INTRODUCTION
Full text: Hosea
7:1-10:15 (NKJV)
Hosea
8:7a (NKJV): "They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind…"
Sowing and reaping is a common illustration in the Bible.
Gal.
6:7 (NKJV): "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a
man sows, this he will also reap."
When you sow, you receive back much more.
 That’s true when
you sow good seeds.
Some
10 fold, some 60 fold, some 100 fold (Matthew
13:8, NKJV).
But the law of
sowing and reaping also works when you sow bad seeds.
Hosea
says it’s like sowing the wind and reaping a whirlwind.
Assyria
was coming and would accomplish the judgment of God.
It will seem to Israel that the judgment they receive is worse than
the sin they committed. This isn’t true in the sense of God being worse
to us than our sin deserves; but it is true in how judgment feels.
This is true partly because our sin is sown over a long period of time,
but often reaped in a contracted period of judgment. But the main reason
this is true, however, is the law of sowing and reaping: You always
reap more than you sow.
I. THE PRIDE OF SIN
Hosea 7:1-3 (NKJV)
1 "When I would have healed Israel,
Then the iniquity of Ephraim
was uncovered,
And the wickedness of Samaria.
For they have committed
fraud;
A thief comes in;
A band of robbers takes
spoil outside.
2They do not
consider in their hearts
That I remember all their
wickedness;
Now their own deeds have
surrounded them;
They are before My face.
3They make a
king glad with their wickedness,
And princes with their lies."
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We often talk about "the sin of pride" but in these verses
we see pride as "the pride of sin." Part of the harvest of
sin is that it clouds our understanding of God and exaggerates our opinion
of ourselves.
"They do not consider ... that I remember all their wickedness.": The
pride of sin deceives people into believing that they are getting away
with their sin, that they are not accountable to God.
This again has to do with the law of sowing and reaping. The harvest
does not come immediately after the sowing. There is an interval of time
for the seed to grow and bring for its harvest.
Because the harvest of sin is not immediate, people believe that there
are no consequences to their sin. What they do not realize is that during
this interval, they are continuing to give the seeds of sin the conditions
in which it will flourish. It is because of this interval that sowing the
wind can produce a whirlwind!
We often deliberately forget that the Lord sees and remembers when we
sin. It may be secret before men, but not before God - He says, "They are
before My face."
Do you think God doesn’t see?
Do you think God
is blind to your adultery or pre-marital sex?
Do
you think your pornography habit goes unnoticed?
Do
you think God’s eyes are closed when you get drunk or take drugs?
We often wish that time would make God forget our sin, but it doesn’t.
Only the atoning substitute of Jesus, crucified in our stead, makes God
forget our sin.
It is amazing that people forget that God is fully aware of their sins
and thus, they feel they can do whatever they want. Big mistake!
Make no mistake
about it, God’s judgment of sin is coming.
Make
no mistake about it, the seeds of sin bring a horrible harvest.
II. THE PICTURES OF SIN’S HARVEST
In this section, God, through Hosea, gives us some pictures of sin’s
harvest. God often uses pictures or symbols so that there is no mistake
about what He is saying. As we often say, "A picture is worth a thousand
words."
A. A Heated Oven
Hosea 7:4 (NKJV)
4"They are all
adulterers.
Like an oven heated by a
baker--
He ceases stirring the fire
after kneading the dough,
Until it is leavened.
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This picture is that of an oven was so hot that a baker could cease tending
the fire during an entire night. He could leave the dough he had mixed
to rise all night. And, then, with a fresh tending of the fire in the morning,
have sufficient heat for baking at that time.
This is a striking illustration of lust. The adultery of the people
of Israel never ceased. There were times that it seemed to go away but,
even then, the hot coals of lust was remained, ready to be stirred and
burst into flames at any time.
People today are like these hot ovens - consumed by lust. Sometimes
they burn with passion; other times they just simmer, like hot coals; but
they are always ready to be stirred into flames.
B. A Half-Baked Cake
Hosea 7:6-8 (NKJV)
6They prepare their heart like an oven,
While they lie in wait;
Their baker sleeps all night;
In the morning it burns
like a flaming fire.
7They are all
hot, like an oven,
And have devoured their
judges;
All their kings have fallen.
None among them calls upon
Me.
8"Ephraim has
mixed himself among the peoples;
Ephraim is a cake unturned.
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An "unturned cake" looks good on one side, but is raw on the other. The
Jews looked as though they worshipped God; but they mixed themselves with
the pagan religious practices.
In the New Testament Paul picks up on this idea of not being mixed together
with unbelievers.
II Corinthians 6:14-18 (NKJV)
"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion
has light with darkness?
And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer
with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell
in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My
people.’ Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the
Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a
Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’"
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Now, obviously we need to speak to unbeliever, to share Christ. And we
have friends that are unbelievers, and family members; but they can’t be
your close friends, for what kind of advice would they give to you? You
shouldn’t date or marry an unbeliever. That is a disaster. There is no
such thing as "date witnessing."
And the way we need to look at this is like this:
A boat is useless unless it is in the water. It does great
in the water until the water gets into the boat, and then it is sunk! The
same is true for Christians. We will do fine in the world until we let
the world get into us and then we, too, are sunk! God wants us to be pure.
The world will not move you in that direction!
What if you are already unequally yoked?
Repent of your disobedience and renew your commitment to Christ.
Do all that you can by your actions and words to influence the other person
to come to Christ. And, if not, that you will honor God with your life,
regardless of how the other person lives.
C. A Man With Gray Hairs
Hosea 7:9 (NKJV)
9Aliens have
devoured his strength,
But he does not know it;
Yes, gray hairs are here
and there on him,
Yet he does not know it.
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Israel is like a foolish old man who thinks and acts like he is still young.
His strength has been devoured, but he does not know it:
Man has an amazing ability to deceive himself when he is in sin.
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;
who can know it?" (Jeremiah
17:9, NKJV).
Considering how easily we deceive our self, and how our sin can be apparent
to everyone but us, Israel’s condition isn’t unusual:
Burned and ruined - but he does not know it
Strength devoured
- but he does not know it
Aging
and weakening - but he does not know it.
It was said of Samson after Delilah cut his hair: "But he did not know
that the Lord had departed from him." (Judges
16:20, NKJV). This is where the people of Israel were.
One harvest that sin has is keeping people from seeing the effects of
sin on them. Just as sin deceives in its attraction, it continues to deceive
in its destruction.
With all its claims of living life to the fullest, etc. - sin causes
people to be prematurely gray. Destruction are in its seeds and it never
satisfies.
D. A Silly Dove
Hosea 7:11 (NKJV)
11 "Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without sense--
They call to Egypt,
They go to Assyria.
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God likens Israel to a dove, not a very smart bird. And the reason He does
that is because they went to their enemies for help in times of trouble
instead of going to the Lord who loves them.
With no sense of self-preservation, no instinct which tells them to
turn away from what will be their end, they run headlong towards destruction.
They realize that they are in trouble and they cry out but not to
God.
The Bible says that there are two kinds of sorrow: There is godly sorrow
and worldly sorrow.
When difficulty
arises, many tears may be shed, but no repentance made.
This
does not bring God's mercy, but leads to judgment.
Isn’t that just like people today? Instead of crying out to God for
help, they are more likely to blame God for their trouble. They are like
senseless doves flying around to everyone for help, except the One that
can help them.
E. A Treacherous Bow
Hosea 7:16 (NKJV)
16They return,
but not to the Most High;
They are like a treacherous
bow.
Their princes shall fall
by the sword
For the cursings of their
tongue.
This shall be their derision
in the land of Egypt.
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A "treacherous bow" was a bow that would not hit its mark in battle. Without
the Lord’s help they could not hope to win any military victories.
An arrow shot from a "treacherous bow" can go in any direction. It is
not something you can trust in. And that is how their lives were, like
a deceitful bow, that when shot, it missed the mark that God had established.
The Israelites claimed to be the people of God but their lives did not
support their claims. By professing but not possessing they
not only could not be trusted, they were dangerous. People today who profess
to be Christians but not only tolerate sin but seem to even pursue sin
are like treacherous bows - not only hurting themselves but others as well.
F. A Useless Vessel
Hosea 8:8 (NKJV)
8Israel is swallowed
up;
Now they are among the Gentiles
Like a vessel in which is
no pleasure.
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The worse the opposition became, the worse Israel's reputation became.
They soon had to buy their allies. God describes them as a vessel in which
no one delights.
They were like a worthless pottery vessel. Their compromises had made
them expendable among the nations they sought to form alliances with.
Sin’s harvest includes disposal of the sinner. When a person gives in
to temptation, and then has their life destroyed by the consequences of
sin, they soon find that they are all alone. Even those who encouraged
you to sin, who participated in sin with you, have no use for you. When
you are a vessel broken by sin, you will find that you are expendable.
G. A Wild Donkey
Hosea 8:9 (NKJV)
9For they have
gone up to Assyria,
Like a wild donkey alone
by itself;
Ephraim has hired lovers.
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But here Israel is likened to a wild donkey, doing her own thing, uncontrollable,
and yet ultimately being caught and captured. They were like a wild donkey
that was vulnerable to predators.
H. Like Mourners' Bread
Hosea 9:4 (NKJV)
4They shall not
offer wine offerings to the LORD,
Nor shall their sacrifices
be pleasing to Him.
It shall be like bread of
mourners to them;
All who eat it shall be
defiled.
For their bread shall be
for their own life;
It shall not come into the
house of the LORD.
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God was disgusted at what made the Israelites happy. Although they lived
in sin, they continued to practice their traditional feasts and make sacrifices,
supposedly to Him. But God would have no part of it!
The bread they offered to the Lord was like mourners' bread. Anything
that came in contact with the dead or their mourners was deemed by the
law as unclean, defiled, and polluted. This was how God viewed their sacrifices
- as unclean.
III. THE PUNISHMENT FOR SIN
Full text: Hosea
9:1 - 10:15 (NKJV)
Hosea 9:7-9, 11-15 (NKJV)
7The days of punishment have come;
The days of recompense have
come.
Israel knows!
The prophet is a fool,
The spiritual man is insane,
Because of the greatness
of your iniquity and great enmity.
8The watchman
of Ephraim is with my God;
But the prophet is a fowler's
snare in all his ways--
Enmity in the house of his
God.
9They are deeply
corrupted,
As in the days of Gibeah.
He will remember their iniquity;
He will punish their sins.
11As for Ephraim,
their glory shall fly away like a bird--
No birth, no pregnancy,
and no conception!
12Though they
bring up their children,
Yet I will bereave them
to the last man.
Yes, woe to them when I
depart from them!
13Just as I saw
Ephraim like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place,
So Ephraim will bring out
his children to the murderer."
14Give them, O
LORD--
What will You give?
Give them a miscarrying
womb
And dry breasts!
15"All their wickedness
is in Gilgal,
For there I hated them.
Because of the evil of their
deeds
I will drive them from My
house;
I will love them no more.
All their princes are rebellious."
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God has been patient, He has been longsuffering towards Israel, but now
judgment is coming.
The prophets who
told you not to worry would be proven to be false.
The
prophets who had been warning you - the ones you thought were fools - they
will be proven to be right.
Remember we began by saying that if you "sow to the wind you reap a
whirlwind." I believe this is saying that the harvest will not only be
greater than the sowing, but that the harvest will be similar in kind.
A strong attraction to the worship of Baal had been the sexual activity
associated with it. They had bought the lie that it was this sexual activity
that lead to fruitfulness - both for the land and for them with children.
The irony is that when Israel faithfully followed God they were fruitful.
Their crops flourished and they had a population explosion.
But not any more.
"No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception": In contrast to their past
fruitfulness, now Israel will experience barrenness and bereavement ("I
will be bereave them to the last man"), given to them by the God they rejected.
"Give them, O Lord - What will You give?": The idea is that Hosea began
an angry prayer against the people ("Give them, O Lord"), then he stopped
because he checked his heart and didn’t know what to pray ("What will you
give?"). In the end, he asked for a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. Really,
Hosea prayed for mercy. Knowing the coming judgment, he prayed "Lord, give
them few children so those children will not have to face the horrors of
Your coming judgment."
"I will drive them from My house:" In this sense, exile was the perfect
punishment for Israel. They had disgraced God’s house, His land, so He
would "evict" them.
They started out in a beautiful land, but it will be left desolate.
Their birth rates will drop, they will be taken into captivity, and all
they have will fly away as quickly as a bird because of their impurity!
God loved them, reached out to them, and they rejected Him. Now the Lord
is giving them what they want, life without Him!
The Bible clearly teaches that God must punish sin. It is not His will
that any should perish; but if a person insists on rejecting God and pursuing
sin, they will experience God’s punishment. The Bible says that
these people will spend eternity in Hell, a place originally created only
for the devil and his demons.
Does that sound harsh to you? In reality, God is giving these people
what they want -- existence without Him! |