Hosea 8:1-14

Hosea 8:1-14

Reformation

I.                    To forget God is to forfeit life, so we must accept no substitute for a true relationship with God (Vv. 1-6)

a.       God calls His people to sound the alarm, because of the rebellion, trouble is coming for them. The predatory bird is in its dive and will swoop down on them like helpless pray. The unclean vultures have contaminated the House of God, and His judgment is already in motion. God has been patient and longsuffering with His people, and His heart’s desire and motivation is that they would turn away from their own way, and turn to Him. His actions in teaching, discipline, and judgment are motivated by the same desires which move Him to redeem, revive, and refresh, and all are part of His salvatory work. God reveals that all His people’s choices, economically, socially, politically, and religiously were made without considering Him. They turned their backs on their relationship with Him and His Word, but they still thought they knew Him and were in relationship with Him. They never considered God’s will in selecting and supporting any of their leaders, the use of any of their resources, or any of their worship. They used the gifts of God to craft idols which robbed Him of His rightful worship and glory, and drug His people further into debauchery and moral decay. God is justly enraged and heartbroken with His wayward people. God had called them out from all people to show the world how only a relationship with Him can provide the hope, joy, purpose, and peace which He desires in the lives of His children. But they traded a genuine life-giving relationship with God for what they wanted and could accomplish in their own strength, and their pitiful substitute would result in utter brokenness. Every time we accept a worthless substitute for God and His desires and goodness in our lives in any area, we turn our backs on His life-giving mercy, grace, and love, for which He paid the price of the blood of His Son to unlock in our lives, and forfeit the fullness of life He alone can give us. (Vv. 1-6; Exod. 32:1-9; 34:6-7; Deut. 6:4-9; 1 Kgs. 12:27-30; Ps. 127:1-2; Isa. 44:9-20; Luke 6:46-49; John 8:30-59; 18:37-40; Rom. 1:18-25; Eph. 3:20; Jas. 1:16-25; Rev. 3:14-18)

II.                 To forget God is to forfeit life, so we must not neglect God’s love and discipline (Vv. 7-14)

a.       Israel no longer had any true understanding of who God is. They had valued the ideals and approval of the world around them more than truly knowing God and how He called them to live in His Word. But they still wanted to claim God, so they simply adjusted their understanding of God to match up with what they desired and saw in the world. This is the same process functioning in much of the church today, as the church grows to look more and more like the world, instead of the world looking more like the genuine church. Israel miscalculated who God is, miscalculated every decision they made, and thus miscalculated all the results they would reap from their choices. They multiplied their religion, but forsook their relationship with God. The carried out their religious practices for their own self-fulfillment, they didn’t even recognize the truth of God’s Word anymore, and even though they multiplied their religious sites, they only multiplied their sin because they didn’t honor God. They put their faith in foreign powers and in foreign Gods, they sowed in vanity, pride, and self-righteousness, and they reaped chaos, destruction, and loss. Instead of remaining close to the Good Shepherd who cares for His sheep, they chose to wonder astray like a stubborn donkey in the wilderness, and they spent all their assets trying to acquire from foreign powers what only God could give them. As a result, the nations didn’t take them seriously and ultimately consumed them. Israel and Judah had both become self-defined, self-directed, and self-confident. They continued to drift farther away from God, and neglected His Word, His love, and His discipline to the point where they could no longer recognize Him or His loving work in their lives. Consequently they forfeited their relationship with Him and the life that’s only possible in Him. God’s Word warns us continually not to neglect Him and misplace our loyalty to Him. However, we’re so prone to rely on our strength and settle for what we desire for ourselves, that we easily substitute culture and prevailing human opinions for true Christianity. But God is faithful to discipline and correct those He loves to draw us back into relationship with Him. We must soften our hearts, receive His discipline, and seek to truly know Him through His Word. (Vv. 7-14; Deut. 6:10-12; 8:10-14, 19-20; Ps. 100:3-5; Prov. 3:5-8; 22:8; 23:1-6; Isa. 1:11-31; 55:1-13; Jer. 12:13; Amos 5:21-27; Micah 6:6-8; Matt. 13:3-23; John 5:37-47; 12:35-37; 1 Cor. 1:17-25; 2:14-16; Gal. 6:7-8; Eph. 6:10-18; Heb. 12:1-11; Rev. 3:19-22)