We are going to turn today to the fourth chapter of the prophet Hosea. And I'd like you all to turn to this prophet, the minor prophet Hosea. In Hebrew his name is Hosea and we have already dealt with the first three chapters of that prophet and we have arrived today to chapter 4. Now if you would ask me, I would be very glad if the prophet Hosea's message so far with what we have been studying would be the end of the book and will be ended right now because it's really very wonderful to know that at the end of chapter 3 we read that the children of Israel shall abide many days without king and without prince and without sacrifice and without image and without an effort and without trafim and afterwards shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David the king and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days if you would ask me brother Gideon what do you think wouldn't it be lovely if the book will end right here and we will find out that this is the climax of the books that Israel as a nation will finally be restored they will seek their God they will seek David their king and they shall fear the Lord and his.

Goodness and what a wonderful ending that would be of this book if this book would end right here but of course the truth of the matter that the book does not end here because now beloved brothers and sisters, from chapter 4 of Hosea, all the way to the end of chapter 13, we have the judgment that are coming by God upon the nation of Israel, this is the northern kingdom of Israel, because of Israel's unfaithfulness to the Lord. And all chapters, chapter after chapter, is dealing with God's judgment upon His beloved nation Israel, the nation of Israel. Now remember that in the first three chapters we have learned that God have requested from Hosea to do something very unusual.

He said to Hosea, Hosea, you go marry a prostitute. You take this prostitute and her children and bring her to yourself and take her to be your wife. She is going to give you three children. The name of the one is Israel, the second one is Ruchama, and the third one Lo-Ami. Those three children will represent what Israel as a nation have done and what is the results of what they have done God will saw them and will scatter them away God will have no mercy on them and God will call them not my people those are the meaning of the three names that we have given by God to the children of Hosea but it's not only that we have learned from the chapters before in chapter 2 that even after this in chapter 3 that the wife of Hosea will forsake him and that she will go away from Hosea and she will commit adultery and she will live with other men And Hosea had to experience this, beloved brothers and sisters.

And that Hosea ultimately, with so much love that he had towards his own wife, he would go and ultimately will buy her with money from the place where she was sold as a prostitute to others. And Hosea went and he purchased her with money. And he paid back to get his wife to come back home and he told her as we have read this before he have told her you see he said to her you shall abide for me many days he said to his wife in chapter 3 and verse 3 and you shall not play the harlot anymore and you shall not be for another man and so I will be for you what we have really learned beloved brothers and sisters in the first three chapters of Hosea is the practical act of Hosea that God requested from him to marry a prostitute who will be unfaithful to him and yet he will have to buy her back again after she had left him and to bring her back to his home and to love her and it is according to the love of God towards the nation of Israel.

So now we come to chapter 4 and in chapter 4 all the way to the end of chapter 13 we have the judgments of God upon Israel because of Israel's unfaithfulness to the. Lord now i want you to distinguish between the first three chapters and the next four chapters because what happened in the first three chapters is an act that this man by the name of Hosea had to act and to do because of what God wanted to teach him and to teach the nation of Israel now in chapter four and on is no longer an act of Hosea but it is actually a message that Hosea is giving the nation of Israel a message from the Lord and this is very sad beloved brothers and sisters and you will see this as we study today chapter 4 and you will see that God has a controversy with the nation of Israel God has a dispute with the nation of Israel the word dispute or controversy in Hebrew is rive when two people are fight and argue against each other God is now has a fight a dispute a controversy with his own beloved nation the nation of Israel and so i want you to understand that chapter four divide itself into four sections and we're going.

To take them one section at a time. The first five verses is God's controversy with the whole nation as a nation. In verses 6 to 10, we have the Lord's controversy with the priests, with the leaders of Israel. In verses 11 to verse 14, we have the Lord's dispute or controversy with the people themselves and in the last verses verses 15 to 19 we see that there is a warning to the tribes of Judah to the southern tribe not to follow the practices of the northern part of Israel the nation of Israel so let's begin with dealing with the first five verses of Hosea chapter 4 and i'm reading those verses in verse 1 we read hear the word of the Lord ye children of Israel for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land because there is no truth no mercy no knowledge of God in the land by swearing and lying and killing and stealing and committing adultery they break out and blood touches blood therefore shall the land mourn and everyone that.

Dwelleth therein shall languish with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of the heaven yet the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another, for thy people are as they that strive with the priests. Therefore shall thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and i will destroy thy mother in these first five verses we have a general message that the Lord asked Hosea to give to the nation of Israel and a general controversy a general rive as we say in Hebrew a dispute that God have against the nation of Israel You know, brothers and sisters, you can just imagine why God would have a dispute with the nation.

It is an elected nation. It is a beloved nation that was chosen by God. They belonged to Him. They were the people that He brought historically out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the promised land. And now they end up to be unfaithful to Him. It is very well similar when the Lord Jesus will have a controversy with the church whom he purchased with his own blood. He has a right that we as believers in the Messiah, that we will live for him, that we will follow him, that we will be close to him, that we will honor him in our life.

But when we don't, he has a right to say, I have something against you. I have a dispute against you. And He will remind us of what He has done for us historically, how He purchased us with His own blood, and how He brought us to be part of the body of Messiah. And He has a right to have a dispute with His own people, just like God had a dispute with the northern tribes of Israel, just before He had allowed them to be taken captive by the Assyrians. And so in verse 1, Hear the word of the Lord. Here's Oseah he's speaking and he says listen chapter 4 verse 1 he's saying to Oseah here Oseah is speaking for the Lord he says hear the word of the Lord ye children of Israel this is the northern 10 tribes of Israel we just read in the book of Kings first king chapter 12 how the nation had been divided the northern tribes and the southern tribes and the northern tribe did not want David to be their king anymore and they departed and they began false worship they began false worship in Bethel and in elsewhere a place where God at first has set his name there they have began false worship and worshiping idols and so the word of the Lord came unto them and the Lord said i have controversy with the inhabitants of the land and look what is the reason why because there is no truth there is no mercy and there is no knowledge of God in the land no truth no mercy and not the knowledge of God in the land.

No wonder there was such a condition as this no wonder that there is a condition of departure from the Lord when there is no knowledge of the word of the Lord there is no knowledge of God in fact that the book of Proverbs king Solomon which fails so much he says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge no wonder many of us even the people of God have not knowledge of the Lord because we have no fear of the Lord no honor to the Lord and we end up to be scattered and divided and what happened in the land of Israel is exactly this thing beloved brothers and sisters there was no truth there was no mercy and there was no knowledge in the land now this is so amazing because knowledge of the Lord is very important in the life of the believers in the life of the people of God it's not only to know about God somewhere there it is one thing to.

Know about him but it is another thing is to know him you remember what apostle Paul who already knew the Lord Jesus the Messiah who already knew him as his Lord and Savior and Messiah but he said that i might know him and the power of his resurrection and to be conformed to his suffering you know the apostle Paul wanted to know Yeshua more and more and more and more why because the more knowledge of the Lord is in the mind and the hearts of the people of God the more conformity to his image is in the life of the believer but when there is no knowledge there is no truth there is no mercy if we don't know God the results of it there will not be any truth and even when we have intellectually only the truth the truth is not in the heart there is also no mercy and it is all as a result of the people of Israel who departure from the.

Lord and the lack of the knowledge of the mind of the Lord there is a verse in Jeremiah chapter 4 and verse 22 we read this Jeremiah 4 verse 22 for my people is foolish they have not known me they are sottish children and they have none understanding they are wise to do evil but to do good they have no knowledge in chapter 5 and verse 4 it says therefore i said surely these are poor they are foolish for they know not the way of the Lord nor the judgment of their God you see beloved brothers and sisters why is it that we teach the Bible why is it that we need to read the word and to learn about the Lord is because the knowledge of the Lord helps us in our lives as believers so we will enjoy the truth of the word of God and that we will enjoy the mercy of the word of God but when there is no knowledge of the Lord there is no truth.

And there is no mercy and God had a controversy with his own nation the nation of Israel and he said to them I want you to hear what I have to tell you because there is no knowledge of the Lord there is no knowledge of the Lord therefore there is no truth and there is no mercy and how sad when you think of the necessity today to correct all the time things because the truth of the word of God is being set aside some truth should be clear to believers the fact that the word of God is infallible the deity of the Lord Jesus the Messiah the sovereignty of God the divine nature and the human nature of Yeshua the Messiah his virgin birth and all these fundamental truth of the word of God this is the same thing what happened here with the people of Israel there was no truth anymore they could go on and worship other gods as if those other gods.

Are the true and living gods no truth and therefore there is no mercy because there is a lack of the knowledge of the Lord. Now notice the consequences or the results. In verse 2, notice. In verse 2, the results of not knowing the Lord, look what happened. In verse 2, it says, they swearing, lying, killing, stealing, committing adultery. They break out and blood touches blood. Apparently, beloved brothers and sisters what happened when there is not the knowledge of the Lord there is not truth and not mercy what we find out that there is a habitual continual practices that is really a violation of the law that God had given to the nation of Israel swearing lying killing stealing adultery and then blood touches blood that means that there is constant wars and fighting that there is constant blood he speaks of life and people shed blood and it's like there's no end there's continual on and ongoing and ongoing wounding and killing and fighting among the people.

Of God if we will talk about this spiritually and apply it for a moment to the church of the Lord Jesus the Messiah in this present day which is very important because all these things happen unto them Israel for our learning when the people of God are away from the Lord's things and for the word of God you notice what's going to happen there will be friction among the people of God there will be division there will be lying there will be constant swearing and the killing is may not be physical but it will be in a sense of constantly denying our brothers and sisters setting them aside pride and ego come in and there's divisions among the people of God that's what happened to Israel in the past and that's what God is dealing with them and he's just about to send them by the Assyrian away from the land because of such an activity in verse 3 we can see the land mourning because of it and you see that the land he's like the land.

Is being personified as if the land is a person and notice he says therefore shall the land mourn the land that God had given our own nation Israel began to weep and mourn it's like God is saying that the land is as a person personified and everyone that dwells therein you know the effect of sin beloved brothers and sisters affects everybody everybody's been affected even not only the human race but the animal kingdom is being affected by the kind of lifestyle that they have lived notice he says the beasts of the field the fowls of the heaven and the fish of the sea also shall be taken away you see the results of sin and of lifestyle that is not knowing the Lord and not following the Lord resulted in affecting everybody else you and i might say, well, whatever I do does not affect somebody else.

But apparently what they have done affected the animal kingdom. He's taking us to the three areas where animals are found. They are. Found in the field, the beasts of the field. They are found in the fowls of the heavens. They are the birds of the air. And even the fish, which is in the sea, had been affected because of the violation of the word of God by the nation these constant results you know cancel spreads sin spreads it's defiling and that's why God desires to stop sinning obviously but not to spread it because everybody will be affected by that and he has a controversy with Israel and he's saying to Israel listen the result is that not only this happening by men by people but it resulted in affecting the animal kingdom as well that the beast of the field the fowls of the heaven and the fish of the sea shall be taken away he using the word language he says all the one that dwell in that land shall language.

It's the Hebrew word umlal. The Hebrew word umlal, it was somebody is so miserable, is so sad state. He's a person that we call him in Hebrew umlal. This person. Is umlal. This animal is umlal. He's languishing. He's in a poor and sad state. That's what happened when Israel have turned away from the Lord. So, we find out in the next verses, verses 4 and 5, that the Lord had a dispute against Israel, but He didn't want them to dispute with one another. And He's saying to them in verse 4, Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another. In other words, don't start to blame one another. That's what we're usually inclined to do.

We're usually inclined to begin to blame the other instead of blaming ourselves. And he's saying, you know, don't strive, man, he says, no reprove one another, but thy people are as they that strive with the priest. In other words, the people should not strive, but what happened? They are striving. They are like, as a person, strive against the priest. And then he says, because of it, in verse 5, therefore you shall fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. You know, this expression, thy mother, the mother, you know, it's the country as a whole.

You know, when we live in a certain country, we say, this is my mother's land. But what we mean, this land and these people all, she with her name, Israel, in a sense, was the mother of all the individuals Israelis. The mother. In other words, God's saying, I'm going to destroy thy mother. I'm going to deal with the nation of Israel. I'm going to discipline your mother. I'm going to discipline the one that I love so much. And so in the first five verses, beloved brothers and sisters, God has a dispute with the whole nation of Israel, but now he's breaking it down into these other three areas.

First of all, the priests, then the ordinary people, and ultimately in the end of this chapter, He's speaking to the tribes of Judah, to the southern tribe, not to do what Israel have done. And so now he's dealing with the sections of the priests. In verses 6 to 10, we have the Lord's controversy with the priests, with the leaders of Israel. So let's begin dealing with verses 6 to 10 of Hosea chapter 4. And I'm reading those verses. And so notice, he's speaking to the priests right now, in verses 6 to 10. And he's saying to them, speaking to the priests, he says, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me, seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

As they were increased, so they sinned against me. Therefore will I change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin offering of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. And there shall be like people, like priests. And I will punish them for their ways, and reward them in their doings. For they shall eat and not have enough. They shall commit hudom and shall not increase, because they have left off to take heed to the Lord. In these verses, he's directing his attention directly to the leaders of Israel. The leaders of Israel are the priests. The priests' responsibility is to lead the people in worship to the Lord.

You know, we have what we know in also New Testament, we have a holy priesthood and we have a royal priesthood. The holy priesthood go into the presence of God to represent the nation before God. The royal priesthood is come out of the presence of God to represent God before the nation. And that is the responsibility of the priest. The priest need to be faithful in representing the nation before God and setting an example before the nation themselves. But you know, beloved brothers and sisters, if the leaders have no interest in the knowledge of God, what do you expect from the people to have? If the leaders do not take their responsibility and seriously in the knowledge of God, then the people themselves will have nothing to feed on because the leaders haven't taught them the word of God.

And that's why in verse 6, look what he's saying. God's people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge. Now, I want you to understand. It's not the lack of knowledge because they did not understand and they wanted so much to understand. No, it is that they did not want the knowledge of the Lord. Willful rejection of the knowledge of God. And that's why verse 6, God is saying to the priests, He says, my people, and I want you to feel the heart of God. He doesn't call them the people, He called them my people. They were His people. They were purchased by the blood when they came out of the land of Egypt.

They were people that He had chosen for Himself, and He loved them so much. And he says, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. There is destruction is coming to the people of God when the priests do not teach them the ways of the Lord. And the people are losing out at the end. So it was the lack of knowledge that they received. They did not receive knowledge is because the priests willfully did not want to know the mind of the Lord. And God is accusing them he has controversy with the priests here and that's why he's telling them brothers and sisters my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge i will reject you and thou shall be no priest to me God is saying to the priest seeing you have forgotten the law of thy God and I will also forget thy children you see there are consequences to the priests unfaithfulness to the Lord is that the people ending up to lose out again I want to make an application to the church age in which you and I live in because it's really applied for us today we also have to realize the responsibility that spiritual leaders have the apostle Paul said to Timothy preach the word in season and out of season when the people of God are gathered together it's not to gather as a club to have some kind of activities they are gathered together to learn about the person of Yeshua the Messiah and to be focused on him.

And to learn from him and that's what we all need we have to realize that we gather together to focus on Yeshua to learn from his word and to encourage the people of God to build each other up that's what he's saying but the people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge it is like a spiritual destruction which lead to practical destruction and he's telling them this lack of knowledge of spiritual truth will lead one astray you know what happened i don't know who one of our sisters here we talked today earlier and we said when i come to the meeting and i want to be in a meeting when i want to hear about the word of God there is an effect upon my life the word of God is like water that come through me and wash me clean that's what the word of God does knowledge of the Lord hold us another day for sinning less against the Lord because the natural man's inclination is to go away from the Lord and when we come to the presence.

Of the Lord as brothers and sisters and we study the word of God and we sing to Yeshua the Messiah it has effect upon our lives and it keeps us a little longer closer to the Lord and a little less sinning against the Lord and that's what we learn here beloved brothers and sisters they have been destroyed because they had lack of knowledge willful desire not to learn about the Lord will affect others in the life of the people of God and God says i will reject you for being a priest and to me i have a verse that i would like to read again in the prophet Jeremiah this time in chapter 9 and verse 23 and 24 we read this beautiful verses thus sayeth the Lord let not the wise men glory in his wisdom let not the mighty men glory in his might let not the rich man glory in his riches but let him that glory glory in this that he understands and that he knoweth me that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness judgment and righteousness in.

The earth for in these things I delight saith the Lord what he's really saying don't let the wise man glow in his wisdom. Don't let the strong man glow in the strength that he had. Don't let the rich man glow in his riches. Don't be proud in what you have, even if you have it. But you know what you have to glow in, he's saying through Jeremiah? Glow in that you understand and you know me, God is saying. I am the Lord that exercise loving kindness and judgment and righteousness in the earth if there is anything we can glory in beloved brothers and sisters is to glory in our knowledge of the Lord it was the Lord Jesus the Messiah who said in the upper room in John chapter 17 if you remember he said that in his high priestly prayer he said this before his disciples they may have heard him saying this beautiful words he said and this is eternal life that they might know thee the only true God and Yeshua the Messiah whom you have sent to know the Lord.

And to know of the Lord is the real true glory that we can glory in that is the importance beloved brothers and sisters and that's what he's saying he's saying that my people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge they willfully the priests did not want to know more about the things of the Lord and were not doing that which God have entrusted them to do and therefore he's saying to them you will not be my priests anymore in verse seven the priest increased and sinned even more and he says as they were increased so they sinned against me therefore will i change their glory into shame see the more they increased the more they sinned against the Lord you know pride in increasing perhaps in Numbers or perhaps in ways of life is ending up leading even the leadership into more sinning against the Lord and the Lord said listen i'm going to change what was their glory i'm going to change it into shame and you know what was their glory when you think about this expression their glory in Exodus chapter 19.

God called the nation of Israel as a nation to be a holy priesthood as a nation this is the glory of Israel to be a holy priesthood a nation that is chosen by God the whole nation was chosen in this way as a nation and by the way they will be at the end of the tribulation in the millennial age Israel as a nation will be a priesthood unto the nations of the world they will be the one that God will use as a channel of blessings to the nations of the world in the future but when they have departed from the Lord their glory was taken away and he says i will change their glory into shame and that is exactly what God have intended to do in the next verse eight the priest ate of the sin offering of the people and it's interesting you notice that it says it's a bit difficult verse to understand he said they eat up the sin of my people and they set their heart on their iniquity.

Interesting verse it doesn't mean that they ate the sin of the people but they ate the sin offerings of the people you see when the people of Israel would sin they would bring hataat it is the sin offering to the altar and when they would bring the sin offering to the altar the priests had a right to eat of it. If you will read in the book of Leviticus chapter 6, you will notice that the priests had a part in eating of the portion of the animal sacrifices that had been offered upon the altar. But you know what happened? The priests wanted the people to sin more.

So the people will sin more, they will bring more offerings. And they will bring more offerings, they will have more food for themselves to eat. And it's really so selfish. It's really when he says they eat up the sin offerings of my people and they set their heart on their, the people's iniquity. In other words, sin more so we can get more. Sin more so we will benefit more. You think God will be pleased with it? God will have to judge this as well. He judged it among the people of Israel. He judged it among the church of Jesus the Messiah. God will deal with it.

God found no pleasure in the sin of these people. And you see, in the next verse, in verse 9, the Lord will punish the priests for their doings. And there shall be like people, like priests. And I will punish them for their ways and reward them for their doings. You see, the people learn from the priests. Like people, like priests. Like priests, like people. You see, there is an effect upon the others. And God says, I am going to judge them and reward them because of their deed. He says here in verse 9, the priests behave like the people. The people behave like the priests. And God is going to end up dealing with the priests.

And so verse 10, in the section of the Lord's controversy against the priests, In verse 10, we find out that the priests will eat, but will have not enough. It says here in verse 10, for they shall eat and not have enough. They shall commit hudam and shall not increase, because they have left off to take heed to the Lord. In other words, God is saying, I'm going to deal with you, priests. I mean, you're going to eat, but you're not going to have enough. You're not going to be satisfied. You shall commit hudom, and you will not increase. In other words, there will be failure in every area, in the discipline of God.

God will discipline the people of Israel because, and here specifically the priests, because of their action. Imagine to eat, and to eat, and to eat, and to eat, and not to be satisfied. To commit hudom, and go on, and not increase. That's what God is saying. I will give you the discipline. I will judge you because they have left off to take heed to the Lord. When one departs from the Lord, they will end up to face the consequences. And that's what God, the Lord, is telling about the priests at that time. Now we are moving on to the next section. And in the next verses verses 11 to 14 is the dispute or the controversy of the Lord against the people this time he spoke in general the first five verses he particularly centered his message to the priest in verses 6 to 10 but now in verses 11 to 14 he's speaking against the people themselves.

So let's begin dealing with verses 11 to 14 of Hosea chapter 4. And I'm reading those verses. Hudom and wine and new wine take away the heart. My people ask counsel at their stocks and their staff declareth unto them. For the spirit of Hudom has caused them to err and they have gone a-hurring from under their guard. They sacrificed upon the top of the mountain, and they burned incense upon the hills, under oaks, and poplars, and elms, because the shadow thereof is good. Therefore your daughters shall commit hudam, and your spouses shall commit adultery. I will not punish your daughters when they commit hudam nor your spouses when they commit adultery for themselves are separated with whores and they sacrifice with harlots therefore the people that.

Do not understand will ultimately fall so let's begin and notice that he began first of all in verse 11 and he noticed something he mentioned that thing that hudam and wine and new wine take away the heart now what he's telling them where is your heart he's speaking to the people now and he's telling them listen people also to the priest to everybody he says where is your heart those kind of things that your mind is filled with takes away your heart and lead you in another direction you remember it's very similar to what the Lord Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6 in verse 21 Jesus the Messiah said to the disciples when he was speaking there in verse 21 he's saying to them he says for where your treasure is there will your heart be also in other words our heart can be led astray and be taken away and the people's individual heart and hearts have been taken away hudom wine new wine take away the heart take away the heart to where take away the heart.

From whom well the heart instead of being centered on God is being taken away elsewhere the heart instead of being filled with the things of the Lord is being taken away and beloved brothers and sisters isn't it true that what we filled our mind with lead our heart away in other words if our mind are filled with the things of the Lord like Paul said in Philippians chapter 4 whatsoever is good whatsoever is pleasant whatsoever is of good report whatsoever is lovely he said think on those things why because when we think on good things our heart led in that direction but when our heart is occupied with hudam wine new one and we can make a list what happened it takes away the heart from the things of the Lord and we end up led in directions that are not pleasing to the Lord we know it by experience every one of us truly knows in some small measure our own hearts we know how little how quick hearts can be set on other things.

We get quickly discouraged we get quickly drawn maybe it is by friends maybe it is by certain things to do maybe it is by a people and so on and we end up it could be things that take away our heart from the things of the Lord and we have been drawn away and our heart have been taken from the things of the Lord away and ending up in empty and hungry and not being satisfied and so the people as he's saying to them in verse 11 the heart is taken away through whoredom and that's what really happened there to the children of Israel there's a verse also in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 in verse 7 that says surely oppression makes a wise man mad and a gift destroyer the heart the heart is also can be taken away by gifts and by things that are been pulling away the believer's heart because of where he set himself up against instead of focusing on the things of the Lord so the people's heart being taken away through in this case it was through hudam wine.

And new wine in verse 12 the people ask for counsel from idols instead of asking for counsel from the Lord of glory from the God of Israel you look at it my people ask counsel at their stocks this is the wooden idols and their staff declareth unto them for the spirit of hudom has caused them to err and they have gone a hurrying from under their God you know what the people started to ask question and to ask for advice from sticks and woods instead of asking advice from the Lord from the God of Israel they ask advice from wood and sticks and idols can you imagine how shameful it must have been that the people who knew the true and living God now go to a piece of wood and saying, could you give me your advice?

What should I do now? Well, this is, by the way, what happened when they came out of Egypt. You remember when Moses went up to the mountain and Moses delayed his coming down and the people of Israel said, where is this Moses? Where is he? So they said, let us make gods. And they end up to worship, to make this golden calf. And this golden calf, they said, this is the God that has taken you out of the land of Egypt. You know you can't even believe that something like this can happen but you know brothers and sisters we can do the same thing we also can have idols in our lives in fact the last verse of first John chapter 5 John said to the believers to whom he wrote little children keep yourselves from idols we can have idols in our lives as well beloved brothers and sisters and that's why he's saying to them and he's saying that the people ask counsel from those idols to whom they have been offering sacrifices i want to read another verse if you don't mind please in Psalm 115 i'll read more than one verse just listen very interesting verses Psalm 115 in verse 1 says not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory.

For your mercy and your truth's sake, why should the heathen say, where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens. He has done whatsoever he pleased. But then listen, what the psalmist is saying, their gods are silver and gold. The work of man's hands. They have mouth, but they cannot speak. They have eyes, but they cannot see. They have ears, but they hear not. Noses they have, but they smell not. They have hands, but they handle not. They have feet, but they walk not. Neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them. So is everyone that is trusting in them.

And then he's speaking to the people of Israel. O Israel, trust thou in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. Yeah, ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. Idols. They have mouth, but they can't speak. They have eyes they can't see, ears they can't hear. They have legs and feet and hands. They cannot walk, they cannot move, they cannot handle. The ones they make them are just like them. But here we see that the people, now the people take counsel and they ask counsel of their stocks, of their wooden idols.

They ask for advice from them. And the staff declareth unto them, For the spirit of whodom has caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God. You know what this? Their hearts have been taken away by this whoredom, worshipping of idols. It is a spiritual fornication, spiritual whoredom. And they end up so far away from the Lord that instead of now talking to the living God, they were talking to those idols made by men's hands. And so the Lord is not happy with the condition there. So in verse 13, the people now, we find out that they sacrifice to these idols and they commit adultery.

In verse 13, they sacrifice upon the top of the mountain and they burn incense upon the hills and the oaks and poplars and elms because the shadow thereof is good. Therefore, your daughters shall commit hudam and your spouses shall commit adultery. Now the peoples, the daughters and the wives commit hudam. And God is now, is speaking to the fathers and to the leaders. And he's saying to them, listen, look, your daughters and your spouses commit adultery. And then verse 14, he says, I'm not going to punish your daughters when they commit hudam. Nor your spouses when they commit adultery. For themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots.

Therefore, the people that do not understand shall fall. In other words, I'm not going to punish them, but the results of this kind of lifestyle will end up in their fall anyway. God does not say, he doesn't change the fact that whatsoever man saw, he will also rip through it. He doesn't change it, but what he's saying, He's telling to those who are responsible, or the heads of the homes, He said, look, whatever is going to happen to your daughters and to your wives is because of your responsibility that you didn't take. That's what He's really saying here. God will visit the ones who are responsible.

And if you will read in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 23, God said this to the nation of Israel. And so, finally, in connection with the people, in verse 14, the people who do not understand will end up ultimately falling by themselves. I will not punish your daughters when they commit hudam, nor your spouses when they commit adultery, for themselves are separated with huds and they sacrifice with harlots. Therefore the people that do not understand will ultimately fall and that is the result that's going to happen to the people so he spoke to the people at large to the whole land then he specifies specifically dealing with the priests then he moved a little bit closer and he spoke about the people in verses 11 to 14 and now in the last section of chapter 4 he's giving a warning to the southern tribes the tribe of Judah see Judah at that point of time was still in some measure still walking in obedience to God to the Lord and even though Hosea's message was directed to the 10 northern tribes of Israel, and not specifically to the southern tribes of Judah, yet nevertheless he is giving a warning now to Judah.

So let's begin dealing with the last verses, verses 15 to 19 of Hosea chapter 4, and I'm reading those verses. Though thou Israel play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend and come not ye unto gilgal neither go ye up to bait oven nor swear the Lord liveth. For Israel slide his back as backsliding hyphel now the Lord will feed them as lamb in a large place. Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone. Their drink is sour. They have committed hudam continually. Her rulers with shame do love. Give ye. The wind has bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

So let's begin and look at the warning that he gives in verse 15 Judah do not go in the way of the people of Israel though thou Israel play the harlot yet let not Judah offend and come not ye unto gilgal neither go ye up to Beit Aven, nor swear the Lord liveth. Now just this interesting verse because there are two names that I mentioned here. The name is Gilgal and Beit Aven. It is interesting, beloved brothers and sisters, you remember in our Bible study in the book of Joshua that the first place when Israel came after they crossed the Jordan River into the promised land, they went and they have.

Find themselves in a place called Gilgal it was in Gilgal that they celebrated the Passover it was in Gilgal that they cut their foreskin they have made a circumcision of those that haven't been circumcised it was in Gilgal area that Joshua has seen that just before Jericho he has seen that vision of that man he saw that man the captain of the armies of the Lord Gilgal was a place when every time they needed to come back to fight another war they were coming back to Gilgal it speaks of place of self-judgment it speaks of place when they have really been remembering the Lord's Passover how he has taken them out of Egypt in other words it was a place of worshiping the true and living God and then the other place called Beit Avin is another name for Beit El.

Beit El is the house Bethel is the house of God and he changed here the name of Beit El to Beit Avin. Beit Avin is a place of waste a place that is really vanity. In other words what. Really happened is the two locations which was so unique where one of them called the house of God and one of them were the nation and remember how God had delivered them out of Egypt it was a place of worship of the Lord it ended up to be desecrated to be a place of worshiping of idols and if you remember what we read again today in 1st Kings chapter 12 and how Jerobam the king of Israel what he have done in Bethel and you remember what he have done there he have set up a false worship in Bethel you remember that in 1st Kings chapter 12 and I'm going to just read it where upon the king to counsel and he made two calves of gold and he said unto them it is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem behold your gods see he's saying these calves are your gods don't go to Jerusalem to the temple stay here here is your gods he said o Israel which brought the out of the.

Land of Egypt and he set one in Bethel and the other one he set in dun that's what he did beloved brothers and sisters, and he instituted false worship. He instituted in the place where the name of God, Beit El, was there. He instituted a place, an altar, and a false God, and a false worship. Can you imagine? And that's why God's saying to Judah, Judah, don't go. Don't go to Gilgal. Don't go to Beit, not Beit El, but Beit Avin, the house of vanity. Don't go there. Don't follow the deeds of the northern tribes. Judah, don't go there. Don't swear there in the name of the Lord.

Don't do that. What a challenge is to Judah it's a challenge we can learn from this ourselves today when we see where believers go astray where there is false teaching where there is false doctrine being introduced where there is false practices don't go don't allow yourself to be influenced by that which is not honoring to the Lord that's what he's really saying that's what he's saying to Judah not to follow Israel by the way it's the same nation they are the people of God Israel Judah divided they're the people of God he doesn't say to Judah hate them he doesn't say to Judah fight them but he says don't follow their path, which will lead you unto destruction as well.

That's the lesson, beloved brothers and sisters. And how sad it is. Later on, we find out that Judah also gone astray. And they ended up taken by Nebuchadnezzar into Babylon. And they're in Babylon. You remember the song, By the Rivers of Babylon? There we sat down and we wept. As we remember Zion and they remember the good days that they had when they had the word of God when they had the temple they can worship the Lord in truth but they find themselves in Babylon and they wept then they say oh Jerusalem if I forget Jerusalem my right hand will forget her cunning they remember but they should have remembered earlier before they end up going astray and God in his love for his people you know this is amazing those chapters we don't like to read them because there's so much judgment upon judgment upon judgment and since you don't want to read about that you want to just talk about love and talk about all these things but the reality is right here is this human heart of ours the believers are no different than the heart of the unbelievers the heart is deceitful we are capable of doing the very same thing what unbeliever does because our hearts the human nature is sinful that's why Yeshua had to give us a new nature.

When he died for us on the tree and then he said and i'm going to conclude with this he says in verse 16 Israel slideth back Judah just look at Israel for Israel slideth back as backsliding now the Lord will feed them as lamb in a large place in verse 17 he says Ephraim is joined unto idols Judah don't follow this Ephraim is joined to idols let him alone don't follow him Judah in verse 18 he says they have committed hudam continually Judah don't follow them in verse 18 their drink is sour they have committed hudam continually her rulers with shame do love give ye he says give them over don't follow them and then in verse 19 they shall be ashamed he's saying the wind has bound her up in her wings and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices you see there is an important lesson that we can learn from these beloved brothers and sisters when today when a Bible teacher lead us.

And teach us to stay close to the Lord and to stay close to the things of God we should listen to the voice of the word of God and we should kind of get closer to the Lord and not end up being taken away and being ultimately judged by the Lord because disobedience and the lesson is applied to us i believe as well today dear brothers and sisters so here is chapter 4 chapter 4 is divided for us into these four sections a general controversy with the people with the nation specifically dealing with the priests and then specifically with the people and final warning to the tribes of Judah not to follow the ways of Israel.

Sad, but at the same time you see the love of the Lord towards his own people Israel. He loves his people to that extent that he will judge them and discipline them and not allow them to have their own way. Whatsoever man sows he will also reap. May the Lord help us to learn from this and to ultimately seek to follow after the Lord. Can you say Amen to that? Amen.