Hosea 13

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

God Is Righteous in His Judgment of Sinful People

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. God is righteous in His judgment.

  2. God is resolute in His judgment.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Do you know the one true Savior?

QUESTIONS

  1. “Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!“ (Hosea 13:2) What does this mean?

  2. What did Hosea preach and for how long?

  3. Why did God later remove the Northern Kingdom of Israel?

  4. Who did God use to punish Israel?

ANSWERS

  1. The calves refer to the two golden calf idolatrous shrines that existed in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. King Jeroboam I had set up these calf idols in the 10th Century B.C. when the Northern Kingdom of Israel had separated and become independent from the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The Northern Kingdom continued to go downhill morally and spiritually. They were worshiping idols instead of going to Jerusalem to worship at the true house of God.

  2. Hosea’s messages warned Israel of the coming judgment. He preached for over forty years.

  3. Because Israel left all the commandments of God, made idols and served Baal. See 2 Kings 17:16-17.

  4. The Assyrian Empire.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Because of Israel’s sin, God said that He would have to judge them. They would become like a disappearing morning cloud, or evaporating dew, or vanishing smoke. They would be like chaff blown away by the wind. This is a description of the treatment that Israel would receive from the Lord. Israel started out with great potential in the Northern Kingdom, but she turned to idolatry and died spiritually. They sinned more and more, and in response to God's leading and care, Israel’s heart was exalted and they forgot the Lord. God’s fairness in justice is often questioned, but He has the big picture, and He is righteous in His judgment. Unfortunately, some believers today have followed the same path. The Lord has blessed, but they have become exalted and proud and have forgotten the Lord. Could this be true of you? Do you ever question God’s fairness in justice? Remember, He has the big picture, whereas you have only a very small view of what is going on, both in the world and in your life. Trust God’s righteous judgment.

  2. God is resolute (determined) in His judgment. Judgment came to Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, in 722 B.C. The Assyrians came like Sirocco, the scorching east wind from the desert that dries up all in its path. So much for Ephraim’s fruitfulness and fountain. Just as God was resolute in His judgment of Israel, so is He today. Judgment will come when sin is ignored.

  3. “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. “O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction!”” (Hosea 13:14; 1 Corinthians 15:55). Israel was doomed, and the judgment of God was sure. This is a prediction of Israel’s future national resurrection after her judgment. The portion quoted by Paul is positive in that the believer who has trusted in the saving grace of Christ will have victory over death because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Do you have victory over death?

CHALLENGE

  1. “There is no Savior besides Me.” (Hosea 13:4) God is righteous in His judgment and He is resolute in His judgment, but there is a way of salvation from God’s judgment on sin. However, there is only one way of salvation, and it is God’s way. God’s way is through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because he died for our sins. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Do you know the one true Savior?

KEY VERSES

  • “Ephraim spoke, trembling, he exalted himself in Israel…he offended through Baal worship, and died. Now they sin more and more, and have made for themselves molded images, all of it the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, 'They kiss the calves!” Hosea 13:1-2

  • “They shall be like the morning cloud, and like the dew that passes away, like chaff blown off from a threshing floor and like smoke from a chimney.” Hosea 13:3

  • “Yet I am the Lord your God…and you shall know no God but Me; for there is no Savior besides Me.” Hosea 13:4

  • “They were filled and their heart was exalted; therefore they forgot Me.” Hosea 13:6

  • “I will ransom them from the power of the grace; I will redeem them from death, 'O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction!'” Hosea 13:14

Hosea, Old Testament, TalksDeb HarmsHosea 13