Class 2 from this series was used in GCT Episode 270.
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The second chapter of Hosea
begins with the following words.
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The second chapter of Hosea
begins with the following words.
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Say unto your brethren, AMI, and
to your sisters Ruhamma, plead
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with your mother, plead for she
is not my wife.
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So it’s almost as if God is
saying Go tell your son Jezreel
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to stand up and plead a case
against her mother as if his
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mother as if she was in in court
and we were in front of a judge.
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And talk to her about how she’s
living and the way she is
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treating her family and treating
her marriage.
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And through through this acted
out parable in a man’s life, God
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is showing Hosea and the nation
what it was that Israel put him
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through.
Now when you look at the
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prophets to Israel, they come
right at that end stage, the
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last few years of the existence
of the Kingdom of Israel and the
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north.
And you, you would ask yourself
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the question, Why would God go
to the trouble when they
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wouldn’t listen and just a tiny
remnant of them would survive?
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Why would he go to all this
trouble?
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Why did Jesus offer Judas
Iscariot the SOP?
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He knew he had betrayed him.
He knew he wouldn’t turn from
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what he was going to do.
He knew that Judas would go all
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the way through, and even
knowing that and knowing that
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Scripture had predicted all
these things, there is Christ
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still working with a brother,
just in case he can turn him
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around.
He did that because that’s the
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way God is, because that’s the
way God was with this rebellious
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people.
God.
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God knew them.
He says it right in the chapter
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that was just read for us.
I know your heart, O Ephraim.
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And yet he still sends a Hosea.
He still allows this man to
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plunge into the depths of
heartache and loss, All of those
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things because he loved Israel
deeply, deeply.
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So it goes on in chapter 2 and
he says, look, you need to do
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these things lest I strip her
naked and set her as the day
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that she was born.
And surely some of you will be
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thinking of Ezekiel chapter 16,
where God represents himself as
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walking along and he sees this
little baby girl.
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She still has the umbilical cord
attached to her.
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She’s thrashing around in her
blood.
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She’s just been born and pitched
out, rejected by the mother that
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bore her.
He picks up that baby in her
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nakedness, in her blood, and he
says live.
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And he cares for her and he
loves her.
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And so here he says, I need you
to talk to her so that her
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thinking will change, so that I
don’t have to put her back down
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onto the ground, so that she can
continue to thrash in her blood,
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pitched out by the people who
should have loved her and looked
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after her.
And so he goes on and he says,
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as in the day that she was born,
and make her as a wilderness and
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set it like a dry land.
Look at the attitude that Israel
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has.
Israel looks at all of these
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lovers that she has, and in the
context of the passage, it’s
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about the gods that she worships
outside of Yahweh, together with
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worshipping Yahweh, that
horrible, nasty amalgam of
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religion that she had.
And it says in verse 5 for she
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said, I will go after my lovers
that gave me my bread and my
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water and my wool and my flax
and mine oil and my drink.
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Look at the repetition of that,
that word, mine, mine.
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It’s all about me.
It’s this thing that belongs to
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me that I have, that I’ve gotten
from my lovers.
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And she hadn’t gotten it from
those lovers.
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She’d gotten these things from
her actual God, Yahweh, her
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husband, that she’d spurned.
And then he goes on verse seven.
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She shall follow after her
lovers, but she shall not
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overtake them, and she shall
seek them, but shall not find
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them.
And just before he says that,
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God says I’m good, going to put
a hedge in place so she can’t
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find her lovers anymore.
God made it hard for Israel to
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sin, but she still found ways.
Now it’s the same thing with us,
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isn’t it?
God puts in boundaries, things
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in our conscience, things from
the word of God, words our
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parents have taught us or or or
or or told us as they were
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raising us, the words of our
brothers and sisters around us,
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all these things.
And yet we still find ways to
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sin.
Every one of us.
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We know the bypass, we know how
to get under, get over, get
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around that hedge.
But God still puts a hedge in
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place.
He still put something in place
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that provides A boundary line, a
limit, a deterrent to doing
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those things we want to do.
But Israel found a way around,
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and it says in verse 9.
Therefore will I return and take
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away my corn?
It was mine.
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It wasn’t from the gods that she
worshipped in the time thereof,
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and my wine in the season
thereof, and will pluck away my
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wool and my flax, which should
have covered her nakedness.
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So he corrects all the minds and
minds and he says all that
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stuff, all those things, all
that prosperity.
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It belonged to me.
I’m going to, I’m going to take
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it all back.
It was the story of a brother
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who had everything a person
could want in this world.
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He’d worked hard, he’d
accumulated it, put it together.
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It was his life.
He was full of it, full of
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pride.
Because of all the things that
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he had, it lifted him in his
mind, above his brothers and
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sisters.
He became unapproachable,
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judgmental, hard, critical,
edgy.
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Circumstances changed in his
life, and he lost every penny he
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had.
He was more destitute than the
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poorest brother that he knew.
You know who showed him the most
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kindness?
The people who had nothing,
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nothing at all.
They took what little food they
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had, what little clothing they
had, and they shared it with
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him.
They gave him a place to stay in
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their little tiny apartments,
and they slept on the floor and
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put him in the bed.
And that brother realized I had
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nothing when I had everything.
And now that I have nothing, I
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have everything, because now I
know what my faith is.
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Now I know who my brothers and
sisters are.
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The brother still has almost
nothing, but he’s happier than
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he ever was when he had
everything.
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Israel had everything.
She thought it was hers.
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She thought people gave it to
her that didn’t even exist.
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God takes that misunderstanding
and corrects it by taking
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everything away from her.
Now these are the things he said
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that he would do to her.
But she didn’t believe what he
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was saying.
She didn’t listen to what he was
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saying, but he still tried.
He still gave her that SOP.
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Hosea, go and talk to her.
Jezreel, talk to your mother.
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People, listen to me.
Take the SOP.
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Do the right thing.
Change your ways.
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And so God, in the end, would do
all of these things.
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He would take away Israel’s
feasts, festivals, sacrifices,
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temple.
He’d take away all of that,
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because out in the lands in
which she was, he was.
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He catapulted her.
He sowed her like seed, strewn
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into the wind, out into foreign
nations.
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She couldn’t worship him.
She wanted to, but she couldn’t.
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She couldn’t keep the feasts,
festivals, fasts, any of those
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things she found Everything that
was of value was taken away from
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her at that time.
And so, as Brother Rob Stern was
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pointing out to me, there are
three interesting uses or places
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and contexts.
But the word therefore is used
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something, something therefore,
and then something else.
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The first one, then, or one of
them is in verse six.
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Therefore, behold, I will hedge
up thy way.
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So, because she has these
attitudes, my me, mine, and my
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lovers, the idols that I
worship, gave this stuff to me.
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Therefore, I’m going to put a
hedge between them and their
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ability to worship these things.
But she wouldn’t have anything
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to do with that hedge.
She found a way around it.
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And then in verse 9, verse nine,
he talks about.
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Therefore, because of the
attitudes I’m going to take
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away, I’ll take those things
away, but it still doesn’t have
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the desired effect.
And then I put it to you.
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The real heart of God comes out
underneath the discipline,
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underneath the correction,
underneath the terror and
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tragedy comes the love that is
underneath all of that.
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And he says in verse 14,
Therefore the third.
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Therefore, behold, I will appeal
to her.
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I’ll bring her into the
wilderness and speak tenderly to
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her.
And what God is saying is I’m
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going to take her back to when
she was my young bride.
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I’m going to take her back to
that first little apartment that
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we had, where the only furniture
in the place was stuff we found
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thrown out in front of people’s
homes or that had been given to
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us by brothers and sisters,
where even the curtains were
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given to us by brothers and
sisters.
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Where we had old pots and pans
that didn’t match up, furniture
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didn’t match, but that’s where
we started.
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That’s where our love was young,
and where was the love of Israel
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and Yahweh Young.
And he brought her out of Egypt
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into the wilderness.
And she followed him around
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through the wilderness, even as
she made her mistakes.
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And a generation was lost.
But a generation was gained and
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brought, brought into the land
of promise.
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But but that was their little
apartment.
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That was their first time
together as a couple.
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God says she won’t respond to
these other disciplines.
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Let me take her back when she
was my young wife and see if
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that will turn her around, and I
will give her her vineyards from
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Thence and the valley of Ako for
a door of hope.
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Now, yes, he’s talking about how
he’s going to deal with Israel
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at this time, but he’s pointing
forward into the future too,
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isn’t he?
He’s pointing forward to a time
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when Israel will be saved by his
son Jezreel that he’s going to
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send and look at the wounds in
his hands.
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Ask him about them and he will
save them with his bride, that
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thundering army on horses
together the word of God made
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flesh and his bride.
When they save the remnant
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that’s left in Jerusalem and
Israel and and then there will
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be a reuniting again the valley
of Acor which reminds them of
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Acan and what had happened to
him.
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And the cursing of that man when
he’d stolen the Babylonian
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garment and and the bars of
gold, and all the things of this
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world that he thought would give
him happiness and just gave him
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death.
And and that instead will be
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turned around and Acor will
instead be a door of hope open
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for this stubborn and resistant
nation.
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Verse 19.
I will betroth thee unto me
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forever.
Yeah, I will betroth thee unto
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me.
With what things, what
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qualities, what aspects will
mark that relationship?
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In righteousness and in
judgement, and in loving
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kindness and in mercies?
I will even betroth thee unto me
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in faithfulness.
And thou shalt know Yahweh.
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And so he’s he’s he’s looking
forward to a time.
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He knows he has to discipline
this nation.
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He has to put them through the
horror of what the Assyrians are
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going to do to them, those
wicked Assyrians.
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But he looks forward to the time
when the remnant of that people
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raised from the grave will be
united as one people with
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Gentiles to become the bride of
his son and his people forever.
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So it goes on in this chapter
and it says in verse 23.
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Now just look at this as
exquisite verse, and puzzle it
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out, he says.
And I will sow her unto me in
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the earth, and I will have mercy
upon her that have not obtained
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mercy.
I will say to them which were
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not my people, Thou art my
people, and they shall say, thou
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art my God.
Now now look at look, look at
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that wonderful little sentence.
And I will sow her unto me in
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the earth.
Well, what does that remind you
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of First Corinthians 15?
The seed sown in the earth, the
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dead in Christ in the earth,
that seed that is sown unto me,
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because they’ll be raised and
after judgment will be God’s
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everlasting, ever living
children.
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00:17:54,120 –> 00:17:58,720
So God is not just looking at
what’s going to happen to Israel
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00:17:58,720 –> 00:18:02,520
as a nation only and what He has
to put Israel through.
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00:18:03,320 –> 00:18:06,640
He’s looking forward and pass
that to the fulfillment of His
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00:18:06,640 –> 00:18:10,480
promises, His mercies, the
mercies of David.
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00:18:12,040 –> 00:18:14,600
He’s looking forward to the time
when the resurrection has
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00:18:14,600 –> 00:18:18,000
occurred through his son
represented by Jezreel.
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00:18:18,200 –> 00:18:24,080
Go talk to your mother, the
nation, when they will be raised
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00:18:24,080 –> 00:18:28,640
from the dead.
Those people who were sown, he’d
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00:18:28,640 –> 00:18:36,240
sown them like seed amongst Jews
and Gentiles, to be his children
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00:18:36,240 –> 00:18:41,040
forever.
That’s beautiful, that little
225
00:18:41,040 –> 00:18:45,120
verse.
You have troubles in your life
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00:18:45,120 –> 00:18:52,240
sometimes, brothers and sisters,
and just just when you think you
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00:18:52,240 –> 00:18:56,360
cannot take any more, God adds
another trial.
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00:18:56,360 –> 00:19:06,960
On top of that, this this man
Hosea had two terrible jobs.
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00:19:08,360 –> 00:19:10,760
He had to preach to the nation
that didn’t want to listen to
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00:19:10,760 –> 00:19:13,880
him.
He had to marry a wife that
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00:19:13,880 –> 00:19:17,280
would not be faithful to him.
He had to raise other people’s
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00:19:17,280 –> 00:19:21,360
kids.
And then she left him to go and
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00:19:21,360 –> 00:19:28,040
live with somebody else.
Now when that happens, your
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00:19:28,040 –> 00:19:36,200
heart is broken into little
splintered bits.
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00:19:38,200 –> 00:19:40,280
You wake up in the morning and
you don’t want to wake up.
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00:19:42,400 –> 00:19:44,640
You go to sleep at night and you
cannot sleep.
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00:19:46,960 –> 00:19:50,640
You go to sleep exhausted.
You wake up exhausted.
238
00:19:51,880 –> 00:19:53,720
You can barely think.
You can’t work.
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00:19:54,840 –> 00:19:56,440
You can barely take care of
yourself.
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00:19:57,720 –> 00:20:02,480
But then as time goes by,
there’s a a kind of healing, a
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00:20:02,480 –> 00:20:06,120
trigger, a circuit breaker that
goes off in our minds.
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00:20:07,720 –> 00:20:12,280
You never get over.
The loss of the person you love.
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00:20:13,560 –> 00:20:18,760
You just slowly get used to the
fact that they’re not there
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00:20:18,760 –> 00:20:21,720
anymore.
That hole is never filled.
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00:20:22,560 –> 00:20:26,760
That was them in your life, but
you grow used to it.
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00:20:27,880 –> 00:20:30,640
And then you begin to forget the
the sound of their voice.
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00:20:32,600 –> 00:20:34,960
And sometimes you can’t remember
what they look like, except for
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00:20:34,960 –> 00:20:41,680
pictures that you’ve still got.
Now you get to that stage,
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00:20:41,680 –> 00:20:46,680
perhaps in your Hosea.
And then Lord God Almighty says
250
00:20:46,680 –> 00:20:52,640
to you in Hebrew.
This is literally, literally
251
00:20:52,640 –> 00:20:55,360
what it says.
Go again.
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00:20:56,200 –> 00:21:03,720
Exclamation point, love,
exclamation, or whatever the
253
00:21:03,720 –> 00:21:10,400
Hebrew equivalent is.
Two strong ordered commands.
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00:21:10,960 –> 00:21:16,880
Go again, love.
So what he’s telling him is it’s
255
00:21:16,880 –> 00:21:19,720
not over with that woman, son.
Not not.
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00:21:20,920 –> 00:21:24,240
Commentators do backflips and
all kinds of things that they
257
00:21:24,240 –> 00:21:29,160
read into a woman loved of her
friend, who is the friend that
258
00:21:29,160 –> 00:21:32,080
she is loved by.
And it’s Hosea.
259
00:21:33,320 –> 00:21:37,240
He never got over that love for
his, for his wayward wife.
260
00:21:37,560 –> 00:21:42,400
He never stopped loving her.
He he he was without the stress
261
00:21:42,400 –> 00:21:46,560
of her being with him and
wandering for a while.
262
00:21:48,160 –> 00:21:52,200
But then God said you have to do
it like me.
263
00:21:53,840 –> 00:22:02,680
Go continue to love her.
She is beloved of you, and yet
264
00:22:02,680 –> 00:22:07,040
she is an adulteress.
And this is how you need to love
265
00:22:07,040 –> 00:22:09,440
her.
What?
266
00:22:09,440 –> 00:22:15,560
What did Christ say?
I want you to love each other as
267
00:22:15,720 –> 00:22:20,360
I love you.
And that was a new commandment.
268
00:22:20,360 –> 00:22:23,400
Well, how is it new?
How is it new that they would
269
00:22:23,400 –> 00:22:26,360
love each other?
Well, what was new was the
270
00:22:26,360 –> 00:22:30,920
standard they had.
They had to love each other the
271
00:22:30,920 –> 00:22:36,840
way Christ loved them, and they
knew what Christ had to look
272
00:22:36,840 –> 00:22:39,920
past to love them, and he still
loved all of them.
273
00:22:41,280 –> 00:22:44,080
And God essentially is saying
the same thing to Hosea.
274
00:22:45,520 –> 00:22:50,080
I want you to love her like I
love Israel.
275
00:22:52,920 –> 00:22:58,960
That’s what God is saying to
him, according to the love of
276
00:22:58,960 –> 00:23:04,680
the Lord toward the children of
Israel now.
277
00:23:04,680 –> 00:23:09,160
So he goes out to find his wife,
and he knows where she is.
278
00:23:10,840 –> 00:23:12,360
And I want you to just imagine
this.
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00:23:14,240 –> 00:23:19,080
He marries beautiful, wayward,
young Comer.
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00:23:21,120 –> 00:23:24,920
At first she’s faithful to him
like Israel was faithful to God,
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00:23:25,280 –> 00:23:31,440
as Jeremiah chapter 2 says.
But then her eye wandered and
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00:23:31,440 –> 00:23:35,280
she thought she could do better.
Then she spurned him and
283
00:23:36,120 –> 00:23:38,680
undervalued who he was and what
he was to her.
284
00:23:39,520 –> 00:23:42,640
And she went out with one man
and another man and another man.
285
00:23:43,240 –> 00:23:45,760
And of course she was beautiful.
So that could happen and
286
00:23:45,760 –> 00:23:50,440
continue until as time went by.
She wasn’t beautiful anymore.
287
00:23:52,160 –> 00:23:56,440
She wasn’t young anymore.
Now now look what has to happen.
288
00:23:59,400 –> 00:24:07,880
I bought her to me for 15 pieces
of silver and a Homer of barley,
289
00:24:09,680 –> 00:24:16,880
and a half Homer of barley.
Now why this mixture of silver
290
00:24:18,360 –> 00:24:22,200
and and and and a Homer and half
of barley?
291
00:24:24,520 –> 00:24:26,920
Now of course we might read into
it’s silver having to do with
292
00:24:26,920 –> 00:24:31,200
redemption and the sacrifice of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the
293
00:24:31,200 –> 00:24:35,000
barley once again, the grain
offering reminding us of the
294
00:24:35,000 –> 00:24:38,280
bread that’s in the bread of
bread and wine that represents
295
00:24:38,280 –> 00:24:40,120
Christ again.
And of course it sews things
296
00:24:40,120 –> 00:24:43,200
together.
And some have pointed out that
297
00:24:43,200 –> 00:24:47,720
when you add up according to
what a Homer of barley was
298
00:24:47,720 –> 00:24:52,240
valued at in the days of the
kings during whose time Hosea
299
00:24:52,240 –> 00:24:56,320
was writing, this would add up
to 30 pieces of silver, the
300
00:24:56,640 –> 00:25:05,680
price of a slave.
Why did he give barley and
301
00:25:05,680 –> 00:25:08,800
silver?
Because he gave everything he
302
00:25:08,800 –> 00:25:11,960
had.
He had nothing else to give.
303
00:25:13,480 –> 00:25:16,120
He didn’t have it all in Silva,
because he didn’t have that kind
304
00:25:16,120 –> 00:25:20,920
of money.
So he he supplemented what he
305
00:25:20,920 –> 00:25:24,040
had all the Silva.
He had everything he had to give
306
00:25:25,800 –> 00:25:34,160
with all the food he had so that
he could redeem his beloved
307
00:25:34,520 –> 00:25:41,080
sinful wife.
Does remind you of another
308
00:25:41,080 –> 00:25:44,920
woman?
Of course it does.
309
00:25:46,000 –> 00:25:50,120
She’s sitting in every chair in
this room right now.
310
00:25:50,120 –> 00:25:57,560
A woman that a man gave
everything he had for that.
311
00:25:57,560 –> 00:26:01,560
You might sit in this room and
listen to these words.
312
00:26:03,560 –> 00:26:11,520
And so he gives everything and
he takes Gomer is broken,
313
00:26:12,400 –> 00:26:22,800
chastened, demoralized, depleted
woman who is now a slave in
314
00:26:22,800 –> 00:26:29,640
somebody’s house property,
someone of no value, mistreated
315
00:26:29,640 –> 00:26:34,160
and abused.
And he takes her back home.
316
00:26:36,920 –> 00:26:42,160
Would you do that for your wife?
Yes, you would.
317
00:26:43,680 –> 00:26:47,000
I know you think you wouldn’t.
I know you would be thinking of
318
00:26:47,000 –> 00:26:50,480
all that she did to hurt you,
and said about you and said
319
00:26:50,480 –> 00:26:55,440
against you did to you how she
blackened your reputation,
320
00:26:55,440 –> 00:27:00,960
ruined your name, how she hurts
you to the core, how many years
321
00:27:00,960 –> 00:27:05,320
it took you to get over it.
But when you see her in the
322
00:27:05,320 –> 00:27:11,360
condition she is in, and you
remember the love you have for
323
00:27:11,360 –> 00:27:19,280
her, how could you do otherwise
than what Hosea did here for
324
00:27:19,280 –> 00:27:29,080
Gomer and what God did for
Israel, and what Christ did for
325
00:27:29,080 –> 00:27:33,240
you?
How could you do otherwise?
326
00:27:35,360 –> 00:27:39,160
Now?
Are you willing to do that for
327
00:27:39,160 –> 00:27:42,760
the brother or sister that fails
beside you in the ecclesia?
328
00:27:44,560 –> 00:27:51,760
And the full shame of the bad
decisions or actions they’ve
329
00:27:51,760 –> 00:27:57,240
been engaged in is out there for
everyone to see.
330
00:27:58,400 –> 00:28:02,880
Would you do that for them?
Would you do that for your child
331
00:28:02,880 –> 00:28:04,800
that has bitterly disappointed
you?
332
00:28:08,560 –> 00:28:14,280
For your brother that you’re
related to, For, for your aunt,
333
00:28:14,600 –> 00:28:22,240
your uncle riddled with disease,
whose life has fallen apart into
334
00:28:22,400 –> 00:28:25,880
drugs and alcohol and all kinds
of degradation?
335
00:28:25,880 –> 00:28:31,520
Would you do that for them?
You see, we’re all fine
336
00:28:31,520 –> 00:28:35,600
upstanding, well dressed
brothers and sisters in Christ.
337
00:28:37,200 –> 00:28:44,440
But every one of these suit
jackets covers a broken person,
338
00:28:45,640 –> 00:28:52,080
broken because of sin, broken
because of all the folly and
339
00:28:52,080 –> 00:28:58,400
frailty that we carry about in
ourselves, in our hearts, in our
340
00:28:58,400 –> 00:29:02,800
minds.
And sometimes when someone’s
341
00:29:02,800 –> 00:29:09,400
brokenness becomes public, we
pull back from them, so none of
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00:29:09,400 –> 00:29:14,920
it splashes up unto us.
But that’s our flesh and blood.
343
00:29:16,320 –> 00:29:21,040
Isaiah 58 talks about the fact
that we cannot hide ourselves
344
00:29:21,800 –> 00:29:26,760
from our own flesh and blood.
When the leper came up to Christ
345
00:29:26,760 –> 00:29:30,280
and said, if you will, you can
make me clean, he didn’t step
346
00:29:30,280 –> 00:29:32,240
back and say yes.
Stand back a bigot, will you?
347
00:29:32,240 –> 00:29:33,480
Yes.
Be clean.
348
00:29:33,800 –> 00:29:41,240
He put his hand on him and by
every tradition and social norm
349
00:29:41,440 –> 00:29:44,960
of Israeli life, rendered
himself utterly unclean by
350
00:29:44,960 –> 00:29:49,640
touching that man.
But he touched him so that he
351
00:29:49,640 –> 00:29:54,840
could show you.
You’re connected to me.
352
00:29:56,480 –> 00:29:59,600
What you have on you that
everyone can see on the outside,
353
00:30:00,880 –> 00:30:08,440
I have in the nature I bear, and
I do want to make you clean, and
354
00:30:08,440 –> 00:30:11,880
I do want to treat you with
honor and respect.
355
00:30:11,880 –> 00:30:19,880
So that man picked up his
broken, pitiable wife in his
356
00:30:19,880 –> 00:30:26,200
arms, and he took her home.
And he said to her when he took
357
00:30:26,200 –> 00:30:31,520
her home, Thou shalt abide for
me many days.
358
00:30:33,360 –> 00:30:38,200
Thou shalt not play the harlot.
Thou shalt not be another man’s.
359
00:30:39,280 –> 00:30:46,480
And so will I also be for thee.
For the children of Israel shall
360
00:30:46,480 –> 00:30:51,520
abide many days without a king,
without a Prince, without a
361
00:30:51,520 –> 00:30:55,800
sacrifice, without an image,
without an ephod, without
362
00:30:55,800 –> 00:30:59,960
Terrapin, and afterwards shall
the children of Israel return
363
00:31:00,320 –> 00:31:04,520
and seek the Lord their God, and
David their king, and shall fear
364
00:31:04,520 –> 00:31:10,280
the Lord and his goodness in the
latter days.
365
00:31:11,640 –> 00:31:18,400
And so this, this picture is not
just about a man and what God
366
00:31:18,400 –> 00:31:22,000
put him through so he could
understand what it’s like to
367
00:31:22,000 –> 00:31:24,960
think like God, to feel like
God.
368
00:31:25,520 –> 00:31:29,200
And you, some commentators say
you know this this business
369
00:31:29,200 –> 00:31:32,720
about these feelings God is
expressing, Well, that’s not
370
00:31:32,720 –> 00:31:36,360
really what God feels.
God is trying to explain his
371
00:31:36,360 –> 00:31:40,560
emotions and terms that we
ordinary humans can understand,
372
00:31:40,840 –> 00:31:43,880
and that’s rubbish.
Where do you think those
373
00:31:43,880 –> 00:31:46,520
feelings and us came from?
Mums.
374
00:31:46,520 –> 00:31:49,040
Where do you think your motherly
feelings came from?
375
00:31:49,960 –> 00:31:55,240
From God?
From God, all of these feelings
376
00:31:55,240 –> 00:32:01,720
hurt, love, sadness,
disappointment, elation, joy.
377
00:32:02,720 –> 00:32:10,160
These feelings come from God and
are in us too.
378
00:32:11,360 –> 00:32:14,920
So God did feel hurt and
disappointment.
379
00:32:15,720 –> 00:32:20,520
God did feel a deep sense of
loss with Israel.
380
00:32:20,960 –> 00:32:25,520
It’s not just that He’s talking
in language so we mortals can
381
00:32:25,520 –> 00:32:28,320
understand, but that’s not
really how he feels.
382
00:32:28,320 –> 00:32:36,000
That is exactly what he feels.
So that means when God saw his
383
00:32:36,160 –> 00:32:45,960
child, his baby, pinned to that
cross, he felt everything.
384
00:32:45,960 –> 00:32:55,960
A father would feel everything.
Every pang his child felt, he
385
00:32:56,000 –> 00:33:01,400
felt it too.
So like Abraham and Isaac, they
386
00:33:01,400 –> 00:33:07,000
too went along together.
And when that great darkness
387
00:33:07,000 –> 00:33:15,640
unfolded around that scene on
Golgotha, it was God coming
388
00:33:15,800 –> 00:33:21,960
down, some presence representing
him there with his child.
389
00:33:22,640 –> 00:33:27,920
Just like that same cloud had
come down upon Mount Sinai, just
390
00:33:27,920 –> 00:33:31,600
like that same cloud had come
down on the Mount of
391
00:33:31,600 –> 00:33:36,480
Transfiguration, just like that
same cloud had filled up the
392
00:33:36,480 –> 00:33:41,520
temple and pushed the priests
out because of its presence.
393
00:33:43,640 –> 00:33:51,480
It was right there with his
child, feeling every pang with
394
00:33:51,480 –> 00:33:55,560
his child and that’s how he is
with you.
395
00:33:58,000 –> 00:34:03,520
So I know brother or sister, you
have a hard life, you have to
396
00:34:03,520 –> 00:34:08,000
live.
And I understand the loneliness
397
00:34:08,760 –> 00:34:15,239
that goes with that life.
I understand those long, long
398
00:34:15,239 –> 00:34:19,639
evenings.
Just know that you are not
399
00:34:20,159 –> 00:34:28,840
alone, that your God is with
you, that your God cares so much
400
00:34:29,080 –> 00:34:34,000
for you and what you feel and
what you’re going through, That
401
00:34:34,000 –> 00:34:39,560
He will never let you go.
He’s always there with you.
402
00:34:41,840 –> 00:34:45,600
Chapter four.
He goes through all the evils of
403
00:34:45,600 –> 00:34:50,199
the nation.
He says in verse 6, my people
404
00:34:50,199 –> 00:34:51,400
are destroyed.
For what?
405
00:34:52,199 –> 00:34:57,120
For lack of knowledge.
Because thou hast rejected
406
00:34:57,360 –> 00:35:01,840
knowledge, I will also reject
thee that thou shalt be no
407
00:35:01,840 –> 00:35:04,840
priest to me.
So this is like the words in
408
00:35:04,840 –> 00:35:10,800
Malachi, where God is rebuking
the priest and they were to be
409
00:35:10,800 –> 00:35:16,120
the sources of knowledge and
teaching in the nation.
410
00:35:16,400 –> 00:35:20,280
The prophets came and went.
The priests were supposed to
411
00:35:20,320 –> 00:35:25,960
always be there, teaching,
leading, reaching into the
412
00:35:25,960 –> 00:35:28,320
nation, showing them out of the
law.
413
00:35:28,600 –> 00:35:32,840
And you know, brethren, that’s
our job today.
414
00:35:33,280 –> 00:35:36,800
And sisters who teach Sunday
school, that’s your job with the
415
00:35:36,800 –> 00:35:41,280
kids.
This is part of what Psalm 78
416
00:35:41,280 –> 00:35:45,880
describes.
Generation, passing things on to
417
00:35:45,880 –> 00:35:51,080
generations after them.
And if if we don’t have the word
418
00:35:51,080 –> 00:35:55,080
of God right in the center of
ecclesial life and it’s so easy
419
00:35:55,080 –> 00:35:59,080
for it to be pushed off, you
just just think the ecclesia
420
00:35:59,080 –> 00:36:04,000
gets together, everybody is
playing games, having fun, and
421
00:36:04,000 –> 00:36:05,960
the word of God is pushed off to
the side.
422
00:36:05,960 –> 00:36:09,560
May or may not even be read.
Perhaps if it’s read, it’s just
423
00:36:09,560 –> 00:36:12,160
a short passage, no comments.
And on to the games.
424
00:36:13,120 –> 00:36:16,240
Well, the the the problem is
that’s appealing to flesh.
425
00:36:18,400 –> 00:36:20,760
If the word of God is not kept
in the center.
426
00:36:22,480 –> 00:36:27,720
And brothers, you might listen
to speakers travelling through
427
00:36:28,360 –> 00:36:33,640
like, oh, it’s so easy for that
brother to get up there and say
428
00:36:33,640 –> 00:36:36,640
this or that.
I couldn’t do that.
429
00:36:38,000 –> 00:36:42,120
You are making for yourself, the
biggest cop out an excuse
430
00:36:42,120 –> 00:36:49,880
imaginable.
Thousands of hours of Labor are
431
00:36:49,880 –> 00:36:56,440
poured by speakers into the
speaking that they do up till
432
00:36:56,440 –> 00:37:00,400
2:00 in the morning.
Your eyes can barely stay open.
433
00:37:01,000 –> 00:37:04,440
You just have to get through a
few more words in the passage to
434
00:37:04,440 –> 00:37:08,720
understand What is this saying?
What does it mean?
435
00:37:09,440 –> 00:37:12,280
How can I bring it out to my
brothers and sisters?
436
00:37:13,080 –> 00:37:19,800
The labor, the back breaking
labor that goes into study, It’s
437
00:37:19,800 –> 00:37:23,720
not easy for anyone What what
you’re saying effectively in
438
00:37:23,720 –> 00:37:27,920
that cop out is this, oh, study
is easy for some kinds of flesh.
439
00:37:28,600 –> 00:37:31,720
Are you crazy or something?
Crazy, by the way, is not a
440
00:37:31,720 –> 00:37:34,400
diagnostic term that clinicians
use today.
441
00:37:34,960 –> 00:37:37,280
You don’t say, well actually
your mother is crazy.
442
00:37:37,880 –> 00:37:41,640
They don’t use that term.
But are you crazy that you think
443
00:37:41,640 –> 00:37:44,680
that we just throw it together
because we’re talented?
444
00:37:45,640 –> 00:37:49,760
There’s no such thing.
It’s all work.
445
00:37:50,520 –> 00:37:54,160
So put in the work.
The priests weren’t putting in
446
00:37:54,160 –> 00:37:58,040
the work.
The truth was lost for lack of
447
00:37:58,040 –> 00:38:01,640
knowledge.
The ecclesia was falling apart,
448
00:38:01,640 –> 00:38:06,200
perishing without anchor.
This direction, that direction
449
00:38:06,200 –> 00:38:10,600
and away and away from God.
And don’t think it couldn’t
450
00:38:10,600 –> 00:38:14,160
happen to you.
Don’t think it couldn’t happen
451
00:38:14,160 –> 00:38:19,240
to your Ecclesia.
So this is an excitation to us.
452
00:38:19,720 –> 00:38:23,920
That’s for us to be able to look
at and learn from.
453
00:38:25,000 –> 00:38:30,560
And then chapter 5, hear this.
So you priests hack in the House
454
00:38:30,560 –> 00:38:38,040
of Israel, O House of the King
gave ear, he says for judgment
455
00:38:38,040 –> 00:38:44,280
is towards you because you have
been a a snare on this path and
456
00:38:44,280 –> 00:38:48,080
a net spread upon table.
Now he’s using very famous
457
00:38:48,080 –> 00:38:52,840
locations in Jewish history and
he’s saying instead of you being
458
00:38:52,840 –> 00:38:58,960
the kind of people who in those
historical circumstances were
459
00:38:58,960 –> 00:39:03,040
heroes of the nation and helped
to save the nation who trusted
460
00:39:03,040 –> 00:39:09,680
in God, you’re spreading a net
to trap your people like birds
461
00:39:10,480 –> 00:39:12,800
and to kill them, he says in
verse three.
462
00:39:13,440 –> 00:39:19,240
I know Ephraim and Israel is not
hid for me.
463
00:39:20,000 –> 00:39:23,120
And so brother, that’s that’s a
message to you and me, brothers
464
00:39:23,120 –> 00:39:25,680
and sisters.
God knows us.
465
00:39:26,520 –> 00:39:30,760
We might pretend to be one
person to our people at large,
466
00:39:31,160 –> 00:39:33,400
but inside with somebody
completely different.
467
00:39:35,520 –> 00:39:38,320
And what God is saying is you
can’t pretend with me.
468
00:39:39,320 –> 00:39:41,240
You can’t make like you’re
somebody you’re not.
469
00:39:41,240 –> 00:39:45,840
I know you.
I know who you are with
470
00:39:45,840 –> 00:39:48,680
everything that’s good and bad
going on inside of you.
471
00:39:49,320 –> 00:39:52,160
And I still love you.
And I still love you.
472
00:39:53,720 –> 00:39:55,520
And so God talks about the
rebuke.
473
00:39:56,240 –> 00:40:02,000
He even says in verse 5 Judah
also shall stumble with them.
474
00:40:02,880 –> 00:40:08,040
Something about the mentality of
prosperous, sinful, heedless,
475
00:40:08,120 –> 00:40:12,160
stubborn Israel affected Judah
as time went by.
476
00:40:13,200 –> 00:40:15,520
We want to be prosperous like
Judah too.
477
00:40:16,400 –> 00:40:20,200
Maybe what they worship, maybe
the way they live is OK.
478
00:40:20,480 –> 00:40:24,760
Maybe if we’re more like them
we’ll be as well off as them.
479
00:40:25,680 –> 00:40:28,120
And Judah started to slip and
slide.
480
00:40:28,480 –> 00:40:32,480
And God is saying, look, even
Judah is going to stumble
481
00:40:32,840 –> 00:40:34,400
because of you people.
Verse 12.
482
00:40:34,880 –> 00:40:39,480
Therefore will I be unto Ephraim
as a moth into the House of
483
00:40:39,480 –> 00:40:43,000
Judah as rottenness.
And of course that ties up with
484
00:40:43,120 –> 00:40:47,880
James, doesn’t it?
Your moth eaten gold and silver
485
00:40:49,200 –> 00:40:50,880
and and and what he’s saying is
this.
486
00:40:51,080 –> 00:40:53,920
It’s the story of that brother I
told you who lost everything.
487
00:40:54,800 –> 00:40:58,200
He says I’m going to take
everything away from you now.
488
00:40:58,240 –> 00:41:03,720
First Corinthians.
First Corinthians 14.
489
00:41:04,440 –> 00:41:07,800
Let’s go there for a minute.
You are so tired this evening,
490
00:41:07,800 –> 00:41:12,160
brothers and sisters, I am
standing here and looking at
491
00:41:12,160 –> 00:41:17,760
you, and you look terrible.
See.
492
00:41:17,760 –> 00:41:19,520
Now you’re up a little bit more,
right?
493
00:41:21,040 –> 00:41:26,880
OK, so let’s see if I can find
it not just by memory, but
494
00:41:26,880 –> 00:41:28,840
actually find the passage I’m
looking for.
495
00:41:29,600 –> 00:41:31,360
Might have to do a little bit of
digging around.
496
00:41:31,360 –> 00:41:37,520
Still, just bear with me here.
See if I can find that passage.
497
00:41:37,760 –> 00:41:40,640
There it is.
OK, First Corinthians, Chapter
498
00:41:41,200 –> 00:41:45,360
11.
And let’s end with this, shall
499
00:41:45,360 –> 00:41:49,000
we?
So that you can just rest a
500
00:41:49,000 –> 00:41:51,280
little.
I know it’s been a long day.
501
00:41:52,880 –> 00:41:57,160
So, First Corinthians, Chapter
11, verse 31.
502
00:41:58,520 –> 00:42:04,840
There are three forms of
judgment, OK, If we would judge
503
00:42:04,920 –> 00:42:07,960
ourselves, we should not be
judged.
504
00:42:10,240 –> 00:42:15,080
So the rebuke of the word of God
is not to make us feel down.
505
00:42:15,600 –> 00:42:20,640
It’s to give us the incentive to
change, to look at ourselves,
506
00:42:21,000 –> 00:42:24,160
judge ourselves, and say, look,
I I can’t be like this anymore.
507
00:42:24,880 –> 00:42:27,360
I can’t do things this way or
that way anymore.
508
00:42:27,680 –> 00:42:32,520
I have to change that, right?
So if we would judge ourselves,
509
00:42:33,400 –> 00:42:35,560
then God is not going to have to
judge us.
510
00:42:35,560 –> 00:42:40,520
And what judgement is that?
It’s the correction, it’s the
511
00:42:41,440 –> 00:42:47,760
the experiences we go through in
this life where God takes who we
512
00:42:47,760 –> 00:42:55,200
are and confronts us with
painful and difficult
513
00:42:55,200 –> 00:42:59,480
circumstances.
That’s that’s what the second
514
00:42:59,480 –> 00:43:02,160
judgment is.
And why do we receive that
515
00:43:02,160 –> 00:43:05,520
second judgment?
Why did God put Israel through
516
00:43:05,600 –> 00:43:09,400
all the terrible things He put
her through so that she wouldn’t
517
00:43:09,400 –> 00:43:13,760
have to undergo that final
judgment, which is rejection at
518
00:43:13,760 –> 00:43:18,640
the judgment seat of Christ?
So we we have these three
519
00:43:19,040 –> 00:43:23,440
judgments, and the first is
reading the word of God, being
520
00:43:23,920 –> 00:43:26,400
rebuked and chastened by what it
says.
521
00:43:27,240 –> 00:43:28,880
And it’s not going to happen if
we’re not reading it.
522
00:43:29,560 –> 00:43:32,360
So if we’re not doing the
readings or reading the word of
523
00:43:32,360 –> 00:43:37,480
God in a systematic, continuous,
daily way, it doesn’t have the
524
00:43:37,480 –> 00:43:42,880
chance to work on us that way.
And then so what’s left then is
525
00:43:43,720 –> 00:43:47,680
correction in this life through
circumstances we go through.
526
00:43:47,680 –> 00:43:51,640
Now what we have to avoid is
this.
527
00:43:54,040 –> 00:43:58,120
There are many tragic
circumstances that attend our
528
00:43:58,120 –> 00:44:01,720
lives.
That does not mean when someone
529
00:44:01,920 –> 00:44:05,520
goes through those things that
God is rebuking a person or
530
00:44:05,520 –> 00:44:11,000
correcting them.
It may just be a genetic
531
00:44:11,360 –> 00:44:17,600
inheritance that a person has a
predisposition for cancer, for
532
00:44:17,600 –> 00:44:20,400
instance.
When a person develops cancer,
533
00:44:20,760 –> 00:44:23,920
is it then right for you or me
to say, well, God is teaching
534
00:44:23,920 –> 00:44:26,840
that person this or that, that’s
why they have cancer?
535
00:44:26,840 –> 00:44:33,120
No, no.
God knows when he’s correcting
536
00:44:33,120 –> 00:44:36,560
people in particular ways.
But sometimes it’s just the
537
00:44:36,560 –> 00:44:43,400
experience of human life,
frailty, loss, disease and these
538
00:44:43,400 –> 00:44:48,240
things that we we all go through
and that we all have to endure
539
00:44:49,200 –> 00:44:56,480
as brothers and sisters, right?
So other times, God acts
540
00:44:56,480 –> 00:44:59,800
directly.
God does something to stop you
541
00:44:59,800 –> 00:45:06,760
from going too far, and that
usually involves loss or pain or
542
00:45:06,760 –> 00:45:11,800
some experience that is not easy
to bear up under, but it can
543
00:45:11,800 –> 00:45:15,880
have the effect of cutting you
off at a point where you would
544
00:45:15,880 –> 00:45:20,240
go too far.
But if you still do not take
545
00:45:20,240 –> 00:45:27,200
heed, well then there is the
judgement seat when we will be
546
00:45:27,200 –> 00:45:30,640
told so.
If, brother, you, you mistreat
547
00:45:30,640 –> 00:45:38,200
your wife, you disrespect her,
you make her life a life full of
548
00:45:38,200 –> 00:45:44,160
pain, a veil of tears, and and
you read in scripture about the
549
00:45:44,160 –> 00:45:47,600
way a man should behave, and now
we should love his wife as his
550
00:45:47,600 –> 00:45:50,680
own body.
And you don’t take heed to that,
551
00:45:51,560 –> 00:45:53,200
and you continue to behave that
way.
552
00:45:54,920 –> 00:46:00,160
You will hear about it at the
judgment seat, and that’s not
553
00:46:00,160 –> 00:46:01,520
where you want to hear about
that.
554
00:46:03,560 –> 00:46:07,800
But Israel would not listen.
God loved her.
555
00:46:09,040 –> 00:46:15,360
God gave her so much.
God gave her his beloved Son,
556
00:46:16,680 –> 00:46:22,440
and she still put him to death.
But sections of the nation
557
00:46:23,200 –> 00:46:30,880
believed those 5000 that didn’t
bow, the knee to bow, the bow of
558
00:46:31,200 –> 00:46:35,840
tradition and the priesthood and
the Roman authority.
559
00:46:36,600 –> 00:46:40,320
They believed in Jesus and
continued as his brothers and
560
00:46:40,320 –> 00:46:46,360
sisters.
So here we are, the broken bits
561
00:46:46,360 –> 00:46:49,360
and pieces of the bride of
Christ.
562
00:46:50,200 –> 00:46:55,240
All of us working with different
forms of trouble, addiction,
563
00:46:56,240 –> 00:47:01,240
wrong headed notions,
stubbornnesses, difficult areas
564
00:47:01,240 –> 00:47:03,080
to change.
Every one of us.
565
00:47:03,320 –> 00:47:05,840
I’ve got my things, You’ve got
your things.
566
00:47:06,400 –> 00:47:08,640
Many of us have certain things
in common.
567
00:47:09,040 –> 00:47:13,600
You know there’s a brother here.
And this just it is unfortunate
568
00:47:13,600 –> 00:47:16,080
for you that I have so many
distractions that run across my
569
00:47:16,080 –> 00:47:20,080
head while I’m speaking.
There’s a brother in this in
570
00:47:20,080 –> 00:47:26,360
this room today, who was born on
the same day of the same month,
571
00:47:26,960 –> 00:47:28,840
of the same year that I was
born.
572
00:47:31,840 –> 00:47:35,600
Peter Osborne.
We’re twins.
573
00:47:35,600 –> 00:47:41,680
It’s pretty sad, isn’t it?
Same day, different sides of the
574
00:47:41,680 –> 00:47:45,040
earth and part of the same
family in Christ.
575
00:47:45,520 –> 00:47:49,000
And he’s my brother.
And you’re my brothers and my
576
00:47:49,000 –> 00:47:51,680
sisters.
And whatever trouble we’re going
577
00:47:51,680 –> 00:47:57,520
through, God is at work.
God does love you.
578
00:47:58,360 –> 00:48:01,440
The pain in your life is not
evidence of the opposite.
579
00:48:03,000 –> 00:48:08,720
He loves you in that pain,
working with you through it to
580
00:48:08,800 –> 00:48:13,600
to to shape you into the gem
that you are.
581
00:48:15,120 –> 00:48:18,440
Job did not go through what Job
went through because God didn’t
582
00:48:18,440 –> 00:48:22,560
love him.
God absolutely loved him.
583
00:48:23,480 –> 00:48:26,320
So hold on to that.
This evening when you go to
584
00:48:26,320 –> 00:48:32,280
sleep, thank him for his love,
and thank that woman or man
585
00:48:32,280 –> 00:48:34,840
beside you for their love for
you.
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