Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20071104.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Hosea: God's BALANCE Of Judging And Blessing His Sinful People
Part II: God's BALANCED Response To The Tangled Jezreel Atrocity
(Hosea 1:3-11)
  1. Introduction
    1. Wrongs done are often so complex in their evil that it seems hopeless for the innocent to acquire justice.
    2. In reality, God's overall plan perfectly balances His judgment with His mercy to untangle and deal with all such complexities, a truth that motivates us to trust God with the unfair injustices we face in life:
  2. God's BALANCED Response To The Tangled Jezreel Atrocity, Hosea 1:3-11.
    1. An atrocity that seemed too complex in its waywardness to be humanly solvable occurred at Jezreel:
      1. Jehu intimidated the elders of Samaria who were raising Ahab's seventy sons into killing the boys, and placing their heads in piles by the city gate at Jezreel while Jehu claimed he was innocent of it all, and that the atrocity fulfilled God's prophecy , 2 Kings 10:1-11 with 1 Kings 19:17. Yes, God predicted via 1 Kings 19:17 that Ahab's ruling family would be slain, but it was evil for Jehu to slaughter innocent boys and pretend he was not responsible, and justify their deaths with the claim God had sanctioned it.
      2. On the other hand, Ahab was vile in his rule of the Northern Kingdom of Israel: he deserved death for having led the nation into Baalism and for countering God's messengers, 1 Kings 16:31; 18:4.
      3. However, what had helped instigate this idolatry was the original idolatrous syncretism of Jeroboam I, the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, cf. 1 Kings 16:31a,b with 1 Kings 12:26-30.
      4. Looking beyond even Jeroboam's sin, we note it was Solomon's idolatry that resulted in God's judging his kingdom to be rent with ten of the tribes going to Jeroboam, 1 Kings 11:9-13 with 11:29-40.
      5. Accordingly, the injustice of Jehu done to Ahab's seventy innocent sons seemed too complex in its evil setting for any human even to be willing to counter, and for the slaying of the children to be avenged!
    2. However, God promised to untangle the web with a perfect balance of judgment and grace, Hosea 1:3-11:
      1. After God directed Hosea to marry a maid who would prove to be adulterous, he took Gomer as his bride, and she conceived as his wife and bore him a son, Hosea 1:3.
      2. God told Hosea to call his boy's name "Jezreel," for God planned to avenge Jehu's atrocity done unto Ahab's boys that was done in connection to that city's gates, Hosea 1:4a, b.
      3. Also, the Northern Kingdom of Israel that had gone apostate from the days of its first king, Jeroboam I, an aspostasy that had influenced the wicked Ahab to delve into Baal worship and his vile deeds against godly people (1 Kings 16:31 et al.), would cease to exist in divine judgment as God broke the bow, or the military strength of that Northern Kingdom, via Assyrian invasion, Hosea 1:4a, c, 5; 2 Kings 15:29.
      4. Gomer then bore Hosea a daughter, so God had him call her "Lo-ruhamah," or "unpitied" to teach God would destroy apostate Israel as a kingdom, Hos. 1:6; Ryrie St. Bib., KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to Hosea 1:6.
      5. Yet, God would initially save the Southern Kingdom of Judah from Assyria by His power, Hosea 1:7. This prediction was fulfilled when the Angel of the Lord slew the Assyrian army, 2 Kings 19:14-37.
      6. After Lo-ruhamah, Gomer conceived again, bearing a son whom God told Hosea to name "Lo-ammi," meaning "not my people," Hosea 1:8-9a; Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Hosea 1:9. This name would be given in view of God's final rejection of even Judah for her sin as she went into Babylon in captivity, Hos. 1:9b.
      7. Nevertheless, after all this judgment, in the Messianic Kingdom and in contrast to the atrocity against Ahab's seventy boys, the children of Israel would again become as numerous as the sand of the sea in accord with the Abrahamic covenant, Hosea 1:10a with 1:4 and Genesis 22:15-18.
      8. Also, in the Messianic Kingdom, God would take back His people again, but no more as a divided kingdom, but as a united kingdom under the house of David, and the city of Jezreel, which means literally "God sows," will be "sown" with much people and much agricultural bounty for which the valley was historically famous, Hosea 1:10b-11; Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Hosea 1:4 and 1:10-11.
Lesson: In perfect judgment followed by merciful blessing, God would deal with the atrocity of Jezreel.

Application: May we leave the tangled injustices we experience, or that we see exist in our world, for GOD to handle: only HE can handle them PERFECTLY, and, be sure, He WILL handle them WELL!