Sowing & Reaping
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Background to Text:
In chapters 5-7 Hosea has outlined for us the grave condition that Israel is in. They were unrepentant. They were hypocritical. They were adulterous. They were crooked. The list could go on and on.
In the last chapter Hosea spelled it out for them very plainly by using word pictures to describe the condition they were in.
In this chapter, Hosea once again is going to point out the sin of the people. He’s going to warn them once again that the direction they are headed is wrong, and they need to turn around and come back to the Lord.
In this chapter, we find Hosea showing the people their sin and God’s response to their sin. The punishment they would receive was not unjust. It was not uncalled for or ungracious. These people planted wickedness and would reap the harvest.
So tonight the message is entitled: “Sowing & Reaping.”
PRAY
-Paul taught the church in Galatia an important principle at the end of his epistle to them. He taught them a lesson on sowing and reaping.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
-The principle is very simple, whatever seeds you put in the ground, that’s what’s going to sprout up later on. And eventually that’s what you’re going to harvest. If you plant corn, you’ll get corn. If you plant beans, you’ll get beans.
-If you plant weeds, you’ll get weeds. If you plant Cheerios, you get donuts.
What you sow is what you’ll reap.
In this passage we see just that. All the seeds of wickedness and evil are going to be harvested by these people as they experience the judgment of God.
Transition:
Tonight I want us to look at Four Statements we draw from this chapter that shows us how the people would reap what they had sown.
They Said They Knew God, But They Didn’t (v. 1-3)
They Said They Knew God, But They Didn’t (v. 1-3)
Here God tells Hosea to set the trumpet to his lips. What He’s saying here is, “sound the alarm! Let the people know that there’s trouble! They’re in danger!”
He says that there’s an eagle, which is in reference to a vulture, that is flying above the people indicating that they are about to die. We find the reason for this warning as it says that they have transgressed the law.
They were being disobedient. In fact, verse 3 says that they cast off the good thing. They had rejected good and embraced evil. In their distress, God said they would call upon Him in verse 2.
Instead of admitting their wrong or asking for forgiveness they would say this, “My God, we know thee.”
Israel knew God because they were His children, but they were far from knowing God personally. They knew about God, but they didn’t know Him. If they truly knew who He was, they would have reflected that in the way they were living.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
These people were deceived. They were living a lie.
I wonder tonight, do we know God? I’m not asking about your fellowship with God 10 years ago, I’m asking about right now. I’m not asking about your devotional life 6 months ago, how about now? How well do you know the Lord?
These people were basing their knowledge of God from the past. They were expecting for God to somehow forget about the present that they were living in.
If we say we know God, we will keep His commandments. God states clearly here that that was not happening in the case of Israel at this point and time.
They Made Decisions Without Seeking God (v. 4-6)
They Made Decisions Without Seeking God (v. 4-6)
At least 8 times in these few verses you see a personal pronoun used in regards to Israel. They were making decisions left and right with no regard for God. They set up kings, princes, and made idols.
And in every decision God says, “it wasn’t by me, I didn’t know about it.” They bypassed God in major decisions that were being made. One of the most practical verses in the Bible, and one of the most memorized is Proverbs 3:5-6.
And there’s a reason for that. If we were to follow those verses, it would save us from a lot of heartache and grief.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;
And lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him,
And he shall direct thy paths.
In all thy ways acknowledge him. In every decision you make, acknowledge God. Before you do something look to the Lord. There has to be a seeking of God on our part if we want God to direct our steps.
As we seek God and pray and read the Word and listen to it preached, God guides us and leads us in that right direction. Often times it takes time for God to bring us to the right decisions. That’s where trust is essential.
Trust, don’t lean on your own understanding. Trust God through the guiding process.
How do we expect God to bless our decisions if we’re not even asking Him to guide us through them? That’s exactly where these people were here. They were just doing whatever they wanted to expecting for God to be pleased.
What pleases God is when we look to Him and His Word for our guidance and direction in making decisions.
They Expected Prosperity, But Ended up with Poverty (v. 7-10)
They Expected Prosperity, But Ended up with Poverty (v. 7-10)
This is where we see the people reaping what they had sown. In verse 7 it says that they’ve sown the wind, and they’ll reap a whirlwind. This has become a Proverb used by many to mean that every decision has consequences.
We find those consequences spelled out in these verses. It talks about a failure in crops. It speaks of Israel and how worthless they were among these pagan nations. They had sown bad seeds and they were going to reap a bad harvest.
In their minds they probably thought that they deserved the best. They were looking for wealth and prosperity, but instead they were going to end up impoverished.
That wasn’t God’s plan for them. God wanted to bless them. God wanted them to have the best. Just as God wants us to have what’s best for us. But the people were in no position to have the blessing of God.
-I remember when 9/11 happened when I was a boy, the reaction of our nation in response to the attack. Patriotism for America seemed to go through the roof, but so did an awareness of God as well.
-It was common to see the phrase “God Bless America” all over the place. People were singing that song, “God Bless America.” I remember hearing preachers say this in response to people asking God’s blessing on America.
-They would say, “God won’t bless America until America starts blessing God.”
I think of our own lives, is the life we’re living blessable? If God “blessed” us in our sin and wickedness He would not be a loving Father. In order to be a loving parent, there are times where discipline is necessary.
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
God wants to bless you, but if you’re sowing bad seeds, the just thing for Him to do is let you reap what you’ve sown.
God would much rather you get right with Him and repent, than have you endure the consequences of reaping a bad harvest. It’s all based on what kind of seeds you’re throwing out.
They Expected Forgiveness, But Wouldn’t Stop Sinning (v. 11-13)
They Expected Forgiveness, But Wouldn’t Stop Sinning (v. 11-13)
We’ve seen this scene all throughout the book of Hosea, where the people of God are making sacrifices to the Lord, but the Lord was not pleased with their sacrifice.
In fact he calls their altars, altars of sin. They thought in their minds that if they could just give sacrifices to God that it would curb His wrath and make Him pleased with them even though they were sinning.
But God didn’t want their sacrifice until He had them!
And Samuel said,
Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to hearken than the fat of rams.
God sees obedience greater than sacrifice. This is shown here in this passage as he talks about His law in verse 12. They saw it as a strange thing. They treated it as if it was a foreign concept to follow the law of God.
But they followed what they wanted to in God’s Word, and disregarded the rest of it.
We have to be careful in our own lives not to fall into the same trap. As you examine your own life, as I examine mine, the question must be asked, is God truly the Lord over every area of my life?
Do we submit to His lordship in everything? Sure, they were sacrificing, but they were disregarding everything else God wanted them to do. They were expecting His forgiveness, His blessing.
But they were trying to set the standard for their own lives instead of looking to the Word of God to do that for them.
We must let this book govern our lives. Humans do come with a manual and it’s called the Bible! As we look at this book and it points out our flaws and our sin and changes we need to make, we obey what the Word of God says.
We don’t get God’s forgiveness by what we do, we never have and we never will, we get it by asking Him.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
That’s what these people needed to do. They needed to stop covering up their sin with their spirituality.
Conclusion
Conclusion
But notice verse 14. It really boils down for us how these people got in the condition that they were in:
For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples;
And Judah hath multiplied fenced cities:
But I will send a fire upon his cities,
And it shall devour the palaces thereof.
They were building. They were laboring. But it was all going to be in vain, because they left God out of it all.
Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it:
Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
They relied on self instead of relying on God. They forgot about God. One person you don’t want to forget about in your life, is who it’s all about in the first place, God.
May we sow seeds of trust. Sow seeds of goodness. Sow seeds of righteousness. Because what we sow is what we’re going to reap.