Lectionary Calendar

Thursday, November 21st, 2024
the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33

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Bible Commentaries
Hosea 7

HoseaHos 6 HoseaHos HoseaHos 8

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Verses 1-16

Intro:
1. Outline: Hosea gives four images to show what God thinks of those who profess His name but continue their rebellious way of life.
  1. A Hot Oven; A Cake unturned; A Silly Dove; A Faulty Bow.
2. See Judges 20:16 for a definition of the word sin in the OT.
  1. To miss the mark(in Gk also).
  2. Israel had missed the mark…big time!
    1. Illus - MPD/range/Jim Ganley/shotgun/slugs.
  3. It could be said of Israel “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Mt.7:27
4 IMAGES! (1-5)
1. A HOT OVEN! (1-7)
2. (1) Your sin is always naked before God, “Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.” Ps.139:12
3. (4) It refers to excessive sexual desires primarily portraying them as intense fires that drive the adulterer, & eventually consume him.
  1. “Lust is the craving for salt by a man who is dying of thirst.”
  2. Unbridled lust: “A cannibal committing suicide by nibbling on himself.”
4. (7) Hot like an oven – Show oven pictures!
  1. The most primitive method of baking bread was the laying of cakes of dough on heated stones.
    1. 1 Kings 19:6 “Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals(hot stones), and a jar of water.”
  2. The pitcher-oven – A stone pitcher placed over a fire, w/a hole in the top. Often bread was rolled out thin & placed “on” the oven.
  3. Then there were the semipublic ovens, or the public bakers.
    1. Jer.37:21 “Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah to the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was gone.”
    2. This seems to be the oven Hosea speaks of(6).
  4. Often the bible speaks of passion referring to burning or fire.
    1. i.e. “For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.”1Cor.7:9
      1. Explain: not an excuse to marry right away as many use it, but it proves you don’t have the other gift, that of celibacy.
    2. I we ask, “is fire good or bad” that would depend on whether it is contained!
    3. Fire in an oven(good). Fire in a forest(bad).
    4. The desire for sin can smolder like a fire in an oven, & then blaze when the opportunity comes.
  5. Q: So how do you stomp out passions? The same way you stomp out fires! (2 ways) [1] Deprive it of oxygen! [2] Don’t feed nor fan the flame!
    1. [1] Deprive it of oxygen! – Starve the eyes!
    2. [2] Don’t feed nor fan the flame! – Look at Job 31:1-12
      1. “lurked at my neighbors door” – Have you?
    3. Married folk - Be warned of opposite sex friendships! – Stopping by & having coffee w/your friends wife while her husband is not home. Oh, I know it’s purely innocent…“right now!” {I have too many of those stories that started “so innocent!”}
    4. Don’t lurk at your neighbor’s door!
5. (5-7) This is exactly what happened to the last handful of Israel’s kings before captivity.
  1. The rulers were encouraged to get drunk & party at the festivals(5).
  2. Then the coup went for a more stealthy approach(6).
  3. The result?…the rulers fell(7).
6. A CAKE UNTURNED! (8-10)
7. Q: What do you find yourself “mixed with”? (mixed is opposite of pure)
8. ½ Baked! – Cooked more than enough on 1 side but completely undone on the other!
  1. This represented something that was useless, & that would make you sick…as it did God!
  2. Laodicea was simply “lukewarm”…what about cake/bread ½ which was raw?
  3. Don’t be a ½ baked Christian! – That’s when someone doesn’t allow their religion to go deep into their lives, but is only a surface thing.
  4. Charge your soul…whether this is your case? – Q: Are you thorough in the things of God? Q: Am I sanctified spirit, soul, body?Q: Is there the appearance of holiness in one place of your life & reigning sin in another?...you will be a cake not turned!
  5. Q: have you met someone burnt on one side of their Christianity & doughy on the other? (i.e. – as zealous as a Pharisee in one area, & yet so liberal in another)
  6. Our prayer… “Oh Lord, cook me through on both sides. Show me my doughy weaknesses. Show me the areas I’m charred in, my pethobby horses I continue to study & ride!”2.8.6.1. Now be ready for the Lord w/His heavenly spatula to flip you& your life completely over!
9. (9) Grey hair…& he does not know it – You don’t notice your own grey hairs growing in. Then you run into someone who hasn’t seen you in a while!!!
  1. Israel had no clue they were in “national old age”.
  2. Israel was losing their strength but was ignorant of the change!
  3. It was like Samson who, “did not know that the LORD had departed from him.”
  4. Daily Bread(Oct.10. 2001) “Sin adds to your trouble, subtracts from your energy, & multiplies your difficulties.”
10. A SILLY DOVE! (11,12)
11. Q: What do you usually think of when you hear dove? (beauty or peace)
  1. Here it suggests a helpless creature, easily deceived & senseless.
  2. Illus. - Morning Dove at Starbucks a few weeks ago, flew onto the ladies table & stayed there.
  3. Israel had forsaken God, her only true source of national security.
    1. She does not know where to turn: she was unstable, flitting about form one political ally to another.
    2. She looked to Egypt down south. She looked to Assyria to the east…but not to God!
  4. So, God is going to pull her down!(12)
12. A FAULTY BOW! (13-16)
13. This is not only useless…but down right dangerous!
  1. This was also used in Ps.78:57.
    1. God had trained Israel to Fly Straight & how to hit the target!
  2. The one who puts his trust in a weapon like this will fall to his enemies. You cannot depend on a weapon like that.
    1. I have a little 22 automatic pistol I no longer shoot, because it sticks.
    2. You can’t depend on it!
    3. Q: Can God depend on you? Q: Are you dependable?
    4. An arrow needs to be: straight, sharp, balanced, & have flight-stabilizing vanes! (And so we need to be)
  3. Q: In the battle against evil, are you a weapon God can depend on?
  4. Q: So what do we do? (Let’s take advantage of having the end of the story & jump ahead to 14:1,2,4-6)
14. As we worship meditate on: How your devotion to the Lord is!
  1. Q: How lasting is it? How deep is it? How strong is it? How serious is it? How dependable is it?

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Verses 1-16

Intro:
1. Outline: Hosea gives four images to show what God thinks of those who profess His name but continue their rebellious way of life.
  1. A Hot Oven; A Cake unturned; A Silly Dove; A Faulty Bow.
2. See Judges 20:16 for a definition of the word sin in the OT.
  1. To miss the mark(in Gk also).
  2. Israel had missed the mark…big time!
    1. Illus - MPD/range/Jim Ganley/shotgun/slugs.
  3. It could be said of Israel “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Mt.7:27
4 IMAGES! (1-5)
1. A HOT OVEN! (1-7)
2. (1) Your sin is always naked before God, “Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.” Ps.139:12
3. (4) It refers to excessive sexual desires primarily portraying them as intense fires that drive the adulterer, & eventually consume him.
  1. “Lust is the craving for salt by a man who is dying of thirst.”
  2. Unbridled lust: “A cannibal committing suicide by nibbling on himself.”
4. (7) Hot like an oven – Show oven pictures!
  1. The most primitive method of baking bread was the laying of cakes of dough on heated stones.
    1. 1 Kings 19:6 “Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals(hot stones), and a jar of water.”
  2. The pitcher-oven – A stone pitcher placed over a fire, w/a hole in the top. Often bread was rolled out thin & placed “on” the oven.
  3. Then there were the semipublic ovens, or the public bakers.
    1. Jer.37:21 “Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah to the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was gone.”
    2. This seems to be the oven Hosea speaks of(6).
  4. Often the bible speaks of passion referring to burning or fire.
    1. i.e. “For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.”1Cor.7:9
      1. Explain: not an excuse to marry right away as many use it, but it proves you don’t have the other gift, that of celibacy.
    2. I we ask, “is fire good or bad” that would depend on whether it is contained!
    3. Fire in an oven(good). Fire in a forest(bad).
    4. The desire for sin can smolder like a fire in an oven, & then blaze when the opportunity comes.
  5. Q: So how do you stomp out passions? The same way you stomp out fires! (2 ways) [1] Deprive it of oxygen! [2] Don’t feed nor fan the flame!
    1. [1] Deprive it of oxygen! – Starve the eyes!
    2. [2] Don’t feed nor fan the flame! – Look at Job 31:1-12
      1. “lurked at my neighbors door” – Have you?
    3. Married folk - Be warned of opposite sex friendships! – Stopping by & having coffee w/your friends wife while her husband is not home. Oh, I know it’s purely innocent…“right now!” {I have too many of those stories that started “so innocent!”}
    4. Don’t lurk at your neighbor’s door!
5. (5-7) This is exactly what happened to the last handful of Israel’s kings before captivity.
  1. The rulers were encouraged to get drunk & party at the festivals(5).
  2. Then the coup went for a more stealthy approach(6).
  3. The result?…the rulers fell(7).
6. A CAKE UNTURNED! (8-10)
7. Q: What do you find yourself “mixed with”? (mixed is opposite of pure)
8. ½ Baked! – Cooked more than enough on 1 side but completely undone on the other!
  1. This represented something that was useless, & that would make you sick…as it did God!
  2. Laodicea was simply “lukewarm”…what about cake/bread ½ which was raw?
  3. Don’t be a ½ baked Christian! – That’s when someone doesn’t allow their religion to go deep into their lives, but is only a surface thing.
  4. Charge your soul…whether this is your case? – Q: Are you thorough in the things of God? Q: Am I sanctified spirit, soul, body?Q: Is there the appearance of holiness in one place of your life & reigning sin in another?...you will be a cake not turned!
  5. Q: have you met someone burnt on one side of their Christianity & doughy on the other? (i.e. – as zealous as a Pharisee in one area, & yet so liberal in another)
  6. Our prayer… “Oh Lord, cook me through on both sides. Show me my doughy weaknesses. Show me the areas I’m charred in, my pethobby horses I continue to study & ride!”2.8.6.1. Now be ready for the Lord w/His heavenly spatula to flip you& your life completely over!
9. (9) Grey hair…& he does not know it – You don’t notice your own grey hairs growing in. Then you run into someone who hasn’t seen you in a while!!!
  1. Israel had no clue they were in “national old age”.
  2. Israel was losing their strength but was ignorant of the change!
  3. It was like Samson who, “did not know that the LORD had departed from him.”
  4. Daily Bread(Oct.10. 2001) “Sin adds to your trouble, subtracts from your energy, & multiplies your difficulties.”
10. A SILLY DOVE! (11,12)
11. Q: What do you usually think of when you hear dove? (beauty or peace)
  1. Here it suggests a helpless creature, easily deceived & senseless.
  2. Illus. - Morning Dove at Starbucks a few weeks ago, flew onto the ladies table & stayed there.
  3. Israel had forsaken God, her only true source of national security.
    1. She does not know where to turn: she was unstable, flitting about form one political ally to another.
    2. She looked to Egypt down south. She looked to Assyria to the east…but not to God!
  4. So, God is going to pull her down!(12)
12. A FAULTY BOW! (13-16)
13. This is not only useless…but down right dangerous!
  1. This was also used in Ps.78:57.
    1. God had trained Israel to Fly Straight & how to hit the target!
  2. The one who puts his trust in a weapon like this will fall to his enemies. You cannot depend on a weapon like that.
    1. I have a little 22 automatic pistol I no longer shoot, because it sticks.
    2. You can’t depend on it!
    3. Q: Can God depend on you? Q: Are you dependable?
    4. An arrow needs to be: straight, sharp, balanced, & have flight-stabilizing vanes! (And so we need to be)
  3. Q: In the battle against evil, are you a weapon God can depend on?
  4. Q: So what do we do? (Let’s take advantage of having the end of the story & jump ahead to 14:1,2,4-6)
14. As we worship meditate on: How your devotion to the Lord is!
  1. Q: How lasting is it? How deep is it? How strong is it? How serious is it? How dependable is it?

return to 'Top of Page'

HoseaHos 6 HoseaHos HoseaHos 8

Copyright Statement
These files are the property of Brian Bell.
Text Courtesy of Calvary Chapel of Murrieta. Used by Permission.

Bibliographical Information
Bell, Brian. "Commentary on Hosea 7". "Bell's Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cbb/hosea-7.html. 2017.

Bible CommentariesHosea 7

Bell's Commentary on the BibleBell's Commentary

Verses 1-16

Verses 1-16

Bible Commentaries
Hosea 7