Hosea 12:7-14

Tonight I invite you to turn with me to the book of Hosea chapter 12 verses 7 to 14. Osaya chapter 12 verses 7 to 14. He is a merchant. The balances of deceit are in his hand. He loveth to oppress. And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich. I have found me out substance. In all my labors, they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin. And I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt until, from the land of Egypt, will yet make thee to dwell in tavern. as in the days of the solemn feast. I have also spoken by the prophets and have multiplied visions and have used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets. Is there iniquity in Gilead? Surely they are vanity. They sacrifice bolocks. in Gilgau, yea, their altars are as heaps in the burrows of the fields. And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife, he kept sheep. And by a prophet, the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet, the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, was he preserved. Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly. Therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his lord return unto him. May God bless to us the reading of His holy and sacred word this evening. One of the major problems of modern Christendom today is the unwillingness to identify the tears that are among the wheat. There’s a failure to deal with what we might term as the false professor. Churches are so glad to get members that they’re not too picky, they’re willing to tolerate any kind of lifestyle. Dr. Wilbur Smith in his book, therefore, Stan, said this. Why I am now going to say will probably shock many people. It is contrary to everything that is being expressed in this age of anemic toleration of every conceivable kind of heresy. In this age when people are so glibly advocating a spineless universal religion and fearful of offending anyone by our own religious convictions, let me put it frankly in one brief sentence. What we need today is some downright, manly, courageous, intolerance in the Christian church. Of all those tendencies and humanistically derived theories, which, while they may encourage pride of man, are wholly destructive of anything bearing a resemblance of New Testament, Christianity. Now this isn’t a new We see it is a concern that took place way back when here in Israel. They claim to be the people of God. They have their religious worship and observances, but they are charged here with being false professors. Let us consider this tonight and let us consider ourselves as we look at this passage. Are you a false professor? Verse 7 and 8 and verse 11. Is your daily lifestyle worldly and deceitful? As verse 7 states here, he is a merchant. The balances of deceit are in his hand. He loveth to oppress. Now it’s interesting that the word for merchant here. actually means Canaanite. But the reason these words are synonymous is because the country of Canaan was given over to heavy trading and merchandising was a big business. But the Canaanites were very deceitful and crafty, dishonest. They’ll do anything for a buck, for a shekel in this case. You know, to be a Canaanite was to be deceitful and wicked. Under Joshua, you know, Israel was given the task of rooting out the Canaanites and their corrupt culture. But what happened? The Canaanites ended up corrupting Israel. now there was no difference between those professing to be the people of God and the world. Israel had taken on the character of those dwelling in the land. She lost our identity as the holy nation of God. She was a hidden nation now. So the Israelites had balances of deceit. in their hands. They were busy cheating people out of money, engaging in corrupt business activities. And so their lifestyle was pretty much Canaanistic. And therefore God says to Israel, you are a worldling. You are a corrupt Canaanite. So we have here the the evilness of Israel. Now, the case of the false professor, the question is, have you conformed to the world around you? Is there no difference between you and a heathen? Is your lifestyle a dishonest one? Have you cast honesty to the wind in order to pursue? a Canaanite way of living? Is your lifestyle dishonest? Is your goal just to gain prosperity? Regardless of your religious profession, your lifestyle gives you away. There was a New Year’s Eve service. The man in his mid-30s stood up and testified during the service. On the same night, A year ago, he had been violently sick and drunk. And after running out of whiskey, he and his friends decided they would drink anything that had alcohol in it, even products that weren’t intended for drinking like aftershave lotion and mouthwashes and so forth. As the congregation listened, they were all delighted to see the change that had taken place in the man’s life. However, a year and a half after this testimony, the pastor had to urge this man to repent. He had left his wife and children. He was living with a woman whom he was not married, with a woman he wasn’t married, and then he was drinking heavily once again. He listened as the pastor admonished him. Then he made this comment. He said, one saved, always saved. He wasn’t afraid. He was sure that heaven was his final home. The pastor told Elmer that his lifestyle was that of a heathen, an unsaved man. And he quoted 1 Corinthians 6, 9 through 11, where Paul declared those who practiced sins such as is adultery, thie, drunkenness, extortion, will not inherit the kingdom of God. The pastor told him that once saved, always saved is true. The fact of the matter is, he said, he didn’t believe Elma was saved in the first place. Is your lifestyle, is your daily lifestyle worldly and deceitful? Do you attempt to justify? your sinful lifestyle. We see here in verse 8 these words. Ephraim said, yet I am become rich. I have found me out substance. In all my labors, they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin. Ephreum Steyn’s indicted here. How does he plead? Or she plead. Israel attempts to justify her actions. God is so angry with me. Why is he prospering me? Why is my business thriving? Why am I gaining all this wealth? Nobody’s complained that my business dealings? I’ve run my business like everyone else. So I sell 10 yards of cloth and give the customer only 9 and 7th 8s. I’m innocent of these grave charges you are making. Do you sin? Keep yourself within the framework of what is civil law and therefore appear upright to most people. You have prospered over the years? You might think, well, of God, we’re truly angry with me. He would have allowed not allowed me to gain possessions and substance. I heard about one professing Christian woman who became addicted to gambling in the form of the state lottery. The thought of, you know, winning several million dollars overtook her. And at first she purchased one ticket per week. when she bought her groceries. Then it was five tickets. Then it was 10 tickets. She told herself that they wouldn’t really miss the money. She convinced herself that her husband would be glad if she won, then he wouldn’t have to work anymore. She was sure she could pick the winning numbers. She even asked God to help her and promised to give a large sum of money to the church if she won. She began to sneak extra money. She nearly emptied the family savings account before her husband figured out what was going on. But through it all, she attempted to justify her sin to find a good reason continued doing what she was doing. Do you attempt to justify your sinful life? stuff. Is your worship really pleasing to God? Let’s look at verse 11 here. Is there in Iniquity in Gilgale? Gilead? Surely they are vanity. They sacrifice bullocks in Gilgau. yea, their altars are as heats in the burrows of the fields. Gilead was on the other side of the Jordan River. Gilgale was a town in Israel near Jericho north of the Dead Sea area. Evidently, both cities were centers for veil worship. Is there in Nicotty in Gilead? Well, that’s a loaded question. I’d have to worship is evil in the sight of God. And there was only one legitimate altar, and that was at Jerusalem. God would not have sacrifice. is offered to him except in one place where he, by the law of God, had designated. And thus this activity of multiplying centers of worship was also displeasing to God. God says as one gathers stones into a heap in order to plow his fields. So everyone forms an altar for himself as though they were raising up a pile of stones in their own field. Not many people worship idols these days. I mean, nobody who bows down before a terracotta grotesque figure or a stone figure like the Canaanites. But that doesn’t mean that your worship isn’t provoking to God. God doesn’t want a ritualistic worship just to keep. him pacified. A bride merely to gain his favors. This is what the Canaanites worship was like. They had to appease their gods. When Israel moved into the promised land, the Canaanites said, you better offer sacrifices to bail or else your crops will not grow. After all, they thought, nobody wants to have the harvest veil or their wife to be barren or to have bad health so you sacrifice the veil. God wants your deeds of sacrifice because you love him not because of what you ran out of him, what you can get out of him, excuse me. He doesn’t want to be bribed. To engage in worship selfishly, superstitiously, seeking God’s favor is to be idolatrous like the Canaanites. To worship in a man are not prescribed by God is to be sinful and rebellious. Besides, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the abomination to the Lord. you know, just because you go to church, that doesn’t mean you’re pleasing to God. So are you a false professor? Secondly, have you considered God’s good gifts to you? Consider how God has provided for you physically and materially in verse 12 here we see these words. And Jacob fled into the country of Syria. And Israel served for a wife. and for her wife, he kept sheep. You know, God once again reminds us here of Jacob. After all, these Israelites were the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God reminds them how they, it really was with Jacob. You see how poor and helpless he was? Why is it that God’s goodness would, if he hadn’t had it, I would have caused him to perish. You wouldn’t even be here today if God had not given good gifts to Jacob. He was a poor exile, forced to flee from his life in his father’s house. And he had to run away to Syria with nothing but a staff in his hand. What was he there? A miserable servant. He lived in two hard apprenticeships to gain his wives from his uncle Laban. He didn’t even have a dowry to give for his wife, Rachel. So he had to serve Laban for 14 years by keeping sheep of Tainer. Laban cheated him by changing his wages 10 times. Why Jacob had to confess that if it were not for God’s watch care, he would have been penniless. God’s argument seems to be this. Didn’t I care for you? Didn’t I make a great nation out of such a humble beginning? Is this how you repay me? If God has been giving good gifts to you. How can you turn away from him and violate his commands? How can you do what Israel did? How he has brought you safely through your childhood and your youth and your beginning of your adulthood. He has spared you. from the wasting disease and the violent man and so forth? He’s taken care of you. You have a home, you have a car and material goods. You have a wife and family. How can you play spiritual games with God? Will you go on enjoying God’s good gifts while pursuing your own simple desires? I think not. Consider how God has provided for you spiritual guidance. See that in verses 10 and 13 here. I have spoken by the prophets. I have multiplied visions and used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets. Verse 13. By a prophet, the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt. And by a prophet, the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt. was he preserved? God says here, I taught you by my prophets. And you knew my laws. You knew my presepts. You weren’t spiritually ignorant. By Moses, I brought you out of the land of Egypt. I preserved you in the wilderness journey by my hand as well. And yet now you’ve given a deaf ear. to my prophets. As professing Christian, you’ve been privileged to sit under the gospel ministry. Are you going to give a deaf ear to it? You’re going to treat it with contempt? You’ve been privileged to hear the mind of God revealed to you by faithful ministers. The world sits in darkness. You’ve had light of the gospel of Christ preached to you. Christ has revealed much through his godly ministers. Someone has been watching out for your soul. Dare you cast off this lightly. God will take into account what labors have been spent on your soul’s care. How many times has God spoken to you through his word? Will you neglect that spiritual benefit that you’ve had? will you turn away from the light that you’ve been privileged to possess? Can you be content of a false religion? Have you considered God’s goodness to you? His good gifts, physically and materially and spiritually and spiritually. Do you realize, thirdly, you are provoking God to wrath by your false profession? Verse 9 and verse 14. I’ll start with verse 14 here. Do you dare provoke God to wrath? Verse 14A. Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly. Therefore shall he leave his blood upon him. And his reproach shall be, the reproach shall his reproach shall be, the reproach shall his Lord return unto him. 1st Corinthians 1022 says, do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? You know, it would be foolish to provoke a man who was much stronger than you are because you’re going to get beat up. I mean, I would never want to fight Mike Tyson or old balding George Foreman either. I mean, I mean, How do you think you would do? What boldness then you must have to provoke the Lord God, who is omnipotent, to make God bitter against you? You dare provoke God to wrath. God can easily humble you. We see here in verse 9. Israel forgot that God brought her out of Egypt, provided everything she needed. gave her a land flowing with milk and honey. God says, I’ll make you return to tents, as in the days in the wilderness. We’re wandering about for 40 years. God is able to bring you into a state of desolation, poverty, loss, suffering, and hardship because of your false profession. God is able to make your life miserable snatch everything from you. We’ve talked about this many times before. It’s easy for him to do such a thing. Your blood will be upon your own head if you perish, as verse 14 indicates the latter part. God will not hold you guiltless, but bring upon you the the death which the wages your sin deserve. This is a common phrase here which indicates your iniquities are going to testify against you. Those who despise God are lightly esteemed and you cannot escape God’s authority. Those who sin willfully bringing their sins upon their own head. God’s warning has come to you. You reject his warning at your own peril. Well, let me close tonight by saying this. You know, one of the major problems of the church today is unwillingness to face up to the issue of false professors. However, God clearly has addressed it in his word. Is your daily lifestyle a deceit for? worldly life. You attempt to justify. Is your worship merely a formal exercise pursued mainly for selfish reasons? And God says you’re a false professor. He calls upon you to consider how good it has been to you and materially and physically and so forth. The time to repent is now. Don’t provoke God any further is what he says to us here. The question is, what are you going to do about your situation? Are you a real believer? Are you just merely a false professor? This is something that God would have us way carefully tonight. Let’s close with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we confess that your word is very pricking to the heart. We ask, Lord, that we might show true signs of being your people and following you in this life. May you forgive us of our many sins and shortcomings and help us. us. Give us your grace as we go through this life. And I pray, Lord, that you would help us to avoid being like the Israelites of all. Let’s stand for the benediction. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ and sincerity. Amen.