Please turn with me this morning to Hosea chapter 6, Hosea chapter 6 as we pick up where we left off last week Sunday morning, we considered chapter 6 verses 1 through 6, and we begin at verse 7 of chapter 6, reading through chapter 7, giving consideration to this portion of Scripture this morning. Hosea chapter 6, beginning at verse 7, as we now give our attention to the Word of God. Like Adam, they have broken the covenant. They were unfaithful to me there. Gilead is a city of wicked men, stained with footprints of blood. As marauders lie in ambush for a man, so do bands of priests. They murder on the road to Shechem, committing shameful crimes. I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel. There Ephraim is given to prostitution and Israel is defiled. Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed. Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed. They practice deceit. Thieves break into houses. Bandits rob in the streets. But they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them. They are always before me. They delight the king with their wickedness, the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it rises. On the day of the festival of our king, the princes become inflamed with wine and he joins hands with the mockers. Their hearts are like an oven. They approach him with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night. In the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. All of them are hot as an oven. They devour their rulers. All their kings fall and none of them calls on me. Ephraim mixes with the nations. Ephraim is a flat cake not turned over. Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice. Israel's arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this, he does not return to the Lord as God or search for Him. Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless, now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria. When they go, I will throw my net over them. I will pull them down like birds of the air. When I hear them flocking together, I will catch them. Woe to them because they have strayed from me. Destruction to them because they have rebelled against me. I long to redeem them, but they speak lies against me. They do not cry out to me from their hearts, but wail upon their beds. They gather together for grain and new wine, but turn away from me. I trained them and strengthened them. But they plot evil against me. They do not turn to the Most High. They are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt. Well, beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, these are hard words to hear, aren't they? They're hard words to read, hard words to consider. Because these words of our Lord are, in a sense, we might say, far from edifying. We might rather say they're kind of depressing, maybe because they hit home a little bit for us. But this is the kind of portion of Scripture, I dare say, that we like to skip over. And if we do read it, we begin to wonder, well, what does it have to do with me? What does it have to do with us here today? And the answer is, beloved, it has everything to do with us, especially as the Holy Spirit, through this Word, strengthens our faith in the unimaginable greatness of the cross of Jesus. Again, you recall from last week, Sunday morning, that with chapter 6, verses 1 through 6, We considered together that God speaks to Israel from His heart. And as He speaks to them, He does so. First of all, then we said, by calling them to true repentance, promising restoration and forgiveness. But the second part of that was that He speaks to them from the heart, lamenting their present reality. Saddened by their present reality because they were in no shape, as it were, to repent. And now that lament continues as God outlines their moral corruption. Their moral corruption, which we know is a natural result, it flows from their spiritual apostasy. We find here a catalog of their sins listed for us one after the other. But Israel, like the wicked today, and even like many Christians at times, thinks that God doesn't see. Israel thinks that God is unaware of her sin. Like the psalmist in Psalm 73, verse 11 says of the wicked, they say, how can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge? That's what they think. He has no clue. Yet He answers in chapter 7, verse 2, but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them. They are always before Me. And as David makes clear in Psalm 139, God knows everything about us. Even before we do. He knows it perfectly. Even our sin. And the psalmist in Psalm 90 verse 8 says, You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins, in the light of your presence. Israel was deceived. Israel was arrogant. And therefore Israel did not understand the x-ray vision of God. The x-ray vision of God that exposes Israel's hypocrisy, that uncovers Israel's ignorance, and that reveals Israel's uselessness. God's x-ray vision, first of all, exposes Israel's hypocrisy. You see, for all of their spiritual prostitution and apostasy, for all of their wickedness, Israel still thought, believe it or not, she still thought that she was in the Lord's good graces. She still thought that He was at her beck and call like a genie in a bottle, He just rubbed the bodily, pops out, he grants a wish, he goes back until next time. Yet in chapter 7, Hosea gives four images, maybe you caught them, four images, very clear images, to show how God considers those who confess His name, yet continue in their rebellious way of life. And the first image is that of an oven. Verse 4 of chapter 7 says, They are all adulterers, burning like an oven, whose fire the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it rises. Then six and seven, their hearts are like an oven. They approach him with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night. In the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. All of them are hot as an oven. They devour their rulers. All their kings fall and none of them calls on me. Now often that illustration of a burning oven is talking about the burning passion of sexual desire that drives the adulterer and drives the prostitute in their activities. And that certainly is included here. This is part of their moral corruption. But I believe the illustration here is to be considered much more broadly because of the broad range of sin that is listed. And therefore, we ought to think of this oven, this burning oven, as a burning passion in the heart that is constantly smoldering is for committing sin. A burning passion for doing all kinds of evil. They're told depravity, you see, is unmistakable. And it's made clear in Israel's hypocrisy, that hypocrisy which is against God. Chapter 6, verse 7 says, Like Adam, they have broken the covenant. They were unfaithful to me there. Now that word Adam is taken in different ways. Some take it to mean the very first man. Others say that it's talking about a place that was called Adam at that time where something had happened. Others say still that it's talking about man in general, wicked man in general. I tend to agree with those who say it's talking about the first man who broke covenant with God, who disobeyed God's covenant. And therefore, like him, Israel also disobeyed, broke covenant with God. But either way, no matter how you take it, it's pointing to disobedience, hypocrisy against God. And that was being carried out by the people. And that's very clear by the sins that are listed. Murder, prostitution, deceit, and robbery, to mention a few. We heard the law of God this morning. We can check them off one by one. These things that were committed by the people breaking the law of God. You notice also a number of place names that are included here. And those place names may refer to actual historical events. It's kind of hard to tell, but they obviously bring embarrassing memories for the hearers. Gilead is one of those places, stained with footprints of blood. It may refer to 2 Kings 15, verse 25, where we read that Pekah engaged the services of 50 men from Gilead, and they went to Samaria to assassinate Pekahiah, who was reigning at that time, and Pekah took the throne. An example of their hypocrisy against God through their murder by the people. But it wasn't limited to the people. Also, their religious leaders by the priests. Verse 9 says, As marauders lie in ambush for a man, so do bands of priests. They murder on the road to Shechem, committing shameful crimes. Again, it may point to the fact that Shechem, you see, was one of the cities of refuge. It was one of those cities that was set aside by God where one who accidentally murdered someone could flee to for safety to get a fair trial. And the priest, part of their job was to protect the way to the cities of refuge. But here we see that those who were supposed to mediate between the people and God, those who were supposed to offer sacrifice on behalf of the people for sin, those who were supposed to be the face of God. Their hypocrisy is seen in that they were more concerned about their own influence and their own power and they would murder to get their way. Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 28 points to the terrible condition of the priesthood when he says, And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer. Priests and prophets, he includes, stagger from beer. They are befuddled with wine. They reel from beer. They stagger when seeing visions. They stumble when rendering decisions. All the tables are covered with vomit. And there is not a spot without filth. Hypocrisy against God by the people and by the priests. And it didn't end there. They're governmental leaders by the king. Chapter 7, verse 1 speaks of the crimes of Samaria. Samaria was the royal seat where the throne was. We read in verse 3 of chapter 7, They delight the king with their wickedness, the princes with their lies. The kings enjoyed it. Verse 5, on the day of the festival of our king, maybe his birthday, maybe his coronation, the princes become inflamed with wine and he joins hands with the mockers. The king was called to rule as the representative, the agent of God. He was called to uphold God's law. He was called to rule with justice and righteousness. But the kings not only fail to stem the tide of evil, but they participate in it. Hypocrisy against God by the entire nation, the people, the priests, the king. But also really then hypocrisy against itself, the nation against itself. There was no love for each other, again visible in the murder and the stealing and adultery, and no respect for the king. Chapter 7, verses 1-7 point really to a coup, conspiring against God's appointed ruler. Notice again verses 6 and 7, Their hearts are like an oven. They approach him, that is the king, with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night. In the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. All of them are hot as an oven. They devour their rulers. All their kings fall. Now we know, of course, that of the last six kings of Israel, four of them were assassins. Four of them fit exactly what Hosea is talking about here. That burning passion in their heart to get rid of their authority. But the point being, beloved, the nation was in chaos. The nation was self-destructing. yet we hear those sad words none of them calls on me sin and wickedness was burning inside the nation like a smoldering oven that blazes with a fire of evil deeds and in chapter 7 verse 2 we read again but their sins engulf them they are always before them their sins surrounded them they couldn't get away from their sin The sin was with them when they lied down, when they got up, wherever they went. One commentator says, they, the sin, they live with Him, but do not die with Him. The sin does not die with an individual. Sin that is not paid for, sin that is not forgiven, beloved, will live against one forever. Their sin was like enemy troops surrounding them that had a stranglehold on them, And Israel was learning the hard way that God does not bless unfaithfulness. And that's what we need to remember too. I think sometimes we act as if He does. Either He doesn't see our sin or that He blesses unfaithfulness, but God does not bless unfaithfulness, but instead He removes His hand of blessing. They had forfeited God's covenant blessings. They had earned God's covenant curses. And we notice, too, then, that sin leads to ignorance, which God's x-ray vision also, in the second place, uncovers. And as we see this, here we notice two more of those four images. Two images that remind us of the blinding power of sin. The first is that Israel is like a flat cake. Beginning in verse 8 of chapter 7, Ephraim mixes with the nations. Ephraim is a flat cake, not turned over. Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice. Israel's arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this, he does not return to the Lord his God or search for him. Israel is like a flat cake not turned over. He's half-baked. It's like a pancake that's not flipped over. You pour the batter on, boys and girls, and you let it sit there. You never turn it over. And the one side gets burned, but the other side is still doughy, battery, raw. Israel was to be done, as it were, on both sides. They were to be two-faced in a good sort of way. To have two faces about them. And the one face was to be toward the nations, and then they were to be a visible picture of God's grace. While the other face was to be toward God. Faithful to the covenant commands of God. And these two faces were to coordinate. They were to complement each other. But Israel's condition was that they were cold, we might say, on the side facing God. They had neglected Him and rejected Him, but they were burnt. They were well done on the side facing the world, but not in the way they ought to have been. They were not being a visible sermon to the world, but instead, as Hosea makes clear, they were mixing with the world. They were taking up with the world. They were conforming to the world. And we know that that's a temptation for the church in every age to take on the character of the unbelieving world. And we do see it all around us. And we need to guard against it. That's the task of our elders. And they do a good job by the grace of God. but that's the temptation to take on that character of the unbelieving world and to even make the word of God relative to pick and choose what fits me or to try to gain the world by addressing their felt needs those needs that only arise from selfishness and not to address the true needs of the need for salvation but Paul says do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers that's not just talking about marriage do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers oh we work with unbelievers we shop with them we have neighbors who are unbelievers and indeed we are to be kind to them we are to talk with them but not to become intimate with them do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers instead come out from among them and be separate Paul says Israel was a flat cake not turned over The idea is that she was useless. And she made God sick to his stomach, as it were. Like the church in Laodicea, that was lukewarm. We read about in the early chapters of Revelation. Lukewarm, no commitment to God. Again, a compromising church. And he would vomit them out, he says. Because of this, Israel was ignorant. Didn't even see that the world was sucking the very life out of them because sin only takes and takes and takes some more and never gives. Israel didn't realize that the nations were sapping her strength, possibly in allusion to the fact that they were paying so much tribute to the nations that they were seeking help from. They didn't see their hair was turning gray. I can identify this a little bit. When I look in the mirror, I don't see that I don't have hair. I see me as I was many years ago. They didn't recognize it. And the gray hair that it's talking about is not talking about like in other Scripture passages. It's not referring there to a sign of dignity and wisdom. But it's talking about aging. It's talking about failing strength and wearing out. They did not see that their only hope was in their covenant God. Like Samson when his hair was cut, he did not know, the Bible says, that the Lord had left him. their ignorance is also seen in that they are likened to a dove. The third image. And when we think of a dove, we normally think of beauty and peace, but here we are to think of helplessness and senselessness. They had forsaken their true source of national security, which was God alone, and now they didn't know where to turn. They flutter back and forth like a bird that's looking for a place to land, but doesn't know where to land. They're fluttering back and forth between two particular powers, Egypt and Assyria. And again, if we were to take the time to consider the last six kings of Israel, we see that one made alliance with one of those powers. The next king came along and said, we don't need that. So he broke that alliance and then found out he needed something, went somewhere else. Alliances were made, alliances were broken, But the sad point is that no other nation could help Israel because her problem was with the Lord. And he would cover her with his net, his net of judgment through Assyria, pointing to captivity. And God's lament is heard throughout all of this, and none of them calls on me. He does not return to the Lord his God or search for him. And then the end of verse 13, I long to redeem them, but they speak lies against me. They gave lip service to God but their hearts were far from Him. They would turn to everything and everyone but not to their covenant God who loved them and desired to redeem them. And therefore God's x-ray vision in the third place reveals Israel's uselessness. Their uselessness seen in their faulty prayer. Chapter 7 verse 14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail upon their beds. They gather together for grain and new wine but turn away from me. As someone has said, it was like the blackmail of a child's tantrum, kicking and screaming until the parent gives in and gives their way. It was not a genuine heart cry. They wanted what God alone could give them, but they didn't want God himself. Their prayer was like the pagan fertility rites of the nations. The idea is included here. We don't see it in our translation, but the idea of slashing themselves, cutting themselves, cutting their flesh is included here, and then groaning in pain in order to get sympathy or results from or to get the attention of the pagan deity. That's what the pagan fertility rite was all about. We think of Elijah on Mount Carmel. The prophets of Baal were cutting themselves, crying out, Oh, Baal, hear us. But when their alliances failed, beloved, the people responded as pagans. And therefore their prayer was useless. It was not from a heart of faith. It was not to the one true God. It was not offered in a way that is pleasing to God. It was not offered in a way that he would hear. But their uselessness is also seen then in that fourth image. They were a faulty instrument. Verses 15 and 16 of chapter 7. I trained them and strengthened them, but they plot evil against me. They do not turn to the Most High. They are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt. Now, their original success came only from God. God gave Israel victory back in the beginning. He made them to be a strong, accurate bow or instrument in his hands. But they had failed to remember the past. They had failed to remember God's covenant faithfulness that had been demonstrated to them over and over and over again. And beloved, when you forget God's benefits, then there's nothing to hold on to in times when it seems like you're alone. When you forget God's benefits, then there's nothing to hold on to in times when it seems that you are alone. Their defectiveness is seen in the fact that they were like a bow either without the string attached on one end or without any tension. But cadets, if you've shot the bow and arrow, you know that if the string is not attached, you're not going to shoot the arrow anyway. And if there's not enough tension, the arrow's going to go like that. Kind of pop out and go down. Without tension, you can't hit the mark. You can't hit the target. And with a faulty bow in a battle, you cannot protect yourself. This points to deadly danger for Israel, Spiritually, they were like a bow that could not shoot an arrow accurately. They were ineffective in their fight against evil. Spiritual accuracy, beloved, it can only be found in obedience to God against whom sin cannot stand. Well, we know Israel's result would be captivity. Verse 16, again, Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt. The last part especially is a fulfillment of Deuteronomy 28.37. You will become a thing of horror, an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the Lord will drive you. Kind of interesting, in the wilderness Moses had pleaded with the Lord, don't destroy them because the nations will laugh. Egypt will laugh. Egypt here is probably pointing to the nations, to their enemy, but it is kind of ironic that Egypt, who saw the power of Almighty God, would now laugh at Israel for forsaking that same God whose power is Almighty. Captivity. Yet, as we have seen so far in our consideration of Hosea, there's always hope. They would be restored. Maybe it's not so clear, but I believe it's there. At the end of chapter 6 and the beginning of chapter 7, Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed in the crimes of Samaria, revealed they would be restored, but not as long as sin stands in the way. The judgment that was to come upon them would expose their sin. It would reveal that their punishment was just. And as we are told at the end of chapter 15, that they would come to their senses. They would seek the Lord. There is the promise, again, of healing. And we cannot miss that this points to the cross. The cross of Christ, the symbol of restoration and reconciliation with God, but also a visible demonstration. The cross is a visible demonstration of the deadliness of sin and of the justice of God's judgment that that punishment for sin is deserved but also a visible demonstration of the deep love of God. So then, what's our connection? Where do we begin to see ourselves here? You see, it's easy to point our finger at the wicked nations of the earth and especially our own nation. Some of you have commented to me so far with this series how, wow, that is just like the good old United States of America. As we look around our own nation, we see the same hypocrisy and the same ignorance and the same uselessness today. We see the rampant wickedness, the burning passion to engage in all kinds of evil. So it's easy to point the finger at the nations. But that's not what God would have us to do, beloved. Instead, He would have us point the finger at ourselves. Especially in the context of the self-examination to which we have been called this morning. The self-examination includes, first of all, knowing our sin and guilt as we read in the form. Knowing our sin and guilt, knowing that what was real for Israel is no less true of each one of us apart from the regenerating grace of God. Knowing that sin and the passion and the desire for committing sin burns deep within us by nature. knowing our sin and guilt by recognizing the hideousness of sin, that it is ugly, that it is disgusting, that it is deadly, and recognizing how it angers God. And when we recognize the hideousness of sin, then we are to see just how far down in the depths He reached to save us. Now, it's easy to think of Israel and say, well, how could God let it go on so long? Why didn't he simply wipe them out? But if we're going to ask that, then we must also think of ourselves. You see, God knew our sin long before we were even born. He knew it on the cross. He knew it as his son was suffering. He knew the sin that you and I would continue to commit even as professing Christians, and he still allowed us to be born. That we might be recipients of His grace and glory. Knowing our sin and guilt, but also self-examination includes knowing Jesus Christ by faith. And understanding His sacrifice, understanding just how far down He reached for you and me. And believing that it's for me too. Understanding that there is no other help for you and me because my problem was with God. Yet as we know Jesus Christ by faith, what a glorious picture of the deep and wondrous love of God who did not turn His back on us, who did not destroy us in a moment because He longs to redeem. Instead, while we were still sinners, He gave His Son, God Himself, upon whom He would pour out His wrath against sin. Sin, which is a demonstration of hate against God. even the sin that you and I commit today. It is a demonstration of hate against God. But as we know Jesus Christ by faith, we are called to remember always what Jesus Christ has done for us that alone gives us hope and trouble and comfort that Christ's sacrifice covers all of our sin, even that which we commit today. But self-examination not only knows our sin and guilt and knows Jesus Christ by faith, but it knows how to be grateful. Desires to be grateful and to show that gratitude. It knows how to show thankfulness and gratitude to God. And that showing of gratitude, beloved, includes coming to the Lord's table in faith and knowing that we are completely undeserving, but also knowing that we are totally welcome in Jesus Christ. and knowing what the Holy Spirit does for us as we come. But even beyond the table, beloved, gratitude includes as those who are redeemed from sin and shame, we are called to holiness. Which includes rejecting sin, that sin that once enslaved us, that sin that the world still delights in. And that gratitude includes glorying in the law of God, not as a means to get saved, but as a means by which those who are justified in Christ Jesus, as a means by which we reflect the holiness of God. Loving Him above all and demonstrating that love by loving our neighbor as ourself. Unlike Israel who murdered and stole and was deceitful and filled with adultery, instead we are to promote our neighbor's good. And that gratitude includes having a fiery passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ, A fiery passion to spread that message that for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they will be saved. And that gratitude includes having those two complementary faces, the one toward God, delighting in Him and in His law. But also that face toward the world being a showcase to the world of the grace and the truth and the transforming power of God. And therefore, that gratitude also includes abstaining from becoming intimate with the world, abstaining from willfully putting ourselves in sin's way, in part by surrounding ourselves with unbelieving friends, and by engaging in activities that would compromise our profession of faith. Young people, it includes, unlike Israel, saving yourself and your body for your future husband and wife. Do not offer yourself to that person one day as used goods. And it also includes not having that passion to engage in the activities of the world in the way that the world engages in them. I know that some of you look forward to going off to college to get away from the watchful eye of your parents. I know that some of you desire to go off and to party. To drink to your heart's content. But you don't have that right. You are not allowed to. To engage in that in the way that the world does. Why? Because in Christ, we are new creations. We are new creatures. Believers are not just human. When we sin, the excuse, well, I'm just human, does not cut it. Because we are not just human. We have the Holy Spirit living within us. And we are different. And we are those, beloved, who will fight against the sinful passions that the world willingly feeds. Against those passions that would make us look no different from the world. And therefore, by God's grace, may we be accurate instruments in the hand of God, used by Him to carry out His will. Remember, He doesn't need us. But may it be that He would be pleased to use us. So indeed, these are harsh words, aren't they? Because they point to us. Yet that harsh message, beloved, is replaced by the message of the saving love of God through Jesus Christ, whose blood is sufficient and effective to pay for all of our sins. And therefore, too, let us rejoice in the x-ray vision of God. Not be bothered by it. Let us rejoice in the x-ray vision of God that exposes our sin. Only then to reveal His love in forgiving it. And may our prayer be, beloved, that we would not be ignorant of our sin, but that we would pray with David in Psalm 139, Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, as if David is saying, and show me. Don't let me be ignorant of it. Show me that I might confess it. That I might live in the joy of your forgiving grace. And lead me in the way everlasting. Amen. Let's pray. Lord God, our Heavenly Father. Indeed, we do praise Your name. That You don't allow us to stay ignorant. That You don't leave our sins hidden from us. That You show them clearly to us. Thereby that You might bring us to confess our sins and to know Your forgiving grace. Father, indeed we are humbled as we consider the truth of ourselves before Your holiness. And as again we are reminded of the beauty of Your deep love poured out upon Your people in Christ Jesus and the heights of the glory to which you have brought your people. The glory not only for time and just the taste of it here and there, but the full measure of your glory for all eternity. Thank you for that promise. We praise you for that joy, the joy of the Lord which gives us strength day by day. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.