Hosea 14
Notes
Transcript
Find the “BIG IDEA” >> a. What is the author talking about? b. What is he saying about what he is talking about?
a. Hosea speaks about the people returning to the Lord with a voice and heart of repentance… and God, a heart of restoration and forgiveness…
b. God responds to repentance with restoration
Find the FCF >>
1. What does the text say?
2. What spiritual concern(s) did the text address (in its context)?
3. What spiritual concerns do listeners share in common with those to (or about) whom the text was written?
[Kids Time!]
Prodigal Son?
God restores us when we turn to Him!
[Introduction]
>> For the past 8 weeks, we’ve spent our time on Sunday worshipping God by the revealed Word of God proclaimed through the prophet, Hosea, to the divided kingdoms of Israel. The people of Israel, God’s chosen and set apart people, are divided between the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
>> God’s people are divided, not only nationally… but, most significantly, they are estranged from God.
>> They are devoted to:
Themselves (Amos 6:4-6, Hosea 2:5, )
False Worship (Baal, golden calves, Hosea 10:1-2)
>> God’s wrath and judgement against evil is impending, culminating in the exile of Israel at the hands of their neighbors, the Assyrians (722 BC)
[Introduce Text]
>> The final chapter, chapter 14, ends with
Call to Repentance (v. 1-3)
God’s Response, The People’s Restoration (v. 4-8)
Reflection (v. 9)
>> To be honest with you… I’ve been apathetic toward this message
>> Read the Text
1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
2 Take with you words
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept what is good,
and we will pay with bulls
the vows of our lips.
3 Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride on horses;
and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.”
4 I will heal their apostasy;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
6 his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like an evergreen cypress;
from me comes your fruit.
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.
>> This is the WORD of the LORD. Let us pray…
[Prayer]
[Main Point]
God responds to repentance with restoration
>> Where do we find ourselves?…
We are unfaithful
[Sub Point]
God Responds
[Sub Point]
We Repent
[Sub Point]
God Restores
[Explanation]
1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
2 Take with you words
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept what is good,
and we will pay with bulls
the vows of our lips.
>> Israel is instructed to “Return to the LORD your God”… and what do they to bring to Him? “the vows of our lips”. Genuine repentance.
>> What is their iniquity?… verse 3,
3 Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride on horses;
>> False identity
and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
>> False worship
In you the orphan finds mercy.”
>> Israel is like a fatherless orphan… they have nothing but the vows of their lips to bring to God!
>> Psalm 68 reminds us that God is the,
5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
>> Verses 2 and 3 show that there is genuine repentance here. A “turning back” of not only the heart, but of the worship and identity of Israel…
>> But is it enough? How will God respond to our repentance, even if it is genuine?
>> Church history shows us that the Church has been asking that same question regarding genuine repentance for thousands of years.
>> Throughout church history, speaking of the early church of the first few generations of believers after Jesus’ ascension, all the way to current day, we see that the church struggled to identify when a believer was truly “repentant” and could receive absolution to be reconciled to God and His body, the Church. This process was called penance. As time progressed, penance became more structured, with the church assigning specific tasks to be performed that one could be absolved of their sin and reconciled to God.
>> Ex: say 50 psalms, fast for 40 days, go on pilgrimage...
>>In the time of Martin Luther (early 1500s), the theology of purgatory was fully developed in the church, which claimed that absolution of sin had not occurred for an individual, and that even after death, their soul was bound to wait in purgatory that the remaining debt of their sin might be paid. Indulgences were also prevalent, serving as a means by which individuals could reduce purgatory for their loved ones… but quickly became corrupted when men like Johann Tetzel began selling indulgences with the slogan “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs.”
>> Analogy (used by medieval theologians): “If you break a neighbor’s window, he can forgive you, but you still need to repair the glass. Absolution forgives the guilt, but purgatory satisfies the damage.”
Penance = public acts of repentance (fasting, prayer, almsgiving, acts of humility...) leading to restoration
Absolution = forgiveness of guilt, freedom from hell.
Purgatory = purification from the remaining debt of sin.
Indulgences = supposed way to reduce purgatory, but became corrupted into money-for-mercy.
>> This kind of system totally makes sense… if God is like us. Yet, we do not approach a being like us… As we were reminded last week,
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
>> I’ve heard it said, “What is true of God’s image bearers can be said of God to a higher degree”… as if knowing humanity is somehow a sufficient source material for knowing the Almighty creator. But, that’s like saying, “We know what a tree is like because we have an acorn”.
>> God is not like us! And the unfortunate reality is, left to ourselves, we are not like God… no matter how hard an acorn tries to be something else, it is dead when left to itself. But, miraculously, it springs into life as a sapling when the right things happen to it, and it begins looking and being more and more like its source, the tree!
>> So we, in Christ, were dead in our sins before His holy and gracious work in us, and He makes dead people alive and like Him, our true source of life.
>> We repent of our sins. With nothing to offer God, we repent and turn to Him, and how does God respond?
4 I will heal their apostasy;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
apostasy = “Refers to turning away from God to a life lived like those who are apart from God.”
>> God restores us. God heals us. His love for us is free, in that the cost is nothing to us! Consider this, even our turning back to Him… is that something we do freely and within our own power? Does the acorn choose to be a tree when it’s tired of being a nut (pun intended)?
>> It is God who heals our apostasy.
>> Verses 5 - 7 has God expressing in poetic language their restoration,
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
>> Where earlier in Hosea, “dew” was used as a metaphor for Israel’s fleeting love… here God uses “dew” to illustrate God’s covering of them.
3 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”
14 For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
>> Lets continue God’s poetic language here:
6 his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
>> Lebanon is referenced three times. Lebanon was a city known for its trees, especially its enormous cedars whose roots were as deep and vast as the tree seen above the ground. verse 7,
7 They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like an evergreen cypress;
from me comes your fruit.
>> God covers, protects, cultivates, heals… God Restores
>> Hosea ends with this final epilogue, summing up all of his previous teaching,
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.
[Application]
>> What do we take away from Hosea?
>>We, like them, must repent Luke 13:1-5
1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
>> Like Hosea, Jesus message of repentance is dire. The stakes are high. If by God’s grace we are wise, if we are discerning, if we know the ways of the Lord as God has graciously revealed, we should walk in them.
>> My favorite Parable of repentance is the Parable of the Prodigal son. Many of you know it, many of you may even be apathetic to it… But read it with me with a renewed vision for the heart posture of the son and His father:
>> Parable of the Prodigal son Luke 15:11-32
11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”
[Invite the Band up]
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.
>> The ways of the Lord have been made known to us. In our wandering hearts, in our comforts, in our apathy… we can find ourselves stumbling as we transgress the ways of the Lord.
>> May we be a people continually repenting and turning to the Lord, seeking His ways, being reminded of the pain and death of our former selves, and comforted and renewed by the restoration of the Lord.
[Conclusion]
