All of Us Are Gomer
First B Jackson
2026-02-15

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Good morning, everybody. Welcome to First Bee in Jackson, Wyoming. We're glad you are here. Would you stand with us and join us in song? And before we sing, we're just gonna open up with a good word from Psalm one zero three to lead us to lead us into worship.

Sometimes we need need a little help. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Would you join us in singing the psalm that psalm, 10,000 Reasons From Our Heart to Find.

We're delighted that you're here today. We got a couple announcements for you. There's always so much going on at First Bee. If you're ever feeling lonely, if you're ever feeling like you need to get plugged in, come on in. Let's talk.

Let's get you plugged in someplace. There's lots of studies, but there is no Awana tomorrow night. They're taking a week off, but they'll be back the week after. Keep praying for those guys. Deb Hill is still looking for a few more people to be in her women's small group with a a book that she wrote, and I recommend it.

It was a great book. We got to proofread an early copy of it, and it was great. There we we had, like, no changes except for a couple little periods and commas. She did a great job on that one. Her information's there and on the church website.

We've got a nest a message about the engine room prayer group. Tim, you wanna come on up?

Yeah. I I just wanna highlight that last part. Prayer is not preparing for the greater work. Prayer is the greater work. I believe very strongly that when we get to heaven, the thing that we're gonna find out that was most important, most effective that we did is pray.

And as a church, I wanna tell you that we so badly wanna follow what God does, and it's so easy to get off on our program. And prayer is the thing that's gonna keep us on track. So to that end, every Sunday at 08:30, right, 08:30, we're meeting downstairs in the room across from the nursery to pray for the church, for the community, and we would love to have you guys join us there. And this is from Charles Stanley, that first little paragraph. It says he says, God is looking for believers who understand the importance of prayer, realize the only way to fulfill his calling for the church is through his power, not our power.

The church has not grown through programs. The church has not grown through programs. But through the humble supplication of saints who gather together in utter dependence on him, that's when God's power is released and his will is accomplished.

Well said. So join us next week at the Engine Room at 08:30. The Old Faithful Ranch Christian so Old Faithful Christian Ranch snowmobile retreat is next weekend. It's not too late to sign up. Please, guys, we want you to show up.

Even if this is your first week here, it's an awesome time to connect. I I cross country ski the whole time, but lots of guys are out there snowmobiling in the all levels. If this is your first time on a snowmobile or if you're a pro, come on by. We'd love to have you. It's a great chance to eat a lot of candy and and just get away for the weekend, so come on by.

You need an excuse. You really do. The door of hope and the good Samaritan mission, we've got an extra message about that today too.

Thank you. Good morning, church. I wanna tell you about some exciting stuff happening at the Good Samaritan Mission right now. It's no coincidence. I think Ray's message about Hosea has been dragged out because it aligns with the launch of our new ministry at the mission.

And our goal is to provide a door of hope for all the people in the community and the people that are our clients staying at the mission right now. So God has given a very clear vision to Jeremy Agamot about the for the mission of be a place of worship and giving a message to people. And what I've explained to the people there at the church, when you think of a door, you're leaving one room and going into another. So you're leaving a room of darkness going into a room of light. And we're trying to create that community where people can feel wanted, loved, and valued.

So they come in and we provide for them, not only celebrating their their joys and birthdays and anniversaries, but we want them to know we're there to travel with them through their trials and their sorrows. So we're doing that, and we're doing that through a service that we're putting together that you're all invited to. It's tonight. We're gonna be doing this weekly, but we're just doing a couple trial balloons first to make sure it works. Our goal is not to become a new church, but to be a vehicle to invite people to come to first be in other churches in the valley.

So tonight, we have Van Jones gonna deliver a message. So I invite all of you to bring your families, 05:30, have a free dinner, and then stay for the service at six, and we're done about 06:45. So be it and we have Josh from Gateway doing worship. Should be a great time. But this is a invitation that you can all participate in as well because those people need prayer.

Those people need an invitation from somebody they connect with to come to church. Last week, made that invitation. I had seven people from the mission join me here at First Bee, and would love for you to be a part of that. So hope to see you tonight. Thank you.

Thank you. See, so many exciting things to be a part of. There's also the Behold Your God study will be happening on Thursday mornings down the hall. The precept study is now switching to to do a book called Behold Your God. We have copies of it in the church office if you wanna check it out.

But it's still being led by Heidi, and there's more information on the church website about that one. There is a congregational meeting between services today to vote on two possible new elders, John Hammond and Danny Sherwin. So be sure to stick around for that. And for any more, questions you might have about what's going on here at First Bee, check out the website or come talk to us in the office. We'd love to get you plugged in.

Are we forgetting anything? Alright. Thanks so much. And why don't you stand up, greet each other, and consider moving forward. Wouldn't that be nice?

Worthy of every song we could ever sing worthy of all the praise we could ever bring worthy You can have a seat for a minute. We're gonna enter the worship the time in worship for for giving, and we're gonna invite the ushers to come on forward. Let me read something in Isaiah 40 just to prepare us for the next song. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. Ray, can you pray for us?

Yep. Lord God Almighty, thank you that history is your story. Lord, that it is going somewhere and that it is centered around Jesus. I pray lord that we would align ourselves with the advance of the good news about Jesus. Things can be overwhelming and we can look around and find ourselves in some fairly dark places, lord.

I pray that the light of the son of God would illumine us and that it would give us great hope and that it would be something that others would see on us and in us that see it reflecting off of us. But Lord, I pray that we would have that light that is from the light, Jesus. In Jesus name, we gather. In Jesus name, we pray. And in Jesus name, Lord, we really want to do your will in whatever way you would direct us.

Would you show us your way and allow us the light to walk in it. Amen.

Tomorrow morning, I have to have a biopsy.

Yep. Lord God almighty, we're praying right now for Yvonne Wood. She's asking for prayer. When one among you is sick, let them call the elders it says. And so right now, she's doing that.

She's reaching out trusting you and we as a body are reaching out trusting you. She's gonna have a biopsy tomorrow tomorrow morning. Lord, we pray that there would be a very clear picture of what's going on and that you would be able to resolve this issue where that you get the glory and it is for Yvonne and Russ is good. In Jesus name, we ask you as a family of God gathered before you this morning. Amen.

Amen. Amen. This morning, here we go. So, last week, I covered Hosea one through three. I have been building up to that and actually not intentionally teasing it before you like, y'all need to look this up and read it for yourselves, but apparently a lot of y'all did.

And so I have been steeped in it for months now. There's a lot of good in there, but it's hard to get to. It's a little bit inaccessible, and I'll have to say after the service last week, a few of y'all were overwhelmed. And so, I thank God's words, just like we just sang, they're really good, and they're really good for us. We are going back into Hosea today.

Happy Valentine's Day, by the way. Here we go. This clicky clicker is not quite clicked yet. There we go. Have you all ever binge watched a show?

You're gonna admit it. Good. I was glad. I thought I was gonna look out and see a bunch of people go, no, we would never do a thing like that. But I mean, binge watching shows, when I came out here to be a carpenter years ago, I'd come home in the evenings and we, Tanya and I, and Paul and Titus, after the kids went to bed, we'd watch something, Friday Night Lights or something like that.

You know, prison break was a big one. And I remember that the first part of the show is fixing whatever happened last week, and then they build up a storyline to get you to about seven or eight minutes before the end, and then they start a new knot that they haven't untied yet, so that you'll have to watch the next one. And that's a very common pattern. An old cliffhanger serials are like that, and new shows are like that a lot. And you all know them.

I mean, Yellowstone and Sons of Anarchy and all of these bad bad shows, you know. You all have watched these, and you know how it is. I think this morning, I I texted myself something this morning early. That says, we're gonna binge watch a minor prophet this morning. Okay?

And we're gonna fast forward through some of it. Not much of it, honestly, but some of it. There's a lot of good in here, but there's a lot of judgment in a church service. We're gonna cover 11 chapters of a minor prophet in one sermon. This is what it's about.

According to my professor who had a three hours to talk about what Hosea was about, he shortened it to this as his spiritual adultery and the knowledge of God. That's what oh, great. Only one of those, but it was the right one. Are you alright? You can move.

There's plenty of seats up front. There always are. Spiritual adultery, a spiritual adultery, and the knowledge of God. The knowledge of God being an experiential knowledge of God. It is not knowledge about God.

It is knowing God, like really. And so, Hosea one through three, hey, this happens on every one of those shows. You wanna skip the recap or you wanna hear what happened? The recap is this, the Lord said to Hosea outright, go and take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of parshley. Why in the world would he say that?

Because the land, and this is talking about the land of Israel, which is the Northern Kingdom about 200 after they split. The land, Israel, also called Ephraim a lot, maybe Jacob sometimes in this book, has committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord. So the prophet of Lord Hosea went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and that's kind of one of those things where it says, go marry a woman of harlotry. She cheats on him multiple times in the first three chapters. But in the midst of that, we have this two verse little thing that that really is foreshadowing for the rest of this book.

God himself says, I will betroth you to me forever. Yes. I'm the prime mover. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and injustice and loving kindness has said and mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness and you shall experientially know the Lord.

Praise God that that's in there because the rest of the book is pretty dark. Hosea three is only five verses on. We'll cover three of them right here And Hosea goes to Gomer, he buys her back at full price from her lovers where she has gone astray in adult in adultery. He goes and he pays full price to redeem her, bring her back in, and he says, you're gonna stay with me many days, and you're not gonna run around. You're not gonna have anybody else, and I'm not gonna have anybody else.

You're my you're mine. Right? Beautiful. Because why? Because the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince.

That sounds is that good or bad? It's good. It's exile, but they're not going to be relying on human stuff. They're not going be relying on a king that God said they didn't need anyway. Without sacrifice or sacred pillar, they're to be taken away from the place where they have done their temple worship, which was not the right place, by the way, for the kingdom of Israel.

And afterward, says, after this hard time, the children of Israel are gonna return. They're gonna seek their Lord, their God, and David their king, and they shall revere the Lord and his goodness in those days, in the latter days. So that is how we left off last week, and so here we go. It's gonna be a whirlwind. Okay?

Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord brings a charge against inhabitants of the land. Now, have a metaphor, a big metaphor in the first three chapters is Hosea's marriage to an unfaithful wife, and that life is the metaphor. Now, the metaphor changes right here, and now it's a courtroom scene. Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel. This is the charge, the charges against the inhabitants of the land.

Y'all, there is no truth and there's no mercy. Everything is spun up. Everything's manufactured baloney against your fellow man, and there's no mercy. We don't care where the chips fall. Does that sound like any of the series shows that I just described?

Yes. There's no truth or mercy, and there's no experiential knowledge of God in the land. People are using God for their side, and they're saying that God is on their side, but there's no experiential knowledge of God in the land. Does it sound like it's pertinent? Yeah.

So this is God's charge, legal charge against Israel. By swearing and lying and killing and stealing and committing adultery, that's three seasons of any one of those shows I just named. They break all restraint with bloodshed upon bloodshed. Therefore, the land will mourn. And everyone who dwells there will waste away.

And the beast of the field and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea will be taken away. Now, Hosea is a book that has some hope in it, but it's mostly judgment. Okay? This has been going on for a long time. There have been a couple hundred years at least that they have been ignoring God or pretending paying lip service to him, but not it's not real.

Okay? And so this and I'm gonna use I haven't gotten to it yet. I'll get to it in a minute. Now let no man contend or rebuke another. Don't look around at other people.

He's saying, I'm speaking to you. That's what God is saying. Don't let anybody look around, contend or say, oh no, but they but they. No, he's saying, I'm speaking to you. Your people are that like those who contend with the priest.

The priest is just supposed to deliver the message. Therefore, y'all are all gonna stumble in the daytime. And the prophet also shall stumble with you in the night. I'm he says, Hosea says, I'm not saying it was me. But Hosea says, I'm gonna be dragged along with you too.

This is a difficult time that you're going through. Y'all are going to stumble in the daytime, the prophet's going to stumble with you in the night, and I will destroy your mother. Oh, yeah. We're going to fast forward some of this. Because it's about judgment.

Right? So there's a lot of judgment. And some of it is too too MA, TV MA. It's mature audiences only. Right?

It's really hard stuff in here. My people are destroyed. Why? For lack of this experiential knowledge of God. They say they know me but they don't know me.

They don't act like me at all. Because you have rejected knowledge, I put it out there before you all the time, and you don't listen to it. That's a word of judgment, by the way. I'm gonna use the color coding again. I think I used it in Nahum.

Maybe. Red is judgment. Yellow, gold is hope. Okay? So Jeremiah Jeremiah said, my people, they're foolish because they have not known me.

They're silly children. They have no understanding. They're very wise to do evil. They know how to get look out for number one. But to do good, they have no knowledge.

So this is the same period of time that Hosea is speaking, Jeremiah is speaking same message basically, because it's coming from the same place, same God. I also reject you from being priests for me because you have forgotten the law of your God, and also will forget your children. What a sad statement of judgment. The more they increase, the more they sinned against me. I'll change the glory and the shame.

They eat up the sin of my people. They set their heart on their iniquity. It should be like like people like priests. Now, the church is supposed to have an influence on the world where it starts to make the world look more like the church but they're saying in this time period, it's priest and temple, you know, priest are looking more and more and more like the world instead of bringing people to Jesus. In our case, we are looking more and more and more like the world.

So this is why it's still a good message for us. Okay? Always trying to get back there, and there's just no satisfying that. Harlotry wine and new wine enslaved the heart. My people ask counsel from wooden idols.

Their wooden idols, their staff informs them the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray. They played the harlot against their God. That's the capital g God. They went out with small g gods. They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops, the high places, they burn incense on the hills, under the oaks, the poplars, the teremins because shade is good for their own comfort.

Therefore, your daughters committed harlotry, your brides commit adultery, and that's a a terrible stench of judgment right there, but then this is even harsher in some ways. God says, I'm not gonna punish them when they commit harlot. You know the reason you have pain is so you don't keep doing that again. The reason that you have punishment is so that you don't keep doing that again. And God is right here saying, I'm not gonna punish them for that.

I'm not gonna punish your brides when they commit adultery because the men, you're the same way. You're going after harlots yourselves. Every one of you is like Gomer, God is saying to them. We take it. No one that we know Jesus.

I know that y'all gathered here to hear a good message from the Lord about Jesus. But if we take this in, how much are we living in the flesh and doing things like these folks were? With that Holy Spirit is not really informing that. They offer sacrifices with a ritual harlot. Therefore, people who do not understand are gonna be trampled.

That's a message of judgment that though you Israel, you play the harlot, let not Judah offend. Don't Southern Kingdom, Judah. Don't come up to Gilgal Crossover. Don't go up to Beth Haven. Those two places are places where they have set up worship.

Not the temple in Jerusalem. They've set up a more convenient location for them, for their idols. Nor swear an oath saying as the Lord lives, I don't want for you to use my name in vain and say, you're on my side when you're not on my side. For Israel's stubborn like a stubborn calf. Now, the Lord will let them forge like a lamb in open country.

Ephraim is joined to idols. Let them alone. Their drink is rebellion. They commit harlotry continually. Her rulers dearly love dishonor.

Corruption, power, oh my goodness, that's another one of those things that all of those shows are about corruption and power, and there's a bad cop and a dirty politician, and that stuff exists. It did here, it does here, it did there. Her rulers dearly love dishonor. The wind has wrapped her up in its wings and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifice. Hear this, priests.

Take heed, oh house of Israel. Give ear, oh house of the king, for yours is the judgment because you've been a snare to Mizpah and a net spread on Tabor. I know you all don't know where those places are. I don't know where those places are. Exactly.

I kinda looked up the map. I didn't put any up here this time, but the revolters are deeply involved in slaughter. Though I rebuke them all, I know, Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me. Those are both the same place. For now, oh, Ephraim, you commit harlotry in Israel, the land is defiled.

They don't direct their deeds toward turning to their God. It's just a simple statement of fact. It is judgment. The spirit of harlotries in their midst, and they don't know the Lord. Experiential knowledge of the God.

Yada is the word in Hebrew. I'm terrible with Hebrew, but Yada means an experiential knowing. The pride of Israel testifies to his face. Therefore, Israel and Ephesians stumble in their iniquity. Judah also stumbles with them.

The Southern Kingdom is not much better. Okay? There were no good kings in Israel, and it's coming to an end and there are not many good kings in Judah. With their flocks and herds, they shall go to seek the Lord but they won't find him. He's withdrawn himself from them.

They have dealt treacherously with the Lord for they forgotten or they have begotten pagan children. Now, new moon shall devour them and their heritage. Can you see the peril? There's peril all over this place and it's judgment. Blow the ram's horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Rama, cry aloud at Bethlehem and look behind you, oh Benjamin, there's always somebody sneaking up on those shows.

Right? There's always somebody sneaking up. He says, you better be looking over your shoulder. You've gotten involved in some things that should come back on you. Okay?

Ephesians should be desolate in the day of rebuke among the tribes of Israel. I'll make known what is sure. The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark. Oh, don't ever remove an ancient boundary or landmark. You know that you're not supposed to do that.

It says the princes of Judah are like those that are doing that, and I'm gonna pour my wrath out on them too. Yes, I'm gonna get to them, but Israel, I'm talking to you right now. I'm gonna get to them too. Ephesians is oppressed and broken in judgment. Why?

Because he that's metaphorical. Ephraim is the Northern kingdom of Israel because he willingly walked by human precept. He acted just like the world. What let's back away from the text for just a second. Do we act just like the world?

Individually, collectively, are we in a church trying to consider things from a business perspective instead of by the spirit of the Lord? We gotta consider that. Proverbs three, five, and six says, trust in what? The Lord with all of your heart. Don't lean on your own understanding.

In all of your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your path. Lord, how would you have me go about my day today? Show me your way and I'll walk in it. That's what this is saying. But because he willingly walked by human precept, therefore, I'm gonna be to Ephraim like a moth, irritating insect that just chews up and destroys.

And to the house of Israel house of Judah, like rottenness. Because they're walking just like the rest of their neighbors. Remember when they asked for a king and God said, you don't want a king. And they said, yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Give us a king. Give us a king. And the kings were not good. On the net, not good.

It went just like God said that it would. When Ephesians saw his sickness and Judah saw his wound, Ephesians went to Assyria and sent sent a letter to king Jerob and yet he can't cure you. He can't heal you of your wound. Why are you reaching out for political alliances with these pagan countries? That's what he's saying to them, Assyria and Egypt will come later.

For I'm gonna be like a lion to Ephesians, for I'm gonna be like a young lion to the house of Judah. And even I will tear them and I'll go away. I'll take them away and no one shall rescue. I am almighty God and if I'm after you, I'm after you. There's not anybody else that can save you.

I am the only place God's saying. I'm going to return again to my place until when? Until they acknowledge their offense. This reminds me of first John one nine. All the guys in the Bible study would look to Bob Wells sitting right here.

Like, to recognize your offense and to agree with God about it. If you confess, if you agree with God about your sin, he's faithful and just to be forgiving your sin. That's New Testament. This is Old Testament. I'm already turn again to my place till they acknowledge their offense, then they'll seek my face.

In their affliction, they will earnestly seek me. Why is that? Because nobody ever goes after God in the good times. It's the hard times that bring us to Jesus. That's hopeful.

That's the first gold flag we've had. There's a lot more red in this book. Okay? Come and let us return to the Lord for he has torn but he will heal us up. Amen.

He has stricken but he will bind up. After two days, he will revive us. On the third day, he will raise us up. I think that's a little foreshadowing. Right?

That we may live in his sight. Let us know. Amen. Experientially, let us know. Let us pursue experiential knowledge of the Lord.

His going forth is established, says the morning. He's gonna come to us like the rain which we're longing for, like the latter and the former rain to the earth. Let us know him. That's hopeful. Seeking after the knowledge of God.

Oh, Ephraim, what shall I do to you? Oh, Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud. What happens with morning clouds? And like the early dew, it dries up and goes away.

Therefore, I have hewn them by the prophets. Hewning, y'all seen hewn timbers, right, where you're cutting away at the outside, you're stripping back. Right? He says, I have hewn my people by the prophets. The words of the prophets are taking some skin off of them.

I have slain them by the words of my mouth and your judgments are like light that goes forth. For I desire mercy and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. Amen. Imma sit on this one for just a minute. I might have to do this in two sessions.

Y'all might fall asleep trying to binge watch this thing. I desire mercy and not sacrifice. Let me just say, because Jesus uses this twice that I know of in the book of Matthew and we'll look at them in just a second. But when Hosea says, I desire, God is speaking. I desire mercy sacrifice and the knowledge, experiential knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

The religiosity does not matter to God. The heart does matter to God and your actions, mercy is what he's looking for. If your religion is making you less merciful, it's not true religion. It's not true to God. Now, God is the righteous judge and he knows exactly how much punishment or pain or difficulty to inflict in order to get someone to come around.

You don't? I don't. So thank you, Connor. I desire mercy and not sacrifice. I'm not looking for you to bring the all of the stuff.

That's pointing to Jesus. This is Old Testament stuff. That's pointing to Jesus. Actually, let's go to Jesus. Matthew nine nine thirteen, Jesus said, y'all go and learn what this means.

Ain't that great? He knows that they know it. He knows that they have it memorized. He knows that they know it, but they don't know what it means experientially. Know this, go and learn what this means.

I desire mercy and not sacrifice. Jesus says, I didn't come to call the righteous. Those who don't have any need of me, that's not the people I'm here for. I'm here for sinners and to bring them to repentance. Amen.

Amen. This is the context nine nine through 13. It's when they were getting on to his disciples for eating some grains on the Sabbath. Is that when it was? Matthew nine.

Hold on a second. Oh, it's it's it's at Matthew's house. That's when it was. The next one is going be the other one. Sorry.

So, it's Matthew's house and the Pharisees are like, he's eating with sinners and tax collectors. That's not a religious thing to do for them. Why would he do that? Y'all, Jesus hears that and he says, those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick. The the church should be more a hospital for sinners than a museum for the saints.

Right? Go and learn what this means. I desire mercy and not sacrifice. And Jesus says later on in Matthew, if y'all had just known what this means, you can hear him going, you study it, you study it, and you don't know what it means. You know about it, but you don't know it.

I desire mercy and not sacrifice. Then, you wouldn't have condemned the guiltless and this is about his guys walking by on a Sabbath day and plucking a few heads to fill no, just a snack. There's not gonna be a whole meal eating grains by the roadside, but it was enough to call it work for the Pharisees. And Jesus gives them a few old testament examples. I wish I wish you understood it.

I desire mercy and not sacrifice. If you look at people and you look at them and what you have for them is judgment and you're not the righteous judge, That's a problem. So God is the righteous judge. Bring them to him. Bring them to him.

He's he's the only one that can clean them up anyway. I desire mercy and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But but like men, because all we like sheep have gone astray. But like men, they transgress the covenant. There they dealt treacherously with me.

Gilead is a city of evildoers, defiled with blood, as bands of robbers lying wait for men. So the company of priests murder on the way to Shechem. Surely, surely, they commit lewdness. I've seen horrible thing in the house of Israel. Do you all get the gist?

Let's fast forward. Can we fast forward? Do you all want me to go through every single line of this thing? They're all adulterers. Like I said last week, we're all Gomer.

Ephesians has mixed himself among the peoples. There's no difference in my people and the people around them. They all act exactly the same. And therefore, Ephesians is a cake unturned. You ever cook in pancakes and one side is just burnt crisp and the other is bubbly up top?

This thing needs to be flipped and he's about to do some flipping. He's going to use a Syria to do it. Ephesians is like a silly dove without any sense. They go to Egypt. They go to Assyria.

They make political alliances. They're just crazy. You think that this is gonna be peaceable, you silly dove? They're the big cats surrounding you. They're coming for you.

Political alliances is what they're trusting in. Woe to them, funeral language. Woe to them for they have fled from me. Destruction to them because they've transgressed against me. They assemble together for grain and for new wine.

They rebel against me. They keep on doing what men keep on doing. Set the trumpet to your mouth. He shall come like an eagle against the house of the Lord Because they have transgressed the covenant. This is old covenant, by the way.

Thank God we're living in the new covenant where God makes it clear that it's by the blood of Jesus. It's by the blood of Jesus for sure that we can be saved from this horrific cycle. Because they've transgressed that old covenant, because they've rebelled against the law. Israel is gonna cry out to me and say, my God, we know you, but they don't. They don't know him in any experiential way what they know about him.

They know that they're chosen people, and so they're really proud of that. But they don't know him. Israel has rejected the good. The enemy's gonna pursue him. They set up kings, but they didn't do it by me.

They didn't consult me when they set up those kings. They made princes, but I didn't acknowledge them. They made from their silver and gold, they made idols for themselves. Well, you know what? Your calf, golden calf at the foot of Sinai, that's what they set up in Samaria at at Gilgal And Beth Aven.

Your calf is rejected, Samaria. My anger is aroused against them. Judgment, judgment. This one you'll remember. They sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind.

Twenty five years of poetry here in one sermon. Probably two sermons. It's getting real close. The stock has no bud. It shall never produce meal.

If it should produce, aliens would swallow it up. You wouldn't even get to eat it. Israel is swallowed up. Now, they're among the Gentiles like a vessel in which there's no pleasure, judgment. For they've gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey by itself.

Ephesians hired lovers. They've hired among the nations. Now, I'm going to gather among them. They shall sorrow a little because of the burden of the king and their princess. Yeah.

It's going to be painful. It is always painful when you walk away from the goodness of God. He's shown you the way to walk in it. I mean, we've got other prophets. You know, he's shown you what's required of you.

Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly. Here we go. Judgment, judgment, judgment, judgment. It keeps on going. The days of punishment have come.

It's time. The days of recompense have come. Israel knows. Y'all know. And the prophet is just made out to look like a fool.

The spiritual man is insane. If there's anybody that holds to it, it it looks like an idiot. Because of the greatness of your iniquity and your great enmity with me. You don't even recognize when someone's speaking the truth. The watchman of Ephesians is with my God.

The prophet is a fowler snare in all of his ways. Enmity in the house of his God. People don't like to hear the truth is what this is saying. I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers at the first fruits of fig tree in its season.

That sounds hopeful, doesn't it? Like he's saying in the past, remember this? I I plucked you out of like grapes in the wilderness. So is it hopeful? Let's see what he says next.

But they went off to Baal, Peor. They separated themselves to that shame, and they became an abomination like the thing that they love, which is an abomination, they false god. Ask for you from their glory shall fly away like a bird. No prey Let's skip that too. Let's fast forward through that part.

There's some really hard stuff. If you wanna remember where it is and look it up later, and go through frame for frame, you can get you can do that. My God will cast them away because they did not obey him, and they shall be wanderers among the nations because it didn't listen. Israel empties his body, brings forth fruit for himself according to multitude of his fruit. We're already up to chapter 10.

Can you believe it? Judgment. Judgment. Judgment. Judgment.

It just keeps going. Ephesians is a trained heifer. There are so many great metaphors in here. Love to thresh out the grain, but I harnessed her fair neck, and I'm gonna make Ephesians work for it for a while. I gave and gave and gave, but now I'm gonna exile them.

Judah's gonna plow too. Jacob's gonna break his claws. Sow for yourselves righteousness. This is a direct imperative. Y'all act justly.

Act in righteousness, he says, just like Amos. Act justly. Reap in mercy. Love mercy. If you're gonna get back what you give out like the Jackson vibe, yeah, man.

I'm just putting out positive vibes. Then why won't you put out some positive vibes? Why don't you go mercy instead of just judgment? Sow for yourselves righteousness, reaping mercy. Break up your fallow ground for it is time what?

To seek the Lord. Till he comes and he reigns righteousness on you. Keep on seeking after him. If you don't come to the place that God is love, you hadn't gotten to him yet. That is hopeful.

Keep on seeking until you find. Keep on seeking to know about him until you actually know him. For you have, past tense, plowed wickedness. You have reaped iniquity. You have eaten, past tense, the fruit of lies because you trusted in your own way.

Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path. You didn't do that and you saw where that got you. You keep doing what you've been doing, you're gonna keep getting what you've been getting. In the multitude of your mighty man, you're so proud of your army. Yeah.

Therefore, though, the tumult shall rise among your people. Judgment. When Israel was a child okay, the metaphor is shifting again. This is beginning in chapter 11. So it went from courtroom scene and just one bit of evidence against another.

Now it's in a different metaphor. Israel was a child. I loved him. And I called my son out of Egypt. Now, y'all will think of this is prophecy.

Jesus was, you know, they had to hide in Egypt and then came back. Yes, that is messianic prophecy but the truth is, God took his people which he is calling his children and he took them out of slavery in Egypt. He made them a great people in Egypt. Exile, persecution is good for refining fire. So when Israel was a child, I loved him and out of Egypt, I called my son.

So change of metaphor there. God is now father as they called them. So they went from them and they sacrificed to the Baal. Dad blasted it. Keeps on happening.

Judgment. They sacrificed to the bales. They burned incense to carve damages. They learned Egypt's way. I taught Ephraim to walk.

Can you see the father holding the kid? Holding holding on to their arms so they would learn but they didn't know it was me that healed them. I drew them with gentle cords with bands of love and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and I fed them. Do you hear the loving father in there?

And he shall not return to the land of Egypt but the Assyrian shall be his king. Rejected the loving father that they had quit paying attention to him and went to a political alliance with this Assyrian king because they refused to repent. The sword shall slash in the cities. Judgment. How can I give you up though, Ephesians?

How can I give you up? How can I hand you over Israel? How can I how can I make you like Admah? Do you all know what Admah is? Me neither.

You know why? Because he utterly destroyed Admah, apparently. How can I set you up like Zebulim? Don't know that one either. He's gone.

My heart churns within me, God Almighty says. My sympathy is stirred. That's hopeful. That's really hopeful. Almighty God is sympathizing with mortal man.

My sympathy is stirred. I will not execute the fierceness of my anger. I'm gonna restrain myself. Though you like a brat kept on and kept on and kept on, and you do deserve punishment, I will not execute the fierceness of mine. I will not again destroy Ephesians for I'm God and I'm not a man.

My ways are above your ways. The holy one in your midst, I will not come with terror. I'm drawing you to myself. I'm using everything that I'm doing to draw you in. And they shall walk after the Lord.

And he'll roar like a lion. When he roars, then his sons shall come trembling from the West. They shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt, like a dove from the land of Assyria saying, they're getting out of those alliances and they're coming to him. And I will let them dwell in their houses, says the Lord. I'm gonna bring you back from this.

Ephesians encircle me with lies. House of Judah with deceit, but Judah still walks with God even with the holy one is faithful. I'm holding off on Judah for now. Ephesians feeds on the wind and pursues the east wind. He he daily increases lies and desolation.

Even though God is at work to draw them in to an experiential knowledge of him, they're still working against him. Judgment, judgment. That is the Lord God of hosts. The Lord is his memorable name. So, you by the help of your God return, observe what?

Mercy. Again, I say, if your religion is making you less merciful and more judgmental, you're not following after almighty God. Observe mercy and justice. You act justly. It's the best you know how, but you also leave room for God.

Vengeance is his. You don't know enough of the story to know what's going on. Wait on your God continually. He'll show you the way. That's hopeful.

Oh, cunning Canaanite, deceitful scales are in his hand. It keeps on judgment. I'm the Lord your God. Ever since the land of Egypt, he keeps on reminding. Actually, I think what he's doing is saying, it's always been this way.

I know that we're way far forward from Moses, but the stiff necked people that y'all were is the stiff necked people that y'all are. And the fleshy side of us is still that way. The spiritual side of us is not that way. Spiritual side of us is able to follow after God and walk in victory. But this message is to appeal to us in a way that says, which are we following?

Are we feeding the flesh? Are we feeding the spirit? Gilead has utter surely their vanity. Though they sacrifice bulls and Gilead, indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrowed fields. I'm not paying any attention to that nonsense.

Jacob pled to the country of Syria. Oh, yes. It's fun. It's not fun. Now they send more and more.

They made for themselves molded images. This is something that Isaiah at the same time period says, idols of silver according to their skill, all of it is the work of craftsman. They say to them, let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves. I looked up. I wanted to do a message about love so bad today.

Happy Valentine's Day. Kiss the calves came up. From Hosea for crying out loud, I literally googled kissing in the Bible because I wanted to do a Valentine's message and this is the one that I kept coming up with. Therefore, shall there be like a morning cloud like the early dew like chaff, judgment, judgment. Yet, oh, praise God.

Here it is. Yet, I am the Lord your God. Ever since the land of Egypt and you shall, without a doubt, future orientation, know experientially, know God but me. You're gonna know what it's like to know me. I'm gonna bring you in.

For there's no savior besides me. I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought when they had pasture, they were filled, they were filled, and their heart was exalted. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Do you remember what they did in the wilderness? They forgot me because everything was fun.

Everything's good. So I'm gonna be like them. Still have to do some discipline and no discipline is pleasant at the time. Israel, you're destroyed but your help is for me. I'll be your king.

Where is any other? This is judgment. Give me king and princess. I gave you king in my anger. Finally, relented since you begged for one but also took him away in my wrath because it went just like I thought it was gonna go.

Iniquity of Ephesians is bound up. His sin is stored up. Judgment didn't read in that one. But he gets to this, but I will ransom them from the power of the grave. Amen.

I will. God is the prime mover. Redeem them from death. Death, I will be your plagues. I'm gonna conquer you, death.

Oh, grave. I will be your destruction. Jesus overcame what? Death, hell, and the grave. Pity is hidden from my eyes.

I've gotta do what I've gotta do. Oh Israel, return to the Lord your God some hope here. For you have stumbled because of your iniquity, take words with you. Come and return to the Lord and say to God. This is Hosea instructing them.

This is how it goes. Recognize your own sin. Come to God and say, take this away from me. Lord, please receive us graciously. We're offer, we're finally turning the corner and we're saying, Israel, I mean, Assyria is not the one that's going to save us, lord.

We're not gonna be riding on horses nor we say anymore to the works of our hands. You're our gods. We're turning our backs on our idols and we're turning towards you for in you, the fatherless finds mercy. They're starting or at least Hosea is asking them to start understanding the heart of a merciful and loving God. So, repentance is in there and God says, I will heal their blacks backsliding and I will love them freely.

My anger is turned away from him. I will be like the dude to Israel. He shall grow like the lily. He shall lengthen his roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread.

His beauty shall be like an olive tree and his fragrance like Lebanon. It's gonna be good. Those who dwell under his shadow shall return. They shall be revived like grain and grow like a vine. You all know what it's like, it's the weirdest winter we've ever had.

But you all know what it's like when the snow all melts off and it's brown, and then we get that first rain. I mean, snow melting off helps. But you know, it doesn't take long for the grass to turn just emerald green here. That's the picture that he's going. They shall be revived like the grain, grow like a vine, their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Ephesians shall say, what have I to do anymore with idols? Why would I go after idols? When I've got almighty God, why would I go after some small g God? I'm actually like a green cypress tree. Your fruit lord is found in me.

So this is the bow to tie everything up. Twenty five years of poetry, most of it in one sermon. Never apologize. My professor said never apologize. I just say that out loud when I wanna apologize.

Hosea fourteen nine says, who is wise or who among you is wise? Let him understand these things. Let us all understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him experientially know this that God is good and that his way is good actually, experiential knowledge.

For the ways of the Lord are right. Oh Lord. It sounds restrictive. It sounds like he doesn't love, you know, as teenagers feel like, oh Lord, you don't love me. You don't care about me.

Everybody else has this thing and you don't love me. You have it. God's saying it's not good for you. His ways are right and the righteous walk in them. But transgressors stumble in them.

This is probably an appended little section that is added on to the end of all of Hosea's poetry. And it says, look back over these things and see if you see yourself in there anywhere. And that's the end of the book. That's it. King of Kings.

That's the next slide is that. I wanna say this, if you read Hosea and you only read part of it, and like I skipped through, fast forwarded through some of it, if you only read some of it, you gotta keep reading. You gotta keep reading and keep on getting through it. Therefore, now, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Is there conviction of sin?

Yes. You should see your own sin when you read the word of God. You should and should God's righteousness be shown. Jesus says, this is the power. This is the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin and convince us of God's righteousness to illumine his word.

So, I would say, if you have an angry God theology and you take snippets with your angry God theology and you take snippets from this and you use it to beat people over the head with, This is not a clobber passage. All of us are Gomer. Right? All of us are Gomer. So it's not something to beat other people up with.

It's to look at and go, oh my goodness. It's me. I'm the problem. It's me. Sorry for that Taylor Swift reference.

I didn't even mean to do that. Or maybe that's not even Taylor Swift. I don't know. I don't know. Is it?

Yeah. It is. Yeah. Great. Add that to the list.

Would you all stand up? I'm gonna ask the band to come forward. One other thing about those shows is how could they possibly resolve every single way, every single episode it feels like, how can they get out of this one? How is that guy ever gonna get out of this situation? How is Ephraim ever gonna get out of this situation?

You know the concept of Deus Ex Machina? God from the machine? Like, God, that's how he's going to get out of it. Where there is no way, God will make a way. He's the king of kings.

He is the one that can do this. Altar's always open. I'm around afterwards. We were having a having a congregational meeting afterwards but I'll be around after that too. In Jesus name, lord, I pray that you would give us the experiential knowledge of you that you long for and that we long for whether we realize it or not.

Amen. Hosea six six. Anybody have a Bible? I could fast forward through a 114 slides. Oh, yes.

That's it. I did know that one by my heart. Oh, learn what this means. Learn what this means. If you know if you know that you know that you're coming across as judgmental, if you know that you know that you know that God has been merciful to you.

I desire mercy, God says, and not sacrifice. I desire the knowledge, experiential knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. Lord, would you forgive us for our pointless religiosity? That's not the only kind. Would you forgive us for our pointless religiosity and would you give us your heart?

Would you give us your eyes? Would you give us, lord, an understanding of your mercy so that we are more merciful. In Jesus name and by his sacrifice, we're saved. Amen. Amen.

Amen.