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Meeting God, Again - 1 Manuscript

Isn’t it nice when things are convenient?

Have you noticed that we’re about to get our 5th convenient store in Willow Street? It won’t be long that I’ll have a gas station on my way to church and on my way home from church! That’s convenient!

Convenience is a key theme we’ll be talking about this morning. I would argue that convenience is a major driving force in our society. We want things to be easy and efficient! That’s not necessarily a bad thing…

20 years ago, during this time of year, I was starting my senior year in high school. If you would have told me back then that I would eventually have a computer in my pocket that has a high definition screen, listens to me when I speak, and is way more powerful than any personal computer from the year 2000, I would have laughed at you.

Actually, some of you are thinking 20 years ago wasn’t that long ago… I read this week that our smart phones today are millions of times faster than the super computers NASA had in the 1960’s. In fact, listen to this quote… it comes from a recent article on zmescience.com:

“The iPhone 6’s [computing power] is 32,600 times faster than the best Apollo era computers and could perform instructions 120,000,000 times faster. [That means that] an iPhone could be used to guide 120,000,000 Apollo era spacecraft to the moon, all at the same time.” Source: “Your ​ ​ ​ smartphone is millions of times more powerful than the Apollo 11 guidance computers” - zmescience.com ​

As of 2019, 81% of Americans actually own a smartphone. Why? Because they’re convenient. And as they keep improving and becoming more powerful, they’re becoming so complex that sometimes they become inconvenient! Amen? Source: pewresearch.org ​

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The thing is - and we all know this - our society is built on convenience. But the desire for convenience isn’t limited to our modern times. Over the next couple weeks, we’ll actually see how convenience impacted the nation of Israel, and how we are to respond to the message found in Hosea.

So turn with me to Hosea, chapter 1… and while you get there, let’s pray

Pray

Before we dive in, let’s talk about who Hosea was and what was going on in the nation where he lived.

Hosea was a prophet of God who lived about 2,750 years ago in Israel. But Israel wasn’t like it is today… 200 years before Hosea lived, the nation of Israel split into two nations:

[Divided Kingdom] The Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the Southern Kingdom ​ of Judah. [Hosea] Hosea lived in the North - and interestingly, he’s the only prophet that’s ​ ​ ​ actually from the northern kingdom.

[2 Hosea] During Hosea’s time, this guy named Jeroboam II was the king of ​ ​ ​ Israel. He was one of Israel’s worst kings! Not because he didn’t know what he was doing, but because “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD” (:24). There were previous kings before him that chose to follow other gods rather than Yahweh God, and Jeroboam II continued promoting and practicing their idolatry which eventually led Israel into destruction and chaos.

Because of all this, Yahweh God chose to speak through the prophet Hosea to warn Israel of the punishment that was coming because of their unfaithfulness. We know that punishment eventually came in 722BC when the Assyrian army attacked Israel…

2 Kings 17:5-8

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5 The king of invaded the entire land, marched against [Israel’s capital city] and laid siege to it for three years. 6 In the ninth year ​ of , the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.

7 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the ​ LORD their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the ​ power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods 8 and ​ followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. ​

This is why we have the . It records how Hosea was used by ​ God to warn the Israelites that their unfaithfulness would be their downfall.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel chose to turn to other nations and their gods rather than relying on Yahweh God, and because of their unfaithfulness, Yahweh used the nation of Assyria to drive them out of the land that Yahweh had given them years ago.

So, check out , starting at verse 2…

2 When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an ​ ​ ​ adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the LORD.” ​

Wait a second… Did Yahweh God just tell Hosea to go and marry a prostitute? I think there’s enough evidence in the Hebrew text to say, yes.. He did. Now, let that sink in for a moment… Yahweh God just told Hosea to marry a prostitute!

Now, I realize there are kids here… and maybe some are watching from home, so I don’t think I need to go into this too much… but I will say that this was a very common form of employment in the ancient world… So, in the famous words of Forrest Gump: “That’s all I have to say about that.”

Hosea 1:3-5 4

3 So he married daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

4 Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.

Verses 4 and 5 are crucial for really understanding the gravity in which Hosea wrote and prophesied. So in order to understand what’s going on, we have to step back in time to just after Israel became a divided nation.

At this point, Jeroboam I was the king of the new Northern Kingdom of Israel. Don’t confuse him with the other Jeroboam… this isn’t Jeroboam the 2nd’s dad or anything like that. There were several generations of kings between the two Jeroboam’s.

[Jeroboam’s Dilemma] So being in the north, Jeroboam has a dilemma. ​ is in the South (the capital city of Judah). And (based on Deut. 12:13-14) everybody knew that Jews were to only offer sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem. But Jeroboam didn’t want his people going all the way to Jerusalem to worship because it might cause them to want to reunite as a nation.

If they were to reunite, that would mean they would need to kill Jeroboam and then give the King of Judah, Rehoboam, their allegiance.

So in order to avoid that, Jeroboam decided to build a couple temples of his own, complete with golden calves! Listen to what he says to the Israelite people:

1 Kings 12:28-30

28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your ​ ​ gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 29 One he set up in , and the other in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other. 5

He tells his people that it’s too much for them to go up to Jerusalem! It’s too inconvenient for you to make the trip! Here, let me build a couple convenient stores for you to worship in…

During my time in Israel last summer, I visited one of these sites - the temple in Dan…

[Slideshow] (I’ll talk about this for a little) ​ ● Our group is sitting on the temple steps ● Picture of the altar

Again, Jeroboam built these temples so that he could persuade his people ​ with convenient worship so that he could make sure he’d remain king over Israel.

In a way, the system Jeroboam established was very much like the Temple in Jerusalem. Jeroboam appointed priests… he instituted festivals that looked like the Jewish festivals… he had them offer sacrifices on an altar, just like the one in Jerusalem… but the major difference was that the Israelites were no longer ​ making sacrifices and offerings to Yahweh God. Instead, they chose to worship a false god because it was more convenient for them.

I don’t think that means they didn’t take their spiritual life seriously. I think it means that they lost confidence in Yahweh God. After all, the nation just suffered a serious split… And being in the North, it’s as if they’ve been cut off from the presence of God (God’s presence is described as being in the Temple in Jerusalem - which is why they weren’t supposed to offer sacrifices anywhere else).

So what I want you to see is that Jeroboam’s desire to keep the kingdom split was what motivated him to lead his nation into serving other gods. This is the sin of idolatry and disloyalty that plagues Israel’s history until it finally brings them to ruin.

Fast Forward in history to a time when was the king of Israel. 6

[Ahab] He’s a more familiar king because of his wife… ​ [] Jezebel. These two escalated Israel’s idolatry because they brought in ​ worship. [Baal] Baal was a deity that was worshiped all over the ancient near east. In the ​ we see that he was the main Canaanite god and was known for controlling the weather. But the thing is, the Israelites had no problem worshiping him and Yahweh God at the same time…

[] That is, until Elijah stepped in and decided to have a showdown between ​ Yahweh and Baal.

Elijah said to King Ahab and all the Israelites, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” Well, nobody said anything…

So Elijah challenges those who worshiped Baal. He said…

(1 Kings 18:22-24)

22 “I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Everyone agreed, and long story short - Yahweh showed up with a decisive victory!

[advance slide] Even though Yahweh clearly displayed Himself as the only true ​ God, Ahab and Jezebel continued in their sin. So Yahweh decided it was time for them and their family line to go. Through a series of events, King Ahab was led to the battle at Ramoth-gilead where God directed an arrow to hit Ahab 7 between the sections of his armor, which then led to his death. Eventually, Ahab’s son Joram would take the throne. But that wouldn’t last long. Yahweh used the prophets Elijah and to anoint a man named Jehu as king over Israel, but they decided to wait until the time was right. Eventually they sent an unnamed prophet to anoint Jehu as the King. But this didn’t automatically mean that Joram was going to give up his throne.

It didn’t take long for Jehu to gain a huge following. He amassed an army and went to the valley of Jezreel to meet both Joram, the king of Israel, and ​ ​ Ahaziah, the king of Judah.

Btw - Mt. Carmel is where Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal for a showdown.

When they arrived, a lookout standing on a watchtower saw Jehu’s troops approaching. They knew it was Jehu because apparently Jehu was well known for driving with a led foot! The watchman reported that it had to be Jehu because he drives like a maniac!

So the king sent out a horseman to meet Jehu to see if he came in peace. Jehu simply ordered him to fall in behind him… in other words, hey, you can either die here today, or you can join me and live. That horseman got behind Jehu…

The watchman reported to the king that the horseman didn’t return, so they sent out another guy. Same thing happened - you can either die here today, or get behind me and live. The guy chose to live.

So finally Joram and Ahaziah decided to hitch up their own chariots and ride out to Jehu to see what was going on…

(:22-24)

When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?” “How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?” 23 Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!” 24 Then Jehu drew his 8

bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot.

[advance slide] Jehu also went after Ahaziah, delivering a wound that would ​ soon prove fatal. So Jehu took his army and approached the city gates of Jezreel. Jezebel, (Joram’s mom and Ahab’s wife) heard Jehu was coming so she actually took some time to make herself look good - 2 Kings 9:30 says that she put on eye makeup and arranged her hair before she looked out of a window and yelled down to Jehu.

Jehu looked up, saw some servants there with Jezebel, and basically said, “If any of you servants are on my side, take Jezebel and throw her out the window!” They did just that! Jezebel died from the fall and then was eaten by dogs. So what does Jehu do next?

He walks right in the city and has lunch. He eventually went after all of Ahab’s family. He had 70 of his sons beheaded to ensure that no one from Ahab’s family line could legitimately take the throne. But this wasn’t a clean act… the Bible describes some rated “R” scenes that leads the reader to think that Jehu actually enjoyed killing Ahab’s family.

The interesting thing is that Jehu was being obedient to Yahweh God! He was ​ ​ only doing what Yahweh God wanted him to do! So why does Hosea say in ​ chapter 1 verse 4 that the LORD will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and ultimately an end to the kingdom of Israel?

The problem was that Jehu had a heart issue. :31 says that “Jehu ​ ​ ​ was not careful to keep the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.”

Here’s a key point to this story:

Our zealous obedience isn’t always proof of our loyal-love for God.

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Like Jehu, sometimes we find ourselves obeying God because it’s convenient for us - it’s like we obey because we know we’ll gain something out of it!

It was convenient for Jehu to take out Ahab’s family because Jehu wanted to be on the throne anyway! And once he got on the throne, he continued in the same sin that Jeroboam was guilty of… they both continued to lead Israel into idolatry. They promoted convenient worship of other gods rather than a complete believing loyalty to the Almighty Yahweh God.

It was because of the sins of the kings that Israel learned to depend on themselves and other nations. They depended on their own strength. This is why the LORD spoke through the prophet Hosea saying, “In that day I will ​ break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.” (Hosea 1:5) ​

Israel’s bow symbolized their rejection of Yahweh God. Yahweh was the one who was to fight for them… but they chose to fight for themselves.

And yet, even in their unfaithfulness, Yahweh promises that He will show His love to Judah. He’s going to save them (verse 7) - “not by bow, sword or battle, or ​ by horses and horsemen, but I, the LORD their God, will save them.” We’ll ​ get more into this next week as we look at how Israel was guilty of adultery against Yahweh God. We’re going to clearly see that…

God is never inconvenienced when we seek him with all our heart! God is ​ faithful and just! He never gives up on us no matter what we’ve done. That’s the thing about the gospel message of Jesus! Even if you’ve been as bad as Jehu, Ahab and Jeroboam, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you turn to Jesus and serve only Him.

When you put your believing loyalty in Jesus, your sins are paid for… you can have forgiveness of your sins. But this isn’t a get out of jail free card so that we can go on living however we want… Jesus wants our hearts, and He wants all of it.

So, I encourage all of us this morning, including myself, to do a heart check. We need to ask ourselves: 10

Do we only obey Jesus when it’s convenient?

Are we guilty of using Jesus as a means to an end? If we really know Jesus, then our obedience to Him ought to be seen through our acts of love, mercy and forgiveness. Does that always describe us… or have we set up an idol for ​ ​ ourselves without even realizing it?

I encourage all of us to think about this question as we read through Hosea this week.

Let’s pray