The final end of Israel’s journey in playing with foreign idols comes to an end. Judgement is finally on the horizon with the armies of Assyria.
Hosea 9: The LORD Will Punish Israel
1 Rejoice not, O Israel! Exult not like the peoples; for you have played the whore, forsaking your God. You have loved a prostitute's wages on all threshing floors.
2 Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail them.
3 They shall not remain in the land of the LORD, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.
4 They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the LORD, and their sacrifices shall not please him. It shall be like mourners' bread to them; all who eat of it shall be defiled; for their bread shall be for their hunger only; it shall not come to the house of the LORD.
5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festival, and on the day of the feast of the LORD?
6 For behold, they are going away from destruction; but Egypt shall gather them; Memphis shall bury them. Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver; thorns shall be in their tents.
7 The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad, because of your great iniquity and great hatred.
8 The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God; yet a fowler's snare is on all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.
9 They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah: he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins.
10 Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird--- no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!
12 Even if they bring up children, I will bereave them till none is left. Woe to them when I depart from them!
13 Ephraim, as I have seen, was like a young palm planted in a meadow; but Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter.
14 Give them, O LORD--- what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
15 Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal; there I began to hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels.
16 Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, I will put their beloved children to death.
17 My God will reject them because they have not listened to him; they shall be wanderers among the nations. Although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against me.
16 They return, but not upward; they are like a treacherous bow; their princes shall fall by the sword because of the insolence of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
Hosea 10:
1 Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars.
2 Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and destroy their pillars.
3 For now they will say: "We have no king, for we do not fear the LORD; and a king---what could he do for us?"
4 They utter mere words; with empty oaths they make covenants; so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests--- those who rejoiced over it and over its glory--- for it has departed from them.
6 The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim shall be put to shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.
7 Samaria's king shall perish like a twig on the face of the waters.
8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, "Cover us," and to the hills, "Fall on us."
9 From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel; there they have continued. Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will discipline them, and nations shall be gathered against them when they are bound up for their double iniquity.
11 Ephraim was a trained calf that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck; but I will put Ephraim to the yoke; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for himself.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
13 You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors,
14 therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle; mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great evil. At dawn the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off.
Things to think about…
1. The threshing floor is mentioned in Hos 9:1,2. It was the place where grain was sorted, I.E the wheat from the chaff. But these were also places where the Israelites would invoke the spirits of other gods to bless them. They will not be blessed in the future and Israel would once again go into captivity – this time to Assyria. Pray Australia has a revival in truth so we would know the Lord’s hand of blessing.
2. Even though Josiah was a reforming king, judgement would eventually come upon Israel and Judah. Egypt under Pharaoh Hophni came and took the wealth of Israel when he came against the Assyrians. Hos 9:6 came true. The Assyrians were already taking away the wealth of Israel in the mid to early 8th C BC.
3. Israel has been judged by God many times over the centuries. Part of that judgement has meant they have been dispersed as a people group. Look at Hos 9:17. They will be wanderers among the nations. This has been true until recently. Hopefully the Lord will bless Israel with His covenant promises and we will see many turning to Christ. We know there will once more be a time of humility and trial before they turn to Christ as their Messiah.
4. Look at what had happened. The more material wealth they received, the more they turned away from God and built idols, Hos 10:1,2. Does this sound like a country you know? Look at the rampart individualism expressed in Hos 10:3. Surely this describes Australia and the west generally. Funny how they knew the right words to say, but the actions didn’t follow, vs 4. This is the case where religion is in the head, but there is no relationship in the heart with the Lord.
5. In Hos 10:5 it says the “inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests”. This refers to the gold calf that was set up by Jeroboam 1 at Bethel. It was an idolatrous stumbling block and the people were trusting it and mourning when it didn’t give them what they needed. Rather than repent and turn to the Lord they continued to seek after and offer themselves to the calves (Dan and Bethel). We can do the same when we trust our income or our health or relationships over seeking after the Lord’s word and presence through reading, prayer and obedience.
6. Look at the prophetic judgement in Hos 10:8. I have been to the gold calf altar at Dan in Israel and this verse is still being literally fulfilled – there are thorns and thistles in the area. Can you think of anywhere in the New Testament where these same words of judgement are used? There are a couple of places, Luke 23:30 and Rev 6:16. I believe Hosea is also prophesying about these seasons that will come upon Israel and Judah.
7. “From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned” Hos 10:9 refers to the gang rape and death of a concubine in the days of Judges. This began the judgement on the men of Gibeah who committed the sin, but also on Israel for allowing such evil to be cultivated in the nation. This shocking story is found in Judges 19 and 20. When sin is tolerated in the church, there is less salt and light in the nation. This is driven by an emotion filled gospel leading to false conversions and a lack of desire for holiness in the church.
8. The reap/sow law has never been out of fashion with God. You will reap what you sow, just as Hos 10:12,13 implies. 722BC was approaching – their dawn, vs 15 had arrived.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer points
1. Pray for our leaders in Australia that they press in closer to Christ.
2. Pray for the Liberal party as they wrestle with leadership issues.
3. Pray for the people of Iran that they finally get their freedom from an oppressive regime
4. The Royal Commission that the Jewish people will feel safe in Australia.
5. One for Israel ministry.
6. Conflict zones – especially within Africa, Israel and Ukraine
7. Pray for new people to step into ministries at CBC – eg worship, café, sound/technical, giving, podcast.
8. Reform and Revival over our city and country.
9. Finances to cover our needs
10. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for His blessing over Australia on this Australia Day.
2. Give thanks for those being honoured today in our country
3. Another day of joy on Sunday with new folks arriving.
4. Café team every week. Thankyou to all those who serve and bring food. Especially Fiona, Maddie and Suzy.
5. Admin and technical team – Brendon, AJ, Suzy, Maddie, Mathys, Doug.
6. The Lord’s faithfulness this year to CBC and all who have served in ministries
7. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. All ministries on break over the school holidays
2. Kids@Church starts back Sunday 1st Feb
3. Members Meeting – Sunday 22nd Feb after the service
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for January...
Q. 4. What is election? A. It is God's goodness as revealed by his grace to choose certain sinners for salvation.
Bible References – Eph.1:3, 4; 1Thes.1:4; 1Pet.1:1, 2. “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
