656. Hosea, Chapter 10 (#2) - When it is My desire I will Chasten Them - October 7, 2024

[00:00:06] 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] In prayer, Father God I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today. Lord I pray that you would reveal to everyone listening how much you truly love each and every one of them.

[00:00:33] In addition, I pray that everyone listening would have favor with both God and man. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

[00:00:43] This is Proverbs 7 beginning in verse 1.

[00:00:47] My son, keep my words and treasure my commands within you. Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye.

[00:00:59] Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to Wisdom, You are my sister.

[00:01:08] And call understanding your nearest kin. That they may keep you from the immoral woman. From the seductress who flatters with her words.

[00:01:19] For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice. And saw among the simple. I perceived among the youths a young man devoid of understanding.

[00:01:32] Passing along the street near her corner and he took the path to her house. In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night.

[00:01:43] And there a woman met him. With the attire of a harlot and a crafty heart. She was loud and rebellious. Her feet would not stay at home.

[00:01:56] At times she was outside. At times in the open square. Lurking at every corner.

[00:02:04] So she caught him and kissed him. With an impudent face she said to him,

[00:02:10] I have peace offerings with me. Today I have paid my vows.

[00:02:16] So I came out to meet you. Diligently to seek your face. And I have found you.

[00:02:24] I have spread my bed with tapestry. Colored coverings of Egyptian linen.

[00:02:31] I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

[00:02:36] Come, let us take our fill of love until morning. Let us delight ourselves with love.

[00:02:45] For my husband is not at home. He has gone on a long journey.

[00:02:50] He has taken a bag of money with him and will come home on the appointed day.

[00:02:57] With her enticing speech she caused him to yield. With her flattering lips she seduced him.

[00:03:06] Immediately he went after her as an ox goes to the slaughter.

[00:03:11] Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks. Till an arrow struck his liver.

[00:03:18] As a bird hastens to the snare. He did not know it would cost his life.

[00:03:25] Now therefore, listen to me, my children. Pay attention to the words of my mouth.

[00:03:32] Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not stray into her paths.

[00:03:40] For she has cast down many wounded. And all who were slain by her were strong men.

[00:03:48] Her house is the way to hell, descending to the chambers of death.

[00:03:55] Friends, today I am going to look at verses 1 through 5.

[00:04:02] And since there are 5 of them, I am going to wait till later in the program before we close.

[00:04:08] But what I would like to do as we begin a new week is to read the three points that I went over on Thursday's podcast.

[00:04:20] And Thursday was episode 654.

[00:04:23] And we had just begun chapter 10 of the minor prophet Hosea.

[00:04:29] And the three points were, God brings forth fruit for himself.

[00:04:36] Number two, we have no king because we did not fear the Lord.

[00:04:44] And number three, its glory.

[00:04:46] And we're referring to the calf of Beth Avon has departed from it.

[00:04:53] We're going to continue this story from number three in today's lesson.

[00:05:00] And we are going to continue in chapter 10, where we left off on Thursday, beginning in verse 6.

[00:05:08] The idol also shall be carried to Assyria as a present for King Jareb.

[00:05:16] Ephraim shall receive shame and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

[00:05:23] So, friends, the first point I'd like to bring up in today's lesson is the idol also shall be carried to Assyria.

[00:05:34] Now, friends, I am reading out of the Nelson Study Bible.

[00:05:38] And I'd like to go over the commentary found for verses 5 and 6.

[00:05:44] It says the Assyrians often carried off the idols of their defeated foes.

[00:05:53] So, point number one is directly related to point number three on Thursday's podcast.

[00:05:59] And we talk about the calf at Beth Avon, which the Israelites had actually assembled.

[00:06:08] And they've used a tool to make this calf.

[00:06:13] And then, after the Assyrians basically got the best of the Israelites,

[00:06:19] then they would be taking that calf to Assyria.

[00:06:26] Let's go on to verse 7.

[00:06:27] As for Samaria, her king is cut off like a twig on the water.

[00:06:35] Also, the high places of Avon, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed.

[00:06:42] The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars.

[00:06:47] They shall say to the mountains, cover us, and to the hills, fall on us.

[00:06:54] So, friends, my second point in today's lesson is the thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars.

[00:07:04] Now, what that means is I mentioned back in chapter 9 of Hosea is that the Israelites had been taken away captive.

[00:07:14] And I told you that the Israelites were no longer living in the land of Israel.

[00:07:21] So, this is going back to that reference that thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars.

[00:07:31] Because they're no longer visiting the synagogues or the temples in Israel or Jerusalem.

[00:07:40] And now, if they are not there, then the churches would basically be overrun by thorns and weeds and what have you.

[00:07:53] Let's go to verse 9.

[00:07:56] Let's go to verse 9.

[00:07:56] O Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah.

[00:08:02] There they stood.

[00:08:04] The battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.

[00:08:11] Let's look at the commentary for verse 9.

[00:08:15] Israel had persisted in sin since the day when a young woman was raped and murdered by the men of Gibeah.

[00:08:26] And friends, I made reference to that particular story in last Wednesday's podcast.

[00:08:34] And that, of course, was episode number 653.

[00:08:40] And what I did was I read that entire story.

[00:08:44] And this is a story where the man actually cut up his concubine into 12 pieces and literally sent those 12 pieces to the 12 tribes of Israel.

[00:09:01] And he sent them all over the place.

[00:09:03] But that was probably as horrific a crime ever in the land of Israel.

[00:09:09] And they're making reference to that again.

[00:09:12] Let's look at verse 10.

[00:09:14] When it is my desire, I will chasten them.

[00:09:19] Now, friends, I'm going to pause for just a moment here because my in verse 10 is capitalized.

[00:09:26] So this is literally God talking.

[00:09:29] It is not Hosea talking.

[00:09:31] This is Hosea basically recording what he is hearing God telling him to write.

[00:09:41] So let's begin verse 10 again.

[00:09:44] It says, when it is my meaning God's desire, I will chasten them.

[00:09:51] Peoples shall be gathered against them when I bind them for their two transgressions.

[00:09:59] So, friends, my third and final point for today's lesson is when it is my desire, I will chasten them.

[00:10:10] And, friends, in Proverbs, there is a verse that says, whom the Lord loves, he chastens.

[00:10:16] And I have often mentioned this on my daily podcast.

[00:10:22] But, friends, God is going to look and see what it is that we are doing on a regular basis.

[00:10:32] He's going to check in to see what type of stuff we're doing.

[00:10:35] And if he's pleased, you know, we will know he's pleased.

[00:10:40] But if he's not pleased, he is going to let us know.

[00:10:45] He is going to chasten us.

[00:10:48] He will remind us either through his word or maybe through your boss or your spouse.

[00:10:56] It's amazing how we find ourselves being corrected in life.

[00:11:01] But what the point I really would like to get across is that we need to be open to chastening and rebuke.

[00:11:12] Whether it's from the word of God or whether it's from our spouse, the most important person in our life.

[00:11:22] Or from our boss or from our best friend or from a good Christian brother that you have basically made yourself accountable to.

[00:11:34] And we need to be ready to listen when we are going the wrong direction.

[00:11:41] When we make a mistake.

[00:11:43] And it's clearly obvious to the people around us that we're not doing things the way that we should be doing things.

[00:11:49] We need to be ready to always be accepting of the chastening of the Lord.

[00:11:59] Now let's look at this commentary before we look at our five verses today.

[00:12:04] The imagery in this verse depicts the Lord binding his people like oxen to a yoke.

[00:12:15] And friends, I'm just going to say you do not want a yoke on your neck.

[00:12:20] You don't.

[00:12:21] But let's go on.

[00:12:22] It says the figurative yoke is comprised of their two transgressions.

[00:12:28] Probably referring to the ancient crime at Gibeah, which I just made reference to.

[00:12:35] And the collective sin of Hosea's generation.

[00:12:40] And this is what I've been talking about during this entire study.

[00:12:45] So right now we are in chapter 10.

[00:12:47] But if you were to go back to the very, very beginning of our study of the book of Hosea.

[00:12:55] From the very beginning of this book, Israel is basically turning away from God and basically not following the commandments of the Lord.

[00:13:06] It says the yoke imagery suggests that the people could not escape the consequences of their deeds.

[00:13:15] And friends, that is such a vital point.

[00:13:18] Because the one thing I can assure you of is God watches and is aware of every single thing that you do.

[00:13:26] And you cannot get away from God.

[00:13:30] You cannot escape him.

[00:13:31] If he is chastening you.

[00:13:34] If he is going to remind you that you are not doing things that he would like for you to do.

[00:13:42] He is going to let you know.

[00:13:45] Friends, before we close today, let's go back to our proverb of the day today.

[00:13:51] And Proverbs 7 is such a vital proverb, especially in light of our study of the book of Hosea.

[00:14:01] Because most of Proverbs 7 is entitled The Crafty Harlot.

[00:14:07] And that is from verses 6 through 27.

[00:14:11] Now those are not the verses I am going to go over today.

[00:14:14] But I very well could go over this.

[00:14:17] Because basically that is what ended up getting the Israelites in trouble.

[00:14:23] They had found a way to worship Baal.

[00:14:27] And as they went to worship this God, this imaginary God, they ended up having illicit sex in the temple.

[00:14:37] And because of that, this, the crafty harlot.

[00:14:41] And when you are entertaining yourselves with shrine prostitutes, believe me,

[00:14:49] these are women who are going to allure you to do things.

[00:14:54] They dress seductively.

[00:14:55] They act seductively.

[00:14:58] And they want nothing more than to entertain you and to get you to have illicit sex with them.

[00:15:06] But the verses I was going to go over today is verses 1 through 5.

[00:15:11] And verses 1 through 5 tell us how we can avoid being swayed by the crafty harlot.

[00:15:22] So listen to these five verses.

[00:15:25] They are very rich.

[00:15:26] And I would recommend you write these down, maybe in a notebook or something.

[00:15:32] But be aware of Proverbs 7 verses 1 through 5.

[00:15:36] It says,

[00:15:37] My son, keep my words and treasure my commands within you.

[00:15:44] So basically, God is telling us here, listen to my words and obey my commands.

[00:15:54] Verse 2.

[00:15:54] Keep my commands and live.

[00:15:58] And my law as the apple of your eye.

[00:16:01] In other words, the most important thing we can do in life is to live life in a Christian manner.

[00:16:10] To have integrity.

[00:16:11] To follow the commands of God.

[00:16:14] To be loving and kind towards people.

[00:16:17] Let's go to verse 3.

[00:16:19] Bind them on your fingers.

[00:16:22] Write them on the tablet of your heart.

[00:16:25] Now why is the author of Proverbs telling us these things?

[00:16:30] Because it is very easy to forget to do the word of God.

[00:16:38] It is so easy to forget to not follow his commands.

[00:16:43] If you are walking according to your flesh.

[00:16:47] And if you are not being led by the Spirit of God.

[00:16:50] You will easily be ensnared when temptation comes your way.

[00:16:55] Let's go to verse 4.

[00:16:57] Say to wisdom, you are my sister.

[00:17:01] And call understanding your nearest kin.

[00:17:05] And friends, this is telling us what wisdom is.

[00:17:08] And let's go back to the book of Job.

[00:17:11] And in the book of Job, it tells us the definition of wisdom.

[00:17:15] And the definition of wisdom is basically to have the fear of the Lord.

[00:17:22] And during this entire process of this study in Hosea, the Israelites never demonstrated a fear of God.

[00:17:32] Let's close with verse 5.

[00:17:35] That they may keep you from the immoral woman.

[00:17:39] From the seductress who flatters with her words.

[00:17:44] Friends, I am going to beseech you.

[00:17:48] Stay away from temptation of this crafty harlot.

[00:17:56] And friends, this isn't just a female thing.

[00:17:59] Now in this particular instance, we're talking about the crafty harlot.

[00:18:05] But it also be talking about a crafty man who is trying to seduce women as well.

[00:18:13] Friends, this goes both ways.

[00:18:15] And both men and women can be tempted by people of the opposite sex.

[00:18:21] If people want to have illicit sex with you, they will go all out.

[00:18:28] They will dress seductively.

[00:18:30] They'll try to allure you.

[00:18:32] Probably by doing drugs or alcohol.

[00:18:36] Trying to get your senses dulled.

[00:18:39] And if you allow yourself to enter into this state,

[00:18:43] then you can let your guard down and fall into these various traps.

[00:18:51] Do not allow yourself to do that.

[00:18:54] So my call to action today is very simple.

[00:18:58] Do you ever put yourself in situations that that could happen to you?

[00:19:04] And if you do, I'm asking you to pray to God.

[00:19:09] And Father God, take away this desire that I have to enter in to these types of situations.

[00:19:18] And allow myself to be in a situation where I might be tempted.

[00:19:28] Friends, I will never end a podcast without giving anyone an opportunity to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

[00:19:36] If there is anyone listening today and you've never said that prayer,

[00:19:40] just repeat a simple prayer after me today.

[00:19:43] All you have to say is this.

[00:19:46] Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and in need of a Savior.

[00:19:51] I ask you to come into my heart.

[00:19:53] I make you my Lord and Savior.

[00:19:57] That's it.

[00:19:58] That is all you need to do.

[00:20:01] And if you repeated that prayer,

[00:20:02] I believe that you are now a bona fide member of the family of God.

[00:20:07] Welcome to the family.

[00:20:09] Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you.

[00:20:13] The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

[00:20:17] The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

[00:20:22] Friends, tomorrow is Testimony Day.

[00:20:27] Please join me and a special guest as we further explore wisdom today.