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DATE: Sunday, December 6, 2020

INTRODUCTION: ​ If you have your please turn to Hosea chapter 7. As we have learned over the past few weeks, Hosea’s ministry spanned over a period of about 40-50 years, as part of the reign of Jeroboam in the Northern Kingdom of . During Jeroboam’s reign the Northern Kingdom, Israel, experienced great economic prosperity but it came at the cost of great moral and ethical decline. During this time, Israel quit pursuing God and started seeking aid from other countries, other kings, and their false gods. So, to demonstrate what was happening to Israel and their relationship with God, God used Hosea and his marriage to as a living testimony.

Now a few weeks ago, Lee preached and shared with us how God was upset with His people because they had forgotten Him, and how He was really upset with the Priests because they had failed to teach the people the “knowledge of God.” Instead of telling the people about God, the priests were profiting off of their lack of knowledge about Him. And then a couple of weeks ago Mike preached on how God was going to bring judgement upon the leaders for their sinful roles. From religious leaders to government leaders and those in between, each playing their part in leading the nation astray by promoting prosperity through fertility cults. The greater the fertility, the greater the harvests, and with the greater harvests came forth greater tithes and taxes. So, these leaders were guilty of sin and God was going to punish them for it. For you see, God would not then nor will not now let wickedness go without punishment. Our God is righteous and just in His anger towards all, from Adam to the last baby that will be born in this sinful world, and God will judge His people accordingly. But even through God’s judgment we have seen His loving side through the way He extends grace to His people throughout their punishment. As we learned last week, all the people had to do in order to receive His grace was to acknowledge their guilt and seek His face. This is what repentance is, acknowledging one’s guilt and seeking God.

1 In today’s text we are going to see how sin as a whole affects the whole nation of ​ God and is displayed through how it handles itself both domestically and ​ internationally. We are also going to see how God, even while punishing His people, still desires repentance from them. ​ ​

TEXT: Hosea 7 (For time’s sake, I will be reading the passage as we go through ​ ​ the sermon.)

PRAYER:

TRUTH # 1: As we learned last week, sin is everywhere. ​ ​

7 when I would heal Israel, ​ the iniquity of is revealed, and the evil deeds of , for they deal falsely; the thief breaks in, and the bandits raid outside. 2 But they do not consider that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds surround them; they are before my face.

In the first verse we see again that God is willing to heal Israel, but the problem is that as He tries to do so, His people’s sins are exposed all the more. Their sin is everywhere. It is inside and outside. No where can you go where their evil is not found. It is interesting to think that as God tries to heal His people, their sins are more and more exposed. So, this got me thinking. Is it possible that we can recognize God’s working in our lives through His exposing of sins that are hidden within us? So, if you are not wrestling with the sins within you, that are being exposed by God Who is working in you, then you have to question if God is really in your life. With that in mind, do not ever think that you have arrived before God

2 and that you have nothing else to work on as you pursue Him. The more you are with God, the more He will expose the sins that lie within you. This is part of the sanctification process.

Now back to the text today, like Israel and Samaria, we cannot hide our sins from a God Who is working in us. Just like we talked about last week, sin isn’t just what we do or don’t do, it is who we are and it is displayed through what we do or don’t do. It is for this that God is upset with mankind. Now for Israel, God isn’t just mad at the individual person, He is upset with the whole country. He says that they deal falsely and constantly steal and mug people. God’s response is not for the country to provide more legislation or better law enforcement to put an end to their sinning behavior, but instead He desires repentance. He wants them to repent of their blatant sins as a country, for they have publically rebelled against Him and His ​ ​ laws through the open embracement of sin. The whole country is acting hypocritical through its actions. Israel is to be the nation of God, composed of the people of God, here on earth to represent God, but instead they are acting the opposite. Israel acts like they know God through their hollow worship and sacrifices to Him. The country regularly sins while playing church. Does this sound familiar? What are the consequences for it all? God is going to punish them. As the nation quits remembering God and His words, God is seen here remembering all of their sins with the intent of punishing them for it all. This is scary stuff. It is frightening to think that a whole country can get to a place so far from God that ​ ​ they forget Him and openly accept all that He is against. Yet, do we not find our own country on the same path?

TRUTH # 2: Sinful Leaders make Sinful Decisions

3 By their evil they make the king glad, and the princes by their treachery. 4 They are all adulterers; they are like a heated oven whose baker ceases to stir the fire, from the kneading of the dough

3 until it is leavened. 5 On the day of our king, the princes became sick with the heat of wine; he stretched out his hand with mockers. 6 For with hearts like an oven they approach their intrigue; all night their anger smolders; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. 7 All of them are hot as an oven, and they devour their rulers. All their kings have fallen, and none of them calls upon me.

If all are sinners, then it is only natural to understand that sinful leaders will make sinful decisions. With that said, decisions made by leaders of a country have a direct impact on the lives of its people. So, if sinful decisions are being made then sinful outcomes are expected. If holy decisions are being made then righteous outcomes should be expected, or in some cases, persecution. I would say that how a country makes decisions on all of its issues and activities will demonstrate who is ​ God in their life. With that said, if the leaders are not making decisions that worship God, then it is hard to see the rest of the country doing the same. We saw Hosea make this point in chapters 4-5. The Spiritual leaders and the government leaders were in sin for leading the country astray. Here in these verses, Hosea calls ​ out his government leaders. The king and the princes were full of evil. They loved sin and being evil. They were unfaithful and deceitful. They did whatever they could do to please themselves, and were quick to literally stab each other in the back for power and wealth. Like a baker’s oven which is burning hot, evil and sin burned within their hearts, particularly here, the king himself. But also, the king who was overindulging in sinful pleasures, was not tending to his job and allowed sin to creep through all the land. Instead of preventing and ending the sinful behavior, the king took part in it and let it spread throughout. History tells us that this didn’t fare well for Israel. As we learned at the beginning of our study of Hosea. Hosea lived during a time where multiple rulers were assassinated and killed. In this passage we see that happening. The rulers are so engulfed with their

4 sins that they turn on each other. They steal and kill to get their way. The consequence of it all is that the rest of Israel suffers for it, and what makes it worse, is that at any time they could have returned to God, repented, and had Him heal them, but they did not. What does verse 7 say? God says, “none of them calls upon me.” WOW! Again, does this not sound familiar? Doesn’t this hit home? Is Hosea writing about Israel or us? Now, I will say, before you start with comparisons, because there are some here, we do need to be careful to remember that America is not Israel. Israel is a nation, chosen by God, to represent God, and to bless the nations. America is a republic built on Christian values, but not to replace Israel. Israel was a theocracy and we are not. We also have separation of church and state here, Israel did not. We have freedom of religion here which means that other religions can freely worship in America, not just . All of this to say, we need to be careful here in comparing Israel and America. We will talk more about this in the application, but for now what we can learn from these verses today, is that people in leadership positions make decisions that affect everyone under them. So, if you make a sinful decision, do not be shocked to see the sinful side effects of people around you getting hurt by them. What does this mean for us as believers? How we live and the decisions we make in the different roles and positions of our lives ought to be ones where we worship God properly knowing that decisions have consequences. Israel’s domestic policy was in shambles because its leaders were in shambles. Their leaders' choices to be in such deliberate sin was a tragedy for the nation as a whole and the whole country needed to be reconciled. We who have Jesus, have already been reconciled, so the decisions that we make ought to reflect that.

8 Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned. 9 Strangers devour his strength, and he knows it not; gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, and he knows it not. 10 The pride of Israel testifies to his face;

5 yet they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him, for all this.

As we just saw, if you want to see how sinful a country can be? Look no further than at the decisions being made by the leaders of the country. In this passage I just read, we now see how Israel’s sins are being exposed through their international affairs. Here we read that Israel mixed itself with the “peoples.” The leaders were leading the nation to the “peoples.” Who were these so-called “peoples''? They were the surrounding nations. Israel and Ephraim sought help from their neighbors and consequently by doing so, they began to embrace the livestyles and sins of those neighbors. Remember, Israel was to represent God to the nations around them, but instead Israel was giving itself over to the sinful lifestyles and examples of the surrounding nations. God says that Epharaim is like a cake that is not turned. In the ovens back then, one had to turn the bread to make sure that it was cooked completely evenly. If not, then the bread or cake would have a crusty side and a gooey side. This would make the bread or cake not good to eat. In some cases, if it was not turned, it would not rise like it was supposed to and instead of coming out like a healthy loaf, it would come out looking flat. God says that Ephraim is like this. Instead of being the healthy cake or bread that God intended them to be, something that a baker would be proud to show off and something for the nations to see, Ephraim comes out looking flat, weak and poor in quality. Because of their unhealthiness, the surrounding nations then came in and plundered their goods. They were so weak that they couldn't stand up to their enemies. Their enemies had come in and taken from them all the blessings that God had promised to them. So what does Israel do? In trying to prevent more bad things from occurring, they made alliances with the surrounding nations in thinking that they could now gain strength from them, but in an ironic twist, they lose their strength without even knowing it. Then Hosea says, Strangers devour his strength, and he knows it not; ​ gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, and he knows it not. Gray hairs are typically a ​ sign of wisdom, but in this case they are seen as the gray hair found on the old and frail. Hosea says that Israel is getting frail and weak. The gray hairs could also be referenced to the bread as well. Bread with gray hair is a sign of mold. It is not edible and rotting. So, Hosea says that Israel’s leaders are seen as frail and

6 unhealthy like an old man or moldy bread. Without strong leaders, and a healthy government Israel as a nation struggles. The tragedy of it all is that once again, in verse 10, Hosea says, “yet they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him, ​ for all this.” Israel sought the nations for their strength instead of God. Due to their ​ ineffective leaders making poor decisions within their borders, it leads them to making alliances with their neighboring enemies. Israel sought help further and further from the One who could really help them. All of this demonstrates the country’s lack of humility in acknowledging their sins and returning to God.

TRUTH # 3: Mankind needs Godly leadership

11 Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to . 12 As they go, I will spread over them my net; I will bring them down like birds of the heavens; I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation.

There is no easy way to say this so I am just going to say it, Hosea is basically saying that Ephraim is dumb as dove. Recognizing their follies and realizing their need for help they fly to Egypt and Assyria for help instead of God. Who are they to call out too? God. So, since they do not, what does God do? He says that He will keep them from being able to fulfill their desires. God is going to frustrate His people’s efforts as they turn to the other nations. He says that He will spread a net over them and bring them down. Instead of being free to roam, Israel will be enslaved by Him.

13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me.

14 They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds;

7 for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me. 15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against me. 16 They return, but not upward; they are like a treacherous bow; their princes shall fall by the sword because of the insolence of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

God wants His people to repent like verse 13 states, but they repeatedly choose not to. For this, punishment is inevitable. Notice the sins that God calls them out for in these verses alone. The people cry out and wail for the situation that they are in, but they do not cry out to Him. Unrepentant hearts in tears for that which they want but not for Whom they need. Just to have possessions like grain and wine, they gash themselves. This is most likely some cultic practice. So, instead of turning to Him who has already given them this land and its blessings, they physically abuse themselves in hopes that other nations and their gods will satisfy them. Then God reminds them that He is all the strength that they need to stand up against their enemies that they fear. He has trained them and strengthened their arms, their military, in the past. In fact, remember how many times God had fought for them in the past. Why would they need to go to any other nation for help against any enemy? Yet instead of turning to God, it says that they devise evil against Him. They turn against God, the One Who can help them! Astounding! Then God says that they will one day return, but not to Him. They will be weak like a treacherous bow unable to hit that which it aims at. For all of this, God is going to punish them all. Their weak, apostate leaders will die by the sword and then God is going to punish the nation by letting their enemies take them over. As one commentator put it, “The point is that Israel’s political leadership was apostate, ineffective, and doomed. The closure of the text probably speaks of Egypt because “I ransomed them” in v. 13 looks back to the Exodus from Egypt. Thus the victory of the Exodus would be reversed. “Egypt” by metonymy also represents all the Gentile

8 powers that would mock Israel when catastrophe befell her.”1 Only if Israel had Godly leadership, then they would have never been in this position, but isn’t that true about anything? How many countries, how many organizations, how many families have failed due to lack of Godly leadership? I was thinking the other day about how many times in scripture, how even Israel’s “most godly” leaders failed in leading their people. Moses, the Judges, Saul, David, etc… All of them were in powerful positions, and all of them had moments of failure. No wonder, Israel has always been looking forward to the One who could save them and lead them. Even their best leaders failed. They didn’t need just a Godly leader. They needed God Himself to lead them and yet they constantly rejected Him. How blessed are we today, to know that Godly leader? How great is it to know that we have access to the Godliest leader ever, the One True Leader Who has come and will come again, God in flesh, Jesus Christ. ​

APPLICATION: Thank God for Jesus and His Bride. ​ As I mentioned earlier, we are not Israel. Today’s sermon is not being preached to make America into something that it is not meant to be. Hebrews 12 taught us that God will shake the world’s foundations, all of the kingdoms will fall and His Unshakeable Kingdom will stand. That means that the good old United States of America will fall. So, please quit thinking that America is Israel and God’s chosen nation. We aren’t. We live in Babylon and we are that which God calls us in the NT, sojourners and aliens in a foreign land. With that said, please quit thinking that our government will save us. Only God through Jesus Christ can save us. Do not ​ think that our government will properly love people and bring the nations to ​ worship God the way that we think it should. That is not the responsibility for our government. Quit thinking that a President can redeem us, because he can’t and you will only be left mad and frustrated at his efforts if you do. Please quit thinking that the President will return the nation to God and make us into that which Israel failed to be. The president is not Jesus. We are to trust that every president and ruler is divinely placed in their roles according to God. As Proverbs 21:1 says, ​ ​ ​

1 Garrett, D. A. (1997). Hosea, Joel (Vol. 19A, p. 175). Nashville: Broadman & ​ ​ ​ ​ Holman Publishers.

9 “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” With that said then we accept that God is always turning their heart’s for ​ ​ his saving and sanctifying and eternal purposes among his people even if it doesn’t make sense from our perspective. Now I will say that for the believers who are in ​ political positions or leadership positions, then they should strive for these things. They should make decisions that point people to God. They should care and love people as believers should. Godly leaders ought to point people to God through their decisions. Also, it is the responsibility of the church, not the government, to love people properly and point people to God. As a church we ought to tell people about God. We ought to stand up against social injustices through demonstrating how to love those around us who are mistreated. As a church we ought to pray2 for our leaders daily, something that I personally fail to do, that in God’s grace He would move their hearts to make decisions that would be Holy and pleasing in His sight. We ought to pray for people to be like Joseph, Esther and Daniel who are in powerful positions and can speak truth to our leaders. If Peter and Paul, in the midst of real persecution, could ask the church to obey3 the government and honor4 the emperor, then so should we. And when our country mistreats believers for their faith in Christ, then we should not act surprised by it, but rather we should praise

2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and ​ 2 thanksgivings be made for all people, f​ or kings and all who are in high positions, ​ that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Ti 2:1–2). Wheaton, IL: ​ ​ Crossway .

3 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities ​ The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ro 13:1). Wheaton, IL: ​ ​ Crossway Bibles.

4 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. ​ The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Pe 2:17). Wheaton, IL: ​ ​ Crossway Bibles.

10 God for it5. Our country is not God’s kingdom and therefore will not act like God’s kingdom. It is a fallen, sinful place that is led by fallen, sinful people who are all in need of a savior who can heal and restore them all. Now for us, we know Who that perfect, Godly leader is. He is our savior. He is our great High Priest. He is our Perfect Judge. He is our Perfect King. He is Jesus Christ. He rules not just any one nation, but He is head of all authority and He leads the Church, which is His bride, and His church has survived with Him as Head, under socialism, capitalism, communism, and even dictatorships. It has survived generation after generation of many different earthly rulers, many different plagues, and many natural disasters. Not only has His church survived it all, but it has in fact thrived. So for our application today, my prayer is that our attention and lives, even now in the midst of the chaotic world we currently find ourselves in, would be more about Jesus and His bride than anything else.

Let’s Pray

16 5 Y​ et if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify ​ God in that name. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Pe 4:16). Wheaton, IL: ​ ​ Crossway Bibles.

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