644. Hosea - Chapter 8 (#1) - The Calf of Samaria Shall be Broken in Pieces - September 19, 2024

[00:00:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to Wisdom Today. My name is Bill Kelley and I'll be your host. In this podcast we will be exploring the book of Proverbs.

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's open and pray, Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today.

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I pray that you give everyone ears to hear and a heart to receive everything in store for them through this podcast.

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I ask this in Jesus name, amen. This is Proverbs 19, beginning in verse 1.

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his lips and is a fool.

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Also, it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge and he sins who hastens with his feet.

[00:01:00] [SPEAKER_00]: The foolishness of a man twists his way and his heart frets against the Lord.

[00:01:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, makes many friends but the poor is separated from his friend. A false witness will not go unpunished and he who speaks lies will not escape.

[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Many in treat the favor of the nobility and every man is a friend to one who gives gifts.

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_00]: All the brothers of the poor hate him, how much more do his friends go far from him?

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_00]: He may pursue them with words yet they abandon him.

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_00]: He who gets wisdom loves his own soul. He who keeps understanding will find good. A false witness will not go unpunished and he who speaks lies shall perish.

[00:01:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Luxury is not fitting for a fool, much less for a servant to rule over princes. The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger and his glory is to overlook a transgression.

[00:02:12] [SPEAKER_00]: The King's wrath is like the roaring of a lion but his favor is like due on the grass.

[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_00]: A foolish son is the ruin of his father and the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping.

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Laziness casts one into a deep sleep and an idle person will suffer hunger. He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of his ways will die.

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_00]: He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord and he will pay back what he has given.

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Chasin your son while there is hope and do not set your heart on his destruction. A man of great wrath will suffer punishment for if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Listen to counsel and receive instruction that you may be wise in your latter days.

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_00]: There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless the Lord's counsel that will stand.

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_00]: What is desired in a man is kindness and a poor man is better than a liar.

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_00]: The fear of the Lord leads to life and he who has it will abide in satisfaction. He will not be visited with evil.

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_00]: A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Strike a scoffer and the simple will become weary, review one who has understanding and he will discern knowledge.

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_00]: He who mistreats his father and chases away his mother is a son who causes shame and brings reproach.

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Sees listening to instruction my son and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_00]: A disreputable witness, scorns, justice and the mouth of the wicked devours in equity.

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Judgments are prepared for scoffers and beatings for the back of fools.

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Friends today I'd like to take a closer look at verse 12 and proper 19 verse 12 says this.

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_00]: The King's wrath is like the roaring of a lion but his favor is like due on the grass.

[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Friends we will take a closer look at that verse prior to closing today but what I'd like to do is to continue in our study of the book of Jose.

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Now yesterday we finished chapter 7 of Jose and what I'd like to do before we begin today's lesson is to review the three points that I made from yesterday's lesson.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's look at point number one, wherever they go I will spread my net on them.

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Now when I sit there and think about that comment I think about a fishing net and I think about having a fish on a hook you've caught it and so you put the net in the water and make sure that when you bring up that fishing line that the fish is attached.

[00:05:56] [SPEAKER_00]: And you have it inside the net. It's kind of like a safety covering. Let's look at number two they have spoken lies against me.

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Now friends this is God literally speaking to us they have speaking lies against me.

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Friends in our society today people are still doing that a lot of people are trying to live their lives as though God doesn't even exist.

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_00]: And if people do mention God a lot of times they are spreading false information about God.

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_00]: One of the things you're not hearing when people usually talk about good is the goodness of God and God is only good.

[00:06:43] [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of people say well I used to go to church but this happened and this happened and they blame a lot of things on God.

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_00]: The third point yesterday they return but not to the most high and yesterday's point I brought up is they were coming back they were coming back to the temple but they weren't coming to worship God.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00]: They were coming to worship they and they were basically serving they and doing they worship.

[00:07:18] [SPEAKER_00]: So let's begin in chapter eight today beginning in verse one of the book of Hosea.

[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_00]: And this passage of scripture is entitled the apostasy of Israel. So right off the bat you know this isn't going to be promising.

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Apostasy basically means that people are not living on with God and they're not following directions and commandments that God has given.

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Set the trumpet to your mouth. He shall come like an eagle against the house of the Lord.

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Now the house of the Lord here were referring to the entire country of Israel because they have transgressed my covenant and rebuild against my law.

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Now friends I know that the author of this book is the minor prophet Hosea but this is literally God speaking.

[00:08:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Hosea is not saying that they've transgressed Hosea's covenant. This is saying because they have transgressed my covenant and my this capitalized.

[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_00]: So this is literally God speaking and Hosea is simply recording what he is hearing the Holy Spirit tell him that God's saying.

[00:08:43] [SPEAKER_00]: This is awesome it really is so my first point I'd like to bring up in today's lesson is he shall come like an eagle against the house of the Lord.

[00:08:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Now let's go on to verse 2. Israel will cry to me my God we know you I want you to think about that because the Israelites are convinced that they are doing the right thing that that's what that verse says we know you.

[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_00]: But they're rebelling against him so how can they say that let's go to verse 3. Israel has rejected the good the enemy will pursue him.

[00:09:33] [SPEAKER_00]: That's powerful. So friends I am reading out of the Nelson study Bible what I like to do is give you the commentary for verses 1 through 3 in my Bible because this to me is a little bit confusing.

[00:09:51] [SPEAKER_00]: The Israelites have turned away from God they're not following God but listen to this commentary just as an eagle swiftly swoops down and snatches its prey and I'm thinking specifically about an eagle catching like a rabbit or maybe a small fox or squirrel okay they're going down a hundred thirty miles an hour.

[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_00]: And you know if you are the prey whether you're a squirrel or maybe a raccoon or something like this you don't have a chance because most eagles can fly over a hundred miles an hour and their eyes are keen.

[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_00]: And they can spot you maybe a mile or two miles away and once they do that nose dive you are toast you think you're going to run fast you think you cannot run them you can't eagles are awesome.

[00:10:51] [SPEAKER_00]: So a Syria would invade Israel and take its people in take captivity.

[00:11:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Now friends that kind of reminds me of the slave trade and many years ago when they took slaves from Africa and these slave traders would literally sit in the wilderness in the bushes and wait for un-suspecting people.

[00:11:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Who were of age and these people ordinarily had kids and we're talking usually about black people from Africa and these people would kidnap these black people and they would put them on a boat headed for America or some other country and those people would be sold on a slave block.

[00:11:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's go on the house of the Lord refers to the entire land of Israel we know you.

[00:11:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Though Israel claimed to acknowledge the Lord's authority it had violated his covenant and rejected the qualities the Lord regarded as good.

[00:12:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Now listen to these qualities such as justice, loyalty and humility.

[00:12:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Now friends I try to live my life with those three things in mind.

[00:12:25] [SPEAKER_00]: I like for justice to be served, I really like the idea of loyalty when I think of loyalty I think of faithfulness I think of doing the right thing and being dependable and humility.

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And friends I often say that God resist the proud but he gives grace to the humble God wants people to be humble in front of him.

[00:12:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's go to verse 4.

[00:12:55] [SPEAKER_00]: They set up kings but not by me.

[00:13:00] [SPEAKER_00]: They made princes but I did not acknowledge them from their silver and gold they made idols for themselves that they might be cut off.

[00:13:12] [SPEAKER_00]: So friends my second point of today's lesson is they set up kings but not by me.

[00:13:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Now what I'd like to do there because this reminds me when you go way back to the book of her Samuel and at that time the Israelites were seeking God they were, but they told God we want a king.

[00:13:38] [SPEAKER_00]: And God said no you don't want a king. You need to follow my commandments and they said we want a king. We want a king like all of the countries around us.

[00:13:51] [SPEAKER_00]: And so God said alright if you want a king you'll have a king and that is when King Saul became the first king of Israel way back in the book of her Samuel.

[00:14:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's go to verse 5.

[00:14:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Your calf is rejected O Samaria. My anger is aroused against them how long until they attain the innocence.

[00:14:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Now friends when I think of a golden calf let's go back to the second book of the Bible and we're talking about Moses and Moses had gone up to Mount Sinai.

[00:14:38] [SPEAKER_00]: He was meeting with God. They were going to write the 10 commandments and God literally wrote the 10 commandments himself on this tablet of stone.

[00:14:52] [SPEAKER_00]: But he was gone a long time and the people got listless. They got weary of waiting. Let's begin in Exodus chapter 32 beginning in verse 1.

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain the people gathered together to Aaron and sent to him come.

[00:15:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Make us gods that shall go before us for as for this Moses the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt we do not know what has become of him.

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_00]: And Aaron said to them break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wife, your sons and your daughters and bring them to me.

[00:15:45] [SPEAKER_00]: So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and he fashioned it with an engraving tool and made a mold and calf.

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_00]: And most of you know the end of that story Moses heard from God and God told Moses you need to go down to the camp the people have turned against me.

[00:16:17] [SPEAKER_00]: And when he got down to the camp and he saw that golden calf he was so angry with his brother Aaron and he said how could you have let that happen.

[00:16:34] [SPEAKER_00]: And Aaron tried to blame the people like people still do to and everything today people don't want to take accountability when they make mistakes.

[00:16:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's go on to verse 6 for from Israel is even this a workman made it and it is not God but the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

[00:17:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Now let's go back to our story that we just read in Exodus what Moses literally did is he melted that idol and the gold literally melted but that's not what is happening here.

[00:17:25] [SPEAKER_00]: What is happening here is that they're going to break the golden calf in pieces. So my third point of the day, but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

[00:17:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's look at the commentary a workman made it this is really good.

[00:17:47] [SPEAKER_00]: How there is a reason that anything that is made with human hands cannot possibly qualify as a God.

[00:17:58] [SPEAKER_00]: So way back in the book of Exodus when this calf that was fashioned by Aaron with an engraving tool was not a God or it was an idol but it wasn't a God.

[00:18:14] [SPEAKER_00]: This is a confirmation that anything that is made with man's hands is also not a God but it certainly qualifies as an idol.

[00:18:31] [SPEAKER_00]: And friends, I'm going to be talking about this tomorrow on Friday's podcast because tomorrow I'm going to be going over the second commandment and it says you shall have no idols before me.

[00:18:47] [SPEAKER_00]: So friends, if you're interested in what I'm talking about right now, let's tune in to my podcast tomorrow.

[00:18:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Before we close, let's go back to verse 19 today is September 19 and I have chosen verse 12.

[00:19:05] [SPEAKER_00]: The King's wrath is like the roaring of a lion. Now friends, earlier in the book of Joseah, I tried to look it up before this lesson, but a couple chapters ago it would it said that God would be like a lion.

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_00]: And I talked about this because I said, wow, if God was like a lion and I gave the description of a lion.

[00:19:34] [SPEAKER_00]: And when I see a lion in a zoo and I look at the strength of their arms and I look and imagine them jumping like 15 feet and jumping on my back and using their claws.

[00:19:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's listen to this one more time. The King's wrath is like the roaring of a lion.

[00:19:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Friends, you don't want the King's wrath on you. Now we don't have kings in our United States today. We have a president.

[00:20:09] [SPEAKER_00]: We don't have a king. So we don't have a monarchy, but that's what they had in Israel. But the second part of that verse says, but his favor is like do on the grass.

[00:20:22] [SPEAKER_00]: And friends, when I think of do on the grass, I think when I wake up first thing in the morning and I go outside and I sit on my patio and I listen to my daily podcast and yes, I listen to my podcast every day.

[00:20:38] [SPEAKER_00]: And the reason why I listen to it every day is because I don't know what I'm going to hear.

[00:20:46] [SPEAKER_00]: I often state this, but friends, I record each of these daily podcasts two weeks in advance.

[00:20:54] [SPEAKER_00]: And I've told you on a number of occasions that the Holy Spirit is the teacher and every time when I listen to my podcast, I am hearing things that I don't remember saying.

[00:21:09] [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to think about that. If you are led by the Holy Spirit, a lot of times you're not even aware of the words that come out of your mouth.

[00:21:24] [SPEAKER_00]: So my call to action today is a little bit different. I want you to listen to this.

[00:21:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Are you being led by the Spirit of God? And I will remind you of my favorite verse found in the letter that Paul the Apostle wrote to the church in Rome.

[00:21:45] [SPEAKER_00]: And in chapter eight verse six it says, to be carnally, my did is death, but to be spiritually minded, it's life and peace.

[00:21:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And friends, I am living in that life and peace right now. I have never felt closer to God. I have never been in tune with the Spirit in God more than I am right now.

[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_00]: And I feel each and every day, I'm drawing closer and closer to him. And I invite anyone listening to do that as well. And that brings me to the opportunity if you have yet to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

[00:22:38] [SPEAKER_00]: And would like to do it right now. Today is your day of salvation. If you would repeat a simple prayer after me, Lord Jesus, thank you for forgiving me of all of my sins. You did that by dying on a cross when you lived on earth.

[00:23:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus, I confess, I am a sinner and in need of a Savior. When you died on that cross, all of my sins have been forgiven. Jesus, thank you so much for that.

[00:23:13] [SPEAKER_00]: The Jesus, I invite you to come into my heart. I ask that you lead me and guide me from this point forward in my life. I make you my Lord and Savior.

[00:23:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make us very shine upon you and be gracious to you.

[00:23:57] Thank you.