Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20220817 - God’s Faithful Pursuit - Hosea 6:1-7
Transcript
- 0:05Welcome to the study of God's word recorded live at Calvary
- 0:09Church in Aurora, Colorado, to learn more about the many
- 0:12resources available, through abounding Grace, Media, or to
- 0:15tune into our live stream Services.
- 0:18Visit us online at Calvary. Co dot church or download our
- 0:22free Calvary Church app now. Let's open our Bibles and study
- 0:26God's word. I do get to share the word of
- 0:32God tonight and I've titled my message.
- 0:37God's faithful Pursuit. And then you'll notice a bandar
- 0:42it. These words, yada yada yada
- 0:45right now. I know to us.
- 0:47English speakers. Yada yada, yada is an expression
- 0:51we use for meaningless talk. Meaningless chatter this boring
- 0:58empty talk, but we're gonna discuss discover together
- 1:01tonight that yada for the Hebrew speaker speaks of something very
- 1:08deep and very profound. And so we are going to be in the
- 1:12Old Testament book of Hosea and the main text that will Source
- 1:16from. It's going to be Hosea chapter 6
- 1:19and we're going to be going through verses one through
- 1:22seven. So you guys are turning their.
- 1:25I'm going to pray and just B, the Lord into the message and
- 1:28you know, before I do that I just, you know, one of the I had
- 1:32a conversation with the in today and as we were talking about
- 1:35yada, he even told me, you know, he's done a message in the past
- 1:40on yada and he did it from this perspective of worship and it's
- 1:44a really rich word is we're going to discover but tonight's
- 1:47worship was just really fresh and good you know that thousand
- 1:51Hallelujah is. And as I was listening to the
- 1:54worship songs you know one of the songs is He's talking about
- 1:57He Reigns and another one is talking about he's to enthrone,
- 2:02right? And and all of those words speak
- 2:04to a kingdom, speak to a King, we're going to talk about that
- 2:07tonight. You know.
- 2:07So the was just moved by worship and I'm thankful for that.
- 2:13So let's pray Heavenly Father, we do come before you and Lord,
- 2:17I know that, you know, in this room everyone comes in, you
- 2:21know, from their week and we're thankful to be here and we come
- 2:24in in different Ways some come in just ready to receive from
- 2:28the Lord? Some come in.
- 2:29Barely like man they just made it but father you know you know
- 2:33every hair on their head you know what's going on in their
- 2:35life. You love them, you know them and
- 2:38you care for them and each of us are here father, and Out of all
- 2:44the places we could be on the earth.
- 2:45Here we are. And so Lord, we dedicate this
- 2:48time to you, we thank you for your word and Lord.
- 2:52I just ask that you use me in this section of scripture.
- 2:55And just this, this beautiful, beautiful section of the Old
- 2:59Testament with Hosea, and just his passion.
- 3:02Lord, may he speak tonight. Lord met him, in his words,
- 3:06speak through through me. In Jesus name, we pray.
- 3:09Amen. I do want to welcome, you know,
- 3:12so you might be online. Or in the radio and do you want
- 3:15to welcome you guys and welcome. All of you here tonight.
- 3:17And so if you're not already there open, you know, open your
- 3:21Bible to Hosea chapter 6 and Hosea is a minor prophet and
- 3:27therefore, it might be kind of hard to find, so you have to use
- 3:30your table of contents, go for it.
- 3:32I could tell you, what, page, I'm on a my Bible, but you
- 3:34probably don't have my Bible and I'm going to be reading and
- 3:38teaching tonight from the New Living Translation.
- 3:41So listen. Follow along as I read God's
- 3:45word. This is what it says.
- 3:46Come let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces.
- 3:52Now, he will heal us. He has injured us.
- 3:55Now, he will bandage our wounds and just a short time.
- 3:59He will restore us so that we may live in his presence.
- 4:03Oh that we might know the Lord. Let us press on to know him.
- 4:09He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or Or the
- 4:13coming of rains in early spring o Israel and Judah.
- 4:17What should I do with you? Ask the Lord for your love,
- 4:21vanishes like the Morning Mist and disappears like do in the
- 4:24sunlight. I sent my profits to cut you to
- 4:27pieces to slaughter you with my words with judgments as
- 4:31inescapable as light. I want you to show love, not
- 4:37offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than
- 4:41I want burnt offerings. But like Adam, you broke my
- 4:45Covenant and betrayed my trust. so, if you're in the NLT, I want
- 4:53you to, if you write in your Bible circle, the word know that
- 4:58shows up two times in verse 3, if you're in the new King James
- 5:02Bible, in verse 3, your to, to Circle would be the word.
- 5:06No. And then the phrase knowledge of
- 5:09the Lord, Then in verse 6 of the NLT circle, the word no.
- 5:15And in nkjv circle the phrase knowledge of God.
- 5:21And when we see the word no or knowledge in Hosea, it is the
- 5:26Hebrew word yada or a derivative of that word.
- 5:31And what we find when we read the book of Isaiah is that Jose
- 5:36has Central complaint with the people is that they don't know,
- 5:40God, That's his complaint and this word to know yada is found
- 5:47all over the Old Testament. And we need to understand what
- 5:51it means in most Semitic languages.
- 5:55It signifies sexual Union, as well as mental, and spiritual
- 5:59activity in Hebrew. Yada means more than just the
- 6:04possession of abstract Concepts. It points to this inner
- 6:09appropriation, right this, making it yours, it points to
- 6:13feeling it points, to a reception into our very souls,
- 6:18and it involves both an intellectual and an emotional
- 6:22act, you know, for me, that brought to mind what we're, you
- 6:26know, how we're supposed to love God.
- 6:28And how is that with all of our heart, with all of our mind,
- 6:33with all of our soul and with all of our strength, In this
- 6:36world, you gotta also denotes concern in her engagement
- 6:41dedication or attachment to a person.
- 6:46Yada yada yada now, that's yada. Yada yada.
- 6:51This is much more than meaningless chatter, and it's
- 6:54definitely not boring. It is this type of knowing that
- 6:57is the essence of God's heart towards his people towards you,
- 7:01and God knows his people and he Longs for them.
- 7:06This is Illustrated in Hosea, chapter 9, When God says o
- 7:10Israel. When I first found you, it was
- 7:12like finding fresh grapes in the desert.
- 7:16You know, and when you're reading scriptures, you just
- 7:17kind of sit and hang out in that imagery for a second.
- 7:20Go man, if I'm crossing the desert and I'm thirsty and
- 7:25there's no water inside and somebody hands me, a handful of
- 7:27grapes, ha ha. Those are going to be the best
- 7:30grapes on planet Earth and this is what he says.
- 7:32When I first found you it was like finding fresh grapes in the
- 7:35desert. When I saw your ancestors it was
- 7:37like seeing the first ripe figs of the season.
- 7:42And then he goes on to say, when Israel was a child, I loved him
- 7:45and I Called my son out of Egypt and it was a goes on in chapter
- 7:4911 reflecting for with with God remembering and reflecting on
- 7:54what it was like growing up is people and taking care of them.
- 7:58Listen to what God says, he says, I myself taught Israel how
- 8:02to walk leading him, along by the hand.
- 8:05I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love.
- 8:10I lifted the yolk from his neck, and I myself stooped to feed
- 8:14him. So far so good.
- 8:18But he speaking of Israel, doesn't know or even care, that
- 8:23it was I who took care of them. And so if you recall from what
- 8:27we read in chapter 16 verses 6 and 7, God said, I want you to
- 8:31show love not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than
- 8:37I want burnt offerings but like Adam, you broke my Covenant and
- 8:42betrayed my trust. And this this knowing yada this
- 8:47caring this longing, it exists inside of Covenant.
- 8:53This constant solidarity. That is sought.
- 8:55After this, emotional identification with God, has to
- 8:59be protected and it has to be guaranteed.
- 9:01And guess what? That's exactly what God does
- 9:03with us through Covenant. With God, all we get her
- 9:07guarantees. We get promises and all the
- 9:11promises of God are what? Yes.
- 9:14And amen. We can count on them.
- 9:17He is always always, always faithful.
- 9:20He covenants with us. So what is a covenant?
- 9:25A covenant is a pact or an agreement between two or more
- 9:28parties. And the thing with covenants,
- 9:30covenants have conditions and stipulations with consequences
- 9:33for breaking the stipulations. And when we look at covenants,
- 9:37you know, like as you're growing in the word and as you're
- 9:39becoming a Bible student and you're bumping into these
- 9:42covenants throughout the Bible one of the challenges with
- 9:45understanding the covenants is that there's more than one
- 9:49particular Covenant in the Bible.
- 9:52So we must be careful to study the particularities of each
- 9:55Covenant as well as to see the overall General pattern of all
- 10:00of the covenants. And here's the key to the
- 10:03kingdom, that overall General pattern of all the Covenants.
- 10:08Grace, you know, every time I think of the word Grace I want
- 10:11to say like a Scottish or I guess Scottish Irish and I don't
- 10:13know, pardon me if you're Scottish or Irish.
- 10:15But I just hear Grace Grace that overall it's going to raise its
- 10:20that's what it is. And boy, do we need it.
- 10:23And so if you hear anything in this here, this covenants,
- 10:27represent gods constant, fateful Pursuit Of Us of you.
- 10:32He wants a committed relationship and for us to
- 10:35experience his love to Perience. This piece and experience his
- 10:41freedom. That's what I've Loved about
- 10:43being in Hosea, you know. This was a passionate man, you
- 10:48know, and as we're going to see, you know, as he's as he's
- 10:51dispelling and pointing out the adultery of Israel.
- 10:54He's commissioned to marry a prostitute himself.
- 10:58So he's living it out. He's totally connected yada with
- 11:01God. In the Earthly plane.
- 11:04He's living it out. And it's there's an experience.
- 11:10And God wants us to experience his love, his peace, his
- 11:13freedom. We saw this word covenant and
- 11:16verse 7 of our reading and it said, but like Adam, you broke
- 11:20my Covenant and betrayed my trust.
- 11:23This one sentence speaks of the adamic Covenant and speaks to
- 11:27the current Covenant that the people were under that the
- 11:30Israelites were under during the time of Hosea which was the
- 11:33Mosaic Covenant. So I want to touch on these here
- 11:36to give us some context and where we're going So, the adamic
- 11:41Covenant was established between God and Adam and it required
- 11:46obedience from Adam to God's command his one command.
- 11:49And we know what that is. Don't eat of the tree of the
- 11:53knowledge of Good and Evil. If you don't eat of it, you have
- 11:57eternal life. If you do eat of it, you shall
- 12:00surely die. And as we all know, oh, they
- 12:05ate, he broke it. And after Adam failed to keep
- 12:10the Covenant God, then instituted the Covenant of Grace
- 12:14which was the ultimate Covenant of redemption found in Jesus
- 12:17Christ, which is the New Covenant of which Believers are
- 12:22under today. Now I'm not God but I try to
- 12:26imagine what he was thinking about when Adam broke the
- 12:30Covenant and I imagine it's something like this you can have
- 12:33your own imagination but I Didn't, you know, like him
- 12:35thinking Adam doesn't get it. He can't keep his side of the
- 12:39contract. So I'm going to intervene in a
- 12:41way that will provide him, this ocean of Grace to float around
- 12:46in until he does get it. It's kindness that brings
- 12:50repentance. I'm going to move through time
- 12:53and history through a chosen people through Empires showing
- 12:57mankind who I am and that my promises are sure and true.
- 13:02For mankind to know me, yada to have that inner appropriation,
- 13:05that feeling that reception into the soul for them to be
- 13:09dedicated to me, attached to me to truly abide in me. and here
- 13:15in verse 7, we see that like Adam The Israelites have broken
- 13:19their Covenant to theirs was the Mosaic Covenant.
- 13:24Now, there were more covenants between the adamic Covenant and
- 13:28the Mosaic Covenant. And for our purposes, I want us
- 13:33to be aware of the one that God had with Abraham called The
- 13:36abrahamic Covenant and God's covenant with Abraham was
- 13:40threefold. The Promised Land.
- 13:45The promise of descendants and the promise of blessing and
- 13:49Redemption and where the Israelites right now in the book
- 13:53of Hosea and the promised land with mucho descendants and with
- 13:58mucho blessing and Redemption. That's God's calling card.
- 14:05God keeps his promises and he's faithful in his pursuit of us.
- 14:09Now, for the Mosaic Covenant, this is the Covenant, god
- 14:12establishes with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai after he
- 14:15led them out of Egyptian slavery.
- 14:17And with it, God supplies the law that is meant to govern and
- 14:21shape the people of the land of Israel, the promised land.
- 14:25And it was at Mount Sanai that God spoke with Moses and the
- 14:28Jewish people Excuse me, spoke with Moses and the Jewish
- 14:33people. renewing, the Covenant that he had made with Abraham
- 14:39and at the same time, God gave the Jews, the Ten Commandments
- 14:44Now the Ten Commandments were this set of rules by which they
- 14:48shall live, should live and it was these 10 commandments that
- 14:51set forth the principles for some 600 other laws.
- 14:55On which they were based. So this is the Mosaic Covenant
- 14:58or sometimes you'll hear it called the law of Moses and did.
- 15:02The people uphold their side of the Covenant.
- 15:05No. They had instituted a
- 15:10sacrificial system and an institution of the sacrificial
- 15:14system. You know, what Jose has speaking
- 15:16into his. He speaking into leaders and two
- 15:18priests that have gone off course.
- 15:24And inside of the sacrificial system, you know, what was meant
- 15:28this outer work, right? This outer work that they were
- 15:30constantly doing was really always about an inner work.
- 15:35But they didn't get it and it was always about that inner
- 15:37work, you know? And so as I was just reflecting
- 15:40on, you know, it's hard for us sometimes to imagine, you know,
- 15:43the sacrificial system and I imagine being one of the
- 15:45priests, you know, and if you're one of the priests and someone
- 15:49is bringing an atoning sacrifice, and your job is to
- 15:53sacrifice this lamb. The first lamb that you
- 15:56sacrifice is going to be a big deal, you know, and it's kind of
- 16:00Stark. But like if you imagine slicing
- 16:02his throat and blood coming out of the Lambs neck.
- 16:06Whoa. And then time goes on, right?
- 16:11And at Passover, just a thousands and thousands of
- 16:15sacrifices that the people would bring all of a sudden.
- 16:18I can see where the priest is just looking at this as a job
- 16:21Duty kind of almost considering himself a butcher of sorts.
- 16:25And it's just like, no, no, no. Why is the sacrificial system
- 16:28set in place in the first place to atone for your sins so that
- 16:33you can be in the presence of a holy and righteous God.
- 16:37And that outward work was always meant to point to the inner work
- 16:41to stay in this posture of yada with God.
- 16:46And I want to clear up one last thing in regard to Covenant
- 16:49before we get into what Hosea was dealing with and it's this.
- 16:53So we the 2022, we are in a time where our modern Minds struggle
- 16:59with this idea of Covenant. Why because so much of the
- 17:03cultural pressure that were under dictates that our
- 17:06relationship should just be simply transactional.
- 17:09And transactional sound something like this.
- 17:13What have you done for me lately?
- 17:16Or something like you know I scratched your back, now you
- 17:18scratch mine, but let's stick with, let's stick with what have
- 17:21you done for me is done for me lately.
- 17:25Well. It doesn't play inside of a
- 17:27covenant relationship. A covenant relationship is not
- 17:30focused on whether or not the other person delivers the goods.
- 17:36So right now we can all completely trash the saying,
- 17:40what have you done for me lately, we just trash it ready?
- 17:44Hold your hands up and take out your imaginary piece of paper.
- 17:48Yep, I'm talking to you. Take out your imaginary pencil
- 17:52and write on there. What have you done for me
- 17:54lately? Now, crumple it up in this
- 17:56little ball and throw it in the trash.
- 18:01It's gone. A covenant relationship is one
- 18:05based on a solemn vow to hold up your own end of the agreement of
- 18:09the agreement, regardless of whether the other person does or
- 18:12not. This is the most beautiful, the
- 18:15most beautiful of all relationships, why?
- 18:18Because it means But you can truly be known.
- 18:29My tears. I'm sorry, my tears.
- 18:34I have teenage boys. And it's just a different
- 18:38culture, you know, and I want them to be known inside of
- 18:41marriage inside of that Covenant relationship.
- 18:43I want them to know where it is, you know what it is and to
- 18:46experience that So that they keep so that you can truly be
- 18:52known, ya da known in all of your glory.
- 18:55But guess what, also known and all of your depravity and all of
- 18:58your shame, all of your failures and all of your insecurities,
- 19:02you get the good stuff and the bad stuff and not only known,
- 19:06but in all of that, you're still loved, This is the meaning of
- 19:11unconditional love, truly known and dearly loved.
- 19:14It's God's intention that we have this type of relationship
- 19:17with him and the closest Earthly picture that we can get of.
- 19:22This is marriage, so when man and a woman Covenant together,
- 19:26not based on what the other person does.
- 19:28But rather through for better for worse for richer, for
- 19:31poorer, in sickness, and in health, no matter what the
- 19:35marriage holds is that what the culture culture is telling you,
- 19:41Give it a shot. Try it out.
- 19:43If it doesn't work, go get another one.
- 19:46That's not the game here, guys. So, these statements for better
- 19:52for worse for richer, for poorer in sickness and in health, they
- 19:55don't make any sense in a transactional relationship.
- 19:59These statements are meant for a covenant relationship that place
- 20:02where you truly know each other and deeply love one another
- 20:04unconditionally. And the reason that God has
- 20:07designed marriage to work this way is because it displays to
- 20:11the world, the way God loves his people This is the very heart of
- 20:16our faith guys. This is a very heart of
- 20:18Christianity. We don't believe that God loves
- 20:20us because we have done good, that would be a transactional
- 20:23relationship. Go for it.
- 20:26Strive your tail off doing works for God and see where that gets
- 20:30you It's not a transactional relationship rather at the heart
- 20:34of Christianity is the Covenant Love of God.
- 20:39Get the sad truth is that all of us according to the Bible are
- 20:42more like a faithless bride than a fateful one but praise God
- 20:48because he's the bridegroom and he's faithful he's faithful and
- 20:52he forever pursues us. He looks to truly know us yada
- 20:57inside of a covenant relationship.
- 21:00In the book of Hosea, captures this picture of marriage and
- 21:03Covenant profoundly. And I would encourage you guys.
- 21:06I would, you know, I would hope that all of you.
- 21:07I mean, we're just going to touch on, you know, this this
- 21:09section of scripture but a Hosea is rich, rich, Rita's, 14
- 21:13chapters go for it. Soak it in throw on your Bible,
- 21:17lap, go home, listen to it. You know, you can, you can play
- 21:19it on your way home, listen to it.
- 21:21And what what's going on? So it's Hosea, captures his
- 21:25picture of marriage and Covenant.
- 21:27And as Hosea is commanded by God And it blows me away, God tells
- 21:33him to go and marry a prostitute so that some of her children
- 21:37will be conceived and prostitution and he's doing it
- 21:39in the Bible tells us explicitly.
- 21:42He's doing it as an illustration of how Israel has acted like a
- 21:46prostitute by turning against the Lord, by committing Harlot.
- 21:50Re through politics and through the worship of other gods.
- 21:54Hosea's personal fate becomes a mirror of what God was dealing
- 22:00with hosea's sorrow. Echoes God sorrow.
- 22:05In reading through this Old Testament book, it can be a bit
- 22:08like an emotional roller coaster ride as it should be. and I know
- 22:13that in here, I'm sure there are some of you that have dealt with
- 22:16an adulterous relationship, you know, the consequences, You know
- 22:20what it is to have your trust betrayed, you felt that, you
- 22:24know what? That's like, And then, you know
- 22:27what, it's like to try to restore that.
- 22:30And you know that there are some key ingredients.
- 22:34Whoever was did, the ACT has to be repentant.
- 22:40And then the victim has to be forgiving.
- 22:47And God is asking Israel for repentance.
- 22:52And we know that he's eternally willing to forgive.
- 22:55So, Hosea would experience the whole drama between God and
- 22:58Israel in his own marriage with Gomer and for sure this level of
- 23:03knowing yada what God was dealing with allowed Hosea to
- 23:07bring the passion to bring the words from highs and lows,
- 23:11giving the words of judgment in one section because when you're
- 23:14reading Hosea you go from like judgment hardcore like whoa
- 23:17what's happening here to then all of a sudden words of Hope
- 23:20and restoration right in the neck Declaring.
- 23:23As we saw in verse 4 of our text in chapter 6, what did God, say,
- 23:27o, Israel and Judah. What should I do with?
- 23:29You says the Lord, what should I do with you, huh?
- 23:33Because of adultery hosea's, wife Gomer would be cast out and
- 23:38in parallel because of adultery God's bride, Israel would have
- 23:42to be cast out also, cast out from the Promised Land, And you
- 23:49guys got to know this is unique in this time of History.
- 23:52You know, the Israelites in the promised land amidst the
- 23:54Canaanites they were surrounded by gods who were all about
- 23:58power. Right?
- 24:01And if I were from another land, say the Assyrians, which were
- 24:04going to talk about, and I had the god Asher Asher, like
- 24:08everything about Asher was based on. our country and if our
- 24:14country was winning the war and if our Empire was growing, How
- 24:19in the world would how in the world, how in the world?
- 24:21Would we ever get words like this from one of their gods?
- 24:23We wouldn't there's no way there's no way we would get
- 24:27words like that. Why?
- 24:28Because it's about their power. And there's no way that they're
- 24:33going to to give words about their God, throwing them under
- 24:36the bus and this is kind of what this sounds like.
- 24:39But we all know again that it's exists.
- 24:41It exists inside of this Covenant with God and God has
- 24:43this bigger plan. One of the ways Israel commits
- 24:48adultery is to look to Earthly military.
- 24:51Power, God is king of Israel but the king in this time, King King
- 24:56jeroboam the second. He's not looking to God and
- 24:59Hosea proclaims in chapter 8. They set up Kings but not by me.
- 25:06They made princes but I did not acknowledge them.
- 25:10From their silver and gold. They made Idols for themselves
- 25:14that they meet, that they may be cut off.
- 25:17And guess what they were cut off.
- 25:19Ultimately, they get exiled out of the land and God does have to
- 25:25judge. He has to judge.
- 25:26Why? Because he's righteous.
- 25:28You know, and in children's ministry I've been in children's
- 25:30ministry since 2011 and there's always this topic of judgment
- 25:34and mercy and Grace and just really kind of shaking it out
- 25:36and just coming to you know, like the verse in the Bible that
- 25:41talks about vengeance, is mine, saith the Lord.
- 25:45Thank God for that. Like are we really turning our
- 25:48Vengeance over to the Lord? Because we get wacky when it
- 25:51comes to Justice. But God has to judge because he
- 26:00is righteous, but it's not just the Kings.
- 26:03It's the people to in chapter 7. Here's what God says about.
- 26:07The people, they are all hot like, an oven and have devoured,
- 26:10their judges, all their kings, have fallen, none among them
- 26:13calls upon me. So what's happening during this
- 26:17time is a Syria is emerging as an Empire, crossing the, your,
- 26:21the Euphrates and and leading Expeditions into the promised
- 26:25land. And what does this serious?
- 26:28They compel Israel to commit to their sovereignty and pay
- 26:31tribute. So here's God's people in the
- 26:35promised land paying tribute to pagans and heathens.
- 26:42Well, as they're paying tribute, there are many in Israel.
- 26:45They don't agree with this and the internal Anarchy begins.
- 26:52Israel's Kings and factions, begin, scheming and murdering
- 26:55why so that they can be get in leadership.
- 26:58So they can provide their solution to the Assyrian
- 27:00problem. And these final Kings of Israel,
- 27:03don't go to God. But begin creating alliances and
- 27:07alliance with Egypt in hopes of getting back to their own
- 27:10sovereign state playing politics.
- 27:15Well, the king of Assyria. Tiglath-pileser.
- 27:20The third will have none of it and he implements a new policy
- 27:25of Conquest. He began the policy of deporting
- 27:29conquered populations from their Homeland and placing the placing
- 27:34that you know. So sorry he began a policy of
- 27:36departing conquered populations from their Homeland and of
- 27:39placing other Exiles from distant areas.
- 27:41In the evacuated territories, thus eliminating, any effect of
- 27:45rebellion. And this was how Israel was cast
- 27:47out in 722 BC. It Northern Israel is defeated
- 27:52and 10 Northern tribes go into captivity.
- 27:56God's chosen people out of the Promised Land.
- 28:01Hosea had been speaking into this as he sounded the alarm in
- 28:04chapter 5. Fri Aim.
- 28:07So one of the ways that Hosea refers to Israel, he'll call
- 28:10Israel after IE more. Jacob.
- 28:11So, when you hear F, what I am here, Israel, after I am shall
- 28:14be desolate in the day of rebuke among the tribes of Israel.
- 28:17I make known what is sure. The princes of Judah are like
- 28:21those who remove a landmark. I will pour out my wrath on him
- 28:23like water if frame is oppressed and broken in judgment because
- 28:27he willingly walked by human precept.
- 28:30Therefore, I will be to FR. I am like a moth into the house
- 28:34of Judah, like rottenness. He was letting Israel know that
- 28:38they were playing the Harlot in politics.
- 28:42He says in chapter 5, I know a frame and Israel is not hidden
- 28:46from me for now. Efraim.
- 28:48You commit harlotry. Israel is defiled.
- 28:52Hosea knew that there was no legitimate king in Israel, as
- 28:55kingship was to be derived from Divine election.
- 29:01These Kings were emerging from violence and Rebellion.
- 29:06Why? Because they were playing
- 29:07politics. And don't we sometimes don't we
- 29:12get pulled into that temptation to play politics.
- 29:15It's an easy trap. Don't get me wrong.
- 29:19I know that, you know, soon as anyone starts talking about
- 29:21politics. It's kind of the Sacred ground
- 29:23ground. It's a hard topic to discuss and
- 29:26why? Because we live in a great
- 29:28country, we're in the United States were in a place of
- 29:32historical Prosperity, we're in a place whose very Foundation
- 29:36has guardedly guardrails. We're in a place that allows us
- 29:39to current freedom to even be gathered here tonight.
- 29:44And I love it and I'm thankful for it.
- 29:47I'm thankful for the protection that we've had.
- 29:49I'm thankful for those who defend those guardrails but I'm
- 29:53aware that even with Godly guardrails we can get off track.
- 29:58And I also know where my true loyalties lie and hear me
- 30:01believer. Her loyalty is the lordship of
- 30:05Jesus Christ. He is our King.
- 30:08We are in a Divine monarchy. We're not in a democracy.
- 30:11We're not in a republic. We are in a monarchy, guys.
- 30:14He is our King. We were to look to him as king
- 30:17while living here. And what does the Bible say?
- 30:20We're like aliens foreigners. And we know that God can change
- 30:25the hearts of leaders and Kings like he changes the paths of
- 30:29rivers. We know that we live in God's
- 30:31dispensation of time, and we are to pray for our leaders in our
- 30:35authorities. And as we live here, as much as
- 30:37depends on us, what does the Bible say?
- 30:40It's live at peace with all men. But don't be rude by politics.
- 30:45We have to be careful navigating through this, yes, we have some
- 30:48garlic Godly guardrails in our country, but that doesn't mean
- 30:51we go about it in a Godly way. Israel had the Ten Commandments.
- 30:56and the 600 laws talk about Godly guardrails, And they went
- 31:01off track to and Hosea bangs, his passionate drum reminding,
- 31:05Israel reminding us that the Lord is our King.
- 31:10So Israel is looking to military power and not looking to God,
- 31:15this was not their only adulterous act, they also
- 31:18committed adultery with other gods.
- 31:22They were doing they were doing, you know, they like I said
- 31:25earlier they had their sacrificial system so they had
- 31:27their Altar for God. Elohim Adonai.
- 31:32Yahweh God. But man those guys in that, you
- 31:38know, next door that was a really cool alter that they that
- 31:41I saw over there. Hey can you commission so-and-so
- 31:43to to get the designs of that altar so we can bring that one
- 31:45in too. So let's let's make some
- 31:47sacrifices here as well. Committing adultery Israel.
- 31:52It taken all the abundance that God had provided for them such
- 31:54as grains such as wine such as oil and dedicated it to the
- 31:58worship of the Canaanite, god Baal.
- 32:01Therefore God had legitimate reason to end the Covenant and
- 32:05divorce Israel. After considering it got instead
- 32:09says that he's going to pursue Israel once again and renew the
- 32:13Covenant, and this is what he says.
- 32:16In Chapter 2, I will make you my wife forever, showing you
- 32:20righteousness, and Justice, unfailing, love, and compassion.
- 32:25I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will
- 32:28finally know ya da knee as the Lord and like God taking back
- 32:35Israel Hosea is told to go and love his wife again even though
- 32:38she commits adultery That was another hard one in that time
- 32:42time, period. This was a legal issue.
- 32:45If you were married and your wife committed adultery, you not
- 32:47only that you cast her out, you could never be with her again.
- 32:50So just the fact that he goes and redeems her and that culture
- 32:53was a big deal. The gods above it all.
- 33:00So she is redeemed and she's redeemed for 15 pieces of
- 33:03silver. So Hosea here is the messenger
- 33:06for God. And his primary motive is not to
- 33:09announce Doom. But to get the Israelites to
- 33:13return to God and Reconciliation.
- 33:17You can turn with me. I'm going to read chapter 14 of
- 33:20Hosea. I want you to hear this.
- 33:24And I want you to listen to this in the context of everything
- 33:26that we've just gone through. In the last thing that I said,
- 33:28Jose has the messenger for God and his primary motive is not to
- 33:32announce Doom, but to get the Israelites to return to God in
- 33:36reconciliation Return o Israel to the Lord.
- 33:42Your God for your sins. Have brought you down, bring
- 33:45your confessions and return to the Lord, say to him, forgive
- 33:48all our sins and graciously receive us so that we may offer
- 33:52you our Praises. Assyria cannot save us.
- 33:55Yes, to getting it, nor can our war horses.
- 33:59Never again, will we say to the idols?
- 34:01We have made. You are our God's.
- 34:03No, and you alone do the orphans find Mercy.
- 34:06The Lord says then I will heal you of your faithfulness.
- 34:10My love will know. No bounds for my anger will be
- 34:13gone forever. I will be to Israel like a
- 34:16refreshing do from heaven. Israel.
- 34:19Will Blossom like the Lily? It will send Roots deep into the
- 34:22soil, like the cedars in Lebanon.
- 34:24Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees, as
- 34:27fragrant as The Cedars of Lebanon.
- 34:29My For will again live under my shade.
- 34:33They will flourish like grain and Blossom.
- 34:35Like grape Vines, they will be as fragrant as the wines of
- 34:38Lebanon. Oh Israel.
- 34:39Stay away from Idols. I am the one who answers your
- 34:42prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree.
- 34:45That is always green. All your fruit comes from me.
- 34:52and in his final verse 9, Let those who are wise understand
- 34:57these things, let those with discernment.
- 35:01Listen carefully, the paths of the Lord are true and right and
- 35:05righteous people live by walking in them.
- 35:08But in those paths, Sinners, stumble and fall I love that
- 35:14last verse. It's like an all of Hosea it's
- 35:16just like this, this separate little verse it's just like
- 35:18whoo. Hey, I'm going to make sure that
- 35:22this speaks to every generation and whoever reads this in the
- 35:25future, let those who are wise, understand these things.
- 35:30Let those with discernment, listen carefully.
- 35:34He wants us to understand and know his faithful Pursuit.
- 35:39He wants you to know him. And in closing, we talked about
- 35:46covenants and we've alluded to the New Covenant back when we
- 35:50talked about the adamic Covenant and after Adam failed to keep
- 35:53the Covenant, God Institute instituted, the Covenant of
- 35:56Grace, which was the ultimate Covenant of redemption found in
- 35:58Christ. Which is the New Covenant.
- 36:01And that's what we're under today.
- 36:04Today. We're on this side of the Cross.
- 36:07God Has Come In the Flesh. He lived, he died.
- 36:11He resurrected. And then that same power of
- 36:13Resurrection is available to each each one of us inside of
- 36:17the New Covenant in. Jesus, he gives us the Holy
- 36:21Spirit, The Same Spirit, that was in Genesis floating over the
- 36:24void floating over the void, right?
- 36:26Bringing order bringing, order and creation.
- 36:30What he wants to do in your life, is he wants to bring
- 36:32order? He wants to bring his creative
- 36:35power. And when Jesus came, guess what,
- 36:41you know what, he was born under all six hundred plus of those
- 36:44laws, he was born under Mosaic law.
- 36:48And what did he say? I didn't come to destroy them.
- 36:51I came to fulfill them every jot and Tittle and he did.
- 36:54He lived them out perfectly to the point to the yadda, that we
- 36:59talked about that, deep internal connection and abiding.
- 37:04So this Covenant which brings us to God is defined as responding
- 37:08to the responding internally From The Heart by faith in
- 37:12Reliance on the Promises of God, resulting in an obedience that
- 37:17issues naturally through the in. rolling in the Holy Spirit and
- 37:20when you walk with Jesus and you invite him into your life, Now,
- 37:26it's not like the Ten Commandments written on Stone,
- 37:29he writes the laws on your heart, it becomes an inside-out
- 37:32proposition which is what he was always after from the very
- 37:36beginning. And that's what he's after
- 37:38today. Listen to this.
- 37:46The close with this verse is from John chapter 20.
- 37:50I love this. I'm going to get through without
- 37:54crying, Mary was standing outside the tomb crying.
- 37:57And as she wept, She stooped and looked in.
- 38:03She saw two. White robe, Angels one sitting
- 38:09at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body
- 38:11of Jesus had been lying. Dear woman.
- 38:14Why are you crying? The Angels asked her?
- 38:16Because they have taken away my Lord, she replied and I don't
- 38:19know where they have put him. She turned to leave and saw
- 38:23someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn't
- 38:27recognize him. Dear woman.
- 38:30Why are you crying? Jesus Astor.
- 38:33Who are you looking for? Mary thought that he was the
- 38:36gardener sir. She said, if you have taken him
- 38:39away, tell me where you have put him and I will go and get him.
- 38:43Mary Jesus said she turned to him and cried out rabboni which
- 38:49is Hebrew for teacher and then she's clinging to him and he
- 38:52says hello don't cling to me for I have not yet ascended to the
- 38:55father but go find my brother's tell them I am ascending to my
- 38:58father and your father to my God and your God Mary Magdalene
- 39:02found the disciples and told them I have seen the Lord and
- 39:06she gave them his message and I love that she wasn't recognizing
- 39:11him. Right.
- 39:12She wasn't. I mean, what did Jesus say Mary?
- 39:16And Jesus says that to you, whatever your name is fill in
- 39:19the blank cow. Right.
- 39:23Breathe Lisa. He wants to know you.
- 39:32He wants that deep Dada. He wants that attachment.
- 39:37And he's worthy of it. And so as worship is coming back
- 39:42up. No, I want to say this.
- 39:46I want to say that in this knowing one of my favorite
- 39:49verses and if my time and Hosea and this, exploration of yada
- 39:55was only to get even more of a richness of a verse that.
- 39:57I've always loved its this, when we're finally complete and with
- 40:02Jesus in heaven, we will know, as we are known.
- 40:06That's what it says in Corinthians.
- 40:08And I've always loved that because our Earthly
- 40:10relationships, we just it's kind of hard.
- 40:13Sometimes it's hard. Sometimes To communicate and,
- 40:17you know, to not offend and all of that.
- 40:19When we know that we want the right things, but it just is.
- 40:21Sometimes it's hard to work out, but with Christ, we're going to
- 40:25know as we are known. And if you don't know Jesus and
- 40:30you're here tonight or you're on the radio, No him just like I
- 40:34read in this last verse. If you don't recognize him, he's
- 40:38calling your name personally. He made you.
- 40:43Personally, he's calling your name, I want you to hear that.
- 40:47I want you to hear that resonate in your mind.
- 40:48I want you to hear Jesus voice, whatever.
- 40:50That's like, I don't know how he intervenes in that way, and just
- 40:53him calling your name. And all you have to do is
- 40:56respond and to that Covenant of Grace, that's existed from the
- 41:00very beginning. Amen.
- 41:02We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible.
- 41:04Study delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church for
- 41:08prayer. Call us at 877 30 Grace.
- 41:12That's a 77304 2:53 to listen to this message in its entirety or
- 41:20to join us for our lives dream Services.
- 41:22Visit us online at Calvary. Co dot church or download our
- 41:27free Calvary Church app be blessed as you worship Jesus
- 41:31this week.