Thank you Mark. Let me add my
welcome to Mark. It's good to see you here this
morning to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth and I trust
that we'll do that. If you would turn in your Bibles
to Hosea, I'm going to be preaching again from Hosea. I did so about
a month ago and said some things and I'm going to add some things
to that and shed some new light on some things that in my study
has brought so I've entitled this message this morning departing
from the Lord and you'll see in a moment why I've so titled
the lesson this prophecy of Hosea begins with a commandment from
God to Hosea to go and marry a woman of questionable character
though sanctioned by God their marriage was short-lived because
an unfaithful wife. Through her infidelity, we are
given a portrait of fallen humanity. There is none righteous, no not
one. Aptly fits each of us, just as it did Hosea. There's none
righteous, no not one. And we might question Hosea's
choice for a wife here, but Gomer's character and conduct is reflective
of that of each of us by nature. Hosea didn't have a whole lot
to choose from. We can say that is true of us today. All we like
sheep, the scripture says, have gone astray. We have turned every
man to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Christ the iniquity
of us all. None of us can point the finger
at Gomer and say, shame on you, Gomer, and yet Christ So loved
his church, his people, his elect, that he condescended unto such
sinners as we are, as Gomer is, and was made like us without
sin in order to redeem us, even though we are unfaithful, even
today, to him. So Hosea is a prophecy to the
nation Israel, of the nation Israel, and subsequently a warning
to sinners today of the dangers of turning away from the Lord. The Lord is to be heard, he is
to be obeyed, and he is to be followed as did Hosea. Hosea
was still in his father's house when he heard the command from
God to go take a wife of Hortums, verse 3. So Hosea went and took
Gomer. There are many types in the Old
Testament, and pictures and shadows, and if we miss them in the book
of Hosea, we will have missed the true meaning of this book
of the Bible, and we will have done no more than a history lesson.
Hosea was a type of Christ. He was a type of the one the
Lord our God gave a people in the everlasting covenant of grace
and conditioned all their salvation upon him. As God's prophet, Hosea,
that's Christ, delivered the word of God. In Hosea chapter
one and verse one, it says this, the word of the Lord that came
unto Hosea. And as God's prophet, he delivered
that word. Well, Christ is the living word. Hosea, the type, took upon him
a wife of Hortums, one that had departed from the Lord Jesus
Christ. Christ the Antichrist took upon him a bride Who according
to first Peter chapter 3 in verse 14 will be found of him in peace
without spot and blameless Hosea's name means Savior or salvation
Jehovah our Savior, so Hosea was a type of Christ. Well Gomer
is a type also She is a type of Israel She was chosen by Hosea,
not based on anything that he foresaw in her that would recommend
her unto him, but simply because God said to him, Hosea, in chapter
three and verse one, go love a woman, beloved of a friend. And as a result of his love for
Israel, God delivered her from bondage in Egypt. If you remember
the story, after over 400 years in bondage in Egypt, And 40 years
of wandering in the wilderness, Joshua led the children of Israel
into the heritage promised by God to Abraham. And that promise
was a land, the rest of God. God's covenant to Abraham was
twofold. He promised Abraham a seed which
no man could number. And he also promised a seed through
which all the families of the earth should be blessed, speaking
of Christ. So from the time God made this
promise to Abraham in about 1900 BC until the time of Hosea, there
was about a thousand year period that had transpired. And in this time, Israel had
settled in the land of Canaan, they had possessed the land of
Canaan, and they had prospered greatly, especially under the
reign of King David and his son. Solomon so we pick up here with
the prophecy of both Jose. He comes into the picture during
the time of David and Solomon's reign as king Well, this prophecy
is about Jose as I said a type of Christ and Gomer a type of
the church or Israel the bride of Christ and it shows the love
of Christ for his people for his church and it also shows
our unfaithfulness to him And throughout this prophecy, we'll
see his love displayed in restoring Gomer to her rightful place in
the house of God. This is an illustration of God's
love for his people. So let me begin by saying that
at the death of David, Solomon ascended the throne of Israel,
and it was in Solomon's reign the kingdom began to slide into
idolatry. If you remember, Solomon had
600 concubines and 300 wives, and they were all Egyptians. And he allowed them to bring
their idol worship into the land of Canaan. And he sanctioned
it even. And this started the nation Israel
into their slide into idolatry. And this is why God charged Israel
with departing from the Lord in Hosea chapter one in verse
two. Let's read that. Hosea chapter
one in verse two. The beginning of the word of
the Lord to Hosea. And the Lord said unto Hosea,
go take unto thee a wife of Hortums and children of Hortums, for
the land hath committed great Hortum. And what is Hortum? Departing
from the Lord. So I take this title of my message
today from verse two, departing from the Lord. And I do so because
no matter where we stand today, whatever your state is today
with the Lord, you and I are just like Gomer. We have departed
from the Lord many times, and I'm fear to say that we'll do
it many more times. But God is faithful to recover
us, thus who are prone to wander. And it's my prayer this morning
that Hosea's message will teach And reach the hearts of those
separated from god and give us a prodigal son change that we
might come back to the lord There are three things that i'd like
for us to look at this morning three Truths made clear in hosea's
prophecy that addresses those who depart from the lord Sinners
departed from the lord. First of all choose the shrines
of jezreel over the sanctuary of the lord Secondly, they trust
the bow of the soldier over the blood of the Savior. And thirdly,
they prepare the merits of their labor over the mercies of the
Lord. And we'll see this in our scriptures
this morning. So let's look at these, spend
our few moments looking at these three things this morning. First
of all, sinners departed from the Lord choose the shrines of
Jezreel over the sanctuaries of Jerusalem. Let's read Hosea
chapter one. Verses one through four. The word of the Lord that came
unto Hosea, the son of Berea, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam,
the son of Joash, king of Israel. The beginning of the word of
the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, go
take unto thee a wife of Horeb and children of Horeb. For the
land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord. So he
went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblim, which conceived and
bare him a son. And the Lord said unto Hosea,
Call his name Jezreel, for yet a little while, and I will avenge
the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause
to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. For Israel sinned
in departing from God, Hosea warns of certain retributions
against God, and the Lord said, call his name Jezreel, for yet
a little while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the
house of Judah, Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of
God, the kingdom of Israel. This word Jezreel means to scatter,
as a sower would scatter seeds. This name was a prophecy by God
of the In verse 4, cessation of the kingdom of the house of
Israel. In a little while, God says,
I will scatter Israel to the four winds. They shall cease
to be. And we found that to be true
today. So the question is, what would
so anger the Lord that he would make Israel a byword among the
nations, that he would withhold his mercy from a people, that
he would disown them after All these hundreds of years, they
had been his people. What was so angered the Lord?
He says that they have committed great whoredoms, chapter 1 and
verse 2, departing from the Lord. Well, at Solomon's death, if
you remember the story, let me just remind you of it. At Solomon's death, the kingdom
of Israel was divided. There were 12 tribes. Judah and
Benjamin remained loyal to Rehoboam, Solomon's son, who was the successor
to the throne of Israel. And seeking relief from the oppression
of Solomon and receiving the promise of even greater oppression
from Rehoboam, Jeroboam led the 10 tribes in the north in sedition
against Rehoboam. Let's read of that in 1 Kings
12 in verse 25. 1 Kings 12, beginning in verse 25. Then Jeroboam
built Shechem in Mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein, and went out
from thence, and built Penua. And Jeroboam said in his heart,
Now the kingdom shall return to the house of David. If this
people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem,
then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their
Lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill
me and go again to Rehoboam, king of Judah. Whereupon the
king took counsel and made two calves of gold and said unto
them, it is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold
thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
And he set one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And
this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before
the one, even to Dan. And in an effort to maintain
his kingdom over the ten tribes, Jeroboam built an altar at Bethel
and Dan, and he fashioned a golden calf and put it there for the
people to worship. And of course, Solomon had made
a pact with God, a solemn oath to God, and this was in exact
opposition to what Solomon had promised God would would take
place, and we read about that in 2 Chronicles 7, beginning
in verse 11. So let's look at 2 Chronicles
7, chapter 7 and verse 11. So Solomon finished the house
of the Lord and the king's house, and all that came into Solomon's
heart to make in the house of the Lord, and at his own house
he prospered effectively. And the Lord appeared to Solomon
by night and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and have chosen
this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven,
that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour
the land, or if I send pestilence upon my people, If my people
which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and
seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear
from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their
land. Now mine eyes shall be open and
mine ears shall attend to the prayer that is made in this place.
For now I have chosen and sanctified this house that my name may be
there forever and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. As for thee, if thou wilt walk
before me as David thy father walked, and do according to all
that I have commanded thee, and shall observe my statutes and
my judgment, then will I establish the house of this kingdom according
as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, Thou shalt
not fail thee a man to rule over Israel. But if you turn away
and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set
before you shall go and serve other gods and worship them.
Then will I pluck them up by the roots of my hand that I may
give them. And this house, which I have
sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight and make
it a proverb and a byword among all nations. And this house,
which is high, shall be an astonishment to everyone that passeth by it,
so that he may say, why hath the Lord done this unto this
land and unto this house? And it shall be answered. because
they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, that brought them
forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods,
and worshiped them, and served them. Therefore hath he brought
all this evil upon them." It was here in Jerusalem that the
altar, the temple, the sacrifice, the high priest, and all those
things that were dedicated to the Service of the lord along
with the holy of holies was present and at the consecration of this
temple god promised to meet israel Right at that temple and there
only And he said something to the to the same here in psalm
132 in verse 13 Let's read this for the lord hath chosen zion. He has desired it for his habitation
This is my rest forever here. Will I dwell? for I have desired
it. And in first Kings that we read
before in verse 30 said, and this thing became a sin for the
people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. So the
10 tribes, which are now called Israel, cut themselves off from
the true worship at the temple in Jerusalem. And this is what
Hosea is referring to in verse two, when he read, the land has
committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord. They chose Jezreel
over Jerusalem. Well, what's wrong with worshiping
in Jezreel? After all, can a man worship
anywhere, anytime he wants to? Matthew chapter 18 says, where
two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the
midst of thee also. But God is specific in the place
that we're to worship him. And he gave specific instructions
to Solomon. I will meet you in Jerusalem
at the temple and nowhere else. because this is where the mercy
seat is, this is where the Holy of Holies is, this is where my
appointed high priest is, and the proper sacrifice. Jeroboam
and all the subsequent kings of Israel led their people to
offer up bloody sacrifices at the altars of Bethel and Dan. These services were performed
by those priests appointed by the king, not by the tribe of
Levi. Jeroboam himself presided over
the office of priest in 1 Kings 1 First kings 13 and 1 They were
careless in the quality of the sacrifice. They offered that
it didn't matter to them if it was a unblemished sacrifice or
not They were they were careless in the in the sacrifice they
offered and they were served by priests that god had not approved
To rebel against god's prescribed place and manner of worship is
to hold contemptible the honor of god's glory in redemption
It casts shame and reproach upon Christ and His obedience, suffering,
and death to satisfy God's law and justice. It shows disrespect
for God's glory and the salvation of His people by the precious
blood of Christ. Nothing they did had respect
to God's glory or Christ's person and work in the salvation of
sinners. Isn't that the same with false
religion today? They know nothing of a just God
and a savior. They come not through the great
high priest appointed by God. They do everything that Israel
did. Why? Their altar is unacceptable
to God. Their sacrifice is not sanctified. Their priest is not qualified
to mediate or to offer the sacrifice, and they have no holy of holies
in which to sprinkle the blood of atonement. In other words,
those who worshiped in Bethel and Dan, their worship makes a mockery
of God's holiness and righteousness. The bottom line is they reject
Christ. God's priest. They reject God's
sacrifice, which is Christ. Sin is humanity upon the altar
of his deity. They reject Christ. That's the
bottom line. And God says in verse 4, I will
avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu. The valley
of Jezreel, let me give you a little history in order to understand
what's being proclaimed here. And what's being taught, you
have to understand what's going on. The Valley of Jezreel was
an area, a fertile area that ran east and west across northern
Israel. And it divided the north from
the south. The city of Jezreel was the city in which Ahab, the
wicked king, and his wife Jezebel lived. And located in this Valley
of Jezreel was the altars of Bethel, yeah, the two altars, one in
Bethel and one in Dan. And because Ahab and his people
worshipped Baal, God commanded Elisha the prophet to anoint
Jehu king of Israel and destroy Ahab and his house with the worshippers
of Baal. And we read about that in 2 Kings
chapter 10. So let's look at this. The scripture
says here, then Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. Howbeit,
from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel
to sin, Jehu departed not from after them to whet the golden
calves that were in Bethel and that were in Dan. And the Lord
said unto Jehu, because thou hast done well in executing that
which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house
of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children
to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel."
What God is doing here is commending Jehu for his obedience in destroying
Ahab, and he says, your children to the fourth generation will
sit on the throne. But look at verse 31. But Jehu
took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with
all his heart, for he departed not from the sin of Jeroboam,
which made Israel to sin. And apparently God spoke to him
about this, but the scripture says he took no heed to walk
in the ways of the Lord. He had obeyed God and was commended
by God for his action against Ahab and his house. But what
Jehu so zealously pursued in the destruction of the house
of Ahab, he was guilty himself. Ahab offered blood on the altars
of Bethel and Dan. His sacrifice was a mockery of
the sacrifice God set forth for Israel in Jerusalem, the proper
place of sacrifice. Therefore, he showed no respect
for God's sacrifice. And when Jehu was installed as
king of Israel in chapter 2 Kings 10 31 he followed Ahab's sin
of offering up blood on the same altar look at verse 32 in those
days the Lord began to cut Israel short and Hazel smoked them in
all the coast of Israel so this is the blood of which God said
in In chapter 1 verse 4, I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon
the house of Jehu. All the bloody sacrifices that
they had offered on the altars of Bethel and Dan by Israel would
be avenged on Jehu. For his refusal to repent of
idolatry, God would avenge the blood Jehu and his predecessors
offered to their idols in Jezreel, and he would do that upon Jehu's
house. Jehu's lineage was extended to the fourth generation and
ended in the Assyrian siege, and Israel was no more. So the
question is, for you and me, which shrine have we chosen?
Have we chosen the shrines of Jezreel over the sanctuary in
Jerusalem? I'm afraid the answer is yes.
We all have. We've all walked that broad road
that leads to Jezreel and bowed down to their golden calves.
There's one narrow road leading to Jerusalem, and few there be
that go in there. For these few, God has avenged
the blood of Jezreel. What does it mean to avenge the
blood? It means to exact payment for a wrong, punishing the wrongdoer. And
we know that no amount of payment by the sinner can satisfy a holy
God or We know that no amount of payment
by the sinner can satisfy a holy God not even a an eternity of
suffering in hell Because we would have only done what we
Which was our duty to do and even without eternity of suffering
in hell God would still owe us nothing Jehu had nothing with
which to pay for his sins God's elect are made to see the same
and flee to Christ who has paid the debt for all in his household. It is from Christ God the Father
exacted satisfaction for the sins of all he represented, laying
the sins of his elect on Christ who put them away by satisfaction. Therefore, God the Father is
avenged for his people. In other words, God has found
satisfaction in one who qualified to satisfy all the demands of
God's law and justice against his people. He paid the debt
owed for every sinner in his house. Just as God would avenge
the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, Christ made satisfaction
to God's law and justice for every one of his house. Jehu's
house was without a proper altar. Christ is our altar. Jehu's house
was without a proper sacrifice. Ours is the precious blood of
the lamb. And a suitable priest who offered
up his sinless humanity on the altar of his deity once and for
all. Jehu didn't have that. We do. Because of our great high
priest's finished work, according to Hebrews 13.10, we have an
altar whereby they have no right to eat who serve the tabernacle.
So God said in in Hosea chapter 1 in verse 4. Call his name Jezreel
for he shall avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of
Jehu and cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. Why? Look at verse 6 of Hosea chapter
1. She shall conceive and bear a
daughter and God shall say unto him call her name Loharun for
I will I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, but
I will utterly take them away." Why would God no more show mercy
to Israel? Because he would exact justice
from Jehu. God required of Jehu what he
requires of every sinner who has no surety or substitute,
and that is eternal death. Jehu had two choices, Jezreel
or Jerusalem. Israel had two choices eternal
death or eternal life. They both chose death Well, my
question to you is where do you worship? You worship in Jezreel
or in Jerusalem? The woman at the well said this
to Jesus one time our fathers worship in this mountain Which
is Samaria you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought
to worship Jesus answered, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when
you shall neither in this mountain nor yet in Jerusalem worship
the Father. You worship, you know not what. We know what we
worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh,
and now is, when the true worshiper shall worship the Father in spirit
and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to serve him. God
is spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit
and in truth. The Spirit, in truth, will always
lead sinners to worship in Jerusalem. So sinners departed from the
Lord choose the shrines of Jezreel over the sanctuary of Jerusalem.
Secondly, sinners departed from the Lord trust the bow of the
soldier over the blood of the Savior. Look at verse five of
Hosea chapter one. And it shall come to pass at
that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of
Jezreel. The bow is a weapon of war. It is used offensively or defensively. Broken, it's of no use. It's
no good to anyone. I believe Hosea is speaking figuratively
here of a bow, not a literal bow. And the reason I do that
is because of verse 7. Look at what he says in verse
7. but I will have mercy upon the house of Judah and will save
them by the Lord their God and not save them by the bull. He's
talking about the same salvation here. So this bull is anything,
whatever a man finds to take confidence and assurance in. It is that whereby sinners Justify
themselves based on something done by them or in them. It is
that self-righteous Righteousness every sinner trust in before
regeneration and conversion This is the weapon Israel trusted
in and rested their hope in Their bull was the pagan altars of
Bethel and Dan These altars spoke nothing of a just God and the
Savior they spoke nothing of substitution satisfaction and
imputation They spoke nothing of a righteousness imputed, which
is the sinner's whole salvation. How do I know this to be true?
Because I lived in Jezreel for 40 years in false religion myself. I was in false religion all those
years and never heard of an imputed righteousness. Didn't know what
it was when I did hear of it. I continued there until God broke
my bow. He took away my comfort and made
me look away from my own works of righteousness to his righteousness
brought out by the obedience, suffering, and death of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He made me look to the blood
and away from my bow. Israel trusted in their bow to
stand them in good stead with God. They worshiped with great
zeal and dedication their idols made by Jeroboam. According to
Romans chapter 10, they had a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge, for they, being ignorant of God's righteousness and going
about to establish their own righteousness, had not submitted
themselves unto the righteousness of God. In Matthew chapter 7
foretells their end. Many of those will say to me
in that day, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And then
I will say unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye
that work iniquity. The bow of Israel was not sufficient
to save them from the wrath of God to come. Any bow that can
be broken is deadly and must not be trusted. God said in chapter
1 verse 5, I will break the bow of Israel. It will not stand
the judgment of God. Why? Because their bow was the
bow of a soldier and not the blood of a savior. Soldiers have
no saving efficacy. Theirs was not the blood of the
Lamb, which taketh away the sins of the world. It was not the
blood of the God-man, Mediator. It was not the blood God told
Israel in Egypt. When I see this blood, I'll pass
over you. So the blood of Jezreel atoned
for nothing. The rivers of blood offered by
Israel at Bethel and Dan covered not one sin. Those who participated
in this worship were deprived of the knowledge of the true
and living God. And that's what happens when
sinners depart from God, depart from the Lord. They're not exposed
to the truth. Truth heard, understood, and
believed is the mean God uses to break the bow. How do we know
when our bow is broken? When we forsake the soldier and
his bow for the Savior and his blood. When we forsake high righteousness
for his. Well, the question is, do you
trust the bow of the soldier or the blood of the Savior? God
has destroyed the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. So
sinners departed from the Lord choose the shrine of Jezreel
over the sanctuaries of Jerusalem, trust the soldier and his bow
over the Savior and his blood, and thirdly, prefer the merit
of their own labor over the mercy of the Lord. Look at verse six
and seven again of chapter one. And she conceived again, and
bare a son, a daughter. And God said unto him, call her
name Leruhemah, for I will no more have mercy upon the house
of Israel, but I will utterly take them away. But I will have
mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord
their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor
by battle, by horse, nor by horseman. There are two ideologies men
hold concerning salvation. salvation by works, salvation
by grace. The heart's desire in being of
all the unregenerate is salvation by works. Coupled with the sinful
nature of the natural man and his darkened mind is the need
for something to rectify the sins he has committed. Totally
foreign to the lost sinner is the fact that God has already
redeemed all he will. Only the knowledge of this will
cause a sinner to abandon his works and look to God. Look for
mercy. That's what he says in verse
7. I will have mercy. Mercy, which is the salvation
of the Lord, their God, and not the bow. Lord, propitiate for
me is the cry of every sinner saved by the grace of God. Their
question is that of every justified sinner. What can I, an undone
sinner, offer to a holy God? And just as quickly the answer
comes back, nothing, nothing in my hand I bring, simply to
the cross I cling. Sinners departed from the Lord
know nothing of his mercy and grace and will never learn of
them at the shrines of Jezreel. They will only learn this, to
sharpen their bow and to repair their arrows. They will learn
of war. Those saved by the Lord, their
God, will engage in a battle already won. So God has said,
I will break the bow in Israel. The question is, has he broken
your bow? Until he does, men will trust in, and as long as
you trust in the bow, you are departed from the Lord. So may
I encourage you to the sanctuary in Jerusalem, to trust the blood
of the Savior, to plead the mercy of the Lord over the marriage
of your own word. The merit of my labor is death.
The mercy of my Lord is life everlasting. Look at verse 7
again. But I will have mercy upon the
house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God, and
will not save them by the bow, nor the sword, nor by battle,
by horse, nor by horseman. Mark, come lead us in the closing
hymn.