Fall From Grace

Intro

Have you ever trusted in something, or someone who let you down? America’s Funniest Home Videos seems to make a living off of people, trusting in things that let them down. From rope swings, to branches, to chairs, that all seem to give out at the worst (but funniest) time. But it’s not so funny when the financial system which you trusted in fails you, or a trusted friend turns and ruins you. Bottom line, in a sinful fallen world, there is not a lot we can trust in that won’t at some point fail you. Sometimes you find out right when its too late that you have put your trust in the wrong thing.

Hosea, in the penultimate chapter in his short book, details the fall of Ephraim (Israel) from grace into utter ruin and destruction. Israel had the problem of putting her trust everywhere she shouldn’t have and never only in God. Partly because she forgot the nature of God and what he had done for her in the past, and partly because she trusted in idols. As we consider the causes and consequences of Israel’s fall from grace, you will have a chance to consider where you put your trust.

Hosea 13:1-16

The Cause: Unfaithfulness

The Misplaced trust of idolatry

Hosea gives a synopsis of what’s ahead in verse 1. The exalted state of Ephraim, and her downfall. This is really the end of the line for Israel in this penultimate chapter in Hosea. Here the prophet lays out in graphic detail the cause and consequence of Israel’s fall from grace. The real problem has been Israel’s misplaced trust in idols.

Not only is it foolish to put your trust in a metal images the artifice of men, since there is literally nothing to them. Again, we notice that truism in scripture is that you become like what you worship. So, we see that as insubstantial as her Idols, Israel will “be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away, like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or like smoke from a window.” (Hos. 13:3). Israel trusted in something insubstantial and has herself become insubstantial.

The lesson of misplaced trust is hard to learn. You thought you started well with your hands full, and in the end you are left holding nothing. We are first and foremost looking at the national level. So it is when nations, full of themselves in their wealth and prosperity, put their trust in it, only to find themselves undone by it. Nations rise and nations fall. The only key to a civilization that will last, that will endure is whether or not they collectively put their trust in the Lord. So too, for every society. For Israel was not just a political kingdom, she was unique in history as a church-state nexus.

You may think, how is it even possible for a church to misplace their trust in idols? Since it is the business of the church to trust in her God. It usually follows the same trajectory. Wealth, success, and prosperity leads to a tendency to misplace their trust in those things. Soon pastors and ministry leaders are doing anything possible to grow, to keep the money flowing in, and their prestige and popularity increasing. But it isn’t only the mega church and growth that tempts the church to misplace their trust, we can do it with many great things. In our own tradition, we can privilege doctrinal purity while countenancing hatred in our hearts towards our brothers.

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 (ESV) — 1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love first to God, and followed through with love for one another. When Israel trusted in idols, the proof was seen most clearly in the injustices that piled up around her as the covenant community descended into paganism. Its not surprising that idolatry is actually bad for you, it ruins the health of a community and ends in its collapse and disappearance.

Excursus: Second Commandment Violations

But lest you think that the church today is free from rank idolatry, there is a debate that still rages in our denomination over the topic of images. Probably the most frequent exception young ministers take to the confession is over its insistence that there should be no images of any person of the trinity.

The sins forbidden in the second commandment are…the making any representation of God, of all or of any of the three persons, either inwardly in our mind, or outwardly in any kind of image or likeness of any creature whatsoever; all worshipping of it, or God in it or by it. (WLC # 109).

That includes Christ, no making of any images, even in your mind. That means no Passion of the Christ, no the Chosen. Which please dear saints do not watch that horrid show. Not only for its blatant violation of the second commandment, but for its bad theology. It is big mistake to develop discipleship methods that depend on sight when faith comes by hearing. God does not have a body like men, and did not give us any form by which we could worship him in. Even though Christ came and took on flesh, he remains 100% God. He has two distinct natures that do not mix to form something new. So the incarnation does not now mean we can worship God in the form of man simply because Christ came and took on flesh. No, no, we must worship God in spirit and truth. Faith is not faith if it depends on sight. Faith is faith, because we cannot see Christ, and still we hope in him. When faith gives way to sight, then we will see Christ, and we will worship him by sight. Then faith will fly away and be no longer necessary. Until then, the only pictures Jesus gave us are water, bread and wine. No fool thinks these ought to be worshiped. But just as the shadowy mysteries of the OT, these signs point beyond themselves to Christ. We apprehend what those pictures show us when our faith is strengthened to see Christ. There is a reason Jesus came when he did, and not right now. There is no authorized portrait of Him, outside of the fourfold witness of the gospels. He is the Word flesh, and has given us His word, as the only revelation we need in this present life. So then, we are people of the word, not people of the image. My little children, guard yourselves from idols. Even if it happens to be in the form of the most beautiful painting of some artists idea of Jesus.

Israel was seduced by the surrounding culture to add to their word-based religion images. So the golden calf became a representative of Yahweh, but soon they were supplementing their worship of Yahweh with Baal. Then they were changing their behavior so that it more closely resembled Baal and not the Lord. Soon they were awash in bloodshed and sexual immorality, marks of their devotion to other gods. Have we not watched the same thing in the Roman Catholic church? Silly superstitious image worship has led to all kinds of gross errors in the church. Just read the history of the church in the fifteenth century. The cause of Israel’s fall from grace was a misplaced trust in idols, but also by forgetting what the Lord had done to bring them to salvation.

Forgetting what the Lord has done

Notice in v. 4 the Lord reminds Israel of their history; he reminds them of His great works of redemption. He recounts the exodus, and the intimate care he took to save them from Egypt and bring them into the promised land. But as he had warned them (Deut. 8) when Israel took possession of the blessing of the promised land they soon forgot God (v. 6).

One of the most prevalent causes for a fall from grace is blessing. We soon forget who the blessing came from. Prosperity often leads to the illusion that we are self sufficient. How then do we keep from falling in this way? Two things, remember and be grateful.

We are so prone to forget that the Lord built into every week one day that we set aside just for remembering. The Lord’s day is a day to rehearse the mighty works of God so that we keep them fresh in our minds. But we should add to this by the daily discipline of worship, personally and as families. That has the affect of reorientating us so that we are constantly aware of our dependence on the Lord.

Which leads to the only right response for the blessing of life and salvation–gratitude. By cultivating gratitude we stave off the smug-self-sufficient attitudes of pride. Gratitude is the response of someone who understands that life and salvation is a gift to be stewarded, and not something we are entitled too as our right.

The cause of Israel’s fall from grace was a persistent forgetting what the Lord had done for them in salvation, along with a misplaced trust in idols. Now let us consider the consequences of these causes.

The Consequences: Disastrous Judgment

We have already noted that Israel had become like the idols she worshipped—insubstantial, like a cloud, mist, chaff, or smoke. Those who misplace trust in idols and forget the Lord will in the end come to nothing, as nations, churches, families, and individuals.

Through a series of similes the judgement of the Lord is described as an animal attacking its prey. It will be quick like a leopard lurking to capture its unsuspecting prey. With the anger and ferocity of a mama bear. And the utter devastation of being devoured by a lion or torn by wild beasts.

For some reason my dad thought it would be funny if I read the book The Man-eaters of Tsavo as we flew to Africa to become missionaries. That story was made into a movie called Ghost in the Darkness, which was also quite good. It tells the story of an engineer tasked with making a railroad in Kenya but who faced an unprecedented enemy, these almost demon-possessed lions that were wrecking havoc and spreading fear in the already superstitious workers. Colonial Patterson, in his book describes in gruesome detail the ferocity of these two male lions who he claims killed over 135 people as they tried to build a bridge over the Tsavo river. In some ways we have buffered ourselves from the fear of animal attacks but in much of world history that was not the case. The Lord uses what we know of those kinds of terrifying experiences to describe the judgement that will be the final fall of Israel.

A king won’t be any help in the face of this kind of downfall. Clearly this is a reference back to the original trouble Israel made when she wanted a “king like the nations.” Samuel was upset over this, but the Lord corrected him, it wasn’t that they were replacing Samuel with a king, it was that they were replacing God (v. 11).

Next the prophet uses the imagery of a pregnenacy. Normally associated with hope and joy, for the pain of labor gives birth to new life. But in Israel’s case, the birthing process will be devastating to mom (Israel) and child (people). An unwise son is a breech birth, which without medical intervention is often deadly. And this is tragically the case in Israel when Assyria will rip open the pregnant woman and dash in pieces their little ones. Here the Lord’s judgment is ironic also because all their worship at the false altars of the fertility cults will not result in fruitfulness but in the less of their children.

Finally, the fall of Israel through the Lord’s judgement will cause the land to return to a wilderness. The once fruitful land will become a dry, desert wasteland. North Africa used to be called the “bread basket” of the Roman empire. It was an incredibly fruitful place, that provided not only grain but also trees, now it only produces sand. The explanation most give for this is climate change and poor farming practices of deforestation which led to soil erosion. But a better explanation is that the Lord has judged those nations for their persistent unfaithfulness, most notably in the false worship of Islam.

When Israel misplaced their trust in idols and forgot the Lord, the consequence was devastating judgement that caused the fall of Israel. As I have mentioned before, in 720s BC, the Assyrian army marched throughout Israel, and for three years lay siege to Samaria, its capital city. From those campaigns, a sizable portion of Israel’s population was taken and resettled in other Assyrian territory. Along with other populations imported in to Israel and forcibly remarrying them with those that remained. This was Assyrian policy to prevent rebellion. They did not keep the cultures of the peoples they conquered intact but obliterated them and forced them to assimilate with Assyrian culture. Not a pretty picture of the Lord’s judgment.

But as hopeless as that all may sound, the Lord always preserved a remnant. As Paul taught in Romans 11:1-8. So in the historical account do we see this: 2 Chron. 30:5-11. The cause of Israel fall was misplaced trust in idols and forgetting the Lord, the consequence was devasting judgement from the Lord, but is there comfort here, or is it only a cautionary tale?

The Comfort: Illogical Grace

Notice that tucked away in v. 14 is a surprising pearl of great comfort. And this has often been the case in Hosea. A lot of really bad news with a sprinkling of good to keep us from despair.

What is the worst thing that can happen to you? Often, because of the finality of death, most would assume that is the worst that can happen to you. But according to scripture (Jesus), you are not to fear death, but to fear the one who has power over death. That is, the one who can judge you with eternal death (Mt. 10:28). The surprising comfort here is that out of the judgment of death comes the promise of resurrection life. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 says,

1 Corinthians 15:56–57 (ESV) — 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Israel would undergo a kind of death in her exile from the promised land, but the Lord promises that death shall not have the final say. Here we are reminded of the almost illogical grace of God. He would have been more than justified in abandoning Israel in death forever, but He instead promises that he will ransom and redeem her from death.

He did just that when in the fullness of time he sent his Son to be the savior of the world. He stooped down to our lost and sinful condition, to take on himself the sins of his people, so that he could die in their place. And through the power of the Spirit and an incorruptible life, God raised Jesus from the dead. So that by his resurrection, he could ransom and redeem you from sin and death.

Perhaps, like me, you recognize a lot of yourself in Israel. You have often enough put your trust in idols, forgetting the work the Lord your God has done. And perhaps you have also felt the sting of the Lord’s judgment, not least of which may be the Lord hiding his face from you. But let me assure you, that all in Adam all will die, and unless the Lord should return, most of us will die. But the comfort the Lord offers you today is that he has the power over death, for he can ransom and redeem you giving you the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

Charge

When you forget what the Lord has done, and place your trust in idols, you will incur the judgment of the Lord and the loss of everything you trusted in. Therefore, you must remember that the Lord alone is God and savior and trust in Him alone to bring you salvation, for he has power even over death.