All right, well, good morning, everybody. It's very, very glad to have each and every one of you with us this morning. As I said before, our pastor John is on vacation this week, so he's not with us, so you're stuck with me today. 

By the way, if you haven't been paying attention or listening to the messages that John's been preaching, he's been in the book of Colossians, and it's been phenomenal. So I encourage you, if you haven't heard any of those messages, go to our website, livinghopesermons.com, and listen to them, or you can also find us on YouTube as well, and you could listen to them. They're very encouraging, very, very strengthening, very good messages. 

In John's absence, when he's gone, I've been working my way through the book of Hosea, and we've gotten through four chapters of Hosea now, and we're coming into the fifth chapter today. But before we look at our text this morning, I want us to understand why it is that we are looking at this, or any of the other Old Testament books. 

I hear a lot of people say, hey, you know, we're New Testament believers, and we really don't need to listen to the Old Testament. It's the old law, it's no longer relevant to us. I want you to know that if that's your attitude, I need to tell you that you are wrong. While we are free from the law, it no longer enslaves us. We do not view it as a means of salvation or sanctification. 

And according to Romans 7, it says that we have died to the law, having been released from that which held us bound. It is no longer our guide, our measure by which we determine if we are holy. The purpose of the law, according to Romans chapter three, verses 19 and 20, says, now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God. 

Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. Galatians 3.19 says, why the law then? It was added because of transgressions. In other words, for the purpose of defining sin. That's what the purpose of the law was, all right? 

Galatians chapter three, verses 22 to 25 says, but the scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise of by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith, which was later to be revealed. Therefore, the law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 

And you might say to me, now, wait a minute, Mark. You just proved our point. We're outside of the law. We don't need the law anymore. You've just proved our point. Well, let me tell you something. Just a minute. If we do not need the Old Testament, then I wanna know why did all of the New Testament writers quote the Old Testament? And they quoted it extensively. Amen? 

Let's turn with me to Romans chapter 15 as we get started this morning. Romans chapter 15. Now I want us to look at a couple of scriptures before we get into the main message this morning. In Romans chapter 15, verse four, it says, for whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope. 

Now, when he talks about the scriptures here, Paul is writing at a time where the New Testament was not yet published. There were a few of the letters were written. I don't even know if any of the gospels were written at this point. I guess I'd have to go back and look. But when he talks about the scriptures, what's he talking about? He's talking about the Old Testament scriptures. And he's saying that these things were written in earlier times for our instruction so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope. Amen. 

Now, if you turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. And verses six to 14 says this. Speaking of the things that happened in the past. Now, these things happened as examples for us so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters as some of them were. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and stood up to play. 

Nor let us act immorally as some of them did. And 23,000 fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord as some of them did and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now, these things happened to them as an example. And they were written for our instruction upon the whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. 

Here in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, he's addressing idolatry and the worship of false gods. And idolatry is the main reason why the nation of Israel fell. That was the number one reason. And 2 Timothy chapter three, verses 15 to 17 says, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped in every good work, amen. So what scriptures is he talking about here? Again, he's talking about the Old Testament scriptures, that these are inspired by God. 

Now, we know from Peter's writing later that Peter said that the writings of Paul were also considered scripture. But when Paul is writing here in 1 Corinthians, he's talking about the Old Testament. He's talking about the Torah, the Tanakh, the prophets, the Psalms, all of that sort of thing. So these things are written for our instruction. 

And so, and we need to remember this, that although what we're gonna study this morning was not written to us, all right, because the book of Hosea was not written to us as believers in Christ Jesus. It was written to the children of Israel, the northern 10 tribes that fell. So that's who he's addressing. So he was not writing to us, but he is writing for us. And we need to understand that. We need to understand that these things not necessarily written to us, but they are written for us. 

So with that in mind, let's go back to Hosea chapter five.

Just as a brief recap before we get into this, in the first three chapters, we see that God is preparing Hosea for a life of ministry. It says that he had prophesied during the days of, let's see, let me go back. During the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel. And so, Joash, the king of, or Jeroboam, the king was Jeroboam the first, not the, there was two Jeroboams that reigned in Israel in the northern 10 tribes. This is Jeroboam the first. And you recall that Jeroboam was the last of the really strong and powerful kings in the northern kingdom. Under his rule and reign, Israel had expanded its boundaries. It had become very, very profitable. It was rich. It was doing well at the time. 

And this is at the time when Hosea comes, and it's interesting as we go through this book that during this time of Jeroboam that we're seeing, or this, excuse me, this is written during the time of Jeroboam the second, not the first. Jeroboam the first was the one who established the kingdom. Jeroboam the second was the last of the great kings. Sorry, I messed that up. But anyway, it's interesting to see what had transpired in all of this. And so we see God preparing Hosea for a life of ministry. 

And I believe that some of the scholars say that he preached for like 70 years during that time, during the reign of these kings of Judah and the reign of Jeroboam the second. And so a 70-year span of time where he's preaching and calling the people of Israel to repentance. But God used Hosea in a very unique way. He prepared him for this ministry because he wanted Hosea to understand the hurt and the sorrow that filled the heart of God over unfaithful Israel. 

And so he said, Hosea, I want you to go in to marry a prostitute, which is, especially if he was of the priestly caste, I don't know. But if he was of the priestly caste, that was absolutely a wrong thing to do. And yet God said, I want you to go in to marry a harlot and take this woman of harlotry and have children with her. And so he had three kids. You remember, the first was Jezreel, which means God scatters. And that was his own child with this faithless woman. But then somewhere along the line, she left and went back to harlotry and she had two more children, which was Lo-Ami and Lo-Ruhamah. 

And Lo-Ami means not my people and Lo-Ruhamah means no mercy. And so these were to be a sign and a symbol throughout their lives to the people of Israel. They were to serve as a picture of what it was going to be like. God is not going to have mercy on you. You're not his people anymore, all of that. And so he, and then in chapter two, in chapter two, then he calls for the Northern kingdom, I believe it's the Northern kingdom, to arise and to speak to the Southern kingdom, to rebuke them, to open them up and to explain to them that they need to return to the Lord. 

And then in chapter three, well, in chapter two, he begins to give a promise of restoration after the destruction. And then in chapter three, he is to go and take again this woman, this adulterous woman and bring her back in and make her his own again and love her. And then he gives the promises at the end there where he says in verse number four of chapter three, for the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols. 

Afterward, the sons of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David their king, and they will come trembling to the Lord and to his goodness in the last days. And so here's the promise of a restoration that's going to happen at the end of time. Okay, that God is going to restore the children of Israel. What a precious promise. Because if God doesn't keep his promises to Israel, he won't keep his promises to us either. But he keeps his promises. God is a faithful God and he keeps his promise. 

And so then in chapter four, he lays out his case. He begins to lay out his case against the children of Israel and he says that in verse one, it says, listen to the word of the Lord, oh, sons of Israel, for the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land because there is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the land. And as we looked at that last time we were together, we saw that there was no truth is actually the word there for faithfulness. There was no truth. Truth had fallen in the streets. Truth had become something that everybody makes up their own mind. You have your truth, I have my truth and all of that sort of thing. 

And what a horrible, horrible thing. And then he says there's no kindness and that word kindness in the original language was hesed. And that in the Septuagint, that word hesed is translated agape in the Greek language, which is that dispassionate and self-sacrificing love. And he's saying that there is none of that in the land. And then he says there is no knowledge of God in the land. And to me, I think the key verse in chapter four was verse number six, where he says, my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being my priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. 

He says here that they are going to be destroyed for their lack of knowledge. What does that mean, that they weren't educated? Does that mean that they didn't go to school long enough? What is he talking about here? He's talking about the knowledge of God. There's no knowledge of God in the land. And because they do not have the knowledge of God, they are to be destroyed, they're going to be destroyed. And so the prophet is calling them back and appealing to them to come back to the Lord. 

And that brings us to chapter five. So let's go to chapter five. In verse number one, he says, hear this, O priests. Give heed, O house of Israel. Listen, O house of the king. Three times he's calling out, and he's calling out to all of them. He's saying to the priests, he's calling out the individual people of Israel, and he's calling out the kings and the house of the king. And he says this, listen. In other words, pay attention, wake up, pay attention. You need to get this.

He says, for the judgment applies to you. The judgment applies to you. So it's not just the priests that he's talking to, and it's not just the rulers, but it's the entirety of the nation of the Northern Kingdom, the 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom. And he's saying this judgment applies to you. Listen up, pay attention, this applies to you. He says, for you have been a snare on Mishpah, and a net spread out on Tabor. 

Now, when he says that you have become a snare at Mishpah, and a net spread out on Tabor, Mishpah is a very high mountain on the east side of the Jordan River. And Mount Tabor is a high mountain on the west side of the Jordan. So it's kind of in between, there are two mountaintops. And these mountaintops were both known for their abundant wildlife, and especially for bird hunting. So I don't know if you have seen, it's not something that happens a lot in this day and age, but they hunted with snares and with nets. They would, you know, the little snares, that round thing, and something would get in between it, and that thing would close down on them and trap them. Or they would be pecking at the food and hit something, and a net would spring up before they had a chance to respond and would ensnare them. 

And that's what he's talking about. He says that you have been like a snare upon Mizpah and as a net upon Mount Tabor. They catch their prey by surprise, and therefore, and before they can respond, they're caught. So what is the snare and the net that's spoken of here? What is he talking about? And if you'll go with me to 1 Kings 12. Let's go back to 1 Kings 12. 

And in verse 25 to 23, this is the kingdom has now been divided between the North and the South. 10 tribes to the North, Benjamin and Judah made up the Southern kingdom. And Jeroboam I now is leading the Northern 10 tribes. And it says in verse 25, then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there, and he went out from there and built Penuel. Jeroboam said in his heart, now the kingdom will return to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to the Lord, even to Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam, king of Judah. 

So the king consulted and made two golden calves. And he said to them, it is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold your gods, O Israel that brought you up from the land of Egypt. He set one in Bethel and the other he put in Dan. Now this thing became a sin for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan and he made houses on high places and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. Jeroboam instituted a feast in the eighth month on the 15th day of the month, like the feast which is in Judah. 

And he went up to the altar. Thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. Then he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the 15th day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense. 

So here we see that Jeroboam has established this Northern kingdom on a footing of idolatry, right at the outset, immediately. He was afraid that they would go back. So he institutes a feast that is one month later than the feast that God had commanded, the Feast of Tabernacles. And so he establishes one on the eighth of the 15th day of the eighth month. And so he's leading Israel into idolatry right from the outset. 

And every king that followed him, every king that followed him in the Northern kingdom continued that pattern. Not one good king, we don't read of any good kings in the Northern kingdom, not a one. All of them followed after Jeroboam I. All of them did the same things that Jeroboam did. All of them caused the people of Israel to sin. So that's why he's saying, listen, this judgment applies to you because you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net on Tabor. 

And then he says in verse two, he says, the revolters have gone deep into privacy, but I will chastise all of them. Now, I believe that the revolters in this case are the rulers, that he's talking about the rulers of the land and the slaughter that they have caused by their turning Israel away from the Lord. All right? There was great pain and great death that came upon the Northern kingdom as the multitudes of the Northern tribe were led astray. 

So the revolters, the rulers, they had gone deep into depravity. They had the words though, I believe it can also be translated, they have gone deep to slaughter. And so the slaughter had happened and has happened and there was great harm that came to the people because of them. But he says, but I will chastise them all, priests, rulers, and people. 

And then in verse three and four, it says, I know Ephraim and Israel is not hidden from me. For I know, oh Ephraim, you have played the harlot. Israel has defiled itself. Their deeds will not allow them return to their God for a spirit of harlotry is within them. All right? So he's giving them a reminder, look people, you're not hidden from God. He knows all about you. He knows everything that's going on here. You're not hidden from his sight. He knows what's going on. 

And this reminds me of the warning that God gives us in the New Testament in Romans 1. In verse number 28, it says, and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, do those things which are not proper. Now, I know that it doesn't take much to look around our world right now and see in our own country, as we celebrate Labor Day weekend here as a national holiday, it's not too difficult to look around and see that we ourselves have left and forsaken the Lord. Amen? 

That there has been a complete, we just will not acknowledge God any longer. We do not want to retain him in knowledge. We don't want God to be over us. We have ourselves screamed out as a nation. No, not as individuals. I'm not casting on individuals here because God has a remnant.

He has a people that he has set aside for himself. But as a nation, we have forgotten God. We have kicked him out of our schools. We have kicked him out of our courts. We have said we do not want this man, we don't want him to rule over us anymore. We don't want anything to do with him. And so we see that the slaughter has gone on in this nation as well. I believe since 19, I can't remember when Roe v. Wade was, 1973, over 80 million, over 80 million babies have been slaughtered in this country. To me, that's just, it's an astounding thing. 

But he's saying that because they don't want to acknowledge them, just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over. Oh, this has got to be one of the worst judgments that could ever come upon a human being. When God says, go ahead, you don't want me, you go on in your own ways. Because this is going to end disastrously for us. And it will be. So there comes a time when God gives people over to a depraved mind because they do not know the Lord. And remember what he said in chapter four, my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Amen. 

And in verse five, he says, moreover, the pride of Israel testifies against him. And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity. Judah has also stumbled with them. They will go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord, but they will not find him. He has withdrawn from them. Says here that they will go with their flocks and their herds. In other words, these people were keeping up the resemblance of religion. They were going with their flocks and herds to make sacrifices. But what were they sacrificing to in the Northern Kingdom? Oh, it wasn't to Jehovah God. It wasn't to Yahweh. It was to the gods of the lands that were around them. They were sacrificing to the Baals and to the Asherim and all of that. Their worship was directed that way. 

Amos chapter five, verses 21 to 27. We don't have to go there, but you could write it down. Amos, the prophet speaking, God says, I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offered up to me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them. And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. Take away from me the noise of your songs. I will not even listen to the sound of your harps, but let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Did you present me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for 40 years, oh, house of Israel? You also carried along Sikhoth, your king, and Kion, your images, the star of your gods, which you made for yourselves. Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts, all right? 

And then in Amos chapter six, verses six to eight, it says, with what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, in 10,000 rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn from my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, oh man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? 

What we need to understand, and what the people of Israel needed to understand, that there was no amount of good works that they could do to make themselves right before God. There were no amount of sacrifices that they could make to make themselves pleasing to him. And we need to understand that if we seek him in that way, we will never find him. And that's what he says to them, that they would not find him. There is only one act of obedience, only one act of obedience that has any merit whatsoever, and that is the act of obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ when he went to the cross. That is the only act of obedience that has any sufficiency whatsoever. 

There is only one act of obedience, and that is the obedience of the Son of God. There is only one sacrifice that is sufficient to satisfy him, and that is the sacrifice of the Son of God on the cross. All of our own righteousness is as filthy rags. We must go to the Lord, not with our own works, but with humility, bow before him, and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. We must believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead. This is the only way that we can get there. We must believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead. Only then can we experience the righteousness of God, which is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ imparted to us. That's the only sacrifice. That's the only thing that will make a difference. 

And it says here that they are going with their flocks and their herds. They're thinking that their religious works are going to help them. They think that these things are going to make a difference for them in their lives. And he's saying, no, he has withdrawn from them. God has withdrawn. And it's a frightening, frightening thing. Verse number seven says, they have dealt treacherously with the Lord. They have dealt treacherously against the Lord, for they have born illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them with their land. 

Says they dealt treacherously with the Lord. Oh, beloved, I want to encourage you, those of you who are parents, raise your children in the fear and the admonition of the Lord. Raise up your children in the way that they should go. Raise them up in godly homes. Raise them up to worship and serve the living God. It says here that they, meaning the children of Israel, raised up illegitimate children. In other words, they did not follow the Lord. These children did not know the Lord. God had become so far withdrawn from the Northern Kingdom that nobody knew him anymore. And that is a horrible thing. 

The new moon, it says, will devour them. And the meaning is this. Your sacrificial feasts, your hypocritical worship, so far from bringing you salvation will prove to be your downfall. All right, because remember, they celebrated new moons and Sabbaths and all of the different things. They were celebrating all of this, but their heart was far from him. And Isaiah says that. He says that your heart, you do all of this, but your hearts are so far from me.

Oh, beloved, when we draw near, our hearts ought to be to worship and magnify the Lord of all, amen. 

So then verse number eight says, blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah. Sound an alarm at Beth-Avon. Behind you, Benjamin. Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke among the tribes of Israel. I declare what is sure. The judgment for the Northern Kingdom is here now decreed. It's, they've gone too far. They're not gonna be able to turn back anymore. God has given them over. Judgment is decreed for the Northern Kingdom. 

And I like how he says that. Sound that alarm, make it known. And you, Benjamin, Benjamin, part of the Southern Kingdom, look out, right behind you, Benjamin, is coming. It's right behind you, because we know that Judah fell into the same sin that the Northern Kingdom did. And at one point, God even says that they had sinned even greater than the Northern Kingdom at one point. But he's saying, look out, pay attention. Ephraim is about to become a desolation in the day of rebuke. Among the tribes of Israel, I declare what is sure. 

So God gave the assurance that this judgment was about to fall upon the Northern Kingdom. And then it says, the princes of Judah have become like those who move a boundary. On them, I will pour out my wrath like water. They, like Ephraim, like the Northern Kingdom, when we say Ephraim, the reason that it's called Ephraim is because Jeroboam I, who established the Northern Kingdom was from Ephraim, and Ephraim was the biggest of the tribe of the Northern Kingdom. 

So. Ephraim and Israel are synonymous terms, and so when he addresses Ephraim, that's what he's talking about. He says that they, like Ephraim, have moved the boundary between God and the idols of the land. Amen? They had moved that boundary. There was a boundary. You are to worship the Lord your God. Here, O Israel, the Lord your God is one, and you should love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. The law says that you are to have no other God besides me, and yet Ephraim had shoved aside. 

It's not that they forgot that Yahweh existed, but that they worshipped others alongside of him. This is the danger of idolatry. We look at this now, and when I think about idolatry, I always think about bowing down before a statue, like I did when I was raised. I was raised in a Catholic family, and every night we had to bow down. We had to kneel down in front of a statue of Mary and say our goodnight prayers, and it's idolatry. 

When I think of idolatry, that's what I'm thinking of, but idolatry is so much more than that, because idolatry is anything that takes the place of God in our hearts, and so anything can become idolatry. Amen? My wife can become idolatry to me if I value her above the Lord my God. My own marriage can become idolatrous. My family can become idolatrous if I place them above the Lord. 

This doesn't just apply to those people who are bowing down before images and praying to false gods. It's anything that we place in our lives that is not God. If you think that you're immune from that, remember what the Apostle John said. I think it was at the end of 1 John, the last verse was, My children, guard yourselves from idols. Remember, this is what's brought down the wrath of God upon the southern kingdom. 

So Judah has also begun that slide into idolatry, and we see that happening. Ahaz was the king of the southern kingdom near the time of the judgment on the northern kingdom. We can read about Ahaz in 2 Kings 16. We'll go there quick. Oh, that's... Oh, 2 Kings. That's why I'm not finding it. I was in the wrong one. 2 Kings 16. 

In the seventeenth year of Pekah, the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, became king. Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his sons pass through the fire, according to the abominations of nations, whom the Lord had driven out from before the sons of Israel. 

He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree. Then Rezin, king of Aram and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to wage war, and they besieged Ahaz, but they could not remove him. And so we see that here Ahaz, coming up, this is towards the end of the northern kingdom's time, Ahaz begins to follow the ways of those northern kingdoms, and begins to sacrifice to the idols. 

We see it happening there. You can read about it also in 2 Chronicles chapter 28. We won't go there this morning, but again it describes Ahaz turning away from the Lord, and leading the people of Judah into idolatry. And so the boundaries move now. They have moved the boundary. They have removed that distinction between Yahweh God and all of the idols of the lands, and all of the gods, small g-gods, of the people that were around them. 

And so God's calling them out on this. Verse number 11, Ephraim was oppressed, crushed in judgment, because he was determined to follow man's command. Ephraim was determined to follow man's command. What are we talking about here? Well, like we read about in Kings there, the beginning of 2 Kings I think it was, where Jeroboam was setting up the kingdom, and he set it on that platform of idolatry for them. 

They followed that command, and every king after them followed that command. Worship these golden calves, worship everything that's around you. They were determined to do that. And it seems to me like in this day and age that that is what people are determined to do, is to turn away from God and serve whatever gods they desire. For those who, well, I won't go there. I'll stop there. 

Verse number 12 says, Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like rottenness to the house of Judah. And so we see that the judgments of God begin kind of softly. I mean, a moth, how destructive is a moth? It's kind of imperceptible at the beginning. They begin to eat away at the clothing, and you don't really notice it until it's too late, and now the garment is ruined because of the moth. 

Or like rottenness in the bones. We see, I've seen it when I was working electrical, and I'd work in log homes, and you'd see some rot beginning to happen in some of those logs. And it was slow.

It was a slow process. It took a while to get there. And he's saying, look, I am like moth to Ephraim. I am like rottenness to the house of Judah. It's slow in coming. And then verse 13, he says, When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to King Jerob. But he is unable to heal you. They both recognized their weakened state. Both Israel and Judah recognized that they were in a weakened state. That they could not continue in the way that they were going, and that they needed help. They recognized it. They saw it. They recognized and saw it. But instead of repenting and turning back to the only one who was able to save completely and eternally, they turned to man to bring them deliverance. 

And so we see Ephraim turning to Assyria. Second Kings, let's go back there quick. Second Kings, chapter 15. Second Kings, chapter 15. This is the first time that we see it happening. In verse number 17, Menahem was the king of the northern tribes at this time. And this is really close to the end of the northern tribes. It says, In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel and reigned ten years in Samaria. He did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. Pul, king of Assyria, came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his rule. 

Then Menahem exacted the money from Israel, even from all the mighty men of wealth, from each man fifty shekels of silver to pay the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned and did not remain there in the land. So here you see the first where God says, You turned to Assyria to be your help. Assyria at this time was the strongest and the greatest nation. It ruled the then known world. Assyria was the top dog. And so, Menahem recognizing that they were weak, that they were falling apart, appeals to Assyria saying, Come on and come and help us. We are in a bad state. 

And then in chapter 17, verses 1 to 6, it says this. This is the reign of Hoshea, and he is the final king of Israel before they go. And in verse 1 it says, In the twelfth year of Ahaz, king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king over Israel and Samaria and reigned nine years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, not only as the kings of Israel who were before him. Shalmanazar, king of Assyria, came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to Sow, king of Egypt, and had offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. So the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. 

Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. And so here we see now Hoshea, the final king of Israel, saying to Assyria, Here, I'll give you tribute. Protect me. And during that time then he decides, Hey, I'm going to go and ask Egypt's help. Never. We should never trust on the arm of flesh. Amen. Some men trust in chariots. Some men trust in horses. But we will trust in the name of the Lord our God. 

But Judah also went to Assyria. And I want us to see that. Back in 2 Corinthians 16, verses 1 through 9. It says, In the seventeenth year of Pekah, the son of Ramaliah, Ahaz, the son of Jotham, king of Judah, became king. Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done. But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. Skip down to verse 7. 

So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, saying, I am your servant and your son. Come up and deliver me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel who are rising up against me. Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house, and sent a present to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria listened to him, and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and captured it, and carried the people away into exile to Kerr, and put Rezin to death. 

And then one more that we'll look at, 2 Chronicles chapter 28. 2 Chronicles chapter 28. Verses 16 to 21. At that time, King Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria for help. For again the Edomites had come and attacked Judah and carried away captives. The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland and of the Najav of Judah, and had taken Beshemesh, Ajalon, Gederoth, and Sokol with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages, and they settled there. For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz, king of Israel, who had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah, and was very unfaithful to the Lord. 

So Tilgath-Pilnezer, king of Assyria, came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. And so this is what he's talking about in this verse where he says that Ephraim, when he saw his sickness, when he saw that weakened state that he was in, and Judah saw that he was wounded and that he was in a bad state, says that they went and they appealed to the king of Assyria and to King Jerob, which just means a... I can't remember what Jerob means. It's not an actual name. It's kind of a title. But he says, he is unable to heal you. And indeed, he was unable to heal. 

And then in verse number 14, he says, for I will be like a lion to Ephraim. Now we're gone from being a moth and rottenness. Now we're going to be a lion. I will be like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away. I will carry away and there will be none to deliver. I will go away and return to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face. In their affliction, they will earnestly seek me. The dealings of God at first were gentle. A moth, rottenness, kind of slowly developing. But now he says, I am going to be like a lion to Ephraim.

I'm going to be like a young lion. I'm going to tear and I'm going to go away. We see that the judgments, the dealings of God were at first gentle, but now they're going to be overwhelming. And in verse 15, he says, I will go away and return to my place. And I see here an allusion to, John chapter seven, verses 33 to 34, where Jesus said, therefore Jesus said, for a little while longer I'm with you than I go to him who sent me. You will seek me and will not find me. And where I am, you cannot come. 

Remember that when Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees? He was talking to the religious rulers of that day. And he says, you're going to seek me. You're not going to find me. I'm going to go away to my place. And we know that shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus, it wasn't very many years after that, that Jerusalem was destroyed. Jesus had gone back to his place. He had ascended to the right hand of the Father. And Jerusalem was destroyed. And that's kind of what happens here. 

Two scriptures I want us to look at. Deuteronomy chapter four speaks directly to what's going on here. Deuteronomy chapter four. And I'm giving you these things so that you can take this home and study them out for yourself, because these things are good for us to know. Chapter four, beginning at verse 25. Deuteronomy 4.25. When you become the father of children and children's children, and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that you will surely perish quickly from the land until you are going over to Jordan to possess it. 

You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you. There you will serve God's, the work of man's hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him if you search for him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and listen to his voice. 

For the Lord your God is a compassionate God. He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which he swore to them. So here's, before they even entered the land, God said this was gonna happen. Said you're gonna act corruptly and you're gonna get tossed out of the land. But don't you just love that God isn't done, amen? And if there's anybody from the house of Israel that's within my earshot or listening to this, return to the Lord your God. He is compassionate and he is gracious. 

Jeremiah chapter 29. Let's go to Jeremiah chapter 29. We're almost done, so. Jeremiah chapter 29. And Jeremiah's writing to the tribe of Judah that was carried away captive to Babylon. Remember Babylon destroyed Assyria and became the great kingdom at that time. And they had carried away Judah. They had destroyed Jerusalem. They had carried Judah away captive. And now Jeremiah is writing to them after spending his entire life preaching to them and trying to call them back to the Lord and nobody listened. 

And so beginning at verse number 10. Says for thus says the Lord, when 70 years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill my good word to you and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. 

I will be found by you declares the Lord and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you declares the Lord. And I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile. So here we have these promises. If you will seek me with your whole heart and all that we would seek the Lord with everything that's within us, not half hearted like the people of Israel going with their flocks in their herds half heartedly and trusting all kinds of other things, but with our whole heart that we would seek the Lord our God. 

And we will find him he says, just like he took promise to the children of Israel and to the children of Judah when they were in captivity to Babylon. Okay, and then I don't understand why these next three verses in chapter six are not a part of chapter five, they should be. And so I'm gonna read them with it. Because now here is the prophet crying out to the people. He's just pronounced everything that God had told him to proclaim about all of the judgments that are about to come and this is the response. 

Come, let us return to the Lord, for he has torn us, but he will heal us. He has wounded us, but he will bandage us. He will revive us after two days. He will raise us up on the third day that we may live before him. So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth. Come, return, he says, return, let us go back to the Lord. Let us turn back to the Lord. 

You know, it's not too late for you to turn back to the Lord. If you have walked away from the Lord this morning, it's not too late for you to return to the Lord. If you have, it says now return, he has torn us. He has ripped us. And this is a prophecy, folks, because at the point of writing this, these things had not happened in the Northern Kingdom yet. They had not been taken care of and carried into captivity. None of these have happened. Now he's saying, come, let us return to the Lord, for he has torn us. Because it's as certain, and when God says that something is certain, it's certain. It's as good as done. And the prophet is saying he has torn us, but he will heal us. He has wounded us, but he will bandage us.

He will heal us. Unlike Assyria, who was unable to heal, God will heal his people. And he says he will revive us after two days, and will raise us up on the third day. Now what do you suppose he's talking about here? Remember when Jesus was walking on the road to Emmaus with those two disciples, and it says that he just took them to the scriptures and explained all the things concerning him. Well, this is one of those things concerning him. He will revive us after two days. He will raise us up on the third day. This is a prophecy concerning the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

When he says I will go away and return to my place, he has torn us. When he says he has torn us, remember that Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, often stood in the place of Israel. In fact, he stood in the place of Israel and took the full brunt of the wrath of the Lord God upon himself. He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Praise God. He has torn, but he will heal. And he says after the second day, not on the second day, after the second day. What's after the second day? The third day. Amen, that's resurrection. After the second day, he will revive us. He will raise us up on the third day. This is the promise of God to the children of Israel. 

Now, they would have understood this to mean a short time. After a short time, God is going to do this. But I see in this the prophecy of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what I see. We know that the resurrection of the dead is the basis of our faith. According to 1 Corinthians chapter 10, it says that if Christ has not been raised, then we are still in our sins and we have no hope. But we have hope because God has raised him from the dead. Amen? 

So he says, so then let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. In Colossians chapter three, let's go to Colossians chapter three quick. In Colossians chapter three, verses one to four, it says this. Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, and again, that's not a condition. This is more like since you have been, okay? This is, therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not the things that are on earth. For you have died. Do you believe that? Do you believe that you have died? And that's in the past tense. Do you understand that? This is what God says about you. You have died and your life is hidden with Christ and God. Amen. 

When did this happen? On the day we came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It says that God took us and placed us into the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Romans chapter six. This is when it happened. He has placed us into the death of Christ. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. So let us press on to know the Lord. 

Now that we are in Christ, now that we have died and we have been raised up with him, now let us press on to know the Lord because that is the most important thing, is our knowledge of God. We should be growing in our knowledge of God. Remember what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians chapter three, where he says, oh, that I might know him. After 30 years of ministry, here he is in a prison in Rome, and the cry of his heart after all of this time is still, oh, that I might know him, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, that I might be conformable to his death. Glory to God. 

The most important thing, the greatest thing that we could ever do is come to full knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you're not hungering and thirsting after righteousness, if you are not hungering and thirsting to know more about God, I would question where you are in God. I would question and say, do you really understand that you have died and that your life is hidden with Christ and God? Would you, do you really know that? And if you would, the fruit of this is going to be a desire to know the Lord with all of your heart, soul, strength, and mind. 

And so, no, this book of Hosea was not written to us. It was written to the children of Israel. But we know that God is not done with Israel. The church has not replaced Israel. Remember, the church was something that was a mystery that wasn't revealed until Christ gave it to the Apostle Paul. That's when the church came to realization. But these promises that are made here are given to the children of Israel. 

And the basis for Israel's hope is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is their hope. Israel, Jesus Christ is your hope. He is your Messiah. Turn to him. Come back to him. He will receive you. He will bless you. He will turn you around. And this morning, if you have found yourself, maybe you have never placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you today to turn to the Lord. I'm saying turn to him today. He is gracious and compassionate. 

And if you will trust him with all of your heart, soul, strength, and mind, if you will put your faith in him, believe in him, believe that God raised him from the dead, confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, you will be saved. Glory to God. It's not difficult. The gospel is not difficult. It's very, very easy, but man makes it difficult with all of its rules and regulations, with all of its religion and all of the stuff that's piled on. Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. I don't make him Lord. God made him Lord. Amen? 

And I just need to bow my knee and say, Jesus Christ is Lord. And believe in my heart that God raised him from the dead. That is your assurance of salvation. Amen? Praise God. 

Let's have a word of prayer. Father, as we come to the close of this meeting, Lord, Father, I ask Lord that you would help us to understand the things that are written here because they are written for our instruction. And Lord, my job is, I'm poor at it. I'm not good at giving out what it is that you are desiring to say.

But Lord, you can take these words and you can make them real in each and every heart. And so Lord, I'm asking you to do that. 

And Lord, I am so grateful for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So grateful, Lord, because that is my justification. That is my freedom. That is my, Jesus, you are my everything. 

And so Lord, as we go from this place, I pray for your blessing upon each of us as we enjoy this holiday weekend, Lord. I just pray for your protection upon everybody and anyone who's traveling. I pray that you would be with them. 

But Lord, we want to honor you and glorify you even beyond this place. So help us, Lord, I pray in Jesus' name, amen.