679. The Book of Hosea - Chapter 14 (#2) - The ways of the Lord are Right - November 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] Let's open in prayer. Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today. Lord, I pray that you open everyone's ears to hear and heart to receive everything you have in store for them today. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

[00:00:37] This is Proverbs 7, beginning in verse 1.

[00:00:42] 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.

[00:00:54] Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to Wisdom, you are my sister, and call understanding your nearest kin,

[00:01:05] that they may keep you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words.

[00:01:13] For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice, and saw among the simple.

[00:01:20] I perceived among the youths a young man devoid of understanding.

[00:01:25] He was willing, passing along the street near her corner, and he took the path to her house,

[00:01:33] in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night.

[00:01:37] And there a woman met him, with the attire of a harlot and a crafty heart.

[00:01:44] She was loud and rebellious.

[00:01:46] Her feet would not stay at home.

[00:01:49] At times she was outside, at times in the open square, lurking at every corner.

[00:01:57] So she caught him and kissed him.

[00:02:00] With an impudent face, she said to him,

[00:02:03] I have peace offerings with me.

[00:02:06] Today I have paid my vows.

[00:02:09] So I came out to meet you, diligently to seek your face, and I have found you.

[00:02:16] I have spread my bed with tapestry, colored coverings of Egyptian linen.

[00:02:23] I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

[00:02:28] Come, let us take our fill of love until morning.

[00:02:33] Let us delight ourselves with love.

[00:02:36] For my husband is not at home.

[00:02:39] He has gone on a long journey.

[00:02:42] He has taken a bag of money with him and will come home on the appointed day.

[00:02:48] With her enticing speech, she caused him to yield.

[00:02:53] With her flattering lips, she seduced him.

[00:02:57] Immediately he went after her as an ox goes to the slaughter,

[00:03:02] or as a fool to the correction of the stocks,

[00:03:07] till an arrow struck her liver.

[00:03:10] As a bird hastens to the snare, he did not know it would cost his life.

[00:03:16] Now, therefore, listen to me, my children.

[00:03:20] Pay attention to the words of my mouth.

[00:03:24] Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways.

[00:03:28] Do not stray into her paths.

[00:03:31] For she has cast down many wounded,

[00:03:34] and all who were slain by her were strong men.

[00:03:39] Her house is the way to hell,

[00:03:42] descending to the chambers of death.

[00:03:45] Friends, today I would like to take a closer look at verse 24.

[00:03:51] And Proverbs 7, verse 24, says this.

[00:03:55] Now, therefore, listen to me, my children.

[00:04:00] Pay attention to the words of my mouth.

[00:04:04] Now, friends, we will come back and take a closer look at that verse prior to closing today.

[00:04:10] But what I'd like to do is to continue our study of the minor prophet Hosea.

[00:04:17] And we will be completing chapter 14 today.

[00:04:21] But before we begin, I would like to go over the three points that I brought up yesterday.

[00:04:28] And as you can imagine, as we are getting ready to finish this book,

[00:04:34] the Israelites are coming to their senses, as I mentioned yesterday,

[00:04:39] and they are going to revert back to God.

[00:04:42] They've realized that Baal worship is not an end-all, be-all,

[00:04:47] as they may have thought that it was.

[00:04:50] And they've realized that the best choice for us moving forward is to repent of our ways

[00:04:59] and to go back to God.

[00:05:02] So the three points yesterday, number one,

[00:05:05] O Israel, return to the Lord your God.

[00:05:09] And that is what they have chosen to do.

[00:05:12] Number two, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.

[00:05:17] And yesterday I mentioned that we should always be ready to have the sacrifice of praise on our lips

[00:05:25] and be ready to give an account for the hope that is within us.

[00:05:30] That's in 1 Peter 3, verse 15.

[00:05:34] We need to be ready to give an account to anyone who asks us,

[00:05:39] Hey, why are you so happy?

[00:05:42] Why do you have a smile on your face?

[00:05:44] Look at all this stuff.

[00:05:45] Aren't you aware of everything that's going on in the world today?

[00:05:48] And number three, for in you the fatherless finds mercy.

[00:05:54] And friends, many of us today either don't have our dad around anymore.

[00:06:00] He has passed on.

[00:06:01] Or you may be estranged from your dad.

[00:06:05] But friends, God can be your earthly father

[00:06:10] if you don't have a natural father that you can reach out to.

[00:06:14] So anyway, let's continue in chapter 14, beginning in verse 4.

[00:06:32] So friends, my first point today is,

[00:06:36] I will heal their backsliding.

[00:06:39] I will love them freely.

[00:06:41] Friends, the nature of God is love.

[00:06:45] God is love.

[00:06:47] He basically is the definition of what love is.

[00:06:51] And the Bible tells us that God so loved the world

[00:06:56] that he gave his only begotten son,

[00:06:59] that whosoever believes in him shall not perish,

[00:07:03] but have eternal life.

[00:07:05] That is God's desire for each and every one of us

[00:07:09] listening to this podcast today.

[00:07:12] And yet, when they talk here about

[00:07:14] heal them from their backsliding.

[00:07:18] Now friends, sometimes things happen in our life

[00:07:20] and we may get off track.

[00:07:22] We may be following God,

[00:07:24] but something happens in our life

[00:07:27] that we weren't expecting

[00:07:28] and our faith sometimes is shaken to the core.

[00:07:32] And you have to ask yourself,

[00:07:35] do I really believe

[00:07:37] that God is there for me?

[00:07:41] I want you to think about that

[00:07:43] because many people have that question.

[00:07:45] Is God going to be there for me

[00:07:49] if I really need him?

[00:07:52] And God is faithful.

[00:07:55] He is going to be there for you

[00:07:58] even when you turn your back on him,

[00:08:03] which our study of the book of Hosea

[00:08:07] shows us that the Israelites

[00:08:09] had turned their back on God

[00:08:12] basically for the entire book,

[00:08:14] but now they are turning back to God.

[00:08:18] Let's go to verse 5.

[00:08:20] I will be like the dew to Israel.

[00:08:24] He shall grow like the lily

[00:08:26] and lengthen his roots like Lebanon.

[00:08:30] His branches shall spread.

[00:08:32] His beauty shall be like an olive tree

[00:08:36] and his fragrance like Lebanon.

[00:08:39] Those who dwell under his shadow

[00:08:42] shall return.

[00:08:44] They shall be revived like rain

[00:08:47] and grow like a vine.

[00:08:49] Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

[00:08:54] So friends, my second point of today's lesson

[00:08:58] is their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

[00:09:04] Now friends, wine has a very distinct smell.

[00:09:12] And my wife often uses wine in her recipes.

[00:09:17] And when she is using wine in like a stew

[00:09:21] or, you know, sometimes when she makes fish

[00:09:25] and you can smell the aroma of wine

[00:09:30] in the sauces that she's making

[00:09:32] and you just smell it

[00:09:34] and it's such a sweet aroma.

[00:09:37] That is what God thinks about us

[00:09:41] when we are following him

[00:09:43] and following his commandments.

[00:09:45] We are like a sweet fragrance to the Lord

[00:09:51] when we are following him.

[00:09:54] Let's go to verse 8.

[00:09:56] Ephraim shall say,

[00:09:59] What have I to do anymore with idols?

[00:10:03] I have heard and observed him.

[00:10:05] I am like a green cypress tree.

[00:10:09] Your fruit is found in me.

[00:10:12] And that is God's promise to us.

[00:10:16] Me here is capitalized.

[00:10:19] Meaning this is God literally speaking to us.

[00:10:22] Let's hear what he has to say again.

[00:10:25] I am like a green cypress tree.

[00:10:28] Your fruit is found in me.

[00:10:32] So friends, I am reading out of the Nelson Study Bible.

[00:10:37] And what I'd like to do is go over the commentary

[00:10:40] for verses 4 through 8.

[00:10:43] Please listen carefully to what this commentary is suggesting to us.

[00:10:50] The Lord anticipates a time

[00:10:53] when he will restore repentant Israel.

[00:10:57] The Lord's renewed blessing is compared to dew.

[00:11:02] Revived Israel is compared to a beautiful lily,

[00:11:07] a deep-rooted and aromatic cedar of Lebanon,

[00:11:11] an attractive olive tree,

[00:11:14] and a fruitful vine.

[00:11:16] The Lord himself would be like a green cypress tree

[00:11:21] that provides protective shade.

[00:11:25] I have observed.

[00:11:29] This affirmation of God's watchful care

[00:11:32] stands in stark contrast to his judgment,

[00:11:37] which was compared to a leopard stalking its prey.

[00:11:42] And that reference was made in chapter 13,

[00:11:46] just a few episodes ago.

[00:11:50] God is grateful.

[00:11:52] God is excited.

[00:11:54] God is happy that his people Israel

[00:11:58] have returned to him.

[00:12:01] Let's go to verse 9.

[00:12:03] Who is wise?

[00:12:05] Let him understand these things.

[00:12:08] Who is prudent?

[00:12:10] Let him know them.

[00:12:13] For the ways of the Lord are right.

[00:12:16] The righteous walk in them,

[00:12:19] but transgressors stumble in them.

[00:12:23] Now, friends, my third and final point

[00:12:26] of today's lesson,

[00:12:28] the ways of the Lord are right.

[00:12:32] I want you to think of the depth

[00:12:34] of that statement.

[00:12:36] The ways of the Lord are right.

[00:12:40] But listen to what it says next.

[00:12:42] The righteous walk in them.

[00:12:46] And friends, we are the righteous

[00:12:49] he is referring to here.

[00:12:51] We are the righteousness of God,

[00:12:55] but transgressors stumble in them.

[00:13:00] Friends, transgressors are non-believers.

[00:13:05] Transgressors are people who have chosen

[00:13:08] not to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

[00:13:12] They are trying to make it on their own,

[00:13:14] just as the Israelites had done

[00:13:16] through the majority of this study

[00:13:19] of the book of Hosea.

[00:13:21] Let's look at the commentary for verse 9.

[00:13:24] The book concludes with advice

[00:13:28] for those who read Hosea's prophecy,

[00:13:32] God's ways,

[00:13:34] his demands and principles

[00:13:37] are completely true.

[00:13:40] The wise person will choose to obey them,

[00:13:43] but the foolish person will ignore them

[00:13:47] and consequently stumble into judgment.

[00:13:52] Friends, we often have choices in life

[00:13:55] and choices are usually the right ones

[00:14:00] or the wrong ones.

[00:14:02] A wise person will choose

[00:14:05] to obey the commandments of God.

[00:14:08] Basically, just do the next right thing.

[00:14:11] Treat other people kindly,

[00:14:15] with mercy,

[00:14:16] love people,

[00:14:18] do what Jesus would do

[00:14:21] if he was still on earth.

[00:14:23] And that's basically how we should live

[00:14:25] each and every day of our lives.

[00:14:27] Friends, before we close our podcast today,

[00:14:30] I'd like to go back

[00:14:31] to our proverb of the day,

[00:14:34] Proverbs 7,

[00:14:35] and take a look at verse 24.

[00:14:37] Now, therefore,

[00:14:40] listen to me,

[00:14:42] my children.

[00:14:43] Pay attention

[00:14:44] to the words of my mouth.

[00:14:47] And friends,

[00:14:49] this is like,

[00:14:50] this is God speaking.

[00:14:52] This is actually

[00:14:54] the author Solomon,

[00:14:56] because my here

[00:14:57] is not capitalized.

[00:14:59] This isn't God speaking to us,

[00:15:01] but it's like Solomon

[00:15:02] speaking to us.

[00:15:03] And many people consider Solomon

[00:15:06] to be the wisest person

[00:15:07] who ever lived.

[00:15:08] And yet,

[00:15:09] he had flaws.

[00:15:11] You know,

[00:15:12] God had told him

[00:15:13] not to intermingle

[00:15:15] and have affairs

[00:15:16] with foreign women.

[00:15:18] And he ended up

[00:15:19] having 700 wives

[00:15:20] and 300 concubines.

[00:15:22] So, oops,

[00:15:23] I guess he missed it.

[00:15:25] I guess he didn't do

[00:15:26] what God told him to do.

[00:15:28] And yet,

[00:15:29] he did write

[00:15:30] the book of Ecclesiastes

[00:15:32] in his old age,

[00:15:33] and there's so much

[00:15:34] we can learn from that book.

[00:15:35] But I absolutely

[00:15:37] love the book

[00:15:39] of Proverbs.

[00:15:40] And let me just read

[00:15:41] this one verse again.

[00:15:43] Now, therefore,

[00:15:45] listen to me,

[00:15:46] King Solomon,

[00:15:48] my children.

[00:15:49] And he's referring

[00:15:50] to us as children.

[00:15:52] In other words,

[00:15:53] he is acting

[00:15:55] in the role

[00:15:56] of a father.

[00:15:58] Kind of,

[00:15:59] almost like,

[00:16:00] the Father God.

[00:16:00] Pay attention

[00:16:02] to the words

[00:16:03] of my mouth.

[00:16:04] And friends,

[00:16:05] you should

[00:16:06] pay attention

[00:16:08] to

[00:16:09] the Proverbs

[00:16:10] each and every day.

[00:16:12] That is why

[00:16:13] I chose

[00:16:14] to begin

[00:16:15] this podcast.

[00:16:16] The Lord woke me up

[00:16:18] one day

[00:16:18] and said,

[00:16:19] you need

[00:16:20] to do a podcast

[00:16:21] on wisdom.

[00:16:23] And I didn't even know

[00:16:24] what a podcast was.

[00:16:26] And I have said

[00:16:26] this story

[00:16:27] many times.

[00:16:28] I'm not going

[00:16:28] to repeat it here.

[00:16:29] But,

[00:16:30] if you read

[00:16:32] the proverb

[00:16:33] of the day

[00:16:35] every day,

[00:16:36] I guarantee you

[00:16:38] there will be

[00:16:38] one verse

[00:16:39] that even though

[00:16:41] you have read it

[00:16:42] a hundred times

[00:16:43] before,

[00:16:44] will stick out

[00:16:46] to you

[00:16:46] that particular day

[00:16:47] and you'll go,

[00:16:49] oh my gosh,

[00:16:50] I've never

[00:16:51] heard that

[00:16:52] before.

[00:16:53] And that

[00:16:54] is

[00:16:55] how we grow

[00:16:56] in our Christian walk.

[00:16:58] we grow

[00:17:00] from glory

[00:17:01] to glory.

[00:17:02] So,

[00:17:03] my question

[00:17:04] to everyone

[00:17:04] listening today

[00:17:05] is,

[00:17:06] do you

[00:17:07] read

[00:17:09] the proverb

[00:17:09] of the day

[00:17:11] every day?

[00:17:12] Now,

[00:17:13] I would like

[00:17:13] to invite

[00:17:14] each of you

[00:17:15] that doesn't

[00:17:17] do that

[00:17:17] on a regular

[00:17:18] basis

[00:17:18] to tune in

[00:17:20] to my podcast

[00:17:22] every day.

[00:17:23] every day,

[00:17:25] Monday

[00:17:25] through Friday.

[00:17:27] Now,

[00:17:27] Tuesdays

[00:17:27] are testimony

[00:17:28] days,

[00:17:29] but Monday,

[00:17:30] Wednesday,

[00:17:31] Thursday,

[00:17:32] and Friday,

[00:17:32] I have

[00:17:33] regular teachings.

[00:17:34] And I will

[00:17:35] read the proverb

[00:17:36] of the day

[00:17:37] every day,

[00:17:37] and then

[00:17:39] I will give

[00:17:40] a lesson.

[00:17:41] And these

[00:17:42] lessons,

[00:17:43] I believe,

[00:17:44] are basically

[00:17:45] my blueprint.

[00:17:47] I am following

[00:17:48] what the Holy Spirit

[00:17:49] is telling me

[00:17:50] to do.

[00:17:53] We just

[00:17:53] finished our

[00:17:54] study on the

[00:17:55] minor prophet

[00:17:56] Hosea today,

[00:17:57] and I don't

[00:17:59] have any

[00:17:59] direction for

[00:18:00] where God

[00:18:01] wants me to

[00:18:01] go next.

[00:18:02] So,

[00:18:03] I will tell

[00:18:03] you this

[00:18:04] on Monday

[00:18:04] and Wednesday's

[00:18:06] podcast of

[00:18:06] next week.

[00:18:08] I will

[00:18:09] be reviewing

[00:18:12] the main

[00:18:14] themes

[00:18:14] of the

[00:18:16] book of

[00:18:16] Hosea.

[00:18:17] I have spent

[00:18:18] over three

[00:18:18] months on

[00:18:19] this,

[00:18:19] and I want

[00:18:20] to get the

[00:18:20] gist of

[00:18:22] the study

[00:18:23] and I'm

[00:18:24] going to

[00:18:24] encapsulate

[00:18:25] those in

[00:18:26] the Monday

[00:18:26] and Wednesday's

[00:18:27] podcast.

[00:18:28] And what he

[00:18:28] has told me

[00:18:29] to do for

[00:18:30] next Thursday

[00:18:31] is kind of

[00:18:32] like a fill-in,

[00:18:33] is I am

[00:18:34] going to

[00:18:34] give a brief

[00:18:35] updated

[00:18:35] testimony.

[00:18:37] And it's

[00:18:37] been a while

[00:18:38] since I've

[00:18:39] used my

[00:18:40] daily podcast

[00:18:41] for a

[00:18:42] testimony,

[00:18:43] but I'm

[00:18:44] going to

[00:18:44] go over

[00:18:44] some of

[00:18:45] the things

[00:18:45] that God

[00:18:46] has been

[00:18:46] dealing

[00:18:46] with me

[00:18:47] lately,

[00:18:48] and where

[00:18:49] I am

[00:18:50] headed as

[00:18:51] an individual.

[00:18:51] So,

[00:18:53] tomorrow I

[00:18:54] will be

[00:18:54] continuing

[00:18:55] our study

[00:18:56] that we've

[00:18:57] been having

[00:18:57] on Friday

[00:18:58] of the

[00:18:59] Ten Commandments.

[00:19:00] Tomorrow we'll

[00:19:00] be going over

[00:19:01] the Seventh

[00:19:02] Commandment,

[00:19:03] which is

[00:19:03] do not

[00:19:04] commit adultery.

[00:19:05] But until

[00:19:06] then,

[00:19:07] may the Lord

[00:19:08] bless you

[00:19:09] and keep

[00:19:09] you.

[00:19:10] The Lord

[00:19:10] make His face

[00:19:11] shine upon

[00:19:12] you and

[00:19:13] be gracious

[00:19:13] to you.

[00:19:14] The Lord

[00:19:15] lift up

[00:19:15] His countenance

[00:19:16] upon you

[00:19:17] and give

[00:19:18] you peace.

[00:19:19] Friends,

[00:19:20] please join

[00:19:21] me again

[00:19:21] tomorrow as

[00:19:22] we further

[00:19:23] explore

[00:19:23] wisdom

[00:19:24] today.

[00:19:26] Thank you.

[00:19:26] Thank you.