HOSEA 7:12

The Bible says in Hosea 7:12-16, “When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.[13] Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.[14] And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me.[15] Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me.[16] They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.” These verses emphasize the fact that because the Israelites did not repent of their sins and turn back to God, they were going to be suffering consequences that always will follow sin. God offers us His forgiveness through Christ because He does not want us to suffer such consequences. But God will be true to His own holiness and to His position as Judge over the earth. Sin will have its consequences, and there will be no escape. As it says in the first part of Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death.” Thank God that the rest of Romans 6:23 says, “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

God can give you success in what you do or a lack of success. Your success will not be measured by comparing you to other people, but by comparing you to what kind of person you could have become had you stayed faithfully in fellowship with Jesus and stayed in God’s Word. The Israelites were not going to have success because God said in Hosea 7:12, “When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down.” On the same subject God said in Hosea 7:16, “this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.” Egypt represents the world. Of course, as we go through this life, we are interspersed among the unbelievers. One of the miracles that God performs in the lives of believers is that He makes a way for us. Sometimes we suffer persecution, but more often than not, we are respected because we walk faithfully with Jesus. That is because God’s blessings are with us for Jesus sake. As it says in Psalms 37:23-25, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.[24] Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.[25] I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” But God can take away such blessings as He did with the Israelites when He thinks it is necessary for purposes of chastisement and to honor His own holy character. It says in Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

God says in Hosea 7:14, “they have not cried unto me with their heart.” God is interested in our hearts more than anything else. The Bible says in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 6:5, “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Jesus quoted this verse in Mark 12:30 and said that it was the greatest of all the commandments, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” The question is this: in the depths of your soul, that is, in your heart, do you cry out to God? If the answer is no, then you are like the godless Israelites. Believing in the heart, that is, in the depths of the soul is required in order to be saved. It says in Romans 10:9-10, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.[10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Describing the ungodliness of the Israelites, God said about them in Hosea 7:14, “they assemble themselves for corn and wine.” Why would something like that describe wicked people? It is a matter of priorities. We all have physical and material needs, but we also have spiritual needs. We must put our spiritual needs above our other needs. If we do not, then we will backslide away from the Lord. Jesus said in Luke 16:13-14, “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.[14] And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.” One of the important truths to remember is that the Lord promises to supply our material needs when we put Him first. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” David wrote in Psalm 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Some people think that if only they were rich, then their troubles would be over. But that is far from the truth. Some people are corrupted by riches. Other people have their sorrows increased because they are rich. Howard Hughes found that out. God owns everything, and He promises to supply your needs. If the richest of all Beings is taking care of you, then you are rich through Him. What difference does it make, if He gives you a great deal of money now, or if He gives you what you need one day at a time? He has promised to give you what you need one day at a time. If He gives you more, that means you have a responsibility to use what you have for His glory. There is nothing wrong with saving for a rainy day, saving for retirement, and saving for your children’s education. As a matter of fact a wise person will do such things. But if the Lord has given you more than you need, you had better prayerfully ask what the Lord wants you to do with what you have. Read what is said to the rich when they do not use their material possessions for Christ, and when they do not use them fairly in their dealings with others especially employees. It says in James 5:1-4, “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.[2] Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.[3] Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.[4] Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.”

Notice the two statements that God made about the Israelites in Hosea 7:13 and 7:14. First God said, “though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.” And then God said, “Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me.” These two statements show how ungrateful and unthankful the Israelites had become. They were not thankful for their salvation to provide for the next life, and they were not thankful for how God had supplied their needs and made them prosper in this life. How unthankful some people become. Jesus saw this same ungratefulness in His life. It says in Luke 17:12-19, “And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:[13] And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.[14] And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.[15] And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,[16] And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.[17] And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?[18] There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.[19] And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”

The Bible says in Hosea 8:1-3, “Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.[2] Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.[3] Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.” Of course, we see that God is warning the Israelites over and over again about the judgment that is assuredly coming against them. The reason for all of these warnings is to give them additional chances to repent and turn to the Lord. The same thing happens today when the Spirit of God works in the hearts of sinners to draw them to Jesus. The message today is the same message that has always come from God: just as Jesus said in His life on earth. It says in Matthew 4:17, “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Hosea 8:3 reveals an important aspect to those who reject God. It says, “Israel hath cast off the thing that is good.” One of the truths about life on this earth is the difference between good and evil. If you understand life, then you understand this basic truth: both good and evil exist. That leads us to ask this question: what are you going to do with this truth? What are you going to do about it? There are only two possible reactions: you will either seek goodness and go away from evil; or you will seek evil and go away from goodness. That is part of the meaning to the message that Jesus gave when He said, “Repent.” To repent is to change your mind about your own evil: to say to yourself and to Jesus: I will turn away from sins and turn to you, Lord. God is the source of all goodness, and Jesus is the manifestation of God. If anyone truly seeks goodness, then they will come to Jesus. If anyone does not seek goodness, they will not come to Jesus. We can call this the psychology of salvation. Why is it that some people do not come to Jesus? This is stated very clearly in John 3:16-21, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.[17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.[18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.[19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.[20] For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”

The Bible says in Hosea 8:4-7, “They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.[5] Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?[6] For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.[7] For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up” One of the most significant circumstances for any country has to do with who the leaders are. The leaders will determine the direction of the country, and therefore, in some way will determine the direction that everyone in that country takes. The leader will determine how safe the country is. The leader will determine how prosperous the country is. The leader will determine in many ways if the country is becoming closer to God or farther away from God. It is terrible for any country to end up with bad leaders. That is what happened to the Israelites. God said about them in Hosea 8:4, “They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not.” We must be led of the Lord in everything we do, and so of course, we must seek the Lord’s leading in choosing our leaders. That should be the first question asked of every citizen: how much did you pray about the next election? It is important that God’s choice be selected, which may go against our own preferences. That is one of the reasons we pray about things like this: we admit that we do not have all the answers. We need God, and His blessings, and His leadership. If we do not seek the Lord at a national level, we will have the same fate that the Israelites had, and God said about them in Hosea 8:5, “mine anger is kindled against them.” And God said in Hosea 8:7, “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.” Based upon the terrible reality of these spiritual principles, there are many people in every country who should be on their knees praying to Jesus for forgiveness.

___________________________________________________