Where Love and Justice Meet

Introduction

I had a couple conversations with people last week about the book of Hosea… they like Hosea, when are we going to be done

we like the first three chapters

the illustration of an adulterous people and God chasing after them

but once we get past chapter 3, you have about 11 more chapters of the judgement that is coming upon a sinful nation

that can be hard to listen to

PRAY!

Today - Where Love and Justice Meet (From the song that sparked the Series)

If we really understood how much God loved us, we would never walk in disobedience.

Hosea 10–11 CSB

1 Israel is a lush vine; it yields fruit for itself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better they made the sacred pillars. 2 Their hearts are devious; now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and demolish their sacred pillars. 3 In fact, they are now saying, “We have no king! For we do not fear the Lord. What can a king do for us?” 4 They speak mere words, taking false oaths while making covenants. So lawsuits break out like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field. 5 The residents of Samaria will have anxiety over the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its idolatrous priests rejoiced over it; the people will mourn over it, over its glory. It will certainly go into exile. 6 The calf itself will be taken to Assyria as an offering to the great king. Ephraim will experience shame; Israel will be ashamed of its counsel. 7 Samaria’s king will disappear like foam on the surface of the water. 8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed; thorns and thistles will grow over their altars. They will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!” 9 Israel, you have sinned since the days of Gibeah; they have taken their stand there. Will not war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah? 10 I will discipline them at my discretion; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bondage for their double iniquity. 11 Ephraim is a well-trained calf that loves to thresh, but I will place a yoke on her fine neck. I will harness Ephraim; Judah will plow; Jacob will do the final plowing. 12 Sow righteousness for yourselves and reap faithful love; break up your unplowed ground. It is time to seek the Lord until he comes and sends righteousness on you like the rain. 13 You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in your large number of soldiers, 14 the roar of battle will rise against your people, and all your fortifications will be demolished in a day of war, like Shalman’s destruction of Beth-arbel. Mothers will be dashed to pieces along with their children. 15 So it will be done to you, Bethel, because of your extreme evil. At dawn the king of Israel will be totally destroyed. 1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 Israel called to the Egyptians even as Israel was leaving them. They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. 3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the hand, but they never knew that I healed them. 4 I led them with human cords, with ropes of love. To them I was like one who eases the yoke from their jaws; I bent down to give them food. 5 Israel will not return to the land of Egypt and Assyria will be his king, because they refused to repent. 6 A sword will whirl through his cities; it will destroy and devour the bars of his gates, because of their schemes. 7 My people are bent on turning from me. Though they call to him on high, he will not exalt them at all. 8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I surrender you, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart; my compassion is stirred! 9 I will not vent the full fury of my anger; I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim. For I am God and not man, the Holy One among you; I will not come in rage. 10 They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. 11 They will be roused like birds from Egypt and like doves from the land of Assyria. Then I will settle them in their homes. This is the Lord’s declaration. 12 Ephraim surrounds me with lies, the house of Israel, with deceit. Judah still wanders with God and is faithful to the holy ones.

Three Wrong Choices

Do you know somebody that is always wrong

when I say wrong choices, I do not mean like they always pick the loser of the game or always picks the bad menu choices

Hosea 10:1–8 CSB

1 Israel is a lush vine; it yields fruit for itself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better they made the sacred pillars. 2 Their hearts are devious; now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and demolish their sacred pillars. 3 In fact, they are now saying, “We have no king! For we do not fear the Lord. What can a king do for us?” 4 They speak mere words, taking false oaths while making covenants. So lawsuits break out like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field. 5 The residents of Samaria will have anxiety over the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its idolatrous priests rejoiced over it; the people will mourn over it, over its glory. It will certainly go into exile. 6 The calf itself will be taken to Assyria as an offering to the great king. Ephraim will experience shame; Israel will be ashamed of its counsel. 7 Samaria’s king will disappear like foam on the surface of the water. 8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed; thorns and thistles will grow over their altars. They will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

Giving their hearts to the Lord or to another (V2)

Israel has had the choice of who they were going to follow

we have seen this choice all throughout scripture

started in the Garden, who were Adam and Eve going to listen to

were Abram and Sari going to trust God or take matters into their own hands

was Israel going to listen to the spies or were they going to trust God and go into the promise land

Joshua boldly proclaimed, “ Choose this day who you will serve, but for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”

all along, Israel is saying the right thing, but giving their heart to another

then the book of Judges comes and it says Israel had no ruler and the people did what was right in their own eyes.

we are not much different

we will come in here and sing songs proclaiming our love and devotion to the Lord only, while our hearts are running away from him.

Fearing the Lord or fearing world (V3)

But they were also bold enough to say it

we spend times not fearing the Lord, but we pretend like even God cannot see it

to fear the Lord is to be in respect and awe of his holiness

Israel had pretty good economically so what else could the Lord give them

we think the same… look at my kingdom! All that I have, the Lord must be pretty happy with me

does he love my worship, of course, look at all he has given me

is he pleased at my devotion to him, of course look at all I have

to where my checking account, luxury of life is all that matters

that is where Israel is, things are going well, what need do they have of God

one of the greatest threats to believers in the United States is the comfortable lifestyle that we have

everything they have… and they have been worshipping false gods, trying to make agreements with other nations for protection

so few of us really have any idea what it means to pray, give us our daily bread

Having a real or empty worship (V4)

their words meant nothing

neither to God or to each other

so many people lie and it is hard to find people that just speak truth that we are used to it

we just operate with the assumption that people are lying to us… unless they agree with us, then they are obviously telling the truth

but they were lying in their worship as well

do we really stand in awe of the creator of the world, or just like to sing that song

too often the worship songs we sing are just songs… modern day christian music on the radio sounds more like a social media post about how we do things for God and less about the utter amazingness of who God is and what he has done for us.

Everything that they have rested in, believing that it is what has provided for them, is about to be removed (v5-9)

Three main things they trust in

The king of the northern kingdom will be no more

The golden calf at Bethel would be no more

Beth-aven = house of the wicked v5

the alliance with Assyria would be no more

What do we trust in?

that we have the right guy president

the wealth of our nation, we’re 37 trillion in debt

or god will give it to us…

we turn scripture into a prosperity gospel

our worship or beliefs are right

way to many create Jesus in their image

prosperity gospel based on my; my faith, my prosperity

Reaping What is Sowed Should Not Surprise

Hosea 10:9–15 CSB

9 Israel, you have sinned since the days of Gibeah; they have taken their stand there. Will not war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah? 10 I will discipline them at my discretion; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bondage for their double iniquity. 11 Ephraim is a well-trained calf that loves to thresh, but I will place a yoke on her fine neck. I will harness Ephraim; Judah will plow; Jacob will do the final plowing. 12 Sow righteousness for yourselves and reap faithful love; break up your unplowed ground. It is time to seek the Lord until he comes and sends righteousness on you like the rain. 13 You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in your large number of soldiers, 14 the roar of battle will rise against your people, and all your fortifications will be demolished in a day of war, like Shalman’s destruction of Beth-arbel. Mothers will be dashed to pieces along with their children. 15 So it will be done to you, Bethel, because of your extreme evil. At dawn the king of Israel will be totally destroyed.

Do you remember the old toy, jack in the box?

I love watching how surprised babies get when it opens

babies are dumb… but even babies after a couple of times knows what is going to happen

Yet we have all watched grown adults do the same thing over and over and act surprised when they get the same outcome

Israel has sinned since Gibeah, so they should not be surprised when war follows them

we talked a little about Gibeah last week

a story similar to Sodom and Gamorrah

Found in Judges 19-21

the nation rallied together and fought against the tribe of Benjamin

when they have sinned in the past, walked away from following the Lord, they have seen the negative effects

God is asking through the prophet, if we know and have seen this in the past, why would you not expect anything different now

we have been warned in the NT of this truth

Galatians 6:7–9 CSB

7 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, 8 because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.

You cannot claim to accept the truth of the gospel and live by the passions of the flesh.

Promises if they were to sow in righteousness

reap faithful love

do not turn this into a worldly, prosperity gospel

you get faithful love, what is that the gospel

the Lord will save your souls

the Lord will grow you in him until the time comes that our salvation is realized

Paul says those who sow in the spirit, will reap eternal life

the faithful love, eternal life, this is not a gospel that says if you do enough for God he will reward you with good things in this life

they will face the consequences of their wickedness

Because of what you have sown…

reap injustice

battles will rage

the very place the calf was placed will be destroyed

An Undeniable Love

Hosea 11 CSB

1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 Israel called to the Egyptians even as Israel was leaving them. They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. 3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the hand, but they never knew that I healed them. 4 I led them with human cords, with ropes of love. To them I was like one who eases the yoke from their jaws; I bent down to give them food. 5 Israel will not return to the land of Egypt and Assyria will be his king, because they refused to repent. 6 A sword will whirl through his cities; it will destroy and devour the bars of his gates, because of their schemes. 7 My people are bent on turning from me. Though they call to him on high, he will not exalt them at all. 8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I surrender you, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart; my compassion is stirred! 9 I will not vent the full fury of my anger; I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim. For I am God and not man, the Holy One among you; I will not come in rage. 10 They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. 11 They will be roused like birds from Egypt and like doves from the land of Assyria. Then I will settle them in their homes. This is the Lord’s declaration. 12 Ephraim surrounds me with lies, the house of Israel, with deceit. Judah still wanders with God and is faithful to the holy ones.

It is fun watching little ones learning how to crawl, stand up, and then walk…

you watch them fall and laugh because they are cute

they try and do things but they have not quite figured out how their limbs work

so you put them in a walker or so other thing that allows them to move and figure things out without the danger of really getting hurt

Hosea 11:3–5 CSB

3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the hand, but they never knew that I healed them. 4 I led them with human cords, with ropes of love. To them I was like one who eases the yoke from their jaws; I bent down to give them food. 5 Israel will not return to the land of Egypt and Assyria will be his king, because they refused to repent.

The prophet compares the relationship between Israel and the Lord like this

He brought them up and taught them to walk

they were not a nation before he came to Abram

he did not grab the biggest and toughest group

but a stubborn, rebellious people

anyone have that kid

He healed them and fed them

when they fell he would pick them up, heal their wounds and set them back on their way

he provided everything they needed

He guided them when they did not know where to go

he walked before the people of Israel in a cloud by day and fire by night

How could he give up on them now

v8 gives us a glimpse of the inner turmoil of a loving and just God

almost like the godhead having a conversation

Hosea 11:8 CSB

8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I surrender you, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart; my compassion is stirred!

His love for you cannot be denied, it has been proved and cannot be denied

Romans 5:8 “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

While we have sinned… fallen short of the glorious standard that he set

generically in our sinful nature that has been passed down since Adam and Eve

specifically in the sin each of us have committed

His love for his people, his compassion for us was proven on the cross

Romans 5:1 “1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 8:1 “1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,”

COMMUNION!

Memory Verse

Galatians 6:7 CSB

7 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap,

Discussion Questions

How does God’s love for Israel, despite their disobedience, reflect His character?

In what ways can we discern if our hearts are devoting themselves to God or to worldly pleasures?

What practical steps can we take to 'break up our unplowed ground' and seek the Lord in our daily lives?

How can we ensure that our worship is genuine and not merely composed of empty words?

What does the phrase 'fear the Lord' mean in the context of our lives today?

How can understanding God's love and compassion help us in our struggles with sin and obedience?

What are some ways we can avoid making the same mistakes as Israel did in worship and devotion?

How does the idea of reaping what we sow influence your decision-making in everyday situations?