Well, this morning as we continue our consideration of the prophecy of Hosea, please turn with me to Hosea chapter 10. Hosea chapter 10. We read and consider this Word of God this morning. Beginning at verse 1, hear now God's holy Word. Israel was a spreading vine. He brought forth fruit for Himself. As His fruit increased, He built more altars. As His land prospered, He adorned His sacred stones. Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones. Then they will say, We have no king because we did not revere the Lord. But even if we had a king, what could He do for us? They make many promises, take false oaths, and make agreements. Therefore, lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field. The people who live in Samaria fear for the calf idol of Beth-Avon. Its people will mourn over it, and so will its idolatrous priests, those who had rejoiced over its splendor, because it is taken from them into exile. It will be carried to Assyria as tribute for the great king. Ephraim will be disgraced. Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols. Samaria and its king will float away like a twig on the surface of the waters. The high places of wickedness will be destroyed. It is the sin of Israel. Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, cover us, and to the hills, fall on us. Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah? When I please, I will punish them. Nations will be gathered against them to put them in bonds for their double sin. Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thrash. So I will put a yoke on her fair neck. I will drive Ephraim. Judah must plow and Jacob must break up the ground. Sow for yourselves righteousness. Reap the fruit of unfailing love and break up your unplowed ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes and showers righteousness on you. But you have planted wickedness. You have reaped evil. You have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors, the roar of battle will rise against your people so that all your fortresses will be devastated as Shalman devastated Beth Arbol on the day of battle when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children. Thus will it happen to you, O Bethel, because your wickedness is great. When that day dawns, the King of Israel will be completely destroyed. Well, beloved, in the Lord Jesus Christ, remember when? Now that's a phrase that we often use, not all the time, but it's a phrase that we often use to bring back fond memories of some event or occasion in our lives. In some ways, we enjoy thinking back to days gone by, maybe to when life was a little bit easier or to some great experience that we enjoyed at that time. To remember when is to bring us back to a place of enjoyment, maybe back to something that we long to experience again. Well, here in Hosea 10, we still find judgment. hosea is still pointing out israel's sin and god's response to that sin in fact now we notice that hosea is turning from the image of judgment that he put before us in chapter 9 to outlining the path that they will take to get there the path that will lead them to god's judgment god will destroy their current way of life their worship and their leadership he will devastate Israel through battle, resulting in her captivity. Yet I believe there are glimpses here of remember when. And a call to be seeking the Lord of hope. With the promise of blessing. As verse 12 says, Sow for yourselves righteousness. Reap the fruit of unfailing love and break up your unplowed ground for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes and showers righteousness on you. but unfortunately, as we saw also with chapter 6, when Hosea laid before them the call to repentance, here we see too in verse 13 that they do not yet see the need. But you have planted wickedness. You have reaped evil. You have eaten the fruit of deception. But maybe, beloved, just maybe, when they are experiencing the lowest of low, maybe then they would remember when. Maybe then they would remember the only true God and remember the blessings that they once enjoyed and turn their hearts to seek the Lord of hope who had called Israel, who had covenanted with Israel, and who is sovereign over Israel. So first of all, seeking the Lord of hope who called Israel. They were the called of the Lord. They were of Abraham's descendants. They were his descendants. They were included in those who would be that great nation promised to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. Those whom the Lord says in Genesis 13 would be strangers and enslaved and mistreated in a land not their own. And also they would be those who were then delivered from Egypt, rescued from slavery, from bondage, set free. In order to receive the land that was promised on oath to Abraham in Genesis chapter 15. They were called to be God's special people. We saw a glimpse of that in chapter 9 with verse 10. When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert. When I saw your fathers, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree, pointing to the delight that the Lord took in that early covenant relationship with Israel. And again, also glimpses in this chapter, I believe, that they were called to be a special people or of their special status. Verse 1, Israel was a spreading vine. The idea of a vine there. And verse 11, Israel is a trained heifer. Now you may not think that it's a compliment to be called a heifer. Especially a trained heifer. But I believe here, it is a compliment for Israel. It points to the fact that she was called to be God's special people. She was the people in whom the Lord delighted. As Moses said in Deuteronomy 7, 7 and 8, The Lord did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath He swore to your forefathers that He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery. They were to be seeking the Lord of hope who had called them, but also, in the second place, who had covenanted with Israel. He had not only called them as a special people, but He bound Himself to her in a covenant fellowship of love. Moses also says in that same chapter 7 of Deuteronomy, if you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep His covenant of love with you as He swore to your forefathers. He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land, your grain, new wine and oil, the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that He swore to your forefathers to give you. You will be blessed more than any other people. None of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young. The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but He will inflict them on all who hate you. He had bound Himself to His people in a covenant fellowship of love. And therefore, as a covenant people of God, Israel was to remember well her provision that her covenant God provided. They were to think back and remember when, remember well her provision in the wilderness, the manna, the quail, things that now for us, as we read them, we might take them for granted. And they did too, it seems. But to remember that steady provision of manna and quail and water when they needed it most. And also clothes and shoes that did not wear out. But even more so, remember the provision that she received in Canaan and in the promised land. Homes and cities that they did not build. Groves and vineyards that they did not plant. Wells that they did not dig. And it's clear that they prospered. Hosea says in verse 2, he speaks of the fact that his fruit increased. And along with that covenantal provision, she was to remember well her covenantal protection. Again, think back. That protection in the wilderness already with the Egyptian army when they were stuck against the Red Sea. And then once they crossed, protection from the Amalekites and from the great kings Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan. But also remember your protection from God's own anger against you. We remember well Mount Sinai and the golden calf and the countless times that they grumbled and complained and fell away from their covenant God and He would have destroyed them and made a great nation out of Moses. They were to remember spiritually their provision and their protection through the sacrificial system that God instituted. Yes, I will accept the blood of another for you. And also remember their protection in the land of Cain and God drove out many nations before them. And that provision and protection as a nation is seen especially in the reigns of David and Solomon. Their rule and their power spread far and wide. Beloved, God was faithful to His covenant promises. So much more so than Israel deserved. In fact, so faithful He says in Isaiah chapter 5, what more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it. Oh, Israel, remember when. Think back. Remember when. But they were also to remember not only their covenant provision and their covenant protection, but the covenant prescription that God had laid upon them. What God had required of them. And here you see the memories are not so pleasant. What was Israel's part of the covenant? Well, again, Moses outlines it very clearly in Deuteronomy, but in a nutshell, Deuteronomy 6, verse 5, love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength. And as the Lord said to Abraham in Genesis 17, which we'll also look at tonight, the Lord willing, He says, I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. and in verse 3 of Hosea chapter 10, then they will say, we have no king because we did not revere the Lord. You see, beloved, Israel's prescription, her covenantal prescription, was not some great work or some hard task to be fulfilled. Israel's covenant God was not like the false gods of the nations who, in the ignorance of the wicked, they thought that the false gods required all kinds of works to be done to please them and to appease them, to cut themselves and to offer their children in the fire and all kinds of terrible things. They thought maybe God was like this too, but He's not. He simply required reverence and awe. Fear. Fear the Lord with reverence. Simply love and trust and obey Him. Recognize His grandeur and glory and His covenant faithfulness. Moses says again in Deuteronomy 7, This time, verse 9, Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is God. He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments. Beloved, God promised such blessing for obedience, blessing that would touch every aspect of their life, their work, their children, their livestock, their crops. It was not a tough assignment. 1 John 5, verse 3 says, This is love for God to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome. They are not tedious. They are not difficult. Again, the psalmist says they are a delight. They are sweeter than honey. And I believe this was Israel's early experience. Looking at verse 11 again, Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thrash. Now, why would she love to thresh? That's work. Well, because threshing was a comparatively light task that was made pleasant by the fact that the unmuzzled ox, a heifer, was free to eat of the grain that it was walking upon. Deuteronomy 25.4 says, Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain. God's covenant kindness came with no heavy yoke. It was a yoke of blessing. Israel was to be trained, teachable that she might be responsive and useful to the Lord and this was not difficult simply obeying you see the metaphor here of a trained heifer of an owner's consideration of the animal and the animal's obedience and contentment pointed to the intended blessing of this covenant relationship beloved our God is not some sort of a heavy taskmaster or tyrant beating his people until they can no longer give he is gracious and compassionate slow to anger abundant in loving kindness and obedience to him is pleasant Israel knew that life was much better when she was obeying the Lord It was then that she was enjoying His blessing. And boys and girls, you know too that if you obey the household rules, there's less conflict. There's less discipline. Everybody is happier. And we know too if we obey the laws of the land. Life is easier for us. We don't find ourselves in trouble. But disobedience brings with it a hard life. It brings all kinds of trouble. and that was in Israel's future as the Lord of hope whom she was called to seek was also the one in the third place who is sovereign over Israel. And that's something that she had forgotten. She had turned to idols, to other gods. She had forgotten the sovereignty of her God. Israel had forgotten that she existed for God, not God existing for her. She had taken the blessings of God for granted as his favored vine. She did not sow seed of love and righteousness and truth, but sour grapes of deception and wickedness. She claimed to be devoted to God, but practiced devotion to Baal. And therefore, she would experience the sovereignty of God, not in a pleasant way, not by way of covenantal blessing, but in the very unpleasant way of his covenantal curses. as she would experience the sovereignty of God, as he would be removing Israel's pride. He was going to wipe it out. Her cult, her king, her capital. First of all, her cult, beginning in verse 1 again, Israel was a spreading vine. He brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars. As his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. the Lord will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones. And v. 5-6, the people who live in Samaria fear for the calf idol of Beth-Avon. Its people will mourn over it and so will its idolatrous priests, those who had rejoiced over its splendor because it is taken from them into exile. It will be carried to Assyria as tribute for the great king. Ephraim will be disgraced. Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols. God would wipe out her cult. Her altars would be demolished. She had built with her wealth all these altars. No doubt she claimed, but Lord, we did this for You. You see? We did this that we might have more places in which to worship You and worship You more often. Yet God did not demand altars. He did not demand sacred stones which they used then for syncretistic worship, mixing the worship of Yahweh with the worship of idols? They drew near to Him with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him. And therefore, God must now do with Israel's cult what Israel was supposed to do to the Canaanites. He will completely destroy the cult so that not even the physical symbols of worship would remain. How much of our lives, beloved, are set up like little altars on an hour or two on Sunday. An occasional Bible study. A token prayer here and there. We figure it's enough to keep God satisfied. But the rest of my life, well, that's my business. Oh, indeed, beloved, we give God credit for our success and for all of our vast possessions, but then we use these very same things in a worldly way. One Dutch Reformed theologian of the last century gave an illustration similar to this. For example, we think of wedding anniversaries and we praise God, we give God credit for 30, 40, 50 years of marriage. He has been our Ebenezer, our rock of refuge as well. But then our celebration is far from God. Our celebration of this event, these events are more like the world. Their altars will be demolished. But also, the calf idol will be trophied. It will become the trophy for the king of Assyria. In Hosea's language here, he reminds Israel that the calf idol is only a dumb object. It has to be carried. Boys and girls, what kind of a god is that? That has to be carried. And once the gold is removed from it, all that's left is wood that can be burned up to nothing but ash. And Hosea also points out here with his language that he points out that God's ability to send Israel's idol into exile is proof of His sovereignty. And it's also proof of Israel's foolish choice for a protector. The dumb idol and not God. And he says, its people mourn. Notice, what a shame. They are considered to be Baal's people. They belong to Baal. And their mourning is nothing more than worldly grief like Judas Iscariot gave that leads to nowhere but death. It was not like Peter's grief, godly sorrow like Peter demonstrated, of which Paul says brings repentance that leads to salvation. Beloved, when you put your trust in things of this world, even in people, when they are taken away, when they fail, then there is absolutely no comfort. There is no hope. There is no salvation. Her cult would be removed, but also her king. Verse 7, Samaria and its king will float away like a twig on the surface of the waters. Verse 15, when that day dawns, the king of Israel would be completely destroyed. The people needed a king who would provide leadership and justice and protection as a representative of their covenant God. But her kings were only selfish. They were only in it for their own good. They made wicked alliances with the nations, and in doing so, they rejected God, and they produced only treachery like poisonous weeds in a food-producing field that chokes out the food. The kings were also a part of the death of the nation. And then finally her capital would be removed. Again, verse 7, Samaria and its king will float away like a twig on the surface of the waters. Actually, it's more like a splinter. And we know that even the smallest amount of water, even this cup of water here, if there was a splinter in there and I could shake it around, that splinter has no power. It is just cast about effortlessly. The capital, the people, would be carried away helpless and powerless. Which ought to be no surprise because God says in Isaiah, the nations, including Israel, are like a drop in the bucket. They are as dust on the scales. Israel had turned from her sovereign God to trust in the things of this earth. Her pride would be removed, but also she would experience God's sovereignty in another difficult way as he would be punishing Israel's rebellion. We see that again throughout this chapter. Her rebellion, that is. Beginning at verse 8, the high places of wickedness will be destroyed. It is the sin of Israel. Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, cover us and to the hills, fall on us. Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained, did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah? When I please, I will punish them. Nations will be gathered against them to put them in bonds for their double sin. Picking it up at verse 13. But you have planted wickedness. You have reaped evil. You have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors, the roar of battle will rise against your people so that all your fortresses will be devastated as Shalman devastated Beth Arbol on the day of battle when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children. Thus will it happen to you, O Bethel, because your wickedness is great. When that day dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed. Indeed, he would be punishing Israel's rebellion. Seen also in the fact that Bethel, maybe you noticed, Bethel, house of God, had a name changed to Beth-Avon, house of iniquity. And Hosea is calling Israel to think back and must see her wickedness as an extension of the past. Again, he mentions Gibeah. We talked about that last week. We remember the Levite and his concubine. Her tragic death and how he cut her up. And at that time, the other tribes all descended upon Benjamin. The evildoers were cast into battle, Hosea says. And now that extension is happening here. The same wickedness is taking place. And therefore, Israel will be given over in war. And in that war, there will be no mercy. Now we don't know for sure what Shalman and Beth Arbol, if that's a historic event that we are aware of. Some say yes, some say no. But indeed, Israel was aware of it with the children and their mothers being dashed to the ground. And there would be no mercy now either. Just that bad. And this punishment would be intolerable. Then they will say to the mountains, cover us into the hills, fall on us. The miseries would be so bad that the only relief the people could conceive of would be sudden death and burial to get it all over with right away. Jesus and the Apostle John both quote these words, particularly pointing from John in Revelation to Judgment Day when the wicked will then recognize the sovereignty, the greatness, the power, And the majesty, the unbeatableness of the one they had rejected. Beloved, this was now going to be Israel's yoke. Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh. And it's as if Hosea is saying, but she took it too far. So I will put a yoke on her fair neck. I will drive Ephraim, Judah must plow, and Jacob must break up the ground. Indeed, she would reap that which she had sown. Exile would be a heavy load. Because of her obstinacy, her yoke would not be pleasant. The yoke itself was meant to equalize the weight and make it a little bit easier to drag the load. But if the load is too heavy, the yoke is useless. Her yoke would not be pleasant with a light load, but it would be a harsh, heavy collar of slavery. Yet that yoke of exile with its trouble and its hardship would be used by the Sovereign Lord in restoring Israel's hope. Again, we praise God for that verse 11, Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes and showers righteousness on you. Israel had rejected God's promises, yet those promises were still good for those who would return to the Lord. They needed a heart change. They needed that unplowed ground of the heart broken up, tilled up. They needed a change of direction because you cannot sow righteousness when your heart is overcome by thorns and thistles and by the tangled growth of sin and devotion to the deeds of the flesh and worldliness. This is a call here for faithful allegiance to the sovereign covenant God to so pleasing obedience to God. Righteousness and obedience to God that results in a bountiful harvest. The fruit of God's unfailing love. His covenant faithfulness that they might once again be the objects of God's blessing and favor. We know the rest of the story, don't we? We know that Israel was incapable of this because their sin was indeed so great. We know that this pointed forward to the need for another and therefore we too, beloved, cannot miss here, again in this chapter, what it is that we deserve. In sin, we are the guilty ones. We have planted wickedness and reaped evil and eaten the fruit of deception. That's our sinful nature. We deserve the yoke of sin's eternal consequences. Yet, what we are given in the Lord Jesus Christ is the very opposite. You see, He has taken that yoke. He has borne the burden of our sin, the torment of the wrath and the punishment of God, the curse upon Himself. He endured hellish separation from God. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, beloved, those for whom He died are given new life because He sowed perfect righteousness for us. We reap the unfailing love of God. You see, we too are the called of God. We are those whom God has covenanted with and brought us into His covenant of grace. And we are those who have experienced God's sovereignty as our sin needed to be paid for and God provided another as only He could do. And by faith, God showers the righteousness of Christ upon those who believe so that we might be made acceptable in His sight. That we might be made able to stand in His presence. And our comfort, our comfort is and is to be that because Jesus Christ faced our eternal consequences for sin, that yoke will never ever be placed upon you and me. And we live in the joy that our sin, even the sin that we continue to struggle with, as I said earlier, will never again separate us from God. Because it is all forgiven in Jesus Christ. But there's still this life to contend with, isn't there? It's not always easy. We have the joy of salvation in our God, but we still struggle with the deeds of the flesh at times. And as those who are the called of God, who have been blessed by His grace, indeed we are called to sow righteousness as His believing people. Desiring and seeking to live in obedience that pleases God. God does not require of us, beloved, some great, some difficult work to earn His saving love because Jesus Christ has done it all for us. He simply says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. And the blessing for those who believe, Jesus says, is if you love me, you will keep my commandments. And indeed, how pleasant that is. And our God will bless us. Our God blesses faithfulness. He blesses faithfulness. Maybe not with long life. Maybe not with health and wealth. maybe not with all the things of this world as some would have us to believe, but He blesses our faithfulness with contentment. With the peace that passes understanding. With an indescribable joy. He blesses us with these things that the world cannot even begin to conceive of. Indeed, when we fall away for a season and He restores us, beloved, it may not be easy. because disobedience earns a yoke of hardship. And it may very well be that you and I will reap in this life. I have. Maybe you have too. We will reap in this life the results of the sin that we have sown, yet we will not reap it eternally. When we face the consequences of our sin, God often uses that to bring us back to Himself and to draw us closer to Himself. We are, in this life, we are surrounded by sin. Sin that often looks attractive. And we must confess, too, that the sinful habits die hard. It may feel like a heavy yoke. Those who are born again by the grace of God, those who are set in a new direction, the direction of God, still experience the old friends and the old habits and the old desires knocking at the door of our heart. Though our eternity is secure, this life can be difficult in this way. But His promise, you see, which only makes sense to us because it comes from a sovereign God, His promise is that when you experience the troubles and the hardships of life, even because of your sin, I will be with you because you are mine. And our Savior promises in Matthew chapter 11, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Beloved, He calls us to trust in Him alone for salvation. And for those who know that grace of God by faith, we are called to strive to obey Him, which is pleasing to the Lord. We are called to remember when. We are called to remember when Jesus Christ bore that greatest yoke in the history of the world. Not for himself, but for you and me who would believe by the grace of God. And therefore, indeed, in him may we sow righteousness, striving to live godly lives that are pleasing to him, trusting in God alone for the increase as he promises to reign his kindness and his mercy on all who believe. Indeed, we have experienced His sovereignty, the sovereignty of God through Jesus Christ as our sin had to be paid for. And only a sovereign God could do that. And therefore in Him, beloved, we reap the bountiful harvest of salvation, being confident that we will never be without God's covenant, faithfulness, and loyalty as we will receive the inheritance preserved in heaven for all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen. Let's pray together. Father, as we bow before you, we do praise your name again for the hope that you alone give in the midst of a hopeless world. We praise your name for your love and your kindness poured out upon us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Knowing that there was nothing that we could do to bring ourselves into a right relationship with You, yet because of Your great love, You provided that. And You have showered us with Your blessings, the blessings of Your grace. And indeed, we praise You, Father, for indeed You are God and God alone. There is none like You. Help us to put away the gods of our own making, the gods of our imaginations, and the things that we put our trust in at times. And more and more be wholly devoted to you, even as you have been and are devoted to us through your Son, Jesus Christ. Hear our prayer, O Lord, which we offer with thanksgiving and praise. In Jesus' name alone, Amen.