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Godʼs Discipline?
or/and
Sinʼs Consequence?
Hosea 8-10
THUMBNAIL OF HISTORY
Years
Years
After Between
Creation Events
Years
Before
Christ
Event
4004 BC
Adam and Eve
1,656
1,656
2348 BC
Flood/Noah
2,000
344
2004 BC
Abraham
2,500
500
1504 BC
Exodus from Egypt
2,900
400
1104 BC
Saul, David, Solomon
3,030
130
974 BC
Division of the Kingdom
3,258
228
746 BC
Hosea, Amos
3,284
26
720 BC
Northern Kingdom Conquered
3,410
126
594 BC
Southern Kingdom Conquered
3,488
70
524 BC
Southern Kingdom Restored
Hosea Reveals the “Character of God”...
•
Hoseaʼs response to an unfaithful wife with
love and forgiveness is the picture of Godʼs
response to an unfaithful people...
- God suffers when His people are unfaithful
to Him...
- God cannot condone sin...
- God will never cease to love His own...
- God seeks to win back those who have
forsaken Him.
Biblical Truth
Describes ways by which God disciplines
His wayward people and shows that His
disciplineʼs purpose is redemptive.
Why Study this Lesson?
WE LEARN:
• That Godʼs punishment is always redemptive.
Godʼs discipline is to make us better servants for
• That
Him.
Hebrews 12:5-6
“...and you have forgotten the exhortation which is
addressed to you as sons,
“MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE
DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN
YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE
WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND
HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE
RECEIVES.”
Definition of Discipline
• POSITIVE:
refers to a regimen that improves
a skill or behavior
• NEGATIVE:
refers to punishment designed
to correct or admonish.
How do you judge a person?
By what he says?
By what he does?
Actions?
Word
s
?
The Necessity of Punishment:
Israel had REJECTED:
• Godʼs goodness
Godʼs
sovereignty
•
Godʼs
worship
•
Godʼs
omnipotence
•
Godʼs
commandments
•
8:1-3
8:4
8:5-7
8:8-10
8:11-14
Check Your Relationship
8:1-3
•
• Checking your relationship - COVENANT!
If
we
as
believers
have
memorized
lots
of
Scripture
• but donʼt do what it teaches, do we really know the
Horns, eagles
LORD?
Is knowing God a matter of...
•
‣ mastering information,
doing
Godʼs
will,
‣
‣ or both? (8:2)
Verse 3; 1 Samuel 7:3; Deuteronomy 6:18
CHECK YOUR SOWING
8:7-10
Actions have consequences
‣Check sowing...
- wind
- grain
- discarded pottery
- wild donkey
- Ephraim - paid lovers,
kings and princes
The Law of the Harvest
(10:13; 12:2; Job 4:8; Galatians 6:7)
You sow a thought, you reap an action.
You sow an action, you reap a habit.
You sow a habit, you reap a character.
You sow a character, you reap a destiny.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
In growing as believers, our paradigm should
be that of Ephesians 4:22-24...
“Put off the old self.
Be made new
in the attitude of our minds.”
"Above all else, guard your heart
[mind, inner being],
for it is the wellspring of life"
- Proverbs 4:23
wants to pollute water, he pollutes it at
• Ifitssomeone
source.
he wants to purify water, he purifies it at its
• Ifsource.
• Our thoughts are the source of our lives.
our lives flow from our mind, and through the
• All
choices we make every day we program our minds,
either for godliness or ungodliness.
Hosea 4:6
“My people are being destroyed
because they donʼt know Me.
• Knowing the God of the Old Testament is important...
‣ What to know...
character” as revealed through what He
- “Godʼs
has done which reveals His standards that are the
standards He expects from His creation.
create their own truth about God when they do not
• People
know “Godʼs character” as revealed in the Old
Testament...
teachers have open season when “Godʼs
‣ False
character” is not known or misunderstood...
life style is “popular” at the time becomes
‣ Whatever
“truth” when “Godʼs character” is not know or
misunderstood.
NEEDS
BELIEFS
RULES
BEHAVIOR
RESULTS
If
Live
Love
Feel
Variety
Valued
Then
> Rebel Against Godʼs Law...
> My God, I know You!
> Sacrificial gifts to God...
> Set-up kings and princes without Godʼs direction...
> Idols of silver and gold...
> Golden calf of Samaria...
> Act like they are all alone by hiring allies.
What could be our altars and golden calves?
• $300 pair of Nikeʼs
Drugslegal
&
illegal
•
• Alcohol
Pornography
•
• Sex
• Theft (no work)
• Gambling
Television
•
• Abortion
Entertainment
•
• Celebrities
NEEDS
BELIEFS
RULES
BEHAVIOR
RESULTS
If
Live
Love
Feel
Variety
Valued
Then
> Some laws are not as important as others.
> God does not quite know how to make me happy
or what is totally the best for me.
> I need to be in church; but, it is not really important
to do those service or mission “thingies”.
> Itʼs really alright to do some of those other things
as long as I am also doing some God-things.
I can do both!
CHECK YOUR HEARING
9:7-8
✓
What do you do when someone
says something that you do not
want to hear?
✓
Days of punishment, the prophet is
a fool, inspired man (ish haruach,
based on word for “spirit” - ruach)
is insane, watchman (tsaphah =
“lookout”), hostility.
! 10:1-2 faithless = chalaq (divided, smooth,
trickish, treacherous)...
“How long will you hesitate between two
opinions?” (1 Kings 18:21)
•
Double minded = (James 1:8) leads to
instability and ruin...
•
10:5 messed-up priorities
CHECK YOUR CLOCK
10:10-12
at My discretion,
• Discipline
double guilt, Ephraim, Judah, Jacob -
‣
check the time!
•
Strong commands to Repent:
Indications of a true heart repentance
(repentance reverses the law of the
harvest until judgment)
Sow...reap...fallow ground...seek!
‣
‣
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!