Hosea-7-True Diagnosis, False Remedy

The Word of God in Hosea 5:1-15

 

“Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen, you royal house! This judgment is against you: You have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Mount Tabor. The rebels are deep in slaughter. I will discipline all of them. I know all about Ephraim; Israel is not hidden from me. Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution; Israel is corrupt. “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the LORD. Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin; Judah also stumbles with them. When they go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them. They are unfaithful to the LORD; they give birth to illegitimate children. Now their New Moon festivals will devour them and their fields. “Sound the trumpet in Gibeah, the horn in Ramah! Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven; lead on, Benjamin! Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of reckoning. Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain. Judah’s leaders are like those who move boundary stones. I will pour out my wrath on them like a flood. Ephraim is oppressed, trampled in judgment, because he willingly followed godless idols. I am like a moth to Ephraim, like rot to the people of Judah. “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his sores, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king for help. But he could not cure you, nor heal your sores. For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. Then I will return to my lair until they have paid for their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me.” Amen.

 

A Logical Paradox in the Approach to the Word

We have now looked at Hosea chapters 1 through 4. If you read the beginning of chapter 5 with the contents of chapter 4 in mind, you may find yourself questioning what this chapter is even trying to say.

 

In chapter 4, God said, “Israel, you are perishing because you have no knowledge. You have abandoned me and joined with idols. Therefore, you who do not understand will all perish.” Does this mean you will perish or prosper? It means you will perish. He continued to speak this way through chapter 4. “You must turn back. You are perishing because you have no knowledge. You must listen to my words and understand.” He spoke ceaselessly, but this people never listened to the end. They did not listen even when it came to chapter 4.

 

So, by the time it reaches chapter 5, what should happen? It is logically sound to expect the conclusion, “If you continue to act this way, I will destroy you and completely abandon you.” If that were the case, the book of Hosea could have ended around chapter 5. There are many short books in the Bible, so why would it need to continue for so long? However, Hosea does not end at chapter 5 but continues for quite some time.

 

But the beginning of chapter 5 starts in a completely different way. Verse 1 says:

 

“Hear this, you priests! Give heed, you house of Israel! Listen, you royal house! For judgment is against you.”

 

What does this mean? It means God is going to speak again. “I will speak to you again, so listen again and understand. Incline your ears and listen to my words.” In chapter 4, there was much talk about corrupt priests. The extent of their corruption was great. However, in the end, those things made us look to Jesus Christ, the perfect priest who was to come. They gave us hope.

 

But this time, the method of showing us Jesus Christ is a little different. Chapter 5 focuses more on what God’s heart is like. Therefore, as you listen to today’s message, please concentrate on understanding God’s heart. He could have just given up. They just do not listen to him anymore. As you follow this line of argument, you will realize that stories of, “How could this be?” continue to appear. Despite this, God continues to say, “Understand.” It is a truly baffling situation. The word continues in this way from verse 1.

 

The Danger of a Faith that Rests on Victory Itself

“Judgment is against you. You have become a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread out on Tabor.” Why do we read the Bible and study it regularly? It is to get help when we listen to sermons like this.

 

It is very difficult to understand the phrase, “You have become a snare at Mizpah.” But in fact, this is something that those who have read or know a little about the Bible can understand quickly with just a little explanation from me. One reason we find sermons and Bible studies difficult is that we often do not even know the so-called basic contents of the Bible. Moreover, there are many difficult stories in the Bible. This is similar to watching a professional baseball game without knowing the rules. Even the most exciting sport is only fun if you know the rules. This is one of the reasons why we study the Word of God more diligently in this world.

 

When the word Mizpah comes up, you probably think of the Mizpah that appears in the book of the prophet Samuel. Mizpah was the place where Samuel urged the Israelites to repent. But the Mizpah in today’s passage is a slightly different place. This is a place called Gilead Mizpah in northern Israel, also known as Benjamin Mizpah. This Mizpah is also related to the judge Jephthah. Jephthah was a judge who appears in the Old Testament book of Judges. Mizpah was the place where Jephthah led the Israelites to a great victory over the Ammonites. Therefore, this is a place of victory. Also, Tabor, which appears later, is the place where the famous female prophet Deborah and the judge Barak defeated the Canaanite army and won.

 

Therefore, these two places have two things in common. One is that they are both related to judges, and the other is that they were places where they won a war.

 

As you know, the book of Judges is about how the Israelites rebelled against God and lived according to their own desires, so God sent the surrounding nations to invade Israel, and Israel suffered. The Israelites cried out to God in their suffering. “God, please save us.” Then God would hear their prayer and send a judge. A judge is also called a Judge in other translations. The book of Judges is a story about how God sent a judge to lead them in war and save and give victory to the people of Israel.

 

But what happens after they are saved? They get into trouble again. So the same cycle repeats itself. They get into trouble again, God sends someone again, they cry out again, and then God sends another judge. The book of Judges is the story of this continuous cycle.

 

But why does the content of the book of Judges appear here? It is because Israel is the same now. Israel is now enjoying God’s blessings. It is their best season. They are in a situation where they are economically most prosperous, have no problems in many ways, and are living comfortably and well. But what are the Israelites doing at that time? Instead of going to God, they are abandoning God and living according to their own will. This is the situation God is talking about now.

 

“You are making the very place where God gave you victory a snare.” Who is “you” here? It is not only the Israelites but also us. “You are turning the blessing of victory that God gave you into a net and a trap for yourselves.” In other words, God is saying that the reason God’s blessings and grace cannot come to this land is because of them. “You are now becoming a trap, a net, and a snare for God’s grace.” This is what He is saying.

 

The Danger of a Faith that Rests on Victory Itself

This is really strange to see. After experiencing victory, it seems so natural to be grateful, go to God, and say, “Lord, we will do well for you. We will be faithful. Thank you for the blessings you have given us,” but this passage shows that is not the case. It is a very difficult story.

 

This is because they are looking at only one thing: victory itself. In other words, the only thing they remember about the place of victory is the victory itself. They begin to completely forget how they cried out to God, how God answered those tears, how God saved them, and what God’s salvation was all about. The only thing they remember is the answer God gave them. They remember the events that God allowed them to solve at that time. They remember the fact, “Yes, God heard my prayer at that time and answered me this way,” but they do not remember at all why He answered.

 

Would it be a little easier for you to understand if I put it this way? He saved me. I do not know why God saved me, and I only remember the fact that I was saved. When you only remember the fact that you were saved, as the Bible says, if you remain there, what do you become? On the contrary, you get out of God’s grace and become a snare, a net, and a trap in your faith life. And you become a trap for others as well. This is because I only remember the place where I won, the fact that I was saved, and the fact that God answered me.

 

It is important how we won, but it is also important why God allowed us to win. In the book of Exodus, what does God say is the clear reason why He brought Israel out of Egypt?

 

“I will call them out and make them worship me.”

 

The clear reason why God saved you and led you to His kingdom, made you know His glory, made you worship Him, and made you live as His people is this, but the only thing they remember is the Red Sea incident where they crossed the sea. They only remember, “Ah, we crossed that sea at that time.” “Ah, we came out of Egypt with a lot of goods. Oh, yes, we ate manna that fell from the sky in the wilderness.” They have gradually lost interest in why God gave them manna, why He fed them with manna, and why He did not even let them eat the animals they brought with them, but gave them manna every day.

 

We live by constantly recycling only the answers we have received and the victories we think we have achieved. In other words, we are living by recycling only the faith we believe. When this happens, Mizpah and Tabor become a snare and a net for them. The answer I have enjoyed begins to block me. This is because they have completely forgotten why God gave it to them. You have already forgotten where you are going, where our faith should go, and are only thinking about what you have now, what you can enjoy, and what you have received.

 

The ‘Fig Leaves’ That Cover Sin: Hypocritical Sacrifices

So, is that not how most of our testimonies are? “I was going through this difficulty, but I prayed, and God answered, and now these problems have been solved.” This is something to be grateful for and happy about. But if that is all, if that experience, that joy, that victory, and that answer are all that you have, and you forget why God gave it to you,

 

If you are worshiping without knowing why God has called you to this place to worship Him, why God saved you and made you sit here with those you did not know, and why He made you answer to God the Father and worship and praise Him with gratitude, and you have all your interest and satisfaction in your worship, in the praise you are singing, in your joy, and in this place where you are, then perhaps you are gradually going to a place where your own faith becomes a snare and a net for you, a trap that will eventually bring you down.

 

Mizpah itself means, “He watches.” It is a word that includes the meaning, “God is watching you. He will protect you. He will surely warn you and guide you from your enemies.” But what do we become in relation to that? We become those who go against God’s guidance. We become a trap.

 

The word Tabor means, “to be clean.” It means that I am a snare and a net in the work of God making us holy and us seeking to be holy. This is something we could not have imagined. That I, who am now pursuing holiness, become a net and a snare that blocks it, how surprising is this for us?

 

Becoming a snare that goes against God’s touch and a trap for God’s holiness is a heartbreaking thing to think about. But if we only remember why God made us children of God who are in this world, who have come to this place, and who worship Him, why He gave us this job, why we were called to these tasks, why He gave us these children, and why He gives us such suffering, pain, and sometimes joy and pleasure, and we are not interested in God’s providence and will, even while being grateful for that joy and pleasure,

 

You are not growing as a child of God, but you are only a being who loves what you have received and is satisfied with it. Perhaps that is what is actually becoming a snare that blocks your true progress in faith.

 

A Faith Focused on 'Me,' Not on God

Hosea 5:3 explains this heart in more detail. The Bible says:

 

“I know Ephraim; Israel is not hidden from me. For now, O Ephraim, you have committed adultery; Israel has become defiled.”

 

This means, “You have sinned, but you cannot hide from me.” Inversely, this means that they tried to hide from God.

 

There is one person who is the originator of hiding after sinning. That is Adam and Eve. They felt fear and shame about their sin, so they hid and covered themselves. They covered themselves with fig leaves. The story that appears here is also clearly related to this.

 

However, there is another possibility first. Since it says that the Israelites did not understand, it could be that they did not know. They had been in a state of forgetting the glory and holiness of God’s kingdom for so long that they did not even clearly see if they were in sin or living against God. Why would that be? It is because they had lived as if this was right for so long that they did not know that their life was wrong.

 

This is also revealed in today’s passage. It says that the Israelites, who were not serving God but were worshiping foreign gods and going to false gods to worship, brought a flock of sheep and a herd of cattle to God as a sacrifice. They brought groups of sacrifices to the temple.

 

What does this mean? They tried to look good to God no matter what. Just as they offer bribes to hide their sins, they bring more and more sacrifices more diligently. But their true heart is hidden from God.

 

This is what I mentioned earlier, the phenomenon where our interest is not directed toward the Lord, who is the subject of worship, but is focused only on ourselves, who are worshiping. We are more interested in ourselves who are praying. We are so proud of ourselves who are studying the Bible. It is not necessarily wrong for you to be happy with the fact that you are studying, but why do you study? Is it not to know God, to become more humble, and to serve God? To look at His glory. But without that, we begin to find ourselves who are worshiping, who are praising, who are preaching, more important. And when interest in that accumulates, it becomes difficult for us to even realize what sin we are committing or what we are doing wrong. This is because we are completely immersed in ourselves.

 

The Tragedy of Resting on the Knowledge of the Law and Failing to Meet the Lord

However, our conscience usually tells us what we are doing wrong. Hosea 5:4 says, “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God.” If you read only this verse, it may sound as if their sins are too great for them to return to God. But the Bible does not use such an expression. “Our sins are too great to go to God. Our sins are too deep to return to God” is not an expression the Bible uses, so you are misunderstanding and reading the Bible incorrectly. Instead, what the Bible says here is that they now know what their sins are. But because of that, it tries to show that they are trying to hide even more.

 

In other words, they have their deeds, but what is in those deeds? The licentious heart here is, in our terms, idolatry. They are not serving God but are serving something else. That is inside them, but they are now covering it, and they are replacing their heart with that.

 

When there is sin, we inevitably feel shame, but we try to hide that shame with other things. Because I have a licentious heart and am serving another god, I try to be even better to God. This is to hide it. So, as we know, Adam and Eve covered themselves with leaves. They could not go directly to God, but they covered themselves with leaves. This is the attitude that always appears in humans who try to cover their sins.

 

Even in front of God, rather than going to God and repenting of my sins and saying, “Lord, I have done wrong,” we want to cover it with what we have. The Bible also expresses this as merit. We want to cover it with what we can do, whether it is my idol, my money, my diligence, or my ability.

 

We are so used to this that we often do not even know that we are doing it. I am always grateful that I encountered Reformed faith. I know so well how wrong my faith was before, how much I did not know about God, and how much I lost because of my unrighteous faith, so I know how precious this Reformed faith is, which considers the Word of God as the highest authority and tries to think and decide everything within that Word. And I think there are people among you who have had such experiences.

 

However, at the same time, I have also seen many people who enter the Reformed faith and learn the right doctrines and the Bible and act as if they are living within that Word, but they do not enjoy the Word of God and His grace at all. It seems impossible, but I have seen so many times that they are making their own leaves with those things.

 

Your doctrine can be your leaf. What you and I consider to be the right faith can be your leaf. The fact that “I believe this correctly and have the right faith” does not make you humble, make you look to the kingdom of God, and go to the true fruit of the Holy Spirit, but that becomes your leaf, and it becomes your merit that makes you feel, “I am doing well now, and because of this, I feel satisfied.” Even your seemingly sincere faith can be your merit, and even the worship that you diligently read the Bible, praise diligently, and offer with all your might can be a leaf that hides you from God.

 

The Restoration of True Worship and Emotion

Therefore, you and I can fall into that so easily. We try to cover it with theology, with doctrine, and with the amount of Bible we have read.

 

Many of the cult leaders we know started out as people who were greatly applauded by many and were so-called people who truly loved the Bible. People like Park Tae-sun and Moon Sun-myung were all like that. When Park Mu-su preached, he would quote almost 50 Bible verses. Kim Gi-dong openly said that he had read the Bible more than 200 times when he was young. Reading the Bible 200 times is not an easy task, is it? But why did such people become that way?

 

For them, all of that was fig leaves. For them, all of that did not lead them to God and to bear fruit, but it had to create a miserable end. And it makes them rely on their faith, which is the only thing they can rely on. They rely on the Bible they have read. They rely on the prayers they are praying. They rely on the praises you are singing. If you try to go to God by relying on the worship you are doing here, we are all making Adam and Eve’s fig leaves.

 

You have your guilt, you know that you are a shameful person before God, and you clearly know that you cannot go on your own, but instead of coming to Jesus because of that, you try to worship more diligently, read the Bible more diligently, and pray more diligently, and if you want to adorn yourself with that, if that becomes your clothes, if that becomes your strength, then you and I are actually rejecting our faith with our words and actions. It is literally just a fig leaf that you want to hide behind and want to cover yourselves with.

 

Here, the Bible says that that will become your snare and your net. This is because you do not know the Lord. That is why those people could not meet the Lord. They could not meet the Lord even though they read the Bible so clearly. Even when they performed miracles and wonders, so many people gathered when Park Tae-sun held a meeting in Busan. Tens of thousands of people gathered. And when he hit the pulpit, fire really came out. Tens of thousands of people who were there witnessed this. Fire flashed from the pulpit. And there were many people who saw it with their own eyes. All of that came from not knowing God. Can you imagine that? Even while being so close to the Bible and trying so hard to believe in Jesus well, we can unfortunately rely on fig leaves when we talk about the Bible.

 

Do you not sometimes think this? Those who do not come to church worry even when they go home. They worry even when they go out to play. “I am supposed to go to worship today, but I cannot miss it. I have to worship the Lord with our fellow believers.” Those who skip worship worry all day long. And they repent before the Lord. Those who come to church and go to worship say, “I worshiped today too. I came to God and said hello, and I stamped my attendance record, and I worshiped.” And you go home with a very rich heart.

 

Who is the person God is pleased with? It is a very ambiguous question.

 

I truly and genuinely want you to come out to worship God, be moved by the grace of the Lord, be truly grateful to God who has called me, a person who could never worship, into His grace, who has made me call on His name, praise His name, listen to His word, and made the Holy Spirit move my heart so that a small piece of His word warms me again in my life, and that I, who am nothing and who do not deserve anything, am in this place, and that this makes me look to God, and that it is so grateful that it is making me go to the Lord, even if it is a small amount like a fingernail, that there will be a gratitude and praise that cannot be compared to anything else on your way home and in the moment you are worshiping.

 

If that fruit is not in your life, we have not come to worship, but we have just gathered to watch worship, and we are watching a one-man show by a pastor. From the beginning, I lead the worship, I sing the praise the loudest, and I do the preaching and the final benediction. I do everything to the end, so you just have to sit and watch, do you not? If worship is like that for you, my beloved, let us think again.

 

You are people who do not have a single second of not participating in worship. That is why in the past, many pastors in the Reformed church got rid of the leader. They just praised and followed the order without a leader. Why? Because people started to look at the leader again. This is what we are like.

 

The Definition of Pride: Putting Anything Above the Word

If the purpose of coming to church and worshiping is mostly to listen to a sermon, you must truly examine yourself and repent. If you came to listen to a sermon, you might as well read the Bible at home. Do you come all this way and just listen to a sermon and go? If you do not have the question of why you are here to listen to the Word of God, what that Word means in your life, whether that Word truly saves you, and whether you live by the Word that comes from the mouth of God as the Bible says, why should we strive so hard for the Word of God? What is the meaning of attending worship, and what benefit is there for you sitting here? Our praises and our prayers can all become fig leaves. They are just a way of covering our faces before God, of getting out of our responsibility, and of living another week.

 

If that is the case, if that is how we are, my beloved, do not despair because of that, do not run away by saying, “I am only this much,” and please do not ask me, “What can I do? I am human, and this is all I can do,” but repent. Turn back. Turn back quickly. Please do not put it off until next week, but turn back today.

 

If you sing the same praise after this sermon is over, what will we become? If worship is now nearing its end, but your heart that came out to pray and praise and participate in God’s worship is the same as when you started, why are we gathering at all? Why are we trying to renew ourselves with this Word? My beloved, why should we take it for granted that we are going in the same way?

 

No. My beloved, we know very well that we are beings who cannot change on our own, but because we believe that God is the one who changes us even if we do not change, we are people who ceaselessly listen to the Word of God to this unchanging me. We are people who ceaselessly stand before the Word of the Lord, and who place our stubborn heart, which cannot be broken by anything, before the Word of the Lord. The same goes for the pastor, and the same goes for you who are listening.

 

A Commitment to Eternity

Beloved, believing in Jesus is not an accessory. It is not a game. It is not something you do to live your life with one religion in this world so that you can be comforted when your heart is hurting. My beloved, it is truly not. My beloved, if you do not believe in Jesus properly, your soul is decided. That is why God has established pastors, and that is why they try to preach the Word of God. This is because they are talking about death and life now. They are not talking about your 100 years in this world, but about eternity. You are now being asked what kind of joy and pleasure you will enjoy for all eternity in your life.

 

I know. The children, the food for tomorrow, the payments, and the job you have, I know our weakness that all of those things can fill your heart. God knows too. But, my beloved, do not let those things become your fig leaves. Do not try to cover yourself with them. Do not try to cover yourself with your disease or your weakness. You cannot deceive God. You cannot hide from Him. In front of the Lord, the only way to go is to go as we are, the only way is to carry our sins, the only way is to embrace our weaknesses, the only way is to open everything about ourselves. We cannot do or know anything else.

 

Therefore, now, throw away the fig leaves and put on the blood of Christ, the cross of Christ, the grace of Christ, and that amazing heavenly clothes that come from God, which Jesus Christ puts on us. Put it on. Do not cover yourself with the fig leaves you have, but put on Jesus Christ. Go in the name of Christ. When the Father asks you, when the Father questions you, when the Father asks who you are, do not speak with your face, do not stand with your clothes, but stand with the clothes of Jesus Christ. Stand with the grace of Christ.

 

The Pride That Cannot See Sin

Hosea speaks directly to Israel as he sees our condition. He says right there, Israel, you are arrogant. You are so arrogant. You cannot see your sin.

 

My beloved, if you listen to the sermon and you cannot see your own sin but you keep seeing the sins of others, please remember this word. If you cannot see your sin well, sin is in the closest place to you. It is so close that you cannot see it. If you listen to the Word of God and your heart is not pricked, my beloved, hit your chest. You are the most pitiful person. If you listen to the Word of God’s grace and you do not have the realization, “Ah, the Lord loves me,” my beloved, hit your chest. You are the most unfortunate person.

 

If you listen to the Word of the Lord and you say, “How can a sinner like me be in this place? I am a sinner. Lord, please leave me. I am a person who does not deserve to be in this place,” if that is in your lips and heart, praise and rejoice. The kingdom of God is not far from you, and praise and rejoice in God for being His child and standing before Him.

 

There are many ways to define pride, but today, in relation to our passage, I want to tell you just one thing. It is called pride to put anything above the Word. It can be tradition, it can be yourself, it can be missions, it can be your children, and sometimes it can be service. If you put anything above the Word of God, all of it is pride and idolatry.

 

The Bible says this.

 

“Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.”

 

You and I have a reality and a lesson about our lives that the Bible so clearly talks about, but we have so many ways. We try to serve God in the way we think is right. How many times do we think that God’s will is this because of our own experience? Why is your experience so important in serving God and doing the work of the Lord? Why is the experience you have had so far so important? “How I acted in this church in the past” is not important at all. “How I used to praise God in this church in the past” is not important at all.

 

My beloved, are your experience, your judgment, and your thoughts more precious than the Word of God? If not, now turn back and serve according to the Word of God.

 

A Commitment to Eternity

Does your service have an end? My beloved, I always learn from the Bible that Paul never taught us anything other than “to run the race and to be a drink offering for the Lord’s kingdom until I finish the race.”

 

To what extent are you trying to give yourself to God? If you want to serve the Lord “as much as I like and as much as I want,” then believe in another Bible. The Bible I know has no such thing. If the Bible guarantees you that “I am busy and have a lot to do, so I will serve God later,” then live like that with joy. If not, please turn back. Should we not be foolish?

 

Please serve God according to the Word that God has given us. Do not serve the Lord with the way you know, the method you have decided on, your experience, and what you have made for yourself, but please think about what you came to this place for and what you should go for until the end.

 

As I said last week, the Bible tells you very clearly. To become like Jesus Christ and bear the fruit of the Spirit until the last moment. You and I are people who do not die. There is no one among us who will die. You are people who plan for eternal life, not people who are preparing to die. You are not people who are preparing to retire. In that sense, you are not people who worry about “how to die well.” You should be worried about how to live eternally. As a person who has received God’s grace, you are a person who should think about how to live eternal life with God from now on and how to offer yourself.

 

Now that I am getting older and weaker, I am preparing for death. Cut out the verse from the Bible that says, “Even if he dies, he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die,” and then talk. Cut that out and then say, “Ah, I cannot do it anymore. I have done enough.” If you are going to do that, please cut that out and talk. If you say, “Ah, I do not know how to do it because I do not know the Bible well and I do not know what to do,” then ask and do it.

 

My beloved, living according to the Word of God is about not putting anything else above the Word of God. It does not match my heart. It is different from your experience. It is different from what we prepare. Which one is right?

 

Let us pray.

Loving Lord, you endured Israel again and again. You endured them from the beginning to the end. You endured until you became a worm and until you became a rotting mold. But they did not listen, and your heart gradually hardened.

 

Lord, you became a lion. You seized them and sent them to the painful and suffering road of Babylonian captivity. But they did not change and did not return. Lord, is that us?

 

But Lord, you told us through the last verse of Hosea 5 that you would wait for us like that and wait again. “They will seek me.” What is the heart of the Father who said that? How long will you endure us? What is the heart of the Father who gave us Jesus?

 

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.