Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 685. Bible Study: Hosea 7, 8 & 9 (Seek God First- don't be deceived by following "false ways/idols")

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685. Bible Study: Hosea 7, 8 & 9 (Seek God First- don't be deceived by following "false ways/idols") · Faith by annm2705

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Chapter 7 of Hosea. So dear God, please be with us
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as we read through these chapter or maybe chapters and give us
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wisdom, insight and have the Holy Spirit reveal things to us.
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We ask for this in Jesus name, Amen.
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Chapter 7. Whenever I would restore the
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fortunes of my people, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of
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Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed.
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They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob
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in the streets. But they do not realize that I
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remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them.
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They are always before me. They delight the king with their
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wickedness, the Princess with their lies.
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They are all adulterers, burning like an oven, whose fire the
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Baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it
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rises. On the day of the festival of
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our King, the Princess become inflamed with wine and he joins
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hands with the mockers. Their hearts are like an oven.
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They approach him with intrigue. Their passion smoulders all
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night. In the morning it blazes like a
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flaming fire. All of them are hot as an oven.
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They devour their rulers. All their kings fall, and none
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of them calls on me. Ephraim mixes with the nations.
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Ephraim is a flat loaf, not turned over.
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Foreigners SAP his strength, but he does not realize it.
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His hair is sprinkled with Gray, but he does not notice.
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Israel's arrogance testifies against him.
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But despite all this, he does not return to the Lord or search
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for him. Ephraim is like a dove, easily
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deceived and senseless, now calling to Egypt, now turning to
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Assyria. When they go, I will throw my
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net over them. I will pull them down like the
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birds in the sky. When I hear them flocking
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together, I will catch them. Woe to them because they have
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strayed from me, destruction to them because they have rebelled
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against me. I long to redeem them, but they
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speak about me falsely. They do not cry out to me from
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their hearts, but wail on their beds.
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They slash themselves, appealing to their gods for grain and new
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wine, but they turn away from me.
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I trained them and strengthened their arms, but they plot evil
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against me. They do not turn to the Most
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High. They are like a faulty bow.
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Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent
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words. For this, they will be ridiculed
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in the land of Egypt. So I'll just read through the
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questions and answers for this one, starting with what exactly
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did the people do to provoke God's anger?
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Israel was a society in turmoil. 6 kings had reigned in 25 years.
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The nation had been seduced by foreign religions.
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It now wallowed in widespread immorality characterized by
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deceit, violence, robbery, adultery and drunkenness.
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How were the Princess of the land like an oven?
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The Princess of the land were leaders who burned within, full
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of lust for the flesh and a lust for power.
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As the fire of an oven cannot always be seen from the outside,
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these Princess secretly burned and plotted against the king
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while entertaining him with their lies.
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They apparently hoped to organize a rebellion, kill the
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king, and assume power. What's the meaning of a flat
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loaf not turned over? Ephraim was compared to 1/2
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baked loaf which symbolized an unfinished, worthless piece of
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half done work. Yet behind the prophetic words
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was the promise that God would continue to work with Ephraim.
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He would love and form this people until they fulfilled His
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intention. What was wrong with the with
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calling other nations for help? While international treaties are
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not forbidden in the Bible, the people of Israel were never to
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depend on any source other than God for their survival and
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security. The primary reason they turned
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to Egypt and Assyria for help was because they did not want to
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turn to God in repentance. So what is the significance of
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grain and new wine? This is a powerful reference to
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the blessings of the covenant. These words are also found in
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Deuteronomy Chapter 7, verse 13 in a context demonstrating God's
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love and blessing in response to Israel's obedience.
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So love and blessing comes with obedience.
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God was the one who provided these basic necessities for
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Israel, which shows how foolish it was for Israel to turn away
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from God. It is important to note that
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Israel cried out to God for what she perceived God might provide,
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but the inclination of her heart was away from Him.
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She wanted blessings from God, but was not inclined to give God
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the honor to Him or turn in repentance.
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Right. How were the people of Israel
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like a faulty bow? God could not depend on Israel,
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just as an Archer cannot depend on a faulty bow.
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A bow that is warped, are strung incorrectly, will cause the
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arrow to miss its target just as Israel had missed the mark.
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And that's the end of Chapter 7. What I noticed it in this was
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that these evil doers would approach a man with intrigue and
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we know like the Lawless 1 uses intrigue and it's just that's
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something evil kind of something seducing.
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The way the Bible described it, the study Bible commented on
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this and then it said none of their kings call on me.
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So God just wants to be called on.
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He wants to be a resource and then it just says, you know, he
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does not return to the Lord or search for him.
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That's what God wants. I long to redeem them, but they
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speak about me falsely. They do not cry out to me from
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their hearts, but they wail on their beds.
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They cry on their beds, but they're not calling on God.
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And those are the, the main things that I took away from
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that chapter. Now we'll go into chapter 8.
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Put the trumpet to your lips. An eagle is over the House of
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the Lord because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled
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against my law. So this thing about an eagle.
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Eagles were described as unclean.
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However, they are referenced as one of the creatures in the
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heavenly realms with God in Revelation and if you just
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search Eagle on Digital Bible you can see all the references
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and it typically is not something good.
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So God can use an evil entity to rule over his chosen people like
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here, so that his will be done or that its people get turned
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over to the desires of their heart.
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And that's what it says here like an eagle.
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So an eagle is is not something good.
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It's an eagle is over the House of the Lord because the people
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have broken my covenant. So the people did something
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wrong. So God puts an eagle, which was
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an unclean bird, over them. Israel cries out to me, Our God,
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we acknowledge you. But Israel has rejected what is
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good. An enemy will pursue them.
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They set up kings without my consent.
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They chose Princess without my approval.
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So I was thinking back on the separation after Solomon's
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passing. There were two different there
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was the northern tribe and the southern tribe.
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Now the southern tribe got anointed or appointed the
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leader, but in the northern tribe they did it for
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themselves. And then they set up a separate
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place, I guess it was in Bethel. And also Samaria was their
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capital, the northern portion of with the 10 tribes.
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And so they had their own place of worship, whereas everybody
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was supposed to be in Jerusalem worshiping, but that didn't
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happen. So they set up their own king.
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And that's what God's pointing out.
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It's not my, it wasn't my approval.
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This is what you did, but it wasn't my approval.
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And I think we can all learn from that.
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We can pursue things that we want to do.
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But do we ask God, is this something that you would approve
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of? And I think that's something
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that all of us can learn from, is that when we, especially when
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we have bigger decisions that we really trust in God with that
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answer to that decision that we're going to make and go to
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him first before we make a decision so we don't get
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ourselves into trouble with their silver and gold.
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They make idols for themselves to their own destruction.
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Samaria, throw out your calf idol.
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My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable
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of purity? They are.
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They are from Israel. This calf, a metal worker has
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made it. It is not God.
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It will be broken into pieces. That calf of Samaria.
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They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind, the stock.
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So you know, like they're, they're throwing out the the
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wind, but they're going to be reaping A whirlwind like a
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tornado, a destruction. The stock has no head.
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It will produce no flour. It's almost like having no
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fruit, like there's nothing good that comes from it.
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It's growing, but it's not producing anything.
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Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up.
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So they don't get to keep anything that they've grown.
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Somebody else is going to take it.
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Israel has swallowed up. Now she is among the nations
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like something no one wants, for they have gone up to Assyria
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like a wild donkey wandering alone.
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Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.
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Although they have sold themselves among the nations.
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I will now gather them together. They will begin to waste away
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under the oppression of the mighty king.
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Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have
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become altars for sinning. I wrote for them the many things
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of My law, but they regarded them as something foreign.
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Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat
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the meat, the Lord is not pleased with them.
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Now He will remember their wickedness and punish their
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sins. They will return to Egypt.
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Israel has forgotten their Maker and built palaces.
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Judah has fortified many towns, but I will send fire on their
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cities that will consume their fortresses.
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So I'll read the questions and answers for chapter 8.
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What does an eagle over the house signify?
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This is a picture of a vulture circling over a dying animal or
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a corpse. The image signifies God's coming
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judgement. Assyria would invade and destroy
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Israel, the House of the Lord. How were the people supposed to
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choose their leaders? They were supposed to choose
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their leaders who would obey the law, destroy idols, care for the
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poor, provide justice, and seek God.
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As it was, violent coups and assassinations often deposed the
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kings. Power hungry men and their
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cohorts competed for the throne. Conditions worsened because
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those who ruled by the sword became more paranoid of others
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with power and less sensitive to issues that got that concerned
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God. What does it mean to sow the
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wind and reap the whirlwind? This image portrays the sad fate
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of Israel in its apostasy, idolatry, and infidelity.
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Rather than sowing productive seed, Israel sowed the wind,
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that is mere air or nothing. The tragic, tragic harvest of
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such sowing would be a devastating storm of judgment
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against the nation's sin. How did Israel's sin make her
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worthless among the nations? In lusting after false gods,
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Israel proved to be no different than the Pagan nations.
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By forsaking her calling as God's chosen light to the other
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nations, Israel became merely another nation without
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direction, identity, or mission. She lost her witness to others
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and exchanged her high vocation for worthless gratification.
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How had the Israelites altars become altars for sinning?
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First, the phrase many altars exposes the Israelites
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reluctance to worship at the one altar God had ordained for
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worship. When the northern Kingdom ceded
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from the southern Kingdom, Jeroboam the first established
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worship centres in the north so that his people would not have
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to return to the southern Kingdom to worship at the
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central sanctuary. Second, the phrase they eat the
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meat highlights Israel's failure to obey God's instructions
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regarding sacrifice. The people were allowed to eat
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only certain portions of the sacrificial animals, but
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apparently they were also consuming the portions that
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belonged to the Lord. How would Israel return to
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Egypt? This is a figure of speech
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signifying that because of her sin, Israel would revert to her
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condition prior to the Exodus. Oppressed and enslaved.
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How and when did God send fire on their cities?
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Shalmanasar, king of Assyria, invaded and conquered Israel in
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722 BC after laying siege for three years to the capital city
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of Samaria. This reference to fire was
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fulfilled in two ways. Number one, literally because
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much of the city was burned when conquered by the Assyrians, and
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two, figuratively because the invasion consumed the nation
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politically and geographically just as fire.
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Fire consumes fuel. So let's see where we are now.
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I was going to go to OK, we can still continue.
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Chapter 9 punishment for Israel. Do not rejoice, Israel.
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Do not be jubilant like the other nations, for you have been
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unfaithful to your God. You love the wages of a
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prostitute at every threshing floor.
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Threshing floors and wine presses will not feed the
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people. The new wine will fail them.
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They will not remain in the Lord's land.
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Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.
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They will not pour out wine offerings to the Lord, nor will
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their sacrifices please Him. Such sacrifices will be to them
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like the bread of the mourners. All who eat them will be
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unclean. This food will be for
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themselves. It will not come into the temple
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of the Lord. What will you do on the day of
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your appointed festivals, on the feast days of the Lord?
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Even if they escape from destruction, Egypt will gather
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them and Memphis will bury them. Their treasures of silver will
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be taken over by Breers, and thorns will overrun their tents.
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The days of punishment are coming.
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The days of reckoning are at hand.
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Let Israel know this, because your sins are so many and your
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hostility so great. The prophet is considered a
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fool, the inspired person a maniac.
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I'm going to read about that right now.
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Why did they think the prophet was a fool or a maniac?
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First, Hosea was considered a fool because of his faithful
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allegiance to his adulterous wife. 2nd, Hosea was thought to
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be strange because he persisted in the hard line pronouncements
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about God's coming judgement. The uncompromising message of
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the prophets coupled with their unconventional ways and
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antisocial behavior often caused them to be labeled as crazy myth
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misfits. Going back to Scripture, the
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prophet along with God is the watchman over Ephraim.
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So notice there that the prophet, the one who's getting
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these words from God, is a watchman over Ephraim.
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Like he's trying to turn them back to God.
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He's trying to help them to open their eyes so that they can see
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that they need to turn to God. I think this could also apply to
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us today, the need to turn to God culturally, like as a, you
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know, general statement. So yet, OK, so the prophet along
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with my God is the watchman over Ephraim, yet snares await him on
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all his paths and hostility in the House of his God.
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They have sunk deep into corruption as in the days of
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Gibeah. So I had to look that up.
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So Gibeah was within the tribe of Benjamin and the thing that
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happened in Gibeah when they went into corruption was they
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the people of that town kind of like Sodom and Gomorrah raped a
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Levite concubine and and this this place also became the
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capital during Saul's time. So there are a couple different
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things that were corrupted about Gibeah.
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So God will punish their wickedness and punish them for
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their sins. When I found Israel, it was like
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finding grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it
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was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree.
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But when they came to Bale, Bale pure, they consecrated
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themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing
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they loved. So idolatry started.
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They started worshipping another God.
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Ephraim's glory will fly away like a bird.
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No birth, no pregnancy, no conception.
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Even if they rear children, I will bereave them of everyone.
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Woe to them when I turn away from them.
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I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place.
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But Ephraim will bring out their children to the Slayer.
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Give them Lord, what will you give them?
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Give them wombs that miscarry and breasts that are dry.
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Because of their wickedness in Gilgal, I hated them there.
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Because of their sinful deeds, I will drive them out of my house.
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I will no longer love them. All their leaders are
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rebellious. Ephraim is blighted.
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Their root is withered. They yield no fruit.
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Even if they bear children, I will slay their cherished
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offspring. My God will reject them because
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they have not obeyed him. They will be Wanderers among the
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nations. So here, you know, we can see
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that obedience to God is important in the New Testament.
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It tells us that obedience shows God that we love him.
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Like Jesus said, if you love me, you will obey my commands.
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So obedience isn't a way to to get into God's Kingdom.
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There's a different way for that.
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But obedience shows are we is our heart really turned to God?
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So ultimately God wants obedience out of us.
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We can't ignore obedience. I do hear a lot of churches like
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minimizing obedience because they start calling it like
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legalism, but that is so far from the truth.
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When people get comfort from not being obedient and say, oh,
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we're saved by grace, they're missing the point here because
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Jesus's death on the cross was not so that we could keep on
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sinning. Paul says that too.
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So even Paul, who talks a lot about grace, says that it's not
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that we can keep on sinning. It's there for the slight
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imperfections that happen occasionally when somebody falls
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but then realizes that they made a mistake because we will make
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mistakes and repents of it changes so that you don't do it
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again. It's not there's a difference
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between forgiveness and atonement, and forgiveness is
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actually I probably should like look that up and actually read
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it because my definition will probably not be as to someone
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else's Difference between forgiveness and atonement.
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OK, Atonement and forgiveness are related concepts but have
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distinct meanings. Atonement typically refers to
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making amends for wrongdoing, while forgiveness is the act of
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pardoning someone for a transgression.
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Atonement often involves actions to repair the harm caused, while
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forgiveness focuses on releasing resentment and extending mercy.
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So there is a difference. And so if people think that they
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can just keep asking for forgiveness.
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We we can keep asking for forgiveness, but the the part
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about unrepentant sinning, that part will come into judgment and
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that part is not acceptable by God.
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Unrepentant sinning, there's a lot of consequences of that.
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Whether we forfeit the Kingdom, that's going to be God's
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ultimate decision. But the Bible doesn't indicate
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very favorably with someone who has done that because ultimately
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it's our free will that puts us in God's Kingdom or not in God's
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Kingdom. We make a choice.
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Either we accept what Jesus did on the cross and we have a
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relationship with God. We become a new creation because
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Jesus said he didn't say I'm going to die on the cross and
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that's the only thing that will ever have to happen for you.
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He did say I am the way, the truth and life and no one comes
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to the Father through me. But he also said that no one can
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enter the Kingdom of God without being born again.
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Born of the Spirit and born of the born of the water and born
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of the Spirit. So born of the water.
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It could mean two different things.
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It could mean an A human earthly birth because there's water at
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birth. And it may also mean the baptism
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of repentance like what John gave people where he baptized
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people. That was a baptism of
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repentance. That's turning away from sin.
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And then Jesus talks about being born of the Spirit, that's
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receiving the Holy Spirit. After we've repented, that's
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when we can receive the Holy Spirit.
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And he said no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless you've
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been born again of the Spirit. So we need the Holy Spirit to
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enter the Kingdom of God and we can't get the Holy Spirit if we
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are unrepentant. So there is a that's why it
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probably makes sense that there's so many different
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religions out there that have disagreements on salvation.
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And both of them, you know, different views are partially
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right. But you need to put it all
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together so that we understand that we we cannot do it on our
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own. We can't just be a good person
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and get to heaven. That's not possible through the
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Bible because it says we are all sinners.
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We are incapable. The only way that we start to
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battle against or get rid of sin in our life is by the power of
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God through the Holy Spirit. And that's what the Bible tells
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us. So if we deny it, and again it
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says like there is nothing, you know, the one sin that can't be
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forgiven is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
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That's probably denying the power of the Holy Spirit.
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If you're going to deny the Holy Spirit, you can't get into God's
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Kingdom. So that's like an unreal, that's
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one sin that you cannot be forgiven of.
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You can't deny the Holy Spirit of God.
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Just like Jesus said, we need the Holy Spirit.
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So anyway, I think that will wrap up this chapter and I think
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we will pick up next time with chapter 10.