than any time you should let them slip, chapter 2, verse 1 of Hebrews. There’s a great danger, I think, of hearing the word of God, but not listening to it. You can’t escape God’s wrath if you do that. Jesus taught, take heed what you hear, with what measure you meet, with what measure you meet, it shall be measured to you and unto what and unto you that here shall more be given for he that hath to him shall be given he that hath to him shall be given he that hath not from him shall be taken even that which he hath there comes a point where God withdraws his word from people he removes its beneficial effects and there is a famine of the word second Timothy four says for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust, shall heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. Apostates are those who have the knowledge of the truth, but willingly abandon it and forsake. the Lord in order to enjoy their sin. There’s always a great responsibility attached to hearing the word of God. And so there’s a failure to heed God’s word. There’s indulging sinful desires as verse 15 indicates to us as well. The second part of verse 15, it says this, I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more. All their prince is, are revolters. Corrupts in worship always leads to corruption in morals. And this is the case here with Israel. Apostates consider what God classifies as sin to be acceptable behavior. And Israel will find a religion that will find a religion that will tolerate it, and that’s what people do today. The present-day church is a church of easy-believism, denial of lordship salvation, and it’s apostatizing rapidly. Present-day Christianity calls for you to make a decision for Christ, but it never talks about holiness of life. That’s an epidemic problem. Churches today we see easily engage in sinful divorce and the church says nothing about it. You can be living in sexual immorality and still be considered saved. You can be a homosexual and not be disciplined. Sin is tolerated because people want numbers. They want a lot more people in the church, so that’s what their focus is upon. Those who are challenged about the people. their sinful ways by a faithful church, they just go across town and find a church that’s suitable to them that won’t say anything about their behavior. They indulge in sinful desires. There’s rebellion against God’s appointed leadership. Verse 15 again. This has reference to the division of the kingdom into the northern and southern kingdoms, and Israel’s leaders were called revolters. Jeroban I set up the golden calf to keep the people of Israel from traveling to the southern kingdom and worshipping at Jerusalem, God’s appointed place. Israel established a government that was wicked and apostate. It’s interesting if you read through Second Kings and ponder the kings of Israel, not one of them did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. God’s appointed leaders, both civil and religious, were rejected. Today, you find those who reject God’s appointed leaders, the elders of the church. They refuse to submit to the authority over them. Hebrews 1317 says, obey them that had the rule over you and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls as they that must give an account that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you. There are those who will not obey the rulers that God has placed over them. In the New Testament, we find that there are revolters mentioned, like in 1st John 219. but they were not of us, for if they had been obvious, they would have continued with us. Why did they leave? They left because their doctrine was against the doctrine of God. They left because they wanted to believe what they wanted to believe, and not what the apostles were teaching. Those who are stubborn, insubordinate, rebellious, disobedient, obstinate, obstinate, obstinate, are headed down the road to apostasy. The reason there are so many church hoppers today is the fact that they are not willing to submit to God’s appointed leadership. So when somebody crosses them at one church, they just bounce over to another. And that’s how they look at them. So you should know that God keeps track of the sins of the apostate. Secondly, you should know that God’s displeasure hangs over the head of the Apostate. Now there’s an interesting passage here in verse 15. Contrary to popular theology, God does hate some people. Do you see that? Psalm 5 5, thou hateest all workers of Iniquity. Psalm 115. the Lord trieth the righteous, but the wicked and him that loveth violence is so hated. Romans 913. Jacob have I loved. Esau have I hated. What a scary thought that God should hate you. Notice carefully. The God’s hatred burns toward those who fall away from the true faith. He hated them there, that false place of worship. While it is true that God’s hatred rests upon the reprobate from all eternity, yeah, I believe that Jose is saying here that it’s manifested in particular after apostasy. In other words, it becomes clear that these people are hated by God. There are Israelites solemnly gathered in worship at Gilgau, and yet God’s hatred. Burns tort. Do you realize there are many people who sit in church who engage in religious worship and could be the objects of God’s hatred? You don’t have to have some uncultured heathen, some cannibal and, you know, in the remote island in the Pacific to be hated by God. You merely have to convey your true colors, turn away from the truth to be classified. in this category, God’s hatred. And then we see God’s departure mentioned here in verse 12, verse 15, and verse 17. Verse 12, though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left, yea, woe also to them to them when I depart from them. Verse 15. All their wickedness is in Gilgale. For there I hated them. For the wickedness of their doings, I will dry them out of my house. I will love them no more. All their princes are revolters. Verse 17. My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him. And they shall be wanderers among the nations. God had dealt with Israel for a long time. he had been good to her, he had provided for her all these years. God promises this will be no more. He’s going to depart from Israel and cast them away. Now, we have to understand he’s talking about a nation here. He’s not talking about individual people per se, where if God has saved you, you can be cast away. that’s not what he’s talking about. But what we have here is there are so few elect among the nation at this point that the nation was completely apostate and as a whole was rejected. Boy, you’re in a very sorrowful condition if God abandoned you. When God speaks of loving them no more, he means he’s going to cast them aside. This generation, would not have his love and his grace. Previous generations may have had his love and his grace because they were elect people among them. But here we have the idea of them being reduced here to pretty much an apostate state the whole nation. He will drive them out of his house. He will reject them as his family in this world disown them and cast them aside. They have been unprofitable servants in his vineyard. Few people realize the horror of being rejected by God in this manner. Most are so caught up in their sins that they pay no attention. God often leaves quietly. The warning. Stop. will the warning stop coming and God rebukes cease? You’re given over to a reprobate mind to fulfill those evil desires that you have. There comes a point of no return. A time when God says to his servants, leave them alone, let them fall into the ditch. The apostate is one turned over to Satan for destruction. God’s departure. God’s judgment is found in verses 11 to 13, verse 16 and 17. Verse 11, their glory will fade, he says. All their riches and their strength and their prosperity will fade. All the good things they had under Jeroboam the second will pass away. God says their glory will fly away like a bird, swiftly, suddenly, irrevolved. Proverbs 23-5 says, Thou wilt set thine eye upon that which is not. Will thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings, and they fly away as an eagle. You remember the story of Bel Shazhar in Daniel chapter 5. Now, his father, Nebuchadnezzar, was taught a severe lesson about the true God. Jehovah in Daniel chapter 4 where God gave him the mind of a beast and he lived like a wild animal for a period of time. And then God restored him and he gave God the honor. Yet Belchazer lifted himself up against the Lord praised his false gods using the holy vessels of the temple of God. well, all his splendor, all his glory, were therefore removed in one night, as Daniel 5 indicates. Eventually the feet of the wicked slide, and they fall away to their destruction. And we see this is what’s going to happen. The glory is going to fade. We see also here the family is going to be destroyed, verses 11 through 13 and verse 16. God promises here to reduce and destroy the families of Israel. Even though they may be as populous as Tyre here, the city of Tyre, large city, trading city. They’re going to be cut off. God threatens judgment upon their children enforcing his law. I, the Lord, thy God, am a jealous God visiting the in the iniquity of the fathers upon the children under the third and fourth generation. of them that hate me. You can easily see how God can root out a degenerate, apostate family, or even a nation. still others will die at the hands of their enemies. They will raise up children when you see them murdered by their enemies like the Assyrians. One by one, the blows of God fall, and there is not a person left to build up the family. and bear the name. God will strike the root so that no fruit is produced in the family. Read the Bible carefully. There’s a principle you find in the Bible that in our case, in our polite society, we don’t use this language anymore, but the Bible talks about none that pisses against the wall shall be left. No mails. are going to survive. And that’s a pretty severe judgment that God brings upon his enemies. Consider King Saul. He once professed to be a follower of God, of Jehovah, and look what happened to him. He apostasized. It became unfaithful. God not only took away his kingdom, but also destroyed his family. line, all his sons, either were killed in battle, or were assassinated. And then there was King Joconia of Judah, turned his back upon God and worshipped idols, provoke God to anger, and this is what God said concerning him through Jeremiah. Thus said the Lord, write this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days, For no man of his seat shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David and ruling any more in Judah. Jeremiah 2230. Those who become apostates do not consider what harm they bring upon their own children by their sinful behavior. And then there is peace and tranquility that will disappear. Verse 17. God will make the Israelites, wonder among the nations. Remember this story about Kane, how he murdered his brother Abel, how that God cast him out, told him to, you know, to leave his presence. And what do we read about him? He became a wanderer, far away from the Lord. See, King Saul, the Apostate, bounded, hounded by an evil spirit, restless. fearful, realizing God had left him. Hear him mourning that God will not answer him. See, Judas driven to suicide over remorse for what he has done. You should know that God’s displeasure hangs over the head of the apostate. Finally, you should know God expects you to agree with his judgments upon the Apostle. Let’s look at verse 14. That’s an interesting verse. Give them, O Lord. What wilt thou give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breast. How should Josea respond to this pronouncement of judgment against Israel, this national apostasy? He attempts to pray. Yet few pray like he prays. Listen to how this man of God prays. them, oh Lord, he begins. Surely you think he’s going to plead with God to spare these people who are headed for certain destruction. But he hesitates here. He can’t go on. He’s not sure what to ask for. What should God give these people? What will thou give? As we listen anxiously, we’re shocked to hear. That Jose actually says, give them a womb that this carries a dry breast so they cannot sustain the life of their children. In other words, Josea is praying that God’s word would be fulfilled with regard to these apostate people. In this part of the world, this was one of the worst kinds of curses, national death. Yet curses are not uncommon in scripture. The Psalms are full of them. We sing them. all the time. They call it imprecatory songs. Does that shock you? Nor is praying down God’s curse as an Old Testament concept for Jesus Christ himself called down some dreadful curses as well. In the book of Revelation, you find the martyrs saints crying out for vengeance on those who put him to death, put them to death in Revelation. 6. Now you can hear the hesitation in Josea’s voice here, but he’s eager to serve God and sensitive to God’s purposes. The curse expressed in this prayer resulted from Josea’s love to God. Shocking prayer by Jose. I suppose none of us would naturally like to pray this prayer. But God expects you to agree with him concerning the apostate, and God expects you to pray his word concerning the apostate would be fulfilled. Imprecatory prayers or curses have almost disappeared from the church. We’re too timid, perhaps to use them. W.S. Plummer wrote of the power of the church’s imprecatory prayers Let me read this for you. He says this. Of the 30 Roman emperors, governors of provinces, and others high in office, who distinguished themselves by their zeal and bitterness in persecuting the early Christians, one became speedily disranged after some atrocious cruelty. One was slain by his own son. One became blind. The eyes of one. one started out of his head. One was drowned. One was strangled. One died in a miserable captivity. One fell dead in a manner that will not bear recital. One died of so loath from a disease that several of his physicians were put to death because they could not abide this stench that filled his room. Two committed suicide. A third attempted it, but had to call for help to finish the work. Five were assassinated by their own people or servants. Five others died the most miserable and excruciating deaths. Several of them having an untold complication of diseases. Eight were killed in battle for after being taken prisoners. Among those, among these was Julie and the Apostate. In the days of his prosperity said to have pointed his dagger to heaven defying the son of God, whom he commonly called the Galilean. But when he was wounded in battle, he saw that all was over with him. He gathered up his clotted blood and threw it into the air, exclaiming, Thou hast conquered, O thou Galileean. So we find that the early church, praying down God’s judgment on these wicked men was fulfilled. And great judgment fair. Paul delivered to Satan Hymenas and Alexander, two apostates from the faith. Paul calls down a curse on those who preach another gospel, those who do not love the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray like Oseilla that you and I certainly would be cautious in using imprecatory prayers, but not to be used lightly. But cannot the Church agree with the prayers that God has given us in His Word, the Psalms? Cannot believers request that God would fulfill his curses upon the wicked and apostate? I believe God calls upon you to agree with his judgments. And that would be right and proper. Will the police are the power behind the laws of the country? God’s judgments are the power. behind his laws and his holy work. God is keeping careful track of the sins of the apostate. His displeasure hangs over the wicked’s head. Judgment and evil fall. And God expects you as his servant to say amen when it does. To reclaim him true and righteous in all his ways. Can you pray a prayer like Jose here? Can you agree with God’s judgment upon the wicked? Let’s close with the word of prayer tonight. Heavenly Father, we solemnly have pondered this passage tonight. We pray for your blessing upon us as we think about it. I pray, Lord, that you would guide us in our prayers. And may we agree with you. you when you bring judgment on the wicked. You are a God who judges in the earth and should be praised for it. Bless your people. Strengthen us in the faith. Give us health and watch care over us this day and this week. And we ask these things in Jesus’ precious name. Let’s stand for the benediction. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ and sincerity. Amen.