How Did We Get Here?

Introduction

I have heard for years and years that fish do not have a memory and that is why you can just keep catching fish. I love to fish and I was studying up on lures one day when I came across an article that said “FISH HAVE A MEMORY, ONLY RUBBER BAITS WORK”. If a bass is caught on a spinner bait one day and thrown back, the next day they saw overwhelmingly that the same fish would just watch the spinner bait. Their answer was that only rubber baits fool them constantly...... I said they have a memory, I didnt say they were smart. You see, God has given the fish what they need. For the most part, fish can live off what is provided for them in lakes, rivers, and oceans. But sometimes, the fish is minding its own business, and a purple worm with glittery sparkles and pretty tail comes by smelling like pumpkins........and the fish forgets about all the resources it has at its expense and dives right after that pretty purple worm. This seemed like a good plan until he found himself in the belly of a bass boat, on ice, ready to be my dinner.

We have almost always talked about how dumb fish are, but enough about fish, lets talk about us. You see, Adam and Eve had all they ever needed in the garden of Eden, but when they saw the pretty tree and believed the lies of the serpent, they forgot the goodness of God. When Israel was promised and given rights to all the land and supplies they ever needed and placed into covenant with God, they see the gods and idols of pagan nations and they immediately forget that they are the chosen people of God and they abandon them for desires of the flesh and empty covenants of happiness and supplication. When Gomer, a prostitute, is given everything she could ever imagine and ever need in the prophet Hosea, a life of holiness and comfort in the promises of God, she abandons it all to continue selling herself to other men fulfilling an imprissoned love in her heart and forsaking the boundless love of God. And then there is us....... born into gentile nations, yet grafted into the covenant with God, freely given the grace of God through His son Jesus Christ, the instructions of God through the Bible, and the aid and comfort of God through His spirit, we see what is shiny and comfortable and what satisfies our evil flesh and sinful desires and we forget about the goodness of God and the peace of walking in obedience and we go astray and chase after the bait. We, just like Adam, Israel, and the adulterer are guilty of taking the bait and guilty of sin. Mankind is batting .1000. There is only one solution, and it rest in faithfulness of God and the righteousness of Jesus that must go before us. Hosea will show us, like Romans, that we have a case built against us and we stand guilty, but God’s love, boundless, pursues us and perfects us to be found complete in the fulfilled promises of God.

That introduction alone was enough for me to praise God for and walk out of this place this morning, but we will carry on in our introduction of Hosea.

How do I Interpret Old testament books

Before we get to the introduction of Hosea, I want to spend a few minutes that I believe are important when you are handling Old Testament text. Hermeneutics, which is a fancy word for how to interpret text, more specifically, the Bible, is something that is lost in a lot of churches today. I have seen such a need, especially in student ministry, with not just teaching to read the Bible, but how to read the bible. We do this in our schools and in every subject, but we fail to do this with scripture. If a preacher says it or a book says it, or an article says it, then we should believe it. We read a verse in isolation and cults and false religions are found off of it. Here is an example. If I gave you this word, could someone here tell me what it means?

יָדַע

Of course you wouldnt, and for all intents and purposes, you shouldnt.

This hebrew word is pronounced Ya-dah and it is a word that we will see in Hosea and is used all through the Old Testament. It means: to know

But even that is very vague. I can know a lot of things. I know I have a mailman, but I couldnt tell you his name. I also know my wife Rachel and could contest that I know as much about her as anybody. So we dive deeper.

This word is used in and intimate knowledge of someone. This is used in the OT when Adam “knew” Eve. And used when God says that he knows us and wants us to know him.

This is proper hermeneutics, not in completion but a good start anyway. We often run into trouble when we take these steps I just mentioned and we interpret then through western eyes when it was written to an eastern audience.

All that to say this, the best tool for interpreting scripture is scripture itself. The book of Hosea and all OT text are absolutely and utterly worthless in the hands of any human if Jesus is subtracted from it. Does that mean that I believe we should discard the Old Testament? absolutely not. Does that mean that the Torah or writings of the prophet were useless to people before Jesus came down to earth and the New Testament writings? No, absolutely not, so do not mishear or misquote me, but all of scripture is pointing to Jesus. The main character of scripture is Jesus, the only way to interpret Hosea or any book of the Bible is through the purpose and person of Jesus. So you will see in our preaching here at Berean and every week, no matter, the book or the text, we are going to point you to Jesus. The point of Moses was not to make you a better leader, it was to point you to Jesus. The point of Daniel was not so that you can be a “Daniel Man”, it is to point you to Jesus. Studying the life of David is important, but not because you can have a heart like David, but it is to point you to Jesus. The story of Hosea is not to show you as the main character of scripture or to make you “more obedient” but it is to point you to Jesus.

An Introduction to Hosea

Hosea was a minor prophet. He was not minor, like minor leagues baseball or a lesser in quality. They are referred to as minor prophets because of their length. Isaiah, jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel (5 books when you count Jeremiahs Lamentations) were long books and therefore labeled major. Hosea, Joel, Amos....and crew are shorter books and therefore labeled minor. If I could change this, I would, but here we are. I am sure they wouldnt like to be called the shorter prophets either........a little pastor joke. They are minor in length but certainly not minor in content. They are books that are robust in theology and they tell us of a God that disciplines his children and calls them to repentance. Adam Tripplet of 9 marks says “the only thing minor about the minor prophets is their place in the church today”

There are fourteen chapters in the Book of Hosea. They are short chapters and a slow reader like myself can read the book in its entirety in thirty minutes. So I challenge you to do that before next week. At least read through Hosea once, but maybe challenge yourself to read it through once each day. There a a group of guys here that are memorizing the 14th chapter of Hosea. if you would like to get in on that you could talk to Buddy Cooper or Tim Mckeehan and they would love to work with you on that.

I prefer verse by verse preaching and those of you that are following me on the Journey in Romans on Wednesday nights knows that. Hosea does not lend itself to that with our time constraints. They must be studies in chunks, and that is exactly what we will do the next three weeks.

The only verse that we will cover today is Hosea 1:1 which will help us see the background and where we are in the story of scripture.

The New International Version Chapter 1

1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel:

We know from History and Hosea’s own dating source here in vs 1 that Hosea’s ministry was from 790 BC - 739 BC. and was written to the northern kingdom of Israel. There were two kingdoms that Israel was divided into in 930 BC. If you want more info on this you can find it in the book of 1 Kings. To summarize. Solomon was on a great path of being king. He was wise, and not just your normal wise. He was given so much, but like Adam, his father, and us, he chased the idols and desires of this world, and eventually failed. His successor Rehoboam failed as well and divided the kingdom into two. The Northern Kingdom, Israel or Samaria, and was made of 10 tribes, and the Southern Kingdom, Judah, made of two tribes.

The northern kingdom is where the majority of his writings are directed to and he will sometimes refer to them as Ephraim or Jacob. Just as he will prophesy to the people in this book, the Assyrian empire will take advantage of the Northern kingdom and conquer them in 722 BC. The Assyrians will be later conquered by the Babylonians who also take the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 586 BC, and then the Persians take over after that. Their time in exile would last until Nehemiah in 444 BC. That is a lot of info but it is important, nonetheless, to understand what is about to take place in Israel’s history.

They are going to be slaves, once again, in their own land, and all that was rightfully theirs is going to be stripped away from them and God is going to use Hosea as His mouthpiece to show an example God’s covenant and boundless love, show them their sin, condemn their disobedience, then finally offer His restoration that is ultimately given through Jesus Christ.

To understand Hosea and really any of the prophets, one must have a working knowledge of God’s people and his instruction in Deuteronomy. I fully understand that it is hard to read and study the Torah at times. The context is so far removed from us and we live in and under the Covenant of Grace now through Jesus. This does not mean the Torah is unimportant, but its purpose is made explicit for us in Romans. Paul tells the law was not given to us to make us Holy, but it is like a mirror for us to look into and to see our unholiness and our need for a Savior. Hosea was a prophet of God and nonetheless knew the book of Deuteronomy and the rest of the Torah well. He will use the Torah, just as Jesus did and Paul did, not to make us Holy but to show us our need for a Holy Savior. This will be the kindness of God that calls us to walk in obedience and holiness with Him.

Here is a lot of what Hosea references in Deuteronomy and what will take us to our takeaways for this week and we will be finished this morning. Be turning in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 28. There was a covenant or contract that God made to Israel. He did this through Noah when he said he will never flood the earth again, or in other words the natural order of creation will not be interrupted. Then he made a covenant with and through Abraham and Moses. These covenants were if-then covenants. In other words if you do this I will do this. The Abrahamic covenant was a promise of a great nation and a great land and the Mosaic covenant was a promise of blessings but they were to follow his ways and be a servant to the world and stand out or be Imago Dei or his representative. Look at Deuteronomy 28 starting in verse 1 and see the blessings God will give if the Israelites will obey.

The New International Version Chapter 28

If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.

12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

It is interesting to look at the if then statement here in this promise. In vs one it say s these blessings will be yours if you carefully follow ALL of his commands. Now here is the thing. God is not a liar Amen? If any Israelite or any human were to follow all of his commands then these blessings would surely be theirs. But Jesus taught us that even the best of us are guilty of the ten commandments and there are many many more commandments that we do not abide by either. So guess what. We are all guilty of the law. They were guilty moments after this covenant was made. They were guilty when Hosea prophesied and cried out for repentance of God’s people and we are guilty today. So guess what happens vs 1-14 list the blessings but the curses for disobedience are vs 15-64. I don’t have time to read it all this morning but listen to the beginning of it.

The New International Version Chapter 28

15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:

16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.

18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

20 The LOR

This, in fact, is what Hosea is saying is about to happen and is indeed going to happen. There is a consequence to disobedience. Right? We teach this to our children and it is right to do so. God, the Father, is no different. He laid the house rules and promised blessings for fulfillment and punishment for disobedience. He is a just and Holy God and their must be punishment for sin, or else he is a liar. This is bad news for Israelites, and honestly even worse news for us as gentiles. If left here with this curse in Chapter 28 there is absolutely no hope for Israel and certainly no hope for us today.

But this morning I am thankful to report to you, not just a New Testament truth, but a truth that was told to Moses in Deuteronomy , a truth that we will see Hosea proclaim to the Israelites, a truth that Jesus taught with his time here on earth, and a truth that Paul and the apostles spread to all the nations. Look at what else Hosea knew in Deuteronomy 30.

The New International Version Chapter 30

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations, 2 and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes x and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. 4 Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. 5 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. 6 The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. 7 The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. 8 You will again obey the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today. 9 Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, 10 if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

The Offer of Life or Death

This is the beauty of the Boundless love of God that is seen in the Torah and in the prophets and in the New Testament. All of Scripture. No sooner then God tells us of the punishment and curse of disobedience, HE HAS MADE A WAY TO RESTORATION. He made a way for the impossible. We can not keep the law nor could we ever. But his pursuing and boundless love supplied the law for us to see our need for a Savior in Jesus Christ, the only one who could ever keep the law. Good News the covenant to Israel is still in tact because of Grace and the covenant for the gentile believer that has been grafted in is still in tact. This is the message of Hosea. This is the message of the Bible.

This Weeks Takeaways

This week I want you to take away a few things going into next Sunday. First, all of us need to know if we are in breach of contract. Every person will be held to the stipulations of the covenant with God. When you face God at judgement day, you will either be in breach of contract because you have indeed broken the law as plainly stated in Romans 3:23 and you have no answer for your sin, or you will have placed your faith in Jesus and the promises of God and HE has and will answer for you as righteous before a Holy God. If you do not know that answer today, or this week, I would love to talk with you. George or an elder will be here after the service and would love to talk to you. I am available this week to grab a cup of coffee on talk, Ill even pay for it ha…

The second thing I want you to take away is gratitude. If you can say yes that restoration is in your future because of the work of Jesus taking your sin on the cross and defeating the grave, then live like it. I dont know about you but If I was in prison for the death sentence and someone came and opened the gate for me and erased my sentence, I would be grateful and everyone would know it. I would live my life indebted to that person and do whatever I could do for them. Not out of obligation, but out of gratitude. His kindness leads us to repentance.

And lastly, as the band comes up to lead us out of here this morning in a song, we talked earlier about the hebrew word YA-DAH. God knows you more than anyone ever could and he desires that you would know Him in that same way. What is keeping you from Him? The Israelites and their adulterous hearts found their ways to other gods and idols over and over again and God was all the while pursuing them and asking them to return to Him. We are no different and our adulterous hearts make way for sin far too often. This week focus on the things that take you away from God and confess them before the Lord. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your paths straight.

Lets Pray