Author: missionspaul

Pride and power struggles are signs that we need a new season of renewal in our lives. The last verse of chapter 8 tells us clearly the problem, “For Israel has forgotten his Maker” and this is why we need renewal.

It’s not that He is not there in our minds; our Bible sits there; we pray our prayers and sing our songs; but we have forgotten Him.

Pride is there; Power-struggles are there and also idolatry.

“With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction. Samaria, throw out your calf-idol! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? They are from Israel! This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.” (Hosea 8 v 4-6)

It seems one man’s idolatry is stupidity to another. Especially thousands of years previously. Under the leadership of Jeroboam the worship of silver/gold crafted calves was common place. Its origins of course was when in Exodus 32, thinking that their leader, Moses, had forgotten them when he went up Mt. Sini to receive the law of God. With nowhere to be seen the people made a golden calf to worship. They did it because they felt a distancing between God and Moses and themselves. 

Today we may not be smelting down our gold jewellery to make idols but there is a temptation to make God fit our expectations and what we think we need when He is nowhere to be seen; we reach out for money and positions of power; anything other than our search for the Living God becomes a calf of worship.

Thinking that these things will make us greater than we are only leads us into further idolatry where there are no depths of sin that a man/woman of God can fall into in the search for fulfilment.

God asks the question: How long will this go on for? He promises that our attempts will come to nothing. He will break them to pieces. Why? Man-made attempts are not God.

There are so many man-attempts that do not look sinful and that we applaud. Our work and what we have achieved whether a Church ministry or becoming the star employee or building the award-winning business; or doing all the above through our children; can become idolatrous if it becomes more important than God.

Renewal will remove the calf-idols of Samaria so that God becomes everything to our lives.

We need a new season of renewal.

As we move into chapter 8 look at the last verse, ““For Israel has forgotten his Maker” and that is why we need renewal.

It’s not that He is not there in our minds; our Bible sits there; we pray our prayers and sing our songs; but we have forgotten Him.

“They set up kings, but not by Me; They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them.” (Hosea 8:4)

We need renewal because there are so many power struggles.

• Power: We have already seen in the previous chapter that many of the kings came to power through bloodshed.

There was a day when the kings were appointed through the prophets.

There was a day when Church leaders were called into position by a conviction of the Spirit of God.

There was a day when the kings were the first to call upon God in the day of battle.

There was a day when Church leaders spent the majority of their time on their knees and faces.

There was a day when the kings would use their authority to keep the people in obedience to the law of God.

There was a day when Church leaders would teach the Bible without the reinterpretation of it.

And before we start enjoying pointing the finger is there anyone not guilty of choosing to be so self-governing? 

There was a day: renew us in that day O Lord!

As we move into chapter 8 look at the last verse, ““For Israel has forgotten his Maker” and that is why we need renewal.

It’s not that He is not there in our minds; our Bible sits there; we pray our prayers and sing our songs; but we have forgotten Him.

“Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall come like an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law. Israel will cry to me, ‘My God, we know You!’ Israel has rejected the good; the enemy will pursue him” (Hosea 8 v 1-3)

We need renewal because:

• There is little humility
  • God’s people had virtually abandoned God’s covenantal law and yet they boasted they knew Him. 

Prayer: 

Let the Church wake up to your trumpet call and battle cry. Sound the alarm! Forgive us O Lord.

We have boasted of many things but the worst boast is to pretend to others and ourselves that we know you when we do not walk with you. 

We have removed the word sin from our vocabulary and everyone is free to be who they are and do what they want to do with no regards to what you have commanded. 

We have deceived ourselves. 

We have reinterpreted the Scriptures to fit what we want them to say. 

We have no self-awareness and there is no accountability for there is no authority in our lives, we are our own authority. 

We do not comply, we do not obey, we do not want to be corrected, we are so full of pride that we notice other people’s sin but not our own. 

Spirit lead us to the cross of Christ again where this arrogance can be broken and where we can be forgiven.

Spirit lead us to grace where we can begin again.

Spirit cleanse our lives with the blood of the Son.

Spirit align us to the Father’s authority so that we can proclaim ‘ABBA Father’ 

Spirit renew your Church today and start the work in me.

Amen.

This chapter reads negatively in one way because God’s people were just not walking with Him. They were mixing their faith of Him with their practice of idolatry.

However, what God says to them gives us the keys to see the restoring hand of God which is available to us all. And how we need that restoration work!

“I trained them and strengthened their arms, but they plot evil against me. They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.”

Hosea 7:15-16  

A Pastor told me recently how for the first time in 10 years they were holding a baptismal service; another told me they had seen over 70 decisions for Christ in their week of evangelism; another that their church had broken the 50 Sunday attendance mark which they had been praying for such a long time; the stories continue and I see the restoring hand of God. Restoration is happening. 

Look at the verses again and turn them upside down and you will see the heart of God and what could have been for these people.

• God is empowering His people and they are an army trained for the battle of winning the lost.
• God is nearing His people as they call upon Him for help.
• God is giving His people success and making sure their efforts are accurate and hit the mark.
• God is protecting His people so that even though it may look like they will fall they don’t.
• God will not allow His people to suffer shame. 

May Restoration continue!

Within the judgment prophecies of Hosea are clear lessons and pathways to show that whatever is broken, even if it is us, there is hope, anyone can be restored.

In God’s appointed time there will be restoration. Those who are His are never forgotten.

But what is the process for that restoration? What are the signs that God is working towards this season of restoration?

1. It is to uncover the sin. God brought to the surface their wicked treatment of one another, 7 v 1-2)
2. He breaks up the party, calling His people out from the world, to be different, 7v3.
3. He exposes ambitious and competitive fire for what it is, v4-7.
4. He brings self-awareness, v8-10.
5. He becomes the sole Person we call out to, v 11-15
6. We begin to understand His heart, v13.

“I long to redeem them …” (Hosea 7 v 13)

Posted on a lamp post was a lost dog sign. There was a big cash reward for whoever found the lost dog, and a description of the dog. It said: “He’s only got three legs, he’s blind in the left eye, he’s missing a right ear, his tail has been broken off, he was neutered accidentally by a fence, he’s almost deaf, and he answers by the name ‘Lucky.'”

That dog isn’t lucky, he’s a walking disaster dog, one thing after another, bumps and scrapes, accidents and attacks. The dog isn’t lucky but it is loved for there is an owner who wants him back.

You’ve been through some scrapes, battered, bruised, messed up a bit. You are a product of your past. Sinner and sinned against. But Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so!

He wants you back. He loves you and He loves to redeem.

There is no one too lost. There is no sin too wrong. There is no position too far away. Wherever a person finds themselves they can return home. Redemption awaits. Forgiveness is there. Healing is there. Amazing grace is there.

When you truly understand this then you are on the pathway to His restoration.

Within the judgment prophecies of Hosea are clear lessons and pathways to show that whatever is broken, even if it is us, there is hope, anyone can be restored.

In God’s appointed time there will be restoration. Those who are His are never forgotten.

But what is the process for that restoration? What are the signs that God is working towards this season of restoration?

1. It is to uncover the sin. God brought to the surface their wicked treatment of one another, 7 v 1-2)
2. He breaks up the party, calling His people out from the world, to be different, 7v3.
3. He exposes ambitious and competitive fire for what it is, v4-7.
4. He brings self-awareness, v8-10.
5. He becomes the sole Person we call out to, v 11-15

“Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless—now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria. When they go, I will throw my net over them; I will pull them down like the birds in the sky. When I hear them flocking together, I will catch them. Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak about me falsely. They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail on their beds. They slash themselves appealing to their gods for grain and new wine, but they turn away from me. I trained them and strengthened their arms, but they plot evil against me.” (Hosea 7 v 11-15)

God’s people are portrayed as a silly dove flying from one nation to the other nation seeking help.

When all along they knew that they had the God of the whole Universe they could turn to.

So what will happen is one of those nations, Assyria, will be used to catch them and bring them into exile and servitude.

Who or what you trust eventually becomes your lord.

Who is that?

Who is your Assyria and your Egypt?

Reject them and put your trust in God who is your provider, empowerment and protector.

If you are crying on your ‘beds’ don’t just wail, turn to God. Do what the Psalmist encourages: “… when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord.” (4:4-5)

Acknowledge the reality of your heart.

Pray.

Trust.

This is the pathway to restoration.

In God’s appointed time there will be restoration. Those who are His are never forgotten.

But what is the process for that restoration? What are the signs that God is working towards this season of restoration?

1. It is to uncover the sin. God brought to the surface their wicked treatment of one another, 7 v 1-2)
2. He breaks up the party, calling His people out from the world, to be different, 7v3.
3. He exposes ambitious and competitive fire for what it is, v4-7.
4. He brings self-awareness, v8-10.

If you have little knowledge of how you are perceived then there is little to have to control. If you cannot see the blind spots that others see so clearly then there is nothing to rein in, nothing to try to master and bring discipline into your own life. Ignorance isn’t bliss it often leads to unrestraint.

 “Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over. Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realise it. His hair is sprinkled with grey, but he does not notice. Israel’s arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this he does not return to the Lord his God or search for him.” (Hosea 7 v 8-10)

A flat loaf not turned over is a loaf that is cooked only on one side and because it is not turned over becomes overcooked. Appetising?

God’s people always believed in Him but they turned to other nations for help. Their kings made alliances with Assyria and Egypt to strengthen their cause and bring security to their nation. Where was God? He was on the uncooked side of life.  As a result this loaf was useless. The big problem was ‘he does not realise it’ and ‘he does not notice’. God was waking them up to their zero self-awareness.

A Pastor recently said to me, ‘Thank you, I have begun to change how I do things and I have put new practices into my life that were not there before.’ He thanked me because I simply opened with a sentence, ‘Are you aware of how people experience you?’

Hardened, weakened and not fit for purpose – but they do not realise it.

Aging and arrogant – but they do not notice.

I see Churches being restored because they wake up to the obvious that they had taken their attention off for years. For example, they have all grown old together and they haven’t invested in the youth and children. So they begin a Children’s holiday club or a Youth Alpha etc and self-awareness causes them to be on the path of restoration.

When we begin to solve problems that we just haven’t seen then we know we are on the road to restoration. This is the work of God.

In God’s appointed time there will be restoration. Those who are His are never forgotten.

But what is the process for that restoration? What are the signs that God is working towards this season of restoration?

1. It is to uncover the sin. God brought to the surface their wicked treatment of one another, 7 v 1-2)
2. He breaks up the party, calling His people out from the world, to be different, 7v3.
3. He exposes ambitious and competitive fire for what it is, v4-7.

“They are all adulterers, burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it rises. On the day of the festival of our king the princes become inflamed with wine, and he joins hands with the mockers. Their hearts are like an oven; they approach him with intrigue. Their passion smoulders all night; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. All of them are hot as an oven; they devour their rulers. All their kings fall, and none of them calls on me.” (Hosea 7 v 3-7)

Hosea uses 4 images to help us understand what was happening and what God was drawing attention to. When this is acknowledged then you know you are on the path to restoration.

God’s people were like an overheated oven.

A little research shows us that a) In the early morning the fire was lit underneath the oven; b) When the walls were hot the fire was removed; c) the bread was placed in the oven.

The image is that of an oven so hot that the baker fails to do any of his duties.

That was the people.

They had become so consumed with their passions that they were not being who they had been called to be.

It is seen in the short-lived reigns of the kings after Jeroboam II had died. Each were assassinated by the other:

Zechariah reigned for 6 months; Shallum for 1 month; Manahem for 8 years; Pekahiah for 2 years and Hoshea for 9 years (all in 2 Kings 15).

Hosea tells a story though we do not know who it applies to regarding what appears to be an all-night orgy of some sort. But the picture is clear and we see it around us today. We see it as much in the Church as in the world.

Assassinating other leaders in order to stand on their shoulders to get their title; fiery exchanges of anger in meetings; burning desires for something that looks godly but isn’t.

Within the Church we preach about fire and we want people to be ‘fired up’. We want them to have a passion from within. For the gospel, for calling on God, for their discipleship and for mission. The pathway of restoration is one where God exposes ambitious and competitive fire for what it is, And the result is the opposite of v7 “none of them calls on me”.

In God’s appointed time there will be restoration. Those who are His are never forgotten.

But what is the process for that restoration?

Firstly it is to uncover the sin. God brought to the surface their wicked treatment of one another, 7 v 1-2)
Secondly, He breaks up the party!

“They delight the king with their wickedness, the princes with their lies.” (Hosea 7 v 3)
God’s people and priests were acting no differently to those of the state, of King Jeroboam II.
God’s people are to be a distinguished people. They are to be separated, different, for that is what holiness is. But there was no difference. What you saw in the ‘Church’ you saw in the highest levels of the ‘government’ of the land. I use those terms because it could be 2023. The sexual predatory, the Gaslighting, the idolatry, jealousy, rivalries and divisions, the list can continue. There seems to be little differentiation, little distinguishing between God’s priests and people and the leaders and people of the world. We are watching an evil circus, an entertainment that is filled with acrobatic lies (from the Message version of this verse).
No one appreciates this kind of message. Especially when you are enjoying yourself. No one wants the plug to be pulled, the lights to be turned off and the music to stop. No one wants to be dragged out of a party. But God is calling time. There is a season of restoration coming for those who hear this call. The Spirit of God is calling out, ‘Stop! Enough of this entertainment! The party is over! My people do not belong here!’
Does this resonate with you?

The reason why this book of Hosea is so important for us is that it demonstrates God’s judgment but also His compassion. It reveals what He does with His own judgment. He doesn’t withdraw it. Look what did happen to the northern kingdom, Ephraim/Israel: “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria.” (2 Kings 17:9) That did happen. They went into exile and never came back. But God does not let His judgment have the last word. He always chooses a remnant, a shoot or branch, hope rises.

“Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed. “Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed. They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets; but they do not realise that I remember all their evil deeds.
Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.” (Hosea 6:11-7:2)

In God’s appointed time there will be restoration. Those who are His are never forgotten.

But what is the process for that restoration?

Firstly it is to uncover the sin. God will ‘expose’ the crimes.

God’s people were simply religious but not relational people of God. They had knowledge but no intimacy. They had lost His presence. In its place came politics and pain, corruption and darkness. Whether or not God calls out robbery as taking place definitely or whether it was imagery of what was being stolen from people’s lives. They were not caring for one another. What was being done in hiding, God saw it all.

Painful that it might be but there are times when it seems like a whole community shakes, when no one knows what is really happening, but God does, for He is bringing to the surface what lies underneath. Everything is laid bare. I have seen it many times. It is not nice to walk through but you do so trusting in God who knows all things. It is part of the restoration though it doesn’t feel like it at the time.

The uncovering needs to happen.

The opening of the wound before the healing for restoration comes after the exposing.