10 THE DANGER OF A DIVIDED HEART

DATE: Sunday, January 17, 2021 ​

INTRODUCTION: If you have your , please turn to Hosea chapter 10. This morning we are going to talk about “The Danger of a Divided Heart.” In 1839, a 30 year old French writer named Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, became editor of a Paris newspaper Le Figaro. While Karr served as editor of that newspaper, he coined a phrase that would prove to stand the test of time; “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Today as we read Hosea 10, you will see Karr’s phrase coming to fruition in the Israelites. The more they increased, the wealthier they became, the more sophisticated they appeared to be, the more they proved that they hadn’t changed a bit. They still continued to wallow in their sin of idolatry.

TEXT: 10 is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars. 2 ​ Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will break down 3 their altars and destroy their pillars. F​ or now they will say: “We have no ​ king, for we do not fear the Lord; and a king—what could he do for us?” 4 ​ They utter mere words; with empty oaths they make covenants; so judgment 5 springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field. T​ he inhabitants ​ of tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced over it and over its glory— for it 6 has departed from them. T​ he thing itself shall be carried to as ​ tribute to the great king. shall be put to shame, and Israel shall be 7 ashamed of his idol. S​ amaria’s king shall perish like a twig on the face of the 8 ​ waters. T​ he high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn ​ and thistle shall grow up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, 9 “Cover us,” and to the hills, “Fall on us.” F​ rom the days of Gibeah, you have ​ sinned, O Israel; there they have continued. Shall not the war against the 10 unjust overtake them in Gibeah? W​ hen I please, I will discipline them, and ​ nations shall be gathered against them when they are bound up for their 11 double iniquity. E​ phraim was a trained calf that loved to thresh, and I ​ spared her fair neck; but I will put Ephraim to the yoke; must plow; 12 must harrow for himself. S​ ow for yourselves righteousness; reap ​ 1. steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, 13 that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. Y​ ou have plowed ​ iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors, 14 ​ therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of 15 battle; mothers were dashed in pieces with their children. T​ hus it shall be ​ done to you, O , because of your great evil. At dawn the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off.

PRAYER: Thank the Lord for the congregation. Ask for grace to pay attention and ​ to be faithful to the text. Ask that God’s grace will help us to commit to Christ with greater and greater fervency.

EXPOSITION: If you can remember back at the beginning of our study, we mentioned that Hosea’s prophetic ministry lasted between 25 and 40 years. Because the prophecy of Hosea was chronological, the content of chapters 9 and 10 would have been delivered when Hosea was an older man. So for decades, Hosea was faithful to deliver God’s word in the midst of criticism and hardship. Year after year this man would be given God’s word and year after year he would bear the burden of delivering that word to the people.

When Hosea gave his prophecy, the Nation of Israel was divided into two kingdoms; the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern . This division occurred in 1 Kings 12:16-24 under the reign of Solomon’s son Rehoboam (circa 930 BC). The Northern Kingdom of Israel was ruled by a succession of wicked Kings which led to even greater wickedness. The Northern Kingdom was composed of various cities such as but not limited to , Penuel, Samaria, Bethel and Ephriam.

Now down south in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, things weren’t quite as bad as the Northern Kingdom, yet they still had their problems. During the split of the nation, the southern kingdom of Judah would have it’s capital in Jerusalem and was also composed of cities like Hebron, Beersheba and Lachish.

The prophecy of Chapters 9-10 of Hosea are directed towards the Northern Kingdom of Israel and in particular towards the cities of Samaria, Bethel and 2. Ephriam, which were all cities that were located relatively near each other. The prophecy of chapters 9-10 are a foretelling of judgement that will soon come upon the people. This coming judgement has been a theme that has been consistent throughout Hosea’s ministry, and is coming closer and closer to fruition.

As Mike mentioned last week, and 10 are really one prophecy. Last week Mike covered chapter 9 and this week I’m covering chapter 10; and so today’s sermon is the “Part B” of Mike’s sermon.

I would like to let you know that there is a lot of content to chapter 10. In fact there are 422 English words that were translated from the original Hebrew, that make up this chapter, and in all honesty every verse of chapter 10 could be a sermon in itself. Because of time constraints, I won’t be able to break down all of the content in chapter 10. However, I will try my best to do the text justice in our short time together.

10 Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars.

Hosea chapter 10 is another indictment on the spiritual rebellion of the Israelites through their idol worship. In verses 1-4, Hosea continues the agricultural imagery that he began in chapter 9 verse 10 when he wrote, “Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers.” However, in 10:1, Hosea elaborates on this theme by calling Israel a “luxuriant vine that yields its fruit.” The term “luxuriant” is a difficult word to translate. The word actually means to empty, to lay waste, to drain, to consume with no regard to give. It’s like the Israelites were committed to “all take and no give.” They were given so much from God and never gave anything back to him. In fact, instead of giving to God, they gave to the false gods they were worshiping.

Israel had experienced great increase over the years. Israel had experienced great wealth and acquisition of land and possessions, however, they attributed their prosperity to the wrong thing. They attributed the increase to the idolatrous practices that they had been involved in and instead of heeding the words of Hosea as a young man, the Israelites continued in their rebellion. Years have gone by and the worship of these false gods has grown all the more. We actually see that in the second sentence of verse 1.

3. Hosea then says that these idolatrous practices would manifest itself in the building of, and improving of, altars and pillars. What is interesting about the use of Altars and Pillars in pagan worship is that it communicates the totality of the idolatrous practices of the Israelites. You see, when Hosea mentions the construction of an altar, he was communicating one idea, and when he mentioned the improvement and construction of a pillar, he was communicating another idea. Altars were constructed by a group of people so that the collective whole could worship their deity and pillars were constructed by individuals for the purpose of individual or household worship. In order to accommodate the amount of sacrifices the Israelites were giving, the altar at Beth-Aven would have been very large, while a pillar was a small, simple, cylindrical object that stood about 3 feet tall. These pillars would hold a carved image of a deity and the individuals would worship these idols in their personal time. Because the Israelites believed that their increase in goods was caused by these false god’s, the people would “improve” or add embellishments to their pillars in hopes of impressing the deity, with the hope of gaining added blessing from that deity. But why? Why did the worship of the Israelites get to this point? Verse 2 will shed light on this question.

2 T​ heir heart is false (chalaq - means divided. Mike talked about this last week, ​ ​ and it is reiterated in today’s text that the collective heart of the Israelites was divided between the worship of the false gods and the worship of Yahweh. Mike mentioned last week that Israel believed themselves to be orthodox and honoring God, but the opposite was actually occurring. They were proving to have a divided heart by engaging in worship to other gods in hopes that those deities would continue to supply. Because their heart was divided, what would happen to the Israelites?); now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will break down their ​ ​ altars and destroy their pillars.

Hosea is clear in verse 2 that the Lord will bring destruction on Israel due to their divided heart. Because of the divided nature of their worship, God was going to put an end to that worship. You see, God will not share his glory with any other. In Isaiah 42:8, God said that, “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other nor my praise to carved images.” Because the Israelites chose to divide their worship between God and false gods, they will soon see the error of their ways.

3 F​ or now they will say (this is a Hebrew phrase that means to give an answer. It ​ ​ implies one trying to give a reason for what they have done. Much like I would do 4. when I was a child and I would get in trouble. My mother would require an answer for my behavior and all I could do was stand there humiliated. And so, in humiliation, the Israelites would try to give an account for their rebellion by saying...): “We have no king, for we do not fear the Lord; and a king—what ​ ​ could he do for us (which implies that all of their Kings were wicked and couldn’t ​ help or lead to begin with)?” ​

A few weeks ago we taught about the political climate of the Northern Kingdom in Israel. We taught about how these kings were selected based on power, manipulation and greed rather being based on Character and Godliness. In fact the last five kings of Israel were usurpers. All of them were corrupt and unworthy to properly uphold the law of God. When the Israelites face their coming judgement, they will admit to their failure to properly have a King who would lead in the sight of God. But, what were these different kings involved in that was so bad?

4 T​ hey (meaning the kings) utter mere words (dabar - empty or rehearsed ​ words. This implies a lack of genuineness in the words they spoke. It’s the image of a politician communicating to the people using empty promises and rehearsed words.); with empty oaths they make covenants; so judgment springs up like ​ poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.

The kings of the Northern Kingdom used idle and empty words to make covenants with the surrounding nations of Assyria and Egypt. Because of their corrupt dealings, judgement was going to spring up on these kings like a poisonous weed on them.

How many of you have ever had the blessing of having poison ivy wrap itself around a tree in your yard. In our front yard, we have several pine trees that have been completely overrun by poison ivy. It’s unfortunate because that poison ivy has rendered the tree useless. Now the tree is almost dead and must be disposed of. That is the image of the judgement that will come upon the kings who made wicked and empty deals with other nations.

This verse is a sobering reminder for leaders today on any scale. It doesn’t matter if you are the president, senator, congressman, governor, city official, teacher in a school, pastor, manager of a grocery store; if you are in leadership you must walk a fine line of leading with humility and integrity. Leaders must always 5. remember that the deals they make in the dark will one day come into the light. It may not come to light in your lifetime, but one day you will have to stand before God and give an account of your leadership. And I don’t know about you, but I don't want to be there when that “dog starts barking.”

Let’s now take a look at verses 5-8 as a complete unit and break them down. In verses 5-8, Hosea turns his attention away from Israel as a whole, and focuses on Samaria, Ephriam and their calf worship.

5 T​ he inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced over it and 6 over its glory— for it has departed from them. T​ he thing itself shall be ​ carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim shall be put to shame, 7 and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol. S​ amaria’s king shall perish like a 8 ​ twig on the face of the waters. T​ he high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall ​ be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars (language ​ reminiscent of Genesis 3), and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,” and ​ to the hills, “Fall on us.”

Hosea mentions that Samaria “trembles for the calf of Beth-Aven.” Samaria was a territory located a few miles north of Ephraim. In Ephraim, the city of Bethel was located on the top of a plateaued mountain. It was on the top of this mountain that their idol worship occurred. People would travel from all around, to come to the city of Bethel to worship the golden calf. Hosea does something interesting in this passage. Hosea changes the name of Bethel to Beth-Aven. You see, the word Bethel means “house of God,” however, in this passage of Scripture, Hosea calls the place Beth-Aven, which means “house of iniquity.” Hosea calls this place a house of iniquity for the rebellious worship that was taking place on the mountain top.

Hosea also mentions in verse 6 that the people mourned because their prized idol would be taken to the Assyrian king as a tribute. What is ironic is that the act of the idol being taken away to Assyria would prove to be a Sovereign work of God. Let me explain.

In verse 6 we see that the foolish deals that the Israelite kings made with the Assyrians proved costly. In order for the Israelites to maintain peace with the Assyrians, they had to pay them a tribute. Apparently this time the Israelites had to 6. pay a tribute that they couldn’t afford, and so the Israelites had to give the Assyrians their prized possession; their golden calf of Beth-Aven. You see, God hated that idol (remember Isaiah 42:8? “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other nor my praise to carved images.”). Because God will not share his glory with any other, He providentially orchestrated it to where the Israelites couldn’t pay their tribute to the Assyrians and so the Israelites were forced to satisfy the payment by giving the Assyrians their prized golden calf. This was God divinely orchestrating the removal of an item that was proving to poison the soul of his chosen people.

In verse 7, Hosea goes on to say that the dealings of the wicked kings of Samaria would one day receive their judgement because they will perish like a twig on the waters. When I was a kid, I grew up in a neighborhood that had 4 ponds in it. I spent all of my free time down at those ponds. I would fish and swim and pretend I was a knight slaying dragons. Growing up there was a lot like Chritopher Robin in the hundred acre woods. One of the ponds had this little island that my dad and I would fish nearly every day in the summer. One summer, the bridge that connected to that island had fallen into disrepair, and so my dad and I tore down the old bridge and built a new one. I would also spend a lot of time on that bridge playing. I can't tell you how many times I would stand on that little bridge and look over the side and see which direction the current was flowing. I would then break off a twig from a branch and drop it on one side of the bridge then watch it flow under the bridge to the other side. Then I would watch that little twig flow away from the bridge, into the pond, and eventually go out of sight. That small, insignificant twig, would be carried away by the waters and lost. That’s the imagery that Hosea is trying to communicate concerning the coming judgement on the Kings who made deals with the Assyrians. Hosea was saying that those kings were worthless, and would be carried away like a little twig on the waters. Hosea isn’t pulling any punches here. He is not sparing his listeners of the gravity of their coming judgement.

In verses 9-10, Hosea diverts his attention away from Ephriam and back to the Northern Kingdom as a whole by reminding them that they have been in continued sin since the events that transpired in Judges 19-21.

9 F​ rom the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel; there they have continued. Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah? 10 ​

7. When I please, I will discipline them, and nations shall be gathered against them when they are bound up for their double iniquity.

What is interesting in verse 9 is that the indictment that Hosea was giving has actually been changed to the third person. Some scholars believe that this section of the prophecy could have been directed at another audience, perhaps some disciples of Hosea concerning Israel; in all honesty we don’t really know why the change happened, but we need to remember that it doesn't’ take away from the point of the passage that the sins of Israel that happened in Gibeah are still the same. However, God is about to execute judgement on the Israelites for their rebellion. God will rise up the nations against Israel to punish them for their sin. But through all of this, God is gracious. Let’s look at the remaining verses.

11 E​ phraim was a trained calf that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck; but I will put Ephraim to the yoke; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for 12 himself. S​ ow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up ​ your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and 13 rain righteousness upon you. Y​ ou have plowed iniquity; you have reaped ​ injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your 14 own way and in the multitude of your warriors, t​ herefore the tumult of war ​ shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle; mothers were dashed in 15 pieces with their children. T​ hus it shall be done to you, O Bethel, because of ​ your great evil. At dawn the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off. In the midst of Israel’s great rebellion, God is still calling them to repent. Did you notice verse 12? Sow for yourself righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. God calls Israel to sow (or to plant: agricultural language. Really he means to start doing and being righteous) righteousness and you will reap steadfast love. Even after the years of rebellion and the years of idol worship, God was still calling Israel to repent and turn to him, with the promise of a loving response. However the Lord knows that Israel won’t repent. He says that they have continued in their great evil and “at dawn” (or language that means, “it’s coming soon!”) the judgement will happen. The war that Assyria declared on Israel was horrible. No one was spared. Mothers and children were not spared when the Assyrians invaded. Do you know who was to blame for this judgement? The

8. Israelites. They broke their covenant relationship with God by continually worshiping false gods. God was patient and kind towards His people for decades as they rebelled. During those years, God sent prophets to warn them to repent. God told the people that if they would repent, He would show kindness and mercy and love toward them. But they didn’t repent. Like a stubborn mule, they continued in their ways. And so Israel was to blame for the judgement that fell on them. And why did this continued sin happen? Why did this judgement come? Because Israel had a divided heart. Seeking to worship both Yahweh and false gods. APPLICATION: Years ago I had the opportunity to counsel a couple in which the wife claimed to love both her husband and a lover that she had found on Facebook. This woman confessed to her husband that she had a long term relationship with this other man, and that she had grown to love him; but she also claimed to love her husband. Her heart was divided. Guys, I cannot express to you enough the extent to which her divided heart caused everything in her life to spiral out of control. Because of the pain of betrayal that her husband felt, he decided to indulge in sinful drunkenness, followed by dangerous promiscuity. Now, I’m not saying that the wife caused her husband to sin; she did not. He was responsible for his sin, but his sin was connected to hers. So what happened to the couple? The couple eventually split, and they have never been reconciled. Guys, there is nothing more precious, more sensitive, more malleable than the human heart. The human heart is a tender thing. Don’t ever believe for one second that your heart can be divided between two lovers. Christ himself said in Matthew 6:24 that you can’t serve two masters. Let me boil this down as practically and simply as I can. You can’t serve Christ and yourself. You can’t serve Christ and build his kingdom while you're trying to build your own kingdom. You can’t serve Christ and satisfy your own flesh. You can’t serve Christ and achieve your own goals. You can’t serve Christ and engage in any spiritualism that is opposed to the teachings of Christ. It is either Christ or you; and you must decide. As Christians, Everything in our lives must be constantly surrendered to the Lordship of Christ. When we sense the slightest inkling that our hearts are being divided, we must make every effort to abandon the division and turn to Christ. CLOSING PRAYER:

9.