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HOSEA4
Lesson #05
ISRAEL IN GODS COURTROOM
· MemoryVerse: Rom 10:2
· Review:
o Fromchapters 1-3 the focus was on Hoseas troubled personal life with his unfaithfulwife.
§ Hoseaand his family have acted, as in a drama, the situation between God and Israel.
· Hosea,by the fact of the meaning of his name (Salvation) is a prefigure of Jehovah married tounfaithful Gomer, who is a prefigure of the nation of Israel.
· Wehave seen Gods general plan for dealingwith Israel: (Hos 2:6-23 Lesson #04)
o Separation:
§ Godwas going to separate them from their home, the Promised Land. He would take them out ofthe land in two parts:
· =1=The Northern Kingdom of Israel will fall to the Assyrians to be taken captive to the cityof Babylon. (721 BC)
· =2=The Southern Kingdom of Judah will fall to the Babylonians to be taken captive to the cityof Babylon one hundred thirty five years later. (586 BC)
o Deprivation:
§ Inthe Babylonian captivity, God would deprive the Jews of their freedom, their relationshipto Him, their material provisions, and their spiritual provisions.
o Courtship:
§ InHis mercy and love for His people, God would court them again to bring them back to thePromised Land with the purpose of restoring His relationship with them.
o Atthis point in the book of Hosea, the focus leaves Hoseas family and concentrates onIsrael, Gods unfaithful wife. (chapters 4-14)
§ Wehave considered the legal options for dealing with an unfaithful wife. (Lesson #03)
§ Nowwe will see Gods courtroom where Israel, as Gods unfaithful wife, is on trial.
· ReadHos 4:1-5
o Themajor charges against the Northern Kingdom of Israel:
§ Whatare the major legal charges against Israel in Gods courtroom?
· =1=No truth(1)
o Swearing(2):
§ Thepeople did not keep their vows and promises.
o Lying(2):
§ Thepeople testified in court falsely as false witnesses.
· =2=No mercy(1)
o Killing(2):
§ Murderand political assassinations were common.
o Stealing(2):
§ Criminalrobbery was common.
§ Takingadvantage of the poor, the widows, and the orphans by using legal means to steal propertywas common.
· =3=No knowledge of God(1)
o theybreak out, and blood toucheth blood.(2)
§ Theydid not have Gods perspective on the value of human life.
· ReadGen 9:6 (Exo 21:23-25)
o Thepriests were not teaching the people about God or warning them of the consequences oftheir sins. (4)
§ Therefore,God had to call prophets to warn them of the coming destruction of theirmother (the nation). (5)
· Eventhe prophets, false ones and true prophets of God, would suffer the consequences alongwith the rest of the nation. (5)
§ However,God forbid the Israelites to blame the priests. (Deu 17:8-12)
· Thepeople were equally guilty of the conditions within their own country.
§ Thesesins of Israel are evidence that they broke the Ten Commandments:
· Theybroke the third commandment (Exo 20:7) (the name of the Lord in vane)
· Theybroke the sixth commandment. (Exo 20:13) (murder)
· Theybroke the seventh commandment. (Exo 20:14) (adultery)
· Theybroke the eighth commandment.(Exo 20: 15) (robbery)
· Theybroke the ninth commandments. (Exo 20:16) (false witness)
o Theconsequences that naturally result from the three major charges against Israel: (3)
§ Thenegative consequences of the principle of sowing and reaping:
· =1=The land will become unproductive.
o Usuallyin this modern world, we do not consider the fact that sin has a negative affect on thephysical earth. That seems to be contrary to the laws of science.
o However,this principle is basic throughout the Bible.
§ Wesee this principle in operation from the time of Adams first sin. (Gen 3:17b, 18)
§ Wesee it here in Hosea.
§ Wesee it in the New Testament. (Rom 8:22)
· =2=The people will suffer deprivation.
· =3=God will withdraw his provision.
· ReadHos 4:6-11
o Whatis the source of Israels falling away from God?
§ Mypeople are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge(6)
· Alack of knowledge is the source of Israels backslidden condition.
· Noticethat it is not just a lack of knowledge but also a rejection of the knowledge they didhave.
o Godhad given the Jews His Word and a special revelation of truth, but they continuallyrejected what God offered them.
o Wedo the same today. We have Gods Word available to us, but notice how few Christiansactually study Gods Word.
§ Alarge majority of Bible Studies study topics or denominational doctrine aboutChristianity.
§ Alarge majority of Bible Studies do not study Gods Word, verse by verse and book bybook.
§ Yearafter year we see more new translations to the Bible that dilute the truth of the Word ofGod.
· WhenIsrael forgot Gods Law, they did not teach it to their children. The result was thatGod could not bless them. This sad condition perpetuated itself to the next generation.(7)
o Whatare the results of falling away from God?
§ As theywere increased, so they sinned against me (7)
· Theirsin increased in two ways:
o =1=The Hebrew word for sin in this verse can be translated as sin offerings.
§ Themore sin offerings they brought to worship idols, the more their sins grew without beingcovered by the blood of the offerings of bulls and goats.
o =2=The priests turned the offerings intended for God into a successful business forthemselves.
§ Themore sin offerings that the people brought to the temple, the more the priests reaped forthemselves, without teaching people about the holiness of God or the epidemic nature ofsin.
· Materialismcauses people to rely more on their own strength and resources than on God.
o ReadMat 6:24
· InHoseas lifetime, during the reign of Jeroboam II, prosperity was abundant and so wasidolatry.
o Whatis the result of a lack of knowledge and an increase of materialism?
§ thereforewill I change their glory into shame.(7)
· Theglory of Israel was the temple in Jerusalem where Gods glory was supposed to dwell.
o Godspresence was in the tabernacle in the wilderness.
o Godspresence was in Solomons temple in Jerusalem.
§ However,with the divided kingdom, the Northern Kingdom of Israel cut themselves off from the cityof Jerusalem and the temple of God.
§ Finally,when the Southern Kingdom of Israel gradually fell into idolatry like the NorthernKingdom, Gods presence left the temple. With all the idols present in the temple,the people did not even notice the absence of Gods presence. (Eze 9-10)
o Whatis the lure of materialism?
§ They eatup the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. (8)
· Materialismis like alcohol. It is addictive. The more you have, the more you want to have until it isall consuming.
· Materialismis a form of idolatry.
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Idolatry |
Materialism |
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· Idolatry replaces the one true God with other gods. |
· Materialism replaces the one true God with a lust for wealth and possessions. |
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· Idolatry spreads its evil to include other sins like religious prostitution and drunkenness, greed and lust of all kinds. |
· Materialism spreads its evil to include other sins like fornication (sex outside of marriage) and alcoholism, greed and lust of all kinds. |
o Whoin Israel were the people with the most guilt? (9)
§ Theevil kings, the government leaders, and the priests were the ones God held responsible. Inverse 9 Hosea speaks of the priests.
· Itwas through the kings (Solomon and Ahab) that the majority of pagan religions enteredIsrael.
· Itis through a nations leaders that the example of godliness or ungodliness isestablished in a nation.
· Itis through a nations spiritual leaders that spiritual deception results in spiritualblindness for all the people because those spiritual leaders fail to warn the people, andthey fail to teach them the Word of God.
o Whoredomand wine and new wine take away the heart. (11)
§ Noticethat one sin of lust leads to others. This is the addictive nature of lust. People arealways looking for new sensual sins to enjoy.
· ReadHos 4:12-19
o Thespirit of whoredom (12)
§ Thereis an evil spirit behind the sinful practices of idolatry, materialism, alcoholism, andsexual immorality.
· Thepurpose behind this evil spirit is to draw a person away from God.
§ Theysacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks andpoplars and elms, because the shadow thereof isgood (13)
· InIsrael, the most beautiful places were the gardens on the mountain tops that werededicated to the worship of pagan gods through religious prostitution.
· Thespirit of whoredom takes the best from a persons life to bring destruction.
· Thespirit of whoredom takes from the top of society to make evil seem glamorous andattractive.
o Iwill not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when theycommit adultery;forthemselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore thepeople that doth not understand shallfall.. (14)
§ Manypeople were saying that God will not punish the women for their sexual sins because themen, the priests and the secular government were all guilty of idolatry. Theirmisinformation about the holy nature of God would cause them to fall for the lie thatleads to destruction.
· Inreality in the natural consequences of these sins will bring their own destruction:
o tothe individual life of the person that practices these sins.
o tothe family and the generations that follow in these sins.
o tothe society that tolerates the existence of these sins in their midst.
o tothe nation that will eventually fall as a result of immorality.
§ Historyis filled with examples of nations that fell under the consequences of epidemicimmorality. A few examples are:
· Israel(both the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom)
· Greece
· Rome
o comenot ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, (15)
§ Gilgalwas located in Samaria. It was a holy place until idolatry desecrated it.
§ Thename Bethaven is a play on words for the original name was Beth-el which means = house ofGold. The change to Bethaven means = house of wickedness.
· Thehouse of God became the house of wickedness by means of idolatry. Judah is warned not tovisit these places.
o For Israel slideth back as a backslidingheifer (16)
§ Thewords slideth back are used only in the books of Hosea and Jeremiah as theyspoke to Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom.
§ Thisis a picturesque illustration of Israel.
· Tomove a cow up a ramp into a cart, one person pulls him by a rope and another person pusheshim from behind. However, when the cow makes a determination not to move forward, hestiffens his legs and slides backward down the ramp.
o Thisis the Biblical view of backsliding: a stiff determination not to go forward with God butto slip backward away from God by means of rebellion.
§ Weactually get the definition of the word backsliding from scripture:
· ReadPro 14:14
o theLORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place. (16)
§ Thisis a prophecy that the Israelites will be unprotected and dispersed wandering without ashepherd.
o Ephraimis joined to idols: let him alone. (17)
§ Ephraimis another name for the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
§ Inthe process of backsliding, there is a point where God will stop dealing with that personand let the natural consequences work their own reward. (18)
· Theresult is deception by every idol or wind of doctrine that comes along. (19)
§ Whatone sin that caused Israel to be lost and separated from Gods forgiveness will causepeople today to be lost and separated from God for eternity?
· Technicallyspeaking, it is not these sins that specifically condemn a person to an eternal hell. Itis what these sins do that result in an eternal punishment in the lake of fire.
o Theseaddictive sins of idolatry, materialism, alcoholism, and sexual immorality separate apersons soul from God by replacing God with the spirit of whoredom.
o Thisact of separation from God cuts a person off from God so that he rejects Gods truth.
o Withoutthe truth of God, the soul is destroyed for the lack of the knowledge of God.
§ Therefore,it is the rejection of God and His Son, Jesus Christ, which results in an unbelief endingin judgment and an eternal condemnation in the lake of fire.
§ Israelsgreatest sin was unbelief, of which idolatry was the outward expression.
· ReadRom 11:1-2a; 11, 20-27
§ However,eventually God will heal Israel of their stubborn backsliding condition (Hos 14:4) tobring them to Christ at His second coming.
o The wind hathbound her up in her wings, (19)
§ Assyriacame like a strong wind and gathered the people to take them to Babylon.
· Summaryand application:
§ Nowthat we understand Gods legal charges against the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Isaiahsays that these are the same legal charges against the Southern Kingdom of Judah. (Isa1:4, 16-21)
· TheSouthern Kingdom of Judah followed the Northern Kingdom in sin and fell 135 years later.
· Bothof these kingdoms had a lot of religion:
o .but no knowledge of the truth.
o .andno knowledge of a personal relationship with God.
o Thebasic failure in Israel was a lack of knowledge and the rejection of truth that ended inunbelief.
§ In thelast days before the second coming of Christ, this same lack of knowledge and rejection oftruth will occur again. It is called the great apostasy of the last days.
· Read 2The2:3 and 1Tim4:1-2 (Luk 18:8 Mat 24:12 2Tim 3:1-5 2Pet 3:3-4)
§ Paulgives a warning to people in this New Testament age.
· ReadHeb 3:12-13
HOMEWORK
HOSEA 5
Thisis a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher for correction.
· Applicationof Hos 4
o Arethere any sins of an addictive nature that are mentioned in this chapter for which youneed to repent?
§ Ifthere are, God is faithful to forgive us if we repent and seek God. (1Joh 1:9)
· Preparationfor Hos 5
o ReadHos 5:1-15
§ Whatresponsibility has a nations leaders for taking the nation into idolatry?
§ Whatare the strange children in verse 7?
§ Whatis Gods basic attitude toward a nation that will not acknowledge Him?
· MemoryVerse: Hos 5:15
