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Israel’s Devastating Diagnosis: A False Heart in Need of God’s Redemptive Justice

July 9, 2017 Preacher: Series: The Prophecy of Hosea: The Story of God's Redemptive Justice & Covenant Love

Scripture: Hosea 10:1–15

Key Truth: God exposes the inconsistency between our stated and practiced beliefs calling us to sow righteousness, break up our fallow ground, and seek Him so that He may restore us.

 

Q: What do you think of people whose words and deeds don’t match?

 

 

The Diagnosis: A False Heart, Mere Words, and Empty Oaths:

Hosea 10:1-9

“It is when the calf is carried off that shame will seize them. It is ironic that shame did not seize the people when they consorted with the brazen cult prostitutes, or violated the purity of their traditions, or lied and cheated for profit. It was only when they saw the end result of their folly that they were ashamed. They had learned too late. Their international policies and their worship of the forces of nature had led them to ultimate shame and degradation.”

Thomas Edward McComiskey, “Hosea” in The Minor Prophets: An Exegetical & Expository Commentary, Volume 1

Q: How consistent are your stated beliefs (or words) with your practiced beliefs (or deeds)? How often do you assess the gap between your stated beliefs and your practiced beliefs?

 

 

The Cure: Sow Righteousness, Break Up Fallow Ground, and Seek the Lord:

Hosea 10:10-15: 

“(Paraphrase of 10:12): ‘You know now what God taught you—invest your lives (sow) in keeping with your relationship to God and all its implications (righteousness) and the result (reap) will be a corresponding measure of his steadfast (covenant) love. None of this is easy, and for it to happen you will have to change your patterns and be open to God’s new ways (break up your fallow ground…).’”

David Allan Hubbard, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Vol. 24: Hosea

Q: What are you sowing at this point in your life in your various spheres of influence? What do you expect to reap as a result in the coming months or years?

 

 

Hosea 10:1-15 teaches us that:

-inconsistency between our stated and practiced beliefs proves costly

-God graciously calls us to sow righteousness, break up our fallow ground, and seek Him in repentance or bear the consequence of His judgment