by
Rev. Mark Perkins, Pastor
Denver Bible Church
326 E. Colorado Ave.
Denver, Colorado 80210
To: Hosea
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"So Ephraim has become like a silly dove, without sense;
they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. When they go, I will
spread My net over them; I will bring them down like the birds
of the sky. I will chastise them in accordance with the proclamation
to their assembly."
1. These verses condemn the behavior of a client nation, when
it seeks dependence on the human viewpoint strength of other
nations as a replacement for dependence on God.
2. God says that He will thwart their attempts at alliance, and
turn those attempts into deadly disasters.
3. Birds are generally stupid. They may be pretty, and sound
pretty, but they are stupid. The term 'birdbrain' is not used
in flattery.
4. The word YONAH describes this dove, and it is the more generic
term of two that describe this bird. The other term, TOR, always
describes the turtledove of the sacrifices; YONAH is any kind
of dove, even pigeons.
5. The dove does stupid things, even for a bird. It calls and
calls its mournful cry, and attracts predators. It flies here
and there in its path, but is not all that well known for its
dramatic flights. In fact, the dove is known to make pretty sounds,
and that is about it. It is defenseless...
6. So Israel makes pretty sounds to the Egyptians and the Assyrians
- predator nations. And these nations are completely aware of
Israel's weakness.
7. But there is God, looking down on this silly dove, flitting
this way and that looking for strength in other nations. And
being above, He is ready to drop the net on their flight at any
time. A net on a dove during flight adds up to an imminent and
destructive crash.
8. So this is the way with seeking alliance for your own strength.
a. But note, alliance for the sake of attaining the same goal is not prohibited and in fact reflects wisdom.
b. For instance, in the second world war, the United States allied with many other nations to hasten the destruction of the Axis powers. But we were headed toward that goal with or without our allies. We were glad to have them, but could have accomplished our goal without them.
c. But alliance from a position of weakness is another matter entirely. Especially when that alliance is a direct replacement for dependence on the strength of God.
9. Personal alliance can come under this same principle. Attempting
to draw strength from others outside of true strength in God
is a fool's errand, which can bring no good. God will drop you
from the sky. This should be distinguished from the means of
spiritual gifts designed for the teaching of the word.
10. The proclamation to their assembly is what happens after
an alliance is made by government officials. The government makes
the alliance, and then makes a proclamation to the people.
a. Often these proclamations are pure falsehood, designed to make the government look good, and thus gain support from the people. (Japan)
c. But in this case, God says that His discipline will be commensurate with that falsehood that they spread.
"Woe to them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction
is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me! I would redeem
them, but they speak lies against Me. And they do not cry to
Me from their heart when they wail on their beds; for the sake
of grain and new wine they assemble themselves, they turn away
from Me. Although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet
they devise evil against Me. They turn, not upward, they are
deceitful like a bow; their princes will fall by the sword because
of the insolence of their tongue. This will be their derision
in the land of Egypt."
1. Verse thirteen is another discipline summary. It is a summary
of the case of God vs. Israel.
a. Israel has strayed from God. So, woe to them.
(1). God, through Hosea, employs the interjection 'OY. This is an impassioned expression of grief and despair. It is even onomapoetic, evincing the sound that comes forth involuntarily from one's mouth at the moment that the bad news is heard.
(2). God says that they will have this experience because they have strayed, 'NADEDU. This verb holds the connotation of panicked flight. Israel flees from God because they fear a face to face confrontation. Yet, this confrontation is in reality the only thing that will save them. Lesson: never fear what is best for you. If it is best for you to go to God and confess your sins in humble repentance, then do so, and without fear.b. Israel has rebelled against God. So, destruction is theirs.
(1). The word for rebel is PHAS`U. It can describe personal or national rebellion. An interesting note: it too holds the connotation of fear. It reveals that fear always stands as the motivation for rebellion, in the negative sense of the word.
(2). The rebellion of Israel from God has brought on SOR, 'devastation'. Always, always, this word contains the idea of violence. A violent destruction waits for this fearful, rebellious nation.c. Israel speaks lies against God. So, they do not receive redemption.
(1). This nation has gone so far in the cosmic system that they have begun to speak Satanic propaganda against God. They are now the propaganda ministers of the devil.
(2). PADAH is the Hebrew word for redemption. In the age of Israel, this redemption would have been both spiritual and national. The nation would have been renewed, were they not now the friends of the enemy.
2. Verse fourteen continues the courtroom case of God vs. Israel.
a. The first half of the verse has to do with the expression of pain in Israel; they are wailing and crying and howling on their beds, but none of those cries are expressed toward God.
(1). First is the image of the people of Israel in agony and an emotionally distraught state. They are YEYELILU. This is the hiphil causative imperfect verb. It describes the crying of Israel as personal and continuous.
(2). As this goes on, there is no repentance, no ZA`AQU, no call for help to God from the heart. In spite of their agonized state, they do not return to Him.b. In place of repentance and dependence on God, the people of the Northern Kingdom have kept on sacrificing to their dead idols with grain and new wine, and in so doing turn aside from God.
(1). One significant word: YITHGORARU. It is in the hithpolel reflexive stem, and it shows that Israel functions on its own power in order to deal with their sorrow.
(2). The people of the Northern kingdom assemble themselves in order to deal with their problems.
3. In the fifteenth verse, God reminds us of all that He did
for the nation, and of what He received in return.
a. The verse begins with two verbs in the piel stem and perfect tense. The piel stem is the stem which reveals intensity of action. The perfect tense concentrates on completion of action. So whatever specific actions these two verbs reveal, note that it is intense and complete.
(1). The first verb is YISSARTHI. It is the very essence of divine discipline. It means to chastise, or discipline someone for their own improvement. God has done this intensely to Israel.
(2). The second is HIZZAQTI. This means to strengthen someone or something. Here, the arm of Israel.(a). The arm is often a metaphor for inward or outward strength. It reveals that God intensely strengthened the Northern Kingdom.
(b). The strengthening would be spiritual. God has faithfully provided all the spiritual logistics necessary for Israel to grow before Him, and yet they have rejected it all.
(c). This strengthening also has its impact in the military frame of reference. Spiritual strength leads to battlefield strength. This would be appropos considering the delicate and weak situation that Israel is in at the time of this sermon from Hosea.(3). The discipline is the wake up side, while the grace assets are the positive side.
b. In spite of all this, Israel planned evil against God. This is a strong testimony against them.
4. The last verse of the seventh chapter concludes the discourse.
a. They turn, not upward.
(1). So instead of repenting to God, they repent to Satan and thus become worse than they ever were before.
(2). With a wrong and bitter and fearful response, they have rejected the discipline and strengthening efforts of God.b. They are treacherous as a bow.
(1). There are certain hazards that come with shooting an arrow from a bow. The energy created by drawing a bowstring can backfire on the archer and cause considerable pain.
(2). So also Israel. They have a certain power, which can be wielded for good or bad, according to their relationship with God. They are the priest nation before God, and so before all the nations. However, if they become evil, then negative publicity ensues. Such principle holds true for every individual believer in the church age.c. Their princes shall fall by the sword on account of their tongue.
(1). This tongue should be associated with the falsehood of the previous verse. Their leadership is doomed to destruction by their own people. An adulterous nation can never handle solid leadership. If you do not have rein over yourself, you cannot be reined by your government.
(2). So the princes die by violence.d. This was their derision in the land of Egypt.
(1). This hearkens back to the 400 year slavery of Israel in Egypt.
(2). What Hosea/God says is this: that the very reason that they were enslaved, was because of their apostasy before God. Now that same condition applies. Draw the parallel! See the light! It is back to slavery for Israel!
Grace Notes
Warren Doud, Editor
1705 Aggie Lane, Austin, Texas 78757
Phone: 512-458-8923