Title: The Lord Contests (Hosea 4:1-5)
Contents Bible Ho 4:1-5
Title: The Lord Contests
Hos 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel; the LORD has a dispute with the inhabitants of the land; there is no truth, no kindness, no knowledge of God in this land.
Hosea 4:2 But curses, son-in-law, murder, jealousy, adultery, violence and blood for blood.
Hos 4:3 Therefore the land will mourn, and all that dwell there, and every beast of the field, and every bird that flies in the air will perish, and the fish of the sea will pass away.
Hos 4:4 But let no man quarrel or rebuke anyone, for your people have become like strife with the priests.
Hos 4:5 You will pass through by day, and the prophet with you will pass through by night, and I will destroy your mother.
entry
The whole theme of the book of Hosea is the love of God.
Have you ever had the experience of receiving great love from someone you didn't expect?
How do you feel when you find out that someone you don't have a good relationship with, and that I did a lot of wrong with that person, and that he still loves you? Aren't you embarrassed or thrilled? He loves me unconditionally. Can we not be sure of true love?
He told the prophet Hosea that even though Abraham's descendants worshiped idols and enjoyed their sacrifices, Jehovah God loved them. What was the thought of the prophet Hosea at this time? God's love for us is infinite./ Hosea must have been moved. However, the people who should really understand did not realize this love of God.
God's love for us in Christ is sure. The only problem is that we do not realize the sure love of God. What can I do to realize the sure love of God? All you have to do is abide in the grace that God has prepared for you.
If you repent and return and turn to the Lord in awe, you can enter the world of God's grace.
How were you three days after the week? Have you been living in God's grace?
Let's look at the Word of God given today. To the people who do not enter into God's grace, the prophet Hosea says:
1 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel; the LORD has a dispute with the inhabitants of the land; there is no truth, no mercy, no knowledge of God in this land.
Based on these words, we have set the title to “The Lord Contests.”
Why is God arguing with the Israelites?
This is because we do not enter the world of grace that God has prepared for us.
Let's take a look at why we cannot enter the world of grace later, and think about the meaning of the word arguing first.
The meaning of the word “arguing” means to argue, contend, and judge.
God's contention with his people can be described in three stages.
The first step is pleading.
This is a step that gives us an opportunity to realize our sins and repent. This is the stage where you point out your sins and ask for repentance.
Isa 1:18 Come, let us reason together, says the LORD, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
In the modern Bible, it is translated as "Let's talk about the argument in a frank and blunt way."
“Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
The stage of pleading is the stage in which God requires dialogue in order to repent of the sins of his people.
The second stage is the quarrel stage.
If you do not repent even after you realize your sins and give them an opportunity to repent, God will cover the dispute. And he declares that he will punish them.
This is the step you take when you do not come back even after you have been given the opportunity to repent and turn back.
The third stage is the stage of punishment for sin.
If you continue to advance without coming to your senses even though you have declared that you will be disciplined by arguing and arguing about your sins, He will execute the declared judgment. This is the stage where God's justice is revealed.
In today's Word, God has a dispute with Israel, what is the content of the dispute?
Why can't Israel advance to the grace God has prepared for them?
1) Because there is no truth.
“. . . There is no truth in this land. ”
Truth speaks truth.
What does truth mean? Does God argue that there is nothing in Israel?
The truth is God Himself.
Psalm 31:5 into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.
It also speaks the word of God. says the law.
Psalm 119:142 Your righteousness is everlasting, your law is truth.
John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth, for your word is truth.
Israel forsook God by devotees to idols, rejected God's Word, and forsaken God's law.
This was a natural result. If you leave God, there is no word of God, no law of God.
Jesus said he was the truth.
John 14:6 Jesus said to them, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.
Today, God argues with us.
Brother, let's talk with me frankly. Do you have the truth?
do you have me do you have jesus do you have my words ? Calm down.
The Ark Church, calm down.
If we do not have the truth, God comes to us and pleads with us.
2) Because there is no love.
Mercy refers to God's covenant love.
God and Israel are in a covenant relationship.
“I have redeemed you, and I have been called by name; you are mine.”
“I will be your God, and you will be my people.”
What is the basis of the covenant between God and Abraham? Love.
In Israel, the love that was the foundation of the covenant with God was gone.
Just as Gomer abandoned Hosea, her husband, and followed another man, Israel is arguing because Israel forsook God, fell in love with idols, and followed idols.
What did the resurrected Lord say when he came to Ephesus Church?
Revelation 2:4 But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
Think about where you lost your first love and restore your first love, or else you will move the candlestick.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13 that love is the firstfruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).
If we do not have the love (acafe) we have with God in Jesus Christ, God will judge us.
In Jesus, if there is no love to love God and no love for neighbor, God will argue.
Hyunggu-ya /, 0 0 Hey ./ Where is the promised love that I said I would only love?
If we do not love the members of our faith, let alone our neighbors, the Lord will argue.
3) It is because they do not have the knowledge of God.
To say that we do not have the knowledge of God does not mean that we do not know anything about God.
For example, in summer, eat cool, ripe watermelon. Some people are familiar with watermelon. No matter how well you know, you cannot say that you know watermelon if you have never tasted it.
There may be people who study the Bible and listen to this person and hear from that person and know about God well.
The devil knows the knowledge of God better, and the devil knows it better.
The demon recognized Jesus from afar and ran up to him and bowed down, saying, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God, what have you to do with me? I beg you, make an oath before God and do not torment me.”
The Israelites had a lot of knowledge about God from an early age, but there were no people who knew God, met God, and experienced God in their lives at the time of the prophet Hosea.
No one knows God through experience.
4) Because there was only sin.
Without truth, without mercy, without the knowledge of God, what would there be?
What can you expect ? In a place like this, you wouldn't expect anything from a person like this.
For these Jews, there was only sin.
2 But curses, son-in-law, murder, jealousy, and adultery, for violence and blood contends with blood.
Curse - false oath, son-in-law - fraud. Lie, Murder - Killing, Fighting - Theft, Adultery - Corruption of Sexual Morality, Violence - Violence
More terrible things were happening here.
“. . For blood turns to blood. ”
It adds sin to sin, and vengeance brings vengeance.
If you look at these words, God's people do not have anything they should have, but there are a lot of things that they should not have. So, doesn't it look like God doesn't argue? There is not one thing that my children should have and there are many things that should not be there, but would there be a parent who would stand still?
A wife has no virtues, and if she only cheats on her and goes around this guy and that guy, is there a husband who can stand still?
What are the consequences of this? (Second stage of the argument.)
Hos 4:3 Therefore the land will mourn, and all that dwell there, and every beast of the field, and every bird that flies in the air will perish, and the fish of the sea will pass away.
1. The land is sad.
Cursed of the Earth for Man's Sins
Why is the land polluted? Because of people.
What kind of land is Canaan? A land flowing with salt and honey - transformed into a desert
2. Everything on the ground will languish.
Everyone who dwells there, every beast of the field, and every bird that flies in the air will perish.
3. The fish of the sea will also disappear.
The fish of the sea will be gone.
The third stage of the dispute (vv. 4-5) - the stage of judgment
Hos 4:4 But let no man quarrel or rebuke anyone, for your people have become like strife with the priests.
Hos 4:5 You will pass through by day, and the prophet with you will pass through by night, and I will destroy your mother.