Hosea 13 reveals God's mingled emotions of loving concern and righteous anger toward Israel due to their spiritual ruin and rebellion. The sermon traces Israel's decline from past humility and dependence on God to present pride and idolatry, emphasizing that self-exaltation leads to destruction. God's judgment is depicted as inevitable and severe, likened to predatory animals, yet the chapter also contains a profound promise of future redemption and restoration for Israel. The core lesson is that true help and salvation are found only in God, not in human understanding or self-reliance, urging listeners to depend wholly on Him.
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for one another, and the saints of God and the sick in particular. Beloved and blessed Father, we thank thee for the privilege that brings us into thy holy presence, a privilege that was only provided through the death of thy dear Son, to open the way into the holiest of all. And now we thank thee again for that finished work. which he accomplished upon the cross. How much we can rejoice when he was upon the earth he said to his own. And still he speaks today, saying, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No man cometh unto the Father but by me. And we thank thee that even as we draw near in prayer, it is by him alone. First of all, may we not thank thee. We do ask thee to make us more thankful in heart for the many blessings that thou dost bestow. We thank thee most of all for the blessing of redemption and salvation. Oh, the greatness of it, perfectly provided upon the person and upon the work of thy dearly beloved Son. And for this we thank thee. We join in the knowledge that when he finished the work, by himself upon the cross, to as we triumphed that he cried, It is finished.
And what joy to tell the world at large it is finished. Every John, tell me, sinner, this is all you need, tell me, is it not? And what joy to be able to proclaim a finished work that God has done through the person of his Son. And with the wise man of all, we would say, I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever, nothing shall be put to it, nor anything taken from it, and God doeth it, that men may fear before him. Father, we want to thank thee again. We rest our souls for time and eternity on the finished work of thy Son.
For we have saved thy grace through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is not of works. It is the gift of God, lest any man should boast. And we boast in the knowledge. It is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ that saves us alone. And then we have to thank you for the many blessings, the temporary blessings, the physical, the mental, the material. We bless the all good gifts. They come down from the barn, from the Father of Light, with whom is no variable, let me be the shadow of turning. And we would join together to thank thee for every blessing.
One thing we would add, Father, in respect to that, make us more thankful. And then we pray for one another. Are we blessed if we can lift our hearts for each other and for the children of God to the throne of grace? For answered prayer that thou hast given, in the case of some, We give thee our thanks and the preservation of our sister, Virginia McGee, in the recent accident she and her husband were in. We thank thee for thy grace to others whom thou hast brought out of the hospital. And we pray for those who are still in need of thy healing hand, if it be thy holy will. And we ask according to thy perfect will, minister to them in their need, restoring or giving grace to bear the burden.
Then we think of the sad heart of families today, Lord, all over this country and in the world, for one reason and another. And oh, how we pray that even the tragic experience of yesterday will have some spiritual blessing on some heart. But, oh, Father, these things do not happen without a purpose. And we know this. When the heart is melted, it is in a better condition to seek the Lord. And for those hearts that may have been melted through the tragedy of yesterday, may the Holy Spirit be able to minister either the gospel of thy grace to bring them to Christ, or if they are thine to bring thy comfort to them.
And then, Lord, we pray too. Remember our unsaved loved ones. and those who are thine in our families who may be away from the Lord. May thy spirit minister to their needs, saving the lost, restoring the saints. Now bless us as we look into thy word. Give us the teaching of thy Holy Spirit. Father, we ask, with dependence, we may know the spirit's power and his teaching as we look into thy word today. We ask it for the glory of our Savior and the blessing of each one of us in our Savior's precious name.
Amen. Chapter thirteen, we're in the book of Hosea. Chapter thirteen, we're coming to the closing chapters, only one more, and God willing, next week we'll be in the closing chapter fourteen. And then we plan to study, and I trust Every one of you have the outlines that we have on the prophecy of Joel to commence when we close with this book of Osir. If you need an outline of Joel, please be sure to get one before you leave. But may I read the chapter, Thirteen in the Prophecy of Osir. Note the words of God.
When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel. But when he offended in Baal, he died. Now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver and idols according to their own understanding. All of it, and sad to recall it, the work of the craftsmen. They say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud. and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the blower, and as the smoke out of the chimney.
Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no God but me, for there is no Saviour beside me. I did know thee in the wilderness in the land of great drought. According to their pasture, so were they filled. They were filled and their heart was exalted. Therefore have they forgotten me. Therefore I will be unto them as a lion. As the leopard by the way will I observe them. I will make them as a bear that is bereaved of the wealth. And will tend, rend rather the call of their heart.
And there will I devour them like a lion. And the wild beast shall tear them. O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thine help. I will be thy king. Where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities, and thy judges of whom thou shalt give me a king and princes? I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath. The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up, his sin, his head. The sorrows of a travailing woman, shall come upon him. He is, unfortunately, how sad is the commentary to read, he is as an unwise son, for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.
And then what a transition in the language as you read on. I will ransom them from the power of the grave. I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy plagues, O grave, I will be thy destruction. Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. Though he be fruitful among his brethren, and his wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up. He shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels. Samaria shall become desolate, for she hath rebelled against her God.
They shall fall by the sword, their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up. May God bless the reading and hearing of this word. I hope that you have noticed even in the reading of it how come in comparison the language that is expressed throughout the whole chapter. There is the language of God's loving concern for his dear people, and there is the language of God's anger and accusation for their unfortunate spiritual state. It's mingled together. You have to discern it and know it.
But in the contrast that we see, together with their past history and their present condition, in the days of Ozea, we have great lessons together. with God's grace and mercy toward them shown. Note the opening of the verse in chapter thirteen. The whole chapter concerns as your lesson sheet on page fourteen may say, Israel's ruin and judgment. And in verses one through eight, their spiritual ruin and God's judgment is declared. But note the opening word, the first half of the verse. When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel.
Now that was the past. There was a time when humbleness of spirit, humility of heart, when Israel spoke trembling. Let me give you an illustration of its meaning. If you've ever read the epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, the first epistle, he had to write to the Corinthians and to correct the fact that they were exalted in their own pride. You know, you can have spiritual pride. as well as pride in many other phases. But they were exalting themselves in that they had all gifts that the Spirit of God gave to his earthly people in the early church.
They were proud of it. But Paul had to correct that pride, for it led them astray morally and spiritually into paths of disobedience that displeased God. But when Paul wrote to them, In chapter one and chapter two, particularly chapter one, he makes mention of the fact, when I came in your midst, I came with fear and trembling. For he recognized that in the spirit of meekness and, perhaps more than anything, dependence, as he came into the city of Corinth with the gospel, He felt his inadequacy, and he felt his weakness.
Remember later on in St. Corinthians, he makes comment in chapter twelve, when I am weak, then am I strong. Now he's speaking of a spiritual principle. When we're in the spirit of dependence before God, he will exalt us. It's the principle in the word. Jesus said, He that exalt us himself shall be abased. but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. And there's a time in Israel's past history, as the prophet writes, and God speaks, when they tremble, manifesting that fear, godly fear, and dependence before the Lord. And God exalted them.
But now note the rest of the verse. When he offended in Baal, he died. Read your lesson's comment under the number one in letter A. Israel's past humbleness, and now their present pride. In the beginning of their national history, they were dependent upon God and spoke with trembling. Now they are self-exalted, passed up with pride. May I just take the lesson to my own heart, trusting that you do the same, that you and I may realize, it's still the same principle, that if we're to be exalted by God... We must humble ourselves.
I think of Peter writing in his first epistle, chapter five. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he carers for you. Peter knew what it was for God to humble him, as you well know. But oh, how he counseled, humble yourselves. And beloved may I say, if you and I will humble ourselves, God won't have to do it. But I tell you, if you don't do it, He will. And so that's what happens here. Now we go to verse two, and we can find in verse two, unfortunately their continued sinning and their spiritual decline.
And what tragic words did God have to say? Now they sin more and more. They sin more and more. Beloved, may I say? make a contemporary application what do you think the world's doing what do you think mankind is doing today just in our own country as well as the whole world for that matter may I be reminded with you what Paul wrote to the in second Timothy chapter three that in the last days even men shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
Now look, here's a moral spiritual lesson. God recognizes, God notices when sin increases amongst his own people. And as in the case here, as well as in the whole world, God takes notice of it. I remember reading a lovely little track. He was written, a little booklet during World War II. And the title of it was The Lord Rainer, taken from one of the Psalms, I think, the ninety-six. And he spoke of the Lord raining over the circumstances of men. But in that was a little item of an incident during the great earthquake of San Francisco.
When way back in the early part of our century, the city was so devastated by that great earthquake, a salesman came to the city after the earthquake. And he was so destroyed he couldn't find his way around, though he'd been there many times before. And he hired a little boy that lived there to take him where he wanted to go from business place to place if he could find them. And the little fellow, though, he was small, noticed that the man was astonished. Astonishment was written over his whole face as he saw the rubble and the destruction all around him. And as the little lad noticed the face on the countenance of the man, He looked up and said, Mr.
Take no use, is it, for the fellow to think that he can lick God? Wise words. Wise words. And so we can recognize, for Israel, God knew that they were sinning more and more. And then as you go further on, and you have him sinning what they did, they made molten images of silver. And also, idols, according... Now, please note, according to their own understanding. When you leave God out, you fall in your own way. Your own thinking. Now, I want to tell you, human positive thinking can take you away from God.
We're sometimes encouraged by some preachers even to do some positive thinking. Let me tell you something. If you want to do the right kind of thinking, may it always be thinking of the word of God. Not doing things of your own understanding. Let me quote Proverbs rather, chapter three, five and six. You know the word. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path. Belabor, let me say, and I need it. John, don't depend on your own understanding. The more helpless you feel, the more dependent you can be upon God.
And really, that's the hardest lesson to learn. But I believe it's a lesson that God can truly bless us through if we will learn it. But they built their idols according to their own understanding. And let me make a comparison. a contemporary application today. How many today are building their businesses on their own understanding? How many ventures are being made by mankind on their own understanding? And the very development of science to death. You know what it is? It's a tough man's own knowledge of and outside the fact, instead of the knowledge of God, the desire to develop their own understanding.
And he leads astray from God, and know what he did here is the prophet writes, and they say, Let the man kiss the cab. Now here you can recall again, what we mentioned before, there in Israel, after the secession from Judah and Benjamin, they built one idol, At one end of the nation of Israel, the Ten Tribes, and another at the other. And under Jeroboam, they put in a false system of worship, false gods, false priesthood, false sacrifices, either. How sad to realize.
Just one minute. Let me say something. What you have is the similarity to the golden calf that Aaron built. When Moses was on the Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights, and the people demanded that he make them a God. And poor Aaron, he should have known better. He did know better, but he did worse. He followed their desires, and he built the golden calf. And when Moses asked for an explanation, he just made references, though he just threw the gold in a into something and it came out of camp. Well, beloved, they built it. They shaped it. They worshipped it. And when Moses came down in all their nakedness, they were practicing the heathen rites that God had forbidden them.
The golden... The golden calf is still in the world today. Gold is the aspiration, if not literally, In principle, it represents the aspiration of the human heart. Let me give you a contrast. In Scripture, to the child of God, it represents the glory of God. That's the goal for the believer, as you have it in the person of God, the Father, Son, and even Spirit. And let me give you a reminder. Chapter three of First Corinthians, the judgment seat of Christ, In that coming day when we stand before the Lord and have our lives repraised, Paul writes in chapter three and verse twelve, there will be revealed gold, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, stubble.
Now it's just this, beloved. You either go after the gold down here or you go after the gold until you get in gold. Which do you want? I'll tell you one thing, the gold you get down here and you're going to lose it all. Today, men are on the gold standard, so to speak, in temporal desire. The believer ought to be on the gold standard, too, living his and her life to the glory of God. Don't kiss the golden cash down here. Now, may I point out something? That kiss is an emblem of affection and devotion. And you know, when the prodigal came home in chapter fifteen of Luke, the Father embraced him and kissed him.
And it was the kiss of reconciliation and affection. But, beloved, let me say, I'd rather have the kisses of the Lord Jesus and my Father above than the kisses of the world apart from God. Song of Solomon is a lovely expression. And beautiful in its type. If you find the Lord Jesus as the bridegroom of the church. And in chapter one, the writer said, Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. Here it is in the book. His mouth.
His words. His truth. Revealing himself. Beloved Lord. May you and I. Stay away from the golden calf down here. But enjoy the one who is altogether lovely and the fairest of ten thousand. But now let's go on. As you please notice on you, we won't refer to the scripture directly. But in that paragraph too, they continued sinning and in spiritual decline. They added idolatry to idolatry. began with the two calves in Bethel and Dan. And you got the scripture reminding us of it in verse Kings twelve. Idolatry then flourished on all sides.
Now as we go to verses three and eight, we find God's determined judgment. Please know verse three. Therefore, as one of my preacher friends often said, when you read the word therefore, try to find out what it's therefore. And it is because of their idolatry. Therefore, They shall be as the morning clouds, as the early dew that passes away, as the chaff that is driven with the wall went out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney. Well, you've got comment very clearly. They would be like the chaff and so on, and by a whirlwind and a smoke disappear. You have the metaphor.
Beautiful. The morning cloud, it disappears. The early dew of the morning passes away. And the chat, the wind blows it away from the threshing floor. And the whirlwind out of the floor. And the smoke out of it disappears. And what God is declaring, the determined judgment, God would make them disappear. They would not remain. Now, where we come, I think it's in chapter fourteen, we'll find that God uses the same illustration in regard to his blessings. And as the morning dew, he will bless his people with prosperity and blessing.
But here you have what the dew is like in relation to their idolatry and their waywardness. God's judgment will bring the disappearance of it. But when God blesses in the millennial kingdom, the dew is going to stay down in the type of its blessing. And what Joyner realized The morning clouds will disappear to be a bright day of glory. But when in disobedience they wander away from God, they disappear. And the smoke coming out of the chimney? Well, you know where it goes. It disappears out of sight. And so we may indeed realize the disappearance under God's judgment regarding even his people here.
And yet, know what God says? He gives them a reminder. Let me know verse four through six with you. He reminds them of his former relationship with them. Yet I'm the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt. Thou shalt know no God but me. For there is no Savior beside me. I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great doubt. And there, according to their pasture, they were, so were they filled. They were filled. And then their heart was exalted. Therefore have they forgotten me. Past history. I wonder if some of you may remember an old hymn.
I don't know when I heard it. It's got beyond ten years. When upon life billows you a tempest off. And so on. Count your many blessings. Thinking all is lost. Count your many blessings. name them one by one. It will surprise you what the Lord has done. Did you ever notice in the book of Deuteronomy, when God reviews the children of Israel's pathway through the wilderness, he virtually, as he reviews them, tells them, remember the path. Remember how I've led you through the wilderness. And Beverly is stating the same thing here. He's reminding them what he did in the past.
And beloved, one old hymn has put it this way that I've enjoyed. And I'll preach, how good is the God we adore? Our faithful, unchanging, changeable friend, whose love is as great as his power and knows neither measure nor end. She's Jesus, the first and the last, whose spirit will guide us safe home, will praise him for all that is tasked, and trust him for all that is to come. Beloved, let me say, have you got past blessings? Don't forget them. Don't forget them. Bless the Lord, oh my soul. All that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, oh my soul. Friend, forget not what? All is benefit. Well, I guess we're all acquainted with the fact we have good forgetteries. And God has the reminders. He reminds us. He reminds us. Look what I did for you in the past. Let me quote another little poem. Used to have it in my mirror, in the dress of mirror when I was first married, we had it in the mirror. God is faithful. Not that he has been or that he will be. Both are true, but God is faithful now. In this sore trial, he is faithful now to you.
And beloved Lord, if he's been faithful to you in the past, you can depend upon him being faithful to you now. as well as in the future. Don't forget it. But as God has to say, do you please note it, as you notice at the end of verse six, though he took care of them in the wilderness, they were filled. Then their heart became exalted, therefore they have forgotten me. You know how I had to learn a very bitter lesson one time that brought home a truth from the book of the Proverbs to my heart. Now I want to pass it on to you. The proverb writer wrote, He that trusts us in his own heart is a fool.
And there are occasions, especially when you're young, have it matured properly, and get some self-exaltation in your head. You're overlooking. Oh, I'll never go wrong. Trusting ones, don't trust in your own heart. I think one of my closest friends in my earliest Christian walk, we were saved about the same time. We lived near one another. We often went away together and stayed with one another, slept with one another, went to the meetings with one another. And when I saw my good friend that I thought was that he was getting away from the Lord, You exalt yourself.
Let me give you another example you've done in the history of Israel at the beginning. When after the great victory of Jericho, they came the next battle was deceit in a small city. Why? They trusted in their own heart. They took not counsel of the Lord. Beloved, let me say. The more you're dependent upon God, we should be entirely dependent upon him, the safer you are. That's safer you are. So when the heart becomes exalted, no, therefore, God sent me. Now here's something interesting. I hope you'll follow me carefully. Let me read verse seven and together with verse eight.
Therefore, and again, note what is therefore, therefore I will be unto them as a lion, as a leper by the way. Will I observe them? I will make them as a bear that is bereaved of their wealth. I will render call of their heart. And there will I defile them like a lion, and the wild beast shall tear them. Now I want you to notice something. Go with me to the book of Daniel chapter seven. You know in what we have read, you've got four particular animals mentioned. You've got the lion and the leopard and the bear as well as the wild beast. Please go with me to Daniel chapter seven, because there's something beyond the literalness of these words before us in relation to prophecy.
And let me read with you in Daniel chapter eleven, just part of the chapter, beginning at verse one only, if you please. And I will only read down, if I may, to part down part of the chapter. In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions of his head upon his bed. Then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night. Behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea, and you've got In typical language, you've got the great sea representing the nations of the earth in their restless character.
And the winds of the heaven, God's spirit moving regarding what will take place. And then you'll find the appearance of four great beasts came up from the sea different, one from another. The purse was like a lion. Had eagle's wings. I behold, all the wings thereof were plucked. And it was lifted up from the earth, made stand upon the feet as a man. A man's heart was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear. It raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it, between the teeth of it. They said thus unto it, arise devour much flesh. After this I beheld unto another like a leper, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl.
The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. After this in the night visions, behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly. And it had great iron teeth. It devoured and break in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it. And it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. And stop right there with the reading. All we need is that portion for the application of our lesson. Look at your lesson sheet particularly. And as we think of the book of Isaiah's prophecy, as we have just read it, and God's words in reference to his attitude as a lion and as a bear and as well as a leopard and a bear and a beast.
Look your paragraph we have on page fourteen. Let me read it quickly. The wild beasts symbolize the Gentile powers who destroyed them. Now let me please state the chronology of your prophets as they are written are not in sequel. Daniel was written after Hosea wrote years before. But Daniel writes what God has done, even through the history of the Gentile age, raising up Gentile powers against the earthly people in their judgment. Now let me finish the reading of it.
When Judah fell, the Babylonian power, under the lion, typical of the lion, destroyed them. Next came the Medo-Persian Empire, the bear. And then the Grecian, typified by the leopard. Finally the Roman Empire, typified by the wild beasts of Daniel seven, as you've got it in the vision. Now let me verify that. You may remember, we'll not turn to it. In chapter two of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar had that dream. You remember of that image of a man with a head of gold, the breast and the arms of a silver and the belly and thigh of copper, and the legs of iron and the feet of iron and clay.
And in the interpretation of that dream, which Daniel gave to the king, he told him, Nebuchadnezzar, you're the head of gold. It represents the Gentile power of Babylon in all of its glory, humanly speaking. And Daniel told the king, the God of heaven has given you that kingdom. And it was the most glorious Gentile kingdom ever known, ruling over the then-known earth. Then followed, and you know the deterioration of the metals, silver, the Medo-Persian. And then followed the Grecian, typified by the brass and copper. Then the Roman Empire, which we well know was divided as the two legs symbolized into two divisions, before it ended.
And the last stage of it, you have at the feet the ten-toed kingdom of iron mixed with clay. Now, Daniel was given the same vision, but when God gave it to Daniel, he didn't describe Nebuchadnezzar and the kingdom as the head of gold, nor the Medo-Persian as silver, the Grecian as copper or brass, or the Roman as iron. He described them as beasts. That was their moral character before God. And the lion, and the bear, and the leopard, and then the wild beast of the Roman power, which is more ferocious than the preceding ones, in their strength to crush and to bruise.
Now look, long before, even to Ozea, God said, my judgment's going to come. And it's going to be as a lion, it's going to be as a bear, it's going to be as a weapon, it's going to be as a beast. And Daniel was given that. Now please note, as Hosea speaks of it in chapter thirteen, let me just read the closing words of verse eight. The wild beast shall tear them. Can I just say lovingly, sacredly? The dear people of Israel, haven't they been torn to pieces? As a nation.
God's word has come true throughout the century. And God said, now please note the words, I will tear them. And of course, he uses his chosen instrument. I don't know whether you've ever noticed that. In Jeremiah, I'm not sure if it's chapter fifty-one, but in Jeremiah either fifty or fifty-one, God calls Nebuchadnezzar my servant. Why was he his servant? He used them to punish his people. And whenever God used men, all nations of men, to punish his people, it was his divine choice And later on, don't fret about it.
He also speaks of his judgment against that nation, for their atrocities against his people. But who may I say? When I do it very solemnly, the dear people of Israel that now remain are going to find all the nations arrayed against them before the Messiah comes back in Gaul. The stage is being set. And one can recognize, as we shall come into chapter fourteen, as well as in the prophecy of Joel, we will be able to recognize the end of the age will bring their final deliverance, but also it will bring their greatest trouble.
Let's go on. Verse nine to eleven, we find Israel's destruction continuing to be referred to. O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself. Well, when people make themselves self-made men, well, that's about all the amounts of them. Thou hast destroyed thyself. Oh, beloved Lord. There's one principle of truth the world doesn't realize. When God's judgments come in affliction upon a nation, they never realize that it's the hand of God in retribution.
And it is the fact that they destroyed themselves. Now I'm sure there's many a mind, many a heart, many a person today have been praying, why did God permit that to happen in that tragedy of yesterday? Look, you can't blame God. We can't say in the words of Hosea that God says here, O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself. Our earthly ambition, apart from God, lead us away from that. And self-destruction comes upon us because of our failure, sin, children.
We don't know what the Lord asked. But in me is thy help. And what you have, very plainly, there's no turning to God. There's no calling upon God from the house. Our blessed are the words of the psalmist when he says, Then he will look, From whence cometh my help? In Psalm one hundred and twenty-one. From whence cometh my help? My help cometh from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Now where do you get your help? Beloved, let me say this. Don't you depend upon the United States government to give you the help you need? Or any other group?
Or any other nation? Recognize, as David said, the Lord is my helper. I will not see what man can do unto me. I want to join in. In me is my help. Oh, beloved, Do you ever faith, and sometimes we do, an impassable situation? What can we do? I think of one or two problems in my own personal concern today. And all I can say, Lord, I don't know the way out. I don't know the answer. All I can say, Lord, in me is my house.
Like Jehoshaphat of old in First Chronicles chapter twenty. when he prayed surrounded by the Ammonites and the Moabites, outnumbering the people of Jerusalem and Judah. And as he prayed unto the Lord with his people, closing the prayer by saying, Neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. He knew his help was in the Lord. And the Lord answered. He could read the account beautifully as well as completely, delivering that. Oh, beloved, may I say, look, those words, how we need them in our hearts, God telling us in me is thy house.
And then as you go on, you find God speaking what they had done. And God is saying, I'll be thy king. And where is there any other that may save thee in all thy cities, thy judges of whom thou saith one time, give me your king and princes. You remember we went back in the days of Saul, Samuel, and they cried to Samuel. They went to Samuel. The elders all met together. They had a committee meeting. They didn't have a prayer meeting. Do you ever notice that? We sure have a lot of committees today in the Lord's world, don't we? There's more committees meetings than prayer meetings.
And Israel, the elders came together. We need a king, like the nations around us. They went to Samuel, and Samuel was heartbroken. He was opposed to it. God was their king. And may I say this, Israel gave up God as their king to get a man as their king. Now know what God says in verse eleven. I gave thee a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath. You know it was, Saul, the man in the flesh. He was little David, a man after God's own heart. He was Saul, towering head and shoulders over the people who were so big.
Trouble was, Saul was all head. David, thank God, was all heart. But God in his anger, when they demanded it, and God told Samuel, Samuel, let him have it. Let him have it. They've not sinned against you, Samuel. They sinned against me. No one can recognize. As you look at verse thirteen, verse eleven, I gave them a king in my anger and took him away in my wrath. And the iniquity of Ephraim is bound up. And he's trying to hide his sin. Let me read the paragraph on the paragraph four on your lesson sheet. Five, rather. Ephraim clung deliberately to his sin.
Their iniquity was bound up. And the Lord would see that they were punished. Here's a scripture I like to go back to in Deuteronomy chapter thirty-two and verse thirty-four. You know, it's amazing if you read the book of Deuteronomy and particularly the closing chapters, closing the life of Moses, oh, you find so many things that Moses foretold relating to the people of Israel and their future. And in chapter thirty-two, Let me read verse thirty-four only. And you have these words that Moses wrote. I'm reading, if I may, in verse thirty-four.
Is not this laid up in store with me and sealed up among my... That's not the righteous. Let's see. Well, let me read on. To him belongeth vengeance and recompense. Their foot, in verse thirty-two, their foot shall slide in due time. Let me note these words. This is the verse that really is the one we wanted. Verse thirty-two. To me belongeth vengeance and recompense. Their foot shall slide in due time. For the day of their calamity is at hand.
And the things that shall come upon them make haste. Oh, beloved, how faithful was the warning of God? And Moses foresaw, by the Spirit, that he that the children of Israel would sign. This must be where you get the thought of backsliding. In fact, you find the prophet, Jeremiah, Isaiah, speaking much in the prophets of the backsliding of God's earthly people, Israel. And they deliberately cling to their sin, and thus they increase their suffering. Go back to our chapter, please. Let me read in verse thirteen that sorrows of a prevailing woman shall come up. He is an unwise son, for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking cause of children.
Look, if you please, on your letter sheet, referring to this thirteen verse, sorrow will be increased. And on your lesson sheet you have this thought. Increasing sorrow would be their portion. And how suggestive of the coming day of trouble. And you've got Jeremiah. Find Jeremiah chapter thirty. I'd like to read verse six and seven, I believe, in that portion of Jeremiah, which refers to the day of Jacob's trouble. Chapter thirty. Verse, may I please? Read verse four, five, six.
and seven. And here you have a prophetic scripture of the great tribulation that is yet to come. These are the words that the Lord said concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus said the Lord, we have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, not of peace. Let me just pause for a moment. Will you think of Israel and Judah right now? Are they not in a condition, and do they not hear a voice of trembling fear? They're surrounded with it. The whole nation is surrounded by those that hate them.
And to them, what it can mean, a voice of trembling and one of fear, not of peace. Oh, please, look. You look at that verse. And you can be rest assured that they'll never find peace and settle the Middle East problem from the hands of men. They're not going to hear peace. They're not going to hear peace. But go further. Ask ye now and see whether a man doth travail with child. Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins as a woman in travail? And all faces are turned into paleness.
May I say lovingly, the worst is yet to come for Israel. Now know verse seven. Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob's trouble or sorrow. But he shall be saved out of it. And that day of Jacob's trouble and trial, day of sorrow, is that coming great tribulation. And Hosea, by the Spirit, refers to the sorrow that comes because of their waywardness and departure from God. But now go to verse fourteen of our chapter, please, in Hosea.
And here you have God coming in. Please let me say what we did at the beginning. You have God's accusation, then you have subtlety. The manifestation of God's interference and intervention coming. Now know, I will ransom them from the power of the grave. I will redeem them from death. Oh, death, I will be thy plagues. Oh, grave, I will be thy destruction. Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. Now, I want you to think of something with me. I know as you read those words, if you're familiar with your New Testament, You may remember that in First Corinthians chapter fifteen, that great resurrection chapter, when the rapture comes, we shall all be changed, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
And at that moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. And then shall be brought to pass the saying, the death is swallowed up in victory, And you've got a dual anthem. Oh, Jack, where is thy sting? Oh, Gray, where is thy victory? And when you think of the rapture, the dear ones that have gone will be raised from the grave, and if you and I are living, will be changed. And both of us, all of us, will be transfigured. transformed with glorified bodies but note the anthem some will be able to sing the living that have changed will sing oh death where is thy sting the dead oh grave where is thy victory now that's a reference and it's a quotation from mosaic too but in its teaching it has to do with the church but here it has to do with Israel and God is going to bring note your paragraph on your page God will ransom them, and Israel will be raised from their national debt.
May I please say, and I want to make this a point and an emphasis, in Ezekiel chapter thirty-seven, as well as in Daniel chapter twelve, you've got the prophecy that God's going to bring Israel out of the dust of the grave. Now please, I know some of the best Bible teachers that will make that a physical resurrection, to which I do not agree. It's a national resurrection. The national resurrection of Israel. And you can read it clearly, and it's explained clearly in Ezekiel thirty-seven. And there's one thing, contrary to some of the best teachers I know in the country, Daniel twelve is no exception either.
If you say Daniel twelve is a literal fatherly resurrection of the dead Israelites, you can't do it. Because also he speaks about those that are not only blessed, those that are cursed. They're not going to be brought on the depths of the earth in their physical bodies. It's a resurrection of the nation of Israel. And God by the prophet says, there are amongst the graves of the Gentiles. There are amongst the dust of the Gentiles. I'm going to deliver them. And how true that will be, Israel will be raised up among the dust of the nation. Oh, beloved Lord, don't misinterpret the word of God.
All I can say is the words of dear old brother, petting you one time, I recall him saying, he said, when it comes, when somebody says, all these blessings are literally for Israel, he said, I agree, but he says, I'm going to enjoy the spiritual blessings, I can get out of it too. And you've got that here from your New Testament. But you can recognize it's a literal promise that church was not known in that vein. But thank God, God, I'm going to do it. Do you remember what we read at the end of verse nine? It may be, say, how? And you come to verse fourteen. And God says, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it.
No. Please let me say, I don't care how you look at the conditions of the world today. Don't you ever expect a United States government or any other nation to put Israel in their place where they can enjoy peace? Yes. They must go through the greatest trial of their experience as a nation. Then the Lord goes away. Now let's close with the reading of the course, the fifteen and sixteen, where God tells of the approaching judgment and desolation. It describes the horrors of coming judgment at the hand of the Assyrians for the ten tribes of Israel. Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and its spring shall become dry.
Note those words. The source of his blessing will dry up, and its fountains shall be dried up. He shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels, and Samaria shall become desolate. for she hath rebelled against her God. They shall crawl by the sword. Their infants shall be dashed in pieces. Their women with child shall be ripped off. And beloved, may I say, may I say this, as you read those solemn, sad, tragic words, they literally were fulfilled. Now let me give you this thought. When you read the book of Jonah, did you ever know why Jonah ran away from God? He knew the cruelty And the atrocities that the Assyrians did to his people.
He didn't want to give Nineveh any chance to repent. He wanted them destroyed. That's why he ran away from God. You find it in chapter three. He mentions it to God. I knew you were a merciful God. But they actually did these things. So did the Babylonians. Philander, please let me say. God is blunt that God is true when he describes the atrocities that the enemy carried out against his own earthly people. And please let me remind you, he never forgot it. And he had his own vengeance upon the oppressed. How great is thou gone?
But oh, if there's one lesson that we can carry away, shall he not be in those words? In me is thy heart. May the Lord help us. We sing that old hymn, Leaning on the Everlasting God. I'll tell you one thing. How many folks are leaning on him? He can sure hold anybody up. And I think of the words in closing of the Song of Solomon, chapter eight, verse five. Who is this that cometh up out of the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? No, beloved, may you and I, you lean as hard as you want to. For the eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting earth.
And if you go down, keep going down. You can't go lower than the arms. They're always underneath, shall we pray? Oh, Father, we thank you for the lesson. The Holy Spirit is illumined to our hearts in this study of the chapter today, lighted indelibly upon our consciences and in our lives. With sciences, Father, we can always depend upon God, though we can't depend upon ourselves nor any other. And we ask that, please teach us this lesson, for we ask it to give him these sciences in our Savior's worthy name. Amen.
I remember seeing in the city of Rochester in my early days a bulletin board at a certain church where I knew the preacher was a fundamental man. And on the course of July, around that, he had these words on the bulletin board. Had you declared, you know they call it Independence Day,