Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20080323.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Hosea: God's BALANCE Of Judging And Blessing His People
Part XVI: Respecting The Ferocity Of God's Hatred Of Idolatry
(Hosea 13:1-16)
  1. Introduction
    1. Our early American spiritual forefathers, the Puritans and Congregationalists, have often been dismissed by secular historians as people who overemphasized the wrath of God against sinners.
    2. In reality, God is infinitely loving toward the sinner, but equally intolerant of his sin so that if a party persists in his rebellion against God, he can only suffer God's severe punishment.
    3. Hosea 13:1-16 reveals the great ferocity of God's hatred of idolatry, a sin in sophisticated form that we Christians can now commit, 1 John 5:21. We do well to view Hosea 13:1-16 to gain a glimpse of the deep hatred God has of idolatry that we might be motivated to avoid this sin at all costs (as follows):
  2. Respecting The Ferocity Of God's Hatred Of Idolatry, Hosea 13:1-16.
    1. Figuratively speaking of Jeroboam I who was of the dominant tribe of Ephraim in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, God mentioned that when he first spoke as king, there had been respect for him in the response of trembling subjects, Hos. 13:1a; Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 1405 (1 Kings 11:26; 12:1-4, 15-16, 25).
    2. However, once he was exalted, Jeroboam I incurred guilt by way of idolatry with the golden calves (Hosea 13:1b with 1 Kings 12:26-33), and this apostasy led to open rebellion in the form of Baal idolatry especially under Israel's later king Ahab (1 Kings 16:29-31 with Hosea 13:1b); thus, Israel had spiritually died, Hosea 13:1b; cf. Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to Hosea 13:1.
    3. That idolatry had increased: the nation had become involved in crafting idols from precious metals for worship, and even promoting the horrible saying of "Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!" [the golden calves Jeroboam I had set up for Israel to worship in 1 Kings 12:26-33], Hosea 13:2 ESV, NIV.
    4. So, for such wicked idolatry, God promised the guilty would pass away in judgment like the morning fog and dew, the chaff and the smoke from a window each flee away when exposed to the outdoor wind and heat of the weather, Hosea 13:3 ESV.
    5. Opposite the idols, God claimed He was the Lord God Who had been with Israel from her time in Egypt, that He wanted them to know no god but Himself, and that Israel had no Savior but Himself, Hos. 13:4-5.
    6. Indeed, God had known and sustained Israel in the barren wilderness journey, but, once she had entered the Promised Land, she was filled, became proud, and forgot the Lord in favor of false gods, Hosea 13:6.
    7. Thus, though Israel was pictured in Hosea 13:6 as peaceful animals in a pastoral setting feeding on the rich pastures of God's blessing, Hosea 13:7-8 reveals God would turn on His people as an attacking lion, a lurking, fierce leopard prepared to pounce and kill its unwary prey and a furiously angry bear that had been robbed of its cubs, all to inflict terrible physical destruction upon them!
    8. God reviewed Israel's historical apostasy from Himself, noting that she had destroyed herself by turning from the Lord to ask for her own human king when God had been her All-Sufficient Help, Hosea 13:9-10.
    9. The Lord then revealed he had given Israel a king in His anger, but that He would take him away from the nation in His exploding wrath of judgment, Hosea 13:11.
    10. For this reason, the sins of Ephraim, the personification of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, were bound up in God's record book, kept in store against the day of His judgment, Hosea 13:12. Israel had failed to obey the Lord, being like an infant that never came to birth though its mother labored long and hard to deliver him, a picture of how intolerable had been Israel's prolonged idolatry against God, Hosea 13:13.
    11. For this reason, God would not have compassion, but call for death and the grave to bring their woes on the nation, to strip it of its divine blessings and leave it impoverished, Hosea 13:14-15.
    12. In a final, terrible picture of divine wrath, God predicted Samaria's desolation for rebelling against Him, a desolation marked by horrible atrocities performed against her infants and pregnant women, Hosea 13:16.
Lesson: For turning to false gods in place of the Lord to the extent that even human sacrifice had been performed in the process, God promised great ferocity in His judgment of the nation.

Application: (1) If we harbor any kind of idol, relying on any entity besides God for fulfillment, we INFURIATE the Lord, and must repent! (2) So, may we keep ourselves from idols, 1 John 5:21!